Unit 1 Introduction of Literature

l       Key Words: Introduction, course, English Literature, history

l      Target: This unit is to provide a general introduction to this course: the definition, value, quality, importance; and to tell the students how to learn this course.

l      Study Points:

1.       Definition of literature;

2.       The value of literature;

3.       Basic quality of literature;

4.       Importance of literature;

5.       Four genres of literature;

6.       Two Branches of Literature;

7.       Target of this course

8.       The Frame of History of British Literature.

 1.     What is Literature?

Definition of Literature:

Ø         Literature as Mimesis/imitation (Plato/Aristotle/Alexander Pope);

Ø         Literature as Function (Socrates/Horace/Milton)

Ø         Literature as Expression of Emotions (Keats/Wordsworth)

Ø         Literature as Literature (Poe/Swinburne)

Suggested Definition: Literature is a linguistic stylization of experiences lifted from mere bodily response to stimuli, to the plane of imaginative and spiritual (psychological) response. 

The Value of Literature: (Literature is a reflection of life and a record of human experiences.)

Ø         Art and literature reveal to us the things people treasure and admire, the things people praise and advocate as the true, the good and the beautiful, as well as the things they fear and hate most deeply, the things they denounce and do away with as the false, the evil and the ugly.

Ø         Art and literature are not only something we find desirable and enjoyable; there are feelings, emotions, and ideas that can not be expressed in any way other than through art and literature.

Ø         Art and literature provide an endless variety of inspiration in addition to enjoyment, for it is the means of making people feel truth and beauty through their senses.

Ø         Literature broadens our perspectives of the world. (e.g. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

 

Basic Qualities of Literature:

Ø         Artistic quality;

•      imaginative writing in the sense of fiction--writing which is not literally true. A distinction between 'fact' and 'fiction', then seems unlikely to get us very far. (Gibbon/ Bible).

•      literature uses language in peculiar ways. (The Relationship between language and literature:   Language is the basis of literature; literature is the highest form of language and the best materials for language learning.)

–   the Russian critic Roman Jakobson, represents an 'organized violence committed on ordinary speech'. Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech.

Examples:

五年过去了，五个夏天，加上长长的五个冬天！我终于又听见这水声，这从高山滚流而下的泉水，带着温和的内河的潺潺。

Five years have passed; five summers, with the length

Of five long winters!  and again I hear

These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs

With a soft inland murmur.

 

成熟是一种明亮而不刺眼的光辉，

一种圆润而不腻耳的音响，

一种不再需要对别人察颜观色的从容，

一种终于停止向周围申诉求告的大气，

一种不理会哄闹的微笑，

一种洗刷了偏激的淡漠，

一种无须声张的厚实，

一种并不陡峭的高度。

勃郁的豪情发过了酵，

尖利的山风收住了劲， 湍急的细流汇成了湖……

Ø         Suggestive quality;

Ø         Permanent quality

University

Originality (personal style)

Importance of Literature:

Ø       Literature preserves the ideals of a people—love, faith, duty, friendship, freedom reverence, etc.

Ø       All our arts, our sciences, even our inventions are founded squarely upon ideals. Our whole civilization, our freedom, our progress, our homes, our life rest solidly upon ideals for their foundation.

Ø       Literature is the study of man. It is the written record of man’s spirit, of his thoughts, emotions, aspirations; it is the history, the only history of the human soul.

Four Genres of Literature:

Fiction: refers to novels and short stories. Usually long, but not very difficult. The students can read it as extensive readings. But they should pay more attention to the themes, characters and styles

Poetry: usually difficult because its language is pithy and its implication is rich. And the word order is not normal. The students should learn it as intensive readings. First, try to know the word order and the sentence structure, get the literal meaning, then go deeper to explore its implication.

Essay: short and terse, rich in implication, but its language is easier than that of poetry. The students should read carefully, paying more attention to the important statements.

Drama: its remarkable feature in language is colloquialism. The students should pay attention to the plot, theme, character, dramatic effect, dramatic conflict as well as the speech.

Two Branches of Literature:

    Ø       The History of English Literature

           Ø       Selected Readings in English Literature

Targets of the Course:

Ø         The History of English Literature:

Through the study of The History of English Literature, the students are supposed to obtain some basic and important knowledge and information about English Literature and its history. To be more specific: the five major periods of British literature (Renaissance Period, Neoclassical Period, Romantic Period, Victorian Period and Modern Period) and their individual characteristics, master representatives and the masterpieces. Hence the students can obtain some basic knowledge of literary appreciation and criticism.

Ø         Selected Readings in English Literature

Through the study of the selected readings from the representative works of some famous writers, the students are supposed to obtain some basic and important knowledge and information about these works and their writers.

A. Comprehension is the basic requirement, which. means that the students should have a good understanding of the text, including both the literal meaning of the text and its implications.

B. Appreciation is the second level. The students should be able to appreciate the merits of the text. If they can enjoy some beautiful description, or smile at some humorous narration, or get some meaningful enlightenment, then they are appreciating the reading.

C. Evaluation: is the highest level, requiring the students to analyze and comment on the text theoretically and systematically. It is quite difficult, but not impossible. In this course, the first and the second levels---- comprehension and appreciation must be achieved.

 

2.     The Frame of History of English Literature

I.     The Anglo-Saxon Age (449—1066)—Old Literature

a.       The Anglo-Saxon were the invaders from Northern Europe, who created English, which lasted till 1066. (Norman Conquest)

b.       During this period, it was called Dark Ages, characterized by violence and much confused fightings;

c.       They were by no means without knowledge. Their arts, crafts are of fairly high order.

◇ The epic: Beowulf

II.    The Period of Middle English (1066—1485)—Medieval Literature:

A united nation and language slowly evolved. The feudalism, medieval church, crusade came to decline. The plague was widely spread.

◇ Geoffry Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales

III. The Elizabethan Age (1485—1660)—the Renaissance Period

English people now had the Bible in English. Elizabeth came to the throne at this age. She gloried in the end and made her people rich and with prosperous heritage. She was remembered for keen-mind and able statesmanship. Drama was the glory of this age and Elizabethan prose appeared then.

◇ William Shakespeare

◇ Francis Bacon

IV.  The Neoclassical Period (1660—1798)

A.   Puritan and Restoration Period (1660—1700)

The Puritan, so-called, because of their desire to purify the religion of the formal ceremonies practiced in the church of England, wanted the freedom to follow their consciences in matters of religious observance and candor of life. Restoration brought to England out of its comparative isolation into European orbit dominated by France. Classical style and manner were soon imitated. In spite of the fact, London, not long after the Restoration, had terrible troubles, mainly the Plague (1665) and the Great Fire. (Samuel Pepys: London Fire). The Restoration Period is the reaction against Puritanism.

◇ John Milton: Paradise Lost

◇ John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress

B.   The 18th Century Literature (1700—1798)—Age of Reasons/Enlightment

a.     England began a century war with France;

b.    The latter half of the century, British prosperity was increasing rapidly, because of what we called the Industrial Revolution, that is, the increasing use of machinery and steam power in the manufacture of goods;

c.    Humane reason and watchword “Common Sense” played a so large and significant role this period that is often referred to the “Age of Reasons.”

◇ Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (The Rise of English novel)

◇ William Blake

◇ Robert Burns

V.     The Age of Romanticism (1798—1832)

a.     The French Revolution affects England’s Poetry;

b.     The Industrial Revolution is equal to the significance. It affects its people with economic theories, so a period of reform begins with early attempts at labor reform;

c.     Science continues to make practical inventions. The 19th century opens an age of Romanticism. It means that literature springs from two man’s sources: emotion and imagination.

◇ William Wordsworth

◇ Lord Byron: Ode to the West Wind (Nature is endowed with life.)

VI.  The Victorian Age (1832—1902)

a.     This age gains its name after the Queen Victoria (1837—1901);

b.     Further humanitarian reforms mark the Victorian Age. Various reforms in government took place. England’s colonial expansion furthered. Manufacture stimulated imperialism;

c.     Restraint sounds the keynote of the Victorian Age.

■ Novel—Critical Realism (Chartist Movement) (1840s—1850s)

◇ Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield

◇ Jane Austen              ◇ The Bronte Sisters:

■ Poetry          ◇  Alfred Tennyson: Break, Break, Break

VII. The 20th Century (1902—1999)

Industry and science transform ways of living. The modern woman appears. The Celtic revival furthers Irish independence. World War I & II occurred in this period. What concerns everyone is the world affairs.

◇ Tomas Hardy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles

◇ John Galsworthy: Strife—Nobel Prize

◇ George Bernard Shaw: Pygmalion

 3.     Homework

l         Comprehensive Questions:

1.       What is the importance of Selected Readings in English Literature?

2.       What are the three levels to achieve in the study of the readings?

3.       What are the four main literary genres?

4.       What are the five main periods in the history of English literature?

5.       What does fiction refer to?

6.       Why is poetry usually difficult to understand?

7.       What is the remarkable feature in language of drama?

8.       What is the relationship between language and literature?

l         Answers:

1.  Without reading the original works, one cannot really understand the literature. These selected readings are from the most important   classical works. They represent the essence of English Literature.

2.    The three levels are comprehension, appreciation and evaluation.

3.    The four literary genres are fiction, poetry, essay and drama.

4.    They are The Renaissance Period, The Neoclassical Period, The Romantic Period, The Victorian Period and the Modern Period.

5.    Fiction refers to novels and short stories.

6.    Because the language of poetry is pithy and the implication is profound; its word order is often inverted.

7.    The remarkable feature in language is colloquialism.

8.    Language is the basis of literature; literature is the highest form of language and the best materials for language learning.

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