And their languages laid the foundation of the English language and their literature was the beginning of English one.

3. Anglo- Saxon literature

EL propper begins in the 5th century. It is characterized by its oral nature. And it's represented mostly by songs and legends.

The first great work Anglo-Saxon literature is considered to be: "The Song of Beowulf". This song was composed in the 6th century, but only in the 8th century it was written down.

"Beowulf" tells of a hero of Geats (imaginary tribe) who twice performed his heroic deeds to save people oppressed by supernatural forces. In his youth he performed his first deed in what is now called Danemark. He killed men-eating monster Grendel being unarmed. After that Gremdel's gigantic mother tried to kill Beowulf but he won the struggle by means of the magic sword. Later in his old age after ruling for fifty years as a king of Geats he fought for the 3rd time. It was a dragon which had been eating his people. He successeded in this battle again but died from wounds.

The text contains 3182 lines. It is told in a dignified manner and the descriptions are full of different types of retardation. For example: the description of the attack on Finburg hall.

The style of the poem carries the major elements of epic narration (e.g. a lot of compound nouns and phrases and a lot of verbal stereotypes also called kennings).

England was converted to Christianity in the 7th century AD. With Christianity here appeared a new type of literature: religious poems. One poet of the period is widely known nowadays Cædmon. He was a monk in a dual monastery Whitby. His poems were inspired by the first book of the bible which contained the narration of the world's creation and primeval history. His verses were based on epithets, parallel constructions, interruptions and repetitions.

In christian poetry there was also another type of literature: stories about the saints. They were composed by the person whose name was Cynewulf who lived at the beginning of the 9th century. He is supposed to be the author of two books. The first and major book "The fates of the Apostels" recording of the ends of the lives of the twelve disciples. And the second one which is called "Juliana". It is a story of a girl who was arrested as a Christian, tortured, tempted by the evil and finally crowded with the martyr's death.

10.11.11

All the literature mentioned above was written in poetical form. Later in the 10 th century two prosaic writers appeared. They were King Alfred The Great and Bede the Reverent.

King Alfred played a significant role in recognition of the role of vernacular literature (literature written in native language). He encouraged the process of translation of Latin works into Anglo-Saxon. They were basically tales of diabolic temptations, miracles and visions.

*The so-called "Anglo-Saxon chronicle" was compiled during Alfred's rule and covered a period of english history from the period of Julius Ceasar up to 1154.

*In order to transmit a recognized legal system to future generations he put together earlier law codes supplementing them by biblical commandments and by additions of his own.

*The third thing he did was the translation of major works of Augustine (a roman priest who came to England to christianize the people).

Bede the Reverent was interested in a wide variety of subjects. His most ambitious effort was to recreate classical learning for the use of Anglo-Saxon schools. "Echlasiastical history of the English nations" is his major work and it was completed in 731. This work is of great value for our knowledge of the course of political history of Anglo-Saxon England.

4. Anglo-Norman period of English literature

In 1066 the Normans defeated Anglo-Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. Since that time the Norman conquest began. The Normans were of Scandinavian origin, but 3 centuries before they conquered Britain they had conquered Normandy (the northern part of France). During these 3 centuries they assimilated French culture, habits and language. So when they came to the British Isles they brought with them French language, culture, laws and administration. It resulted in the situation when feudal system of England was completely submitted by French barones. It happened that the rulers and the ruled spoke different languages. The French nobility spoke French. The lower classes of the society spoke Anglo-Saxon. French language became the official language of England, of court, administration and law in particular. It is important to mention that religious people continued to use Latin language for their religious purposes. Three languages were widely used in the course of history.

Accordingly to the number of languages there were three types of literature at that time:

1. Romances (were written in French). The most common plot of any romance was the heroic serving of a knight to his lady (who is most usually a wife of another person). The most prominent romances were telling about the King Authur and his knights of the round table. The most prominent work of this period is called "the Romans of the Rose"

2. Vernacular literature (folklore). It was written in Anglo-Saxon. Those stories were in most cases short satirical stories about clever common people who could easily deceive clergy and knights.

3. Religious literaturewas written in Latin. It told different stories on the basis of the bible.

The preparation of Reneissance

It was the period when London became the center of the country. And the process of centralization was completed London dialect became the central dialect of the country and the majority of people began to speak this exact dialect. The greatest role in the development of the english language was played by Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) his name and creative activity are connected with the formation of the national English language. He is also considered to be a forerunner of the Renaissance in the English literature. At first his creative activity was influenced by French literature that is why the first period is called the French. His earliest poems were imitations of French romances. French poetry taught him rhyme and rhythm. The second period is Italian. At that time Italy was the first country where the Bourgeoisie triumphed over feudalism. Italian literature was at its height. It opened to Chaucer a new world of art.

To this period belong:

A) The House of Fame (a didactic poem)

B) The Parliament of Fowles (an allegorical poem satirizing the english parliament)

C) The Legend of Good Women ( a dream poem in which 9famous women are described)

The third period is the English. The most prominent work of the period is "Canterbury tales". This is a series of stories written in verse, the major frame work is Pilgrimage to Canterbury. In general prologue 30 men and women from all ranks of society are described. We see a brave and honest two nuns and three priests a fat monk who loved hunting and a good dinner. A cheby student of Oxford, a wife of a rich merchant etc. including Chaucer himself and the host of some London inn. Host proposed a plan where each pilgrim was to tell four stories during the pilgrimage to Canterbery. The person who would tell the best story would get a nutritious dinner for free.

The peculiarities of the tales:

· They sum up all types of stories that existed in the middle ages ( the knight tells a romance, the nun tells the story of a saint, the miller tells a funny story, the priest tells a didactic tale)

· Various ranks of society are observed by the author without any discrimination or preference.

· The tales written in a new literary language. Therefore Chaucer is considered to be the father of the English language.

· The main characters are not described as simply being good or bad but every character is treated as a representative of a certain class and profession. So they instantly became typical of their class.

17.11.11.

Among other prominent writers of the period were a poet William Llangland and John Wycliffe.

W. Llangland (1332-1400) was a priest who spoke against rich churchmen. He believed in the grace of hardworking. He is famous for his allegorical poem "piers the Plowman". The poem is performed a form of a dream, human qualities such as virture are real people in the poem. Some of the. Are young maidens such as

There are many themes in the poem, the major of which is the hard life of common people. In his poem Llangland attacks all the evils of the church and class society usual for that time. The poem is remembered for it helped the people to concentrate their minds on the nessecity to fight for their rights.

John Wycliffe (1320-1384) was also a priest. He denied the church's right to be rich and appealed to the authorities to reform the corrupted catholic church. Wycliffe's views can be called the first step towards the materialistic ideas in England. He is remembered by the people for him debated high questions of government in the common tongue ( common eng). He developed the English mind and helped the ideas of Renaissance to become popular and widely spread.

The Renaissance

Historical situation

The "dark" middle ages were followed by the period of Renaissance (re- birth) a series of events which changed the intellectual and moral attitudes of people around the world. The literature of the Renaissance started to teach that men were not evil beings they had a right to live and enjoy themselves as well as develop their talents. The men's happiness was finally here on earth. And it depended on their own strength and mental abilities to achieve it. Men were to be their own guide to truth and happiness. The period of Reniassanse is comprised of three sub periods:

1. First period lasted from the end of the 15 to the beginning of the 16th century (Pre-renaissance)

2. Second period is called Elisabethan Age ( the second half of the 16th - the beginning of the 17th century) - the best period of the English renaissance. Literature was at its peak. This period is connected with the name Shakespeare.

3. Third period 1616 to the 40s of the 17th century. The period of decay of English humanism.

Pre- renaissance

Many of new ideas were popularized by the so-called humanists. The major of which is Thomas More (1478-1535). He began his careeras a lawyer but eventually proceeded to a member of a parliament. In 1529 he was even made Lord Chancellor. But the problem was Thomas More was completely against the King's absolute power. He was accused of treason and beheaded. The work by which he is best remembered is "Utopia" (1560). It is a name of non-existent island. This book is represented by two parts. In the first the author gIves a profound (deep) image of the people's sufferings and points out the social evils existing in England at that time. The second part presents his ideal of what the future society should be like. "utopia" was the first literarry work in which the ideas of communism appeared. (no private property, the people own everything in common and enjoy complete economic equality. Everyone cares for their neighbors and each has a clean and healthy house to live in. Labour is the most essential feature of life in utopia but no one is overworked. After More a tendency began in literature to write fantastic novels on social reforms.

2. Elizabethan age. It was characterized by the splendour its poetry and drama lyrical poetry became wide spread in England and (the major influence had the italian sonnet. It consisted of 14 lines. They were divided into two groups: 1. 8 lines - the octave; 2. Of 6th lines - sestet.) the foremost poet of the time was Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) descended from a noble house but his parents were poor. He was taught Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French at Cambrige while at college he acted in the theatre which inspired him to write poetry. The most famous of his poems are: "Shepherd's Calendar" and "Fairy Queen".

The Calender is a poem about ideal Shefferd's life. It consits of 12parts each dedicated the one of the month of the year the whole making up the calendar.

The Fairy Queen is an allegorical poem representing the court of Queen Elizabeth. Prince Authur is the hero of the poem in a vision he sees a GlorIana - a fairy queen. He falls in love with her and armed by Merlin strts seeking her in Faireland.

The most prominent representative of the drama art of this period was Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). He studied at Cambridge and was greatly influenced by the ideas of Reneiccanse. After Cambridge he went to London started an acting career but after an accident in theatre he obtained some problems with his leg and took to writing place. His major plays are "Doctor Faustus", "The Jew of Malta" and "Edward the Second". He showed through all of his plays the fascination of power.

Doctor Faustus is based on the story of the power given by knowledge.

The Jew of Malta represents the power of money.

Edward II is based on the problem of losing power.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) little can be told about his life with certainty. His native town is supposed to be Straford on Avon. His father was engaged in wool industry. He was married to Ann Hathaway and he moved to London to earn money. His creative activity is divided into three periods: 1. 1590-1600 (comedies) the emotional coloring of the comedies is witty and optimistic. The heroes are creators of their own fate. The virtues bring them happiness. Even Romeo and Juliette (1594) doesn't have the note of grief. The mood full of promise dominates since the death of the heroes reconciliate unites the two hostile families. 1593 - taming of the shrew. 1595 - a midsummer night dream. 1600 - the twelveth night. Shakespeare's poems and 154 sonnets were also written during this period.

2. 1601- 1608 ( tragedies) this period presents great human problems. The author understood that human happiness depended not only on cleverness and virtues but also on social situation. Shakespeare showed that social injustice flourishing in the period led to the nessecity to change the world the laws if men and his morals. 1601 hamlet, 1604 - othello, 1605 - king leer and Macbeth

3. 1609 - 1612 (tragicomedies) in spite of their genre there is no tragic tension in this place. The emotional and ideological conflicts are less strong the author transports to a world of fantasy and allegory. They are full of mood of resignation. 1609- Cymbeline, 1612 Henry VIII.

24.11.2011

3. The period of English Bougrous revolution and restavraration of Monarchy. (2nd half of the 17 century)

The English b. Revolution was caused by different social and political events major of which was the struggle between the monarchy and the parliament for power. It began in 1628 when Charles I dismissed the parliament for 11 years. In 1639 Scotland started a war against England. So the king had to summon parliament again and sign the parliamentary act. This act put the King's ministers under the pariament's control. The king eventually disliked this state of things and started a riot after two great battles against parliamentary forces Charles was taken to prison and beheaded in 1649. England was proclaimed a common wealth. The major force in the society became the so called puritans. They proclaimed modest life, economy and labour as major major virtues. They also considered all types of Intertainments a great sin. When they came to power, theaters were closed. Theatre buildings were destroyed and actors were proclaimed tramps. The literature of the period is interesting for two facts:

The political struggle laid the foundation of journalism.

The literature of the period was to a great extend over shadowed by catholic reaction and Puritan movement.

The first representative of this period was John Milton (1608-1674). He is considered to be greatest publicist during the Puritan revolution. His works and pamphlets gave theoretical foundation to the struggle of Bourgousee against the monarchy. He was born in London educated at Cambridge and after graduating he retired to the country side where he took up writing poetry.

The periods of Milton's creative activity:

1625 - 1640 Italian. It is characterized by humanistic ideals in the Puritan society.

1640 - 1660 English. Milton worked as Latin secretary of the council of state and was made ton write political pamphlets on revolutionary England.

E.g. "Defense of the people of England", "the tenure of King's and madgestrettes. Milton made Europe understand that the revolution in England was not just the great rebellion but the only force which could give the people rights and freedoms.

1660 - 1674. The death Cromwell was followed by the restavration of Monarchy. Milton was discharged from his office. His works were burned. He had to move to small village where he created his best works: "paradise lost" and "paradise regained"

"paradise lost" was written at the time when the revolution ended unsuccessfully but the spirit of it was nit yet broken. In this poem the place of action is the Universe. The characters are Satan, God, three guardian angels - Raphael, Gabriel and Michael and the first man and woman. The revolutionary spirit is shown in Satan who revoltes against God. Down into hell he falls. But Satan is not tone overcome. He is to fight against God who is a tyran and despotic to the free mind. Though banished from heaven Satan is glad to have gained freedom. We see throughout the whole poem that Satan posseses human qualities. He pities th rebel angels who have lost heavenly life for his own sake. Hi is determined to go on with his war against god.that is why he decides to sedduce people to do wrong. The poem can be divided into three logical parts: 1. The rise of Satan against god. 2. The life of Adam and Eve in paradise and their fall.

3. The life of Adam and Eve after the fall.

The second prominent writer of the period whose creativity belongs to the restavration mainly is John Bunyan (1629-1688). The restavration of the monarchy brought new tendencies and ideas into the social life and literature. Charles II brought from France different morals which were excidingly against Puritan society. Theaters were reopened. New plays staged in them were indecent and light minded. Showing the immorality of the upper classes. The progressive writers (Bunyan) were against the new tendencies. They criticized the aristocracy and the court.

Bunyan represented a democratic layer of the puritans. He was closely connected with the life of common people as he himself was from a ery poor family. He was not educated and the only book he read was the bible. When he was young he joined th army after that he was imprisoned and spent there 12 years. It was in prison where he strted to write. His greatest work is "pilgrim's progress" (путь паломника) it is an allegorical novel by means of allegory Bunyan satirically describes the social life of his time. The novel describes the way which the main character undertakes the trip to the Eternal City (regular metaphor to Rome). On his way he visits different places the City of Morality, the city Distruction, the city of Vanity. These cities are considered to be the symbols of the rising Bourgousee. The novel exposes the corruption of the restavration nobility which is opposed to Bunyan's Puritan ideal of simple and pure life. Bunyan is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 17th century as his works paved the way for the 18th century novelists Thackeray and his "Vanity Fair" to be more precised.

1.12.11