简明英国文学史作家生平及评价.doc

Analyze as well as you can John Miltons Paradise Lost.一、Brief introduction:“Paradise Lost” is Miltons masterpiece. It is a long epic in 12 books , written in blank verse. The stories were taken from the Old Testament: the creation; the rebellion in Heaven of Satan and his fellow-angels; their defeat and expulsion from Heaven; the creation of the earth and of Adam and Eve; the fallen angels in hell plotting against God; Satans temptation of Eve; and the departure of Adam and Eve from Eden.二、Theme and Characterizationl The main idea of Paradise Lost is a revolt against Gods authority.l In the poem God is no better than a selfish despot, seated upon a throne with a chorus of angels about him eternally singing his praises. He is cruel and unjust in his struggle against Satan HIS Archangel is a bore. His angels are silly. While the rebel Satan who rose against God and, though defeated, still sought for revenge, is the most striking character in the poem.l Adam and Eve embody Miltons belief in the powers of man. Their craving for knowledge, adds a particular significance to their characters.l Satan and his followers, who freely discuss all issues in council, bear close resemblance to a republican Parliament. This alone, is sufficient to prove that Miltons revolutionary feelings made him forsake religious orthodoxy.三、The image of Satan：l Satan is the real hero of the poem. Like a conquered and banished giant, he remains obeyed and admired, by those who follow him down to hell. He is firmer than the rest of the angles. Though defeated, he prevails, since he was won from God the third part of his angels, and almost all the sons of Adam. Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hit upon his head left his heart invincible.l Satan is the spirit questioning the authority of God. When he gets to the Garden of Eden, he can see no reason why Adam and Eve should not taste the fruit of the Tree of knowledge四、some comments书本P72-73Pick one Romantic Poet you like best and discuss his achievements I like George Gordon Byron best.George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron FRS (22 January 1788 19 April 1824), known as Lord Byron, was an English poet, peer, politician, and leading figure in the Romantic movement. He was regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. Among his best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems, Don Juan and Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, and the short lyric poem, She Walks in Beauty. In his works he created a new concept of “Byronic hero”, The figure of the Byronic hero pervades much of his work, especially in his famous work “Dan Juan” and the first “Byronic hero” he created was Childe Harold, the main character in Childe Harolds Pilgrimage. And Byron himself is considered to epitomize many of the characteristics of this literary figure. Scholars have traced the literary history of the Byronic hero from John Milton, and many authors and artists of the Romantic movement show Byrons influence during the 19th century and beyond, including the Bront sisters. His philosophy was more durably influential in continental Europe than in England; Friedrich Nietzsche admired him, and the Byronic hero was echoed in Nietzsches superman. The Byronic hero presents an idealized, but flawed character whose attributes include: great talent; great passion; a distaste for society and social institutions; a lack of respect for rank and privilege (although possessing both); being thwarted in love by social constraint or death; rebellion; exile; an unsavory secret past; arrogance; overconfidence or lack of foresight; and, ultimately, a self-destructive manner. These types of characters have since become ubiquitous in literature and politics. He travelled extensively across Europe, especially in Italy, where he lived for seven years in the cities of Venice, Ravenna and Pisa. During his stay in Italy, he frequently visited his friend and fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Later in his life, Byron joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. Byron is considered to be the first modern-style celebrity. His image as the personification of the Byronic hero fascinated the public, and his wife Annabella coined the term Byromania to refer to the commotion surrounding him. His self-awareness and personal promotion are seen as a beginning to what would become the modern rock star; he would instruct artists painting portraits of him not to paint him with pen or book in hand, but as a man of action. While Byron first welcomed fame, he later turned from it by going into voluntary exile from Britain. Byron exercised a marked influence on Continental literature and art, and his reputation as a poet is higher in many European countries than in Britain or America, although not as high as in his time, when he was widely thought to be the greatest poet in the world. Choose either Jane Austen or Walter Scott and discuss her/his novelsWalter ScottP206: Scotts Historical Novels第一段Ivanhoe: Ivanhoe is one of.the Norman Conquest.Rob Ray： It reflects the heroic deeds of the uprising of the people of Scotland in 1715 and writes about the intricate contradictions of the nation, religion and society at that time, as well as the psychological states of all walks of life.+P208 In the novel, Rob Roy.popular to readersQuentin Durward: Besides novels.the Bold of BurgundyP209 Some CommentsComment on Alexander Pope and his contributions to English poetry. Alexander Pope is the greatest poet of the Augustan age, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare. He is the son of a Catholic linen draper. He was seriously ill at a very young age and deformed with a sick body. Partly because of his deformity and partly because of his Catholic religion, Pope received no regular education. He mainly studied by himself. When he was 15, he began to translate classic works. Then, he translated Homer, made good money and won great popularity out of the project. And he was specially successful with The Rape of the Lock, a mock epic. His On Literary Criticism, also written in heroic couplets, is a classical piece. But because of his deformity, Pope guarded his dignity and reputation more jealously than ordinary people. In his last weighty project Dunciad he attacked all those men of letters who had offended him in one way or another. His life was not eventful and he bought a house for himself and his mother with the money he earned from translating Homer. He spent the rest of his life there. His major works are Essay on Criticism, Essay on Man, The Rape of the Lock. When Pope died in 1744 the neoclassicism as a literary trend to represent the Enlightenment Movement in England had ebbed toward its end. But, as a great satirist and master of language and an ingenious poet who had brought the heroic coup