1、Lecture TwoGeoffrey Chaucer(1340 1400)1. Life Story 2. Literary career 3. The Canterbury Tales 4. Evaluation1. Life Story* Chaucer entered the service of King Edward III in 1367. For the next 10 years diplomatic errands took him some 9 times to the European Continent, which proved to be very importa
2、nt to him. * Besides these diplomatic missions, Chaucer had other public employment. He was once made Controller of Customs in 1374, and elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Kent. * With these positions, he still experienced some years of poverty and once wrote “Complaint to His Empty Purse”. * He
3、died in 1400 and was the first writer to be buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.2. Literary Career* 1st period: 1360-1372, chiefly influenced by the French poetry and his chief literary creation was nothing but the translation from French “The Raumaunt of the Rose（玫瑰传奇） ”. Chaucer was th
4、e first to introduce into English verse the octosyllabic couplet(八音节双韵).* 2nd period: (1372-13856) under the influence of Italian literature. * His visits to Genoa, Pisa and Florence in 1372, followed by his visits to Milan in 1378 were of particular importance to his literary creation:-the books by
5、 Dante (“The Divine Comedy”), Petrach (“Rime Sparse”歌集) Boccaccio (The Decameron),- their ideal of humanism provides a new motive to Chaucers future literary creation.* Adaptation from the Italian as “Troylus and Criseyde”. * 3rd period: the last remaining 15 years in his life, the writing of The Ca
6、nterbury Tales, his masterpiece. * Chaucer had reached full maturity in his literary creation, free from any dominant foreign influence. He has his own choice of subject, his own grasp of character and his own diction and plot.3. The Canterbury TalesOutline* The whole poem is a collection of tales s
7、trung together with a simple plan. On a spring evening, the poet drops himself at the Tabard Inn. Here he meets 29 other pilgrims ready for a journey of 60 miles on horseback to Canterbury. At the suggestion of the host of the inn, they agree to tell two stories going and two returning. The host is
8、to be the judge of the contest. There should have been 120 stories, but Chaucer only lived to write 24 of them. * Various in kind these stories are, the poet succeeds in linking them together through two ways. * -The personality of the host affords a clear string of connection from the first to the
9、last tale: he gives unity to the whole work, inviting, criticizing, admiring, denouncing, but always keeping himself in evidence(可见的). * -Then there is an intimate connection between the tales and the Prologue, both complementing each other.* Prologue* The General Prologue is usually regarded as the
10、 greatest portrait gallery in English literature.* It contains a group of vivid sketches of typical medieval figures and is also a comprehensive anthology of medieval literature.Figures* Typical figures from different walks of life:* -knight, squire and prioress, landed proprietor and wealthy trades
11、man,the drunken cook; humble plowman, lawyer, doctor, monks of different orders, nuns and priests, a summoner, a sailor, a miller, a carpenter, a yoeman(仆人 ) and an Oxford scholar* -description of their appearance, profession, and character with mild satire and humor. By doing so, presenting a panor
12、amic view of the then society.Literary Genre* Stories in the book include:* 1)chivalric romance(The Knights Tale)* 2)burlesqued(滑稽) romance(The Tale of Sir Thopas)* 3)earthy fabliau(通俗故事)（TheFriarsTale）* 4)beast tale(The Nuns Priests Tale)* 5)didactic exemplum to illustrate a sermon (The Pardoners T
13、ale) * 6) saints legend(The Second Nuns Tale)* 7)ponderous prose sermon(The Parsons Tale)Analysis of the 1st 18 lines* Grammatically, it consists of* When the sweet showers2 when-clauses (L14)When also Zephyrus(L 511)1 main clause Then people.(L1218)* The magnificent 18-line opening sentence is a su
14、perb expression of a double view of the Canterbury pilgrimage.* Questions:-What happens in Spring? - Why do people go on pilgrimage?* The first 11 lines are a chant of welcome to the Spring* In Spring:sweet showersHeavenZephyrussweet breath Engendering of the flowerEarth Tender shootsmelody (by the
15、fowl)* - a harmonious marriage between Heaven and which mellows(使成熟) vegetation, pricks fouls and stirs the heart of man with a renewing power of nature. * -People on pilgrimage in this inviting season* What important religious festival do you find in Spring?- EasterWhy did people go on pilgrimage?-
16、 to Canterbury because they are sick.Double view of pilgrimage:1. as an event in the calendar of nature,- an aspect of the general springtime surge of human energy which wakens mans love of Venus (natural love).2. as an event in the calendar of divinity.- Spring is also the season of Easter and is a
17、llegorically regarded as the time of Redemption through sacrifice of Jesus Christ with its connotations of religious rebirth which wakens mans love of God (divine love). * The transition from nature to divinity is emphasized by - the contrast between the physical vitality which conditions the pilgri
18、mage and the spiritual sickness which occasions the pilgrimage, - the parallelism between the renewal power of nature and the restorative power of supernature (divinity). * So in the beginning passage, Chaucer sets the double motivations of the pilgrims in an ambiguous tone with remarkable economy o
19、f words and a telling faculty (ability). 4. Evaluation1. Messenger of Humanism* Influenced by what he learned from the great Italian writers, Chaucer affirmed mans right to pursue earthly happiness, praised mans energy, intellect, and love of life. He exposed and satirized the social vices, includin
20、g religious abuses. * It thus can be said that though essentially still a medieval writer, Chaucer bore marks of humanism and anticipated a new era to come.2 The first realistic writer* Chaucer was the first writer in English literature who gave up writing in an allegorical way but in a realistic wa
21、y. (Beowulf - a Christian and pagan writing, romances - allegory.) -Chaucers lifelong involvement with practical business-dealing with all sorts of people, the highest and the lowest. -exploring the theme of individuals relation to the society in which he lives-showing the comic and ironic effects o
22、btainable from the class distinctions felt by the newly emerged bourgeoisie3 “Father of English Poetry”Chaucer introduced from Italy France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace the Old English alliterative verse. In his Raumaunt of the Rose, he first introduced into Engli
23、sh the octosyllabic couplet. In The Legend of Good Woman, he used for the first time in English the heroic couplet -the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter, which he also employed in The Canterbury Tales.John Dryden, a writer and critic in 17th century, called him “the father of English poetry”.4 Ma
24、ster of the English language* Between the Norman Conquest and the year 1200, the languages used by educated people were French and Latin. * Chaucer was the first great poet who wrote in the current English. -established English as the literary language -Chaucers language was the London dialect -maki
25、ng it the foundation for modern English speech.* Chaucer is considered as a great master of language, for he also greatly increased the prestige of English as a literary language and extended the range of its poetic vocabulary and meters. * Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian coun
26、tries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity * Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the f
27、irst Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a “movable“ feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25 Heroic Couplet* A pair of rhymed iambic pentameter lines，and the line has 5 feet, and an unstressed syllable i
28、s followed by a stressed syllable like /v / * The adjective “heroic” was applied in the later seventeenth century because of the frequent use of such couplets in heroic poems and dramas. From the age of John Dryden through that of Samuel Johnson, the heroic couplet was the predominant English measur
29、e for all the poetic kinds; some poets, including Alexander Pope, used it almost to the exclusion of other meters Metaphysical poets(玄学诗歌）The term “metaphysical poetry” is a derogatory term invented by John Dryden (1631-1700) and later adopted by Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) to designate the works of
30、the early 17th-century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit against the conventional fashion of Elizabethan love poetry-full of refined language, polished rhyming schemes and eulogy to ideal love, they favoured in poetry for more colloquial language and tone,
31、 a tightness (精炼)of expression and single-minded (专一的)working out of a theme or argument. * -logical reasoning (to express the emotion), * -psychological analysis of the emotions and religion, * -their fondness of the novel and the shocking,* - the use of metaphysical conceits,* - their statement of
32、 complex ideas or thought, * - frequent use of paradox, * - their ignoring of the conventional metric devices* All resulted frequently in obscurity, rough verse, and strained imagery. * -The form of the metaphysical poems is frequently that of an philosophical argument with the poets beloved, with G
33、od, or with himself. * -The main themes of the metaphysical poets are love, death and religion.Besides the founder John Donne, there are still some other metaphysical poets like, George Herbert (1593-1633), Henry Vaughan (1621-1695), Andrew Marvell (1621-1678),Ben Jonson (1572-1637), Robert Herrick
34、(1591-1674), Thomas Carew (1595-1640), Sir John Suckling (1609-1642), Richard Lovelace (1618-1658), the latter five of whom, called cavaliers, though having , in spite of the love theme, another theme to write aboutthat is, carpe diem (a hedonism), are very much the same as the former poets in writi
35、ng methods.John Donne * Donne was the founder of the metaphysical school and a poet of genius, known by his contemporaries as “the great writer of conceited verse”. * His poems are typical of those of the metaphysical school of poetry, characterized by mysticism is conceits and fantasticality in for
36、m. * Donnes vigorous poetry-amorous in early life (“Songs and Sonnets”) and religious and mystical later (“Holy Sonnets”) is argumentative in method and colloquial in tone, with dramatical immediacy. * Donnes love poems vary from light-hearted contempt for women and love (eg. Go and Catch a Falling
37、Star) to deeply serious declaration of devotion (eg. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning).John Donnes The Flea1. typical of Donnes poem Questions: - Speakers? - subject? - imagery? - logic?* Stanza1:* Fleas biting* mixture of blood (symbolic?)* Is it a sin?* Stanza 2:* ladys killing of the flea* a la
38、wful action? * No. Three sins in that killing* murdering; suicide; sacrilege* Stanza 3:* Conclusion: * “You triumphst”-for killing* but * that serves “my” purpose * In The Flea Donne adopts a cynical and rather flippant tone towards his woman, using his wit to try to belittle and overcome her moral
39、arguments, in favour of immediate pleasure.* Donne poems like “The Flea“ is dramatic monologue.* a speech delivered by a would-be lover to a reluctant lady, and the careful reader can discern her actions (and reactions) to his supplications.A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning-Detailed analysis -Image
40、 analysis -Theme analysisDetailed analysisStanza 12:Grammatically, stanza 1 consists of two clauses, with whilst-clause in the as-clause, and stanza 2 is the main clause. This is marked by:(Just)As.(when)So- Parting of lovers VS death of the virtuousVirtuous men die and leave peacefully,So we should
41、 part without “ tear-floods”, nor “sigh-tempests” because it would be a “profanation” of our love.Profanation: desecration (of God or a sacred thing)laity: one who is not a clergyman These words suggests that their love is sacred.Hyperbole: tear-floods; sigh-tempestsBy these exaggerations, the poet
42、stresses the sad scene of parting and the strong emotions at parting. “Tears” and “floods”, “sigh” and “tempests” form a contrast between the small world of man and the vast universe, thus invoking the metaphor of heaven in stanza 3.* These two stanzas set the mood for the whole poem: they must part
43、 quietly, and that their love is sacred. If they revealed the depth of their love by talking about it or fussing over the impending it would become profane-not sacred. * Stanza 3:A comparison between “moving of the earth” and “trepidation of the spheres” A transitional stanza:-Its relation to the pr
44、evious stanza:(like the death of the virtuous men, trepidation of spheres is “innocent”)-Its relation to the following stanza:(moving of the earth brings harms and fears, which is like the sublunary lovers parture.) * Stanza 4:- Nature of the sublunary lovers love (cannot admit absence) Anything abo
45、ve the lunar sphere is heavenly and is fixed and anything below it is earthbound and is subject to change, and love is without exception. Earthbound love is based on things of senses. Thus if the lovers are separated, their love cant last.Stanza 5: Structure:“we”, “inter-assured of the mind” (and) “
46、by love so much refined thatit is, care less to missand hands.” The poet discusses his love to his wife which is totally different from that of the worldly lovers. Whats the difference?Refined:-purityThe word suggests an image derived from alchemy in medieval age.Just as the alchemists refine pure g
47、old from the foul dirt, so the spiritual lovers can refine flawless love out of the mean sexuality. Here it indicates a process of spiritualization. Inter-assured: suggesting “faithfulness”* Stanza 6The stanza develops the image of metaphor of “gold” .Quality of the gold: 1. malleable: Gold is so ma
48、lleable (有韧性的) that, if beaten to the thickness of gold leaf(金箔), one ounce of gold (1/250,000 of an inch) would cover 250 square feet;2. Pure and steady, thus flawless and unbreakable. Therefore, the parting does not mean the breach, but an expansion.Love is compared to gold. Their love is so fine and steady that it can be infinitely extended over vast distances, just as a piece of gold c
