第2部分　文艺复兴与莎士比亚 (1485-1616)

第3章　英国文艺复兴时期文学

1How did England become the most powerful country during the Tudor reign?

Key: The Tudor reign reached its summit during the time of Queen Elizabeth (reigning 1558-1603), who adopted moderate policies to achieve a balance both between the rising middle class and the feudal lords and between the Protestants and the Catholics. It was a peaceful time and England became a powerful state. In 1588 the English navy defeated the Spanish invincible Armada and thus eliminated her most dangerous enemy on the high seas and in the world trade. English ships started to visit lands all over the world, including America and other distant countries. They brought home great wealth and fortunes and set up the first English colonies overseas as well.

2What does the word “Renaissance” mean and why do we call this historical period the English Renaissance Period?

Key: Renaissance is a French word, meaning “rebirth” or “revival”, and in this particular context, it means the revival of arts and sciences of ancient Greece and Rome after the long years of neglect in the medieval time.

In England, at first a great number of classical works were translated into English in the 15th and 16th centuries and English scholars and men of letters showed a strong interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and science. They followed in the wake of the intellectual and literary movement which began in the 14th century in Italy and later spread to France, Spain, Holland and other western European countries. This was usually called the Renaissance Movement in England and its ideal was Humanism.

3Give a brief account of Thomas More’s life and his major work Utopia.

Key: Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) was the most prominent humanist of this period, and he was also a Parliament member and a judge by profession. He devoted his spare time to writing and wrote the famous book Utopia in Latin, which was published in 1516.

In the book More meets a traveler at Antwerp, who has seen a place called Utopia, or “Land of Nowhere”, where communism is adopted as the social system, education is offered to all people, including women, and religious differences are tolerated. It presents More’s ideal of the best possible government form. And since then the word “Utopia” has been used all over the world for ideals that are usually beyond human reach.

4Name Spenser’s major literary work and tell what it is about.

Key: Spenser’s major literary work is The Faerie Queene.

(1)It is an allegorical romance in verse. According to his plan, there should be 12 books, each telling the adventures of one knight dispatched by the Faerie Queen, Gloria, who represents glory in general and Queen Elizabeth in particular. (2)According to his contemporary thought, the virtuous man knows how to govern himself, and thus is qualified to govern others. (3)In the poem Spenser identifies the good ruler with the good man and emphasises the importance of education. (4)But Spenser only managed to finish six books, in which the six virtues of Truth, Temperance, Friendship, Justice, Chastity, and Courtesy are presented.

5Name more writers (poets and playwrights) of this period and tell what you know about them.

Key: (List out some writers in this period and introduce their lives and major works according to the textbook.)

6What are Bacon’s chief contributions?

Key: Bacon’s chief contributions are that he wrote many significant works, which have become great wealth of human being.

7Who was the greatest playwright before Shakespeare? Discuss one of his plays.

Key: Christopher Marlowe was the greatest playwright before Shakespeare.

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, written in blank verse, is Marlowe’s masterpiece. The story is taken from a medieval German legend, but Marlowe emphasizes humanistic ideals through Faustus’ pursuits. Fed up with the four subjects of medieval knowledge (theology, philosophy, medicine and law), he turns to magic to seek the supernatural. Finally he succeeds in raising Mephistophilis, the Devil’s servant and strikes a contract with him, by which Mephistophilis will satisfy his desires such as conjuring the spirit of Alexander the Great in a king’s court, marrying Helen of Greece, and so on. And in exchange for all these services done for him, he agrees to sell his soul to the Devil. He goes through endless spiritual and moral struggles between good and evil during his transaction with Mephistophilis. But, he also shows the Renaissance human spirit of pursuing knowledge and infinite power, as well as the courage to challenge fate and authority. Although Marlowe’s drama lacks variety of characterisation and construction, his success with the blank verse and his mighty dramatic lines mark him as the most important predecessor of Shakespeare.

8What kind of comedy is Ben Jonson’s special contribution? And as a playwright how different is Ben Jonson from Shakespeare?

Key: “Comedy of humours” is Ben Jonson’s special contribution.

He forms a nice contrast to Shakespeare. (1)Jonson’s theory of “humours” reduces his characters to types, who represent greed, vanity, falsehood, etc. They are flat, one-sided and have no development. Unlike him, Shakespeare digs deep into human nature and depicts the complexities of human relations. (2)Ben Jonson advocates classic Roman and Greek masters, strictly observes the three unities and disapproves of any mixture of the tragic with the comic, while Shakespeare creates according to his own judgment and the taste of the audience, and is very flexible in his handling of drama rules set by his predecessors.

Their differences were so obvious that later Samuel Johnson described one as the poet of art and the other as the poet of nature. However, Jonson could not but see the great talent in Shakespeare, and as a good playwright and a learned man himself, he also admired his rival.