il Giardino Romantico

Whether you are a dilettante, or a scholar-to-be, the basics of the history is an unavoidable route to a more elevated level of understanding English literature.  However, different books on the history of English literature suite different purposes.  This article sets out to share the three different books I have encountered as so it might provide a guideline for those of you in search of one suitable for your own reading.

無論是非本科系或是本科系生，想要進一步了解英國文學，文學史是必經之路。不過市面上所販賣的英國文學史，不一定每一本都是和自己。本文章分享的是我接觸到的三本英國文學史。有適合非本科系生的，有適合大學本科系生的，也有適合想要專攻文學碩士學位的版本。提供給大家作為參考。

This outline of English literature briefly sums up the whole of English literature from Beowulf to modern literature.  Since it only consists of around 200 pages, one cannot expect more than the basic information on the historical backgrounds of the different literature periods, and extremely short commentaries on only the most relevant writers and poets. 

I recommend this book to average readers who wish to gain a better understanding of English literature.  The language is clear and can be easily understood.

這一本將整個英國文學史簡化了。整本差不多才兩百多頁，卻容納了整個英國文學史。基本的歷史背景介紹以及非常簡短的描述不同作者以及他們著名的作品。

作者使用的文字並不會太難。因此，推薦這本給普遍想要初步了解英國文學史的讀者們。

I found in Bookman, Taipei, three books of this same series: to 1600; 1600~1837; 1831 to Present Day.  Though the binding looked cheap, and the price was amazingly affordable, I took my chances.  This series turned out to be my favorite of the three histories of English literature introduced here. 

The reason for that, is because it is extremely well organized; provides an extensive historical, cultural, and linguistic background to each and every literary period; and the language is sophisticated but simple.  The only flaw I found during the peruse of this series is the lack of pictorial references.  It would be extremely helpful if the series included maps and more visual references.  The only visual references in the series can be found in the section on William Shakespeare, where there are diagrams of the Elizabethan theater.

This series can be extremely helpful to college students acquiring their first degree in English literature, those who are preparing for a masters program in any area of literature, but also average readers who wish to gain a better understanding of English literature through history.

這一個系列一共分成三本：至1660年；1660~1837；1837至今。某天在晃書林的時候找到的。雖然封面很陽春，價錢也超划算，我還是把他買了下來。結果，這一系列是這三種不同文學史裡我最喜歡的。

原因是因為此系列編寫的非常清楚。在介紹不同文學時代之前，一定會清楚的介紹每一個時代的歷史、文化、以及語言背景。作者所用的文字雖然比較精緻，卻不複雜。唯一的缺陷就是少了圖片及地圖。如果有地圖的話，能夠讓讀者們更了解歷史以及文化背景。莎翁時代的劇場是本系列唯一提供的參考圖樣。

本系列相當適合大學程度本科系學生或是即將專攻文學碩士的朋友們。尤其是你可以選擇只買你有興趣的範圍，或也可以整套都買。對於非本科系的朋友們來說，也是個不錯的選擇。

購買
History of English Literature to 1660 [Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton...]
History of English Literature 1660~1837 [Restoration to Romantic Literature]
History of English Literature 1837~ Present [from Victorian Lit to present day...]
[書林  定價$300]

Though this have the highest credibility of the three, I have found it difficult to understand, due to its fancy writing style.  Nevertheless, this is THE history of English literature that every student of literature must read and/or own.  It is abundantly accompanied by colorful pictures that provide helpful visual references.

I must also mention that although I chose to share the illustrated version, you might want to try and find an older copy by the same author, published by the same publisher, simply called 'An Outline of English Literature.'  Without the fancy pictures, the price is reduced to a more affordable one for students.  However, I believe this edition is out of print, and can no longer be purchased.  The other copy I have is the paperback version[as shown in the picture above], which costs about twice the previously mentioned one.  There is also a hardcover version which amounts to twice or even three times the paperback version.  The hardcover one would be a nice one to have on a bookshelf, but the information is exactly the same, and there is no reason why one should spend a fortune just to own a more extravagant copy.

雖然這可能是這三本裡面可信度最高的一本，我倒認為作者使用的語言太過花俏、複雜。話雖如此，我還是認為這一本是每一個本科系生必須要讀或收藏的一本文學史。除了比較篇學術性，還附上非常多精彩的圖片提供參考。

在這我也必須分享ㄧ下，這本書我有兩個版本。一個是上面圖片中的那一本。另外一個是同一個作家，同一個出版社，卻少了圖片的 An Outline of English Literature。少了圖片，價錢也少了一半。另外一提：圖片中所顯示的是普通版本的。不過據我所知，應該已經絕版，買不到了。能買到真是有夠幸運！另外還有精裝版，不過跟普通紙封面的比起來，價錢又差了整整一兩倍！所以如果你是想要拿來佈置你的書櫃，那精裝版的的確是比較有看頭。不過既然內容一模一樣，實在沒有必要奢侈到花兩倍的價錢去買一本精裝版的。

購買 The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature [書林  定價$1020]
*精裝版可能要到Amazon.com才有辦法買的到喔！