第1單元　杰弗里?喬叟

1.1　復習筆記

Geoffrey Chaucer （杰弗里·喬叟） （1340-1400）

1Life （生平）

Geoffrey Chaucer, born in 1343 in London, is the founder of English poetry. He was the son of a wine merchant who had connections with the Court. He later became a courtier and comptroller.

Chaucer’s learning was wide in scope. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. He had broad and intimate acquaintance with persons high and low in all walks of life, and knew well the whole life of his time, which left great impressions upon his works and particularly upon his variegated depiction of the English society of his time.

He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, thus founding the Poets’ Corner.

杰弗里·喬叟于1343年出生于倫敦，他是英語詩歌之父。他是一個與宮廷有聯(lián)系的酒商的兒子。他后來擔任過侍臣和審計官。

喬叟知識淵博。他精通拉丁語、法語和意大利語。他結(jié)交廣泛且易與人深交，無論是貴族還是貧民,因此他深諳所處世事。這尤其有益于他在作品中對英國社會的刻畫。

他逝于1400年，被葬在威斯敏斯特教堂，由此“詩人角”開始出現(xiàn)。

2Major Works （主要作品）

The Book of the Duchess (1336) 《公爵夫人之書》

The Parliament of Fowls (1380) 《百鳥議會》

The House of Fame (1374-1384) 《聲譽之堂》

Troilus and Criseyde (1380-1385) 《特羅勒斯與克麗西德》

The Canterbury Tales (1386-1400) 《坎特伯雷故事集》

3Chaucer’s Literary Career （文學生平）

Chaucer’s literary career can be divided into three periods, which is closely related to his life experiences. The first period consists of works translated from French literature; the second consists of works adapted from Italian literature, especially influenced by Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, such as Troilus and Criseyde. The third period includes The Canterbury Tales, which is purely English.

喬叟的文學生平可劃分為三個階段，均與其個人生活經(jīng)歷有關。第一階段喬叟的作品主要是翻譯法國文學，第二階段則改編于意大利文學，深受但丁、彼特拉克和薄伽丘的影響，如《特羅勒斯與克麗西德》。第三階段包括《坎特伯雷故事集》，這是純英語創(chuàng)作階段。

4Selected Work （選讀作品）

◆The Canterbury Tales（1386-1400）《坎特伯雷故事集》

(1) Main plot（內(nèi)容提要）

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.

《坎特伯雷故事集》是一部詩體短篇小說集，敘述朝圣者一行人會聚在泰巴旅店，他們準備前往坎特伯雷去朝拜圣托馬斯。途中他們進行講故事比賽，講得最好的人，回到旅店后大家合起來請他吃飯。

(2) Social Significances of The Canterbury Tales（社會影響）

a. It shows a true-to-life picture of Chaucer’s time.

b. Taking from the stand of rising bourgeoisie, Chaucer affirms men and opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the Church.

c. He praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life.

d. His tales expose and satirize the evils of his time, attack degeneration of the noble, the corruption of the Church.

a. 展示喬叟時代的真實生活畫面。

b. 站在發(fā)展中的小資產(chǎn)階級的立場，喬叟肯定了人的力量，反對教會宣揚的禁欲主義。

c. 贊揚了人的力量，智慧和對生活的熱愛。

d. 展現(xiàn)并批判了時代的罪惡，批判了貴族和教會的墮落。

(3) Chaucer’s Language（喬叟的語言）

a. Chaucer’s language, now called Middle English, is vivid and exact. He is a master of word-pictures. His verse is among the smoothest in English.

b. Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the heroic couplet to English poetry.

c. Chaucer did much in making the dialect of London the standard for the modern English speech.

d. Chaucer is good at the terza rima, which makes his language a high style. This is what other poets cannot reach.

a. 喬叟的語言屬于中英語，非常形象準確。他是用語言構(gòu)建圖畫的大師。他的詩歌位列最順暢的英語中。

b. 喬叟對英語詩歌的貢獻主要在于他將法國的韻腳重復的詩節(jié)（尤其是英雄雙韻體）介紹到英國。

c. 喬叟在使倫敦方言成為現(xiàn)代英語的標準中發(fā)揮了重要作用。

d. 喬叟善于使用三行體，這種詩體使他的語言很高雅。這是其他詩人無法匹敵的。