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刘意青《简明英国文学史》笔记和课后习题详解试读：
第1部分 古代和中世纪英国文学 (450-1485)
第1章 古英语时期与《贝奥武甫》
(450～1066)
1.1 复习笔记
I. Historical Situation（背景知识）
In about BC 600, Celts started to migrate to the British Isles. Later, troops led by Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire invaded the British Isles, defeated the Celts and ruled there from BC 55 to AD 407.
凯尔特人在公元前600年移居大不列颠岛。后来，凯撒大帝率领罗马军队入侵，打败了凯尔特人，在公元前55年到公元407年统治着这里。
After the Romans, the Teutonic or Germanic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes moved to live in the British Isles. This happened in about AD 450 starting from the late 8th century, the Danes from Scandinavia came plundering the Isles.
继罗马人之后，来自欧洲大陆的三个部落——盎格鲁人、撒克逊人和朱特人——也入侵了不列颠。约公元150年，8世纪末，斯堪的纳维亚半岛的丹麦人开始掠夺不列颠岛。
The greatest historical event that followed was the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Normans came from Normandy in northern France to attack England and won a decisive victory at the battle of Hastings under the leadership of the Duke of Normandy, usually known as William the Conqueror.
后来，1066年发生了重大的历史事件——诺曼征服。来自法国南部诺曼底的诺曼底人对英格兰进行攻击，并在征服者威廉——公爵威廉的率领下在海斯廷斯战役取得了压倒性胜利。
Ⅱ.Literary Achievements（文学成就）
Old English Poetry（古英语诗歌）
The settlement of Anglo-Saxons in England marked the beginning of English literature. The early English literature mainly consisted of the Anglo-Saxon poetry, which was sung by the minstrels to the chiefs and warriors in praising of the old heroes’ deeds in the feasting hall. The Old English regularly used alliterations and rhymes, at the same time, metaphors and understatements were also put into the poetry. Beowulf is the most widely spread early poem.
英国文学始于盎格鲁-撒克逊人在英国定居时期。古英国文学中所保留的作品多为诗歌或者盎格鲁-撒克逊游吟诗人所唱的歌曲，这些游吟诗人在宴会大厅里为那些首领和勇士歌唱古时的英雄事迹。古英语中有规律地运用了头韵和韵律，同时也用到了比喻和轻描淡写手法。流传最广的早期英语诗歌是《贝奥武甫》。
III. Literary Terms（文学术语）
1．Anglo-Saxon poetry（盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌）
Poems or, songs by the Anglo-Saxon minstrels who sang of the heroic deeds of old time to the chiefs and warriors in the feasting-hall. The typical work of Anglo-Saxon is Beowulf.
是由盎格鲁—撒克逊游吟诗人吟唱的古代英雄事迹的诗歌或者歌曲。这些诗歌或者歌曲主要是在宴会厅唱给首领或者武士们。代表诗作是《贝奥武甫》。
2．Alliteration（头韵）
It means the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in poetry. There are generally 4 accents in a line, three of which show alliteration. There is an obvious use of alliteration in Beowulf.
就是诗歌里开头辅音字母的重复。一行诗歌里一般有4个音节，三个音节能够显示出头韵的效果。在《贝奥武甫》里对头韵有明显的运用。
3．Epic (or Heroic Poetry)（史诗）
It is an oral narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. Epics deal with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur. Epic poems are not merely entertaining stories of legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial period of its history.
古代民间文学的一种体裁，通常指以传说或重大历史事件为题材的古代长篇民间叙事诗。史诗主要歌颂每个民族在其形成和发展过程中战胜所经历的各种艰难险阻、克服自然灾害、抵御外侮的斗争及其英雄业绩。
Ⅳ. Major Writers and Works（英国早期主要作家及作品）
◆Beowulf《贝奥武甫》
English literature began with the Anglo-Saxon settlement. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poetry and the national epic of the English people.
英国文学始于盎格鲁-撒克逊人的定居。《贝奥武甫》是一首盎格鲁-撒克逊诗歌，同时也是一首英国人民的国家史诗。
1．The Story of Beowulf（《贝奥武甫》主要情节）
Beowulf tells a story of Beowulf fighting against monsters Grendel and his mother, winning the battle and protecting his people.
该书讲述了贝奥武甫这位英勇的武士与怪物格兰戴和他母亲斗争取得胜利并保护了他的人民的故事。
2．Analysis of Its Content（《贝奥武甫》内容评析）
Beowulf is a folk legend brought to England by Anglo-Saxons from their continental homes. Its main stories are folk legends of primitive Northern tribes.《贝奥武甫》是一部民间传说，由盎格鲁-撒克逊人从他们本土带到英格兰。它的主要故事情节来源于原始北欧部落的民间传说。
Beowulf is a brave hero whose spirit and deeds reflect the life of tribal society on the continent. The historical significance of Beowulf lies in reflecting the features of the tribal society of ancient times.
贝奥武甫是一个英雄，他的精神和行为都反映了当时的部落生活。它的历史意义在于反映了古代部落社会的特征。
3．Artistic Features of Beowulf（《贝奥武甫》的文学特征）
(1)The most noticeable artistic feature of Beowulf is alliteration.
头韵的使用是《贝奥武甫》最为显著的文学特征。
(2)Another peculiar feature is the frequent use of kennings, For example, the sun is called “the world’s great candle”.
多用隐喻语，如把太阳称为“世界的蜡烛”。
(3)The general mood is both solemn and animated.
基调既庄重又活泼。
(4)Other noticeable stylistic points include the use of similes, the elevated diction, good use of balance and parallelism, etc.
其他值得注意的特征包括明喻、用词考究、排比等。
1.2 课后习题答案
1．Give an account of the history of England from the Celtic settlement to the Norman Conquest.
Key: In about BC 600 Celts, who inhabited the upper Rhineland, started to migrate to the British Isles, and among them the Britons, a branch of the Celts, came to the Isles in BC 400 to BC 300, from whom Britain got its name. Later, troops led by Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire invaded the British Isles, defeated the Celts and ruled there from BC 55 to AD 407, bringing with them the slave system. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Roman Empire declined and in AD 410 all their troops were withdrawn.
After the Romans, the Teutonic or Germanic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes moved to live in the British Isles. This happened in about AD 450. They drove the Celts to Wales, Scotland and Ireland, settled down themselves and named the central part of the island England, that is the land of Angles.
Starting from the late 8th century, the Danes from Scandinavia came plundering the Isles. They were a strong sea people known as the Vikings and at first they mainly invaded the eastern coast of England. But soon they pushed inland to plunder the whole country.
The greatest historical event that followed was the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Normans came from Normandy in northern France to attack England and won a decisive victory at the battle of Hastings under the leadership of the Duke of Normandy, usually known as William the Conqueror.
2．How did Christianity came to England? Name the most important monasteries of this period.
Key: It was in the year of 597 that Pope Gregory the Great of the Roman Catholic Church sent St. Augustine to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons. King Ethelbert of Kent was the first to be converted and he founded in Kent the Canterbury Abbey. In the north, the earlier Christianised Ireland was engaged in sending missionaries to the Angles.
The monasteries built by them in Northumbria were the earliest civilizing influences, and the well- known Northumbrian School in literary history refers to the learned monks in these monasteries.
3．Name some representative pieces of the Old English poetry.
Key: “Widsith”, “The Wanderer”, “The Seafarer”, The Wife’s Complaint and The Husband’s Message, Beowulf and so on.
4．Name the two most important Christian poets of this period.
Key: The two most important Christian poets of this period were Caedmon and Cynewulf.
5．Analyze the artistic features of Beowulf, using the quoted passage to illustrate your points.
Key: (1)The most noticeable artistic feature of Beowulf is alliteration. The poem is written in alliterative verse with a caesura in the middle and two stresses (or accents) in each half. The number of unstressed syllables in the two halves may vary.
(2)Another peculiar feature characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry is the frequent use of kennings, to poetically present the meaning of one single word through a compound simile of two elements.
(3)The general mood and spirit of Anglo-Saxon epic poetry is both solemn and animated, the movement of action or events vigorous, and the descriptions with kennings very picturesque and exact.
(4)There are many other stylistic points to notice in Beowulf such as the use of similes, the elevated diction, and the great deal of variation in the style, especially through thesis and antithesis. We also find good use of balance and parallelism.
第2章 中古英语时期与乔叟
(1066-1485)
2.1 复习笔记
I. Middle English Period（中古英语时期）
1．A Brief Account of the Historical Situation（历史状况简介）
(1)After 1066, the Anglo-Norman period began. The defeated Anglo-Saxons worked as serfs and peasants for William the Conqueror and his barons and were cruelly exploited and oppressed.
1066年后，盎格鲁-诺曼时期开始了。被打败的盎格鲁-撒克逊人成为威廉及其贵族的农奴和农民，受到残酷的剥削和压迫。
(2)Norman-French was made the official language of the state, while English was ignored. The lowly people kept to English and gradually the invaders were assimilated.
诺曼-法语成为官方语言，英语被忽视。下层人们继续说英语，渐渐地把入侵者同化了。
(3)The second half of the 14th century was very eventful. Great changes took place in England’s social, economic and cultural life.
14世纪后半叶是多事之秋。英国的社会、经济和文化生活都发生了巨大的变化。
(4)Feudalism in England was on the verge of a serious crisis.
英国的封建制度处在严重的危机边缘。
(5)A civil war called the War of the Roses (1455-1485) broke out between two big feudal houses. Together with the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) against France extinguished the greater part of England’s ancient aristocratic families and paved the way for the growing towns to develop trade and commerce more quickly.
两大封建家族间爆发了玫瑰战争（1455-1485）。此战与抗法的百年战争（1337-1453）耗尽了英国大部分的古老贵族家庭，为城镇发展以促进贸易和商业的更快发展铺平了道路。
(6)According to Marx, the defeat of the French army at the battle of Agincourt (1415) rang the death-knell of feudalism.
在马克思看来，在阿金库尔战争中法国军队的失败敲响了封建制度消亡的丧钟。
(7)After the wars, the English language went through a process of unification. London dialect became the basis of this new English, which linguists identify as Middle English.
战争结束后，英语经历了一个统一的过程。伦敦方言成为新英语的基础，成为语言学家所认同的中古英语。
2．Chief Literary Achievements of the Period（主要文学成就）
Romances（罗曼史）
(1)Trouvers, who came from France with Normans, brought romance to England. They were written for the nobles and told their stories.
特洛沃斯来自法国，他将罗曼史传入英国。主要为贵族写作，讲述他们的故事。
(2)The early English romances were composed in rhymed verse, and the language used was Norman-French. But at the beginning of the 13th century, minstrels and chroniclers started to write romances in Old English.
早期的英国罗曼史写成押韵诗的形式，用诺曼-法语写作。但是在13世纪初，游吟诗人和年代史编者开始用古英语写作。
(3)Romances can be divided according to their subjects into three groups: Matter of France, Matter of Rome and Matter of Britain.
根据主题罗曼史可以分为三类：法国事件、罗马事件和英国事件。
Other Literary Productions（其他文学创作）
(1)Take the poetic genres for example. There were hymns, legends and visions.
诗歌类型有赞美诗、传奇诗和幻想诗。
(2)Among the dramatic genres we find mysteries, miracles and morality plays.
戏剧类型有神秘剧、奇迹剧和道德剧。
(3)Devoted to moral teachings, the church writers at the time mostly turned to allegories.
出于对道德说教的忠诚，教堂作家此时多转向写作寓言。
Ballads（歌谣）
(1)New kinds of songs in the form of popular ballads that contain both narrative and lyrical elements appeared in the 14th century.
14世纪，出现了以流行歌谣形式呈现的新歌，包括叙事和抒情元素。
(2)Repetition is adopted to help form the unity of a ballad, and alliteration suggests the links of ballads with the Anglo-Saxon epic tradition.
重复用以实现歌谣的统一；押头韵表明了歌谣与盎格鲁-撒克逊史诗传统之间的联系。
(3)Ballads have a variety of themes.
歌谣的主题广泛。
Ⅱ.Geoffrey Chaucer（杰弗里·乔叟）
1．His Life & Literary Career（他的生平与文学生涯）
(1)He was born in a well-to-do wine merchant’s family in London and studied at Oxford and Cambridge. In 1359 he joined in the Hundred Years War and went with the English army to France, and in 1367 he began to serve in the government. In 1386 he was elected Member of Parliament, but lost that post soon, due to the maneuvers of his enemies.
他出生在伦敦的富商家庭，曾就读于牛津大学和剑桥大学。1359年，他参加百年战争，跟随英军前往法国，1367年他开始在政府供职。1386年，他被选为下院议员，但很快因敌人阴谋而失去职位。
After Chaucer died, he was buried in the Westminster Abbey. The place where he was put later became the famous Poets’ Corner.
乔叟去世后，被埋葬在威斯敏斯特教堂，后来他被埋葬的一隅成为著名的诗人角。
(2)Chaucer’s creative career is usually divided into three phases:
乔叟的创作生涯通常分为三个阶段：
a. The phase of French influence, in which he did translations from French authors. He favored and wrote allegorical visions and satires in the manner of the middle Ages. The most significant work of this period is The Book of Duchess (1370).
在受法语影响阶段，他翻译法国作家的作品。他推崇并写作具有中世纪风格的寓言和讽刺作品。这时期他最重要的作品是《公爵夫人》。
b. The phase of Italian influence, in which he showed an effort to learn from the Italian great poets such as Dante.
在受意大利语影响的阶段，他致力于向但丁等意大利的伟大诗人学习。
c. The English phase, or the phase of realism, in which his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales was created.
在英语阶段或是现实主义阶段，他的代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》诞生了。
2．His Major Work: The Canterbury Tales (1386-1400)（代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》）
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer presents a picturesque panorama of his contemporary England and shows his realistic tendency, subtle irony and freedom of views, all of which had no equal in the English literature before the 16th century.
在《坎特伯雷故事集》中，乔叟展现了他那个时代的英国全貌，表现了他的现实主义倾向、微妙的讽刺和自由的观点，这在16世纪前的英国文学中无人能及。
(1) The Dramatic Structure of The Canterbury Tales（《特伯雷故事集》的戏剧结构）
The General Prologue（总序）
The book was planned as a collection of stories heard by Chaucer as a participant of a pilgrimage. Chaucer made realistic descriptions in the General Prologue of all the pilgrims, their appearances, manners and personalities, interests the reader most and has always been considered as Chaucer’s great success.
本书计划收入乔叟加入朝圣队伍后听到的故事。在总序中，乔叟对所有圣徒的外表、举止和性格等进行了现实描写，这也是读者最大的兴趣之所在，一直被认为是乔叟最大的成功。
The Tales（故事）
After the General Prologue, the story-telling begins. Here, Chaucer places a prologue before each tale to further introduce the person who tells that particular story, and the occasion that leads to the telling of it.
总序之后，故事便开始了。这里，乔叟在每个故事之前作了开场白以进一步介绍讲故事的人，并创设情境引出故事。
But when Chaucer died, the poem was left unfinished, with only 24 stories in all.
遗憾的是，乔叟去世时此作未竟，只写下了24个故事。
(2) The Artistic Features of The Canterbury Tales（《坎特伯雷故事集》的艺术特点）
Realistic Presentation of Characters and Contemporary Life（对人物和当时生活的现实反映）
a. Not only the characters represent the classes they come from, but each also possesses an individual personality. The characters are as important a part of the poem as the tales told by them.
人物不仅代表了他们来自的不同阶层，而且都具有自己的个性。人物形象和他们所讲的故事本身一样成为诗歌重要的一部分。
b. The poet tries to give a comprehensive picture of the English society of his time and arranges to present a colorful gallery of pilgrims that covers a great range of social life.
诗人试图展现一幅他那个时代的英国全貌画，描绘一幅五彩的朝圣者的画面，体现大范围的省会生活。
Chaucer’s Humour（乔叟的幽默）
a. He is well-skilled in mild and subtle irony to create humorous effects. He was a broad-minded humanist and had sympathy for people at large.
他很擅长运用温和微妙的讽刺实现幽默效果。他心胸开阔，对大多数人具有同情心。
b. He treats his characters kindly on the whole, using gentle satire and irony to criticize vanity, ill-manners, deceptive tricks and all sorts of follies and human weaknesses.
总的说来他对自己塑造的人物形象很友善，运用温和的讽刺和嘲讽批判虚荣、无礼、骗术和各种各样的罪恶和人性的弱点。
Unity Through a Framed Story（通过架构故事达到统一）
a. Although the story-tellers are very different and the stories are diverse, a unity is achieved through the device of the framed story that is Chaucer’s invention of a pilgrimage as the occasion of all the story-telling and thus makes it realistic.
尽管讲故事的人不同，故事各异，但是通过架构故事的手法实现了统一，乔叟将朝圣作为讲故事的背景，使之现实可信。
b. The pilgrimage frame offers the possibility for comparison and contrast of characters and their interplay.
朝圣架构使人物间的比较和对比及相互作用成为了可能。
Metrical Scheme（格律）
a. The metrical scheme of The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s chief contribution to English poetry.《坎特伯雷故事集》的格律是乔叟对英国诗歌作出的主要贡献。
b. He is the poet who introduced to England the rhymed stanzas of many kinds from French poetry, especially the heroic couplet.
他将法国诗歌的许多押韵诗节引入英国，尤其是英雄双韵体。
c. He changed the alliterative verse of the Anglo-Saxons to metrical verse which has since been used and developed by generation after generation of English poets till today.
他将盎格鲁-撒克逊的头韵诗改变成律诗，已被历代诗人运用和不断发展，直到今天。
3．Chaucer’s Contributions（乔叟的贡献）
(1)Chaucer learned from both French and Latin poetry and then worked out a unique style for the English poetry that had absorbed nourishments from the more advanced European poetry of the time and at the same time reserved its Anglo-Saxon poetic features.
乔叟学习了法国和意大利诗歌，从当时先进的欧洲诗歌中汲取了养分，同时保留了盎格鲁-撒克逊的诗歌特点。
(2)The realism and humanistic concerns demonstrated in his works looked forward to the coming English Renaissance.
他作品中的现实主义和人文主义关注预示了英国文艺复兴运动的到来。
(3)He made London dialect the foundation of modern English.
他使伦敦方言成为近代英语的基础。
2.2 课后习题答案
1．What was the social and class reality of the Anglo-Norman Period?
Key: The Normans, who came from the northern part of France, were in origin Scandinavian. They brought with them the French language, customs and culture to England, where they protected their feudal monarchy by a strong military power. William the Conqueror divided the land of England among his followers who became barons, while the defeated Anglo-Saxons worked as serfs and peasants for them and were cruelly exploited and oppressed.
Norman-French was made the official language of the state, while English was ignored. But there was no way to impose a foreign language upon a whole nation without wiping out the greater part of the population. The lowly people kept to English and gradually the invaders were assimilated.
2．Tell the three divisions of romances according to subject matter and give an example of the Matter of Britain.
Key: Romances can be divided according to their subjects into three groups: Matter of France, Matter of Rome and Matter of Britain.
As the Matter of Britain, one of its most well-known stories is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a piece written in about 1375-1400 by an unknown poet.
3．Name two more well-known writers of this period and their achievements besides Chaucer and his literary works.
Key: John Ball and John Wyclif (c.1320-1384) were well-known writers of this period.
John Ball, as we’ve shown previously in this chapter, was mainly remembered for his preaching of equality. Wyctif translated the Bible into English against the rules of the church to benefit the common people. His translation was a great contribution and many later translations consulted his version. In his allegorical poem The Vision of Piers Plowman, a poem in the form of dream vision of more than 7,000 lines, Langland protests against feudal tyranny and criticises the corruption of the church.
4．Say as much as you know about Chaucer’s life and works.
Key: To organize your answer according to the textbook.
5．Comment on the artistic features of The Canterbury Tales.
Key: (1)Not only the characters represent the classes they come from, but each also possesses an individual personality. The characters are as important a part of the poem as the tales told by them. The poet tries to give a comprehensive picture of the English society of his time and arranges to present a colorful gallery of pilgrims that covers a great range of social life.
(2)He is well-skilled in mild and subtle irony to create humorous effects. He was a broad-minded humanist and had sympathy for people at large. He treats his characters kindly on the whole, using gentle satire and irony to criticise vanity, ill-manners, deceptive tricks and all sorts of follies and human weaknesses.
(3)Although the story-tellers are very different and the stories are diverse, a unity is achieved through the device of the framed story that is Chaucer’s invention of a pilgrimage as the occasion of all the story-telling and thus makes it realistic. The pilgrimage frame offers the possibility for comparison and contrast of characters and their interplay.
(4)The metrical scheme of The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s chief contribution to English poetry. He is the poet who introduced to England the rhymed stanzas of many kinds from French poetry, especially the heroic couplet. He changed the alliterative verse of the Anglo-Saxons to metrical verse which has since been used and developed by generation after generation of English poets till today.
6．Sum up Chaucer’s achievements and contributions.
Key: Chaucer’s greatest achievements rest with his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales.
试读结束[说明：试读内容隐藏了图片]