英国文学思考题

Part OneOld and Middle English LiteratureI.Define the terms1.Old English period(Anglo-Saxon period):From the invasion of Celtic England byGerman tribes(the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes)in the first half of the 5th century to the conquest of England in 1066 by Norman French.2.Alliteration: The repetition of a speech sound (consonants) in a sequence of nearbywords.3.Couplet: A pair of rhymed lines that are equal in length and the same in rhythm andrhyme.4.Meter: The recurrence of a prominent feature in the sequence of speech-sounds of alanguage.5.Foot: The combination of a strong stress and the associated weak stress or stresses whichmake up the recurrent metric unit of a line. There are four standards feet:Iambic—an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.Anapestic—two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.Trochaic—a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.Dactylic—a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.6.Ballad: The narrative folk song that tells a story, which originates and is communicatedorally mainly among illiterates.7.Middle English Period: Between the Norman conquest in 1066 and about 1500, when thestandard literary language had become “modern English”.II.Fill in the blanks1.Choose the best answer Critics tend to divide Chaucer‟s literary career into three periods:the French period, the Italian period and the English period.2.Chaucer employed the heroic couplet in writing his greatest work The Canterbury tales.3.The framework in The Canterbury Tales is a pilgrimage.4.When Chaucer died on the 25th of October 1400, he was the first to be buried inWestminster Abbey.5.The 15th century has traditionally been described as the barren age in English literature.6.Poetry can be classified as narrative or lyric. Narrative poems stress actions, and lyricsstress songs.III.Multiple choice1.Beowulf is a ___ poem, describing an all-round picture of the tribal society.A. paganB. ChristainC. romanticD. lyric2.Chaucer was once influenced by Italian literature. His major work during this period is__.A. Troilus and CriseydeB.The Romaunt of the RoseC. The Legend of Good Women C. The Canterbury Tales3.Chaucer‟s active career provides him not only with knowledge but also experiences,which accounted for the wide range of his writings. The followings are all his career EXCEPT__.A. legislator and ambassadorB. soldier and office-holderC. businessman and churchmanD. justice and knight4.Chaucer‟s narrative poem ___ is based on Boccaccio‟s poem “Filostrato”.A. The legend of Good WomenB. Sir Gawain and the Green KnightC. The Book of the DuchessD. Troilus and Criseyde5.The work that presented, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realisticpicture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life is most likely___.A.William Langland‟s Piers the PlowmanB.Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury TalesC.John Gower‟s Confessio AmantisD.Sir Gawain and the Green KnightIV.Summarize Chaucer‟s literary career and the representative works of each period.His literary career is usually divided into three periods: the French period, the Italian period and the English period.The French period refers to the period of French influence (1359-1372). During the period Chaucer wrote his earliest works: The Romaunt of the Rose, a free translation of a French poem and his first important original work: The Book of the Duchess.The Italian period refers to the period of Italian Influence(1372-1386), especially of Dante and Bocaacio. During this period, he mainly wrote three longer poems using the heroic stanza of seven lines: The House of Fame, Troilus and Crisyede, The Legend of Good Women.The English period is his mature period, during which time his masterpiece The Canterbury was produced in which the heroic couplet was used.V.Answer the question according to the following passageWhen April with its sweet-smelling showersHas pierced the drought of March to the root,And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquidBy which power the flower is created;When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,In every wood and field has breathed life intoThe tender new leaves, and the young sunHas run half its course in Aries,And small fowls make melody,Those that sleep all the night with open eyes(So Nature incites them in their hearts),Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,And professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores,To distant shrines, known in various lands;And specially from every shire's endOf England to Canterbury they travel,To seek the holy blessed martyr,Who helped them when they were sick.Questions:1.What is expressed in these opening lines of The Canterbury Tales?2.How does the author emphasize the transition from nature to divinity?ment on Chaucer‟s contribution of rhymed stanzas.Answers:1. This part is a superb expression of a double view of the Canterbury pilgrimage. The first 11lines are a chant of welcome to the spring with its harmonious marriage between heaven and earth which produces vegetations, pricks fouls and stirs the heart of man with e renewing power of nature. Thus, the pilgrimage is an event in the calendar of nature, an aspect of springtime surge of human energy which wakens man‟s love of nature. But spring is also the season of Easter and is allegorically regarded as the time of the Redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ with its connotations of religious rebirth which wakens man‟s love of God. Therefore, the pilgrimage is also an event in the calendar of divinity, an aspect of religious piety which draws pilgrims to holy places.2. The transition from nature to divinity is emphasized by contrast between the physicalvitality which conditions the pilgrimage and the spiritual sickness which occasions the pilgrimage. As well as by parallelism between the renewal power of nature and the restorative power of supernature.3. He introduced various rhymed stanzas to English poetry to replace the Old Englishalliterative verse. He first introduced into English octasyllabic couplet and then the heroic couplet..VI.What is the function of the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales?The General Prologue is usually regarded as the greatest portrait gallery in English literature. It is largely composed of a series of sketches differing widely in length and method, and blending the individual and the typical in varying degrees. The purpose of the General Prologue is not only to present a vivid collection of character sketches, but also to reveal the author‟s intention in bringing together a great variety of people and narrative materials engaged in a common endeavor, to set the tone for the story telling--- one of jollity which accords with the tone of the whole work: that of grateful acceptance of life, to make clear the plan for the tales, to motivate the telling of tales and to introduce the pilgrims and the time and occasion of the pilgrimage. The pilgrims are people from various parts of England. They serve as the representatives of various sides of life and social groups. Each of the pilgrims or narrators is presented vividly in the prologue. Ranging in status from a knight to a humble plowman, the pilgrims are a microcosm of 14th century English society. On the other hand, there is also an intimate connection betw een the tales and thePrologue, both completing each other. The Prologue provides a framework for the tales.Part TwoEnglish Literature in the Renaissance PeriodI.Define the terms1.Renaissance: The name is commonly applied to the period of European history followingthe Middle Ages. It began in Italy in the late 14th century and continued both in Italy and other countries of western Europe, through the 15th and 16th century. In this period, the European arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature reached an eminence not exceeded in any age. The development came to England in the 16th century. It is also described as the rebirth of the modern world out of the ashes of the Dark Ages, as the discovery of man, the era of the emergence of individualism in life, thought, religion and art.2.Elizabethan age: The period of the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). This was a time ofrapid development in English commerce, maritime power, and nationalist feeling. It was a great age of English literature (greatest in drama).3.Drama: The form of composition designed for performance in the theater, in which actorstake the roles of the characters, perform the indicated action, and utter the written dialogue. In poetic drama, the dialogue is written in blank verse.4.Jacabean age: The reign of James I (in Latin, “Jacobus”)(1603-1625), which followedthat of Queen Elizabeth. The period in prose writings of Bacon, John Donne‟s sermons, King James‟s translation of the Bible. It was also the time of Shakespeare‟s greatest tragedies and tragicomedies.5.Sonnet: A lyrical poem consisting of a single stanza of 14 iambic pentameter lines linkedby a n intricate rhyme scheme. There are two patterns: (1) the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet that falls into two main parts: an octave rhyming abbaabba followed by a sestet rhyming cdecde or cdccdc. (2) the Shakespearean sonnet that falls into three quatrains and a concluding couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. There was one notable variant called the Spenserian sonnet in which each quatrain is linked to the next by a continuing rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee.6.Essay: Any short composition in prose to discuss a matter, express a point of view,persuade us to accept a thesis on any subject, or simply entertain.7.Soliloquy: The act of talking to oneself, whether silently or aloud. In drama it refers tothe act of a character alone on the stage that utters his or her thoughts aloud.edy: A fictional work in which the materials are selected and managed primarily tointerest and amuse the readers or audiences.9.Tragedy: Literary or dramatic representations of serious actions which eventuate in adisastrous conclusion fro the protagonist.10.Tragicomedy: Literary or dramatic representation of serious action which threatens atragic disaster to the protagonist, yet, by an abrupt reversal of circumstance, turns out happily.11.Caroline age: The reign of Charles I(in Latin, “Caroline”)( 1625-1649). This was thetime of the English Civil War fought between the supporters of the king (known as Cavaliers) and the supporters of the Parliament (known as Roundheads). John Milton began his writing during the period.II.Fill in the blanks1.The second period of English Renaissance is also called the Elizabethan period or theage of Shakespeare.2.Shakespeare‟s plays have been traditionally divided into four categories according todramatic type: histories, comedies, tragedies and romances.3.Edmund Spenser is often referred to as “the poets‟poet”because of his considerableinfluence on later poets.4.Spenser‟s Amoretti is a series of 88 sonnets in which he links each quatrain to the next bya continuing rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee. This form is usually called Spenserian sonnets.5.Christopher Marlowe is considered the first great English dramatist and the mostimportant Elizabethan playwright before Shakespeare.6.Shakespeare‟s 154 sonnets fall into two series: one series are addressed to W. H, a youngman, and the other addressed to a dark lady.7.The writings of Francis Bacon mainly fall into three categories: philosophical, literaryand professional.8. A Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three quatrains and a concluding couplet.III.Choose the best answer1.In the English Renaissance period, scholars began to emphasize the capacities of thehuman mind and the achievements of human culture. The most important intellectual movement was___.A. the ReformationB. geographical explorationsC. humanismD. the Italian revival2.Which of the following plays does NOT belong to Shakespeare‟s great tragedies?A. OthelloB. MacbethC. Romeo and JulietD. Hamlet3.Which of the following plays does NOT belong to Shakespeare‟s great comedies?A. Henry VB. The Merchant of VeniceC. A Midsummer Night’s DreamD. The Winter’s Tale4.Which of the following poetic forms is the principle form of Shakespeare‟s drama?A. lyricB. sonnetC. blank verseD. quatrain5.Ben Jonson‟s poetic line “not of an age, but for all time” was dedicated to___.A. Spenser B Marlowe C. Chaucer D. Shakespeare6.____ is the most common foot in English poetry?A. iamb B anapest C. trochee D. dactyl7.“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed anddigested” is oen of the epigrams found in___.A. Bacons’“Of Studies”B. Thomas More‟s UtopiaC. Bunyan‟s The Pilgrim’s ProgressD. Fielding‟s Tom Jones8.In Shakespeare‟s The Merchant of Venice, Antonio could not pay back the money beborrowed from Shylock because___.A. his money was all invested in the newly-emerging textile industryB. his enterprise went bankruptC. Bassanio was able to pay his own debtD. His ships had all been lost9.Which of the following statements best illustrate the theme of Shakespeare‟s Sonnet 18?A. The speaker eulogizes the power of nature.B. The speaker satirizes human vanity.C. The speaker praises the power of artistic creation.D. The speaker meditates on man‟s salvation.10.The sentence “Shall I compare thee to a summer‟s day?”is the beginning line of one ofShakespeare‟s ___.A. comediesB. tragediesC. sonnetsD. historiesIV.How many periods does Shakespeare‟s dramatic career fall into?Roughly four periods: (1) the early histories of the 1590s; (2)the romantic comedies around the turn of the century, roughly from 1594-1600; (3) the great tragedies of the early 1600s, from 1600 to 1608; (4) the romances of the 1610s.V.What are the unique features of Shakespeare‟s sonnets?Two features: (1) the principle person addressed by the poet is not a woman but a young man and a mysterious dark lady. (2) the structure of three quatrains and a concluding couplet is typically Shakespearean.VI.In Hamlet‟s soliloquy “ to be, or not to be”, there are these words: “and the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o‟er with the pale cast of thought.”What does the “native hue of resolution”mean? What does the “pale cast of thought” stand for? What idea do the two lines express?The “native hue of resolution”means the natural color of resolution; The “pale cast of thought”stands for Hamlet‟s anxiety and melancholy; In these lines, the ruddy color is associated with the sad temperament and the pale look of melancholy. They express hamlet‟s anxiety and hesitation before he takes the firm resolution to revenge at the critical moment.Part ThreeEnglish Literature in the 17th CenturyI.Define the following terms1.Elegy: Poems that lament the loss of something or someone, or loss or death moregenerally.2.Assonance: The repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words.3.Stanza: A grouping of the verse lines in a poem set off by a space in the printed text.Stanzas are marked by a recurrent pattern of rhyme and are also uniform in the number and length of the component lines.4.Hyperbole: Bold overstatement, or the extravagant exaggeration of fact or possibility.5.Conceit: metaphor or simile presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparentlydissimilar things or feelings.6.Pastoral: Conventional poem expressing an urban poet‟s nostalgic image of the peace andsimplicity of the life of shepherds and other rural folk in an idealized natural world.7.Epithalamion: Poem written to celebrate a marriage.8.Metaphysical poetry: Poem that deals with philosophical or spiritual matters. It isgenerally limited to works written by a group of 17th century poets such as John Donne. II.Fill in the blanks1.The poems of John Donne belong to two categories: the youthful love lyrics and the latersacred verse.2.John Donne is the founder of the school of metaphysical poetry. His works arecharacterized by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form.3.Because of the success of Paradise Lost, John Milton produced in 1671 another epic,Paradise Regained.4.John Milton‟s Paradise Lost opens with the description of a meeting among the fallenangels, and ends with the departure of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eve.5.The most distinguished literary figure of the Restoration Period was John Dryden, poet,critic, and playwright.6.Paradise Lost is a long epic. The stories are taken from the Old Testament.III.Choose the best answer.1.In John Milton‟s Paradise Lost,Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat the fruit of the Tree ofKnowledge of ___.A. Love and HateB. Good and EvilC. faith and BetrayalD. Sense and Sensibility2.“To wage by force or guile eternal war / irreconcilable to our grand Foe.” By what meanswere Satan and his followers to wage this war against God?A.By planting a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.B.By turning into poisonous snakes to threaten man‟s life.C.By removing man and woman created by God.D.By corrupting man and woman created by God.3.“Areopagitica” is John Milton‟s best-known___.A. proseB. epicC. novelD. dramaIV.Give supporting reasons for the statement: Samson in Samson Agonistes is John Milton the author himself.Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama modeled on the Greek tragedies. It deals with the story of Samson from the “Book of Judges”in the Old Testament. Samson is an athlete of the Israelites. He stands as the champion fighting for the freedom of his country. But he is betrayed by his wife Dalilah and blinded by his enemies the Philistines. Led into the temple to make them sport, he wreaks his vengeance upon his enemies by pulling down the temple upon them and upon himself in a common ruin.There is much in common between Samson and John Milton. Like Samson, Milton had also been embittered by an unwise marriage, persecuted by his enemies, and suffered from blindness. And yet he was unconquerable.Samson‟s miserable blind servitude among his enemies, his agonizing longing for sight and freedom, and the last terrible triumph all strongly suggest Milton‟s passionate longing that he too could bring destruction down upon the enemy at the cost of his own life.Therefore Samson in the drama is Milton himself in life.V.Analyze the character of Satan in John Milton‟s Paradise Lost.Satan, a conquered and banished giant, remains obeyed and admired by those who follow him down to hell. He is firmer than the rest of the angels. It is he , passing the guarded gates, makes man revolt against God.Satan is the spirit of questioning the authority of God. When he gets to the Garden of Eden, he believes why Adam and Eve should not taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.Though defeated, Satan prevails, since he has won from God a t hird part of his angels.Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hits upon his head leaves his heart invincible. Though feebler in force, he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happy servility. He welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty and a joy.Part Four18th Century LiteratureI.Define the following terms.Three unities:The unity of action (all the action of the work must occur within one continuance plot without extraneous subplot), the unity of time(all the action of the work must occur within 24 hours, or one whole day), and the unity of place( all the action of the work must occur in one place or city)Satire: A literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking toward s it attitudes of amusement, contempt, scorn or indignation.(Gulliver’s Travel s is a typical example of showing satire towards the entire human race)Picaresque novel: A basically realistic and often satiric work of fiction chronicling the career of an engaging, lower-class rogue-hero, who takes to the road for a series of loose, episodicadventures, sometimes in the company of a sidekick. (Tom Jones, Don Quixote, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)Gothic novel:Also Gothic novel. Story of terror and suspense, usually et in a gloomy old castle or monastery.Graveyard school of poetry: A group of 18th century English poet who emphasized subjectivity, mystery, and melancholy. Death, mortality(immortality)and gloom were frequent subjects or elements of their meditative poems, which ere set in graveyards.( Gray‟s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyards”)Neoclassicism: A style of literature, whose members looked to the great classical writers for inspiration and guidance. They believed that literature should both i nstruct and delight, and the proper subject of art was humanity. Neoclassicism stressed rules, reason, harmony, balance, restraint, decorum, order, serenity, realism and form, an appeal to the intellect rather than emotion.(John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson)II.Fill in the blanks1.Thomas Gray‟s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyards”is taken as a model ofsentimental poetry, esp. the graveyard school.2.In Jerusalem, William Blake expounded his theory of imagination, asserting that theworld of imagination is the world of eternity.3.“ Till a‟ the seas gang dry, my dear,And the roacks melt wi‟ the sun:I will luve thee still, my dear,While the sands of life shall run”The above lines are taken from the famous poem “My Luve’s Like a Red, Red, Rose”.4.Friday is a character in the novel Robinson Crusoe.5.Henry Fielding is called the Father of the English Novels.6.The 18th century is known as the age of enlightenment or the age of reason.7.In Gulliver’s Travels, Yahoos are the creatures living in Houyhnynms.III.Choose the best answer.1.Of all the 18th century novelists, ___ was the first to set out in theory and practice, towrite specially a “comic epic in prose”, and the first to give the modern novel its structure and style.A. Daniel DefoeB. Samuel RichardsonC. Henry FieldingD. Oliver Goldsmith2.___- is the author of the first English dictionary by an Englishman,-- Dictionary of theEnglish Language, which has become the foundation of all subsequent English dictionary.A. Samuel JohnsonB. Laurence SterneC. Oliver GoldsmithD. Samuel Richardson3.Modern English novel arose in the ____ century.A. 16thB. 17thC. 18thD. 19th4.In William Blake‟s poetry, the father (and any in whom he saw the image of the fathersuch as God, priest, and king) was usually a figure of____.A. benevolenceB. admirationC. loveD. tyranny5.____ was a progressive intellectual movement going on throughout Europe in the 18thcentury.A. The RenaissanceB. Puritan MovementC. Romantic MovementD. The Enlightenment6.Which of the following place does Gulliver visit first in Gulliver’s Travels?A. LilliputB. BrobdingnagC. LaputaD. Houyhnhnms7.Which of the following is NOT true about Robinson Crusoe?A.It is written in the autobiographical form.B.It is a record of Defoe’s own experiences.C.Robinson spends 28 years of isolated life on the island.D.It is set in the middle of the 17th century.8.In the 18th century, ____ found its expression chiefly in poetry, especially that of Willia mBlake and Robert Burns.A. neoclassicismB. realismC. sentimentalismD. pre-romanticism9.Many of Burn s‟ songs deal with friendship.____ has long become a universal parting-songof all the English speaking countries.A. A Red, Red RoseB. Auld Lang SyneC. My Heart‟s in the HighlandsD. John Anderson, My Jo10.The rise and growth of _____ is the most prominent achievement of the 18th centuryEnglish literature, which has given the world such writers as Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and Henry Fielding.A. neoclassical poetryB. realistic novelC. sentimental novelD. Gothic novelment on William Blake‟s Songs of Innocenc e and Songs of Experience.Songs of Innocence is a lovely volume of poems, presenting a happy and innocent world, though not without its evils and sufferings. Using a language which even babies can learn by heart, Blake expresses his delight in the sun, the hills, the streams, the insects and the flowers, in the innocence of the child and of the lamb. Here eve rything seems to be in harmony.Songs of Experience pains a different world, a world of misery, poverty, disease, war, and repression with a melancholy tone. The poet‟s eyes are opened to the evils and vices of the world. A number of poems are pervaded with the atmosphere of intense sorrow and sadness, especially for children.A number of poems in Songs of Innocence are either rewritten or revised in Songs ofExperience, with the result that the joyful atmosphere or the harmonious ending is in each case changed into a bitter mood or a sad story. For example, the two “The ChimneySweepers”.V.What does Robert Burns‟ poetry mainly deal with?1.The themes of love and friendship.2.Scottish life, especially the rural life of the Scottish peasants.(“My Heart‟s in theHighlands”)3.Attitudes towards political liberty and social equality, especially those under theinfluence of the French Revolution.( “For A‟ That and A‟ That”).4.Satirical verse, exposing the hypocrisy of the rich, the bigotry of the church and otherevils.VI.Why is Defoe‟s Robinson Crusoe regarded as one of the forerunners of the English realistic novel?Crusoe‟s stories are all real concerns of its author‟s time: people in their struggle to overcome the natural or social environment. The novel has a ve ry strong verisimilitude. To convince the reader of the truth of his story, Defoe adopts the autobiographical form and makes full use of his long trained journalistic skill by describing things in great detail and by using specific time and space.VII.Analyze Gulliver’s Travels to illustrate the use of satire in it.It is a satire on the whole English society of the early 18th century, touching upon the political, religious, legal, military, scientific, philosophical as well as literary institutions, about almost every aspect of the society. It brings to light the wickedness of the then English society, with its tyranny, its political intrigues and corruption, its aggressive wars and colonialism etc.For example, in Chapter four, Gulliver is in a country where horses are possessed of reason, and are the governing class, while Yahoos, though in the shape of men, are brute beast with such vices as stealing and lying. This part involves the ruthless moral exposure of humanity and the bitter satire of the English society.Part FiveRomantic LiteratureI.Define the following termsRomanticism:Literary movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. It can be seen as a rejection of the concepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization and rationality. It was also a reaction against the Enlightenment. The romantics believed in a return to nature and in the innate goodness of humans. They emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. They also showed interest in the medieval, exotic, primitive, and the nationalistic. English literary romanticism began from the publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798 to the death of Walter Scot in 1832.。