《新编英国文学简史》从计划到撰写再到完成断断续续进行了近七年。从两个方面进行了新的尝试。第一，从“文类”的视角来审视和编写英国文学史；第二，添加了注释，表明我们力图不断地吸收前人的研究成果，借以支撑我们的观点，同时增加一点学术色彩。期间我们反复思考、实验和修改，并征询一些同行专家的意见。本书由李增主编。

Chapter One English Literature in the Anglo - Saxon Period

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Poetry

Section Four The Prose

Chapter Two English Literature in the Medieval Period

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Poetry

Section Four The Prose

Section Five The Drama

Chapter Three English Literature in the Renaissance

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Poetry

Section Four The Prose

Section Five The Drama

Chapter Four English Literature m the Seventeenth Century

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Metaphysical Poets and the Cavalier Poets

Section Four John Milton

Section Five John Bunyan

Section Six The Restoration Drama

Section Seven John Dryden

Chapter Five English Literature in the Eighteenth Century

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Poetry

Section Four Essays

Section Five The Fiction

Section Six The Drama

Chapter Six English Literature in the Romantic Age

Section One The Historical　and　Cultural　Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Poetry

Section Four The Novel

Section Five The Prose

Section Six The Drama

Chapter Seven English Literature in the Victorian Age

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The Victorian Poetry

Section Four The Coming of Age of the Novel of Critical Realism

Section Five Several Minor Novelists

Section Six Several Female Novelists

Section Seven The Victorian Prose

Chapter Eight English Literature in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Four The Continuity of the Realistic Novels in the First Two Decades

Section Five The Precursors of the Modernist Novels

Section Six The Summit of the Modernist Novels

Section Seven The Novels of Social Satire

Section Eight The Short Fiction

Section Nine The Irish Dramatic Revival

Chapter Nine English Literature in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Section One The Historical and Cultural Context

Section Two The Literary Tradition and the Innovation

Section Three The　Poetry

Section FourThe Nove

Section Five The Drama

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