Part Two The English Renaissance

第二部分 英国文艺复兴时期

(14th century to 17th century)

14世纪到17世纪

I Background 背景

1.It started in Italy and ended in England and Spain.

起源于意大利，结束于英国和西班牙。

2.Meaning意义:

(1)The Renaissance, which means “rebirth” or “revival’, is actually an intellectual movement with a thirsting curiosity for classical literature and the keen interest in the activities of humanity.

文艺复兴意味着“复活”与“重生”，实际上是对古典文学与人文活动的热情。

(2)It aims to get rid of conservation in feudalist Europe and introducing new ideas that express the interests of the rising bourgeoisie.

为了去除封建欧洲的特性，引进资产阶级的思想。

3.Essence of Renaissance文艺复兴的本质

It is the reflection of the rise of bourgeoisie in the sphere of cultural life.

资产阶级的上升在文化领域显示了其影响力，从而掀起了文艺复兴的学术运动。

II Chapter 1 Old England in Transition过渡时期的旧英格兰

1.The Renaissance and Humanism文艺复兴和人文主义

(1)The one is a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature. So the love of classics was but an expression of the general dissatisfaction at the Catholic and feudal ideas.

一是对古典文学的渴望和好奇。所以，对古典的喜爱只是对天主教和封建思想整体不满的一种表达方式。

(2)Another feature of the Renaissance is the keen interest in the activities of humanity. People cased to look upon themselves as living only for God and a future world. Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance. Humanism reflected the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class, which saw the world opening before it. According to the humanists, both man and world are hindered only by external checks from infinite improvement. Man could mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks by the exercise of reason.

文艺复兴的另一特征就是对人文活动的热情和兴趣。人们不再把自己视为只是为了上帝和未来世界而活着。人文主义是文艺复兴的基调，它反映了新兴资产阶级的新面貌，他们看见了展现在面前的新世界。人文主义学者认为，人们和整个世界都被内在运动的外部表象束缚着，人们其实可以根据自己的欲望改造世界，并且可以通过理智的探索祛除外部障碍以获得幸福。

4.The Beginning of the English Renaissance英国文艺复兴的开始

The greatest of the English humanists was Thomas More, the author of Utopia.当时英国最伟大的人文主义者就是《乌托邦》的作者托马斯.莫尔。

III Chapter two More莫尔

1. Life生平

Thomas More(1478-1535) was born in a middle-class family.

托马斯.莫尔出生于一个中产阶级家庭。

2. Utopia《乌托邦》

Utopia is More’s masterpiece, written in the form of a conversation between More and Hythloday, a returned voyager. The name “Utopia” comes from two Greek words meaning”no place” and was adopted by More as the name of his ideal commonwealth.

《乌托邦》是莫尔的代表作，以莫尔和一名归来的航行者希斯洛德之间的对话的形式写成。“乌托邦”这个词源于两个希腊词语，意思是“乌有之乡”，莫尔借用这个名字来为他的理想共和国命名。

3. Utopia, Book One《乌托邦》（第一部）

(1)The first book contains a long discussion on the social condition of England. The author severely criticized the English society and exposes the evils of society.

关于英国社会状况的唱片讨论，并且批判了当时社会，揭露了当时社会的险恶。

(2)He also condemos the ruling class for bringing miseries to the poor.

给穷人带来了灾难。

(3)More points out that the root of poverty is the private ownership of social wealth.

莫尔指出贫困的根源在于社会财富的私有制。

3.Utopia, Book Two《乌托邦》（第二部）

(1)More emphasizes the importance of labour for every member of the Utopian society, and insists upon a maximum working day of six hours, which ensures the provision of all necessaries. But the Utopians are no kill-joys themselves. After sis hours of work, they spend their time in study of literature, art and science.

莫尔强调了乌托邦每位成员都要参加劳动的重要性，而且坚持认为每天最多工作六个小时，以确保所有必需品的供应。但是，乌托邦人的生活也不是枯燥乏味的，六小时工作以后，他们就会把时间用于学习文学、艺术和自然科学上。

(2)The products of the society are distributed according to the needs of the citizens.

强调按需分配。

4.More’s Limitations 莫尔的局限性

(1)Though a great thinker, More was no revolutionary in the sense of wishing to arouse the people or to start any revolutionary movement among the exploited classes. As its spokesman, he shared much of its outlook in spite of his genuine concern for the people’s sufferings. He did not trust in the activities of the common people.”All for the people but nothing by the people”was his watchword.

莫尔虽然是一个伟大的思想家，但是她无意发动人民或开展统治阶级内部的革命运动。作为上层社会的代言人，尽管他尽心关心民间疾苦，他也有与上层社会相同的观点。但是，他并不信任平民运动，他的格言是：“一切为了人民，但人民扶不起来。”

(2)The bondsmen were to do all the unpleasant jobs which the free citizens would not willingly undertake. This system, which seems out of place in a classless society, still retains the features of class exploitation.

所有自由市民不愿干的活的由奴隶来做，这种制度似乎与非阶级社会格格不入，还是遗留了剥削阶级特征。

(3)Living in the Middle Ages, More could see what was wrong and what was needed, but he could never find at that time the means by which socialism could be realized.

生活在中世纪的莫尔能够看到什么是错误的，什么事需要的，但是在那个时代，他无从找到实现社会主义的途径。

IV The Flowering of English Literature英国文学的繁荣

1.Sidney锡德尼

(1)Sir Philip Sidney is well-known as a poet and critic of poetry. His collection of love sonnets, Astrophel and Stella, was published in 1591, after his death.菲力浦·锡德尼爵士是一位著名的诗人和诗歌评论家。他的爱情十四行诗《爱星者和星星》在他去世后的1591年出版。

(2)His Apology for Poetry (published in 1595) is one of the earliest English literary essays. It was written to answer an attack on poetry and drama as “the school of abuse.” Sidney defended the uses of poetry. According to him, poetry has a superiority over philosophy and history, as the philosopher is concerned with the abstract and general, and the historian is concerned with what it is and not with what should be, while the poet can better the functions of both. The poet, Sidney claimed, can create through images what is only a matter for speculation to the philosopher and ,through his gift of vision bring us to contemplate the ideal, not only the actual. These views on poetry represent the spirit of literary criticism of the Renaissance.

他的《为诗辩护》（1959年出版）是最早的英国文学评论之一。这是为回应诗歌和戏剧被攻击为“陋习派”而写的。锡德尼为诗歌的功用做了辩护。他认为，诗歌比哲学和历史更具有优越性，因为哲学家关心抽象和一般的问题，历史学家关心这是什么而非这应该是什么，而诗人可以更好地运用这两个功能。锡德尼宣称，诗人可以通过意象来创作，而哲学家只能把这当做思考的素材；诗人的想象天赋可以带我们去沉思理想的世界，而不仅仅是现实世界。这些关于诗歌的观点代表了文艺复兴时期的文艺批评精神。

2.Edmund Spenser 埃德罗·斯宾塞

(1)Life 生平

In Ireland he wrote his masterpiece The Faerie Queene.

在爱尔兰他创作了他的代表作《仙后》。

(2)The Faerie Queene《仙后》

Spenser’s greatest work, The Faerie Queene is a long poem planned in 12 books, of which he finished only.The knight as a whole symbolize England, and the evil figures stand for her enemies, as King Philip of Spain, Mary Queen of Scots(both Catholics) or the Church of Rome. The dominating thoughts of the poem are nationalism(as shown in its celebration of Queen Elizabeth I), humanism(as shown in its strong opposition to Roman Catholicism) and puritanism (as shown in its moral teaching), all typical of the poet’s age. But these new ideas are expressed under the guise of medieval knighthood. Here modernism and medievalism are blended, but they are at the same time harmonized by the beauty of sound and of color in the Spenserian poetry.

斯宾塞最伟大的作品《仙后》是一首长诗。他计划写12卷，但是只完成了6卷。作为一个整体的骑士们代表了英国，而恶习的形象则代表了她的敌人，如西班牙的菲利普国王、苏格兰人玛丽女王（都是天主教徒）或者是罗马教廷。长诗的主导思想是诗人时代典型的民族主义（体现在伊丽莎白一世女王的庆典中）、人文主义（体现在强烈反对罗马天主教中）和清教主义（体现在道德教化中）。然而，这些新思想却披着中世纪骑士精神的外衣。这里，现代主义和中世纪精神是相互交融的，同事在“斯宾塞诗体”声色优美的旋律中和谐并存。

The Faerie Queene is written in a special verse form that consists of eight iambic pentameter lines followed by a ninth line of six iambic feet (an alexandrine), with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. This form has since been called the Spenserian Stanza.《仙后》是用一种特殊的诗体创作的。这种诗体包括八行抑扬格五音步诗，接着第九行是抑扬格六音步（亚历山大诗行），韵律格式是ababbcbcc。伺候，这种是个形式被称为“斯宾塞诗节”。

* Sonnet 十四行诗

·A fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.

通常是押韵的五步抑扬格的形式。

·A sonnet generally expresses a single theme or idea.

通常表现的主题只有一个。

·源于十四世纪民间抒情短诗，比特拉克为代表人物<意大利>。

·十六世纪中期，怀亚特Thomas Wyatt将其引入英国。

·十六、十七世纪盛行。

·Type:

a.The Italian sonnet, or Petrarch sonnet, consist of a octave(8-line stanza) and sestet(6-line stanza), rhymed abba abba cde cde.

意大利式或彼特拉克式，由前8行（octave）和后6行（sestet）两部分组成，尾韵形式分为abba,abba或abab,abab和cde,cde或cd,cd,cd.

b.Spenserian sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet, rhymed abab bcbc cdcd ee.

斯宾塞式，由3个四行诗节和一个两行诗节组成，尾韵形式为abab bcbc cdcd ee。

c.The english sonnet, or Shakespearean sonnet, consists of three quatrains and couplet rhymed abab cdcd efef gg.

英国或莎士比亚式，由三个四行诗节和一个两行诗节组成，尾韵形式为abab cdcd efef gg。

·诗歌的分类：诗歌的种类繁多，根据不同的划分标准，其分类也有所不同。以内容分类，可分为抒情诗和叙事诗。

a.叙事诗：史诗、歌谣、故事诗（以诗歌形式讲故事，介乎于诗歌与小说之间）。

b.抒情诗：颂歌、田园诗、牧歌、十四行诗、挽歌、赞歌或赞美诗、爱情诗。

(3)Spenser’s Position and Influence in English Literature斯宾塞在英国文学中的地位及影响

Position:English poetry had languished for about a century and a half since the death of Chaucer in 1400, when the publication of The Shepherd’s Calendar marked the budding of the Renaissance flower in the northern island of England. In the meantime, the language had undergone sufficient changes as to be called Modern English, to distinguish it from the Middle English of Chaucer’s day.

地位：英国是个在1400年乔叟去世后倒退了一个半世纪，知道《牧羊人日历》的出版才标志着英国文艺复兴之花在北爱尔兰盛开。与乔叟时代的古英语相比，斯宾塞时期的英语已经经历了相当大的变化，可以称之为现代英语。

Influence:Spenser has held his position as a model of poetical art among the Renaissance English poets, and his influence can be traced in the works of Milton, Shelley and Keats.

影响：斯宾塞作为诗歌艺术楷模的身份具有其特定的地位。后来弥尔顿、雪莱和济慈在创作中也受其影响。

3.Francis Bacon弗朗西斯·培根

(1)Major Works:

Advancement of Learning 《学问的演讲》

New Instrument 《新工具》

(2)Achievement:If the imaginative powers of literary creation of English Renaissance found their expression in the poetry of Spenser and the drama of Shakespeare, the intellectual energy of this age showed itself in the achievement of Francis Bacon, the founder of English materialist philosophy.

成就：如果说英国文艺复兴时期文艺创作的想象力是表现在斯宾塞的诗歌，和莎士比亚的戏剧上的话，那么，这一时期的思想火花就表现在英国唯物主义哲学的创始人弗朗西斯·培根的成就上。

A philosopher:the founder of English materialistic philosophy; the founder of modem science in English; the first English essayist statesman.

英国唯物主义哲学的创始人；现代科学创始人；第一个散文家、政治家。

(1)Essays《论文集》

The have won popularity for their precision, clearness, brevity and force. Bacon is the first English essayist.

这些论文以其精确、清晰、简洁和有力而大受欢迎。培根是英国第一位论说文作家。

V Marlowe

1.Life生平

The most gifted of the “university wits” was Christopher Marlowe.最具有天赋的“大学才子”是克里斯托夫·马洛。

*University Wits “大学才子”

(They are a group of young man, almost all of them studied at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge.)

他们是一群年轻人，大多数就读于牛津和剑桥。

Included:Lyly, Peele, Marlowe, Green, Lodge and Nash.

成员：黎里，皮埃尔，马洛，格林，洛奇，纳什尔。

英国小说的雏形：“大学才子派”，16C末-17C。

2.Major Works 主要作品

Tamburlaine 《帖木儿大帝》；

The Jew of Malta《马耳他的犹太人》；

Doctor Faustus 《浮士德博士》.

3.Doctor Faustus 《浮士德博士》

(1)Marlowe’s masterpiece is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. It is based upon a German legend, but in Marlowe’s hand the humanist color of the story becomes more striking.

马洛的代表作是《浮士德博士的悲剧》。这个剧本取材于一个德国传说，但在马洛的笔下，其人文主义色彩事故时更有震撼力。

(2)The tragedy of Doctor Faustus is characteristic of a humanist in the age of Renaissance.

浮士德博士的悲剧是文艺复兴时期人文主义学者的典型特征。

4.Social Significance of Marlowe’s Plays马洛戏剧的社会意义

(1)These plays show, in various ways, the spirit of the rising bourgeoisie,its eager curiosity for knowledge, its towering pride, its insatiable appetite for power whether that be won by military might, knowledge, or gold. The heroes of his plays are generally distinguished by are resolute character, a scorn of orthodox creeds,and an overpowering passion:in Tamburlaine, it is ambition; in Doctor Faustus,desire for knowledge; in The Jew of Malta, greed for wealth. They were typical images of the era of the primitive accumulation of capital, about which the “Manifesto of the Communist Party” gives a classical analysis.

这些剧本以不同的方式反映了新兴资产阶级的精神：对知识的好奇、高傲和对权力的贪婪，不管它是用军事、知识或是金子赢来的。剧中的主人公大体上都以其坚韧的性格、对传统教条的嘲笑和压倒一切的激情而著称：在《帖木儿》中是也信、在《浮士德博士》中是对知识的欲望、在《马耳他的犹太人》中是对财富的贪婪。他们是资本原始积累时期典型的人物形象，在《共产党宣言》中对他们有经典的分析。

(2)The theme of Marlowe’s plays is the praise of individuality freed from the restraints of medieval dogmas and law, and the conviction of the boundless possibility of human efforts in conquering the universe.

马洛喜剧的主题是歌颂从中世纪教条和法律桎梏中解脱出来的个性，弘扬人类永无止境征服宇宙的信念。

(3)However, the heroes in Marlowe’s plays are merely individualists. Their individualistic ambition often brings ruin to the world and sometimes to themselves.

然而，马洛戏剧的主人公都是个人主义者。他们的个人主义都给世界，甚至给他们自身带来破坏作用。

5.Marlowe’s Literary Achievement 马洛的文学成就

(1)Marlowe was the greatest of the pioneers of english drama. He reformed the English drama and perfected the language and verse of dramatic works. It is Marlowe who first made blank verse(rhymeless iambic pentameter) the principal instrument of English drama.

马洛是英国戏剧发展史上最伟大的先驱者。他改良了英国戏剧，是戏剧作品的语言和诗节更完美。是马洛首次把无韵诗（不押韵的抑扬格五音步诗）作为英国戏剧创作的重要手段。

(2)Marlowe’s dramatic achievement lies chiefly in his epical, and at times lyrical, verse. In his plays there is a lack of variety in characterization and construction. But he was famous for his “mighty line”. It is mighty and plastic.

马洛的戏剧成就主要在于他史诗般的，优势是抒情诗的韵文。他的戏剧在人物刻画和剧本结构方面上缺乏多样性，但他以其“笔力雄健”而著称，其作品确实宏伟而富有可塑性。

(3)His work paved the way for the plays of the greatest English dramatist-Shakespeare-whose achievement were the monument of the English Renaissance.

他的作品为英国最伟大的戏剧家莎士比亚的剧作铺平了道路，而莎士比亚的艺术成就是英国文艺复兴时期的一座丰碑。

VI Ben Jonson 本·琼森

1.Major Works 主要作品

To Celia 《致希丽亚》

Every Man in His Humour 《个性互异》

Volpone, or the Fox 《福尔蓬奈》或《狐狸》

The Alchemist 《炼金术士》

Bartholomew Fair 《巴萨罗缪市集》

2.Position 地位

(1)Jonson’s comedies are ”comedies of humours.” A “humour” is a predominent peculiarity of a certain person, which determines his behaviour, thoughts and manner of speech. Jonson’s portrayal of characters is one-sided, flat, and lacking development; they are not round and full-blooded. Unlike Shakespeare, Jonson does not delve deeply enough into the complexity of human nature and human relations. His pictures of life approximate to caricatures.

穷死的喜剧是“气质喜剧”。“气质”就是一个人身上所具有的重要特征，这种特征会决定他的行为、思想和说话方式。琼森的人物刻画是片面的，不仅单调而且缺乏起伏；他们也不是立体的活灵活现的。跟莎士比亚不一样的是，琼森没有深刻挖掘人性和人类关系的复杂性，他对生活的庙会接近卡通画。

(2)Jonson was also known as a poet and critic.

琼森也因诗人和批评家的身份而著名。

(3)In his later years Jonson became the “literary king” of his time.

琼森在万年成为了当时的“文学之王”。

(4)Jonson was in reality the Poet Laureate of James I.

琼森是詹姆士一世时期的桂冠诗人。

(5)An advocate of classic drama, Jon son insisted on a careful study of the old Greek and Roman masters. He took a firm stand for the “three unities” and strongly disapproved of a mixture of serious and comic episodes in a play. At the same time he demanded a high craftsmanship in play-writing, logical and strict development of plot and truthful and realistic description of life and people. He was a forerunner of classicism in English literature, which was to reach its hightide in the 18th century.

作为一名古典主义戏剧的倡导者，琼森坚持认为要仔细研究古希腊和罗马大师。他坚定地维护着“三一律”，坚决反对在一部戏剧里同时加入严肃和滑稽的成分。同时，他认为剧本创作对技术要求要高，情节和发展要有逻辑而严密，对生活和人物的刻画要真实。他是18世纪巅峰时期英国文学史上古典主义的领跑人。

*Three Unities “三一律”

·背景：16C和17C意大利和法国戏剧创作的三个原则，源自亚里士多德的《诗学》。

·原则：

时间的一致：剧本故事时间限定在一天之内。

地点的一致：剧本的场景限定在一个场所之内。

情节的一致：剧本限定在一个故事情节之内。

(6)The most well know successor of Shakespeare.

莎士比亚的后继这种最著名的就是本·琼森。

VII Influence 影响

1.Elizabethan and Jacobean drama has been compared to mountain ranges.

伊丽莎白和詹姆士一世时期的戏剧曾被比作连绵的山脉。

2.Speaking generally, after Shakespeare,the English drama was undergoing a process of decline. There were more and more cheap sensationalism, “blood and thunder”, and licentious scenes upon the stage. And in 1642, only 26 years after Shakespeare’s death, the London theatres were closed down altogether.

大致来说，莎士比亚之后，英国戏剧正经历一个衰落的过程，舞台上追求轰动效应的廉价东西、“鲜血与雷鸣”以及一些放肆场面越来越多。1642年，莎士比亚逝世之后仅有26年，伦敦剧院全都倒闭了。

3.In the same period of time, the English poetry also decayed. The full-blooded Elizabethan poetry degenerated into a kind of verse that was either obscure or trivial. The cause of this decline and degeneration of literature is to be found in the changing social conditions which finally brought about a great revolution.

与此同时，英国诗歌也衰退了。有着优良传统的伊丽莎白时期诗歌退化成了一种要么晦涩难懂，要么味如嚼蜡的韵体温。文学的衰落与退化应该在巨变的社会条件中寻找原因，这种社会条件最终导致了一场伟大革命的爆发。

英国文学简史Part Two The English Renaissance