英美文学选读应试突破.doc

英美文学选读应试突破Part One English Literature第一部分 英国文学An Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature上古及中世纪英国文学简介（4501066）一、 Definitions of Literary Terms（名词解释与文学术语）1. Couplet 对句（指两行尾韵相谐的诗句）A couplet is two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. The couplet composed of two iambic pentameter lines（五音步抑扬格诗行） more commonly known as the heroic couplet（英雄偶句诗） is the most favored form.2. Elegy 哀歌、挽歌A poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual. It may also be a lament over the passing of life and beauty or a meditation on the nature of death. An elegy is a type of lyric poem, usually formal in language and structure.3. Epic 史诗An epic is a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Many epics were drawn from an oral tradition and were transmitted by song and recitation before they were written down.4. Exodus 出埃及记The second book of the Old Testament, containing an account of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.5. Genesis A 创世纪The first book of the Old Testament. It gives an account of the Creation of the world, the Fall, the Flood, the origins of the Hebrews.6. John Dryden 约翰德莱顿（16311700）English poet and dramatist, also considered the father of English literary criticism. Drydens career began around the time of the Restoration（1660，王政复辟）. He became the Poet Laureate（桂冠诗人）in 1668.7. Homer 荷马Greek epic poet, probably of the 8th century B.C., to whom are ascribed the Iliad（伊利亚特）and Odyssey（奥德赛）. Nothing is known about his life, nor even of the genesis of the poems.8. Iambic pentameter 五音步抑扬格诗英诗的韵律主要包括两方面的内容：1) 每个音步中轻重音节的排列形式，即格律，抑扬格指每一音步中含有一个轻音和一个重音；2) 这种排列形式在一个诗行中出现的次数，也就是每行内所含有的音步数目。下面以教材中Thomas Gray的Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard为例，诗歌第一行如下： / | / | / | / | /The curfew tolls the knell of parting day（ 表示“抑”，即轻读的音节，/ 表示“扬”，即重读的音节，| 表示音步分布的情况）9. Lyric 抒情诗A poem, usually a short one, which expresses a speakers personal thoughts or feelings. The elegy, ode, and sonnet are all forms of the lyric. As its Greek name indicates, a lyric was originally a poem sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, and lyrics to this day have retained a melodic quality.10. Motif 主题、母题A motif generally contributes in some way to the theme of a short story, novel, poem, or play. At times, motif is used to refer to some commonly used plot or character type in literature. It can also be motive, a main subject, pattern, etc. on which a work of art is based, or from which it is developed.11. New Testament 新约全书The part of the Bible which contains the life and teachings of Christ recorded by his followers, together with their own experiences and teachings. It is the second of the two principal divisions of the Christian Bible.12. Old Testament 旧约全书The earlier and larger part of the Bible, which contains the religious and social laws of the Hebrews, a record of their history, their important literature, and writings of their prophets.13. Romance 骑士传奇、浪漫文学Any imaginative literature that is set in an idealized world and that deals with heroic adventures and battles between good characters and villains or monsters. Originally, the term referred to a medieval tale dealing with the loves and adventures of kings, queens, knights, and ladies, and including unlikely or supernatural happenings.14. Verse 韵文Form of writing arranged in lines, each containing a pattern of accented and unaccented syllables; or group of lines forming a unit in a rhyme scheme.二、 Examination Questions over the years（本章历年考题）1. Romance, which uses narrative verse or prose to tell stories of _ adventures or other heroic deeds, is a popular literary form in the medieval period.（2002年第1题）A. Christian B. knightly C. Greek D. primitive2. Among the great Middle English poets, Geoffrey Chaucer is known for his production of _. （2002年第2题）A. Piers Plowman B. Sir Gawain and the Green KnightC. Confessio Amantis D. The Canterbury Tales3. The work that presented, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life is most likely _.（2001年第1题）A. William Langlands Piers PlowmanB. Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury TalesC. Gowers Confessio AmantisD. Sir Gawain and the Greek Knight参考答案：BDB三、 Writhers and their Works（作家作品简表）John GowerSir Gawain and the Green KnightWilliam LanglandPiers PlowmanGeoffrey ChaucerThe father of English poetry,the English Homer,introduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetryThe Canterbury TalesThe Romaunt of the RoseThe Legend of Good WomenReligious poemsGenesis A; Genesis B; Exodus;The Dream of the RoodSecular poemsThe Wanderer; Deor; The seafarer;The Wifes ComplaintEnglish national epic poemBeowulf注：该表仅限于教材中提及的作家及作品，作品栏中黑体部分为教材中的选读篇目（全书同）Chapter 1 The Renaissance Period第一章 文艺复兴时期（14th mid-17th Century）一、Definitions of Literary Terms（名词解释与文学术语）1. Allegory 寓言A story that is told to explain or teach something, especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself.2. Auden 奥登（19071973）English poet and a major influence on modern poetry, particularly during the 1930s when his highly energetic, often witty verse probed and laid bare Europes ailing culture in the years that were to lead to WWII.3. Blank Verse 无韵体诗Blank verse is verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It is the verse form used in some of the greatest English poetry, including that of William Shakespeare and John Milton.4. Catholicism 天主教The faith, doctrine, organization, and methods of the Roman Catholic Church.5. Dante 但丁（12651321）Italys greatest poet, author of The Divine Comedy（神曲）.6. Drama 戏剧It is a genre of literature, in which the words are mainly dialogue. People talking is the basic dramatic action. Wordless activity may interrupt the talk, but it is the context of dialogue that gives significance to such activity.7. Erasmus 伊拉斯谟（1466？1536）Dutch Roman Catholic, humanist and advocate of church and social reform.8. Foot 音步A unit in the scansion of verse, containing in English poetry one strong or accent. It is applied within a single line, indicating how many meters are employed in that line.9. Imagery 意象Comparisons, descriptions, and figures of speech that help the mind form forceful or beautiful pictures. Poetry often contains imagery.10. Kipling 吉卜林（18351936）English writer, born in India.11. Martin Luther 马丁路德（14831546）German reformation leader and founder of Lutheranism. （路德教派）12. Meter 格律The word is derived from the Greek word “metron”, meaning “measure”. In English when applied to poetry, it refers to the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. The analysis of the meter is called scansion.（格律分析或音步划分，格律的形式有：抑扬格，扬抑格，抑抑扬扬格和扬抑抑格等。）13. Montaigne 蒙田（15331592）French writer, generally regarded as the inventor of modern essay, a genre which he fashioned out of the late medieval compilation, transforming it into a personal test of ideas and experience.14. Ovid 奥维德（43 B.C A.D 17?）Roman poet of love elegies, who then experimented with the imaginary letter, mock didactic verse, collective narrative relating disconnected stories inside a large historical or chronological frame, and finally with elegies of nostalgic complaint, when Augustus had exiled him in A.D 8 to the Black Sea for some mysterious indiscretion.15. Petrarch 彼特拉克（13041374）Italian poet and early humanist. Supported by influential patrons, he spent his life in study, travel and writing.16. Plutach 普鲁塔克（A.D 46 A.D 120?）Greek philosopher and biographer of the century ending in A.D 100.17. Protestantism 新教The principles of the Reformation. Protestantism is characterized by subordinating tradition to the Bible as the basis for doctrine and practice, and stresses justification by faith, biblical preaching and a high personal morality.18. Reformation 宗教改革It refers to the great religious movement in Europe in the 1500s that aimed at reform the Roman Catholic Church but led to the establishment of Protestant Churches.19. Rhyme 韵，韵脚Rhyme is the repetition of the stressed vowel sound and all succeeding sounds. It is a word or line having the same last sound as another.20. Sestina 六节诗A poem of six six-line stanzas and a concluding triplet. The last words of the first stanza are repeated in the other five stanzas in different order, and in the concluding triplet.21. Sir Phillip Sidney 锡德尼（15541586）English Elizabethan poet and diplomat, a favorite with the queen and a model of Renaissance chivalry.22. Sonnet 十四行诗Sonnet is the one of the most conventional and influential forms of poetry in Europe. A sonnet is a lyric invariably of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, restricted to definite rhyme scheme.23. Stanza 诗节A group of lines of poetry, usually four or more, arranged according to a fixed plan. The stanza is the unit of structure in a poem and poets do not vary the unit with a poem.24. Surrey 萨里伯爵（1517？1547）English poet who with his friend Thomas Wyatt introduced the sonnet form from Italy into England. In his translations form Virgil, he was the first to employ blank verse in England.25. Swineburne 斯温伯恩（18371909）English lyric poet and critic.26. Symbol 象征It is an index that points to or represents something else. A symbol is usually a material object used to represent something abstract. The relationship between the symbol and the symbolized is often established through convention, resemblance, or association.27. Terza rima 三行诗节隔句押韵诗体It is an Italian form of iambic verse consisting of ten-syllable or eleven-syllable lines arranged in tercets, i.e. stanzas, the middle line of each tercet rhyming with the first and third lines of the following tercet. The most typical example is Shellys “Ode to the West Wind.”28. University Wits 大学才子从16世纪80年代开始，英国戏剧进入繁荣时期，新的剧院越来越多，演技水平也在不断提高，为适应戏剧发展的需要，一大群中产阶级出身、在大学念过书的作家产生了。他们大多受过人文主义思想的熏陶，具有比较丰富的古典文化修养，被称为“大学才子”。29. William Caxton 卡克斯顿（1422？1491）English printer, trained in Cologne. He produced The Recuyell of the Histories of Troys（世纪镜鉴，1475），the first book printed in English.30. Wyatt 怀亚特（1503？1542）English poet and diplomat who, with the Earl of Surrey, introduced the Italian sonnet form to England.二、Text Explanation（课文讲解）（一） Background knowledge（背景知识）1. Historical and cultural backgrounds(1) Renaissance marks a transition form the medieval to the modern world. It was sparked off by a combination of historical factors, such as the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman classics, the religious reformation, explorations in geography and science, and the economic expansion.(2) The great 16th-century religious revolution resulted in the establishment of the Protestant churches. In England, the break with Rome came first as a result of a decision by King Henry VIII to divorce his first wife. The change in religious doctrine came afterward in the reigns of King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I.(3) The continuing development of trade, the growth of the middle class, the education for lay people, the centralization of power and of much intellectual life in the court, and the widening horizons of exploration gave a new impetus and direction to literature. William Caxton first introduced printing into England. The number of presses quickly increased in England, and with them the number of printed books.(4) Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. It sprang from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the antique authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious, intellectual side, for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on such a conception that man is the measure of all things. Humanists believed that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. In a word, humanism suggests any attitude, which tends to exalt the human element or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the supernatural, divine elements.2. Features of English Renaissance Literature(1) Renaissance poetryThe two greatest innovators of the new, rich style of Renaissance poetry were Sir Phillip Sidney, who followed with the sestina（六节诗，由六节六行诗加结尾的一节三行诗构成）and terza rima（三行一节的诗体，三行诗节隔句押韵法）and Edmund Spenser. In their lyrical and narrative works they displayed the ornate, somewhat florid, highly figured style. Two other poetic tendencies became visible toward the end of 16th century. The first is exemplified by John Donne and other metaphysical poets; the second best represented by Ben Jonson and his school. And Marlowe gave new vigor to the blank verse with his “might lines（雄伟诗句）”. The last great poet of the English Renaissance was Puritan writer John Milton, whose poems reveal astonishing poetic power and grace under the control of a profound mind. The goals of humanistic poetry are: skillful handling of conventions, force of language, and , above all, the development of a rhetorical plan in which meter, rhyme, scheme, imagery and argument should all be combined to frame the emotional theme and throw it into high relief.(2) Renaissance DramaGenerally speaking, the Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. Most of the plays were written in an elaborate verse style and under the influence of classical examples. Christopher Marlowe began the tradition of the chronicle plays of the fatal deeds of kings and monarchs. His plays are remarkable primarily for their daring depictions of world-shattering characters that strive to go beyond the normal human limitations. Elizabethan drama reached its true flowering in Shakespeares works. Shakespeares compassionate understanding of the human lot has perpetuated his greatness and made him the representative figure of English literature for the whole world.(3) Renaissance EssayFrancis Bacon was the first important English essayist. He was also the founder of modern science in England. His writings paved the way for the use of scientific method. Thus, he is undoubtedly one of the representatives of the English Renaissance.（二） Major writers of the period（主要作家介绍）A. Edmund Spenser 斯宾塞（1552？1599）1. Points of view （观点）Religiously, Spenser was a lover and celebrator of physical beauty, and he was sternly moral. In his works, he effectively blended classical literary themes and conventions with Christian moralism and revealed his strong English patriotic feelings. Milton recognized Spenser as, like himself, a Christian humanist and British poet prophet. Artistically, Spenser considered the poets role as the inspired voice of God revealing examples of morally perfect actions in an aesthetically ideal world. His artistic view is best illustrated in his masterpiece, The Faerie Queene. Spenser had a strong background in the classics. Among his practical English antecedents, the most important was the works of Chaucer.2. Artistic features （艺术特色）(1) Spenser has glorified England and its language by his long allegorical poem The Faerie Queene.(2) The main qualities of Spensers poetry: a. a perfect melody; b. a rare sense of beauty; c. a splendid imagination; d. a lofty moral purity and seriousness; and e. a dedicated idealism.(3) Spenser uses strange forms of speech and obsolete words in order to increase the rustic effect.(4) The Faerie Queene is written in the stanza invented by the poet himself, the Spenserian stanza, i.e., a stanza of nine lines, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last line in iambic hexameter（六音步抑扬格）, rhyming ababbcbcc.(5) The Faerie Queene is an allegory, there are many symbols in the book. The Redcrosse Knight in Book I stands for St. George, the patron saint of England, symbolizing the Anglican Church; he also represents Holiness, one of the 12 private virtues; Virgin Una stands for truth or the true religion; Dragon and the infernal fiend stand for Satan.3. Selected reading （选读）(1) Main idea of the whole book The Faerie Queene（仙后）According to Spensers own explanation, his principal intention is to present through a historical poem the example of a perfect gentleman: “to fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline.” He speaks of 12 virtues of the private gentleman, and plans 12 books, each one with a different hero distinguished for one of the private virtues. The hero of heroes, who possesses all of these virtues, is Arthur, and he is to play a role in each of the 12 major adventures, which has its own individual hero. The recurring appearances of Arthur serve as a unifying element for the poem as a whole. Another character contributing to the unity of the work is Gloriana, the Fairy Queen. It is from her court and at her bidding that Arthurs great mission is his search for the Fairy Queen, with whom he has fallen in love through a love vision. The poem is written in the stanza invented by the poet himself, the Spenserian stanza.(2) Main idea of the excerptIt is taken form Canto 1, Book I, in which Redcrosse Knight sets out on his adventures. Book I of the Faerie Queene is in a way an epitome of the whole poem. The purpose of Redcrosses quest is to free original mankind the parents of Una from the power of the Devil, culminating in his killing the dragon. His fight is thus against sin. Una and her knight are first seen together in the opening canto when Redcrosse easily routs the dragon of Error in the Wandering Wood.(3) ThemeThe theme is not “arms and the man,”