Part of Self-study

• The categories of Medieval European Literature and their general situation.

• Religious Literature, Heroic Epic , Ballads 谣曲 , Knightly literature, (lyrical poems, legends) and urban literature.

The period

• The Middle Age ：（ about 5th—17th ）the period of feudalism from its thriving to declining （ mainly about western Europe ）， which starts from the ruin of western Roman empire ， spanning Renaissance, and ends in the beginning of mature capitalism （ which means the liberation of the nature of human being ）。

• The period in the history of Europe between the ancient world and the renaissance is called the Middle Ages that lasted from about 350 to about 1450. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire began to fragment into smaller, weaker kingdoms. By the end of the Middle Ages, many modern European states had taken shape. Just as France, Germany .

• notice: The middle age includes Renaissance ， but medieval literature commonly doesn’t include the literature of Renaissance 。

The appraise

• There isn’t a effective and strong regime that rules the medieval Europe. The separateness and conflict of feudal kingdoms brings about frequent wars, the deadlock of the development of science and technology ， inefficient and insufficient productivity, and the hopelessness and pain of people’s life. Thus, the era is generally called “dark era” ， and considered the poor and lacking period in the history of European civilization 。

Representative of medieval poet

• Engels said, the end of the feudal medieval era and the beginning of modern capitalism is marked by a great man. This character is a Italian, Dante. He is the last medieval poet, and is also a poet of the first new era.

Dante’ life history(1265—1321)

• 1 Dante was born a decline noble family in Florence Italy. When he was 5 years old his mother died and his father married a second wife. Then his stepmother had two sons and a daughter.

• Dante engaged himself to gemma at 12,he married at 20. His wife bore bɔ: him 6 children, and 3 sons and 1 daughters survived. However he had already fallen in love with another girl whom he called Beatrice.,He never mentioned his wife gemma in any of poems.but he wrote 31 sonnets to beatrrce,which is the New Life ,.

• 3 From 1301 he was exiled from Florence and never came back again.

• 4 1321, he died of illness in Ravenna.“ I Dante lay here, abandoned by my country.”

Dante’s love and the New Life (1292)

• 1 At 9 years old he met Beatrice for the first time. with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently without even having spoken to her. It is hard now to understand what this love actually consisted of.

• At 18 years old, he met Beatrice again, and spoke with her for the first time. They exchanged greetings in the street, but he never knew her well;

• Unfortunately, Beatrice was married to another person to comply with her father, and died due to illness after a few years. Beatrice died at the age of 24, when Dante was 25.

• After her death,dante began composing poems to dedicated to her memory 。

Compared with Dawn Song • So winsome and so worthy seems to me • my lady, when she greets a passer-by, • that every tongue can only babble 说蠢话，牙牙学语 shy• and eager glances lose temerity. 鲁莽 • Sweetly and dressed in all humility,              • away she walks from all she’s praised by, • and truly seems a thing come from the sky • to show on earth what miracles can be. • So much she pleases very gazing eye, • she gives a sweetness through it to the heart,       • which he who does not feel it fails to guess. • A spirit spirit full of love and tenderness• seems from her features everto depart, • that, reaching for the soul, says softly “Sigh.” ----- the New Life

Dawn Song

• A knight beside his sweet desire • Between his kisses makes inquire

Sweet, what is to do my dear?Dark must end as day draws near.I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'On the heels 脚后跟 of dawn runs day.

• Sweet, if day and dawn for everEnded were that lovers sever,Best of blessings where true knightLies beside his best delight.I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'On the heels of dawn runs day.

• The New Life is influenced by Provencal love poetry of and represents the finest work of “sweet new style” of contemporary Florentine poetry. It transcends the Provencal tradition in that it suggests a spiritual significance in the object of his adoration.

• Similarity: the idealization of women 。（ feminist? female-centric? ）

• Difference: a spiritual significance

• spiritual love (Platonic Love) doesn’t demand combination of flesh or life, only demands the purification of souls, which differs from Sexual love, Ethic love.

The introduction of The Divine Comedy

• 1 the features of comedy in medievial Literature• A form of writing that begins in fear and ends happily.• The Divine Comedy （ 1307——1321 ）• 2 The Divine Comedy includes Hell, Purgatory and Par

adise• “The subject of the work, then, in its literal sense is the

state of souls after death 。 However ， the work is taken allegorically 寓意的 , the subject is this: man becoming liable to the justice which rewards and punishes,.by the exercise of his freedom of choice he deserves good or ill.”

• letter to Can Grande

introduction

• The poet adopted the form of dream literature which was fashion in medieval age, and narrated a story of his travel in Hell 、 Purgatory and Paradise. He said he had lose his way in a dark forest in his midway of life （ age 35 ） .when he wanted to climb a beautiful peak ， three wild beasts suddenly emerged——leopard （ lust ）、 lion （ ambition and violence ） and wolf （ greed ） impeded his way. In the emergency ， roman poet Virgil （ reason ability ） emerged. He was entrusted by Beatrice and came to rescue Dante and guide him from the other way to reach the bright land.

• The poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven.

dual and contrasting meaning

the great work of Christian, the Divine Comedy has dual and contrasting meaning in its form and content 。

• Old trace in form ： religious conception

• Innovation in form ： the balance and harmony in its structure ， adopts dreamy and symbolized skills ， uses realism and romanticism together ， wrote in Itly 。

thoughts of humanism

1 expose and criticize the churches and monks ，criticize mundane rulers and kings ；

2 criticizes suppression of desires and ignorance ， advocates the reason ability ， extols intelligence and wisdom of people , praises the worldly living and independent will ；

3 extols ardently the class of resident of cities 。

Ideology of medieval age

1 praises the wisdom monarchs and royalty ， has confidence in the feudal rulers.

2 extols God ， advocates the religious thoughts and doctrines ， fights against different religions 。

The symbolism

1 symbolism in objects 。 Just as leopard （ lust ） , lion （ ambition and violence ） ,wolf（ greed ） ,roman poet Virgil （ reason ability ） etc 。

• 2 symbolism about thoughts 。 Scenes and plots in the work often implied author’s profound meaning. just as the lovers who blew by hurricane in Hell indicates the fortune of lustful persons 。

• 3 symbolism of theme:

• The work symbolizes how human being can eliminate their drawbacks and misfortune and arrive the happy Heaven by depicting the journey of three realms of the dead, at the same time it expresses and expounds the ideology of Christian.