英国文学考试-复习.doc

(1)American Romanticism was a rebellion against the objective of rationalism. It stretch from the end of the 18th century to outbreak of the Civil War. Its chief emphasizes freedom, individualism and imagination. an innate, subjective, and intuitive perception of man. The representatives about romanticism period included Irving, Cooper and Bryant Being a period of the great flowering of American literature, it is also called “the American Renaissance.”Transcendentalism refers to the religious and philosophical doctrines of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in New England in the middle 1800s, which emphasized the importance of individual inspiration and intuition, the Over-soul, and Nature. Other concepts that accompanied Transcendentalism include the idea that nature is ennobling and the idea that the individual is divine and, therefore, self-reliant.(1)Free verse means the rhymed or un rhymed poetry composed without paying attention to conventional rules of meter.(2)Free verse was originated by a group of French poets of the late 19th century.(3)Their purpose was to free themselves from the restriction of natural speech.American naturalism: A particular school of philosophy popular in the late 19th century, usually defined as pessimistic determinism. It conceives of man as controlled by his instincts or his passions, or by his social and economic environment and circumstances. The most important writers of this movement include Crane, Norris, London and Dreiser. Local Colorists: A movement which came into prominence in the U.S. after the Civil War, perhaps as an attempt to create the illusion of an indigenous little world with qualities by which people can tell it apart from the world outside. The fiction or verse emphasizes its setting, being concerned with the character of a district or of an era, as marked by its customs, dialect, costumes, landscape, etc. The distinguished writers of local colorist include Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. (1)The Lost Generation After the first World War. It describes the Americans who remained in Paris as a colony of “expatriates” or exiles. It describes the Americans who returned to their native land with an intense awareness of living in an unfamiliar changing world. The most well-known figures in “the Lost Generation” are Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald. (1)Imagism came into being in Britain and U.S. around 1910 as a reaction to the traditional English poetry to express the sense of fragmentation and dislocation.(2)The imagists, with Ezra Pound leading the way, hold that the most effective means to expres these momentary impressions is through the use of one dominant image.(3)Imagism is characterized by the following three poetic principles: direct treatment of subject matter; economy of expression; as regards rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of metronome.The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allen Poe 1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?(1) Montresor. (2) Fortunato, one of wine experts, insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?(1)He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. (2)Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresors masked motives. The Scarlet Letter-Chapter 2 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.(1)Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ? No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable. This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin. He is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life(2)What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast mans activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Natures kindness to the condemned, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2. Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail all maintains severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. 3.(1)What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. (2)Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.(3)How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.A Clean, well-Lighted Place Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story? The title refers to the caf, which was very clean and well- lighted. We may feel this place was very warm and comfortable. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth. However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine while there was still one hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada. This caf should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title. 2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark？Why or why not?I dont think so. In my opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada，nothing in ones inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. Whats more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didnt realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different? （1）I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects：In the beginning, they are in different ages. （2）Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. The older waiter had suffered a lot and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish; he showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.（3）Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.（4）Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in ones whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didnt realize the nada in his heart at all. Ones Self I Sing Walt Whitman 1. What is the significance of singing about ones self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy? Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person. 3. What does Whitman mean by the term of the Modern Man? He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias. O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman 1. Why is the word Captain capitalized throughout the poem? In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey. 3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad? They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor. In A Station of the Metro Ezra Pound1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians apparition? These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain. 2. What do petals and bough stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd. Anecdote of the Jar Wallace Stevens1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest. 2. The jar is round and of a port in air, meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding. 3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar ) Fire and Ice Robert Frost1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war. 2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings. 3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace. Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening Robert Frost1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment. 2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, co