第一篇：英語專業(yè)考研英美文學(xué)作家作品筆記

英語專業(yè)考研英美文學(xué)作家作品筆記 01

英語專業(yè)考研英美文學(xué)作家作品筆記

British Writers and Works The Anglo-Saxon Period The Venerable Bede 比得673~735?

Ecclesiastical History of the English People 英吉利人教會史? Alfred the Great 阿爾弗雷得大帝849~899? The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 盎格魯—薩克遜編年史? The Late Medieval Ages William Langland 威廉?蘭格倫1332~1400? Piers the Plowman 農(nóng)夫比埃斯的夢?

Geoffery Chaucer 杰弗里?喬叟1340(?)~1400? The Books of the Duchess悼公爵夫人? Troilus and Criseyde特羅伊拉斯和克萊希德? The Canterbury Tales坎特伯雷故事集? The House of Fame聲譽(yù)之宮?

Sir Thomas Malory托馬斯?馬洛里爵士1405~1471?

Le Morte D’Arthur亞瑟王之死? The Renaissance Sir Philip Sydney菲利普?錫德尼爵士1554~1586? The School of Abuse誨淫的學(xué)校? Defense of Poesy詩辯? Edmund Spenser埃德蒙?斯賓塞1552~1599? The Shepherds Calendar牧人日歷? Amoretti愛情小唱? Epithalamion婚后曲?

Colin Clouts Come Home Againe柯林?克勞特回來了? Foure Hymnes四首贊美歌? The Faerie Queene仙后?

Thomas More托馬斯?莫爾1478~1535? Utopia烏托邦?

Francis Bacon弗蘭西斯?培根1561~1626? Advancement of Learning學(xué)術(shù)的推進(jìn)? Novum Organum新工具? Essays隨筆?

Christopher Marlowe柯里斯托弗?馬洛1564~1595? Tamburlaine帖木耳大帝?

The Jew of Malta馬耳他的猶太人?

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus浮士德博士的悲劇? William Shakespeare威廉?莎士比亞1564~1616? Romeo and Juliet羅密歐與朱利葉? Merchant of Venice威尼斯商人? Henry IV亨利四世?

Julius Caesar尤利烏斯?凱撒? As You Like It皆大歡喜? Hamlet哈姆萊特? Othello奧賽羅? King Lear李爾王? Macbeth麥克白?

Antony and Cleopatra安東尼與克里奧佩特拉? Tempest暴風(fēng)雨?

poetry: Venus and Adonis;The Rape of Lucrece(Venus and Lucrece);The?Pilgrim, the Sonnets The 17th Century John Milton約翰?彌爾頓1608~1674?

L’Allegre 歡樂的人? IL Pens eroso 沉思的人? Comus柯瑪斯? Lycidas利西達(dá)斯? Of Education論教育? Areopagitica論出版自由?

The Defence of the English People為英國人民聲辯?

The Second Defence of the English People再為英國人民聲辯? Paradise Lost失樂園? Paradise Regained復(fù)樂園? Samson Agonistes力士參孫? John Bunyan約翰?班揚(yáng)1628~1688?

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners功德無量?

Passionate The Pilgrim’s Progress 天路歷程?

The Life and Death of Mr Badman敗德先生傳? The Holy War圣戰(zhàn)?

John Dryden約翰?德萊頓1631~1700? All for Love一切為了愛情?

Absalom and Achitophel押沙龍與阿齊托菲爾? The Hind and Panther牝鹿與豹? Annus Mirabilis神奇的年代?

Alexander’s Feast亞歷山大的宴會? An Essay of Dramatic Poesy 論戲劇詩? The 18th Century Alexander Pope亞歷山大?蒲柏1688~1744? Essay on Criticism批評論? Moral Essays道德論? An Essay on Man人論?

The Rape of the Rock卷發(fā)遇劫記? The Dunciad愚人記?

Samuel Johnson塞繆爾?約翰遜1709~1784? The Dictionary of English Language英語辭典? The Vanity of Human Wishes人類欲望之虛幻? London倫敦?

The Lives of Great Poets詩人傳?

Jonathan Swift喬納森?斯威夫特1667~1745? The Battle of Books書戰(zhàn)? A Tale of a Tub木桶的故事?

The Drapper’s Letters一個麻布商的書信? A Modest Proposal一個小小的建議? Gulliver’s Travels格列佛游記? Daniel Defoe丹尼爾?笛福1660~1731?

The Review(periodical founded by Defoe)評論報? Robinson Crusoe魯賓遜漂流記? Henry Fielding亨利?菲爾丁1707~1754?

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews約瑟夫?安德魯? The Life of Mr Jonathan Wild, the Great大詩人江奈生?威爾德? Amelia愛米利亞?

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling湯姆?瓊斯? The Historical Register for 1736一七三六年歷史記事? Don Quixote in England堂吉柯德在英國? Samuel Richardson塞繆爾?理查遜1689~1761? Pamela(Virtue Rewarded)帕米拉?

Oliver Goldsmith奧利弗?格爾德斯密斯1730~1774? The Traveller旅游人? The Deserted Village荒村?

The Vicar of Wakefield威克菲爾德牧師傳? The Good Natured Man好心人? She Stoops to Conquer屈身求愛? The Citizens of the World世界公民? Thomas Gray托馬斯?格雷1716~1771?

An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard墓園挽詩? Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat愛貓之死? The Bard游吟詩人?

Richard Brinsley Sheridan理查德?布林斯利?施萊登1751~1816? The Rivals情敵?

The School for Scandal造謠學(xué)校?

St.Patrick’s Day(The Scheming Lieutenant)圣?派特立克節(jié)? The Duenna伴娘? The Critic批評家? The Romantic Age Robert Burns羅伯特?彭斯1759~1796?

Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect主要用蘇格蘭方言寫的詩? John Anderson, My Jo約翰?安德生，我的愛人? A Red, Red Rose一朵紅紅的玫瑰? Auld Long Syne往昔時光?

A Man’s a Man for A’That不管那一套?

My Heart’s in the Highlands我的心在那高原上? William Blake威廉?布萊克1757~1827? Songs of Innocence天真之歌? Songs of Experience經(jīng)驗(yàn)之歌? America亞美利加? Europe歐羅巴? Milton彌爾頓? Jerusalem耶路撒冷?

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell天堂與地獄的婚姻? William Wordsworth威廉?華茲華斯1770~1850? We Are Seven我們是七個?

The Solitary Reaper孤獨(dú)的割麥女?

Imitations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood不朽頌? The Prelude序曲?

Lyrical Ballads抒情歌謠集?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge塞繆爾?泰勒?科爾律治1772~1834? The Rime of the Ancient Mariner古舟子頌? Christabel柯里斯塔貝爾? Kubla Khan忽必烈汗? Frost at Night半夜冰霜? Dejection, an Ode憂郁頌? Biographia Literaria文學(xué)傳記?

George Gordon Byron喬治?戈登?拜倫1788~1824?

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage恰爾德?哈羅德爾游記? Manfred曼弗雷德? Cain該隱? Don Juan唐?璜?

When We Two Parted當(dāng)初我們倆分別? Persy Bysshe Shelley波西?比希?雪萊1792~1822? Queen Mab麥步女王?

Revolt of Islam伊斯蘭的反叛? The Cenci欽契一家?

The Masque of Anarchy, Hellas專制者的假面游行? Prometheus Unbound解放了的普羅米修斯? Ode to the West Wind西風(fēng)頌? To a Skylark致云雀?

John Keats約翰?濟(jì)慈1795~1821? On a Grecian Urn希臘古甕頌? Ode to a Nightingale夜鶯頌? Ode to Autumn秋頌? To Psyche普塞克頌?

On First Looking in Chapman’s Homer初讀查普曼翻譯的荷馬史詩有感? Sir Walter Scott沃爾特?斯科特爵士1771~1832? The Lady of the Lake湖上夫人? Waverley威弗利? Guy Mannering蓋曼納令? Rob Roy羅伯?羅伊? Ivanhoe艾凡赫?

Kenilworth肯納爾沃斯堡? Quentin Durward昆廷?達(dá)沃德? St.Ronan’s Wells圣羅南之泉? Jane Austen簡?奧斯丁1775~1817? Sense and Sensibility理智與情感? Pride and Prejudice傲慢與偏見? Mansfield Park曼斯菲爾德莊園? Emma愛瑪?

Northanger Abbey諾桑覺寺? Persuasion勸導(dǎo)?

Charles Lamb查爾斯?蘭姆1775~1834? Tales from Shakespeare莎士比亞戲劇故事集? John Woodvil約翰?伍德維爾? The Victorian Age Charles Dickens查爾斯?狄更斯1812~1870? Sketches by Boz波茲特寫?

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club匹克威克外傳? Oliver Twist奧利弗?特維斯特（霧都孤兒）? The Old Curiosity Shop老古玩店? Barnaby Rudge巴納比?拉奇? American Notes美國雜記?

Martin Chuzzlewit馬丁?朱淑爾維特? A Christmas Carol圣誕頌歌? The Chimes教堂鐘聲?

The Cricket on the Hearth灶上蟋蟀? Dombey and Son董貝父子? David Copperfield大衛(wèi)?科波菲爾? Bleak House荒涼山莊? Hard Times艱難時世? Little Dorrit小杜麗? A Tale of Two Cities雙城記? Great Expectations遠(yuǎn)大前程? Our Mutual Friend我們共同的朋友? Edwin Drood艾德溫?朱特?

William Makepeace Thackeray威廉?麥克匹斯?薩克雷1811~1863? Vanity Fair名利場? Pendennis潘登尼斯? The Newcomers紐克姆一家?

The History of Henry Esmond亨利?埃斯蒙德? Charlotte Bronte夏洛蒂?勃朗特1816~1855? Professor教師? Jane Eyre簡?愛? Shirley雪莉? Villette維萊特?

Emily Bronte艾米莉?勃朗特1818~1854? Wuthering Heights呼嘯山莊? George Eliot喬治?艾略特1819~1880? Adam Bede亞當(dāng)?比德?

The Mill on the Floss弗洛斯河上的磨坊? Silas Marner織工馬南? Romola羅慕拉?

Felix Holt菲利克斯?霍爾特? Middlemarch米德爾馬契? Daniel Deronda丹尼爾?德龍拉? Thomas Hardy托馬斯?哈代1840~1928? A Pair of Blue Eyes一雙藍(lán)眼睛? The Trumpet Major號兵長? Desperate Remedies非常手段?

The Hand of Ethelberta艾塞爾伯塔的婚姻? Under the Greenwood Tree綠蔭下? Far from the Madding Crowd遠(yuǎn)離塵囂? The Mayor of Casterbridge卡斯特橋市長?

Tess of the D’Urbervilles德伯家的苔絲? Jude the Obscure無名的裘德?

Alfred Tennyson阿爾弗萊德?丁尼生1809~1892? In Memoriam悼念?

Break, Break, Break沖擊、沖擊、沖擊? Idylls of the King國王敘事詩?

Robert Browning羅伯特?白朗寧1812~1889? Dramatic Lyrics戲劇抒情詩?

Dramatic Romances and Lyrics戲劇故事及抒情詩? Men and Women男男女女? Dramatic Personae登場人物? The Ring and the Book環(huán)與書?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning伊麗莎白?芭蕾特?白朗寧1806~1861? Sonnets from the Portuguese葡萄牙十四行詩? The Cry of the Children孩子們的哭聲? John Ruskin約翰?羅斯金1819~1900? Modern Painters現(xiàn)代畫家?

The Seven Lamps of Architecture建筑的七盞明燈? The Stone of Venice威尼斯石頭? Oscar Wilde奧斯卡?王爾德1856~1900?

The Happy Prince and Other Tales快樂王子故事集? The Picture of Dorian Gray多利安?格雷的畫像?

Lady Windermere’s Fan溫德米爾夫人的扇子? A Woman of No Importance一個無足輕重的女人? An Ideal Husband理想的丈夫?

The Importance of Being Earnest認(rèn)真的重要? 1900~1950 William Butler Yeats威廉?勃特勒?葉茨1865~1939? The Responsibilities責(zé)任?

The Wild Swans at Coole庫爾的野天鵝? The Tower鐘樓?

The Winding Stair彎彎的樓梯?

John Galsworthy約翰?高爾斯華綏1867~1933? Forsyte Saga福爾塞世家? The Man of Property有產(chǎn)業(yè)的人? In Chancery進(jìn)退維谷? To Let招租出讓?

The End of the Chapter一章的結(jié)束? James Joyce詹姆斯?喬伊斯1882~1941?

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man一個青年藝術(shù)家的肖像? Ulysses尤利西斯?

Finnegans Wake芬尼根的蘇醒? Dubliners都柏林人?

Virginia Woolf弗吉尼婭?沃爾芙1882~1941

第二篇：英語專業(yè)考研英美文學(xué)作家作品順口溜

外語用復(fù)試參考資料5分鐘內(nèi)記住英美文學(xué)教材上的所有主要作家

再重申一下: 下面的順口溜只是用來方便記憶, 幫助你較容易記住提綱挈領(lǐng)的一些內(nèi)容, 由骨及肉, 因此而記住更多的內(nèi)容,(我之前曾看過一位網(wǎng)友介紹他通過英美文學(xué)的經(jīng)驗(yàn), 主題大致就是要記住樹干, 到樹枝, 再到樹葉.他的話很有道理, 我基本上也是按他的原理做的.), 除此再無他用.因?yàn)槭琼樋诹? 順口是第一位, 因此, 其中有些字看上去有些古怪, 有些牽強(qiáng), 請不要太在意.能記住就可以了.上面五句為英國部分, 下面三句為美國部分.鄧恩撕馬賠沙彌

蒲伯吹笛,約翰遜感謝一班來自非州的斯文格格

布來克華華叫, 科學(xué)家濟(jì)茲跟澳雪說拜拜.狄更斯愛喝不安寧的布丁.蕭高葉踢死老喬

華盛頓愛上惠霍的梅姑娘.騎馬在德來塞大戰(zhàn)狄金森

羅伯特李只好以?？思{飛歐申奧.要使用好上面的順口溜, 前提是你對他們應(yīng)該有一個大致的了解, 否則你會很難知道who is who了.哈哈...下面我將順口溜中的字對應(yīng)的人名加上, 供大家參考.注意: 有些對應(yīng)的是first name, 有些是last name, 有些則完全是為了順口的需要而增加的, 無人名可對.鄧恩John Donne撕Edmund Spenser 馬Christopher Marlowe 賠Francis Bacon 沙William Shakespeare 彌John Milton

蒲伯Alexander Pope 吹笛Daniel Defoe ,約翰遜Samuel Johnson 感謝Richard Binsley Sheridan 一班John Bunyan 來自非Henny Fielding 州的斯文Jonathan Swift 格格Thomas Gray

布來克William Blake 華華William Wordworth 叫, 科Samuel Tayler Coleridge 學(xué)家濟(jì)茲John Keats 跟澳Jane Austen 雪Percy Bysshe Shelley 說拜拜George Gordon Byron.狄更斯Charles Dickens 愛George Eliot 喝Thomas Hardy 不安寧Robert Browning 的布Bronte Sisters 丁Alfred Tennyson.蕭George Bernard Shaw 高John Galsworthy 葉William Butler Yeats 踢T.S.Eliot 死老D.H.Lawrence 喬James Joyce.華盛頓Washington Irving 愛Ralph Waldo Emerson 上惠Walt Whitman 霍Nathaniel Hawthorne 的梅Herman Melville 姑娘.騎馬Mark Twain 在德來塞Theodore Dreiser 大戰(zhàn)Henry James 狄金森Emily Dickinson.羅伯特李Robert Lee Frost 只好以Ezra Pound ?？思{William Faulkner 飛F.Scott Fitzgerald 歐Ernest Hemingway 申奧Eugene O'Neill.理論上來說, 只需5分鐘, 你就能記下教材上提及的所有附有作品分析的作家.然后, 每天有空時隨口念念, 強(qiáng)化一下.就這么簡單.

第三篇：英美文學(xué)作家及作品 諾貝爾文學(xué)獎

奧斯卡 王爾德the important of being earnest 喬治 艾略特Silas Marner 織工馬南傳 喬治 艾略特Middlemarch米德爾馬契

丹尼爾·笛福ROBINSON CRUSOE魯濱遜漂流記 查爾斯·狄更斯A Tale of Two Cities雙城記 華盛頓·歐文Rip van Winkle瑞普·凡·溫克 威廉·?？思{Light In August八月之光 伊迪絲·華頓The Age of Innocence純真年代 蕭伯納Mrs Warren's Profession華倫夫人的職業(yè) 西奧多 德萊賽SISTER CARRIE 嘉莉妹妹

1907 [英]吉卜林（1835-1907）獲獎作品：《老虎！老虎！》。約瑟夫·魯?shù)聛喌隆ぜ妨郑?865～1936）英國小說家、詩人。主要作品有詩集《營房謠》《七海》，小說集《生命的阻力》和動物故事《叢林之書》等。1907年作品《老虎！老虎！》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“這位世界名作家的作品以觀察入微、想象獨(dú)特、氣概雄渾、敘述卓越見長”。

1915 [法]羅曼-羅蘭（1866-1944）獲獎作品：《約翰-克利斯朵夫》。獲獎類別：小說 1923 [愛爾蘭]威鐮-葉芝（1865-1939）獲獎作品：《麗達(dá)與天鵝》。獲獎類別：詩

威廉·勃特勒·葉芝（1865～1939）愛爾蘭詩人、劇作家。主要作品有詩作《當(dāng)你老了》、《麗達(dá)與天鵝》等。1923年作品《麗達(dá)與天鵝》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他那永遠(yuǎn)充滿著靈感的詩，它們透過高度的藝術(shù)形式展現(xiàn)了整個民族的精神 1925 [英]肖伯納（1856-1950）獲獎作品：《圣女貞德》。喬治·蕭伯納（1856～1950）愛爾蘭戲劇家。共完成51個劇本。主要作品有《圣女貞德》等。1925年作品《圣女貞德》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他那些充滿理想主義及人情味的作品——它們那種激動性諷刺，常涵蘊(yùn)著一種高度的詩意美”。

1930 [美]辛-路易斯（1885-1951）獲獎作品：《巴比特》辛克萊·劉易斯（1885～1951）美國作家。主要作品有《大街》、《巴比特》、《阿羅史密斯》等。1930年作品《巴比特》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他充沛有力、切身和動人的敘述藝術(shù)，和他以機(jī)智幽默去開創(chuàng)新風(fēng)格的才華”

1932 [英]高爾斯華綏（1867-1933）獲獎作品：《有產(chǎn)者》。

約翰·高爾斯華綏（1867～1933）英國小說家、劇作家。著有長篇小說《福爾賽世家》三部曲、《現(xiàn)代喜劇》三部曲和劇本《銀匣》等。1932年作品《有產(chǎn)者》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“為其描述的卓越藝術(shù)——這種藝術(shù)在《福爾賽世家》中達(dá)到高峰”。

1936[美]尤金-奧尼爾（1888-1953）獲獎作品：《天邊外》。尤金·奧尼爾（1888～1953）美國劇作家。主要劇作有《天邊外》、《安娜克利斯蒂》、《無窮的歲月》和自專性劇作《長夜漫漫路迢迢》等。1936年作品《天邊外》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他劇作中所表現(xiàn)的力量、熱忱與深摯的感情——它們完全符合悲劇的原始概念”。

1938[美]賽珍珠（女1892-1973）獲獎作品：《大地》。賽珍珠（珀爾·塞登斯特里克·布克）（女）（1892～1973）美國作家。主要作品有《大地的房子》三部曲：《大地》《兒子們》《分家》《母親》《愛國者》《龍種》等。1938年作品《大地》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“她對于中國農(nóng)民生活的豐富和真正史詩氣概的描述，以及她自傳性的杰作”。

1948[英]托-愛略特（1888-1965）獲獎作品：《四個四重奏》。托馬斯·斯特恩斯·艾略特（1888～1965）英美詩人、劇作家、批評家。主要作品有詩作《普魯弗洛克的情歌》、《荒原》、《四個四重奏》；論著《傳統(tǒng)與個人才能》、《批評的功能》、《詩與批評的效用》等。1948年作品《四個四重奏》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“對于現(xiàn)代詩之先鋒性的卓越貢獻(xiàn)”。

1949 [美]威鐮-?？思{（1897-1962）獲獎作品：《我彌留之際》。威廉·福克納（1897～1962）美國作家。主要作品有長篇小說《喧嘩與騷動》、《我彌留之際》、《押沙龍，押沙龍》等。1949年作品《我彌留之際》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“因?yàn)樗麑Ξ?dāng)代美國小說做出了強(qiáng)有力的和藝術(shù)上無與倫比的貢獻(xiàn)”。

1950 [英]伯-羅素（1872-1970）獲獎作品：《哲學(xué)-數(shù)學(xué)-文學(xué)》。帕特蘭·亞瑟·威廉·羅素（1872～1970）英國數(shù)學(xué)家、哲學(xué)家。主要作品有《數(shù)學(xué)原理》、《哲學(xué)問題》、《教育與社會秩序》等。1950年作品《哲學(xué)—數(shù)學(xué)—文學(xué)》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“表彰他所寫的捍衛(wèi)人道主義理想和思想自由的多種多樣意義重大的作品”。

1953 [英]溫-丘吉爾（1874-1965）獲獎作品：《不需要的戰(zhàn)爭》。溫斯特·丘吉爾（1874～1965）英國政治家、歷史學(xué)家、傳記作家。曾任英國首相。主要作品有《馬拉坎德遠(yuǎn)征記》、《第二次世界大戰(zhàn)回憶錄》、《英語民族史》等。1953年作品《不需要的戰(zhàn)爭》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他在描述歷史與傳記方面的造詣，同時由于他那捍衛(wèi)崇高的人的價值的光輝演說”。

1954 [美]海明威（1899-1961）獲獎作品：《老人與?！贰W內(nèi)斯特·海明威（1899～1961）美國作家。主要作品有《太陽照常升起》、《永別了，武器》、《喪鐘為誰爾鳴》、《老人與?！返?。1954年作品《老人與海》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“因?yàn)樗ㄓ跀⑹滤囆g(shù)，突出地表現(xiàn)在其近著《老人與?！分校煌瑫r也因?yàn)樗麑Ξ?dāng)代文體風(fēng)格之影響”。

1962 [美]斯坦貝克（1902-1968）獲獎作品：《人鼠之間》。約翰·斯坦貝克（1902～1968）美國作家。主要作品有《憤怒的葡萄》、《月亮下去了》、《珍珠》和《煩惱的冬天》等。1962年作品《人鼠之間》“通過現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的、寓于想象的創(chuàng)作，表現(xiàn)出富于同情的幽默和對社會的敏感觀察”。

1969[愛爾蘭]薩-貝克特（1906-1990）獲獎作品：《等待戈多》。薩繆爾·貝克特（1906～1989）法國作家。主要作品有三部曲《馬洛伊》、《馬洛伊之死》、《無名的人》和劇本《等待戈多》等。1969年作品《等待戈多》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“他那具有奇特形式的小說和戲劇作品，使現(xiàn)代人從精神困乏中得到振奮”。

1976 [美]索爾-貝婁（1915-）獲獎作品：《赫索格》。索爾貝婁（1915～2005）美國作家。主要作品有長篇小說《奧吉瑪琪歷險記》、《赫索格》、《洪堡的禮物》等。1976年作品《赫索格》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于他的作品對人性的了解，以及對當(dāng)代文化的敏銳透視”。1978 [美]埃-巴-辛格（1904-1991）獲獎作品：小說《魔術(shù)師-原野王》。艾薩克巴什維斯辛格（1904～1991）美國作家。主要作品有《撒旦在戈雷》、《盧布林的魔術(shù)師》、《奴隸》等。1978年作品《魔術(shù)師原野王》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“他的充滿激情的敘事藝術(shù)，這種既扎根于波蘭人的文化傳統(tǒng)，又反映了人類的普遍處境”。

1981 [英]埃-卡內(nèi)蒂（1905-）獲獎作品：小說《迷?！贰０＠麃喫埂た▋?nèi)蒂（1905～1994）英國德語作家。主要作品有長篇小說《迷惘》等。1981年作品《迷?！帆@諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“作品具有寬廣的視野、豐富的思想和藝術(shù)力量”

1983 [英]威鐮-戈丁爾（1911-）獲獎作品：小說《蠅王-金字塔》。威廉·戈爾?。?911～1994）英國作家。主要作品有長篇小說《蠅王》、《繼承者》、《金字塔》、《自由墮落》、《看得見的黑暗》、《紙人》等。1983年作品《蠅王金字塔》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。

1987 [美]約瑟夫-不羅茨基（1940-）獲獎作品：散文詩《從彼得堡到斯德哥爾摩》。約瑟夫·布羅茨基（1940～1996）蘇裔美籍詩人。主要作品有詩集《韻文與詩》、《山丘和其他》、《悼約翰鄧及其他》、《駐足荒漠》；散文集《小于一》等。1987年《從彼得堡到斯德哥爾摩》獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“他的作品超越時空限制，無論在文學(xué)上或是敏感問題方面都充分顯示出他廣闊的思想及濃郁的詩意”。

1993 [美國]托妮-莫里森托尼·莫里森（女）（1931～）美國作家。主要作品有長篇小說《最藍(lán)的眼睛》、《秀拉》、《所羅門之歌》、《寶貝兒》、《爵士樂》等。1993年獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“其作品想象力豐富,富有詩意，顯示了美國現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的重要方面”。

1995 [愛爾蘭]謝默斯-希尼 希尼（1939～）愛爾蘭詩人。主要作品有詩集《一位自然主義者之死》、《通向黑暗之門》、《在外過冬》、《北方》、《野外作業(yè)》、《苦路島》、《山楂燈》、《幻覺》等。1995年獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“由于其作品洋溢著抒情之美,包容著深邃的倫理,揭示出日常生活和現(xiàn)實(shí)歷史的奇跡”。

2001 英國 維-蘇-納保爾 代表作有《給畢斯沃斯先生一所房屋》、《河中一灣》及《幽黯國度》 維蘇奈保爾（1932～）印度裔英國作家。1990

年被英國女王授封為騎士。主要作品有小說《神秘的按摩師》、《米格爾大街》、《河彎》、《島上的旗幟》、《超越信仰》、《神秘的新來者》等。2001年獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由：“其著作將極具洞察力的敘述與不為世俗左右的探索融為一體，是驅(qū)策我們從扭曲的歷史中探尋真實(shí)的動力”。

2005 英國 哈羅德·品特 他的作品揭示了日常絮談中的危機(jī)、強(qiáng)行打開了了壓迫的封閉房間 《生日宴會》、《背叛》、《看門人》《回家》 哈羅德·品特（1930～），英國劇作家。2005年獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。主要作品有《看房者》(TheCaretaker，1960)、《生日晚會》(TheBirthdayParty，1958)、《歸家》(TheHomecoming，1965)等劇本。獲獎理由是“他的戲劇發(fā)現(xiàn)了在日常廢話掩蓋下的驚心動魄之處并強(qiáng)行打開了壓抑者關(guān)閉的房間。”

2007年 英國 多麗絲·萊辛（Doris Lessing，1919—）《金色筆記》 http:///43755.html 多麗絲·萊辛（1919～），英國作家。主要作品有《青草在歌唱》(1950年)、五部曲《暴力的孩子們》《瑪莎·奎斯特》(1952)、《良緣》(1954)、《風(fēng)暴的余波》(1958)、《被陸地圍住的》(1965)以及《四門之城》(1969)、《金色筆記》(1962年)、《幸存著回憶錄》(1974)、《黑暗前的夏天》(1973)等。獲獎理由是“她用懷疑、熱情、構(gòu)想的力量來審視一個分裂的文明，其作品如同一部女性經(jīng)驗(yàn)的史詩?！?2010年

馬里奧·巴爾加斯·略薩（1936～），生于秘魯阿雷基帕，是擁有秘魯與西班牙雙重國籍的作家及詩人。共創(chuàng)作了30多部包括小說、話劇和散文在內(nèi)的作品，其代表作有小說《城市與狗》(1963年)《綠房子》(1965年)和《酒吧長談》(1969年)等。2010年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由是“因?yàn)樗麑?quán)力結(jié)構(gòu)制圖學(xué)般的細(xì)膩描述和他對個人的抵制、反抗和挫敗形象的尖銳刻畫”。

2011年

托馬斯·特朗斯特羅姆（1931～），瑞典詩人。1954年發(fā)表詩集《17首詩》，轟動詩壇。至今共發(fā)表163首詩，除《17首詩》外的作品集為《途中的秘密》、《半完成的天空》、《音色和足跡》、《看見黑暗》、《野蠻的廣場》、《為生者和死者》和《悲哀貢多拉》十部詩集。2011年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由是“因?yàn)橥ㄟ^他那簡練、半透明的意象，讓我們對現(xiàn)實(shí)世界有嶄新的體驗(yàn)”。

2012年

莫言（1956～），原名管謨業(yè)，中國作家。自1980年代中期起，莫言以一系列鄉(xiāng)土作品崛起，主要作品有《紅高粱家族》、《天堂蒜苔之歌》、《檀香刑》、《豐乳肥臀》、《酒國》、《生死疲勞》、《蛙》等。2012年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。獲獎理由是“用魔幻現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的寫作手法，將民間故事、歷史事件與當(dāng)代背景融為一體”。

2013年

愛麗絲·門羅（1931～），加拿大女作家，被譽(yù)為“加拿大的契訶夫”。1968年發(fā)表第一部短篇小說集《快樂影子之舞》（DanceoftheHappyShades），并獲得加拿大總督文學(xué)獎。門羅以短篇小說聞名全球，其影響巨大的《逃離》2004年出版，她被稱為“當(dāng)代短篇小說大師”，以其精致的講故事方式著稱，清晰與心理現(xiàn)實(shí)主義是門羅的寫作特色，因此獲得2013年諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。

2014年

帕特里克·莫迪亞諾（1945～），法國小說家，是法國評論界一致公認(rèn)的當(dāng)今法國最有才華的作家之一。莫迪亞諾也被認(rèn)為是“新寓言”派代表作家，作品探索和研究當(dāng)今人的存在及其與周圍環(huán)境、現(xiàn)實(shí)的關(guān)系。前期小說大都以神秘的父親和二次大戰(zhàn)的環(huán)境為主題，運(yùn)用大量的回憶、想象，把現(xiàn)實(shí)和虛構(gòu)結(jié)合起來，描寫并未經(jīng)歷過的故事。2014年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎，獲獎原因?yàn)榕撂乩锟恕つ蟻喼Z的作品“喚起了對最不可捉摸的人類命運(yùn)的記憶”，他的作品捕捉到了二戰(zhàn)法國被占領(lǐng)期間普通人的生活。其代表作有《暗店街》、《八月的星期天》等。2015諾貝爾文學(xué)獎得主斯維特拉娜·阿列克謝耶維奇 在悲劇中探索人的心靈。現(xiàn)年67歲的白俄羅斯女作家、記者斯維特拉娜·阿列克謝耶維奇成為該獎項歷史上第14位女性桂冠得主?！霸谶^去的三四十年間，她一直專注于描寫蘇聯(lián)和蘇聯(lián)解體后普通老百姓的生活。她的作品并不是關(guān)于那些歷史事件本身，而更多地將目光投向普通人的情感歷程?！?/p>

第四篇：2009年新大綱英美文學(xué)選讀作品作家整理

2009年新大綱英美文學(xué)選讀作品作家整理

美國文學(xué)

III.Nathaniel Hawthorne Mosses from an Old Manse古宅青苔

The Snow-Image and Other Twice-Told Tales 雪像和其他故事新編 The Scarlet Letter

紅字

The House of Seven Gables 七個尖角閣的房子

The Blithedale Romance 福谷傳說

The Marble Faun 大理石雕像 選文Young Goodman Brown IV.Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass 選文There Was a Child Went Forth, Cavalry Crossing a Ford, Song of Myself V.Herman Melville Typee 泰比

Omoo 奧穆 Mardi 瑪?shù)?/p>

Redburn 雷德本

White Jacket 白外衣 Pierre 皮埃爾 Confidence-Man

信心人

Moby-Dick 白鯨 Billy Budd 比利伯德 選文Moby-Dick Chapter 2 現(xiàn)實(shí)主義時期 I.Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Life on Mississippi

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Innocent Abroad 傻瓜出國記

Roughing It 含莘如苦 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Gilded Age 鍍金時代 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 亞瑟王宮庭中的美國佬 The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson

傻瓜威爾遜 The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg 敗壞哈德萊堡的人 The Mysterious Stranger

神秘的陌生人

選文Adventures of Huckleberry Finn II.Henry James The American 美國人 Daisy Miller 黛西米勒 The European 歐洲人 The Protrait of A Lady 貴婦人的畫像

The Bostonians 波士頓人 Princess Casamassima 卡撒瑪西公主 The Private Life 私生活 The Middle Years 中年

The Turn of the Screw 螺絲的擰緊

The Beast in the Jungle 叢林猛獸

What Maisie Knows 梅西所知道的 The Wings of the Dove 鴿翼

The Ambassadors 大使 The Golden Bowl 金碗

The Death of a Lion 獅之死 選文Daisy Miller III.Emily Dickinson If you were coming in the fall There came a day Summer’s full I cannot live with You

I’m ceded-I’ve stopped being theirs 選文This is my letter to the World, I heard a Fly buzz-when I died I like to see it lap the Miles Because I could not stop for death IV． Theodore Dreiserer Sister Carrie 嘉莉妹妹

Nigger Jeff 黑人杰夫

Old Rogaum and His Theresa 老羅格姆和他的特里薩 Jennie Gerhardt珍妮姑娘 Trilogy of Desire

The Financier 金融家

The Genius 天才

An American Tragedy 美國悲劇

Dreiser at Russia 德萊塞對俄羅斯的觀感 選文Sister Carrie Chapter 3 現(xiàn)代主義時期 II.Robert Lee Frost A Boy’s Will 一個男孩兒的愿望 North of Boston 波士頓以北 Mountain Interval New Hampshire 新罕布什爾

Snowy Evening 雪夜停馬在林邊 West-Running Brook 向西流去的小溪

Collected Poems 詩選 A Winter Tree 選文After Apple-Picking, The Road Not Taken, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening以 IV.F.Scott Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise 天堂的這一邊 Beautiful and Damned 美麗而遭罵的人 The Great Gatsby

Tender is the Night 夜色溫柔

The Last Tycoon 最后一個巨頭

Flappers and Philosophers 吹捧者與哲學(xué)家 Tales of the Jazz Age 爵士時代 All the Sad Young Men 所有悲慘的小伙子 Taps at Reveille 拍打在起床鼓上

Babylon Revisited重返巴比倫

選文The Great Gatsby V.Earnest Hemingway In Our Time 在我們的時代

A Farewell to Arms 永別了，武器

For Whom the Bell Tolls 喪鐘為誰敲響

The Old Man and the Sea 老人與海 Men Without Women 沒有女人的男人

Death in the Afternoon 午后之死 The Snows of Kilimanjaro 開利曼扎羅之雪 The Green Hills of Africa 非洲的青山 選文Indian Camp(from In Our Time)VI.William Faulkner The Marble Faun 玉石牧神 The Sound and the Fury 喧囂與騷動 As I Lay Dying 我彌留之際 Light in August 八月之光

Absalom, Absalom 押沙龍！押沙龍！Wild Palms 瘋狂的手掌 The Hamlet 哈姆雷特

The Unvanquished 不可征服的 Go Down, Moses 去吧，摩西

The Fable 寓言 The Town 小鎮(zhèn)

The Mansion 大廈 Soldier’s Pay 士兵的報酬

英國文學(xué)部分

Chapter 1 文藝復(fù)興時期 III.William Shakespeare Rape of Lucrece

魯克斯受辱記 Venus and Adonis 維納斯與安東尼斯 Titus Andronicus

泰托斯安東尼 The Comedy of Errors

錯誤的喜劇

The Two Gentlemen of Veroma

維洛那二紳士 The Taming of the Shrew

馴悍記 Love’s Labour’s Lost

愛的徒勞 Richard II

理查二世 King John

約翰王

Henry IV, Parts I and II, Henry V Six Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream 仲夏夜之夢 The Merchant of Venice

威尼斯商人 Much Ado About Nothing

無事無非 As You Like It

皆大歡喜 Twelfth Night

第十二夜

The Merry Wise of Windsor

溫莎的風(fēng)流娘兒們 Two Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet

羅米歐與朱麗葉 Julius Caesar

凱撒 Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth Antony and Cleopatra

安東尼與克里佩特拉

Troilus and Cressida, and Coriolanus 特洛伊勒斯與克利西達(dá) All’ Well That Ends Well

(comedy)終成成眷屬 Measure for Measure

(comedy)一報還一報 Pericles

伯里克利 Cymbeline

辛白林

The Winter’s Tale

冬天的故事 The Tempest

暴風(fēng)雨 Henry VIII The Two Noble Kinsmen兩位貴族親戚

選文為Sonnet 18;The Merchant of Venice;Hamlet VI.John Milton Paradise Lost

失樂園 Paradise Regain 復(fù)樂園 Samson Agonistes力士參孫 Lycidas

利西達(dá)斯 Areopagitica

論出版自由 Chapter 2 新古典主義時期 III.Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe

魯賓遜漂流記 Captain Singleton 辛立頓船長 Moll Flanders

莫爾弗蘭德斯 Colonel Jack 杰克上校

A Journal of the Plague Year 災(zāi)疫之年的日記 Roxana 羅克薩那 選文Robinson Crusoe IV.Jonathan Swift A Tale of Tub 木桶傳

The Battle of the Books 書籍的戰(zhàn)斗 Gulliver’s Travels 格列弗游記 A Modest Proposal

一個小小的建議 The Drapier’s Letters 布商的書信 選文Gulliver’s Travels V.Henry Fielding The Coffee House Politician

咖啡屋的政治家 The Tragedy of the Tragedies 悲劇中的悲劇

The Historical Register for the Year 1736

1736歷史年鑒

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his friend Mr.Abraham Adams, Written in Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes The History of Jonathan Wild the Great 大偉人江奈生翻樂德傳 The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling 湯姆瓊斯 The History of Amelia

阿米亞 選文為Tom Jones Chapter III 浪溫主義時期 I． William Blake Poetic Sketches

詩歌扎記 The Songs of Innocence

天真之歌 The Songs of Experience

經(jīng)驗(yàn)之歌 Marriage of Heaven and Hell 天堂與地獄聯(lián)姻 The Book of Urizen

尤里曾的書 The Book of Los

洛斯的書 The Four Zoas

四個成熟的個體 Milton

彌爾頓

選文The Chimney Sweeper(from Songs of Innocence);The Tyger II.William Wordsworth Lyrical Ballads(抒情歌謠集)The Prelude The Excursion Worshipper of Nature(The Sparr,w’s Nest, To a Skylark, To the Cuckoo, To a Butterfly, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, An Evening Walking, My Heartn Leaps up, Tintern Abbey)選文：I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, Composed upon Westminster Bridge, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways, The Solitary Reaper V.Percy Bysshe Shelley The Necessity of Atheism

無神論的必要性 Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem

仙后麥布

Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude

復(fù)仇者或隱居者的精神 Julian and Maddalo

朱利安與麥達(dá)格 The Revolt of Islam

伊斯蘭的反叛 The Cenci

欽契一家

The Prometheus Unbound解放了的普羅米修斯 Adomais

阿多尼斯 Hellas

海娜斯

A Defense of Poetry

詩之辯護(hù)

選文A Song: Men of England;

Ode to the West Wind VII.Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility 理智與情感 Pride and Prejudice 傲慢與偏見 Northanger Abbey

諾桑覺寺 Mansfield Park

曼斯菲爾德花園 Emma

埃瑪 Persuasion

勸導(dǎo) The Watsons

屈陳氏一愛 Fragment of a Novel 小說的片斷 Plan of a Novel

小說的計劃 選文Pride and Prejudice Chapter IV.維多利亞時期 I． Charles Dickens Sketches by Boz 博茲特寫集

The Posthumous of the Pickwick Club 皮克威克外傳 Oliver Twist

霧都孤兒

Nicholas Nickleby

尼古拉斯尼克爾貝 The Pickwick Paper

皮克威克外傳 David Copperfield

大衛(wèi)科波菲爾 Martin Chuzzlewit

馬丁朱爾述維特 Dombey and Son

董貝父子 A Tale of Two Cities 雙城記 Bleak House

荒涼山莊 Little Dorrit

小杜麗 Hard Times

艱難時世 Great Expectations

遠(yuǎn)大前程 Our Mutual Friends

我們共同的朋友 The Old Curiosity Shop 老古玩店 選文為Oliver Twist II.The Bronte Sisters Poem by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell(Charlotte, Emily, Anne)The Professor(Charlotte)教師 Jane Eyre(Charlotte)

簡愛 Wuthering Heights(Emily)呼嘯山莊

Agnes Grey(Anne)格雷The Tenant of Wildfell Hall(Anne)野崗莊園房客 選文Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte VI.Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles

苔絲 Jude the Obscure

無名的裘德 The Dynasts

列后 The Return of the Native 還鄉(xiāng) The Trumpet Major

號兵長

The Mayor of Casterbridge 卡斯特橋市長 The Woodlanders

林地居民 Under the Greenwood

林間居民 Far from the Madding Crowd 遠(yuǎn)離塵囂 選文Tess of the D’Urbervilles Chapter 5 現(xiàn)代主義時期 I.George Bernard Shaw Cashel Byron’s Profession 卡歇爾拜倫的職業(yè) Our Theaters in the Nineties

90年代的英國戲劇 Widower’s Houses 鰥夫的房產(chǎn)

Candida 堪迪達(dá) Mrs.Warren’s Profession 沃倫夫人的職業(yè)

Caesar and Cleoptra 凱撕與克利奧佩特拉

St.Joan 圣女貞德 Back to Methuselah 回歸瑪士撒拉

Man and Superman人與超人 John Bull’s Other Island 約翰布爾的另外島嶼 Pygmalion 茶花女 Getting Married 結(jié)婚

Misalliance 不合適的媳婦

Fanny’s First Play 范尼的第一部戲劇 The Doctor’s Dilemma醫(yī)生的困境 Too True to be Good 難以置信 選文Mrs.Warren’s Profession IV.T.S.Eliot The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock 布魯富勞克的情歌

The Waste Land 荒園

Murder in the Cathedral 教堂里的謀殺 The Family Reunion 家人團(tuán)聚 The Confidential Clerk 機(jī)要秘書 The Statesmen 政治家

The Cocktail Party雞尾酒會 選文The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock V.D.H.Lawrence Sons and Lovers 兒子與情人

The White Peacock白孔雀 The Trespasser

過客

The Rainbow彩虹

Women in Love 戀愛中的女人

Aaron’s Rod亞倫神仗 Kangaroo 袋鼠

The Plumed Serpent帶羽毛的蛇 Lady Chatterley’s Lover

St.Mawr 圣摩爾

The Daughter of the Vicar 主教的女兒 The Horse Dealer’s Daughter販馬人的女兒 The Captain’s Doll 般長的娃娃 The Prussian Officer 普魯士軍官 The Virgin and the Gypsy貞女和吉普塞人

Trilogy(A Collier’s Friday Night, 礦工周五的夜晚The Daughter-in-law,兒媳 The Widowing of Mrs.Holroyed 守寡的霍爾伊德夫人 選文Sons and Lovers 以下附上自考部門的原件：

第五篇：英美文學(xué)各個時期主要作家及作品原文中世紀(jì)

英美文學(xué)各個時期主要作家及作品原文/節(jié)選之 中世紀(jì)文學(xué)（自己整理的）時間：1066年諾曼征服—14世紀(jì)下半葉

這個時期可以分為2部分，中世紀(jì)早期，即1066—17世紀(jì)中葉，因?yàn)樽诮虊浩龋瑳]

有文學(xué)作品出現(xiàn)，是文學(xué)荒漠；而到了14世紀(jì)下半葉，英國文學(xué)才開始興盛起來。代表人物：杰弗里-喬叟、威廉-蘭格倫、約翰-高厄 代表作品：《高文爵士與他的綠衣騎士》（約翰-高厄）；《坎特伯雷故事集》（杰弗里-喬叟）

《農(nóng)夫皮爾斯》（威廉-蘭格倫）

特點(diǎn)：這一時期，民間通俗文學(xué)占重要位置，展現(xiàn)當(dāng)時人們的各種生活。但創(chuàng)作上有失新

穎。此外還大量反映中世紀(jì)基督教的教義，表現(xiàn)人類自救。

中世紀(jì)盛行的文學(xué)形式還有騎士抒情詩。這種詩歌以敘述性的韻文或者散文歌頌騎

士的冒險以及其它的英雄事跡。主題常常是尋找妖怪、解救美女。最為著名的代表人物是喬叟，他從法國文學(xué)之中引進(jìn)了各種壓尾韻的詩章，取代了古英詩之中的頭韻（如《貝爾武弗》）。在《坎特伯雷故事集》中他運(yùn)用了英雄雙行體（關(guān)于英雄雙行體我將在以后后的貼子之中介紹）。這在這個英國文學(xué)史上都是首創(chuàng)。在這一作品之中，他將詩歌藝術(shù)進(jìn)一步向戲劇和小說靠攏。他是英詩之父。

以下是英美文學(xué)界三位大師的介紹和《坎特伯雷故事集》介紹；《農(nóng)夫皮爾斯》節(jié)選；《高文爵士與他的綠衣騎士》節(jié)選 中世紀(jì)文學(xué)

（一）概述

古英語文學(xué) 英格蘭島的早期居民凱爾特人和其他部族，沒有留下書面文學(xué)作品。5世紀(jì)時，原住北歐的三個日耳曼部族——盎格魯、撒克遜和朱特——侵入英國。他們的史詩《貝奧武甫》傳了下來。詩中的英雄貝奧武甫殺巨魔、斗毒龍，并在征服這些自然界惡勢力的過程中為民捐軀。它的背景和情節(jié)是北歐的，單摻有基督教成分，顯示出史詩曾幾經(jīng)修改，已非原貌。按照保存在一部10世紀(jì)的手抄本里的版本來看，詩的結(jié)構(gòu)完整，寫法生動，所有的頭韻、重讀字和代稱體現(xiàn)了古英語詩歌的特色。

6世紀(jì)末，基督教傳入英國，出現(xiàn)了宗教文學(xué)。僧侶們用拉丁文寫書，其中比德所著的《英國人民宗教史》（731年完成）既有難得的史料，又有富于哲理的傳說，受到推崇，并已成了英文。

此后，丹麥人入侵，不少寺院毀于兵火，學(xué)術(shù)凋零。9世紀(jì)末，韋塞克斯國王阿爾弗雷德大力抗丹，同時著手振興學(xué)術(shù)，請了一批學(xué)者將拉丁文著作譯成英文，并鼓勵編寫《盎格魯—薩克遜編年史》，這是用英國當(dāng)?shù)卣Z言寫史的開始。

中古英語文學(xué) 1066年諾曼人入侵，帶來了歐洲大陸的封建制度，也帶來了一批說法語的貴族。古英語受到了統(tǒng)治階級語言的影響，本身也在起著變化，12世紀(jì)后發(fā)展為中古英語。文學(xué)上也出現(xiàn)了新風(fēng)尚，盛行用韻文寫的騎士傳奇，它們歌頌對領(lǐng)主的忠和對高貴婦人的愛，其中藝術(shù)性較高的有《高文爵士和綠衣騎士》，它用頭韻體詩寫成，內(nèi)容是古代亞瑟王屬下一個“圓桌騎士”的奇遇。

14世紀(jì)后半葉，中古英語文學(xué)達(dá)到了高峰。這時期的重要詩人喬叟的創(chuàng)作歷程，從早期對法國和意大利作品的仿效，進(jìn)到后來英國本色的寫實(shí)，表明了英國文學(xué)的自信。他的杰作《坎特伯雷故事集》用優(yōu)美、活潑的韻文，描寫了一群去坎特伯雷朝圣的人的神態(tài)言談；他們來自不同階層和行業(yè)，各人所講的故事或雅或俗，揭示了多方面的社會現(xiàn)實(shí)。同時，還有教會小職員蘭格倫寫的頭韻體長詩《農(nóng)夫皮爾斯》（一譯《農(nóng)夫彼得之夢》），用夢幻的形式和寓意的象征，寫出了1381年農(nóng)民暴動前后的農(nóng)村現(xiàn)實(shí)，筆鋒常帶嚴(yán)峻的是非之感。同樣宣泄下層人民情緒的還有民間歌謠，它們往往是在長時間的口頭流傳之后才寫成的，其中最初見于15世紀(jì)抄本的羅賓漢歌謠，描繪了一群農(nóng)民劫富濟(jì)貧、打擊教會僧侶和執(zhí)法吏的事跡，傳頌至今。（王佐良）

《貝奧武甫》

《貝奧武甫》 英國的一部英雄史詩，是英國文學(xué)中第一部重要作品。它用古英語寫成，是繼希臘、羅馬史詩之后歐洲最早的一部用本民族語言寫成的史詩。

全部古英語詩歌現(xiàn)在保存下來的不過3萬行，其中有英雄詩、宗教詩、抒情挽歌、格言、謎語、咒語，而以《貝奧武甫》為最長（3，182行），為最完整。

史詩中的歷史人物，據(jù)記載生活在5至6世紀(jì)。史詩故事發(fā)生在和當(dāng)于現(xiàn)在的丹麥和瑞典南部——當(dāng)時盎格魯—薩克遜人居住的地方。從5世紀(jì)中葉起，這些民族不斷向不列顛移民。大約8世紀(jì)前半葉，關(guān)于貝奧武甫的傳說才在他們定居的不列顛寫成文字。現(xiàn)存的唯一手抄本約成于10世紀(jì)末。1731年手抄本在一次火災(zāi)中被燒毀幾行，但基本完整，于1815年第一次排印出版。

全詩除開場白外，共分43節(jié)，由兩個故事組成，第一個故事又可分為兩個部分。第一部分包括開場白，寫丹麥王朝的始祖許爾德的葬禮，接著寫許爾德的后裔丹麥王赫羅斯加建造了一座宮殿，取名鹿廳，但經(jīng)常受到附近沼澤地帶一個半人半獸的怪物格倫德爾的襲擊，一夜就被殺死30名守衛(wèi)武士。它騷擾的12年，消息傳到耶阿特族（今瑞典南部）國王許耶拉克的侄子貝奧武甫耳中，他率領(lǐng)14名武士前往援助。赫羅斯加在鹿廳設(shè)宴招待他們。宴會之后，貝奧武甫和武士們留在廳內(nèi)守候。夜間格倫德爾破門而入，摸著一個武士，把他吃了；再要摸時，被貝奧武甫扭住，經(jīng)過一場搏斗，怪物斷了一只胳膊，負(fù)傷逃回沼澤。第二天赫羅斯加設(shè)宴慶祝，王后贈送禮物，歌手歌唱芬恩的故事。第二部分寫夜間格倫德爾的母親前來替子報仇，搶走了一個大臣。次日貝奧武甫追蹤到沼澤，獨(dú)自潛入湖底把女妖殺死，把格倫德爾頭顱割下，回到鹿廳。赫羅斯加又設(shè)宴慶祝，并向貝奧武甫致辭。貝奧武甫攜帶大批禮物回到許耶拉克宮廷，在宴席上把禮物獻(xiàn)給許耶拉克，許耶拉克也給他大量犒賞。

第二個故事寫許耶拉克死后，他的兒子赫阿德勒德繼位。赫阿德勒德死后，貝奧武甫繼位，統(tǒng)治了50年。這時有個逃亡奴隸盜得一些窖藏的寶物，被看守寶物的火龍發(fā)現(xiàn)，為了報復(fù)，它到處騷擾為害。年老的貝奧武甫決定為民除害，帶領(lǐng)威耶拉夫等11名武士處罰。在投入戰(zhàn)斗前，他向隨從的武士講了耶阿特人過去和互殘殺的一段歷史。然后獨(dú)自去同火龍廝殺。他的劍斷了，又被龍吐的火炙傷。隨從的武士都逃跑了，只剩下威耶拉夫一人上前幫助貝奧武甫把龍殺死，貝奧武甫也因傷勢過重而死。威耶拉夫悲憤地譴責(zé)那些逃跑的武士，并派人回去報告消息。最后，耶阿特人在海濱把貝奧武甫火化，把他的骨灰連同火龍的寶物埋葬了。貝奧武甫的陵墓成為航海者的燈塔。

這部史詩的內(nèi)容一部分是史實(shí)，一部分是傳說，其中提到的人物如赫羅斯加、許耶拉克都是歷史人物，詩中一些插曲也提到歷史任務(wù)。而主要人物貝奧武甫和他的事跡則基本上來自傳說。歷史因素和傳說因素結(jié)合起來反映了氏族社會解體時期的生活。詩中反映了血仇必報和部落之間頻繁的戰(zhàn)爭，也反映了氏族內(nèi)部國王與他的親屬和臣屬之間矛盾的激化。貝奧武甫無論作為親屬和臣屬都無懈可擊。作為國王，他是氏族的保衛(wèi)者，直至獻(xiàn)出生命。對于鄰族，一反互和仇視的態(tài)度，而是助其除害，對鄰族國王，也克盡臣屬效忠的精神。從各方面說，他都是一個理想人物。

這部史詩基本上是氏族社會的產(chǎn)物。但從5、6世紀(jì)起經(jīng)過近300年口頭流傳，到8世紀(jì)才在英國寫成。這時英國已基督教化，寫者大半是僧侶，因此史詩里也有基督教色彩，如氏族社會和信的命運(yùn)有時同上帝等同起來，把代表自然力或惡的格倫德爾說成是該隱的后代。詩中也反映了現(xiàn)世的一切都將消亡以及宿命觀點(diǎn)。不過從整體說，史詩仍保存了基督教以前的特色，高貴的品性，如仁愛、榮譽(yù)感、慷慨、勇敢等美德被充分肯定。

史詩結(jié)構(gòu)嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)，選材集中。它以葬禮開始以葬禮結(jié)束，中間寫貝奧武甫一生中兩件大事。詩中有大量插曲，起到對比或類比或暗示的作用，如宴會上有人即席唱希格蒙德斬龍的故事，來同50年后貝奧武甫斬龍呼應(yīng)。歌者唱芬恩的妻子調(diào)停血仇失敗的故事，來烘托赫羅斯加嫁女與鄰族消弭血仇的企圖的失敗。這些插曲今天讀來顯得突兀，但對當(dāng)時聽眾卻是很熟悉的。

史詩節(jié)奏悠閑而莊嚴(yán)，對話和敘述交替，有時加入詩人的議論，如格倫德爾進(jìn)入鹿廳看到武士時，大喜過望，準(zhǔn)備飽餐一頓（，）詩人就從旁評論道：“但今夜以后，他就再也遇不到吃人的運(yùn)氣了。”詩人善用這種壓低語氣的修辭手法來表現(xiàn)對命運(yùn)的諷刺。

《貝奧武甫》象古英語其他詩歌一樣，不用尾韻，而用頭韻，即每個字開頭的輔音或元音和同或和似算對韻。每行詩分為兩個半行，各有兩個重讀字，重讀字一般押頭韻，因此每行最多可以有四個頭韻，（用句號“?！备茫轰浫胝咦ⅲ┮话闱鞍胄袃蓚€，后半行一個頭韻的詩句較多。另一個特點(diǎn)是使用“代用詞”，如詩中把海稱為“鯨魚之路”，國王是“頒賞金環(huán)的人”，武士叫“持盾的人”等，增強(qiáng)了語言的形象性。史詩的形式也顯示出維吉爾史詩的影響。（楊周翰）

（三）喬叟

喬叟（約1343~1400）英國詩人。出生于倫敦一家富裕的中產(chǎn)階級家庭，父親是酒商兼皮革商。喬叟可能上過牛津大學(xué)或劍橋大學(xué)。1357年進(jìn)入宮廷，任英壬愛德華三世的兒媳阿爾斯特伯爵夫人身邊的少年侍從。1359午，隨愛德華三世出征法國，被法軍俘虜，后被愛德華贖回。1366年，喬叟和菲莉帕結(jié)婚。菲莉帕的妹妹后來嫁給愛德華的次子蘭開斯特公爵，喬叟因而受到蘭開斯特公爵的保護(hù)。同時，喬叟也是愛德華三世的侍從騎士。1369年，蘭開斯特公爵責(zé)特約翰的元配夫人布蘭希逝世，喬叟寫了悼亡詩《公爵夫人的書》（1369~1370）來安慰他的保護(hù)人。1370至1378年之間，喬叟經(jīng)常出國訪問歐洲大陸，執(zhí)行外交談判任務(wù)。他曾兩度訪問意大利（1372~1373；1378），這對他的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作起了極為重要的作用。他發(fā)現(xiàn)了但丁、薄傲丘和彼特拉克的作品，這些作品深刻地影響了他的創(chuàng)作，使他從接受法國文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)轉(zhuǎn)向接受意大利文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)。從而74年開始，喬叟擔(dān)任了二些公職。他先被任命為倫敦港口羊毛、皮革關(guān)稅總管（1374~1386），后來被英王理查二世任命為皇室修建大臣（1389~1391），主管維修公共建筑、公園、橋梁等。喬叟還擔(dān)任過肯特郡的治安官（1386），并當(dāng)選為代表肯特郡的國會議員（1386）。后來喬叟還擔(dān)任過管理薩默塞特郡皇家森林的森林官（1391）。喬叟于1400年10月25日在倫敦逝世，葬于威斯敏斯特教堂里的“詩人之角”。

喬叟把屬于中古英語的東中部方言——倫敦方言——提高成為英國的文學(xué)語言。他又善于繼承和吸收法國詩人和意大利詩人的詩歌技巧，并且運(yùn)用這些技巧來豐富和提高英詩的表達(dá)能力。喬叟的最早的作品之一是他翻譯的法文詩《玫瑰傳奇》（1370）。這個英譯本的前1，700行詩一般公認(rèn)為出自喬叟的手筆。這個作品和上面提到的《公爵夫人的書》都是用八音節(jié)雙韻詩體寫成的，都顯示出法國愛情詩的影響。后來，喬叟寫了《聲譽(yù)之官》（1379或1380），也是用八音節(jié)雙韻詩體寫成，但是這個作品卻早示出意大利詩人但丁的《神曲》的影響。因此可以把《聲譽(yù)之宮》看成是喬叟從接受法國文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)轉(zhuǎn)變到意大利文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)的過渡時期的作品。不久后，喬叟翻譯了羅馬哲學(xué)家博埃齊鳥斯的著作《哲學(xué)的安慰》（約524），易名為《博埃齊馬斯》（1381或1382），是英文散文譯本。約在同一時期，喬叟還寫了《百鳥會議》（1382），是用“君王詩體”寫成的。這種詩體采用七行詩段的形式，每行為十個音節(jié)，韻腳為ababbcc。喬叟是第一個使用這種詩體的英國詩人，但“君王詩體”的名稱卻來自蘇格蘭國王詹拇斯一世，他曾用這個詩體寫拙蘇格蘭方吉愛情詩《國王的書》。實(shí)際上這個作品受了喬叟的影響。在寫成《百鳥會議》數(shù)年以后，喬叟寫了《派拉蒙和阿色提》，后來改編成為《騎士講的故事》。在《貞節(jié)婦女的傳說》（1386）里，喬叟第一次使用于音節(jié)雙韻詩體。這個詩體非常重要，因?yàn)閱疼诺慕茏鳌犊蔡夭坠适录罚?387~1400）就是用這個詩體寫成的。這個詩體后來演化成為“英雄雙韻體”，在新古典主義時期壟斷了英國詩壇。除上述作品外，喬叟還寫了愛炭故事長詩《特羅伊拉斯和克菜西德》（1385）。這部作品是甩“君王詩體”寫成的。以上的作品都屬于喬叟創(chuàng)作的意大利時期。在這個時期內(nèi)，喬叟在意大利文學(xué)的影響下，進(jìn)一步發(fā)展了法國文學(xué)的騎士愛情詩歌的傳統(tǒng)，把現(xiàn)實(shí)主義因素逐漸加入到這個詩歌傳統(tǒng)里來。這主要表現(xiàn)在喬叟的最早的杰作《特羅伊拉斯和克萊西德》一詩里。這部作品取材于薄咖丘的愛情故事詩《菲洛斯特拉托》。喬叟擴(kuò)展、發(fā)揮、改動了薄仇丘的作品，把他自已的現(xiàn)實(shí)生活經(jīng)驗(yàn)放進(jìn)這個古老的愛情故事里面，以至于有些批評家把喬叟的《特羅伊拉斯和克萊西德》看成是最早的一部現(xiàn)實(shí)主義小說。

1387年開始了喬叟創(chuàng)作的成熟期。他寫了《坎特伯雷故事集》的總序。他一生的最后十幾年大約都用在寫這個故事案上面，但并未完成。盡管如此，喬叟的《坎特伯雷故事集》在西方中世紀(jì)和文藝復(fù)興時期的故事集當(dāng)中卻是獨(dú)一無二的，因?yàn)閱疼诺墓适录粌H是一個故事集，而且是一個藝術(shù)整體。我們可以把它看作喬叟的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義藝術(shù)的結(jié)晶?！犊蔡夭坠适录返膬?nèi)容如下：一群香客聚會在倫敦泰晤士河南岸一家小旅店里，他們準(zhǔn)備到離倫敦70英里外的坎特伯雷域去朝拜殉教圣人托馬斯?阿?貝克特的圣祠。作者在總序里對每一位香客都作了生動、細(xì)致的描寫。連詩人（喬叟）在內(nèi)，香客們一共是31位，代表中世紀(jì)英國社會的各階層。騎士和他的兒子見習(xí)騎士代表貴族階級和騎士精神，伴隨他們的是仆人，一名自耕農(nóng)。接著是一群教會人物，為首的是一位女修道院長，侍候她的人有一名尼姑和三名教士。其他的教會人物有一位和尚和一名托缽僧，其他社會階層的代表有一位商人、一位牛津大學(xué)學(xué)生（在14世紀(jì)，大學(xué)生也屬于僧侶階層，畢業(yè)后要擔(dān)任神職）、律師、自由農(nóng)民——一位富有的中等地主。還有一群城市中間階層人物，如一名衣帽商，一名木匠，一名紡織匠，一名染坊工人，一名制掛毯的工人，以及一名廚師，一名船員或水手，一位醫(yī)生。巴斯城的婦女——“新女性”的代表，她經(jīng)營織布生意很發(fā)財。鄉(xiāng)村牧師——僧侶階層中社會地位最低下的成員，在喬叟筆下他卻是十分高貴的人物。農(nóng)夫——他是鄉(xiāng)村牧師的弟兄，是一個窮苦的農(nóng)民。還有磨房主、糧食采購員、田產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人、教會法庭的差人、教會經(jīng)售贖罪券者。香客中以后兩種最不齒于社會。最后還有詩人喬叟本人。晚飯后，旅店主人哈里?貝利建議香客們在去坎特伯雷城的來回路上各講兩個故事，他啟告奮勇做向?qū)?，并?dān)任裁判，看誰的故事講得最好，可以白吃一餐好飯?？傂虻酱私Y(jié)束?！犊蔡夭坠适录返钠溆嗖糠职ü适潞豌暯佣温?。喬叟沒有完成他的預(yù)定計劃，故事集只有23個故事，其中有兩個（廚師和見習(xí)騎士各自講的故事）沒有講完。還有7處缺銜接段落。大多數(shù)的故事，和總序一樣，都是用雙韻詩體寫成的，只有兩個故事是用散文寫的（一個是詩人喬叟自已講的《梅里白的故事》，另一個是鄉(xiāng)村牧師講的故事）。還有4個故事（律師、女修道院長、牛津大學(xué)學(xué)生，以及第二個尼姑各自講的故事）是用七行詩段（稱為“君王詩體”）寫的。另外，和尚講的故事是用八行詩段霧的。這些故事可以分成四組：

⑴傳奇（包括愛情、魔術(shù)、騎士探險等故事），如騎士、巴斯城的婦女、見習(xí)騎士和自由農(nóng)民各自講的故事：

⑵度誠和道德教育故事：如律師、牛津大學(xué)學(xué)生、籌二個尼姑、賣贖罪券者、女修道院長、喬叟自已（《梅里白的故事D、醫(yī)生和鄉(xiāng)村牧師講的故事。

⑶喜劇或滑稽故事：如磨房主、田產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人、廚師、托缽僧、教會法庭差人、“商人、”教士的仆人、船頁講的故事。

⑷動物寓言，如尼姑的教士和糧食采購員講的故事。

不屬于上列四類的還有和尚講的關(guān)于大人物下臺的“悲劇”故事以及喬叟講的嘲諷傳奇《托波斯爵士》。和尚和喬叟講的故事過于冗長、乏味，被其他香客打斷。

從以上的分類可以看出喬叟的高度寫作才能。他熟悉中世紀(jì)歐洲文學(xué)所有的類型，能夠運(yùn)用每一種文學(xué)類型的技巧來寫出優(yōu)秀的作品。下列的故事一般公認(rèn)為是《坎特伯雷故事集》里最好的：

⑴騎士講的故事——關(guān)于派拉蒙和阿色提愛上艾米里亞的愛情悲劇故事，⑵賣贖罪券者講的故事——關(guān)于死神降臨貪財者身上的勸世寓言故事。

⑶尼姑的教士講的故事——關(guān)于狡猾的狐貍和虛榮的公雞的動物寓言故事。這是喬叟的杰作，他把一個陳舊的寓言故事轉(zhuǎn)化成一出現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的喜劇，內(nèi)容豐富多彩，語言生動活潑，雅俗共賞。

⑷商人講的故事——關(guān)于“一月”和“五月”的故事（即關(guān)于老夫少妻的家庭糾紛的故事）。

⑸自由農(nóng)民講的故事——關(guān)于忠誠愛情和慷慨行為的故事。

事實(shí)上，《坎特伯雷故事集》里的每一個故事都有它的獨(dú)到之處，讀者可以各取所需。除了這些有趣的、深刻的故事外，故事之間的銜接段落也值得贊揚(yáng)。在這些段落里，喬叟顯示出他的戲劇才能，人物性格寫得鮮明、突出，對話滑稽、有趣。尤其是巴斯城婦女講的故事的序言和賣贖罪券者講的故事的序言，寫得最為精彩。

喬叟雖然是個宮廷詩人；他的生活經(jīng)驗(yàn)卻是多方面的。他熟悉14世紀(jì)英國社會各階層的人物，也了解當(dāng)時的歐洲社會。他熟悉法語和意大利語，但堅持用英語創(chuàng)作。他對英國社會不同階層人物的語言，都能運(yùn)用自如。他處理的題材面很廣，對不同的題材采取不同的處理方法，寫作技巧和手法也是各式各樣的。由于他的視野廣闊，觀察深刻，他寫的14世紀(jì)英國社會的人物具有超國界的特點(diǎn)，也就是說，喬叟善于寫人的普遍的、共同的特點(diǎn)，因此他的作品能夠在世界范圍內(nèi)長期吸引讀者。喬叟熱愛生活，熱愛人。他雖然也善于嘲笑和諷刺人們的缺點(diǎn)和錯誤，但他的總的人生態(tài)度是同情和寬容。喬叟是一位嚴(yán)肅的詩人，一方面給讀者提供極大的樂趣，另一方面仍對讀者進(jìn)行教育，希望讀者成為更理智、更善良的人。但喬叟不愿直接對讀者進(jìn)行說教，總。寓教導(dǎo)于娛樂之中。在關(guān)于忠誠愛情和慷慨行為的故事（自由農(nóng)民講的故事）里有這樣一句話：“真誠是人所能夠保持的最高尚的東西?！边@是喬叟的道德準(zhǔn)則，也是他的藝術(shù)標(biāo)誰。喬叟忠誠于真理，忠誠于現(xiàn)實(shí)，忠誠于自然（包括人性），忠誠于藝術(shù)。喬叟的藝術(shù)是現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的藝術(shù)，他開創(chuàng)了英國文學(xué)的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義傳統(tǒng)。莎士比亞和狄更斯在不同程度上都是喬叟的繼承人和弟子。在中國，喬叟的杰作《坎特伯雷故事集》有方重的散文譯本。

（李賦寧）

以下為《坎特伯雷故事集》介紹；《農(nóng)夫皮爾斯》節(jié)選；《高文爵士與他的綠衣騎士》節(jié)選 Context

The Canterbury Tales is the most famous and critically acclaimed work of Geoffrey Chaucer, a late-fourteenth-century English poet.Little is known about Chaucer’s personal life, and even less about his education, but a number of existing records document his professional life.Chaucer was born in London in the early 1340s, the only son in his family.Chaucer’s father, originally a property-owning wine merchant, became tremendously wealthy when he inherited the property of relatives who had died in the Black Death of 1349.He was therefore able to send the young Geoffrey off as a page to the Countess of Ulster, which meant that Geoffrey was not required to follow in his ancestors’ footsteps and become a merchant.Eventually, Chaucer began to serve the countess’s husband, Prince Lionel, son to King Edward III.For most of his life, Chaucer served in the Hundred Years War between England and France, both as a soldier and, since he was fluent in French and Italian and conversant in Latin and other tongues, as a diplomat.His diplomatic travels brought him twice to Italy, where he might have met Boccaccio, whose writing influenced Chaucer’s work, and Petrarch.In or around 1378, Chaucer began to develop his vision of an English poetry that would be linguistically accessible to all—obedient neither to the court, whose official language was French, nor to the Church, whose official language was Latin.Instead, Chaucer wrote in the vernacular, the English that was spoken in and around London in his day.Undoubtedly, he was influenced by the writings of the Florentines Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, who wrote in the Italian vernacular.Even in England, the practice was becoming increasingly common among poets, although many were still writing in French and Latin.That the nobles and kings Chaucer served(Richard II until 1399, then Henry IV)were impressed with Chaucer’s skills as a negotiator is obvious from the many rewards he received for his service.Money, provisions, higher appointments, and property eventually allowed him to retire on a royal pension.In 1374, the king appointed Chaucer Controller of the Customs of Hides, Skins and Wools in the port of London, which meant that he was a government official who worked with cloth importers.His experience overseeing imported cloths might be why he frequently describes in exquisite detail the garments and fabric that attire his characters.Chaucer held the position at the customhouse for twelve years, after which he left London for Kent, the county in which Canterbury is located.He served as a justice of the peace for Kent, living in debt, and was then appointed Clerk of the Works at various holdings of the king, including Westminster and the Tower of London.After he retired in the early 1390s, he seems to have been working primarily on The Canterbury Tales, which he began around 1387.By the time of his retirement, Chaucer had already written a substantial amount of narrative poetry, including the celebrated romance Troilus and Criseyde.Chaucer’s personal life is less documented than his professional life.In the late 1360s, he married Philippa Roet, who served Edward III’s queen.They had at least two sons together.Philippa was the sister to the mistress of John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster.For John of Gaunt, Chaucer wrote one of his first poems, The Book of the Duchess, which was a lament for the premature death of John’s young wife, Blanche.Whether or not Chaucer had an extramarital affair is a matter of some contention among historians.In a legal document that dates from 1380, a woman named Cecily Chaumpaigne released Chaucer from the accusation of seizing her(raptus), though whether the expression denotes that he raped her, committed adultery with her, or abducted her son is unclear.Chaucer’s wife Philippa apparently died in 1387.Chaucer lived through a time of incredible tension in the English social sphere.The Black Death, which ravaged England during Chaucer’s childhood and remained widespread afterward, wiped out an estimated thirty to fifty percent of the population.Consequently, the labor force gained increased leverage and was able to bargain for better wages, which led to resentment from the nobles and propertied classes.These classes received another blow in 1381, when the peasantry, helped by the artisan class, revolted against them.The merchants were also wielding increasing power over the legal establishment, as the Hundred Years War created profit for England and, consequently, appetite for luxury was growing.The merchants capitalized on the demand for luxury goods, and when Chaucer was growing up, London was pretty much run by a merchant oligarchy, which attempted to control both the aristocracy and the lesser artisan classes.Chaucer’s political sentiments are unclear, for although The Canterbury Tales documents the various social tensions in the manner of the popular genre of estates satire, the narrator refrains from making overt political statements, and what he does say is in no way thought to represent Chaucer’s own sentiments.Chaucer’s original plan for The Canterbury Tales was for each character to tell four tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back.But, instead of 120 tales, the text ends after twenty-four tales, and the party is still on its way to Canterbury.Chaucer either planned to revise the structure to cap the work at twenty-four tales, or else left it incomplete when he died on October 25, 1400.Other writers and printers soon recognized The Canterbury Tales as a masterful and highly original work.Though Chaucer had been influenced by the great French and Italian writers of his age, works like Boccaccio’s Decameron were not accessible to most English readers, so the format of The Canterbury Tales, and the intense realism of its characters, were virtually unknown to readers in the fourteenth century before Chaucer.William Caxton, England’s first printer, published The Canterbury Tales in the 1470s, and it continued to enjoy a rich printing history that never truly faded.By the English Renaissance, poetry critic George Puttenham had identified Chaucer as the father of the English literary canon.Chaucer’s project to create a literature and poetic language for all classes of society succeeded, and today Chaucer still stands as one of the great shapers of literary narrative and character.Language in The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, which bears a close visual resemblance to the English written and spoken today.In contrast, Old English(the language of Beowulf, for example)can be read only in modern translation or by students of Old English.Students often read The Canterbury Tales in its original language, not only because of the similarity between Chaucer’s Middle English and our own, but because the beauty and humor of the poetry—all of its internal and external rhymes, and the sounds it produces—would be lost in translation.The best way for a beginner to approach Middle English is to read it out loud.When the words are pronounced, it is often much easier to recognize what they mean in modern English.Most Middle English editions of the poem include a short pronunciation guide, which can help the reader to understand the language better.For particularly difficult words or phrases, most editions also include notes in the margin giving the modern versions of the words, along with a full glossary in the back.Several online Chaucer glossaries exist, as well as a number of printed lexicons of Middle English.The Order of The Canterbury Tales The line numbers cited in this SparkNote are based on the line numbers given in The Riverside Chaucer, the authoritative edition of Chaucer’s works.The line numbering in The Riverside Chaucer does not run continuously throughout the entire Canterbury Tales, but it does not restart at the beginning of each tale, either.Instead, the tales are grouped together into fragments, and each fragment is numbered as a separate whole.Nobody knows exactly what order Chaucer intended to give the tales, or even if he had a specific order in mind for all of them.Eighty-two early manuscripts of the tales survive, and many of them vary considerably in the order in which they present the tales.However, certain sets of tales do seem to belong together in a particular order.For instance, the General Prologue is obviously the beginning, then the narrator explicitly says that the Knight tells the first tale, and that the Miller butts in and tells the second tale.The introductions, prologues, and epilogues to various tales sometimes include the pilgrims’ comments on the tale just finished, and an indication of who tells the next tale.These sections between the tales are called links, and they are the best evidence for grouping the tales together into ten fragments.But The Canterbury Tales does not include a complete set of links, so the order of the ten fragments is open to question.The Riverside Chaucer bases the order of the ten fragments on the order presented in the Ellesmere manuscript, one of the best surviving manuscripts of the tale.Some scholars disagree with the groupings and order of tales followed in The Riverside Chaucer, choosing instead to base the order on a combination of the links and the geographical landmarks that the pilgrims pass on the way to Canterbury.Plot Overview

General Prologue At the Tabard Inn, a tavern in Southwark, near London, the narrator joins a company of twenty-nine pilgrims.The pilgrims, like the narrator, are traveling to the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury.The narrator gives a descriptive account of twenty-seven of these pilgrims, including a Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Prioress, Monk, Friar, Merchant, Clerk, Man of Law, Franklin, Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Tapestry-Weaver, Cook, Shipman, Physician, Wife, Parson, Plowman, Miller, Manciple, Reeve, Summoner, Pardoner, and Host.(He does not describe the Second Nun or the Nun’s Priest, although both characters appear later in the book.)The Host, whose name, we find out in the Prologue to the Cook’s Tale, is Harry Bailey, suggests that the group ride together and entertain one another with stories.He decides that each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back.Whomever he judges to be the best storyteller will receive a meal at Bailey’s tavern, courtesy of the other pilgrims.The pilgrims draw lots and determine that the Knight will tell the first tale.The Knight’s Tale

Theseus, duke of Athens, imprisons Arcite and Palamon, two knights from Thebes(another city in ancient Greece).From their prison, the knights see and fall in love with Theseus’s sister-in-law, Emelye.Through the intervention of a friend, Arcite is freed, but he is banished from Athens.He returns in disguise and becomes a page in Emelye’s chamber.Palamon escapes from prison, and the two meet and fight over Emelye.Theseus apprehends them and arranges a tournament between the two knights and their allies, with Emelye as the prize.Arcite wins, but he is accidentally thrown from his horse and dies.Palamon then marries Emelye.The Miller’s Prologue and Tale

The Host asks the Monk to tell the next tale, but the drunken Miller butts in and insists that his tale should be the next.He tells the story of an impoverished student named Nicholas, who persuades his landlord’s sexy young wife, Alisoun, to spend the night with him.He convinces his landlord, a carpenter named John, that the second flood is coming, and tricks him into spending the night in a tub hanging from the ceiling of his barn.Absolon, a young parish clerk who is also in love with Alisoun, appears outside the window of the room where Nicholas and Alisoun lie together.When Absolon begs Alisoun for a kiss, she sticks her rear end out the window in the dark and lets him kiss it.Absolon runs and gets a red-hot poker, returns to the window, and asks for another kiss;when Nicholas sticks his bottom out the window and farts, Absolon brands him on the buttocks.Nicholas’s cries for water make the carpenter think that the flood has come, so the carpenter cuts the rope connecting his tub to the ceiling, falls down, and breaks his arm.The Reeve’s Prologue and Tale

Because he also does carpentry, the Reeve takes offense at the Miller’s tale of a stupid carpenter, and counters with his own tale of a dishonest miller.The Reeve tells the story of two students, John and Alayn, who go to the mill to watch the miller grind their corn, so that he won’t have a chance to steal any.But the miller unties their horse, and while they chase it, he steals some of the flour he has just ground for them.By the time the students catch the horse, it is dark, so they spend the night in the miller’s house.That night, Alayn seduces the miller’s daughter, and John seduces his wife.When the miller wakes up and finds out what has happened, he tries to beat the students.His wife, thinking that her husband is actually one of the students, hits the miller over the head with a staff.The students take back their stolen goods and leave.The Cook’s Prologue and Tale

The Cook particularly enjoys the Reeve’s Tale, and offers to tell another funny tale.The tale concerns an apprentice named Perkyn who drinks and dances so much that he is called “Perkyn Reveler.” Finally, Perkyn’s master decides that he would rather his apprentice leave to revel than stay home and corrupt the other servants.Perkyn arranges to stay with a friend who loves drinking and gambling, and who has a wife who is a prostitute.The tale breaks off, unfinished, after fifty-eight lines.The Man of Law’s Introduction, Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue

The Host reminds his fellow pilgrims to waste no time, because lost time cannot be regained.He asks the Man of Law to tell the next tale.The Man of Law agrees, apologizing that he cannot tell any suitable tale that Chaucer has not already told—Chaucer may be unskilled as a poet, says the Man of Law, but he has told more stories of lovers than Ovid, and he doesn’t print tales of incest as John Gower does(Gower was a contemporary of Chaucer).In the Prologue to his tale, the Man of Law laments the miseries of poverty.He then remarks how fortunate merchants are, and says that his tale is one told to him by a merchant.In the tale, the Muslim sultan of Syria converts his entire sultanate(including himself)to Christianity in order to persuade the emperor of Rome to give him his daughter, Custance, in marriage.The sultan’s mother and her attendants remain secretly faithful to Islam.The mother tells her son she wishes to hold a banquet for him and all the Christians.At the banquet, she massacres her son and all the Christians except for Custance, whom she sets adrift in a rudderless ship.After years of floating, Custance runs ashore in Northumberland, where a constable and his wife, Hermengyld, offer her shelter.She converts them to Christianity.One night, Satan makes a young knight sneak into Hermengyld’s chamber and murder Hermengyld.He places the bloody knife next to Custance, who sleeps in the same chamber.When the constable returns home, accompanied by Alla, the king of Northumberland, he finds his slain wife.He tells Alla the story of how Custance was found, and Alla begins to pity the girl.He decides to look more deeply into the murder.Just as the knight who murdered Hermengyld is swearing that Custance is the true murderer, he is struck down and his eyes burst out of his face, proving his guilt to Alla and the crowd.The knight is executed, Alla and many others convert to Christianity, and Custance and Alla marry.While Alla is away in Scotland, Custance gives birth to a boy named Mauricius.Alla’s mother, Donegild, intercepts a letter from Custance to Alla and substitutes a counterfeit one that claims that the child is disfigured and bewitched.She then intercepts Alla’s reply, which claims that the child should be kept and loved no matter how malformed.Donegild substitutes a letter saying that Custance and her son are banished and should be sent away on the same ship on which Custance arrived.Alla returns home, finds out what has happened, and kills Donegild.After many adventures at sea, including an attempted rape, Custance ends up back in Rome, where she reunites with Alla, who has made a pilgrimage there to atone for killing his mother.She also reunites with her father, the emperor.Alla and Custance return to England, but Alla dies after a year, so Custance returns, once more, to Rome.Mauricius becomes the next Roman emperor.Following the Man of Law’s Tale, the Host asks the Parson to tell the next tale, but the Parson reproaches him for swearing, and they fall to bickering.The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale

The Wife of Bath gives a lengthy account of her feelings about marriage.Quoting from the Bible, the Wife argues against those who believe it is wrong to marry more than once, and she explains how she dominated and controlled each of her five husbands.She married her fifth husband, Jankyn, for love instead of money.After the Wife has rambled on for a while, the Friar butts in to complain that she is taking too long, and the Summoner retorts that friars are like flies, always meddling.The Friar promises to tell a tale about a summoner, and the Summoner promises to tell a tale about a friar.The Host cries for everyone to quiet down and allow the Wife to commence her tale.In her tale, a young knight of King Arthur’s court rapes a maiden;to atone for his crime, Arthur’s queen sends him on a quest to discover what women want most.An ugly old woman promises the knight that she will tell him the secret if he promises to do whatever she wants for saving his life.He agrees, and she tells him women want control of their husbands and their own lives.They go together to Arthur’s queen, and the old woman’s answer turns out to be correct.The old woman then tells the knight that he must marry her.When the knight confesses later that he is repulsed by her appearance, she gives him a choice: she can either be ugly and faithful, or beautiful and unfaithful.The knight tells her to make the choice herself, and she rewards him for giving her control of the marriage by rendering herself both beautiful and faithful.The Friar’s Prologue and Tale

The Friar speaks approvingly of the Wife of Bath’s Tale, and offers to lighten things up for the company by telling a funny story about a lecherous summoner.The Summoner does not object, but he promises to pay the Friar back in his own tale.The Friar tells of an archdeacon who carries out the law without mercy, especially to lechers.The archdeacon has a summoner who has a network of spies working for him, to let him know who has been lecherous.The summoner extorts money from those he’s sent to summon, charging them more money than he should for penance.He tries to serve a summons on a yeoman who is actually a devil in disguise.After comparing notes on their treachery and extortion, the devil vanishes, but when the summoner tries to prosecute an old wealthy widow unfairly, the widow cries out that the summoner should be taken to hell.The devil follows the woman’s instructions and drags the summoner off to hell.The Summoner’s Prologue and Tale

The Summoner, furious at the Friar’s Tale, asks the company to let him tell the next tale.First, he tells the company that there is little difference between friars and fiends, and that when an angel took a friar down to hell to show him the torments there, the friar asked why there were no friars in hell;the angel then pulled up Satan’s tail and 20,000 friars came out of his ass.In the Summoner’s Tale, a friar begs for money from a dying man named Thomas and his wife, who have recently lost their child.The friar shamelessly exploits the couple’s misfortunes to extract money from them, so Thomas tells the friar that he is sitting on something that he will bequeath to the friars.The friar reaches for his bequest, and Thomas lets out an enormous fart.The friar complains to the lord of the manor, whose squire promises to divide the fart evenly among all the friars.The Clerk’s Prologue and Tale

The Host asks the Clerk to cheer up and tell a merry tale, and the Clerk agrees to tell a tale by the Italian poet Petrarch.Griselde is a hardworking peasant who marries into the aristocracy.Her husband tests her fortitude several ways, including pretending to kill her children and divorcing her.He punishes her one final time by forcing her to prepare for his wedding to a new wife.She does all this dutifully, her husband tells her that she has always been and will always be his wife(the divorce was a fraud), and they live happily ever after.The Merchant’s Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue

The Merchant reflects on the great difference between the patient Griselde of the Clerk’s Tale and the horrible shrew he has been married to for the past two months.The Host asks him to tell a story of the evils of marriage, and he complies.Against the advice of his friends, an old knight named January marries May, a beautiful young woman.She is less than impressed by his enthusiastic sexual efforts, and conspires to cheat on him with his squire, Damien.When blind January takes May into his garden to copulate with her, she tells him she wants to eat a pear, and he helps her up into the pear tree, where she has sex with Damien.Pluto, the king of the faeries, restores January’s sight, but May, caught in the act, assures him that he must still be blind.The Host prays to God to keep him from marrying a wife like the one the Merchant describes.The Squire’s Introduction and Tale

The Host calls upon the Squire to say something about his favorite subject, love, and the Squire willingly complies.King Cambyuskan of the Mongol Empire is visited on his birthday by a knight bearing gifts from the king of Arabia and India.He gives Cambyuskan and his daughter Canacee a magic brass horse, a magic mirror, a magic ring that gives Canacee the ability to understand the language of birds, and a sword with the power to cure any wound it creates.She rescues a dying female falcon that narrates how her consort abandoned her for the love of another.The Squire’s Tale is either unfinished by Chaucer or is meant to be interrupted by the Franklin, who interjects that he wishes his own son were as eloquent as the Squire.The Host expresses annoyance at the Franklin’s interruption, and orders him to begin the next tale.The Franklin’s Prologue and Tale

The Franklin says that his tale is a familiar Breton lay, a folk ballad of ancient Brittany.Dorigen, the heroine, awaits the return of her husband, Arveragus, who has gone to England to win honor in feats of arms.She worries that the ship bringing her husband home will wreck itself on the coastal rocks, and she promises Aurelius, a young man who falls in love with her, that she will give her body to him if he clears the rocks from the coast.Aurelius hires a student learned in magic to create the illusion that the rocks have disappeared.Arveragus returns home and tells his wife that she must keep her promise to Aurelius.Aurelius is so impressed by Arveragus’s honorable act that he generously absolves her of the promise, and the magician, in turn, generously absolves Aurelius of the money he owes.The Physician’s Tale

Appius the judge lusts after Virginia, the beautiful daughter of Virginius.Appius persuades a churl named Claudius to declare her his slave, stolen from him by Virginius.Appius declares that Virginius must hand over his daughter to Claudius.Virginius tells his daughter that she must die rather than suffer dishonor, and she virtuously consents to her father’s cutting her head off.Appius sentences Virginius to death, but the Roman people, aware of Appius’s hijinks, throw him into prison, where he kills himself.The Pardoner’s Introduction, Prologue, and Tale

The Host is dismayed by the tragic injustice of the Physician’s Tale, and asks the Pardoner to tell something merry.The other pilgrims contradict the Host, demanding a moral tale, which the Pardoner agrees to tell after he eats and drinks.The Pardoner tells the company how he cheats people out of their money by preaching that money is the root of all evil.His tale describes three riotous youths who go looking for Death, thinking that they can kill him.An old man tells them that they will find Death under a tree.Instead, they find eight bushels of gold, which they plot to sneak into town under cover of darkness.The youngest goes into town to fetch food and drink, but brings back poison, hoping to have the gold all to himself.His companions kill him to enrich their own shares, then drink the poison and die under the tree.His tale complete, the Pardoner offers to sell the pilgrims pardons, and singles out the Host to come kiss his relics.The Host infuriates the Pardoner by accusing him of fraud, but the Knight persuades the two to kiss and bury their differences.The Shipman’s Tale

The Shipman’s Tale features a monk who tricks a merchant’s wife into having sex with him by borrowing money from the merchant, then giving it to the wife so she can repay her own debt to her husband, in exchange for sexual favors.When the monk sees the merchant next, he tells him that he returned the merchant’s money to his wife.The wife realizes she has been duped, but she boldly tells her husband to forgive her debt: she will repay it in bed.The Host praises the Shipman’s story, and asks the Prioress for a tale.The Prioress’s Prologue and Tale

The Prioress calls on the Virgin Mary to guide her tale.In an Asian city, a Christian school is located at the edge of a Jewish ghetto.An angelic seven-year-old boy, a widow’s son, attends the school.He is a devout Christian, and loves to sing Alma Redemptoris(Gracious Mother of the Redeemer).Singing the song on his way through the ghetto, some Jews hire a murderer to slit his throat and throw him into a latrine.The Jews refuse to tell the widow where her son is, but he miraculously begins to sing Alma Redemptoris, so the Christian people recover his body, and the magistrate orders the murdering Jews to be drawn apart by wild horses and then hanged.The Prologue and Tale of Sir Thopas The Host, after teasing Chaucer the narrator about his appearance, asks him to tell a tale.Chaucer says that he only knows one tale, then launches into a parody of bad poetry—the Tale of Sir Thopas.Sir Thopas rides about looking for an elf-queen to marry until he is confronted by a giant.The narrator’s doggerel continues in this vein until the Host can bear no more and interrupts him.Chaucer asks him why he can’t tell his tale, since it is the best he knows, and the Host explains that his rhyme isn’t worth a turd.He encourages Chaucer to tell a prose tale.The Tale of Melibee Chaucer’s second tale is the long, moral prose story of Melibee.Melibee’s house is raided by his foes, who beat his wife, Prudence, and severely wound his daughter, Sophie, in her feet, hands, ears, nose, and mouth.Prudence advises him not to rashly pursue vengeance on his enemies, and he follows her advice, putting his foes’ punishment in her hands.She forgives them for the outrages done to her, in a model of Christian forbearance and forgiveness.The Monk’s Prologue and Tale The Host wishes that his own wife were as patient as Melibee’s, and calls upon the Monk to tell the next tale.First he teases the Monk, pointing out that the Monk is clearly no poor cloisterer.The Monk takes it all in stride and tells a series of tragic falls, in which noble figures are brought low: Lucifer, Adam, Sampson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zenobia, Pedro of Castile, and down through the ages.The Nun’s Priest’s Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue

After seventeen noble “falls” narrated by the Monk, the Knight interrupts, and the Host calls upon the Nun’s Priest to deliver something more lively.The Nun’s Priest tells of Chanticleer the Rooster, who is carried off by a flattering fox who tricks him into closing his eyes and displaying his crowing abilities.Chanticleer turns the tables on the fox by persuading him to open his mouth and brag to the barnyard about his feat, upon which Chanticleer falls out of the fox’s mouth and escapes.The Host praises the Nun’s Priest’s Tale, adding that if the Nun’s Priest were not in holy orders, he would be as sexually potent as Chanticleer.The Second Nun’s Prologue and Tale

In her Prologue, the Second Nun explains that she will tell a saint’s life, that of Saint Cecilia, for this saint set an excellent example through her good works and wise teachings.She focuses particularly on the story of Saint Cecilia’s martyrdom.Before Cecilia’s new husband, Valerian, can take her virginity, she sends him on a pilgrimage to Pope Urban, who converts him to Christianity.An angel visits Valerian, who asks that his brother Tiburce be granted the grace of Christian conversion as well.All three—Cecilia, Tiburce, and Valerian—are put to death by the Romans.The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue and Tale

When the Second Nun’s Tale is finished, the company is overtaken by a black-clad Canon and his Yeoman, who have heard of the pilgrims and their tales and wish to participate.The Yeoman brags to the company about how he and the Canon create the illusion that they are alchemists, and the Canon departs in shame at having his secrets discovered.The Yeoman tells a tale of how a canon defrauded a priest by creating the illusion of alchemy using sleight of hand.The Manciple’s Prologue and Tale

The Host pokes fun at the Cook, riding at the back of the company, blind drunk.The Cook is unable to honor the Host’s request that he tell a tale, and the Manciple criticizes him for his drunkenness.The Manciple relates the legend of a white crow, taken from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses and one of the tales in The Arabian Nights.In it, Phoebus’s talking white crow informs him that his wife is cheating on him.Phoebus kills the wife, pulls out the crow’s white feathers, and curses it with blackness.The Parson’s Prologue and Tale As the company enters a village in the late afternoon, the Host calls upon the Parson to give them a fable.Refusing to tell a fictional story because it would go against the rule set by St.Paul, the Parson delivers a lengthy treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins, instead.Chaucer’s Retraction

Chaucer appeals to readers to credit Jesus Christ as the inspiration for anything in his book that they like, and to attribute what they don’t like to his own ignorance and lack of ability.He retracts and prays for forgiveness for all of his works dealing with secular and pagan subjects, asking only to be remembered for what he has written of saints’ lives and homilies.WILLIAM LANGLAND(1330-1400)The Vision of William Concerning 'Piers the Plowman.'

Incipit liber de Petro Plowman Prologus

PROLOGUE The Field Full of Folk 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

In a somer seson whan soft was the sonne, I shope me in shroudes as I a shepe were, In habite as an hermite vnholy of workes, Went wyde in tis world wondres to here.Ac on a May mornynge on Maluerne hulles, Me byfel a ferly of fairy, me thou￥te;I was wery forwandred and went me to reste Vnder a brode banke bi a bornes side, And as I lay and lened and loked in te wateres, I slombered in a slepyng it sweyued so merye, Thanne gan I to meten a merueilouse sweuene, That I was in a wilderness wist I neuer where;As I bihelde in-to te est an hiegh to te sonne, I seigh a toure on a toft trielich ymaked;A depe dale binethe a dongeon tere-Inne, With depe dyches & derke and dredful of sight, A faire felde ful of folke fonde I there bytwene, Of alle maner of men te mene and te riche, worchyng and wandryng as te worlde asketh Some putten hem to te plow pleyed ful selde, In settyng and in sowyng swonken ful harde, And wonnen that wastours with glotonye destruyeth.And some putten hem to pruyde appareiled hem tere-after.In countenaunce of clothyng comen disgised.In prayers and in penance putten hem manye, Al for loue of owre lorde lyueden ful streyte, In hope forto haue heuenriche blisse;As ancres and hermites that holden hem in here selles, And coueiten nought in contre to kairen aboute, For no likerous liflode her lykam to plese.And somme chosen chaffare they cheuen the bettere, As it semeth to owre sy￥t that suche men thryueth;And somme murthes to make as mynstralles conneth, And geten gold with here glee giltles, I leue.Ac iapers & iangelers Iudas chylderen, Feynen hem fantasies and foles hem maketh, And han here witte at wille to worche ￥if tei sholde.That Poule precheth of hem I nel nought preue it here: Qui turpiloquium loquitur is luciferes hyne.Bidders and beggeres fast aboute ￥ede, With her belies and her bagges of bred ful ycrammed;Fayteden for here fode fou￥ten atte ale;In glotonye, god it wote gon hij to bedde, And risen with ribaudye tho roberdes knaues;Slepe and sori sleuthe seweth hem eure.[...]

In a summer season, when soft was the sun, I enshrouded me well in a shepherd's garb, And robed as a hermit, unholy of works, Went wide through the world, all wonders to hear.And on a May morning, on Malvern Hills, strange fancies befell me, and fairy-like dreams.I was weary of wand'ring, and went to repose On a broad green bank, by a burn-side;As I lay there and leaned and looked on the waters, I slumbered and slept, they sounded so merry.Came moving before me a marvellous vision;I was lost in wild waste;but where, I discerned not.I beheld in the east, on high, near the sun, A tower on a hill-top, with turrets well wrought;A deep dale beneath, and a dungeon therein, With deep ditches and dark, and dreadful to see.A fair field full of folk, I found there between, Of all manner of men, the mean and the rich, All working or wand'ring, as the world requires.Some ploughed with the plough;their play was seldom;Some sowing, some earning, with sweat of their brows, The gain which the great ones in gluttony waste.In pride of apparel some passed on their way, And in costliest clothing were quaintly disguised.In prayer and in penance some placed their delight, And all for our Lord's love lived strictly and hard, In hope to have after their heavenly meed;These hermits and anchorites held to their cells, Not caring to roam through the country around For doles of sweet dainties, their flesh to delight.Some chose to be chapmen, to chaffer for gain;As it seems to our sight, such surely succeed.And some, to make merry, as minstrels are wont, Getting gold with their glee, yet guiltless, I trust.As for jugglers and jesters, all Judas's children, That feign silly fancies, apparelled as fools, Having wit, if they willed it, to work as they oughtis a lie, I'd say!

(5)

But Arthur would not eat till all were served.He bubbled to the brim with boyish spirits: liked his life light, and loathed the thought of lazing for long or sitting still longer.So his young blood boiled and his brain ran wild, and in many ways moved him still more as a point of honor never to eat on a high holiday till he should have heard a strange story of stirring adventures, of mighty marvels to make the mind wonder, of princes, prowess, or perilous deeds.Or someone might come, seeking a knight to join him in jousting, enjoying the risk of laying their lives on the line like men leaving to fortune the choice of her favor.This was the king's custom at court, the practice he followed at pleasant feasts held in his hall;

therefore with bold face

he stood there straight and tall.As New Years proceeded apace

he meant to have mirth with them all.(6)

So he stood there stock-still, a king standing tall, talking of courtly trifles before the high table.By Guinevere sat Gawain the Good, and Agravaine of the Heavy Hand on the other side: knights of great worth, and nephews to the king.Baldwin, the bishop, was above, by the head, with Ywain, Urien's son, sitting across.These sat at the dais and were served with due honor;and many mighty men were seated on either side.Then the first course came with a clamor of trumpets whose banners billowed bright to the eye, while kettledrums rolled and the cry of the pipes wakened a wild, warbling music whose touch made the heart tremble and skip.Delicious dishes were rushed in, fine delicacies fresh and plentiful, piled so high on so many platters they had problems finding places to set down their silver bowls of steaming soup: no spot was clear.Each lord dug in with pleasure，and grabbed at what lay near:

twelve platters piled past measure，bright wine, and foaming beer.(7)

I need say no more how they served the food, for what fool would fancy their feast was a famine? But a new noise announced itself quickly enough to grant the high lord leave to have dinner.The music had finished but a moment before, the first course just served, and set before the court, when a horrible horseman hurtled through the doors, his body as brawny as any can be, so bull-necked, big-thighed, bulky and square, so long-legged, large-limbed, looming so tall I can hardly tell if he were half troll, or merely as large as living man can be--a handsome one too;as hearty a hulk as ever rode horse.His back and chest were broad as a barrel, but he slimmed at the waist, with a slender stomach, and his face was well formed, with features sharp and clean--

Men sat there gaping, gasping

at his strange, unearthly sheen，as if a ghost were passing，for every inch was green.(8)

He was got up in green from head to heel: a tunic worn tight, tucked to his ribs;and a rich cloak cast over it, covered inside with a fine fur lining, fitted and sewn with ermine trim that stood out in contrast from his hair where his hood lay folded flat;and handsome hose of the same green hue which clung to his calves, with clustered spurs of bright gold;beneath them striped embroidered silk above his bare shanks, for he rode shoeless.His clothes were all kindled with a clear light like emeralds: His belt buckles sparkled, and bright stones were set in rich rows arranged up and down himself and his saddle.Worked in the silk were too many trifles to tell the half of: embroidered birds, butterflies, and other things in a gaudy glory of green and inlaid gold.And the bit and bridle, the breastplate on the horse, and all its tackle were trimmed with green enamel, even the saddlestraps, the stirrups on which he stood, and the bows of his saddle with its billowing skirts which glimmered and glinted with green jewels.The stallion that bore him was the best of its breed it was plain，a green horse great and strong，that sidled, danced and strained，but the bridle-braid led it along，turning as it was trained.(9)

He was a fine fellow fitted in green--And the hair on his head and his horse's matched.It fanned out freely enfolding his shoulders, and his beard hung below as big as a bush, all mixed with the marvelous mane on his head, which was cut off in curls cascading to his elbows, wrapping round the rest of him like a king's cape clasped to his neck.And the mane of his mount was much the same, but curled up and combed in crisp knots, in braids of bright gold thread and brilliant green criss-crossed hair by hair.And the tossing tail was twin to the mane, for both were bound with bright green ribbons, strung to the end with long strands of precious stones, and turned back tight in a twisted knot bright with tinkling bells of burnished gold.No such horse on hoof had been seen in that hall, nor horseman half so strange as their eyes now held in sight.He looked a lightning flash，they say: he seemed so bright;

and who would dare to clash

in melee with such might?

(10)

Yet he had on no hauberk, nor a helmet for his head, neither neck-guard nor breastplate to break heavy blows, neither shaft nor shield for the shock of combat.But he held in one hand a sprig of holly that bursts out greenest when branches are bare;and his other hand hefted a huge and awful ax, a broad battleax with a bit to tell(take it who can)with a large head four feet long: the green steel down the grain etched with gold, its broad edge burnished and bright, shaped razor-sharp to sheer through steel, and held high on a heavy staff which was bound at the base with iron bands gracefully engraved in bright green patterns.A strap was strung through the steel head, running loop after loop down the length of the handle, which was tied with tassels in abundance, attaching by rich braids onto bright green buttons.This rider reined in as he rode through the doors direct to the high dais without a word, giving no greeting, gazing down on them all.His first word came when he stopped.“Where,” he said, “is the master of these men? I've a mind to see his face and would fancy a chat with the fellow who wears the crown.”

To each lord he turned

and glancing up and down

he fixed each face to learn

which knight held most renown.(11)

They stared at the stranger, stunned, a very long time.For each man wondered what it might mean that man and mount both shone a shade as green as the grass, and greener even than green enamel glows when gold makes it brighter.All eyes were on him, and some edged closer, wondering what in the world he would do.They had seen enough strange sights to know how seldom they are real;therefore they feared him for a phantom, a sending from the Unseen Realm.So of all those noble knights, none dared answer but sat there stupefied by the strength of his voice.A silence fell filling that rich hall as if they'd all fainted or suddenly slept: their voices just vanished at their height.Some, I suppose, were not floored，but chose to be polite，letting their leader and lord

be first to speak to that knight.(12)

Arthur stood watching adventure advance and answered quickly as honor bid, neither awed nor afraid, saying, “Wanderer, know you are welcome here.dismount, if you may;make merry as you wish, and we may learn in a little while what you would like.” “So help me God who sits on high,” he said, “No.” “It is not my purpose to pass any time in this place.But I have been told that your reputation towers to heaven: that your court and castle are accounted the finest, your knights and their steeds as the sturdiest in steel, the best, the boldest, the bravest on earth, and as fitting foes in any fine sport.True knighthood is known here, or so the tale runs, which is why I have come calling today.You may be sure by this branch that I bear that I come in peace, with no plans for battle.I have a hauberk at home, and a helmet too, and other weapons I know well how to wield.Yet as war is not my wish I am wearing soft silk, but, if you are as bold as men believe you to be，you will be glad to grant me the game that is mine by right.”

Then Arthur said, “I swear,”

“most courteous, noble knight，if you'd like to battle bare，you'll not fail to find a fight.”

(13)

“Never fear,” he said, “I'm not fishing for a fight with the beardless children on the benches all about.If I were strapped on steel on a sturdy horse no man here has might to match me.No, I have come to this court for a bit of Christmas fun fitting for Yuletide and New Years with such a fine crowd.Who here in this house thinks he has what it takes, has bold blood and a brash head, and dares to stand his ground, giving stroke for stroke? Here!I shall give him this gilded blade as my gift;this heavy ax shall be his, to handle as he likes.and I shall stand here bare of armor, and brave the first blow.If anyone's tough enough to try out my game, let him come here quickly and claim his weapon!I give up all rights;he will get it for keeps.I'll stand like a tree trunk--he can strike at me once, if you'll grant me the right to give as good as I get in play.But later is soon enough，a full year and a day.Get up, if you think you're rough，let's see what you dare to say!”

(14)

If at first he had stunned them, now they sat stone-still: the whole hall, both high and low.The mounted man moved in his saddle, glared a red glance grimly about, arched his bushy brows, all brilliant and green, his beard waving as he waited for one man to rise, to call or came forward.He coughed loudly, stretched slowly, and straightened to speak.“Hah!They call this King Arthur's house, a living legend in land after land? Where have your pride and your power gone, your bragging boasts, your big words? The glories and triumphs of the Round Table have toppled at the touch of one man's words!What? Fainting with fear, when no fight is offered?” He let out a laugh so loud that Arthur winced with shame;the blood shot to his flushed face and churned

with rage and raised a storm

until their hearts all burned.All king in face and form，he reached that rider, turned，(15)

and said, “Look here, by heaven!Have you lost your mind? If you want to be mad, I will make you welcome!Nobody I know is bowled over by your big words, so help me God!Hand me that ax--I will grant you the gift you beg me to give!” He leaped lightly up and lifted it from his hand.Then the man dismounted, moving proudly, while Arthur held the ax, both hands on the haft, hefted it sternly, considered his stroke.That burly man bulked big and tall, a head higher than anyone in the house.He stood there hard-faced, stroking his beard, impassively watching as he pulled off his coat, no more moved or dismayed by his mighty swings than anybody would be if somebody brought him a bottle of wine.Gawain, sitting by the queen，could tell the king his mind:

“Lord, hear well what I mean，and let this match be mine.”

(16)

“Grant leave, good lord,” said Gawain to the king, “to stir from my seat and stand by your side;that I might rise without rudeness from this table without fear of offending your fair queen, and come before your court as a counselor should.It is plainly improper, as people know well, to point this proposal at the prince himself.Though you may be eager to act for yourself, there are so many bold knights on the benches all about, none more masterful in mind maybe than move move under heaven, nor many built better for the field of battle.Of all your men of war I am the weakest and least wise, and my life little enough to lose, if you look at it clearly.My only honor is that you are my uncle;my only boast is that my body carries your blood.Since this whole matter is such a mockery, it is not meant for you;and I am first on the field: let this folly be mine.If my claim is uncalled-for let the court judge;I will bear the blame.”

They huddled hushed around

and all advised the same:

respect the royal crown，and give Gawain the game.(17)

Then the king commanded him to rise and come forward, and he stood quickly, walked with stately steps to kneel before the king and claim his weapon.Arthur handed it over and held up his hand to give him God's blessing.With a glad smile he charged him to be hardy in heart.“Cousin, careful,” he said, “cut him but once.and if you teach him truly, I trust you will find you can bear the blow that he brings you later.” Gawain went to the warrior, weapon in hand, not the least bit bashful, as bold as can be.Then the Green Knight said to Gawain, “We should go over our agreement before we begin.First, knight, I would know your name, told truly as one I can trust.” “My name is Gawain,” he said, “I give it in good faith, as I will give you a blow and bear what comes after.At this time in twelve months I will take a blow back from what weapon you wish, but from no other knight alive.”

The other answering spoke，“Sir Gawain: good.I derive

great pleasure from the stroke

your hardy hands will drive.”

(18)

“Gad!” the Green Knight said.“Sir Gawain, I am glad that your fist will fetch me the fun I hoped to find.You have quickly retold in trustworthy words a correct account of the contract I asked of the king, save one stipulation that I must state: let it stand as your oath that you will seek me yourself, and search anywhere you feel I may be found to fetch back the same wages I am paid today before this proud court.” “Where should I look?” Gawain asked, “Where do you live?” “By Him that made me, your house is not known to me, neither do I know you, knight, nor your court nor your name.But teach me truly, tell me where to find you and I shall work my wits out to win my way there.I give my plain promise;I pledge you my word.” “That is enough for a New Year's pledge;you need say no more,”--So the green man answered gracious Gawain--“If I'm telling the truth, why, when I've taken your tap, and you've lopped me lovingly, you'll learn at once of my house and my home and how I am named.Then you can try my hospitality and be true to our compact.Or I'll have no words to waste, which would be well for you: you'd relax in this land, and not look for me further.But stop!

Take up the grim tool you need，and show me how you chop.”

“Gladly, sir,” he said, “Indeed,”

and gave the ax a strop.(19)

The green knight got ready, feet firm on the ground;leaned his head a little to let the cheek show, and raised the rich riot of his hair so the nape of his neck was naked and exposed.Gawain held the ax high overhead, his left foot set before him on the floor, swung swiftly at the soft flesh so the bit of the blade broke through the bones, crashed through the clear fat and cut it in two, and the brightly burnished edge bit into the earth.The handsome head fell, hit the ground, and rolled forward;they fended it off with their feet.The red blood burst bright from the green body, yet the fellow neither faltered nor fell but stepped strongly out on sturdy thighs, reached roughly right through their legs, grabbed his graceful head and lifted it from the ground, ran to his horse, caught hold of the reins, stepped in the stirrup, strode into the saddle, the head dangling by the hair from his hand, and seated himself as firmly in the saddle as if he were unhurt, though he sat on his horse without a head.He swiveled his bulk about;

the ugly stump still bled.They gaped in fear and doubt

because of the words he said.(20)

For he held the head up evenly in his hand, turned the face toward the top of the high table, and the eyelids lifted and looked on them all while the mouth moved, making these words: “Gawain, get ready to go as you have promised, Seek me out, sir;search till you find me as sworn here in this hall where all these knights heard.I charge you, come as you chose to the Green Chapel to get as good as you gave--you've got it coming and will be paid promptly when another year has passed.Many men know me as the Knight of the Green Chapel, so search faithfully and you'll not fail to find me.Come, or be called a faithless coward!” He roared like a raging bull, turned the reins, and drove for the door, still dangling the head, while fire flashed from the horse's feet as if its hooves were flints.Where he went no one knew, nor could they name the country he came from nor his kin.What then?

The king and Gawain grinned

and laughed at the Green Knight when

they knew full well it had been

a portent to their men.(21)

Though High King Arthur's heart was heavy with wonder he let no sign of it be seen, but said aloud with a king's courtesy to his lovely queen: “Beloved lady, never let this dismay you.It is good to get such games at Christmas, light interludes, laughter and song, or the whole court singing carols in chorus.But truly, I can turn now to my table and feast;as my word is good, I have witnessed a wonder.” He turned to Sir Gawain and tactfully said, “Hang up your ax;it has cut all it can.” It was attached to a tapestry above the high table for all men to marvel on who might see it there, as a true token of a tale of wonder.Then they sat in their seats to resume their feast, Gawain and the king together, while good men served them the rarest, dearest delicacies in double portions, with whole batteries of the best foods, and the singing of bards.The day finished, and their feast was filled with joy and zest.Sir Gawain, have a care

to keep your courage for the test，and do the deed you've dared.You've begun: now brave the rest.