英国文学选读复习资料

英国文学选读复习资料 复习资料 英国文学选读 (二专业辅修2010级) I. Please explain the following terms with at least an example. (10 points, 2 point each) 1. Epic: a long narrative poem about the deeds of some national heroes. Beowulf, Paradise Lost 2. Legend: a song or narrative handed down from the past. The story of Robin Hood 3. comedy: a kind of drama in which all conflicts are resolved through the happy reunion of the major characters. Merchant of Venice 4. Blank verse: a kind of unrhymed poem in iambic pentameter. John Milton; Shakespeare 5. Romance: a piece of poetry or prose about the adventure of knights. The story of King Arthur and the twelve knights 1. tragedy; 2. essay; 3. novel; 4. heroic couplet; 5. motif 1. Tragedy: a kind of drama in which all conflicts are resolved through the death of the major characters. Hamlet 2. Essay: a piece of prose writing, usually short, that deals with a subject in a limited way and expresses a particular point of view. Francis Bacon, “Of Studies” 3. novel: A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. Gothic novel 4. heroic couplet: it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter The Canterbury Tales 5. motif: any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance The letter writing is a motif in Pride and Prejudice 更多::::自己找答案 1. epic; 2. legend; 3. comedy; 4. blank verse; 5. romance 1. tragedy; 2. essay; 3. novel; 4. heroic couplet; 5. motif 1 II. Selected readings (50 points, 10 point each) Selected reading 1 2 Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one: So shall those blots that do with me remain, Without thy help, by me be borne alone. Questions: 1. What is the genre of this passage? (1’) 2. Who is the author of this passage? (1’) 3. what does “we two” refer to in the first line? (2’) 4. please translate these lines into modern text. (6’) Answers: 1. It is a sonnet 20. (1’) 2. W. Shakespeare(1’) 3. Shakespeare and Mr. W. H(2’) 4. I acknowledge that the two of us have to part, even though we’re united in love. That way I can take those disgraces that we’ve incurred together all onto myself, bearing them without any help from you. Our love for one another gives us common cause, despite this awful situation that forces us apart, which, though it can’t prevent us from being united in love, still robs us of sweet hours of pleasure together. (6’) Selected reading 2 Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have more cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. Questions: 1. This passage is taken from a famous essay written by ________.(1’) 2. What is the title of the essay? (1’) 3. What do you think of the language of this essay? (8’) Answers: 1. Francis Bacon(1’) 2. “OF STUDY” (1’) 3. The language of this essay is peculiar for its clearness, brevity, and force of expression. The sentences are short, pointed, incisive, and often of balanced structure. (8’) 3 Selected reading 3 Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Questions: 1. What is the genre of this passage? (1’) 2. Who is the author? (1’) 3. What does Forbidden Tree refer to? (2’) 4. From which book is this part taken? (1’) 5. According to this part, what is the story about? (5’) Answer: 1. It is an epic. (1’) 2. John Milton(1’) 3. tree of knowledge in Bible(2’) 4. Old Testament(1’) 5. With these lines, Milton begins Paradise Lost and lays the groundwork for his project, presenting his purpose, subject, aspirations, and need for heavenly guidance. He states that his subject will be the disobedience of Adam and Eve, whose sin allows death and pain into the world. He invokes his muse, whom he identifies as the Holy Spirit. He asserts his hopes that his epic poem will surpass the other great epic poems written before, as he claims that his story is the most original and the most virtuous. He also asks his muse to fill his mind with divine knowledge so that he can share this knowledge with his readers. Finally, he hopes this knowledge and guidance from his muse will allow him to claim authority without committing any heresies, as he attempts to explain God’s reasoning and his overall plan for humankind. (5’) Selected reading 4 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. Questions: 4 1. This passage is the opening of a novel entitled _____.(1’) 2. The writer of the novel is the first famous woman novelist _____.(1’) 3. What is the style of the passage? (2’) 4. What is the passage describing? (6’) Answers 1. Pride and Prejudice(1’) 2. Jane Austen(1’) 3. This passage is taken from the first chapter of the novel. Chapter I has been universally acknowledged to be very well-written as an opening chapter. The style is lucid and graceful, with touches of humor and mild satire. The conversations are interesting and amusing, and immediately bring the characters to life. The author only inserts her observations occasionally. (2’) 4. It is describing the parents of Bennet girls. Mr. And Mrs. Bennet are busy considering the prospects of their daughters’ marriages, shortly after hearing of the arrival of a rich, unmarried young man as their neighbor. Mild satire may be found here in the author’s seemingly matter of fact description of very ordinary, practical family conversation, though unmistakable sympathy is given to both Mr. And Mrs. Bennet. (6’) Selected reading 5 “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and [Edgar’s] is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.” Questions: 1. This passage is taken from ________ written by ______. (2’) 2. “I” in this passage refers to ________ (1’) 3. What is the interpretation of “he’s more myself than I am”? (7’) Answer: 1. Wuthering Heights; Emily Bronte(2’) 2. Catherine(1’) 3. Catherine’s speech to Nelly about her acceptance of Edgar’s proposal, in Chapter IX, forms the turning-point of the plot. It is at this point that Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights, after he has overheard Catherine say that it would “degrade” her to marry him. Although the action of Wuthering Heights takes place so far from the bustle of society, where most of Brontë’s contemporaries set their scenes, social ambition motivates many of the actions of 5 these characters, however isolated among the moors. Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar Linton out of a desire to be “the greatest woman of the neighbourhood” exemplifies the effect of social considerations on the characters’ actions. In Catherine’s paradoxical statement that Heathcliff is “more myself than I am,” readers can see how the relation between Catherine and Heathcliff often transcends a dynamic of desire and becomes one of unity. Heterosexual love is often, in literature, described in terms of complementary opposites—like moonbeam and lightning, or frost and fire—but the love between Catherine and Heathcliff opposes this convention. Catherine says not, “I love Heathcliff,” but, “I am Heathcliff.” In following the relationship through to its painful end, the novel ultimately may attest to the destructiveness of a love that denies difference. (7’) Selected reading 6 A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted, Has thou, the master mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion: An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Questions 1. What is the genre of this passage? (1’) 2. Who is the author of this passage? (1’) 3. Is this selected part about a woman or a man? (1’) 4. What is this passage about? (7’) Answer: 1. It is a sonnet 20. (1’) 2. W. Shakespeare(1’) 3. a man(1’) 4. Sonnet 20 has caused much debate. Some scholars believe that this is a clear admission of Shakespeare's homosexuality. Despite the fact that male friendships in the Renaissance were openly affectionate, the powerful emotions the poet displays here are indicative of a deep and sensual love. The poet's lover is 'the master-mistress of [his] passion'. He has the grace and features of a woman but is devoid of the guile and pretense that comes with female lovers; those wily women with eyes 'false in rolling', who change their moods and affections like chameleons. (7’) Selected reading 2 They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House…It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills…She had never seen a place where nature had done more… and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! Questions: 1. This passage is taken from ________ written by ______. (2’) 2. “she” in this passage refers to ________ (1’) 3. What is your interpretation to the sentence “at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something”? (7’) 7 Answer: 1. Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen(2’) 2. Elizabeth Bennet(1’) 3. These lines open Chapter 43 and provide Elizabeth’s introduction to Darcy’s grand estate at Pemberley. Her visit to Darcy’s home, which occupies a central place in the narrative, operates as a catalyst for her growing attraction toward its owner. In her conversations with the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, Elizabeth hears testimonials of Darcy’s wonderful generosity and his kindness as a master; when she encounters Darcy himself, while walking through Pemberley’s grounds, he seems altogether changed and his previous arrogance has diminished remarkably. This initial description of the building and grounds at Pemberley serves as a symbol of Darcy’s character. The “stream of some natural importance . . . swelled into greater” reminds the reader of his pride, but the fact that it lacks “any artificial appearance” indicates his basic honesty, as does the fact that the stream is neither “formal, nor falsely adorned.” Elizabeth’s delight and her sudden epiphany about the pleasure that being mistress of Pemberley must hold, prefigure her later joy in Darcy’s continued devotion. (7’) Selected reading 3 Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of the town is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair; it is kept all the year long; it beareth the name of Vanity Fair because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity; and also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, “All that cometh is vanity”. Questions: 1. This passage is a part of the best-known episode “Vanity Fair” in a book entitled _____.(1’) 2. Who is the author of this book? (1’) 3. How do you understand the last sentence “All that cometh is vanity”? (8’) 1. The Pilgrim’s Progress(1’) 2. John Bunyan(1’) 3. Christian and his companion Faithful pass through the town of Vanity at the season of the local fair. “Vanity” means “emptiness or worthlessness” and hence the fair is an allegory of worldliness and the corruption of the religious life through the attraction of the world. From earliest times numerous fairs were held for stated periods throughout Britain; to them the most important merchants from all over Europe brought their wares. The serious business of buying 8 and selling was accompanied by all sorts of diversions—eating, drinking, and other fleshly pleasures, as well as spectacles of strange animals, acrobats, and other wonders. This selection gives the bitterest satire, which is invariably directed at the ruling class. In the descriptions of the Vanity Fair, Bunyan not only gives us a symbolic picture of London at the time of the Restoration but of all bourgeois society. (8’) Selected reading 4 My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe— My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go. Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North! The birthplace of valour, the country of worth; Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, The hills of the Highlands for ever I love. Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow! Farewell to the straths and green valleys below! Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods! Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods! My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe— My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go. Questions: 1. Who is the writer of this poem? (1’) 2. What is the title of this poem? (1’) 3. What is the main theme of this poem? (4’) 4. What is the most striking feature of the verse? (2’) 5. What is the most obvious rhetorical device used in the poem? (2’) 1. Robert Burns(1’) 2. “My Heart’s in the Highlands” (1’) 3. It is one of the best known poems of Burns, in which he pours his unshakable love for his homeland, that is the Highlands, the mountainous Northern area of Scotland. It shows the poet’s pure patriotic feeling. (4’) 4. Burns is such a genius in language that he has admirable faculty of expressing himself with 9 alluring emotion in simple and musical verse. The poem is characterized by its appealing musical quality. (2’) 5. Parallelism(2’) Selected reading 5 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. Questions: 1. This passage is the opening of a novel entitled _____.(1’) 2. The writer of the novel is the first famous woman novelist _____.(1’) 3. What is the style of the passage? (2’) 4. What is the passage describing? (6’) 1. Pride and Prejudice(1’) 2. Jane Austen(1’) 3. This passage is taken from the first chapter of the novel. Chapter I has been universally acknowledged to be very well-written as an opening chapter. The style is lucid and graceful, with touches of humor and mild satire. The conversations are interesting and amusing, and immediately bring the characters to life. The author only inserts her observations occasionally. (2’) 4. It is describing the parents of Bennet girls. Mr. And Mrs. Bennet are busy considering the prospects of their daughters’ marriages, shortly after hearing of the arrival of a rich, unmarried young man as their neighbor. Mild satire may be found here in the author’s seemingly matter of fact description of very ordinary, practical family conversation, though unmistakable sympathy is given to both Mr. And Mrs. Bennet. (6’) 更多:::自己找答案～ Selected reading 1 A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted, Has thou, the master mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion: 10 An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Questions 5. What is the genre of this passage? (1’) 6. Who is the author of this passage? (1’) 7. Is this selected part about a woman or a man? (1’) 8. What is this passage about? (7’) Selected reading 2 They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House…It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills…She had never seen a place where nature had done more… and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! Questions: 4. This passage is taken from ________ written by ______. (2’) 5. “she” in this passage refers to ________ (1’) 6. What is your interpretation to the sentence “at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something”? (7’) Selected reading 3 Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of the town is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair; it is kept all the year long; it beareth the name of Vanity Fair because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity; and also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, “All that cometh is vanity”. Questions: 1. This passage is a part of the best-known episode “Vanity Fair” in a book entitled _____.(1’) 2. Who is the author of this book? (1’) 3. How do you understand the last sentence “All that cometh is vanity”? (8’) Selected reading 4 My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe— My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go. 11 Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North! The birthplace of valour, the country of worth; Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, The hills of the Highlands for ever I love. Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow! Farewell to the straths and green valleys below! Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods! Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods! My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe— My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go. Questions: 1. Who is the writer of this poem? (1’) 2. What is the title of this poem? (1’) 3. What is the main theme of this poem? (4’) 4. What is the most striking feature of the verse? (2’) 5. What is the most obvious rhetorical device used in the poem? (2’) Selected reading 5 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. Questions: 1. This passage is the opening of a novel entitled _____.(1’) 2. The writer of the novel is the first famous woman novelist _____.(1’) 3. What is the style of the passage? (2’) 4. What is the passage describing? (6’) Selected reading 1 I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, Continuous as the stars that shine When all at once I saw a crowd, And twinkle on the Milky Way, A host of golden daffodils; They stretched in the never-ending line Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Along the margin of a bay; Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Then thousand saw I at a glance, 12 Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Questions: 1. The author of this poem is _____. (1’) 2. What is the “Milky Way”? (2’) 3. What is the symbolic meaning of “daffodils”? (1’) 4. What is the symbolic meaning of “milky way”? (1’) 5. Wordsworth once wrote “Good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling”, how to prove his ideas of “Spontaneous feelings” in this poem? (5’) Selected reading 2 Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have more cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. Questions: 1. This passage is taken from a famous essay written by ________.(1’) 2. What is the title of the essay? (1’) 3. What do you think of the language of this essay? (8’) Selected reading 3 Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Questions: 6. What is the genre of this passage? (1’) 7. Who is the author? (1’) 8. What does Forbidden Tree refer to? (2’) 9. From which book is this part taken? (1’) 10. According to this part, what is the story about? (5’) Selected reading 4 “Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are 13 slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.” Questions: 1. This passage is taken from ________ written by ______. (2’) 2. Who is the speaker of this passage? (1’) 3. What do you think of his reaction to the girl? (7’) Selected reading 5 “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and [Edgar’s] is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.” Questions: 4. This passage is taken from ________ written by ______. (2’) 5. “I” in this passage refers to ________ (1’) 6. What is the interpretation of “he’s more myself than I am”? (7’) 本题得分 III. Answer the questions briefly. (20 points, 5 point each) 1. What are the characteristics of Romanticism? 1. Romanticism emphasized intuition, imagination, and feeling, to a point that has led to some Romantic thinkers being accused of irrationalism. 2. What is the genre and structure of Canterbury Tales? 2. It is a long narrative poem with 24 stories plus a prologue. There are three parts in it: The General Prologue 24 tales Separate prologues to each tale with links, comments in between 3. Please describe the impacts of Renaissance to W. Shakespeare’s career. 3. In the 12th cent. a rediscovery of Greek and Roman literature occurred across Europe that eventually led to the development of the humanist movement in the 14th cent. In addition to emphasizing Greek and Latin scholarship, humanists believed that each individual had significance within society. The growth of an interest in humanism led to the changes in the arts and sciences that form common conceptions of the Renaissance. 14 Alternatively, one might make a division of the text into two parts, examining youth and old age as the two distinctive phases of Beowulf’s life. Along these lines, the gap of fifty years between the first two conflicts and the last marks the dividing line. One of the main thematic points highlighted by such a division is the difference in responsibilities of the warrior and of the king. As a young warrior, Beowulf is free to travel afar to protect others, but as an old king, he must commit himself to guard his own people. Additionally, whereas Beowulf focuses on the heroic life early on, seeking to make a name for himself, he must focus on fate and the maintenance of his reputation late in life. 4. In “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” how does Wordsworth achieve the seemingly effortless effect of implying the unity of his consciousness with nature? 4. Wordsworth employs a kind of identity-switching technique, whereby nature is personified and humanity is, so to speak, nature-ized. Wordsworth describes himself as wandering “like a cloud,” and describes the field of daffodils as a dancing crowd of people. This kind of interchangeable terminology implies a unity—metaphors from either realm can be applied to the other, because the mind and the natural world are one. 5. What role does fire dragon play in Beowulf? The poem reflects and expresses the anxieties of society that dangerous, unpredictable and incomprehensible forces threaten the security and well-being of those in power and the way of life they represent; It describes the conflict between the primitive people and nature. 6. What is the genre and structure of Canterbury Tales? It is a long narrative poem with 24 stories plus a prologue. There are three parts in it: 1. The General Prologue 2. 24 tales 3. Separate prologues to each tale with links, comments in between 7. Satan is the most well-developed character in Paradise Lost. Please state your interpretation to this statement. One reason that Satan is easy to sympathize with is that he is much more like us than God or the Son are. As the embodiment of human errors, he is much easier for us to imagine and empathize with than an omniscient deity. Satan’s character and psychology are all very human, and his envy, pride, and despair are understandable given his situation. But Satan’s speeches, while undeniably moving, subtly display their own inconsistency and error. 15 To Milton, the proud and somber Satan represented the spirit of rebellion against an unjust authority. By using Satan as his mouthpiece, Milton is uttering his intense hatred of tyranny in the capacity of the Revolutionary. 8. In “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” how does Wordsworth achieve the seemingly effortless effect of implying the unity of his consciousness with nature? Wordsworth employs a kind of identity-switching technique, whereby nature is personified and humanity is, so to speak, nature-ized. Wordsworth describes himself as wandering “like a cloud,” and describes the field of daffodils as a dancing crowd of people. This kind of interchangeable terminology implies a unity—metaphors from either realm can be applied to the other, because the mind and the natural world are one. 更多: 自己找答案～ 9. What are the characteristics of Romanticism? 10. Chaucer is regarded as the father of Modern English poetry, and what are the major contributions made by him? 11. How is Beowulf structured? How does this structure relate to the theme or themes of the work as a whole? 12. In what ways might Jane Eyre be considered a feminist novel? What points does the novel make about the treatment and position of women in Victorian society? 13. What role does fire dragon play in Beowulf? 14. What is the genre and structure of Canterbury Tales? 15. Satan is the most well-developed character in Paradise Lost. Please state your interpretation to this statement. 16. In “I wandered lonely as a cloud” how does Wordsworth achieve the seemingly effortless effect of implying the unity of his consciousness with nature? 16