British Literature

Old English Literature
1. Celts/Britons
  1. Stonehenge
    1. Welsh
      1. Gaelic
2. Romans 43AD
  1. Empire: 400 years
    1. London and roads
      1. Weakened empire + migration of Germanc tribes
        To save Rome leave England - Britons defenseless
3. Anglo-Saxon 500-1066
  1. not a civilization, but an organized society / fishing and agriculture
    1. Converted to Christianism (just in name)
      1. Church: wrote the AS stories
        Vikings destroyed AS stories/monasteries
        Many kingdoms: King+worriors / no unification
        Entertainment: feasts
  2. Beawulf
    1. The struggle against the evil
      1. betrayal of a good man by friends
        Heroic ideal
        superman strength / matchless courage
        Similar to Superman
        The determination to continue to fight survived to our day / speeches of Wiston Churchill
Middle-English Period
1. Normans 1066-1485
  1. Mounted knight: military force
    1. Unified all England
      1. Feudalism / castle architecture
        Church
        King
        Nobles
        Knights
        Serfs / Anglo-Saxon
        Germanic tongue
        Songs and Ballads - Robin Hood
        Henry II killed Thomas à Becket and had to kneel
        Becket became a martyr
        French
        Romances - Arthur
        French + Old-English = Middle-English
        East-Midland (London)
        Prevailed because of Chaucer
        Latim - Official language
  2. Geoffrey Chaucer 1340-1400
    1. Fought in 100Yaers' War
      1. Diplomat
    2. The Canterbury Tales
      1. The tale illustrates their characterss
      2. Spiritual Journey toward eternity
The Renaissance
1. Henry Tudor defeated king Richard III
2. Printing press
  1. books reproduced in larg number
    1. + people learn to read an write
      1. + literate people - oral tradition
3. Reformation
  1. Luther: each person could read the Bible
    1. Abolish the Catholic hierarchical structure of the Church
      1. 1604 - King James ordered to translate the Bible
4. Renaissance / rebirth
  1. Greek and Latin Manuscripts
    1. The view of the world and the man's place
      1. Study: anatomy; astronomy etc..
        DaVinci, Michaelangelo
5. Columbus and Cabral
  1. New wolrd: America
6. Thomas More 1480-1535
  1. Utopia (nowhere) imaginary perfect land
7. Henry VIII
  1. Divorced the queen to marry Anne Boleyn
    1. Confiscated all the Churches property
      1. New religion: Anglicanism
8. Symbols of Bible
  1. The Garden - Eden
    1. Nature idealized
      1. Landscape
        World of dream
  2. The City - Jerusalen
    1. Ideal human comunity
    2. deformed modern urban centers
9. Shakespeare 1564-1616
  1. Dramatic climax
    1. Rhythm of the verses
      1. Capable of expressing the strongest emotion and the deepest philosofical Q
        knowlege of heart's mysteries
        Complex metaphors
  2. Macbeth
    1. Him and his wife murder the king of Scotland
      1. People rebel
        Lady Macbeth commits suicide
        Macbeth prepare to meet his death
        Beneath his evil actions lies a heart that can suffer from the blows of fate
10. Civil War
  1. Landowners
    1. Aristocrats
      1. Suport the Anglican Church and Monarchy
  2. Merchants
    1. Commoners
      1. wanted representative in Parliament
        Puritanism - purify Christianity
        Vitory: Execution of the king
        Dictatorship / Commonwealth
Age of Reason
1. Daniel Dofoe 1660-1731
  1. Businessman / journalist / spy / political
    1. Involved in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685
      1. Political pamphleteering - "The shortest way with Dissenders" (1703)
  2. Robinson Crusoe - 1719
    1. 1º English Novel
      1. 1º person narrator / verossimilitude
        Inspired by real story
        Shows the life stripped to its basics
        stress the simple values of energy, perseverance, and ingenuity
        Optimistic picture os man alone
  3. Context:
    1. London
      1. City of activity
        Migration / Hude crowns
        Epidemics
2. Jonathan Swift 1667-1747
  1. Context:
    1. Enlightenment
      1. Logical thouhgts / Natural causes
        Isaax Newton / Harvey / Lavoisier
        Contradiction - Science iIdeals x The way of living
        Satire: Writers question the assumption that man is rational creature
    2. Literature:
      1. Logic / Reason
        Everything has its proper place
        Quiet places / ordered gardens
        Made life seems mechanical (Romanticism view)
  2. Conservative education
    1. Minister's dacretary / Journalist
      1. Never criticize institution or an individual
        Focused on religious, political and social issues
  3. Guliver's Travels -1726
    1. Imaginary voyages / pure fantasy
      1. Pessimistic vision
        1º and 3º voyage: Inferior society
        criticize the costums and politics
        2º and 4º voyage: superior society
        became conscious of his inferiority

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British Literature

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