英美文学考前串讲大题 打印版.doc

英美文学考前串讲（2）Part One: English LiteratureIII. Questions and answers:1.How do you know about Renaissance? Give a summery about English literature in the period?(No more than 150 words)参考答案:1.The Renaissance refers to the period between 14th-mid-17th century. It first started in Italy.2.The Renaissance means rebirth or revival-the discovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture.3.In essence, The Renaissance is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars tried to get rid of the old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie/middle class, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of Roman Catholic church.4.Humanism is the essence of Renaissance -Man is the measure of all things. The humanism exalted/praised human nature and emphasized the dignity of human beings and the present life. They thought man had the right to enjoy the beauty of life and had the ability to perfect himself and made wonders, which got ready for the appearance of the great Elizabethan writers in Britain. Poetry and drama were the most outstanding literary forms.5.Shakespeare, Marlowe and Francis Bacon etc. were the remarkable representatives of the English Renaissance.(可参考课本P7-12)2. Please give a brief analysis of Hamlets “To be or not to be” soliloquy (独白).参考答案:“To be or not to be” is a philosophical exploration of life and death. The soliloquy condemned the hypocrisy and treachery and general corruption of the world, and revealed the character of Hamlet-so speculative, questioning, contemplative and melancholy./gloomy. It was not because he was not able to take action to revenge, but because of his hesitative/hesitant character, when the chance for action came, it seemed defeat. It can be interpreted as: Hamlet bears the heavy burden of the duty to revenge his fathers death, he is forced to live in the suspense of facts and fiction, language and action. He considers that it would be better to commit suicide, but being scared of what might happen to him in the afterlife. So he put off the thing because of the sin. He considers the plan carefully only to find reason for not carrying it out. The soliloquy conveys the sense of world-weariness (厌世) . (P33-34)3. What common features do the characters share in Marlows works? (No more than 150 words) 参考答案:The creation of The Renaissance hero is one of Marlows contributions. 1)Such a hero is always individualistic and full of ambition, facing bravely the challenge from god and men. They had human dignity and capacity, trying to get heaven/highest ideas on the earth by their own efforts.2)For example: Tamburlaine is a character written by Marlowe. By depicting a great hero with high ambition and sheer brutal force in conquering, Marlowe voiced the supreme desire of man for infinite/ limitless power and authority. In Dr.Faustus, Marlowe celebrated the human passion for knowledge, power and happiness.3) Tamburlaine and Dr.Faustus are typical in owning such Renaissance spirit, Tamburlaine, being a cruel conquer, found happiness in conquering other kingdom. Only death could defeat him. While Dr.Faustus, a more introspective and philosophical figure, had high spirit for knowledge but he had sin for having despair in God and trust in Devil. (P2022)4. What are the main themes of Shakespeares plays?参考答案：Shakespeares plays are divided into 3 types: comedies, tragedies and historical plays.1) His historical plays are with the theme-national unity under a might and just sovereign/ruler is necessary.2)In his romantic comedies, he takes an optimistic attitude toward love friendship and youth.3)In his tragedies, Shakespeare always portrays some noble heroes, who faces the injustice of life and is caught in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of his nation. Each hero has his weakness of nature. We also see the conflict between the individual and the evil force in the society. And his major characters are always individuals representing certain types.5. Please comment on the character of Satan in “Paradise Lost.”参考答案：Satan is a rebellious (叛逆的) figure against God in literature, defeated, he and his rebel angels were cast into hell. However, Satan refused to accept his failure, swearing that “all was not lost” and that he would revenge for his downfall. The freedom of the will is the keystone of Satans character, which was the important spirit of the rising middle class. While he tempted Adam and Eve, which proved his evilness. 6. What are the characteristics of the Humanism?参考答案：1)Humanism is the essence of Renaissance.2)Humanists see that human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection, and that the world they inhabited was theirs not to despise (轻视) but to question, explore, and enjoy.3)They also believe 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 (创造奇迹). (P8) 英美文学考前串讲（3）Chapter 2 The Neoclassical PeriodIII. Questions and answers:1.Please analyze the Neoclassical period and the characters of the literature.参考答案：1)The Neoclassical period is about 1660-1798, also known as the Age of Enlightenment or the age of Reason.2)Its background was:a.It was an age full of conflicts and difference of values;b.It was an age of fast development for English to become the first powerful capitalist country in the world;c.It was an age of economic development, in which bourgeois/middle class grew rapidly.3)In essence, the Neoclassical Period was a progressive intellectual movement.4)The Enlighteners believed in self-restraint, self-reliance and hard work; They celebrated reason/rationality, equality and science. They advocated universal education, which could make people rational and prefect, they believed.5)In literature, The Enlightenment Movement brought about a revival of interest in the ancient Greek and Roman classical works; the works at the time, heavily didactic and moralizing; having fixed laws and rules for every type of the literature; among which prose and the modern English novel predominated the age. (At the end of the age sentimentalism and Gothic Novel appeared.)6) The age was an important age with the remarkable authors Pope, Defoe, etc.2.Please cite examples from Gullivers Travels to explain briefly how did Swift criticized and allude to the government and the society.参考答案:1)In the first part of the Gullivers Travels, Swift described the tricks and practices in the competition held before royal members to allude to the fact that the success of the officials was not for their wisdom and excellence but fortheir skills in the games;2)In the part 4 of the book, Swift made horses with reason and good qualities.The citizens who are hairy, wild, low and despicable brutes, who resemble human beings not only in appearance but also in almost every way to criticize/satirize all respects of the English and European life, and urge people to consider the nature of the human and life. (P108-109) 3. People always say that: As a member of the middle class, Defoe spoke for and to the members of his class .How do you understand this sentence? Please explain it with the character of him.参考答案：1) In most of his works, Defoe gave his praise to the hard-working, sturdy middle class and showed his sympathy for the lower-class people. Robinson Crusoe was such a character.2) Robison goes out to sea, gets shipwrecked and marooned/landed on a lonely island, struggles to live for 24 years there and finally is saved by a ship and returns to England. During the period Robinson leads a harsh and lonely life and survives by growing corps, taming animals, etc. growing from a naive young man into a hardened man. 3) With a great capacity for work, inexhaustible energy (精力充沛), courage and persistence in overcoming difficulties（在克服困难方面持之以恒）, in struggling against nature, Crusoe becomes the prototype / representative of the empire builder, the pioneer colonist. （他是大英帝国缔造者的完美典范，同时也是殖民者的先驱） 4) In the novel, Defoe glorified human labor and the puritan fortitude (坚韧)which the middle class praised highly, so he can be regarded as a spokesman of the bourgeois. (P98-100) 英美文学考前串讲（4）Chapter 3 The Romantic PeriodIII. Questions and answers:1.Please list the subjects and the faculties of the Romanticism. Answer:(1) The subjects are: love, nature, nationalism, individualism, (2) The faculties they cherished are: imagination, spontaneity, inspiration. (P162)2.William Wordsworth was the first representative author of Rom, How do you know his idea and style?Answer:(1)His poems are most about Nature and Human Life;(2)Beyond the pleasure of the picturesque with the eye and the external aspects of nature, however, lies in deeper moral awareness, a sense of completeness in multiplicity. (it means poem not only deals with the beautiful world, but express moral)(3)Common life and the joy and sorrow of the common people and inner self are his subjects;(4)He is a poet in memory of the past and was called prophets of nature;(5)He deliberately writes in simple and ordinary speech ,refuses to decorate the truth of experience of pure and profound feeling;(6)He thought poet is a man speaking to men, poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which originates in emotion recollected in tranquility.(7)He always writes an elusive beauty of simplicity or a rural figure. (P176-179)3.What thoughts and event influenced the period of Romanticism? Answer:(1) Rousseau (a French philosopher) explored new ideas about nature, society and education, which provided guiding priding principles for the French Revolution and Romanticism;(2) The French Revolution and the Declaration of Rights of Man(written by Thomas Paine)aroused the great sympathy and enthusiasm in the English liberals and radicals,which became a great source for Romanticism.(3) England itself had experienced profound economic and social changes as industrialism,which were reflected in the works of literature. (P157-159)4.Byrons greatest contribution is his creation of the Byronic hero What kind of the hero he is? Give comment on him. Answer:(1) Don Juan is Byrons masterpiece, a great comic epic, in which Byron described a hero named Don Juan. He was a great lover and seducer of women. In the conventional sense,al positives like courage, generosity, and frankness In a word, Don was proud Juan was immoral, but Juan had his own mor, mysterious, and a noble rebel figure. He was a young man with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies, one of rebellious individuals against outworn/outdated social systems and conventions.(2) Comment: The poets true intention is to present a panoramic view of different types of society,the main theme of the works the basic ironic theme of appearance and reality,during which the poet also presented various materials and the clash of emotions. (P194-196)5. What is the difference between Romanticism and Neoclassicism?(Neoclassicism=Augustans=enlightener) Answer:(1)The Romantic Movement expressed negative attitude toward the existing social and political condition, the Romantics saw the corruption and injustice of the inhumanity of capitalism;(2)The Neo saw man as a social; while Rom saw him as an individual in the solitary state;(3)Neo stressed the common features of men; but the Rom stressed the special qualities of each individuals mind;(4)Neo celebrated rationality, equality and science of the outside world; while Rom changed to the inner world of the human spirit, whose theory saw the individual as the center of all experience;(5)Literature was heavily didactic and moralizing. There were fixed laws for each type of literature; Rom expressed his feeling, valued accuracy in portraying, they thought literature should be free from all rules.(6)The most important form in Neo was prose; while Rom was an age of poetry. (P160-161)6.Analyze the characters of John Keatss poetry.Answer:(1)The poems are sensuous, colorful, and rich in imagery, (which expresses the acuteness of his senses)(2)Words are beautiful and musical.(3)The ancient Greek and English poetry provides the most important imaginative resource.(4)The construction of poems are knit, and the description go beyond the physical beauty of the world. (P218-219)7. Jane Austen was the only important female author in the 18-19th century, how do you know about her?Answer:Generally speaking, Austen was writer of the 18th century.(1)Her novels always dealt with the romantic entanglement of the heroines;(2)She believed in it that reason over passion, sense of responsibility, good manners,and clear judgment over romance; she honored the Augustan virtues of moderation, dignity disciplined emotion and common sense;(3)She contempt snobbery, stupidity, worldliness etc;(4)Her main concern was the relationship between men and women in love;(5)Her writing range was limited, all restricted to the provincial life of the 18th century England;(6)She presented the quiet, day-to-day country life of the middle -upper -class English.(7)Her characteristic theme was: maturity is got by the loss of illusions. (P223-226)英美文学考前串讲（5）Chapter 4 The Victorian PeriodIII. Questions and answers:1、Ideologically, what influenced Victorian literature? What characters does it have?1). Darwins theory “the survival of the fittest” shook the theoretical basis of the traditional faith, many authors expressed their doubts and uncertainty in their works;2). Utilitarianism was widely accepted and practiced, many conscious authors severely criticized the Utilitarianism, especially its devalue of culture and its cold indifference to human feeling and imagination;3). Realism novels criticized the society and defended for the mass, and they concerned about the fate of the common people such as their poverty misery, angry with the inhuman social institution, the social immorality, injustice and money-worship.4). Victorian literature represents the reality of the age. The high-spirit vitality, the down-to-earth earnestness, the good-natured humour and unbound imagination are unprecedented. (P235237)2、Jane Eyre is the greatest governess image in the literature history; can you analyze the character of her?Jane Eyre was a little plain governess with quick wit, honesty, frankness, loving heart and the spirit of independence and self-dignity.In literature, she is an individual conscious to self-realization. She was lonely and neglected young woman with a fierce longing for love, understanding and a full, happy life.In authors mind, mans life is composed of perpetual struggle between sin and virtue, good and evil. The heroines joy, comes from the sacrifice of self and the overcome of some weakness.By Janes experience, we can see the cruelty, hypocrisy, and other evils of the upper classes and the misery and the suffering of the poor, and the false social convention on love and marriage. (P256259)3、Analyze the background of the Victorian Period.Economic developed rapidly and social problems prevailed in England and it became the “workshop of the world”.England settled down to a time of prosperity and stability, the people valued earnestness, respectability, modesty, and democracy.In the last decades, British empire declined, and Victorian values decayed.4、Analyze the character created by George Eliot with an example and his style.George Eliot set a new type of realism both naturalistic and psychological novel;She sought to present the inner struggle of a soul and to reveal the motives, impulse and hereditary influences, the slow growth or decline of the character;Her masterpiece “Middlemarch” is a study of provincial life, showing a panoramic view of life in a small English town;She concerned for the destiny of women, the heroin in “Middlemarch” Dorothea, was a typical character of Eliot. She was a lady with great intelligence, potential and social aspiration. She had the ideals to devote to the society, later, she married an elder man to realize her ideals by helping him in the holy Christianity Career. At the end of the story, she became content with giving her second husband “wifely help”.From her experience, we can see Eliots view: women were born with the pathetic tragedy. Her spirit declined owing to the social environment and her own weakness.(the story is full of an air of a lifeless bitterness and disappointment) (P292294)5、Analyze the style of Charles Dickens.Adeptness/skilfulness with the vernacular and large vocabulary;The most distinguishing/remarkable character-portrayal;The best writing from the childs point of view; (His best depicted characters are those innocent, virtuous, persecuted, helpless children)The depiction of those horrible and grotesque characters;The mingling/mixing features of humor and pathos/sorrow. (P241)6、How do you know the naturalistic idea of Hardy?The tragic sense is the keynote of Hardys novels, and he is a nostalgic author.Hardys novels always set in Wessex, the fictional primitive and crude region, which is threatened by the invading capitalism, expressing the conflict between the traditional and the modern, the old and the modern.Mans fate is tragic with born, driven by the force of the nature of outside and inside, and man is bound by his inherent nature and hereditary traits which prompt him to go and search for happiness or success, and set him in conflict with the environment; we can see he is influence