The first part of the history of foreign literature in Europe and America (Chapter 518th century literature)

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One: Basic concepts

1. Enlightenment: The Enlightenment was the main trend of European thought in the18th century, and European bourgeois scholars usually called this trend the "bright thought" movement. Enlightenment is the second cultural movement of western bourgeoisie against church theocracy and feudal autocracy after Renaissance, and it is the inheritance and development of Renaissance. The word "enlightenment" originally meant "lighting" and "enlightenment". Enlightenment thinkers advocate rational enlightenment and the light of science to overcome the ignorance of scholasticism and the darkness of feudal forces, illuminate people's hearts and establish a "rational kingdom", so it is called "Enlightenment", that is, the meaning of "bright concept". The Enlightenment pursues political and academic freedom, which has two major characteristics: First, it opposes religious obscurantism and advocates rationality and science; The second is to oppose feudal autocracy and advocate democracy and the legal system. ?

2. Encyclopedia school:/kloc-the school formed by French enlightenment thinkers in the process of compiling encyclopedias in the 8th century. The editor of the encyclopedia is Diderot. Encyclopedia school aims at bourgeois freedom and equality, takes "rationality" as the banner, takes atheism and human nature as the weapon, and takes severe criticism and complete denial of feudal state system, ethics and religious theology as the spiritual pillar. They opposed the feudal privilege system and the Catholic church, yearned for a reasonable society, and believed that superstition, prejudice and ignorance were the great enemies of mankind. Advocate criticizing and measuring all systems and concepts in a rational court. They praised mechanical technology and gave birth to a pragmatic and profitable spirit for the bourgeoisie. ?

3. The "Charge" Movement: The "Crazy Rush" Movement was a huge literary movement in Germany from 1770 to 1785. It is the continuation and development of the German Enlightenment, and its main figures are Herder, Goethe and Schiller. The name of the sport comes from klinger's play Hurricane and Rush. The "Wild March" movement preached genius and strength, praised freedom, and showed dissatisfaction and resistance to reality. The words in the works are intense and full of enthusiasm, reflecting a strong rebellious spirit. Held is a theorist and leader of this movement, and Goethe's Young Werther and Schiller's Plot and Love are important works of this movement. ?

4. Philosophical novels: Philosophical novels are new novels created by German enlightenment writers. Although the novel has characters and plots, it does not pay attention to the detailed description of the environment and characters. It takes the activities of characters as the main line, interspersed with various contents, and integrates narration, discussion, lyricism and satire, expressing the writer's enlightenment views on politics, law, morality and literature, and is full of philosophy. Philosophical novel is a unique literary form founded by enlightenment writers in the18th century. Its purpose is not to describe the personality in an all-round way and the historical environment in detail, but to make readers understand the author's political views and philosophical thoughts in the form of distinctive political inclination and teaching. It often insinuates and satirizes social reality through legendary stories, opposes feudal autocracy, clarifies philosophy and publicizes enlightenment thoughts. Its techniques are flexible and diverse, and its language is concise and lively. However, due to the neglect of the portrayal and description of typical characters, the protagonist in the novel often becomes the spokesperson of the author's philosophical thoughts, so the works lack artistic appeal. For example, Montesquieu's Persian Letters, Diderot's Ramo's Nephew, and Voltaire's Honest and Innocent People. ?

5. Sentimentalism literature: Sentimentalism literature is a literary trend of thought that occurred in Britain from 1960s to the end of 1980s. After the industrial revolution, the contradiction between reality intensified, and people began to doubt the rational society, but they had no choice but to rely on art and emotion to express their dissatisfaction and escape from reality. The trend of sentimentalism has brought Europe into a new stage in literary form. He is not only the pioneer of the huge romantic literary movement in Europe at the beginning of the19th century, but also the source of modernist literature. Traditional novels are mostly based on plots and reorganize real life according to the law of cause and effect, while sentimentalism opens up a narrative way with psychology as the carrier and the external real world as the projection. The appearance of this new way is of far-reaching significance to the development of literature. Sentimentalism got its name from Sting's novel Sentimental Travel. ?

6. Faust spirit: See Faust.

7. Drama: Drama was founded by Diderot, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and Lessing. This play is between tragedy and comedy. It is characterized by emphasizing the educational role of drama and has a distinct political tendency. It uses prose to describe the real social struggle and people's daily life. It takes ordinary people in the third grade as the leading role in the drama, and its language is easy to understand, such as Diderot's The Illegitimate Child and Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro. ?

8. Prose comedy epic: In the preface of Joseph Andrews, Fielding also raised the novel to the same height as the epic, thinking that his novel is "a writing style that has not been seen in our language so far" and called it "prose comedy epic". He has many ideas about this new novel. He envisioned using the existing characters, events and expressions in a wider range, referring to the epic, reworking it according to the principle of "funny" rather than "serious", further emphasizing the position of "absurd" in comedy art, and being able to dispel fallacies by laughing rather than preaching. To this end, Fielding conducted exploration and experiments, and integrated epic and funny into one work. Joseph Andrews and tom jones are the most representative in this respect. Fielding's novel creation had an important influence on the development of English novels later. ?

9. Weimar classicism: 65438-08 German classical literature, which became popular in the mid-1980s, was named after the cooperation between Goethe and Schiller in Weimar. They deliberately pursue the harmony and unity between ideal and reality, emotion and reason, individual and collective, man and nature, and subjective and objective, admire the beauty of harmony, tranquility and simplicity in classical art, and advocate transforming people's personality and realizing humanitarian ideals. Therefore, Weimar classicism is the continuation and development of German enlightenment literature. ?

10. Return to nature:1slogan put forward by French writer Rousseau in the 8th century. Rousseau believes that people in primitive state V are natural.

Some people don't have all the bad habits of people in civilized society, so an important task of changing society is to make people return to nature.

This slogan has one side of criticizing social malpractice, and the other side of denying social civilization and science. ?

1 1. Gothic novel: It is a murder novel that appeared in Britain at the end of 18. Most of these novels are set in the dark and mysterious castles of the Middle Ages, and the murder and revenge caused by love or property are full of mystery, grotesque, horror and excitement. Representative works include Valppu's Autran Tubo and Radcliffe's The Secret of Waldorf. ?

Basic knowledge:

/kloc-comparison of the main achievements of English, French and German literature in the 0/8th century?

Enlightenment literature is the main achievement of18th century literature, which has different manifestations in Britain, France and Germany:

Britain is a realistic novel, France is an enlightenment literature and Germany is a national literature. Capitalism in Britain has developed rapidly. /kloc-in the 0/8th century, Britain completed the "glorious revolution" and established a constitutional monarchy and bourgeois regime. Therefore, the main task of English enlightenment literature is not to prepare public opinion for the revolution, but to sweep away the remnants of feudalism, expose the shortcomings of existing society and promote the development of capitalism. At this time, the main achievement of English literature was realistic novels, and important writers such as Defoe, Swift and Fielding appeared, as well as Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels and tom jones.

France, the center of the Enlightenment in Europe, is directly responsible for educating the public, making them get rid of ignorance and learn to think rationally, thus getting rid of feudal autocracy and religious superstition. Therefore, German enlightenment literature is more revolutionary and combative, and its content is particularly rich. In addition to the popularity of philosophical novels, there are a lot of drama theories and creations, and enlightenment thinkers and writers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau and Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais have emerged. Their masterpieces mainly include Persian Letters, Honest Man, Ramo's Nephew, New Elos and Marriage of Figaro. ?

/kloc-Germany was still in the feudal regime in the 0/8th century, which seriously hindered the development of capitalism. The main task of German enlightenment literature is to arouse people's awakening, oppose separatism and establish a country with national unity. Mainly manifested in the establishment of national drama and national literature represented by Lessing. His drama theory work "Hamburg Drama Review" emphasizes the social education function and national characteristics of drama and demands the establishment of national drama and national literature. His masterpiece is Amelia Garotti. In 1970s and 1980s, the German Hurricane Movement emphasized national literature and national style. The representative writers are Schiller and Goethe, and their masterpieces include Robber, Conspiracy and Love, Young Werther and Gotz von Bereken, the Iron Knight. ?

Second: Rousseau's creation, influence and romanticism?

1. Rousseau's criticism of civilization (this topic has many different types of problems and often appears in comprehensive discussions and aesthetic topics)?

On Science and Art (1549) is a cultural criticism. On the Root and Foundation of Human Inequality: the Theory of "Returning to Nature"

Based on the theory of human nature, the author thinks that human nature is good, and human beings are pure and kind in the "natural state", but with the emergence of private ownership "civilization", "art and science are progressing day by day, but people are getting worse." They corrupt people's souls and serve the rule of a few people. The profound point of this book lies in Rousseau's criticism of feudal civilization and his discovery of human alienation. Civilization such as art and science created by human beings has promoted social progress, but it also contains retrogression, because this fashion and civilization have the same sex of "evil and hypocrisy". Under its bondage, "we constantly follow these customs, but we can never follow our own nature." We dare not show up again. " Therefore, the virtue from human nature cannot advance, and the evil from hypocritical civilization can proceed smoothly. The opposition between "nature" and "civilization" and the Rousseau doctrine of "returning to nature" and seeking self began to take shape. ?

2. The philosophical novel "New Ai Luo Qi" and the image of "newcomer"

Rousseau's emotional novel The New Ai Luo Qi is an epistolary philosophical novel. This work describes the love between a noble lady, Yuli, and a civilian tutor, St. Puler. Yuli's father stopped her and finally forced Yuli to die with hatred. The author deeply sympathizes with the hero and heroine, develops their infatuated feelings in their first love and passionate love, and makes readers draw a conclusion from one open love letter after another: the love between St. Puller and Julie is pure and noble, without the musty smell of money and family, and is not defiled by evil fornication; Some are sincere and like-minded. They got married happily, but the cold social reality destroyed this flower of love. The works fully reflect the situation that women in feudal society were not free in marriage. At the same time, the author also criticized the feudal hierarchy and aristocratic class, realizing his radical anti-feudal spirit.

While denying the old world, the work consciously describes Julie, St. Puler, Claire and Edward as "new people" with new soul and noble behavior. Their common feature is "love", which is a brand-new morality. Contrary to the old morality that violates human nature, it stems from natural humanity, self-love and self-esteem, while loving and respecting others. Their friendship and love are based on the virtue of love.

3 The characteristics of Rousseau's literary creation and its influence on romanticism

Confessions: Rousseau's Confessions shows his courage to despise the traditional concepts of feudal society. Rousseau's Confessions shows his spirit of pursuing individual liberation and independence. Of course, Rousseau's confession also shows his individualism of self-appreciation. The artistic features of confession: 1. Strong emotional color: 2. Singing the scenery of nature. 3. Praise of self-character. These three artistic features had a positive impact on the romantic literature in the19th century. The biggest difference between romanticism and realism is that

Very emotional. So Rousseau is called "the father of romanticism". French "crazy movement" and poetry are most influenced by it.

Goethe.

Throughout Rousseau's literary and artistic creation, its outstanding ideological and artistic characteristics are: 1, standing at the height of "nature worship" philosophy, while criticizing the old world, trying to write a new life, shape new people and express new thoughts and feelings;

2. It broke through the "rational" framework of classicism and even most enlightenment writers, and put the publicity of subjective feelings in the first place of creation;

3. Eulogize nature heartily and write all kinds of natural scenery into the works, which greatly broadens people's aesthetic vision;

He thinks that the motto "You should know yourself" in front of ancient Greek temples should be the primary concern of philosophers and writers, and his works emphasize frank description and seeking "self". Rousseau's literary creation not only dealt a fatal blow to aristocratic classical literature, but also was unique among contemporary enlightenment writers. The above characteristics of his works and his slogan of "returning to nature" not only triggered a new generation of many French writers, but also directly influenced the "Wild March" movement in Germany. /kloc-the young generation of European writers in the 0/9th century further developed Rousseau's new tendency into a surging romantic literary movement. ?

Three: Goethe's Faust?

1. The contents and ideas of Faust

The content of Faust is extremely profound. As Mr. Guo Moruo said, it is "a history of the development of the mind and the spirit of the times".

The most important ideological value of Faust lies in Goethe's use of artistic symbols, which, on the basis of the unity of opposites, shows his understanding of the contradictory movement forms of human society, especially the spiritual world, and its development and evolution process. In the description of Faust's three levels: gambling in the sky, gambling in the study and Faust's own contradictions, Goethe reveals the universality and particularity of contradictions and their interrelations, and shows his unique understanding of the world's contradictory movement process: the contradictory struggle from the best to the worst (externalized as the concrete embodiment of good and evil) acts on the concrete contradictory body-people, while people pursue the best and the best with their own efforts and creations to finally realize it.

The great ideological value of Faust is also reflected in Goethe's pursuit of several stages of Faust, which profoundly reviewed and summarized the spiritual development of the emerging bourgeoisie in Europe during the 300 years from the Renaissance to the beginning of the19th century. The gloomy study is a symbol of the spiritual cage in the Middle Ages. Every stage of Faust's life exploration has a realistic basis and the basis of the development of the spirit of the times, and each stage reflects a certain period of the spiritual development of bourgeois thinkers in Europe and Germany. (Symbolic meaning of five stages)

Faust also reflects the historical limitations of advanced bourgeois thinkers in Germany and Europe at this time. The ideal of building a happy paradise with labor embodied in Faust is only an abstract program. Goethe avoided revolutionary practice, as if he could build a new world on the old basis without destroying the existing reactionary system and experiencing social revolution. This can only be an unrealistic political fantasy. ?

2. The image of Faust

Faust, the hero of the work, is not only a symbol of human positive spirit, but also an artistic reflection of advanced European intellectuals at that time.

Its connotation is extremely rich: from a philosophical point of view, Faust is a concrete manifestation of the spirit of "affirmation". From the moral and ethical point of view, Faust is the representative of "goodness". But the goodness represented by Faust is different from that represented by the Emperor of Heaven. More specifically, Faust is the best incarnation, but he just "feels the most sacred and sacred in spirit." This is a typical humanitarian "pantheism" view of nature. From the sociological point of view, Faust also embodies some thoughts and behavior characteristics of the advanced bourgeois thinker at that time: he was dissatisfied with the status quo, eager to pursue a beautiful ideal and constantly put it into action. In particular, he learned lessons from his life experience, denied all concrete ugly things in reality, criticized the rigid dogma and spiritual bondage of the Middle Ages, criticized the conservative ugliness of civil society, and exposed the political corruption of feudal dynasties. , is a reflection of the behavior of some advanced figures in reality. It is the combination of the above factors that constitutes the connotation of Faust as a symbol of human positive spirit. Because these spiritual connotations embody the spiritual characteristics of bourgeois thinkers at that time, Faust can also be said to be the representative of the positive spirit of the emerging bourgeoisie.

Faust's character is also full of contradictions. And this contradiction is reflected in the process of continuous development. Faust dissected his heart and said, "There are two kinds of souls living in my heart, one is to be separated from the other! One is addicted to the vague desire for love, stubbornly clinging to this world, and the other intends to leave the mortal world violently and fly to a lofty spiritual realm. " This contradiction between spirit and flesh is actually a contradiction between reason and lust, progress and stagnation, rising and sinking, a manifestation of the duality of the bourgeoisie in the rising period, and a reflection of the contradiction between the best and the worst in Goethe's eyes in the movement of concrete things.

Faust spirit: Faust's practical spirit of never being satisfied, never showing weakness, always pursuing beauty and being brave in exploration. This is a portrayal of some intellectuals who are eager to get rid of ignorance and gain true knowledge during the rise of the European bourgeoisie. )

In the final analysis, the tragedy of Faust is a contradictory tragedy between a pursuer's limited ability and endless ultimate goodness. Faust's exploration ended in tragedy. Because the ultimate goodness is inexhaustible, and people's ability to pursue is limited. Although Faust hated the existing life and pursued higher goals, he was not really satisfied in the end. It shows the historical limitations of bourgeois thinkers at this time, because Goethe could not draw scientific conclusions about the development of history at that time and the future of mankind. ?

3. The image of Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles is a symbol of the negative and negative spirit of the unity of abstraction and concreteness. He appeared in the image of evil and held a negative attitude towards everything in the world and human life. Publicly declare "I am the spirit of negation!" "'evil', this is my essence." The connotation of this image is also extremely rich.

First of all, it symbolizes the "negation" in Goethe's philosophy. He is not only the opposite of extreme affirmation represented by Heaven Emperor, but also the opposite of concrete affirmation represented by Faust. Similarly, he also represents the "nothingness" attitude in the social historical view. In the sense of life, Mephistopheles stands for negativity and stagnation. Mephisto fellers is the unity of the most evil and concrete evil, which embodies the universality and extensiveness of the concept of "evil".

This image is extremely complicated. In Goethe's works, he is obviously different from the legendary devil in the past. He is very witty and flexible, and he is extremely keen on observing things. Criticism of the debauchery of the court, the greed of the church and the evil of money hit the nail on the head. It is embodied in the following aspects: Mephistopheles first formed a contradictory unity with the Emperor of Heaven. As the best antithesis, he took Faust as the object of gambling with the Emperor of Heaven. In the contradictory movement of affirmation and negation, best and worst, he pushed Faust forward all his life. Secondly, Faust persistently pursued the truth of life and affirmed the significance of practice; On the other hand, Mephistopheles laughed at everything and denied the value of life. The relationship between him and Faust dialectically explains the role of evil forces in the development of human society and individuals. The devil made two bets to prove that human beings were doomed to fall, but it was because of his "evil" stimulation that Faust was pushed out of his study. Whenever Faust indulges in the world, it is Mephistopheles's evil that makes him move forward bravely. Therefore, Faust's pursuit is inseparable from Mephistopheles's help. Thirdly, his evil is not equal to "bad". His own satire and exposure of social ugliness also played a role in letting Faust distinguish right from wrong and approach the truth. In this way, just like the concept of "evil" in Hegel's philosophy, Mephisto fellers is the form of historical development movement and "the integration of evil and good" in Goethe's works.

Four: Lessing's laocoon and Hamburg Drama Review (this topic often appears in related literary theory test questions).

Lessing is the founder of German national drama and national literature. His works on aesthetic theory and drama theory mainly include laocoon and Hamburg Drama Review. Laocoon explored the boundary between poetry and painting. Contrary to the traditional view that poetry is an invisible painting and painting is a silent poem, the author compares the media, purpose and effect of the two arts, and thinks that poetry shows a continuous action and a process of character formation. Painting and sculpture are only the completion of character or that moment of gestation, so poetry is more expressive than painting. The author also discusses the aesthetic characteristics of ancient art through different treatments of the theme that laocoon and his son were killed by poisonous snakes.

Five: Robinson Crusoe

It is an ode to the bourgeoisie in the primitive accumulation period. Robinson, the hero, is a typical British commercial capitalist in Defoe's time. He was uneasy about his fate, unwilling to live a comfortable and ordinary family life, pursued adventure three times and decided to leave home. In order to survive on a desert island, he waged a tenacious struggle with nature, experienced various difficulties and tests in transforming the natural features and living environment of the desert island, and finally succeeded with strong perseverance. Robinson's experience vividly reveals a philosophy of life to readers: as long as you are ambitious, persistent and not afraid of hardships, you can overcome all difficulties and obstacles through tenacious struggle and hard work and create miracles on earth. Robinson's struggle history is a fable and microcosm of the history of human civilization, and it is Robinson spirit that promotes the progress of human civilization. Robinson's image is a pioneering work in the history of European novels and the first bourgeois positive image in the history of European literature.