Môn học nhằm cung cấp các khái niệm cơ bản về văn học, và các tác phẩm văn học Anh-Mỹ tiêu biểu. Với phương pháp trích giảng, sinh viên vận dụng các kiến thức về lịch sử xã hội Anh-Mỹ đã học vào việc phân tích và cảm nhận tác phẩm. Trong quá trình học sinh viên có cơ hội thể hiện sự hiểu biết của mình về các tác phẩm và tác giả bằng cách tham gia vào các vở kịch, thảo luận, viết bài luận phân tích.
Trang 1HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY MID -TERM TEST ON ENGLISH AND AMERICAN
LITERATURE
FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH (No 3)
Subject Code: EN16 Full name:
Date of birth:
Group:
Student Code:
MÃ ĐỀ SỐ 03
I Answer the following questions: (50 points )
1 What do you know about the contents of “The Song of Beowulf”?
2 What is the historical background of the Anglo-Norman period?
(The file sent will be named after each student’s name Plagiarism will lead to failure)
ANSWERS
1 “The Song of Beowulf” is an Old English poem about a Scandinavian prince of the same name
The story of Beowulf is divided into three parts: (1) Beowulf's adventure with Grendel; (2) Beowulf's adventure with Grendel's mother who comes to avenge her son; (3) Beowulf is engaged in an adventure with the dragon
The protagonist Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands, then kills Grendel's mother with a giant's sword that he found in her lair
Later in his life, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon, some of whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed Beowulf decides to follow the dragon to its lair at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares to join him Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded in the struggle He is cremated and a burial mound by the sea is erected in his honour
Trang 22 The Anglo Norman (1066 CE- 1300 CE) period marked the end of the Germanic Saxon rule in England On 14th October, 1066 CE, William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings and became the first Norman King of England
a) The Conflict between the Normans and the Anglo Saxons
In 1066 CE, the Anglo Saxon king Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) died without a legitimate heir As a result, the Anglo Saxon parliament also known as witenagemot declared Harold Godwinson or Harold II as the next king of England He also became the first English king to be crowned at the Westminster Abbey However, this decision of the council was not welcomed by everyone
In Norway, Harold III or Harald Hardrada considered himself to be the rightful king of the English throne Interestingly, his claim was not without reason and was based on a deal between the Danish Anglo-Saxon king Harthacanute (1040-1042) and the former Norwegian king Magnus
On the other hand, just like Harold III, the Duke of Normandy, William I also saw himself at the rightful king of England His claim was founded upon Aethelred's marriage
to Norman Emma that had formed an alliance between the Anglo Saxons and the Normans With Harold Godwinson ascending the English throne, the alliance between the Normans and the Anglo Saxons was negatively impacted
b) The Battle of Stamford Bridge- 25th September 1066 CE
In Order to claim the English throne, Norwegian Harald Hardrada attacked Harold Godwinson in the battle of Stamford Bridge The English army defeated the Norwegians
in a fierce battle The battle of Stamford Bridge also marked the end of the age of the Vikings raids Consequently, the English army was significantly depleted and exhausted
-a f-actor th-at would l-ater cost them de-arly
c) The Battle of Hastings - 14th October 1066 CE
The Normans under the leadership of William the Conqueror had aimed to attack Harold Godwinson earlier but had been unable to do so due to bad weather This proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Normans as the Battle of Stamford Bridge had already fatigued and depleted the English army and had made them an easier target to attack Six Hundred ships and Seven Thousand men assembled from France and Germany to attack a vulnerable English army
On the 14th of October, 1066 CE , the Battle of Hastings began at Senlac Hill Despite being extraordinary fierce and almost driving the Norman army, the Anglo Saxons were ultimately defeated As a result, William I ( also known as William the Conqueror) was
Trang 3crowned the first Norman king of England on 25th December 1066 This marked the beginning of the Anglo Norman period
The Norman conquest marked the beginning of the Anglo Norman period While the Anglo Norman period transformed the Anglo Saxon literature, the Norman conquest did not bring about dramatic social changes The Normans respected English institutions, cultures, and customs and even considered themselves as English The Anglo Norman period exposed England to a more international European culture that was at the time being dominated by French literature and sensibilities
d) List of Kings during the Anglo Norman period (1066 - 1327)
* Below is a list of Kings who ruled the English throne during the Anglo Norman period
William I or William the Conqueror (1066-1087): The very first Norman king of England.
He was also known as William the Bastard It was him who began the Domesday Survey to document all the property and material possessions his kingdom contained William II or William Rufus (1087-1100): An unpopular and cruel king who was killed
while hunting He was never married
Henry I or Henry Beauclerc (1100-1135): He was the fourth son of William I and was
popularly known as the 'Lion of Justice' for providing England with good laws His daughter Matilda became his successor She was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet
Stephen (1135-1154): Being a woman, Matilda did not succeed the English throne after
Henry I's death Stephen was a legitimate grandson but a weak ruler During his reign, England was constantly raided and attacked by the Scots and the Welsh It was also during Stephen's rule that Matilda invaded from Anjou in a civil war called the Anarchy The war ended with the Treaty of Westminster according to which Matilda's son Henry was named the next king of England
* The following Plantagenet Kings ruled England during the Anglo Norman period
Henry II (1154-1189): Henry II was Matilda's son He was a capable ruler and a brilliant
soldier who ruled most regions of France He also laid the foundation of the English jury system It was Henry II who had a feud with Thomas Becket over the rights of the Church, which eventually led to Becket's murder by Henry's followers
Richard I (1189-1199): Also known as 'Lionheart', Richard I was the third son of Henry
II He rarely stayed in England and spent most of his time and country's money of foreign military ventures Richard I died without any children
Trang 4John (1199-1216): He is often termed as the worst king of England While Richard I was
the third son, John was the fourth son of Henry II He was a cruel king notorious for raising taxes till the whole nation united against it
Henry III (1216-1272): Ascended the English at the young age of 9 years He was a
religious man who devoted his life to religion, art, and learning
* Kings of Wales and England in the Anglo Norman Period
Edward I or Edward Longshanks (1272-1307) : He was also known as the Hammer of
the Scots He wanted to unify Britain and was married to Eleanor.
Edward II (1307-1327): He was a weak ruler and an incompetent soldier who was
defeated by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 He was deposed in 1327 and was succeeded by Edward III
II Comments (50 points)
What are your comments on the first masterpiece of English literature - “The Song of Beowulf ”?
ANSWERS
- Beowulf is an epic poem of more than 3,100 lines originally written in Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) about a Scandinavian prince of the same name It was composed and recorded in Britain between the seventh and tenth centuries by an unknown author Though the specific characters and plot are mostly fictional, the poem paints a historical picture of sixth-century Danish, Swedish, and Germanic peoples
- Beowulf is the first of the epics in English poetry The story deals with three episodes which are connected together only by the central figure of the hero himself Beowulf is no national epic like Homer's Iliad The story is mere folklore
- Beowulf cannot be a national epic, for neither its characters, nor its events belong to Anglo-Saxon England It may be concluded that Beowulf is an adaptation of Scandinavian saga in Anglo-Saxon poetry It has a foreign basis but a national form The atmosphere of the poem and the outlook on life embodied in Beowulf show a curious fusion of the Pagan and Christian elements Beowulf holds a special position in the Anglo-Saxon literature because it is the only complete extant epic of its kind in the ancient Germanic language It is a heroic poem celebrating the exploits of a great warrior Its style is elevated with concrete phrases, picturesque compounds, permanent epithets and uniform stately movement of rhythmic language, richness of details and digressions
- Beowulf is not a true epic Though certain episodes and the sustained gravity of tone tend to make Beowulf a historical poem, the incidents of the plot are romantic and
Trang 5supernatural Adventures of monsters and dragons are more like a nursery tale than a heroic narrative There is no perfection of technique as in the Homeric epic
- Writing style is forceful and expressive, conveying with an economy of words The use
of compound words should be noted especially The verse is strongly rhythmical The stressed syllables are the ones which bear the alliteration The poem has remarkable literary qualities which lift it to the level of an epic The poem is written with a long line The lines do not rhyme, but each line has alliteration, and the poet has a special and extensive vocabulary
- Beowulf is s a picture of the social life of a primitive age It has a great historical significance The splendor and the banquets and revelries in the court are drawn with realism The life of the common people, who eat and drink and sleep after day's labor, too receives the attention of the poet Beowulf holds a special position in the Anglo-Saxon literature because it is the only complete extant epic of its kind in the ancient Germanic language The poem gives a very valuable and faithful historical record of ancient Teutonic life - their system of government, social institutions, their culture and religion, their belief and superstitions At the head of the social hierarchy of the Anglo-Saxons, there was the lord or chieftain of a clan living in a large hall of a city or a fortified place Ceremonies are elaborate and gorgeous There is supreme respect for Kingship Women play a prominent part gracing feasts in ceremonies with their presence They often show political wisdom Courage and loyalty are the chief virtues of men
- Beowulf is a great warrior who loves glory and adventures in a foreign land He is gifted with iron resolution, fearlessness and dutifulness and spirit of self-sacrifice He has the attributes of an ideal hero The poem reflects the ideal of that state of society which is called the heroic age The philosophy of life is Teutonic-sober, melancholy and stern It celebrates the heroism of a great warrior where character and actions are held up as a model of aristocratic Virtue But an elegiac note pervades the poem At the moment of Beowulf's supreme triumph, Hrothgar discourses on human vanity and the inexorability
of fate
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