Chapter Ⅳ The Fifteenth Century
1400-1550
Historical background
? The War of the Roses (1455-1485)
? The discovery of America and the new sea
routes
? Reformation of the church
2,Popular Ballads,
? Ballad,a narrative poem that tells a story,
? Characteristics of ballads;
? Ballad meter,It is the common form for the ballads,
It contains four-line stanzas,The odd numbered
lines have four feet each and the even numbered
lines have three feet each,Rhumes fall on the even
numbered lines,
? Robin Hood Ballads,
3,Sir Thomas Malory,
? The Death of King Arthur
? King Arthur,The Anglo-Saxon Occupation,The
native Britons (Celts) were finally confined to the
mountainous region of Wales, In defeat,the
Britons produced a body of stories revolving a
legendary ruler called Arthur who had fought
heroically against the Anglo-Saxon invaders,
?
4,Early English Plays,
? (1) In ancient Greece and Rome,drama was one of
the most popular forms of entertainment;
? (2) The Roman Catholic Church allowed dramatic
performance as part of religious services;
? (3) By the 14th century,the liturgy had developed
into mystery plays and miracle plays,The
vernacular had taken the place of Latin and laymen
the place of clergymen,
? http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ballads/ballad
s.html