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1、EnglishLiteratureIINTRODUCTIONEnglishLiterature, literature producedinEngland,fromtheintroductionofOldEnglishbytheAnglo-Saxonsinthe5thcenturytothepresent.TheworksofthoseIrishandScottishauthorswhoarecloselyidentifiedwithEnglishlifeandlettersarealsoconsideredpartofEnglishliterat
2、ure.ForotherIrishandScottishauthors,seeIrishLiterature;ScottishLiterature.ForotherliteraturesinEnglish,seeAmericanLiterature:Drama;AmericanLiterature:Poetry;AmericanLiterature:Prose;AustralianLiterature;CanadianLiterature.IIOLDENGLISH,ORANGLO-SAXON,ERAThis period extends froma
3、bout450to1066,theyearoftheNorman-FrenchconquestofEngland.TheGermanictribesfromEuropewhooverranEnglandinthe5thcentury,aftertheRomanwithdrawal,broughtwiththemtheOldEnglish,orAnglo-Saxon,language,whichisthebasisofModernEnglish(seeEnglishLanguage).Theybroughtalsoaspecificpoetictra
4、dition,theformalcharacterofwhichremainedsurprisinglyconstantuntiltheterminationoftheirrulebytheNorman-Frenchinvaderssixcenturieslater.APoetryMuch of Old English poetrywasprobablyintendedtobechanted,withharpaccompaniment,bytheAnglo-Saxonscop,orbard.Oftenboldandstrong,butalsomou
5、rnfulandelegiacinspirit,thispoetryemphasizesthesorrowandultimatefutilityoflifeandthehelplessnessofhumansbeforethepoweroffate.Almostallthispoetryiscomposedwithoutrhyme,inacharacteristicline,orverse,offourstressedsyllablesalternatingwithanindeterminatenumberofunstressedones(seeV
6、ersification).Thislinestrikesstrangelyonearshabituatedtotheusualmodernpattern,inwhichtherhythmicalunit,orfoot,theoreticallyconsistsofaconstantnumber(eitheroneortwo)ofunaccentedsyllablesthatalwaysprecedeorfollowanystressedsyllable.Anotherunfamiliarbutequallystrikingfeatureinthe
7、formalcharacterofOldEnglishpoetryisstructuralalliteration,ortheuseofsyllablesbeginningwithsimilarsoundsintwoorthreeofthestressesineachline.All these qualities offormandspiritareexemplifiedintheepicpoemBeowulf,writtensometimebetweenthe8thcenturyandthelate10thcentury.Beginningan
8、dendingwiththefuneralofagreatking,andcomposedagainstabackgrou
