第3章　乔叟时期(1350～1400)

3.1　复习笔记

I. Historical background（历史背景）

Two important historical events happened during the century in which Chaucer lived and their influence can be detected in the writings of Chaucer and Langland. The first was the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, starting from the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) and ending during the reign of Henry Ⅵ (1421-1471). It was a series of wars fought between the English kings and the French kings for the French throne. The second historical event was the peasant uprising of 1381, during the reign of King Richard II. This peasant uprising was the direct result of exploitation and oppression of the peasants by the feudal lords.

在乔叟生活的年代，发生过两件大事，它们的影响力可以在乔叟和兰格伦的作品中见到。第一件大事是英法百年战争，始于爱德华三世统治时期（1327-1377），终于亨利六世时期（1421-1471）。它是英国国王和法国国王为了法国的统治而展开的一系列战争。第二件大事是1381理查德二世统治时期的农民起义。这次农民起义是封建领主对农民剥削和压迫的直接产物。

II. John Wycliff (1327—1384) （约翰·威克利夫）

John Wycliff was important because he was one of the first figures who demanded to reform the church in order to do away with the corruption and rottenness. He wrote many pamphlets in Latin to attack the feudal lords and the church for their abuse of power. He was also important because he was the man who translated the Bible into standard English. Wycliff’s translation of the Bible was a great contribution to English literature as well as to the English language, for he fixed a national standard for English prose to replace various dialects. His work earned him the title of Father of English prose.

约翰·威克利夫是此时期的重要人物，因为他曾提出对教堂进行改革使其免于腐败和败坏。他学了很多拉丁文小册子来攻击封建领主和教堂对自身权力的滥用。此外他还将圣经翻译成标准英语。他对圣经的翻译不仅对英国文学是巨大的贡献，同时也是对英语语言的巨大贡献，因为他确定了英国散文的国家标准从而代替了各种方言。他的工作为他赢得了“国散文之父”的称誉。

III. William Langland（威廉·兰格伦）

Another long alliterative poem besides Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is Piers Plowman, or The Vision of Piers Plowman which was written by William Langland. He was probably a native of the Malvern Hill areas. The story takes the form of an allegory, but it gives a realistic picture of 14th century England.

除了《加文爵士》和《绿骑士》之外，还有另一首长篇无韵体诗《农夫皮尔斯》，又叫《农夫皮尔斯的幻想》。兰格伦是土生土长的莫尔文丘陵区人。这个故事采取了一种寓言的格式，但它描绘了一幅14世纪英国的现实主义画卷。

(1) Allegory（寓言）

In simple words, an allegory is a story or description in which the characters and events symbolize some deeper underlying meaning, and serve to spread moral teaching. An allegory has a double meaning. It has a primary meaning, or surface meaning, and a secondary meaning, or underlying meaning. In an allegory, abstract qualities or ideas, such as patience, purity, or truth, are personified as characters in the story.

简单说，寓言是一则故事或者是一种描述，其中的人物或者事件具有深层的背后意义，传播道德教义。寓言具有双重意义：表层意义和潜在意义。在寓言中，抽象的品质和思想，像耐心，纯洁，真诚在故事中都被拟人化了。

(2) Piers Plowman（《农夫皮尔斯》）

The story of the poem is about the visions the poet had on a May morning. The poet sees Lady Meed (bribery) who is richly dressed in a scarlet robe and who is about to be married to Falseness. The king proposes marry Meed to Conscience, but Conscience refuses, pointing out the many evils Meed is responsible for. Meed is expelled and Conscience and Reason become king’s counselors. In the second dream, Conscience is preaching to the people and Repentance is moving their hearts. Many make confessions for their sins, including the Seven Deadly Sins. After the confessions, a thousand men come to seek for truth, but no one knows the way. Then Piers Plowman appears and says he must first plow his half acre of land. Some help him to plow but others sit and drink or pretend to be sick and won’t work until hunger compels them. The episode suggests that man should do the task that falls to his lot.

这首诗的故事是诗人在五月的清晨幻想的情景。在第一个梦中，他看见奖赏小姐身着红色裙子将要嫁给虚伪。国王许诺将奖赏小姐嫁给良知，但是良知拒绝了，因为他认为奖赏小姐要为许多坏事负责。奖赏被驱逐，良知先生和理性先生成了国王的顾问。在第二个梦中，良知向人们布道，悔恨在感动人们。很多人为自己做的坏事忏悔，包括其中应遭永劫的七大罪。忏悔过后，一千人来寻找真理，但没有人认识路。这时农夫皮尔斯出现了，他说他必须先犁他的半英亩地。有几个人帮他，但其余的坐在地上喝水或假装生病不能干活，直到饥饿向他们袭来。这一情节说明人应该完成加之于自身的任务。

Within the scope of allegorical characters, the lives of the religious people and the laymen are vividly portrayed. The corruption of the church people is truthfully exposed. The most interesting scene is the picture of Gluttony in the tavern, where he stops on his way to the church. The interior of a Medieval tavern is described with life-like vividness. Gluttony’s fellow drinkers are not allegorical figures, but real common people in 14th century England.

通过寓言人物的见闻，生动地展现了宗教人员和懒汉的生活。宗教人员的腐败暴露无遗。最有趣的情景是暴饮暴食在酒馆中的画面。把中世纪旅馆内部的情况描绘地栩栩如生，和暴饮暴食一起喝酒的人，不是寓言人物，而是14世纪真正生活在英国的人。

IV. Geoffery Chaucer (ca.1340—1400) （杰弗里·乔叟）

(1) The works of Chaucer are roughly divided into three periods, corresponding to the three periods of his life.

乔叟的创作，根据他人生的三个时期，可以分为三个部分。

①The first period extends from 1360 to 1372, when Chaucer wrote under the influence of French literature. In this period he imitated French poetry and even translated French poems himself. The outstanding poem of this period is The Book of the Duchess. It is an elegy written on the death of the first wife of John of Gaunt. It has much of the conventional romance elements in it.

第一阶段：1360-1372.乔叟在法国文学的影响下开始创作。他模仿法国诗歌，甚至自己翻译法国诗。这一时期的重要作品有：《悼公爵夫人》。这是一首挽歌写于约翰冈特的第一任妻子去世之日。诗中包含很多传统的浪漫元素。

②The second period is from 1372 to 1386 when he wrote under the influence of the Italian literature. The most outstanding work is Troilus and Cryseyde.

第二阶段：1372-1386，这一时期的创作受到意大利文学的影响。最著名的是《特洛伊罗斯和克丽西达》。

③The third period covers the last fifteen years of his life. The Canterbury Tales was the most famous one. It has a general prologue and twenty four tales. The general prologue is considered the best part of the whole work. The work was left unfinished upon the death of the poet in 1400.

第三阶段：1386-1400，《坎特伯雷故事集》最为著名。全书有一个总序和24则寓言。总序被认为是全书最精彩的地方。但这本著作尚未完成，乔叟就去世了。

(2) The significance of The Canterbury Tales is as follows:

《坎特伯雷故事集》的意义如下所示：

①It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucer’s time. The pilgrims cover a wide range of characters in the England of the time, from noblemen to peasants. They represent the whole range of 14th century society except the very top and the very bottom.

它描绘了乔叟时期的全景图。朝圣人员囊括了那个时期英国的一系列阶层，从贵族到农民。他们代表了整个14世纪英国的社会，除了最上层和最底层的人民。

②Stories are cleverly woven together by links between the stories. Most of the stories are related to the personalities of the tellers. The personality of each character, his private life and habits, his mood and social status are revealed in the prologue and in the story he tells, as well as by his behavior along the road and his remarks on the way. The links between the tales are of great interest. Most important is the part played by the host Harry Bailey, who is a hearty, boisterous man with his frankness, his rough manner, his unconscious improper use of words about God. He draws the shy ones out, smoothes over the differences, and keeps the company generally in good spirits.

故事之间通过关联词巧妙地交织在一起。大多数故事都带有讲述人自身的特征。故事的序幕、路上的行为一起揭示了每个角色的私人生活、爱好，心情和社会地位。故事与故事之间的联结方式更耐人寻味。旅店主人哈里·亨利在故事中担当了最重要的角色，一个热心，狂暴，诚实，举止粗鲁，对上帝出言不逊的男人。他让害羞者畅所欲言，消除分歧，让整个团队气氛活跃。

③Chaucer’s humor: Humor is a characteristic feature of the English literature. As a commoner he had sympathy with and an understanding of the lower classes as is shown in his attitude towards the ploughman and the poor parson. But he could not offend the upper classes. This explains his gentle satire and mild irony.

乔叟的幽默：幽默是英国文学的一大特色。作为一名英国下院议员，他对下层人民保有同情和理解，这在他对农夫和可怜的牧师的态度中可以看出来。但他不能触犯上层阶级。这可以为他温和的讽刺作解释。

④Chaucer’s contribution to the English language: Ever since the Norman conquest the French language was the language of the court and the upper classes, and Latin was the language of the learned and the church. Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of his day, which he handled dexterously. He proved that the English language is a beautiful language and can be easily handled to express different moods. In so doing Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of the English language.

乔叟对于英语语言的贡献：自从诺曼征服以来，法语就一直是法庭和上层社会所使用的语言，而学者和教会人员则会用拉丁语。乔叟用那个时期的英国方言进行巧妙的创作。他证明了英语是一种优美的语言，我们可以轻易地用它来表达我们的心情。他极大地提高了英语的知名度。