A Concise History of British Literature


A Concise History of British Literature
Chapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon Period
I.                Introduction
1. The historical background
(1) Before the Germanic invasion
(2) During the Germanic invasion
a. immigration;
b. Christianity;
c. heptarchy.
d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen (lord) – thane - middle class (freemen) - lower class (slave or bondmen: theow);
e. social organization: clan or tribes.
f. military Organization;
g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;
h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;
i. feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.
2. The Overview of the culture
(1) The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.
(2) Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.

II.                 Beowulf.
1. A general introduction.
2. The content.
3. The literary features.
        (1) the use of alliteration
        (2) the use of metaphors and understatements
        (3) the mixture of pagan and Christian elements

III.         The Old English Prose
1.        What is prose?
2.        figures
(1)        The Venerable Bede
(2)        Alfred the Great
Chapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages
I.                 Introduction
1. The Historical Background.
(1) The year 1066: Norman Conquest.
(2) The social situations soon after the conquest.
A. Norman nobles and serfs;
B. restoration of the church.
(3) The 11th century.
A. the crusade and knights.
B. dominance of French and Latin;
(4) The 12th century.
A. the centralized government;
B. kings and the church (Henry II and Thomas);
(5) The 13th century.
A. The legend of Robin Hood;
B. Magna Carta (1215);
C. the beginning of the Parliament
D. English and Latin: official languages (the end)
(6) The 14th century.
a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons—conflict between the Parliament and Kings;
b. the rise of towns.
c. the change of Church.
d. the role of women.
e. the Hundred Years’ War—starting.
f. the development of the trade: London.
g. the Black Death.
h. the Peasants’ Revolt—1381.
i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.
(7) The 15th century.
a. The Peasants Revolt (1453)
b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.
c. the printing-press—William Caxton.
d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy(1485)
2. The Overview of Literature.
(1) the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany—great myths of the Middle Ages.
(2) Geoffrye of Monmouth—Historia Regum Britanniae—King Authur.
(3) Wace—Le Roman de Brut.
(4) The romance.
(5) the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet,Chaucer.
II.              Sir Gawin and Green Knight.
1. a general introduction.
2. the plot.
III.         William Langland.
1. Life
2. Piers the Plowman
IV.                 Chaucer
1. Life
2. Literary Career: three periods
        (1) French period
        (2) Italian period
     (3) master period
3. The Canterbury Tales
A. The Framework;
B. The General Prologue;
C. The Tale Proper.
4. His Contribution.
        (1) He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.
        (2) He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.
        (3) The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.
V.                 Popular Ballads.