1、English LiteratureChapters 78Key Points in Chapter 7Key Points in Chapter 7lMovement toward RomanticismlJames ThomsonlEdward YounglGeorge CrabbelWilliam Cowperl William BlakeIntroductionWorksl Robert BurnsIntroductionWorksMovement toward Romanticism Extremes tend to provoke a reaction.With Pope and
2、then Samuel Johnson at the helm,the 18th century raged forward with the heroic couplet and almost outlawed other forms.However,from the very outset,some dissenting voices existed and tried to make themselves heard.There was also the sly but steady assertion of emotion in the age of reason.With Rober
3、t Burns and William Blake coming forth eventually on the scene,the stage were well set for a new generation of poets,the Romantics.James Thomson(1700-1748)He is remembered now mostly for his The Seasons.The Castle of Indolence with its medieval allegorical kind of story,is read occasionally as well.
4、The Seasons is a long poem of over 5,500 lines,composed in blank verse instead of the tyrannical heroic couplet.Edward Young(1683-1765)He is now known solely for his long poem of some ten thousand lines,Complaint,or Night Thoughts on Life,Death,and Immortality,popularly known as Night Thoughts.The w
5、ork helped to move poetry forward toward the age of Romanticism:for one thing,it was written in blank verse,not in the fashionable heroic couplet;then the poem is an adequate expression of emotions.Night Thoughts is noted for its psychological probings and its mixing of personal sentiments with reli
6、gious deliberations.William Cowper(1731-1800)His personal life was turbulent and depressing.He was high-strung and suicidal.His blank verse proved to be the best of his time.His major works include the Onley Hymns and The Task,for which he is known and read today.William Blake(1757-1827)Introduction
7、 Blake was an important landmark in between two literary periods,pointing directly to that of Romanticism.There were two factors in his life that helped to orient his thematic thrust.One was his native sensitivity that enabled him to see visions and develop a kind of mysticism.The other was his cont
8、act with some radical people.The two major thematic strands that make up the basic fabric of his poetry include his concern with social events and his mysticism.Blake was basically a visionary William Blake(1757-1827)Works Songs of Innocence“Infant Joy”“The Blossom”“The Lamb”“The Divine Image”Songs
9、of Experience“Infant Sorrow”“The Sick Rose”“The Tiger”“The Human Abstract”Robert Burns(1759-1796)Introduction Born into a poor Scottish farmers family.He experienced dire poverty and had close contact with common life and common people.He is critical of Calvinism and its hypocrisy and rigid morality
10、.Burns wrote in the Scottish dialect,English,and a medley of the two.Robert Burns(1759-1796)Works “A Red Red Rose”“Tam OShanter”“For A That an A That”A Red Red Roseo O my Luves like a red,red roseThats newly sprung in June;O my Luves like the melodieThats sweetly playd in tune.As fair art thou,my bo
11、nnie lass,So deep in luve am I:And I will luve thee still,my dear,Till a the seas gang dry:o Till a the seas gang dry,my dear,And the rocks melt wi the sun:I will luve thee still,my dear,While the sands o life shall run.And fare thee well,my only LuveAnd fare thee well,a while!And I will come again,
12、my Luve,Tho it were ten thousand mile.Key Points in Chapter 8Key Points in Chapter 8l18th Century FictionlJonathan SwiftWorksGullivers TravelslDaniel DefoeIntroductionRobinson CrusoelSamuel Richardsonl Henry FieldingAesthetic TheoriesWorksl Laurence Sternel Tobias Smollett 1818thth Century Fiction C
13、entury Fiction 18th century was one in which the novel as a genre prospered not only in the practice,but also in the theory of the craft.The writers developed the realistic method of presentation and brought story-telling infinitely closer to the real life as lived by the real people.Jonathan Swift(
14、1667-1745)Works The Battle of the Books Tale of a Tub The Irish Drapiers Letters A Modest Proposal It is one of the most caustic satires ever written in literary history Gullivers Travels Jonathan Swift(1667-1745)Gullivers Travels This is a savage satire in the form of a fabulous travelogue The book
15、 consists of four parts,each recording one voyage to one outlandish“remote”place.Part I:“A Voyage to Lilliput”Part II:“A Voyage to Brobdingnag”Part III:“A Voyage to Laputa,Balnibari,Glubbdubdrib,Luggnagg,and Japan”Part IV:“A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhunms”Daniel Defoe(1660-1731)Introductio
16、n His views on the novel focus on two things of significance to the emerging genre(novel):its realism and its moral aesthetic.His protagonists are common people with real common names and speak as“I”,telling their own stories in the first-person narrative,addressing the readers directly without any
17、mediation,just so as to increase the realistic effect of immediacy and involvement.Daniel Defoe(1660-1731)Robinson CrusoeIt is the work for which Defoe is remembered by all.The popular Robinson Crusoe story as people normally know it is in fact the narrative focus of the first part.It is first and f
18、oremost a middle class book,offering justification for the class forthcoming rise to pre-dominance in national life.The book is a typical Puritan tale.Robinson Crusoe is frequently seen simply as a true-to-life,no more and no less,specimen of the ordinary humankind.Bodying forth the sum total of the
19、 perseverance and indomitableness of human spirit.It is this quality in the character that remains eternally charming and great.Samuel Richardson(1689-1751)Pamela,Or Virtue Rewarded marks the beginning of conversational manner of narration.Richard has been seen as the beginning in one of these psych
20、ological realism in the history of the English novel.Henry Fielding(1707-1754)Aesthetic Theories His was the first attempt ever to define the novel as a prose epic(“Prosaic-comic-epic Writing”as he calls it)that is not inferior to an epic poem.Fielding sees the novel as a vehicle for moral inculcati
21、on,a mirror and an imitation of nature and life.Though imitating life,art is,to him,not life.Fielding deems it necessary for a writer to have four basic qualitiesnative gift,adequate learning,rich experience with life and a kind heart.Henry Fielding(1707-1754)Works Joseph Andrews It has been seen as
22、 the first realistic novel in English fiction.Its focus is on the presentation of English life as being lived then,so that it ends up as a novel of manners.Tom Jones It is Fieldings masterpiece Major characters:Squire Allworthy,Tom Jones,Jenny Jones,Patridge,Bridget,Master Blifil,the Westerns,Sophia
23、 Laurence Sterne (1713-1768)He was an iconoclast.Dickens felt deeply impressed by his fictions major features such as their themes of grotesque goodness,sweet humility,sensitive humanity,their boisterous humor,and idiosyncratic discursiveness.His best know work is The Life and Opinions of Tristram S
24、handy,Gentleman.Tristram Shandy,with its subtle and sensible dips into the deeps of memory,has been seem by some as the first true psychological novel in English literary history.Stern is remembered for his originality and his daring to break new ground.Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)His best novel is The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker.Smollett was one of the most original writers of his time.He is now read chiefly for his wit and his satire.
