2. Introduction to English Literature Lin Yupeng August, 2004

3. I. Why We Study English and American Literature II. How to Study English and American Literature III. Requirments of This Course IV. Periods in History of the English Language V. Periods in History of English Literature

4. I. Why Study Literature 1. Literature has aesthetic and cognitive value. 2. Literature has much influence on the English language. 3. Literature can breed the students’ sensitivity to the use of English.

5. 1. Aesthetic and Cognitive Values of Literature Before my bed a pool of light, Is it hoarfrost upon the ground? Eyes raised, I see the moon so bright; Head bent, in homesickness I’m drowned. Trans. X.Y.Z.

6. The widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps Gerard M. Hopkins(1844- 1889) (The other side of picture of the sea)

7. Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages Shakespeare: Cymbeline, IV, ii (Effect of death)

8. 2. Influence of Literature on the English language 1) The English language is deep-rooted in literature. 2) The writings of great writers contributed to the development of the English language. 3) Literature shows the history of the English language.

9. 1) The English language is deep-rooted in literature. A little learning is a dangerous thing. For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. To err is human; to forgive, divine. ---Alexander Pope The child is the father of man ---William Wordsworth A pound of flesh—Shakespeare catch-22 --- Joseph Heller(b.1923)

10. 2) The writings of great writers contributed to the development of the English language.

11. 3) Literature shows the history of the English language. Great Vowel Shift Chaucer’s words Shakespeare’s pronunciation /fi:f/ five /faiv/ /meidə/ meed /mi:d/ /klε: n/ clean /klein/(now /kli:n/) /na:mə/ name /neim/ /g ɔ :tə/ goat /go:t/ /ro:tə / root /ru:t/ /du:n/ down /daun/

12. The above diagram shows the systematic change of some vowel sounds in the period from Chaucer’s time to Shakespeare’s time: the elevation of the tongue position and the narrowing of the opening of the mouth in pronuncing these vowels. Where the tongue’s position was the highest and the mouth opening was the closest, the vowel sounds became diphthones as in case of /i:/ and /u:/.

13. 3. Literature can breed the students’ sensitivity to the use of English.

14. .1) Sea, sun, sand, seclusion— and Spain!(alliteration) 2) Buy this mattress for the rest of your life.( pun )

15. In the world of brand names, familiarity breeds content. (c.f. Familiarity breeds contempt.) If the 1980s were the worst of times for critics of that debt-propelled decade, they were the best time for Wall Street Journal editor Robert Bartley( It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness—A Tale of Two Cities)

16. In this confusing New Europe, some were born to a minority, others had minority status thrust upon them ---The Economist ( c.f. But be not afraid of greatness: some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them—Shakespeare: The Twelfth Night)

17. II. How to Study English and American Literature 1. By “close reading”; 2. Be familiarized with some literary terms; 3. Background information; 4. Some knowledge of literary theories.

18. 1. By “close reading” close reading : The study of literature should be based upon the strict analysis of the literary text, mainly of its linguistic code and medium.

19. Close reading(1) Across these minute pools the reflected stars flitted in a quick transit as she passed; she would not have known they were shining overhead, if she had not seen them there--- the vastest things of the universe imaged in objects so mean. (images and symbols) Thomas Hardy:Tess of the D’Urbervilles

20. Close reading(2) In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plains to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels.

21. Close reading( 2) Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. The trunks of the trees were dusty and the leaves fell early that year and we saw troops marching along the road the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves. (images,syntax, sound devices and meaning) Ernest Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms

22. III. Requirements of The Course 1.Research work; 2.Participation in class discussion; 3. Writing; 3. Groundwork of language training.

23. IV. Periods in History of the English Language 1.Old English (5-11th centuries) Beowulf 2.Middle English(1100-1500) The Canterbury Tales by G.Chaucer 3.Modern English(1500-) Shakespeare

24. V.Periods in History of English Literature 1.Middle Ages(5th century-1485) 2.The Renaissance(late 15th-early 17th century) 3.The 17th Century 4.The Enlightenment(late 17th –middle 18th century) 5.Romanticism(1798-1832) 6.Realism(1830s-1918) 7.Modernism(1918-1945) 8.The Contemporary Period(1945-)