专业英语英国文学与概论期末考试答题及答案

Hamlet—ShakespeareHumanism: broke the tradition of the medieval period. Humanist writers are concerned with worldly subjects rather than strictly religious themes and they glorify human beings, regarding them as measure of all things and most potential in the world.Hamlet is the most representative of Shakespeare‟s creations and the summit of the renaissance drama. It is not a simple revenge play, but a tragedy of humanist ideals crushed by cruel reality. It addresses the fundamental question of the meaning of human existence, with hamlet‟s meditation on life and death at the centre. It portrays the social realities in England at the end of 16th century and the start of the 17th century. For Shakespeare—a Christian—the choice between good and evil represents man‟s basic dilemma; for him, the human are indomitable. Though fate may ultimately win, a man must fight to the death, if necessary, in order to remain the master of his own choices—that ultimately decide if and how his fate defeats him.Paradise lost—John MiltonIambic pentameter in blank verse and including seven parts‟ the creation‟, …the main idea of the poem is the heroic revolt against God‟s authority. In the poems, god is no better than a selfish tyrant. This poem expresses the reactionary forces of his time and shows passionate appeal for freedom. The theme is also about the fall of the man: man‟s disobedience and the loss of Paradise. But having done it, Adam and eve get freedom. Concerned with the social upheavals of the time, Milton defended the English Commonwealth through this book.The English revolution was carried out under a religious cloak. So the English revolution is also called the Puritan revolution, which aimed to make man free.Robinson Crusoe—Daniel DefoeIt is an early tale of European colonial experience. The relationship between Crusoe and Friday is a touchstone for critiques of the cultural representation of colonialism.In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe imagines a true-born Englishman fulfilling his fantasy. Throughout the novel, Defoe makes clear that a man's power over himself and nature depends upon ceaseless labor —this is the secret to the colonial project.Romanticism: the core is individuality, subjectivity and spontaneity. It can be seen as a rejection of the percepts of neo-classicism and some to extent against Enlightenment. It believes in a return to nature and in the innate goodness of humans. They emphasized intuition over reason. Like Wordsworth says, “the good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”.I wandered lonely as a cloud—William Wordsworth“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was written by William Wordsworth, the representative poet of the early romanticism.The whole poem contains four stanzas of six lines each. In each stanza, the first line rhymes with the third and the second with the fourth. The stanza then ends with a rhyming couplet. Besides, the lines in the poem are in iambic tetrameter that emphasized the excitement and movement when a lonely heart was integrated into Nature. As a great poet of nature, William Wordsworth had been trying to call human back to nature and enjoy the beauty of spiritual richness by his works, such as this short lyric.A red, red rose—Robert burnsThis is one of the best of Burns‟ love poems. Theme: Burns clearly states and restates the theme: The speaker loves the young lady beyond measure. The only way he can express his love for her is through vivid similes and hyperbolic comparisons.The poem takes the form of the ballad stanza, including quatrains with iambic alternating pentameter and trimester line and with rhymes falling of the 2nd and 4th lines of each stanza. It is also abundant with metaphors, Simile in first stanza, hyperbole in second and third stanza and repetition in the last stanza.Ode to the west wind--Percy Bysshe ShelleyIn iambic pentameter, it consists of five cantos written in terza rima, with each canto of four three-line stanzas (aba, bcb, cdc, ded) and a rhyming couplet.To the poet, the west wind, powerful as it is, is not merely a natural phenomenon. It is a …spirit‟, the “breath of Autumn‟being”that can spread messages of freedom far and wide, that both destroys and preserves the revival in the spring.(the west wind is considered the …destoryer‟ who send leaves to their burial and the preserver who encourage the seed‟ spring.) Shelley fuse in this poem a note of optimism for a promising future for humanity as is shown in the last lines of this poem” when winter comes, can spring be far behind?”When we two parted--George Gordon ByronIt was written in 8-line stanza with no meter but rhymed in the way …abababab‟. In the poem, byron make use of the form of monologue and meditates upon the present and the past and expresses the feelings and emotions of a man who lost his love. The feelings and emotions expressed are sincere and touching. The repetition of …silence and tears‟ makes the poem a whole, emphasizing that his feelings and emotions of the present are as they were in the past.。