Epic, a poem that celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic personages of history or traditio Basic information （1） the national epic of the Anglo-Saxon and English people） a long poem of about 3,000 lines3）a folk legend brought to England by the Anglo-Saxons from their continental home.///Features

（1） The use of alliteration (certain accented words in a line beginning with the same consonant sound, generally 4 accents in a line, three of them showing alliteration（2） The use of metaphor 3） The use of understatements 1. The Romance

The romance, the most prevalent kind of literature in feudal England, was a long composition, in verse or in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances was the knight, （2）The romance cycles/groups1.“matters of Britain” (adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table)1. The theme --- loyalty (the corner-stone of feudal morality)2. The audience --- of the Court or of the castle3. The governing rule --- chivalry2. The Ballads1 A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-lins stanzas, with the second and fourth lines rhymed（3）The Robin Hood Ballads 1.The origin： The perpetual struggles of the peasants against the landlords, against the local officials and against the king’s judges.2.The character：The hatred for the cruel oppressors and his love for the poor and downtrodden

三． Major writer: Geoffrey Chaucer—the founder of English poetry杰弗雷.乔叟

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2. “The Canterbury Tales” (1307 -1400)《坎特伯雷故事集》

--- Chaucer’s masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature. 1 A collection of tales and stories 4 Twenty-nine other pilgrims (adding up to 31) to Canterbury 5Each telling two stories while going and two returning24 stories told altogether (Chaucer tells two)

（3）the social significance

1Affirming men and women’s right to pursuit happiness on earth 2 Opposing the dogma of asceticism preached by the church3 Praising men’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life.4）. Chaucer’s language (Middle English) Vivid and exact“heroic couplet”, the rhymed couplet of iambic pentametre 2 Doing much in making the dialect of London the foundation for modern English speech(1) The Nun’s Priest’s Tale 1One of the most admired of the Tale 2 the most typically “Chaucerian” in tone and content 3 telling of a fox that beguiled a cock by praising his father’s singing, and being in return beguiled by the cock by pausing to boast at his victory(2) The Wife of Bath’s Tale

1 The owner of a cloth factory, light-hearted, merry, somewhat vulgar, and exceedingly talkative 4(Chaucer) drawing widely on the medieval anti-feminist tradition

(3) The Pardoner’s Tale 1 Declaring his own covetousness and taking it as its theme

2 Relating covetousness to other sins: drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, swearing

1 Renaissance What features: a thirsting curiosity for classical literature; the keen interest in life and human activities;