英美文学选读串讲

The Roman Catholic faith believed in marriage for life. It did not recognise, let alone support, divorce. The Roman Catholic Church simply did not allow it.

This put Henry VIII in a difficult position. If he went ahead and announced that as king of England he was allowing himself a divorce, the pope could excommunicate (逐出教会) him.

Another approach Henry used was to make a special appeal to the pope so that he might get a special \Dispensation(豁免)\to Henry’s request for a divorce purely because Henry was king of England but that it would not affect the way the Catholic Church banned divorce for others. The pope refused to grant Henry this and by 1533 his anger was such that he ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant him a divorce so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. This event effectively leads to England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry placed himself as head of the church and in that sense, in his eyes, his divorce was perfectly legal. In 1533, few were brave enough to tell him otherwise!

English Renaissance

first period: poems affected by Italy mainstream: Elizabethan drama

famous dramatists: Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and

Ben Johnson

2. Representatives

Edmund Spenser

Masterpiece: The Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English language. It is an allegorical work, written in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. In a completely allegorical context, the poem follows several knights in an examination of several virtues. As it was published in 1596, the epic presented the following virtues: Book I: Holiness Book II: Temperance Book III: Chastity Book IV: Friendship Book V: Justice Book VI: Courtesy

Five qualities of his poetry: Spenserian stanza:

Christopher Marlowe

University wits:

―大学才子派‖是指16世纪80年代英国出现的一批受过大学教育的剧作家。他们多数确实是大学毕业生，至少是在伦敦最优秀的学校接受过人文主义教育的青年知识分子。这一批作家致力于英国戏剧改革，把戏剧艺术提升到了一个新高度。该文学流派主要包括克里斯托夫·马洛（Christopher Marlowe）、李利（John Lyly）、基德（Thomas Kyd）、格林（Robert Greene）等人。伊丽莎白时代的戏剧经过―大学才子‖们的创作实践，题材不断扩大，技巧也更趋成熟，至莎士比亚而集大成。

马洛（1564—1593）是―大学才子‖中最有才华、成就最大的一个，在文学史

上享有―诗剧的晨星‖、―英国悲剧之父‖的美誉。他是莎士比亚以前英国戏剧界最重要的人物，也是英国文艺复兴戏剧的真正创始人。马洛与莎士比亚生于同一年，故乡是古老的坎特伯雷（Canterbury）城。他的父亲是一个鞋匠，马洛的出身寒微与莎士比亚十分相似，但他却在莎士比亚被迫辍学的同时幸运地进入了剑桥大学，得以系统地学习拉丁文、希腊文和神学课程，这为他早莎士比亚一步从事戏剧与诗歌创作并声名鹊起奠定了基础。就在莎士比亚恋爱、结婚、生子的那段日子里，马洛连续拿到了艺术学士和硕士两个学位。父母本希望他做一名神父，可是马洛天性狂放不羁，既无心献身神坛，也不愿走上仕途。他那份独异的才情使他毕业后步入了戏剧的殿堂。

马洛是一位戏剧天才，23岁便写出了第一部作品《帖木儿》（Timur），立刻轰动了整个英国文坛。《帖木儿》是一部英雄剧，塑造了一个叱咤风云却又野心勃勃的征服者形象，充分体现了文艺复兴时期的巨人精神。剧中的帖木儿和马洛本人一样，是个热情的自由思想者。在这部史诗般宏伟的悲剧中，回响着文艺复兴时期一个典型的主题：歌颂人间的生活，现世的快乐。这个剧本被认为是英国的人文主义戏剧繁荣的发端。

《帖木儿》的巨大成功，激励着马洛立即又写出了《浮士德博士的悲剧史》（The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus）和《马耳他岛的犹太人》（The Jew of Malta）等剧。前者以浮士德博士对知识与经济的渴求与获取为题材，后者则表现了作者对人类的另一种探求——金钱的批判。马洛以创作壮丽激荡的悲剧见长，他的所有作品都是在5年之内完成的。马洛用自己的天才使英国戏剧在短短几年之内便一下子提高到了真正艺术品的水平，为后人留下了宝贵的精神财富。 1593年，也就是马洛29岁那年，在伦敦郊区的一家酒吧里，马洛遇到了三个熟人，其中一个是秘密警察。在酒后付钱而引起的角斗中，马洛被其中的一个人刺中要害，当场殒命。就这样，英国文坛上一个年轻而有价值的生命像流星划过夜空，转瞬即逝。直到1925年，美国的雷斯里·霍特逊（Leslie Hotson）教授在英国的档案库（Public Record Office）中发现了一份文件，其中记载道，马洛是被伊丽莎白女王的秘密厅杀害的，当时有一位秘密警察波莱（Robert Poley）在场。至此，马洛之死才真相大白。

Masterpiece:

Marlowe’s achievements:

blank verse—the medium of English drama;

creation of hero for English drama—individualistic and full of ambition; theme--humanistic ideal of human dignity and capacity;

William Shakespeare life

dramatic career

Period I: apprenticeship

Period II: style and approach became highly individualized Period III: greatest tragedies or so-called dark comedies Period IV: romantic tragicomedies

Shakespeare’s poetry

Narrative poems and sonnets

Masterpieces

history play—Henry VIII

romantic comedies—The Merchant of Venice romantic tragedy—Romeo and Juliet

The play, set in Verona, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet supporters who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the request because Juliet is only thirteen. Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship.

Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Lord Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. After the ball, in what is now called the \her balcony vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union, they are secretly married the next day.

Juliet's cousin Tybalt, incensed that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's \accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio is fatally wounded when Romeo attempts to break up the fight. Grief-stricken and wracked with guilt, Romeo confronts and slays Tybalt.