本书意欲带领读者浏览英国文学宝库中的主要作品，力图以规范的英语，浅易流畅的文句向读者介绍每位作家在英国文学史上的地位和影响，并力求在评述上具有新意：在以马克思文艺思想为指导的大前提下，强调借鉴西方最新文学批评理论。
本书简洁而全面地介绍了英国文学发生、发展、消化、嬗变的流程。全书框架设计采用主体、体裁、历史三结合的方式，脉络清晰，裁取合理，讲述到位；语言浅显流畅，内容深入浅出，易学易懂；其二战后的部分更是填补了同类书这方面的空白。本书既是大学英语专业学生学习文学的好教材，又为广大文学爱好者提供了学习语言的好素材。
目录
Chapter 1 The Beginning Period of English Literature
I The Seminal Period
II The Transitional Period
III Three Major Poets in 14th-Century England
Chapter 2 The Glory of Poetry：From Sidney to Pope
I Overview
II Major Poets of the Elizabethan Age
III Metaphysical Poets
IV John Milton
V The Neoclassicists
Chapter 3 The Golden Age of English Drama
I Origins and Influences
II The Elizabethan Dramatists Who Influenced Shakespeare
III William Shakespeare
IV Other Major Dramatists of the Period
Chapter 4 The Beauty of Prose ：From Malory to Pepys
……
Chapter 5 The Rise of the Novel
Chapter 6 A False World：English Dream from Dryden to Sheridan
Chapter 7 Emotion and Nature in Romantic Poetry
Chapter 8 Female Novelists in 19th-Century England
Chapter 9 Social Images in 19th-Century English Novels
Chapter 10 Satirical Voices and Humanistic Concerns：English Prose in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Chapter 11 Various Moods in 19th-Century English Poetry
Chapter 12 Social Life on the Stage：English Drama from Wilde to O'Casey
Chapter 13 The Erosion of Confidence：Major Novelists in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centruies
Chapter 14 The Unseen Reality；The Stream of Consciousness Novels
Chapter 15 The New Poetry in the 20th Century
Chapter 16 Spiritual Crisis and Moral Tension：20th-Century Novels before 1950
Chapter 17 Despair and Absurdity in Contemporary English Drama
Chapter 18 Diversified Topics in Contemporary English Novels
Bibliography
Index
前言
