3.English literature of the XVII c.

Metaphysical poets The metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them, and whose work was characterized by inventiveness of metaphor (these involved comparisons being known as metaphysical conceits). These poets were not formally affiliated; most of them did not even know or read each other. Their poetry was influenced greatly by the changing times, new sciences and the new found debauched scene of the 17th century. Metaphysical poetry is concerned with the experience of human beings, of love, romance, sensuality, relationships, learning and art. Some of the greatest Metaphysical poets include: John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Richard Crashaw, and Thomas Traherne. Read more about the Metaphysical Poets. The first issue: "Gender, Family, Household: SeventeenthCentury Norms and Controversies" provides important religious, legal, and domestic advice texts through which to explore cultural assumptions about gender roles and the patriarchal family. "Paradise Lost in Context," the second topic for this period, surrounds that radically revisionist epic with texts that invite readers to examine how it engages with the interpretative traditions surrounding the Genesis story, how it uses classical myth, how it challenges orthodox notions of Edenic innocence The third topic, "Civil Wars of Ideas: Seventeenth-Century Politics, Religion, and Culture," provides an opportunity to explore, through political and polemical treatises and striking images, some of the issues and conflicts that led to civil war and the overthrow of monarchical government (1642-60). The climax to all this was the highly dramatic trial and execution of King Charles I (January 1649), a cataclysmic event that sent shock waves through courts, hierarchical institutions, and traditionalists everywhere. 22. English literature of the Middle ages In the 12th century, a new form of English now known as Middle English evolved. This is the earliest form of English literature which is comprehensible to modern readers and listeners, albeit not easily. Middle English lasts up until the 1470s, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, became widespread and the printing press regularized the language. Middle English Bible translations, notably Wyclif's Bible, helped to establish English as a literary language. There are three main categories of Middle English Literature: Religious, Courtly love, and Arthurian. William Langland's Piers Plowman is considered by many critics to be one of the early great works of English literature along with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (most likely by the Pearl Poet) during the Middle Ages. It is also the first allusion to a literary tradition of the legendary English archer, swordsman, and outlaw Robin Hood. The most significant Middle English author was Geoffrey Chaucer who was active in the late 14th century. Often regarded as the father of English literature, Chaucer is widely credited as the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacular English language, rather than French or Latin. The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus, and a towering achievement of Western culture. The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Chaucer's Parlement of Foules 1382.[1] The multilingual audience for literature in the 14th century can be illustrated by the example of John Gower, who wrote in Latin, Middle English and Anglo-Norman. Among the many religious works are those in the Katherine Group and the writings of Julian of Norwich and Richard Rolle. Since at least the 14th century, poetry in English has been written in Ireland and by Irish writers abroad. The earliest poem in English by a Welsh poet dates from about 1470.

20. Ernest Hamingway Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899 July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. For a serious writer he achieved a rare cult-like popularity during his life time. E. Hemingway was a prolific letter writer and many of his letters were published in "Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters". The influence of Hemingway`s writings on American literature is considerable and continues today. E. Hemingway wrote different novels such as "A Farewell to Arms", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "The Old Man and the Sea", "The Garden of Eden" and others. This author is not only popular but he is something more than this. His name is a token (symbol) of a literary success. He is a "legend". A lot of people knew about him even those who did not read his books. E. Hemingway`s works of literature were exceptionally attractive. Impressions of different readers of his books (stories novels) may be different which depends on taste, education, life experience, mood, etc. And as we speak about E. Hemingway and his works, it is worth while mentioning that some readers accept his writings like something written in "dark" colours. E. Hemingway`s, style due to his works, is characterized by economy and understatement. Foundation of the author`s talent lies in the way of the expressiveness of his motives for writing the work beyond the surface contents. Thus, we may speak about the so-called "iceberg" in the writings of the author because the most part of iceberg is under water and the theme is in the hidden contents. If we take into consideration "Fiesta", we may speak about the principle of contrast used in this novel. Thus, we see the bright sunny scenes of Spanish Fiesta and impressionistic sketches of noisy Parisian life that sound as tragic dissonance to the emotional state of the characters, who can not force their way through the cover of their loneliness. E. Hemingway`s characters think that life in Paris is exciting but empty. To escape the sophistication and corruption of the city, they travel to more traditional world of Spain. If we speak about short-stories, for instance, "A Day`s Wait" or "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" or others, we may find out the way of the author`s structure. Usually there are no expositions in the texts in order to plunge into the precise moments of events or atmosphere of the stories. The author demonstrates a subtle feeling of a dialogue and exact description in his short stories. In this story we see E. Hemingway`s attitude which is hostile and unfriendly to wealthy people. And the other interesting moment in the author`s styleis that some moments written in the works are derived from personal experience. And also among the ways of writing is symbolism, for instance, the symbol of a "lion" in the story mentioned above ("The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"). Thereby, E. Hemingway`s skill in narrative is perfect. His style is clear-cut and elegant. And the works of this author turned out to be the classics of the genre. 23. William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616)[nb 1] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.[1] He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".[2][nb 2] His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays,[nb 3] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.[3] Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.[4] Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.[5] [nb 4] His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and

18. American Realism During the late 19th century, and into the 20th century artists and musicians contributed to the idea of realism in the American setting. Each, though slightly different in concept or subject, was defining what was going on in front of his or her eyes, without imagining a past or a future. While it has been stated that American Realism was a Neoclassical movement borrowing from ancient classical interpretations of art and architecture, this statement is false. American Realism was actually the opposite; instead of reflecting back to antiquities, artists, writers and musicians were concerned with recording the grit and the true reality of the early 20th century in America. American realism was an early 20th century idea in art, music and literature that showed through these different types of work, reflections of the time period. Whether it was a cultural portrayal, or a scenic view of downtown New York City, these images and works of literature, music and painting depicted a contemporary view of what was happening; an attempt at defining what was real. In America at the beginning of the 20th century a new generation of painters, writers and journalists were coming of age. Many of the painters felt the influence of older American artists such as Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, J. Alden Weir, Thomas Pollock Anshutz, and William Merritt Chase. However they were interested in creating new and more urbane works that reflected city life and a population that was more urban than rural in America as it entered the new century. Writers: Mark Twain <The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn> , Stephen Crane <A Girl of the Streets> (1893), is one of the best, if not the earliest, naturalistic American novel. William Dean Howells (18371920), wrote fiction and essays in the realist mode. His ideas about realism in literature developed in parallel with his socialist attitudes.[citation needed] In his role as editor of the Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine, and as the author of books such as A Modern Instance and The Rise of Silas Lapham, Howells exerted a strong opinion and was influential in establishing his theories. 9. Functional Style Functional Style is a system of interrelated language means serving a definite aim in communication. It is the coordination of the language means and stylistic devices which shapes the distinctive features of each style and not the language means or stylistic devices themselves. Each style, however, can be recoquized by one or more leading features which are especially conspicuous. For instance the use of special terminology is a lexical characteristics of the style of scientific prose, and one by which it can easily be recognized. A style of language can be fined as a system of coordinated, interrelated and inter-coordinated language means intended to full-fill a specific function of communication and aiming at a defined effect. Style of language is a historical category. The English literary system has evolved a number of styles easily distinguishable one from another. They are not homogeneous and fall into several variants of having some central point of resemblance or better to say. All integrated by the invariant - i.e. the abstract ideal system. They are: 1) Official(documents and papers); 2) Scientific (brochures, articles, other scientific publications); 3) Publicistic (essay, public speech); 4) Newspaper style(mass media); 5) Belles-lettres style(genre of creative writing); Each of mentioned here styles can be expressed in two forms: written and oral.

accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry".[6] In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. 4. Intonation. Its structure Intonation is an indispensable component of communication, because it is instrumental in conveying the meaning. No sentence can exist without a particular intonation. By Russian linguistics intonation is viewed as a complex structure formed by significant variations of pitch, loudness and temp. Some linguists also include voice tembre. British and American linguists have a narrower view of intonation. They restrict it to pitch changes only and identify intonation and melody, because pitch has the most important sense in conveying the meaning. There is another term widely used in phonetics prosody. Generally in research the term intonation is applied to the analysis of sentences while prosody covers a broader field from a syllable to a text. To avoid unnecessary discussion we are going to use both terms as synonyms. It is generally acknowledged that intonation is the language universal. No language can exist and function without it. Therefore we speak about the functions of intonation. Let us consider the intonation pattern, the basic unit of intonation. The components of the intonation pattern are: nucleus head tail prehead The nucleus is the most important component of the intonation pattern. The function of intonation pattern is to actualize syntagms in oral speech into intonation groups. Syntagm is a group of words which is semantically and syntactically complete. Let us take the following example: I hope | you understand everything. The sentence contains 2 syntagms. But one can pronounce it in one or two intonation groups. The actualized syntagm is called the intonation group. The number of intonation groups depends on the length of the phrase and the degree of semantic importance or emphasis given to various parts of it.

12. Grammatical changes Noun. The category of gender was lost; and the loss was total, with no remnants in any of the nominal parts of speech. The category of number was preserved; it had grounds. Due to the reduction of the unstressed vowels all these came to -es -0 -e or -0 -en So finally we have -es ,-en, which becomes a competing ending, and a group of conservative nouns retain the vowel interchange. Ending -es was invariably added to form the plural The Verb. All types of verbs existing in Old English - strong, weak, preterite-present and irregular were preserved in Middle English. In each type we find changes due to phonetic developments of this period, but the proportional value of the weak ones is greater and continues to grow, and a tendency is already traced - that is, some of the former strong verbs are drifting in the direction of the weak ones. The drift was not a comprehensive one; there was even a reverse process, some of the former weak ones became strong.

10. Rise of the London dialect

The dialect division which evolved in Early ME was on the whole preserved in later periods. In the 14th and 15th c. we find the same grouping of local dialects: the Southern group, including Kentish and the South-Western dialects (the South-Western group was a continuation of the OE Saxon dialects), the Midland or Central (corresponding to the OE Mercian dialect is divided into West Midland and East Midland as two main areas) and the Northern group (had developed from OE Northumbrian). And yet the relations between them were changing. The most important event in the changing linguistic situation was the rise of the London dialect as the prevalent written form of language. The history of the London dialect reveals the sources of the literary language in Late ME and also the main source and basis of the Literary Standard, both in its written and spoken forms. The Early ME written records made in London beginning with the PROCLAMATION of 1258 show that the dialect of London was fundamentally East Saxon. Later records indicate that the speech of London was becoming more fixed, with East Midland features gradually prevailing over the Southern features. The formation of a national language was greatly forsed by two events of the late 15th century. The most significant event of the period was the War of Roses (1455 1485) Another great event was the introduction of printing. Printed books was a first- rate factor in fixing spellings and grammar.