18th-century-enlightenment-age-英国文学史及选读课件.ppt

1、Glorious Revolution&18th CenturyI.Historical Background Politically:After Bourgeois Revolution,the Tory and Whig joined hands against tyranny and restoration of Catholicism,and welcomed to the throne Mary and her husband,William of Orange(Glorious Revolution/Bloodless Revolution)in 1688,thus ending

2、the autocratic monarchy 君主独裁制,replacing it with a constitutional monarchy 君主立宪制.Socially:Age of Bourgeoisie The old aristocratic class was fast loosing its power politically and economically to the rising urban middle class or bourgeoisie who worked hard,economized and accumulated great wealth and b

3、ecame the mainstay of the nation.The Puritan spirit of wisdom,diligence,honesty,and thriftiness contributed greatly to the development of the country.They accumulated more wealth and money,and their social status was raised.Economically:Industrial Revolution the beginning of larger-scale manufacturi

4、ng continued to expand its colonies abroad in Asia,Africa and North America,which led to social unrest in Scotland,Ireland,AmericaIdeologically:Age of EnlightenmentUnder the influence of scientific discoveries (Newton)and flourishing of philosophies,French enlightenment started.Enlightenment:an inte

5、llectual movement beginning in France and then spread throughout Europe.a continuation of Renaissance in belief in the possibility of human perfection through education the guiding principle or slogan is Ration/Reason,natural right and equality(American Independence War in 1776;French Revolution in

6、1789).Ration became standard for measurement of everything.Enlightenment Movement A progressive intellectual movement Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire,Montesquieu,Locke,Hobbes,and Rousseau believed that the world was an object of study and that people could understand and control the world by

7、 means of reason and empirical research.The celebration of reason,the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition They claimed that the individual was the basic unit of social analysis,and that the society should emerge and develop as the result of a social contract am

8、ong the individuals.In religion,it was against;in politics,it was against tyranny;and in society,it was against prejudice,ignorance,inequality,and any obstacles to the realization of an individuals full intellectual and physical well-being.At the same time,they advocated universal education.In their

9、 opinion,human beings were limited,dualistic,imperfect,and yet capable of rationality and perfection through education.Idea of contract Rejection of“divine power”of kings The government is of the people,by the people,for the people.Puritan values of the middle class Self-restraint,self-reliance and

10、hard work;the meaning of life was to work,to economize and to accumulate wealth.The great enlighteners:Alexander Pope,Joseph Addison,Jonathan Swift Samuel Johnson II.Literature:Age of Neoclassicism/Age of Pope Inspired by the spirit of Enlightenment,Better education facilitated by developing economy

11、 was available to more and more people,esp.middle-class men and women,more schools and social clubs were established.Ancient classic works and contemporary French works were models of writing.New genres of literature appeared to satisfy middle-class readers:-Periodicals(Tatler and Spectator)to write

12、 interesting sketches and stories,to entertain and teach -Novels about middle class by middle class for middle classs education III.Literature of the Period 1.Neo-classicism It found its artistic models in the classical literature of the ancient Greek and Roman writers like Homer,Virgil,Horace,Ovid.

13、A partial reaction against the fires of passion blazed in the late Renaissance,especially in the Metaphysical poetry.Prose should be precise,direct,smooth and flexible.Poetry should be lyrical,epical,didactic(说教的）,satiric or dramatic,and each class should be guided by its own principles.Neo-classica

14、l writers are:John Dryden,Alexander Pope,Jonathan Swift,Joseph Addison,Richard Steele,Henry Fielding,Samuel Johnson,Oliver Goldsmith,Edward Gibbon,etc.2.ProseSatire:Jonathan Swifts“Proposal”and Gullivers TravelsJournalism/Periodicals:Steels and Addisons literary journals Realist novel:bourgeois in e

15、ssence 写实写实/现现 实主义小说实主义小说 -subject matter,-readership,-didactic（说教的）purpose,-form(prose,comic epic);-Samuel Richardsons Pamela(epistolary)Defoes Robinson Crusoe,Henry Fieldings Joseph Andrews (comic epic in prose);Tom Jones (picaresque（流浪汉小说)Smollett(sea novel),Sterne(sentimentality)Goldsmith,etc.Go

16、thic novel(from mid-18th-century)哥 特式小说 -against the rigid rationality principle -emphasis on the irrational and dark side of human nature:the imaginative,the supernatural,the discarded Medieval castle -1st book:Horace Walpoles The Castle of Otranto(1764)-Ann Radcliffe the most successful:The myster

17、ies of Udolpho(1794)-influenced the later generations:Coleridge,Keats,Dickens,Bronte sisters,etc.Sentimentality literature伤感文学 -started by Samuel Richardsons Pamela and Clarissa -represented in novel form by Laurence Sterne -represented in poetry by“The Graveyard School”:Thomas Gray,Edward Young -em

18、phasizing the emotion/heart instead of ration -gradually merged into Romanticism Biography James Boswells Life of Samuel Johnson3.Dramatheatres moved from outskirts into the cities;tragedies replaced by comedies as source materials and audience changed;to satirize the upper middle class people;the b

19、est playwrights Sheridan(The School for Scandal,The Rivals)and Goldsmith(She Stoops to Conquer)委曲求全.III.Text StudyJonathan Swift(1667-1745)1.A master of prose:“proper words in proper places”simple,direct,precise prose style:-clear,simple and concrete diction 用词明了、简单、具体-uncomplicated sentence structu

20、re 简单句子结构-economy and conciseness of language 语言简约2.A master satirist:usually masked by an outward gravity（庄重）andan apparent earnestness which render his satire more powerful3.“A Modest Proposal”:a model satire the most devastating protest against the inhuman exploitation and oppression of the Irish people by the English ruling class the apparent eagerness,sincerity and detachment of the author adds to the bitter irony and biting sarcasm（讽刺）