英国社会文化unit+14-15.pptVIP

Unit 11 British literature  Old English Literature Beowulf—epic It tells the story of the 6th century Swedish warrior Beowulf. The scene of Beowulf is not England but Denmark. Beowulf Theme: hero VS. monster, good VS. evil Middle English Literature The Middle Ages With the Norman Conquest in 1066 Britain entered the Middle Ages (1066—1485). The Middle English period sees the true beginning of the magnificent heritage of English literature. Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales --- a series of stories told by pilgrims to entertain each other on their way to the tomb of Thomas Becket at Canterbury * Canterbury, Thomas Becket --- One of the most famous characters is the wife of Bath --- notable for its diversity --- give a cross-section of medieval life Elizabethan Drama There was a general flowering of cultural and intellectual life in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries which is known as “The Renaissance.” * Revival of interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture; * Attempts to get rid of conservatism in feudalist Europe and to lift the restrictions placed by the Roman church authorities; * The rise of humanism In British culture one of the most successful and long-lasting expressions of this development lay in drama. Christopher Marlow Doctor Faustus It tells the story of a man who sells his soul to the Devil in return for power, knowledge and pleasure. --- to teach a moral lesson in the fashion of the earlier morality plays --- to question the limits placed on human knowledge by an apparently vengeful God ? ? Faustus represents the spirit of the Renaissance, with its rejection of the medieval, God-centered universe, and its embrace of human possibility. William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s plays fall into categories: Tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth Comedies The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twe