some of the best poetry is dramatic(for example, Shakespeare's plays)and narrative (Miltons epic poem Paradise Lost) Nonfiction Prose This is a broad term referring to short forms like essays and articles and to longer non-fictional and non-dramatic works. The essay or article is a form designed primarily to express ideas, interpretations, and descriptions. The topics of essays are unlimited; they may be on social, political, artistic, scientific and other subjects. In an essay an author focuses on one topic such as the influence of diet on health or the contrast between envy and ambition. The writer usually develops a single topic fully but not exhaustively. When exhaustiveness is the aim, the writer expands the essay into the form of an entire book, which retains the same centralized focus as the essay but permits a wide examination and application of the entire subject The article is a form closely related to the essay. It is designed to explore and draw conclusion from facts and sometimes is exclusively factual. Therefore the article is used in all scholarly areas, such as economics, chemistry, physics, geology, anthropology and history. When an article is used exclusively for the reporting of research findings, it is distant from the essay in style, but when a writer combines factual material with conclusion and interpretations, the article comes close to the essay. When the scope of the article is enlarged, it grows into a complete book IL. Early Writing 1. Beowulf This is the first piece of English literary work. It is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. The story consists of three fights made by Beowulf, the hero in 1)The fight with the monster grendel 2)The fight with Grendel's mother 3)The fight with a fire Dragon 2. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) Chaucer is one of the greatest English poets. His masterpiece The Canterbury Tales was one of the most important influences on the development of English literature. His life is known primarily through records pertaining (io &)to his career as a courtier(f E)and civil servant under the English kings Edward Ill and richard II Chaucer was the son of a prosperous London wine merchant. Chaucer may have attended the Latin grammar school of Saint Paul's Cathedral and may have studied law at the Inns of Court. about 1366, he married Philippa roet, a lady-in-waiting to4 some of the best poetry is dramatic (for example, Shakespeare’s plays) and narrative (Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost). Nonfiction Prose This is a broad term referring to short forms like essays and articles and to longer non-fictional and non-dramatic works. The essay or article is a form designed primarily to express ideas, interpretations, and descriptions. The topics of essays are unlimited; they may be on social, political, artistic, scientific and other subjects. In an essay an author focuses on one topic such as the influence of diet on health or the contrast between envy and ambition. The writer usually develops a single topic fully but not exhaustively. When exhaustiveness is the aim, the writer expands the essay into the form of an entire book, which retains the same centralized focus as the essay but permits a wide examination and application of the entire subject. The article is a form closely related to the essay. It is designed to explore and draw conclusion from facts and sometimes is exclusively factual. Therefore the article is used in all scholarly areas, such as economics, chemistry, physics, geology, anthropology and history. When an article is used exclusively for the reporting of research findings, it is distant from the essay in style, but when a writer combines factual material with conclusion and interpretations, the article comes close to the essay. When the scope of the article is enlarged, it grows into a complete book. II. Early Writing 1. Beowulf This is the first piece of English literary work. It is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. The story consists of three fights made by Beowulf, the hero in the story. 1) The fight with the monster Grendel 2) The fight with Grendel’s mother 3) The fight with a fire Dragon 2. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) Chaucer is one of the greatest English poets. His masterpiece The Canterbury Tales was one of the most important influences on the development of English literature. His life is known primarily through records pertaining (涉及) to his career as a courtier (侍臣) and civil servant under the English kings Edward III and Richard II. Chaucer was the son of a prosperous London wine merchant. Chaucer may have attended the Latin grammar school of Saint Paul's Cathedral and may have studied law at the Inns of Court. About 1366, he married Philippa Roet, a lady-in-waiting to