A Concise History of British Literature
Chapter 1 English Literature of Anglo-Saxon Period
I.Introduction
1. The historical background
（1） Before the Germanic invasion
（2） During the Germanic invasion
a. immigration;
b. Christianity;
c. heptarchy.来源：考试大
d. social classes structure: hide-hundred; eoldermen （lord） – thane - middle class （freemen） - lower class （slave or bondmen: theow）;
e. social organization: clan or tribes.
f. military Organization;
g. Church function: spirit, civil service, education;
h. economy: coins, trade, slavery;
i. Feasts and festival: Halloween, Easter; j. legal system.
2. The Overview of the culture
（1） The mixture of pagan and Christian spirit.
（2） Literature: a. poetry: two types; b. prose: two figures.
II.Beowulf.来源：www.examda.com
1. A general introduction.
2. The content.考试大(www．Examda。com)
3. The literary features.
（1） the use of alliteration
（2） the use of metaphors and understatements
（3） the mixture of pagan and Christian elements
III.The Old English Prose
1.What is prose?
2.figureswww.Ｅxamda.CoM
（1）The Venerable Bede
（2）Alfred the Great
Chapter 2 English Literature of the Late Medieval Ages I.Introduction
1. The Historical Background.
（1） The year 1066: Norman Conquest.
（2） The social situations soon after the conquest.
A. Norman nobles and serfs;
B. restoration of the church.
（3） The 11th century.
A. the crusade and knights.
B. dominance of French and Latin;
（4） The 12th century.
A. the centralized government;
B. kings and the church （Henry II and Thomas）;
（5） The 13th century.
A. The legend of Robin Hood;
B. Magna Carta （1215）;
C. the beginning of the Parliament
D. English and Latin: official languages （the end）
（6） The 14th century.
a. the House of Lords and the House of Commons—conflict between the Parliament and Kings;
b. the rise of towns.www.Ｅxamda.CoM
c. the change of Church.
d. the role of women.
e. the Hundred Years' War—starting.
f. the development of the trade: London.
g. the Black Death.www.Ｅxamda.CoM
h. the Peasants' Revolt—1381.
i. The translation of Bible by Wycliff.
（7） The 15th century.
a. The Peasants Revolt （1453）
b. The War of Roses between Lancasters and Yorks.
c. the printing-press—William Caxton.
d. the starting of Tudor Monarchy（1485）
2. The Overview of Literature.
（1） the stories from the Celtic lands of Wales and Brittany—great myths of the Middle Ages.
（2） Geoffrye of Monmouth—Historia Regum Britanniae—King Authur.
（3） Wace—Le Roman de Brut.
（4） The romance.
        （5） the second half of the 14th century: Langland, Gawin poet, Chaucer.

II.Sir Gawin and Green Knight.
1. a general introduction.
2. the plot.
III.William Langland.
1. Life
2. Piers the Plowman
IV.Chaucer
1. Life
2. Literary Career: three periods
（1） French period
（2） Italian period
（3） master period
3. The Canterbury Tales
A. The Framework;
B. The General Prologue;
C. The Tale Proper.
4. His Contribution.
（1） He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types.
（2） He is the first great poet who wrote in the current English language.
（3） The spoken English of the time consisted of several dialects, and Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.
V. Popular Ballads.
VI.Thomas Malory and English Prose
VII.The beginning of English Drama.
1. Miracle Plays.
Miracle play or mystery play is a form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching its height in the 15th century. The simple lyric character of the early texts was enlarged by the addition of dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the performance was moved to the churchyard and the marketplace.
2. Morality Plays.
A morality play is a play enforcing a moral truth or lesson by means of the speech and action of characters which are personified abstractions – figures representing vices and virtues, qualities of the human mind, or abstract conceptions in general.#p#分页标题#e#
3. Interlude.
The interlude, which grew out of the morality, was intended, as its name implies, to be used more as a filler than as the main part of an entertainment. As its best it was short, witty, simple in plot, suited for the diversion of guests at a banquet, or for the relaxation of the audience between the divisions of a serious play. It was essentially an indoors performance, and generally of an aristocratic nature.