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1、ENGLISHLITERATURECANTERBURYPILGRIMSFromRoyalMS.,18D.ii,intheBritishMuseumPREFACEThisbook,whichpresentsthewholesplendidhistoryofEnglishliteraturefromAnglo-SaxontimestothecloseoftheVictorianEra,hasthreespecificaims.Thefirstistocreateortoencourageineverys
2、tudentthedesiretoreadthebestbooks,andtoknowliteratureitselfratherthanwhathasbeenwrittenaboutliterature.Thesecondistointerpretliteraturebothpersonallyandhistorically,thatis,toshowhowagreatbookgenerallyreflectsnotonlytheauthor'slifeandthoughtbutalsothesp
3、iritoftheageandtheidealsofthenation'shistory.Thethirdaimistoshow,byastudyofeachsuccessiveperiod,howourliteraturehassteadilydevelopedfromitsfirstsimplesongsandstoriestoitspresentcomplexityinproseandpoetry.Tocarryouttheseaimswehaveintroducedthefollowingf
4、eatures:(1)Abrief,accuratesummaryofhistoricaleventsandsocialconditionsineachperiod,andaconsiderationoftheidealswhichstirredthewholenation,asinthedaysofElizabeth,beforetheyfoundexpressioninliterature.(2)Astudyofthevariousliteraryepochsinturn,showingwhat
5、eachgainedfromtheepochpreceding,andhoweachaidedinthedevelopmentofanationalliterature.(3)Areadablebiographyofeveryimportantwriter,showinghowhelivedandworked,howhemetsuccessorfailure,howheinfluencedhisage,andhowhisageinfluencedhim.(4)Astudyandanalysisofe
6、veryauthor'sbestworks,andofmanyofthebooksrequiredforcollege-entranceexaminations.(5)Selectionsenough--especiallyfromearlierwriters,andfromwritersnotlikelytobefoundinthehomeorschoollibrary--toindicatethespiritofeachauthor'swork;anddirectionsastothebestw
7、orkstoread,andwheresuchworksmaybefoundininexpensiveeditions.(6)Afrank,untechnicaldiscussionofeachgreatwriter'sworkasawhole,andacriticalestimateofhisrelativeplaceandinfluenceinourliterature.(7)Aseriesofhelpstostudentsandteachersattheendofeachchapter,inc
8、ludingsummaries,selectionsforreading,bibliographies,alistofsuggestivequestions,andachronologicaltableofimportanteventsinthehistoryandliteratureofeachperiod.(8)ThroughoutthisbookwehaverememberedRogerAscham'ssuggestion,madeoverthreecentur