第3章　杰弗里•乔叟

3.1　复习笔记

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) (杰弗里·乔叟)

1．Life (生平)

Geoffrey Chaucer, born in or about 1343 in London, is the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England. He was the son of a prosperous merchant, and later became a courtier and comptroller.

Chaucer’s learning was wide in scope. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. He had broad and intimate acquaintance with persons high and low in all walks of life, and knew well the whole life of his time, which left great impressions upon his works and particularly upon his variegated depiction of the English society of his time.

He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, thus founding the “Poets’ Corner”.

杰弗里·乔叟于1343年（或1343年左右）出生于伦敦，他被誉为“英国诗歌之父”，也是英国最伟大的叙事诗人之一。他是富商之子，之后又当了朝臣和审计官。

乔叟知识渊博。他精通拉丁语、法语和意大利语。他结交广泛且易与人深交，无论是贵族还是贫民,因此他深谙所处世事。这尤其有益于他的作品中对英国社会的刻画。

他逝于1400年，被葬在威斯敏斯特教堂，由此建立了“诗人角”。

2．Literary Career and Influence (文学生平和影响)

Chaucer’s literary career can be divided into three periods, which is closely related to his life experiences. The first period consists of works translated from French; the second consists of works adapted from the Italian, as Troilus and Criseyde. The third period includes The Canterbury Tales, which is purely English.

Chaucer’s poetry traced out a path to the literature of English Renaissance. He chose the metrical form which laid the foundation of the English tonico-syllabic verse. Moreover, he greatly contributed to the founding of the English literary language, of which the basis is the London dialect, so profusely used by the poet.

乔叟的文学生平可划分为三个阶段，这三个阶段与其个人生活经历有关。第一阶段乔叟的作品主要是从法语翻译过来的，第二阶段则改编自意大利语，如《特洛伊罗斯与克瑞西达》。第三阶段包括《坎特伯雷故事集》，这是纯英语创作阶段。

乔叟的诗歌为英国文艺复兴的文学开辟了道路。他诗歌的格律体为英语韵脚韵律诗体奠定基础。此外，他充分使用的伦敦方言是英语文学语言的基础，因此乔叟又为英语文学语言的形成作出巨大贡献。

3．Chaucer’s Language (乔叟的语言)

(1) Chaucer’s language, now called Middle English, is vivid and exact. He is a master of word-pictures. His verse is among the smoothest in English.

(2) He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the heroic couplet to English poetry.

(3) Chaucer is good at the terza rima, which makes his language a high style. This is what other poets cannot reach.

（1）乔叟的语言属于中古英语，非常形象准确。他是用语言构建图画的大师。他的诗歌位列最顺畅的英语中。

（2）他将法国的各种押韵诗节（尤其是英雄双韵体）介绍到英国。

（3）乔叟善于使用三行体，这种诗体使他的语言很高雅。这是其他诗人无法匹敌的。

4．Major Works (主要作品)

Troilus and Criseyde《特洛伊罗斯与克瑞西达》

The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400)《坎特伯雷故事集》

5．Selected Work (选读作品)

◆The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400)《坎特伯雷故事集》

A. Main Plot主要情节

Thirty pilgrims set off for the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury. When they met at the inn, they agreed that each should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back. But instead of 120 tales, the text ends after 24 tales, covering all the major types of medieval literature. The stories which the pilgrims tell are well suited to their different characters, ranging from the knight, the monk, to the pardoner etc.

30名朝圣者前往坎特伯雷去朝拜托马斯·贝克特。他们在酒馆相见，于是决定每个人轮流讲故事，去时和返回时各讲两个。然而最后共有24个故事，但涵盖了中世纪文学的各个方面。每个故事都与讲述者的身份相符，讲述者包罗各种阶层的人，有武士、僧侣、赦罪僧等。

B. Important Parts (重要部分)

(1) “The Prologue”: The Prologue provides a framework for the tales. All classes of the English feudal society, except the royalty and the poorest peasant, are represented by these pilgrims in the Prologue.

(2) “The Wife of Bath”: Chaucer’s keen observation and his unsurpassed talent for characterization are especially showed in his famous “The Wife of Bath”. She is the owner of a cloth factory, lighthearted, merry, vulgar and talkative. She relates the whole story of her married life. She has married five husbands and she expects one or two more. Through these experiences, she has learned to control her husbands by using her body to provide for herself in a world where women had little independence or power.

Through this Bath woman, we may see a very vivid sketch of a woman of the middle class, and a colourful picture of the domestic life of that class in Chaucer’s own day.

（1）《总序》：《总序》提供了故事的框架。《总序》的朝圣者中囊括了当时英国封建社会中除了皇族和最底层的农民以外的形形色色的人物。

（2）《巴斯妇人》：通过《巴斯妇人》，读者可以尽情感受乔叟细致入微的无人可比的人物塑造天赋。这位妇人是布店的经营者，为人开朗乐观，有时略带粗俗，喜欢讲话。她有五段婚史，并且还希望更多。通过这些经历，她学会了利用自己的身体来控制丈夫，从而在这个妇女几乎没有独立和权力的社会中供养自己。

通过这位巴斯妇人，我们能够了解当时中层阶级的妇女及其家庭生活。

C. Social Significances (社会影响)

(1) It shows a true-to-life picture of Chaucer’s time.

(2) Chaucer opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the Church, and believes man’s right to earthly happiness.

(3) He praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life.

(4) His tales expose and satirize the evils of his time, attack degeneration of the noble, the corruption of the Church.

（1）展示乔叟时代的真实生活画面。

（2）乔叟反对教会宣扬的禁欲主义，并且相信人们追求世俗幸福的权利。

（3）他赞扬了人的力量、智慧和对生活的热爱。

（4）他的故事展现并批判了时代的罪恶，批判了贵族和教会的堕落。