英国文学期末整理 (1).doc

Questions for Revision:The Anglo- Saxon PeriodQ1: What is the major literary form in this period?PoetryQ2: What is epic? What is the national epic in this period?An Epic is a long narrative poem in elevated style presents characters of high relation to a central figure of heroic proportions and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.BeowulfQ3: What are the characteristics of Beowulf ?1、 The most striking feature in its poetic form is the use of alliteration- repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line of poem. In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonat sound.There are generally 4 accents in a line, three of which show alliteration ,as can be seen from the quotations on P.6-10 in the textbook.2、 kenning: a kind of figurative language3、 The use of repetition and variationQ4: What are two highlights in the developments of the Anglo-Saxon literature?1、the Northumbrian School2、during the reign of King AlfredQuestions for Revision- The Middle English PeriodQ1: What was the form of literature at the time? What features does it have? Romance 1、 Romance which uses narrative verse or prose to sing of knightly adventures or other heroic deeds is a popular literary form in the Middle Ages. The importance of romance itself can be seen as a means of showing medieval aristocratic men and women in relation to their idealized view of the world. 2、 Early feudal age，as it reflects the spirit of chivalry.3、 The English romance mainly deals with three major subjects: Religious, Courtly love, and Arthurian 3、Matter of France: a collection of tales about Chalemagne and his peers headed by Roland and their wars against the Saracens. 4、Matter of Rome: covered everything that had come down from the ancient Romans and from the Greeks also e.g. Trojan War 5、Matter of Britain: the legendary history of Britain. e.g. King Arthur and His Round-Table Knights, Sir Gawain and the Greenknight Q2: What is the literary position of Geoferry Chaucer in English Literature?Father of English poetryQ3: What about the significance of The Canterbury Tales ?1. It gives a comprehensive picture of Chaucers time. The pilgrims represent the whole range of 14th century society except the very top and the very bottom. With his own wide experience and close observation of life, his characters are so vivid and particular that there can be no substitution for the very person described.2. The dramatic structure of the poem has been highly commended by critics. In The Canterbury Tales, stories are cleverly woven together by links between the stories. Most of the stories are related to the personalities of the tellers.The personality of each character, his private life and habits, his mood and social status are revealed in the prologue and in the story he tells, as well as by his behaviour along the road and his remarks on the way.3. Chaucers humour: gentle satire and mild irony4. Chaucers contribution to the English language: Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of his day, which he handled dexterously. He was at one moment serious and another lighthearted and full of fun and sometimes he could be very poetical. He proved that the English language is a beautiful language and can be easily handled to express different moods. In so doing Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of the English language.Q4: What are Chaucers contributions to English literature?1. Father of English poetry2. Chaucer, for the first time in English literature, presented to us a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his time and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life in his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales.3. Chaucer develops characterization to a higher artistic level, i.e. characters who are morally and socially typical but exquisitely individual and realistic in detail.4. Chaucer introduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace the Old English alliterative verse.5. Chaucer used for the first time in English the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter which is to be called later as the heroic couplet.6. Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of English as a literary language and extended the range of its poetic vocabulary and meters. He is considered as a great master of the English language.Questions for Revision- The English RenaissanceQ1:What is Renaissance? What do you know about English Renaissance and its ideal Humanism?Renaissance: a cultural movement（the 14th to the 17th century）, beginning in Florence, Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of EuropeAs a cultural movement, it encompassed a flowering of literature, science, art, religion, and politics, and a resurgence of learning based on classical sources, the development of linear perspective in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform.Historical Background (Society, Politics and Economy)1、The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) between France and England 2、The War of the Roses (1455-1485)- Red Rose represents the noble family of Lancaster and White Rose represents the noble family of York. 3、The Civil War or Bourgeois Revolution (1642-1660) between the Monarch and the House of Commons 4、Restoration (1660-1688) 5、Glorious Revolution (1688) 6、The Agrarian Revolution - the largest scale enclose of common land The land was turned into pasture to greed sheep, driving many peasants to the cities. 7、 Development of the clothing industry - the beginning of the English capitalist production, geographical exploration and trade expansion 8、 Discovery of new landIn England, the exploration had two objects: one was the quest of gold and silver, and the other was the finding of new markets for English cloth. Humanism: is the idea that man has a potential for culture which distinguishes him from lower orders of beings, and which he should strive constantly to fulfill. 1. Rebellious spirit against the Medieval feudal value and blind faith in humbleness, servitude, and after-life. 2. Belief in mans divinity and capability of self perfection 3. Emphasis of the importance of personal worth and enjoyment of the present lifeQ2:What are the major writers in this period? What about their representative works ?Edmund Spenser The Shepheardes Calender The Faerie QueeneChristopher Marlowe Tamburlaine the Great The tragical History of Doctore Faustus The Jew of Malta William Shakespeare History: Henry IV (1-2)Comedy: Mid-summer Nights Dream The Merchant of Venice Much Ado about Nothing As You Like It Twelfth NightTragedy: Hamlet Othello King Lear MacBeth Famous Plays: Romeo and Juliet Julius Caesar Antony and Cleopatra The TempestQ3: What are the reasons for the flourishing of drama in the last thirty years of the 16th century?Cities and towns grew rapidly in the 16th century and since there was no other means of entertainment than watching drama so it became the only form of amusement to city dweller and nobleman.Q4: What are William Shakespeares major achievements to English literature? 课本P76Q5:What is sonnet? What about Shakespeares sonnet or English sonnet?1、The sonnets comprise four stanzas of three quatrains and a final couplet composed in iambic pentameter with designated rhyme scheme . Shakespeare also uses the iambic pentameter in most of his plays, where they are called blank verse, as they do not usually rhyme.2、The two basic types of sonnet are the Petrarchan(or Italian) and the Shakespearen(or English).The Petrarchan sonnet follows the rhyme scheme:abbaabba cdecde, or abbaabbacdccdc.The Shakespearen sonnets thought-division is a 4-4-4-2 plan. There are four sections-three quatrains and a final couplet.In Shakespearen sonnet each quatrain deals with a different aspect of the subject and the couplet either summarizes the theme or makes a final, sometimes contradictory comment.Q6:How to appreciate sonnet 18 ? What is the theme of this poem?Figures of Speech1) Simile thee-a summers day (compareto)2) Metaphor summers duration-a lease the sun-the eye of heaven3) Personification summer-has a short lease sun-has gold complexion death-brag “thee” in his shade poem-gives life to “thee”Rhetorical Devices in Sonnet 181、rhetorical question: the first line, used to create a tone of respect, and to engage the audience.2、personification: line 5,6 and line 11, used to elevate the sun and death.3、parallelism: the final couplet, used to emphasize the message: the beauty of the subject will be immortalized by the power of his art.The Theme of the poem: Surface: love, beauty Deeper meaning: the power of poetry/literature- -Beauty can be easily destroyed by accidents or fade with the passing of time. However, it will be immortalized by the power of poetry or literature.Q7: Where lies in the greatness of Hamlet?P121Q8: What is soliloquy? How do you understand the famous line To be, or not to be in the context of the soliloquy in scene I Act III of Hamlet?1、Soliloquy(独白)is a dramatic speech uttered by one character speaking aloud while alone on the stage (or while under the impression of being alone) .Soliloquies often appear in plays from the age of Shakespeare, notably in his Hamlet and Macbeth. The best known of all dramatic soliloquies is Hamlets speech which begins “To be, or not to be”.2、To take action or to suffer / to continue live or to die, the speech conveys a sense of world-weariness as well as the authors incisive comments on the social reality of his time. Hamlet lives between action and resolution. He is so contemplative that he examines the nature of the action only to deny its possibility. He considers it better for people to die, but then says nobody knows what happens in the afterlife.Q9: What is the literary position of Francis Bacon?He is regarded as the chief figure in English prose and progenitor of English materialism, and his essays began the long tradition of the long tradition of the English essay in the history of English literature.Q10: What is the main idea of Bacons Of Studies?It is the most popular of Bacons 58 essays. It analyzes what studies chiefly serve for, the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies, and how studies exert influence over human character. Forceful and persuasive, compact and precise, “Of Studies” reveals to us Bacons mature attitude toward learning. This essay impresses the reader not only by its argumentative strength but also by its elegance of style.Q11: What is the writing style of Bacons essays?Language and Style1. Bacons aphoristic style is characterized by the frequent use of parallelism. Find one such example from the text and either translate or paraphrase the selected sentences.2. Underline some of the metaphors or metaphorical descriptions in the essay. Select at least two and explain what they illustrate.Q12: What do you know about the metaphysical poets?Q13: What do you know about John Miltion and his masterpiece?Q14. What is a Romance?A romance is a narrative either written in verse or in prose, describing heroic achievements, or chivalry love. Romance was the prevailing literary form in the Middle Ages.Q15. What is an allegory?Allegory is a story in verse or in prose with a double meaning: a primary or surface meaning; and a secondary or under-the-surface meaning. It is a story that can be read, understood and interpreted at two levels. Q16. What is a ballad?1、Fundamentally, a ballad is a song that tells a story and originally was a musical accompaniment to a dance. 2、A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and four lines rhymed.some basic features are common to large numbers of ballads: 1) the beginning is often abrupt; 2) the language is simple; 3) the story is told through dialogue and action; 4) the theme is often tragic though there are a number of comic balllads; 5) there is often a refrain（叠句，副歌）.There are two kinds of ballad: the folk or popular ballad and the literary ballad. Q17. What is Enlightenment?A term used to describe a literary and philosophical movement in Europe between 1660 and 1770. In England it is sometimes referred to as the Age of Reason.Q20. What is Neo-classical period?The Neo-classical period is usually taken to be the hundred-odd years from 1660-1780.Q18. What is Poetry?The word poetry comes from a Greek verb which means to make.Poetry is not like ordinary speech or writing; it is a specially made object in words.In Wes