一、T he Ang l o—Sa x o n Period (449—1066)T he li terat u re:Tw o divi s ions: p a gan and Ch ri s tia nT he Song of B eowulf:the e v ents w h ich t o ok p l ace o n the Co ntinen t at t h e begi nni ng of the 6 th Cen t u r y,T he p oe m t ells of a h e ro, a S cand in av i a n pr ince named B eowulf, who r i d s the Danes of the m onster G r e n del, half man a nd ha l f fiend, a nd G rende l’s mot h e r, w ho e s t hat ev e ning to a v eng e Grendel's de a th、 F i fty y ears late r Beo wu l f, n o w k ing of h is nat i ve land, fights a dr a g o n wh o has de vas t at e d his p e opl e、 Both Be o w u l f and t h e drago n a re mor t a lly wou nd e d in th e f i ght、 The p o em ends w it h Beowulf's fune r al、 Them e:the primi tiv e p eo pl e’s st r ugg le a g ainst ho s tile forces of t he na tu r al world unde r a wis e a nd might y le a der、二、Th e Ang l o-N o r m an Period(10 66—1 3 5 0)T h e Liter a t u re:T h e liter a ture whic h they bro u g ht t o Engl an d i s rema r ka b le fo r i t s brig h t, ro man t ic t a les o f love a n d a dven ture (Ro ma nce), in m a r k e d co n trast wi th the streng th and somb e r ness(朴实无华)of A n glo-S a xo n p o et ry (Ep ic)、Explana t i o n of S ir Gawai n and G re e n K n ight:Tw o mo tifs(主题) 1、Th e test of fa i t h, c o ur a g e, purity2、T he t e st of hum a...