1、A Brief History of English Literature1D. H. Lawrence(1885-1930)2n1885-1930nan English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter 3 Lawrence was born on September 11, 1885, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, central England. He was the fourth child of a struggling coal miner who was
2、 a heavy drinker. His mother was a formerLawrence was born in Victoria Street, Eastwood, Nottingham in 1885 schoolteacher, greatly superior in education to his father.4 Lawrences childhood was dominated by poverty and friction between his parents. After studies at Nottingham University, Lawrence bri
3、efly pursued a teaching career.Nottingham University5 In 1912 he met Frieda, Professor Ernest Weeklys wife, and fell in love with her. Frieda left her husband and three children, and they eloped to Germany. D.H. Lawrence and Frieda 6 Lawrences best known work is Lady Chatterlys Lover, first publishe
4、d privately in Florence in 1928. It tells of the love affair between a wealthy, married woman, and a man who works on her husbands estate. The book was banned for a time in both UK and the US as pornographic. 7 D.H. Lawrence died of tuberculosis on the 2nd. March 1930, aged 44, in Vence, France. At
5、the time of his death, he was considered in Britain as a pornographer who had wasted his considerable talents. 8Lawrence is now valued by many as a visionary thinker and significant representative of modernism in English literature.9 Lawrence was a prolific writer - of poetry, novels, short stories,
6、 plays, essays, and criticism. His works are heavily autobiographical and the experiences of his early years in Nottinghamshire continued to exert a profound influence throughout his life.10Literary FeaturesLiterary Features1)Social criticism: dehumanization(丧失人性)2)Psychological analysis: sexual imp
7、ulse Lawrence give more stress to psychoanalysis in his novels , combing skillfully with social criticism.11Literary FeaturesLiterary Features1)Social criticism: dehumanization His works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of industrialization. He condemned the industrial
8、civilization, which, he thought, was destructive both to the nature environment and to the nature of human beings.12Literary FeaturesLiterary Features2)Psychological analysis: sexual impulse He was the first to try to revolutionize modern English attitude toward sex by casting off restraints of conv
9、entions.1314 Lawrences novel Sons and Lovers appeared in 1913 and was based on his childhood. 15Context David Herbert Lawrence was born in 1885 in Nottinghamshire, England where his father was a miner. His experience growing up in a coal-mining family provided much of the inspiration for Sons and Lo
10、vers. Lawrence had many affairs with women in his life, including a longstanding relationship with Jessie Chambers (on whom the character of Miriam is based), an engagement to Louie Burrows, and an eventual elopement to Germany with Frieda Weekley. Sons and Lovers was written in 1913, and contains m
11、any autobiographical details.Many of Lawrences novels were very controversial because of their frank treatment of sex, and both The Rainbow and Lady Chatterleys Lover were banned during his lifetime. This controversial treatment of sex is evident as well in Sons and Lovers; Lawrences fear of negativ
12、e public opinion may have been one reason for his vague use of language and the obscure treatment of sex in the novel.SimilaritiesSons and Lovers the Life of David Herbert LawrenceSettingBestwood, a mining townEastwood, a mining townCharactersFather: Mr. Morel, a coalminerFather: Arthur Lawrence , a
13、 coal minerMother: Gertrude Morel, (a strong-willed, refined,middle-class girl)Mother: Lydia BeardsallLawrence,(ex-schoolteacher)Miriam: spiritual Jessie Chambers: spiritualClara: physicalother women: physicalOedipus complexPauls feeling toward his motherLawrences feeling towards his mother In the w
14、ork Sons and Lovers, Mrs. Morel was an educated woman. However, her husband Mr. Morel was a poor miner who drank heavily and he was irresponsible which often led to terrible quarrels in the family. The life of the Morel family is unhappy, tense and uneasy. Paul Morel grew up in such a miserable sett
15、ing. Mrs. Morel transfers her affections from her husband first to William, then to Paul. As William suffers a lot between his feelings toward his mother and his girl friend, he gets severely ill and dies. After Williams death, Mrs. Morel turns her love and attention to Paul. 19 She struggles with p
16、overty and is determined to keep Paul from the coal mine. But when he was in love with Miriam, a farmers daughter, conflicting emerged. Mrs. Morel was afraid that she might lose him so she did her best to come between them. Paul was torn between the two women. Finally, the two lovers had to divorce
17、from each other. Paul started having an affair with Clara, a married woman who lives separated from her husband. But this attachment gradually fizzled out(失败失败). Too clearly, both failures were caused by the possessive mother. It was not only until the mother died that the son began to find for his
18、true love.20Overall SummaryOverall Summary The first part of the novel focuses on Mrs. Morel and her unhappy marriage to a drinking miner. She has many arguments with her husband, some of which have painful results: on separate occasions, she is locked out of the house and hit in the head with a dra
19、wer. Estranged from her husband, Mrs. Morel takes comfort in her four children, especially her sons. Her oldest son, William, is her favorite, and she is very upset when he takes a job in London and moves away from the family. 21When William sickens and dies a few years later, she is crushed, not ev
20、en noticing the rest of her children until she almost loses Paul, her second son, as well. From that point on, Paul becomes the focus of her life, and the two seem to live for each other. Paul falls in love with Miriam Leivers, who lives on a farm not too far from the Morel family. They carry on a v
21、ery intimate, but purely platonic, relationship for many years. Mrs. Morel does not approve of Miriam, and this may be the main reason that Paul does not marry her. He constantly wavers in his feelings toward her.22 Paul meets Clara Dawes, a suffragette who is separated from her husband, through Mir
22、iam. As he becomes closer with Clara and they begin to discuss his relationship with Miriam, she tells him that he should consider consummating their love and he returns to Miriam to see how she feels.Paul and Miriam sleep together and are briefly happy, but shortly afterward Paul decides that he do
23、es not want to marry Miriam, and so he breaks off with her. She still feels that his soul belongs to her, and, in part agrees reluctantly. He realizes that he loves his mother most, however.23 After breaking off his relationship with Miriam, Paul begins to spend more time with Clara and they begin a
24、n extremely passionate affair. However, she does not want to divorce her husband Baxter, and so they can never be married. Pauls mother falls ill and he devotes much of his time to caring for her. When she finally dies, he is broken-hearted and, after a final plea from Miriam, goes off alone at the
25、end of the novel.24Mrs. Moreldesperateconflicts？Mr. MorelPaulWilliamconflictsGirl friendTwo girl friends25At the end of the novel : Paul walks away from the fields and towards the bright city light reborn!26ThemesThemes1.Pursuit of free will Mrs. Morel tried to find emotional fulfillment through her
26、 bond with Paul. Paul sought to break free of his mother through developing relationships with other women. When he fell in love with Miriam and Clara, he thought he was escaped from the control of his mother.272.2. Pauls Oedipus ComplexPauls Oedipus Complex Paul and Mrs. Morel told each other their
27、 feelings from their innermost world, and shared the happiness and grievance with each other. His mother was the most important and the only lofty person in his mind. Paul thought his passionate love belonged to his beloved mother. 282009年英语专八考试真题年英语专八考试真题 37. The novel Sons and Lovers was written byA. Thomas Hardy. B. John Galsworthy. C. D.H. Lawrence. D. James Joyce. 35 Which of the following writing is not the work by Charles Dickens? 2003 AA Tale of Two Cities BHard Times COliver Twist DSons and LoversTEM-82930
