1、Part V The 17th Century 2,John Milton & John Bunyan,John Milton -author of the epic poem Paradise Lost,Born: 9 December 1608 Birthplace: London, England Died: 8 November 1674 Best Known As: The author of the epic poem Paradise Lost,John Milton,John Milton - education,John Milton wrote essays, sonnet
2、s and, most importantly, Paradise Lost, considered by many scholars the greatest epic poem of the English language. Milton was a Londoner and received his education at Christs College, Cambridge (1625-32), where he wrote his famous poem “On the Morning of Christs Nativity.” In 1632 39 he engaged in
3、private study writing the masque (假面剧) Comus (first performed 1634) and the elegy “Lycidas“ (1638) and toured Europe, spending most of his time in Italy.,Great Gate of Christs College, Cambridge,Christs College, Cambridge,John Milton - a revolutionary,During his career Milton was an active voice on
4、contemporary issues of politics and religion, and during the English Civil War he sided with the anti-royalists under Oliver Cromwell. His rousing tracts supporting the Commonwealth - which included an argument defending the execution of Charles I - led to a position as a foreign secretary (1649). M
5、ilton somehow managed to escape serious punishment after the restoration of the monarchy (1660) and lived the remainder of his life quietly.,John Milton - writing of Paradise Lost,Blind after 1652, he dictated the entirety of Paradise Lost (1667), the story of Satans rebellion (and defeat) and the f
6、all of Adam and Eve.,John Milton - works,Four years later he published the story of Christs triumph over Satans temptations in Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes，a dramatic poem in which the Old Testament figure conquers self-pity and despair to become Gods champion. His other famous writings in
7、clude the masque Comus (1637), a defense of free speech titled Areopagiticaz (1644) and several sonnets, including “On His Blindness” and “On His Deceased Wife”.,Paradise Lost - the Fall of Man,Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books; a second e
8、dition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books. The poem concerns the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.,Paradise Lost,Paradise Lost - Creation of man,In the Bible, Adam and Eve were the first man and t
9、he first woman. The Book of Genesis tells that God created Adam by breathing life into “the dust of the ground.” Later, God created Eve from Adams rib. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, telling them that they could eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden except the fruit of the tre
10、e of knowledge of good and evil. They lived happily until the serpent (Satan) tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.,Creation of man,Adam and Eve,Garden of Eden,Satan,Paradise Lost - the Fall of Man,She ate, and gave the fruit to Adam, who also ate; they immediately became aware and ashamed of thei
11、r nakedness. Because of Adam and Eves disobedience, God drove them from the garden into the world outside, where Eve would suffer in childbirth and Adam would have to earn his livelihood by the sweat of his brow. The direst consequence of Adam and Eves disobedience was death: “ Dust thou art,” said
12、God, “and unto dust shalt thou return.”,Paradise Lost - the Fall of Man,After their expulsion, Eve gave birth to sons, first Cain and Abel and then Seth, and thus Adam and Eve became the parents of humankind. Adam and Eves sin and their consequent loss of Gods grace and the enjoyment of paradise are
13、 referred to as the Fall of Man or simply “the Fall.”,Fall of Man,The Fall of Man,Paradise Lost - Miltons purpose,Miltons purpose, stated in Book I, is “to justify the ways of God to men“ (l. 26) and elucidate (阐明, 说明) the conflict between His eternal foresight (深谋远虑) and free will.,Paradise Lost -
14、Satan the fallen angel,Satan The main protagonist of this epic is the fallen angel, Satan. Looked at from a modern perspective it may appear to some that Milton presents Satan sympathetically, as an ambitious and proud being who defies his tyrannical creator, omnipotent (全能的, 无所不能的) God, and wages w
15、ar on Heaven, only to be defeated and cast down.,Paradise Lost - Miltons sympathy for Satan,Milton worked for Oliver Cromwell and thus wrote first-hand for the English Commonwealth. Arguably, the failed rebellion and reinstallation of the monarchy left him to explore his losses within Paradise Lost.
16、 Some critics say that he sympathized with the Satan in this work, in that both had experienced a failed cause.,Paradise Lost - Milton of the Devils party without knowing it,In William Blakes The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the “voice of the devil“ argues: The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he
17、 wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it. This statement became the most common reinterpretation of the work in the 20th century.,Paradise Lost - Comments,The story is innovative in that it attempts to reco
18、ncile the Christian and Pagan traditions: like Shakespeare, Milton found Christian theology lacking, requiring something more. He tries to incorporate Paganism, classical Greek references and Christianity within the story. He greatly admired the classics but intended this work to surpass them. The p
19、oem grapples with many difficult theological issues, including fate, predestination (前预定), and the Trinity. .,Paradise Lost - contemporary interpretation,In contemporary critical theory in other words, the main thrust of the work becomes not the perfidy (背信弃义; 不忠) or heroism of Satan, but rather the
20、 tension between classical conservative “old testament“ hierarchs evidenced in Satans worldview, and even in that of the archangels (天使长，大天使) Raphael and Gabriel, and “new testament“ revolutionaries (embodied in the Son of God, Adam, and Eve) who represent a new system of universal organization base
21、d not in tradition, precedence (优先权; 级别高低), and unthinking habit, but in sincere and conscious acceptance of faith on the one hand, and on station (位置, 岗位, 地位, 身份) chosen by ability and responsibility.,Paradise Lost - contemporary interpretation,Naturally, this critical mode makes much use of Milton
22、s other works and his biography, grounding itself in his personal history as an English revolutionary and social critic.,Paradise Regained- Jesus overcoming the temptations of Satan,Paradise Regained, a second blank-verse poem in four books, describes how Jesus, a greater individual than Adam, overc
23、ame the temptations of Satan.,Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained - style,In both works, Miltons characterizations of Satan, Adam, Eve, and Jesus are penetrating and moving. Indeed, his portrayal of Satan is so compelling that many 19th-century critics maintained that he rather than Adam was the hero
24、of Paradise Lost. In these two great works Miltons language is dignified and ornate (华美的；绚丽的), replete (充满的) with biblical and classical allusions, allegorical representations, metaphors, puns, and rhetorical flourishes (华丽的辞藻).,Samson Agonistes - a blank verse tragedy,Samson Agonistes (Greek: “Sams
25、on the agonist“) is a work of blank verse tragedy. It is a poetic drama modeled on classical Greek tragedy but with biblical subject matter, appeared together with Paradise Regained in 1671.,Samson- Israelite warrior hero,Israelite (以色列人, 犹太人) warrior hero of the Old Testament Book of Judges (士师记, 又
26、译民长记, 旧约全书之一卷). His mother had been told by an angel that she would bear a son whose life would be dedicated to God and whose hair must never be cut. His long hair was a symbol of his vows to God, and because of this covenant (契约, 盟约) Samson was strong.,Samson- Israelite warrior hero,Samson performe
27、d many powerful acts, including slaying a lion and moving the gates of Gaza (加沙, 西南亚地中海岸港市,巴勒斯坦的一部分,1967年被以色列占领). The enemies of his people, the Philistines (腓力斯人), accomplished his destruction through the woman Delilah (黛利拉, 妖妇).,Samson- Israelite warrior hero,When he revealed to the Philistine wom
28、an that his hair was the source of his strength, she shaved his head while he was sleeping, leaving him powerless. He was blinded and enslaved by the Philistines, but later his strength was restored as his hair grew long again and he pulled down the pillars of a temple where 3,000 Philistines had ga
29、thered, killing them and himself.,Samson- Israelite warrior hero,Samson- Israelite warrior hero,The Samson cycle was probably drawn from popular oral folk tales and may be a myth connected with the cult of sun worship. Miltons Samson Agonistes is a celebrated English poem on the blinded Samson.,On H
30、is Blindness - wrote the poem after going totally blind,Milton wrote the poem after going totally blind at the age of forty-three or forty-four. Milton is concerned that in his blindness he is not able to serve God well. He refers to the parable related by the Lord Jesus concerning those who hide th
31、eir talents, and how God will judge them ( see the gospel of Matthew, Ch. 25 vs 14-30).,On His Blindness - the realization that God doesnt “ need “ any mans service,He is concerned that God will judge him for his inability as a blind man to do for God as a seeing man can. He comes to the realization
32、 that God doesnt “ need ” any mans service, and as he is sovereign over even our infirmities (缺陷；弱点),our patient acceptance of our limitations ( even if in human eyes we seem inactive) can give as much glory to God as those ,who in Gods providence (神的眷顾;上帝的保佑), are able to more actively serve God, a
33、nd “who best/ Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.”,Cf: Matthew 11,28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and m
34、y burden is light.Matthew 11 King James Bible 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew
35、 11New American Standard Bible,On His Blindness - the voice of suffering humanity,This, too, is an expression of a recognizable human experience. As we absorb the poem, we listen to the voice of suffering humanity. For all its particularity, the poem arouses our awareness of something that is close
36、to the experience of everyone - the tragedy of human life, the debilitating (使衰弱；使虚弱) catastrophe that changes a persons whole life, the psychic pain that cannot be brushed aside because it is a daily reality.,On His Blindness - faces the facts of life at their worst,The poem does what art often doe
37、s: it faces the facts of life at their worst. One function of art, therefore, is to allow us to grapple with our own problems from a safe distance. This is a sonnet written in the Petrachan style. The rhyming scheme is abbaabbacdecde.,On His Deceased Wife - three marriages,Miltons life, as well as s
38、ome of his ideas, were no doubt influenced by his three marriages. In 1642 he married Mary Powell, who was seventeen at the time. She left him after a few weeks because of their emotional incompatibility, but reconciled with him in 1645. They had three daughters and a son together before her death i
39、n 1652. His experience with Mary shaped his opinions on divorce, which led to his famous pamphlet concerning the subject.,On His Deceased Wife - written in memory of Katherine Woodcock, his second wife,Four years after Marys death, Milton married Katherine Woodcock. She died two years later after gi
40、ving birth to a daughter who lived only a few months. In her memory, Milton composed his sonnet, “On His Deceased Wife.”（1656）. Milton had now been some time totally blind. His third marriage with the much younger Elizabeth Munshill was apparently happy.,On His Deceased Wife - rhyme scheme,1. Alcest
41、is: see Euripides. 2. Great son: Hercules. 3. Glad husband: Admetus. 4. Veild: so was Alcestis. Rhyme scheme: abbaabbacdcdcd a Petrachan sonnet,John Bunyan,Writer / Religious Figure Born: November 1628 Birthplace: Elstow, Bedfordshire, England Died: 31 August 1688 Best Known As: Author of The Pilgri
42、ms Progress (天路历程),John Bunyan,John Bunyans birthplace,John Bunyans tomb in London,I. Life and career - a religious figure,After a brief period at the village free school, Bunyan learned the tinkers trade, which he followed intermittently throughout his life. Joining the parliamentary army in 1644,
43、he served until 1647. The reading of several pious books and a constant study of the Bible intensified Bunyans religious beliefs, and in 1653 he began acting as lay preacher for a congregation (会众；某地区的全体教徒) of Baptists in Bedford.,I. Life and career - a religious figure,In this capacity he came into
44、 conflict with the Quakers led by George Fox and turned to writing in defense of his beliefs. In 1660 agents of the restored monarchy arrested him for unlicensed preaching, and he remained in prison for the next 12 years.,John Bunyan in prison,I. Life and career - a religious figure,During this peri
45、od Bunyan wrote nine books, the most famous of which is Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (罪人头目的赦免 1666), a fervent spiritual autobiography. Soon after his release in 1672 he was reimprisoned briefly and wrote the first part of his masterpiece The Pilgrims Progress from This World to That Whic
46、h Is to Come(天路历程), published in 1678. A second part appeared in 1684.,I. Life and career - a religious figure,By the time Bunyan was released from his second imprisonment, he had become a hero to the members of his sect, and he continued preaching and writing until his death. The principal works of
47、 these later years are The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (培德曼先生生死录 1680) and The Holy War (圣战 1682).,I. Life and career -writing of The Pilgrims Progress,The Pilgrims Progress is an allegory recounting Christians journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City (【宗】天国，天上乐园); the second part
48、 describes the manner in which Christians wife, Christiana, makes the same pilgrimage. Remarkable for its simple, biblical style and its vivid presentation of character and incident, The Pilgrims Progress is considered one of the worlds great works of literature.,I. Life and career -style,Bunyans co
49、ntinued popularity rests on the spiritual fervor that permeates his works and on the compelling style in which they are written. His prose unites the eloquence of the Bible with the vigorous realism of common speech.,II. The Pilgrims Progress-written during Bunyans imprisonment,Bunyan wrote The Pilg
50、rims Progress in two parts, the first of which was published in London in 1678 and the second in 1684. He had begun the work in his first period of imprisonment, and probably finished it during the second. The earliest edition in which the two parts combined in one volume came in 1728. A third part falsely attributed to Bunyan appeared in 1693, and was reprinted as late as 1852. Its full title is The Pilgrims Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come.,
