四、18世纪文学
Chapter Four The Eighteenth Century
Ⅰ. Social Background
The course of the 18th century presents a broad contrast to the disruption and change of the 17th. A desire for rational agreement, and an increasing confidence, is the keynote of the century. The novel appeared in this century. England and her empire within the British Isles prospered by improvements in agriculture and industry, and by trade with her overseas empires, at first commercial, then territorial. The dominant spirit of the century was the Enlightenment, a name given by historians to a phase succeeding the Renaissance and followed by Romanticism. The Enlightenment believed in the universal authority of reason, and in its ability to understand and explain. 广西来宾一中It favored toleration and moderation in religion, and was helpful about the rational perfectibility of man, and optimistic about human future.
Ⅱ. Literary Characteristics
The prose:
In the 18th century, for the first time in English literature history, prose actually excelled poetry both in quantity and quality. The chief reason for this lies in the fact that age was by nature prosaic rather than poetical; it was reflective and practical rather than inspired and enthusiastic. The rise of the periodical press profoundly modified English prose. The most important writer were Jonathan Swift(江奈生·斯威夫特), Richard Steele(理查德·斯梯尔).
The novel:
The novel as most people think of it today first appeared in England in the early eighteenth century with the publication of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe(1719). The rise of the novel is usually associated with the rise of the middle classes. The novel in England by and large reports upon the experiences of middle-class people
who have to work for a living. The novel emerged in the early 18th century was taking shape at this time. The novel serves as a mirror for this new middle-class audience, a mirror through which they can see the dilemmas of their own lives reflected. Such novels tend to be realistic and secular. The most important novelists are Daniel Dofoe(丹尼尔·笛福), Samuel Richerdson(塞缪尔·理查逊), Henry Fielding(亨利·菲尔丁).
The poetry:
The 18th century has been regarded as the age of prose, but English poetry did not stop its developing. In poetry the most outstanding feature was the domination of the heroic couplet (英雄对偶体). The lyric had become trivial and empty. 大学生村官调研报告But satirical poetry flourished. The most important poets were Alexander Pope(亚历山大·蒲伯), Thomas Gray(托马斯·格雷), Robert Burns(罗伯特·彭斯).
The drama:
浙江大学校医院陈文备
It was not very important. In the early 18th century, English drama adopted a more emotional and moralistic tone, resulting in comedies often designated as sentimental. Although other types of comedy remained popular during 18th century, sentimental comedy held a sufficiently prominent place to inspire a reaction and a return to so-called laughing comedy. Important play writers: Oliver Goldsmith(奥立佛·哥尔德斯密), Richard Sheridan(理查德·谢立丹).
Terms:
感伤主义文学（Sentimentalism）：是以斯特恩的小说《感伤旅行》而得名的，其特点是排斥理性，崇尚情感，注重对生存和死亡意义的探索，强调对大自然的体味和赞叹。感伤主义作为一种文学现象，不仅表现在小说上，在诗歌领域也一度盛行。 墓畔派诗人（The Graveyard School）：
是指１８世纪那些描写死亡与哀挽的诗人。诗歌的主题是死亡和永。
托马斯·格雷的《墓园挽歌》是墓畔派最著名的作品。它将“退隐乡间的诗歌与有关死亡之平等待人本性的夜思交织在一起”。
Ⅲ . Major Writers and Their Works
Prose writers:
Jonathan Swift(江奈生·斯威夫特)(1667-1745) --------讽刺大师 He is considered to be the greatest prose satirist of the 18th century. His writing features: 1st, its universal quality is easily observed. 2nd, its gigantic power is also plain. 3rd, the bitter scorn, almost insane at times, is quite genuine. 4th, his style-clean-cut, precise, and yet bold and slashing十字军东征的影响—is his greatest literary asset. It is the ideal style for the satirist.
His works:
A Tale of a Tub 一只木桶的故事 宗教讽刺寓言
The Battle of Books 书之战 第一部作品
Gulliver’s Travels 格列佛游记 代表作 小说
Drapier’s Letters 布商信札
A Modest Proposal 一个小小的建议 讽刺短文，体现其语言风格
Novelist：
Daniel Dofoe(丹尼尔·笛福)(1660-1731) ----------中产阶级作家代表，现代小说先驱
He has been regarded as the father of the modern novel. He was a man of wide learning; speaking and reading seven languages, and his interests and activities were many. Defoe’s plain, businesslike style serves his purpose in conveying a world of commerce and middleclass life.
His works:
The Life and Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe 鲁滨逊漂流记 代表作 the first novel in the complete modern sense
Captain Singleton 辛格尔顿船长
Moll Flanders 摩尔·弗兰德斯 重要
网络购物定义Colonel Jack证件哥 杰克船长
Henry Fielding(亨利·菲尔丁)(1707-1754) ----“喜剧散文史诗”
According to Fielding, the appropriate subject of the novel is human nature. He puts on display the merits and the weaknesses of humanity. As a playwright, Fielding’s rank is not elevated. But as a novelist his place is a definite one. He is the greatest novelist in the 18th century. He was the first major novelist not only to unabashedly write fiction but also to accurately define and explain the novel as a literary genre.
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