英国文学考试必背.doc

1. What are the major features of the Romantic Movement in Britain between 1790 and 1830?The English Romantic period is an age of poetry. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelly and Keats are the major Romantic poets. They started a rebellion against the neoclassical literature, which was later regarded as the poetic revolution. They believed that poetry could purify both individual souls and the society. The Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798 acts as a manifesto for the English Romanticism. The Romantics not only eulogize(颂扬) the faculty(能力) of imagination, but also stress the concept of spontaneity and inspiration, regarding them as something crucial for true poetry. The natural world comes to the forefront of the poetic imagination. Nature is not only the major source of poetic imagery, but also provides the dominant subject matter. They advocate freedom from classical rules and traditions. Romantics turn to the humble people and their everyday life for subjects. Romantic writers are always seeking for the absolute , the ideal through the transcendence(杰出) of the actual. They prefer to write about something exotic, remote, mysterious, weird, monstrous and even satanic.2. Comment briefly on naturalism and criticism in Hardys novels.In his works, man is shown inevitably bound by his own inherent nature and hereditary(遗传性的) traits which prompt him to go and search for some specific happiness or success and set him in conflict with the environment. The outside nature-the natural environment or Nature herself-is shown as some mysterious supernatural force.Though naturalism seems to have played an important part in Hardys works, there is also bitter and sharp criticism, and even open challenge of irrational, hypocritical and unfair Victorian institutions, conventions and morals which strangle(抑制，压制) the individual will and destroy natural human emotions and relationships.3. What are the main features of Romance?(1)Expressiveness: Instead of regarding poetry as “a mirror to nature”, the romantics hold that the object of the artist should be the expression of the artists emotions, impressions, or beliefs. The role of instinct, intuition, and the feelings of “the heart” is stressed instead of neoclassicists emphasis on “the head”, on regularity, uniformity, decorum, and imitation of the classical writers. Romantic poets describe poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”.(2)Imagination: Romantic literature puts great emphasis on the creative function of the imagination, seeing art as a formulation of intuitive, imaginative perceptions that tend to speak a nobler truth than that of fact, logic, or the here and now.(3)Singularity: Romantic poets have a strong love for the remote, the unusual, the strange, the supernatural, the mysterious, the splendid, the picturesque, and the illogical. (4)Worship of nature: Romantic poets see in nature revelation of Truth, the “living garment of God”. In their view, the natural is the dominant influence in changing peoples sensibilities; nature to them is a source of mental cleanness and spiritual understanding.(5)Simplicity: Romantic poets tend to turn to the humble people and the everyday life for subjects, employing the commonplace, the natural and simple as their materials. They take to using everyday language spoken by the rustic people as opposed to the poetic diction used by neoclassic writers. 4. What is the theme of Thomas Grays Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is regarded as Thomas Grays best and most representative work in this poem. Gray reflects on death, the sorrows of life, and the mysterious of human life with a touch of his personal melancholy(忧郁，悲伤). The poet compares the ordinary people with the great ones, wondering what the commons could have achieved if they had had the chance. Here he reveals his sympathy for the poor and the unknown, but scorns the great ones who despise the poor and bring havoc on them.5. Give a definition to Renaissance.The Renaissance refers to the transitional period from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in Italy in the 14 century. The Renaissance means rebirth or revival. It was stimulated by a sense of historical events, such as the rediscoveries in geography and astrology(占星术), the religious reformation, and the economic expansion. Humanism is the essence of Renaissance. The English Renaissance did not begin until the reign of Henry VIII. It was regarded as Englands Golden Age, especially in literature. The real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama. This period produced such literary giants as Shakespeare, Spenser, Marlowe, Bacon, Donne and Milton, etc.6. Give a brief comment on Enlightenment Movement.It was a progressive, intellectual movement, which flourished in France and then swept through the whole Western Europe. The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from the 14 century to mid-17 century. The purpose of the movement was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. It celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. It advocated universal education. Literature at the time became a very popular means of public education.7. Give a brief account of the contributions which William Wordsworth made to the development of the English poetry.As a great romantic poet, Wordsworth made great contributions to the development of the English poetry. His Lyrical Ballads, written with Coleridge, is generally regarded as the symbol of the beginning of the Romantic period in England. He defined the poet as a “man speaking to men” and poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which originates in emotion recollected in tranquility”. Wordsworth is regarded as a “worship of nature”. Nature stands out in his poetry. A case in point is I wandered Lonely as a Cloudy, one of the most beautiful poems in English literature. He sympathizes with the poor and their joys and sorrows are his constant themes. His poetry is characterized by simplicity and purity of his language. Wordsworth is the leading figure of the English Romantic poetry, the major poetic voice of the period voice of the period. The most important contributions he has made is that he has not only started the modern poetry but also changed the course of English poetry. He is one of English “Lake Poets”.8. What is dramatic monologue?Dramatic monologue is a kind of poem in which a single fictional or historical character other than the poet speaks to a silent “audience” of one or more persons. Such poems reveal not the poets own thoughts but the mind of the impersonated character, whose personality is revealed while the implied presence of an auditor(旁听者) distinguishes it from a soliloquy(独白). Some plays in which only one character speaks, in the form of a monologue or soliloquy, have also been called dramatic monologues or as monodramas. Robert Browning is associated with the term. His My Last Duchess is a case in point. It is Brownings hands that “dramatic monologue” reaches its maturity and perfection.9. Comment briefly on Rebecca Sharp.Rebecca is the heroine of William Thackerays masterpiece Vanity Fair. As her name suggests Becky Sharp is determined to seize a palace for herself in Vanity Fair. She succeeds in establishing herself in Vanity Fair, at the cost of the lives of two men and alienation of all her friends and family. But she enjoys the battle. Rebecca is charming and witty. Although she is at heart selfish and hostile, she can act the part of modesty, simplicity, gentleness and untiring good humor. Although Rebecca is a merciless social climber, yet it is she who brings Amelia to her senses and