英国文学选读重点
英国文学史及选读复习要点总结概要
英国文学史及选读复习要点总结概要第一篇:英国文学史及选读复习要点总结概要《英国文学史及选读》第一册复习要点1.Beowulf: national epic of the English people;Denmark story;alliteration, metaphors and understatements(此处可能会有填空,选择等小题2.Romance(名词解释3.“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”: a famous roman about King Arthur’ s story4.Ballad(名词解释5.Character of Robin Hood6.Geoffrey Chaucer: founder of English poetry;The Canterbury Tales(main contents;124 stories planned, only 24 finished;written in Middle English;significance;form: heroic couplet7.Heroic couplet(名词解释8.Renaissance(名词解释9.Thomas More—— Utopia 10.Sonnet(名词解释 11.Blank verse(名词解释12.Edmund Spenser “The Faerie Queene” 13.Francis Bacon “essays” esp.“Of Studies”(推荐阅读,学习写正式语体的英文文章的好参照,本文用词正式优雅,多排比句和长句,语言造诣非常高,里面很多话都可以引用做格言警句,非常值得一读14.William Shakespeare四大悲剧比较重要,此外就是罗密欧与朱立叶了,这些剧的主题,背景,情节,人物形象都要熟悉,当然他最重要的是Hamlet 这是肯定的。
英国文学选读一复习重点
1.George Meredith●an English novelist and poet.●One of the forerunners of the contemporary novels.●His writing was characterized by a fascination with imagery and indirect references●Modern Love《现代爱情》one of the first psychological poems.●Essay on Comedy《喜剧的观念及其精神的效用》a keen understanding of comedy●Diana of the Crossways 克劳斯威的黛安娜●The Ordeal of Richard Feverel《理查·弗维莱尔的苦难》The Egoist《利己主义者》●tragicomical novel realist novel●the novel presents an ironic subversion of texts(文本的颠覆)that had shaped the pattern ofVictorian femininity(柔弱性)●the difficulty Of being a woman in Victorian era●the turning point in George Meredith‘s careerThe Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom refers to Queen Victoria's rule which began in June 1837 and concluded in January 1901. Under the rule of Queen Victoria, the British people enjoyed a long period of prosperity. Profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed a large, educated middle class to develop.SatireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; In satire, human or individual vices, follies(罪恶), abuses(陋习), or shortcomings are gathered together by means of ridicule, derision(嘲弄), irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humor in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit. A common, almost defining feature of satire is its strong vein of irony (反语)or sarcasm(挖苦,讽刺).Tragicomical novelTragicomical novel is fictional work that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy refers to a serious play with a happy ending).RealismRealism is an aesthetic mode which broke with the classical demands of art to show life as it should be in order to show life “as it is.” The work of realist art tends to avoid the elevated (崇高的)subject matter of tragedy in favour of the ordinary, the average, the commonplace, the middle classes and their daily struggles with the mean verities(一般的事实)of everyday existence——these are the typical subject matters of realism.(平常人的平常生活)。
英国文学选读笔记重点
英国文学选读笔记重点一、引言英国文学是世界文学的重要组成部分,其丰富的历史背景、独特的文化传统和卓越的文学成就使其在世界文学史上占有重要地位。
在英国文学选读中,我们不仅可以欣赏到众多杰出的文学作品,还可以深入了解英国的历史、文化和社会背景。
二、重点作家及其作品莎士比亚莎士比亚是英国文学史上最伟大的作家之一,他的作品包括《哈姆雷特》、《奥赛罗》、《罗密欧与朱丽叶》等。
莎士比亚的作品具有深刻的思想内涵和卓越的艺术表现力,是英国文学的经典之作。
简·奥斯汀简·奥斯汀是英国19世纪著名的女性作家,她的作品如《傲慢与偏见》、《理智与情感》等,以细腻的人物描写和精湛的心理分析而著称。
她的作品反映了当时英国社会的风俗习惯和道德观念,具有很高的社会价值。
狄更斯狄更斯是19世纪英国最著名的现实主义作家之一,他的作品如《双城记》、《雾都孤儿》等,以对社会问题的深刻揭示和对人性的深刻剖析而著称。
他的作品反映了当时英国社会的贫困、不公和阶级斗争,具有很高的社会意义。
三、重点主题爱情与婚姻爱情与婚姻是英国文学中的重要主题之一。
在许多作品中,作者通过描写爱情与婚姻的关系,探讨了人性的复杂性和生活的真谛。
例如,在简·奥斯汀的作品中,她通过对婚姻的思考,揭示了当时英国社会对婚姻的看法和期望。
社会问题社会问题是英国文学中的另一个重要主题。
许多作家通过描写社会问题,揭示了当时社会的矛盾和冲突。
例如,在狄更斯的作品中,他通过对贫困、不公和阶级斗争的描写,揭示了当时英国社会的种种问题。
人性与命运人性与命运是英国文学中的永恒主题。
许多作家通过描写人性的复杂性和命运的无常,探讨了人生的意义和价值。
例如,在莎士比亚的作品中,他通过对人性的深刻剖析和对命运的无奈揭示了人生的无常和无奈。
四、结语英国文学选读是了解英国文化和历史的重要途径之一。
通过对英国文学的学习和研究,我们可以更好地理解英国的历史、文化和社会背景,同时也可以提高我们的审美能力和文化素养。
英国文学选读复习资料
英国文学选读复习资料英国文学选读复习资料英国文学是世界文学的重要组成部分,涵盖了众多经典作品和文学流派。
对于学习英国文学的学生来说,复习资料的准备是至关重要的。
本文将为大家提供一些关于英国文学选读的复习资料,帮助大家更好地准备考试。
1. 莎士比亚戏剧莎士比亚是英国文学史上最伟大的戏剧家之一,他的作品对世界文学产生了深远的影响。
在复习莎士比亚戏剧时,可以重点关注他的四大悲剧:《哈姆雷特》、《麦克白》、《奥赛罗》和《李尔王》。
这些作品涉及到人性、权力、背叛等主题,是莎士比亚戏剧的代表作。
2. 简·奥斯汀的小说简·奥斯汀是英国文学史上最著名的女作家之一,她的小说以描写社会风俗和爱情婚姻为主题,作品充满了幽默和讽刺。
复习时可以选择她的代表作《傲慢与偏见》、《理智与情感》等,了解奥斯汀小说中的女性形象和社会风尚。
3. 罗伯特·勃朗宁和伊丽莎白·勃朗宁的诗歌罗伯特·勃朗宁和伊丽莎白·勃朗宁是19世纪英国浪漫主义诗歌的代表人物。
他们的诗歌作品充满了情感和想象力,涉及到爱情、宗教、社会等多个领域。
复习时可以选择他们的代表作品,如罗伯特·勃朗宁的《我的最后的那一首诗》和伊丽莎白·勃朗宁的《葡萄牙之歌》。
4. 查尔斯·狄更斯的小说查尔斯·狄更斯是19世纪英国最重要的小说家之一,他的作品揭示了当时社会的阶级分化和人性的复杂性。
复习时可以选择他的代表作《雾都孤儿》、《双城记》等,了解狄更斯小说中的社会批判和人道主义思想。
5. 威廉·莎士比亚的诗歌除了戏剧作品,莎士比亚还有许多优秀的诗歌作品。
他的诗歌涉及到爱情、自然、时间等主题,语言优美、意境深远。
复习时可以选择他的一些著名sonnet,如《十四行诗集》中的第18首和第130首,了解莎士比亚诗歌的特点和主题。
6. 珍·奥斯汀的小说珍·奥斯汀是19世纪英国最重要的女作家之一,她的小说以描写女性生活和婚姻为主题,作品充满了幽默和洞察力。
英国文学选读期末考试复习知识点
考点一:The Canterbury Tales参考A: 1~3: spring rain 4: spring flower 5: spring wind 6~7: spring grass 8~9: spring sun 10~~18: the celebration of spring (10~13: birds’ singing; 14~18: people’s pilgrimages)参考B: Structure beauty: The 18 lines form a coherent whole which is a sentence that composes of two adverbial clauses of time (line 1~11) and a main clause (12~18), expressing the essential idea of the whole work.考点二:Why is spring compared to a king? (4’)1.As the first season of a year, spring is as powerful as the king because it gives life toeverything.2.The use of the “king” can rime with “spring” and “sing”.考点三:What’s the effect of repeating “come live with me and be my love”?1.For the speaker’s part, he can strengthen his passion to his love, he sounds moreconfident than ever and the plea becomes more persuasive with each repetition.2.For the listener’s part, we can understand speaker’intention much more clearly. Thelistener will feel that shepherd’s love is strong and sincerely.3.It makes the ending match up with the beginning so as to make the poem a completewhole.考点四:What’s the effect of repeating the calls of the birds in each stanza?1. A good poem is usually like a beautiful song, the calls of the birds are pleasing to the ear.The repeated songs can give people pleasure and make this poem have a beautifulrhyme.2.The repetition of this line make three stanzas from a united whole.3.The sweat songs of the birds describe their happiness in spring and express their love ofspring. Their songs can also create a happy and peaceful atmosphere for people to enjoyspring.4.To emphasize the coming of spring.考点五:Compare these two poem: (讲义第7和第8面)1.On one hand, they share the same structure, meter, rhyme pattern and subject matters. Theywere written in iambic pentameter with six quatrains, each rhyming aabb. Both poems are about love and nature.2.On the other hand, they have obvious differences. Marlowe was young, he idealized natureand love. So his poem was romantic and imaginative. But Raleigh was old, and his attitude was jaded. He shows the reality of life and presents and opposite and negative view towards love and nature described in Marlowe’s poem.考点六:(可能会考选择题)Script(剧本): the written work from which a drama is produced; contains stage directions and dialogue.Stage directions(舞台说明): notes provided by the playwright to describe how something should be performed on stage. Stage directions often describe elements of the spectacle: lighting, music, sound effects, costumes, properties, and set designs.Soliloquy(独白): a long speech given by a character while alone on stage to reveal his or her private thoughts or intentions.Aside(旁白): a statement intended to be heard by the audience or by a single other character butnot by all the other characters on stage.Act(幕): a major division of a drama.Scene(场景):a division of an act; it begins with the entrance of one or more characters and ends with the exit of one or more characters.考点七:Why Juliet is a sun not a beautiful flower?1.There is only one sun in the world and Juliet is the only woman Romeo loves.2.Juliet is more beautiful and warm than the moon and the stars, so Juliet is the sun.考点八:What we can learn from Romeo and Juliet?1.We should believe true love.2.be brave to pursuer true love and happiness.3.be firm to your love.4.the more I give to you, the more I have.考点九:Problems troubling Hamlet:Hamlet’s endurance has reached the breaking point.1.His father has been murdered by his uncle.2.His mother, who he loves dearly, is married to his uncle right after his father’s death.3.Then his former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dispatched by claudius to spy onhim.4.Moreover, his sweetheart, Ophelia, is sent as a tool to find out whether or not he is really mad.This is some thing he can no longer endure.5.One incident after another seems to reveal to him that the time is “out of joint”, and man is notso good as he had imagined.6.Now, he’s all alone. The world that he knew is shattered. His black mood of despair isdeepened by his inability to act ---to do something to change the situation. Now he ponders whether to continue living or to take his own life.考点十:对to be, or not to be: that is the question的理解。
英国文学选读考试重点
西南大学英国文学选读考试重点☆英国文学名家名著《贝奥武甫》(Beowulf)是英国盎格鲁·撒克逊时期的一首英雄史诗,古英语文学的最高成就,同时标志着英国文学的开始。
史诗的第一部分讲述瑞典青年王子贝奥武甫来到丹麦,帮助丹麦国王赫罗斯加杀死了12年来常来进行夜袭的巨妖格伦德尔及他的母亲;第二部分简述了贝奥武甫继承王位,平安统治50年。
后来,他的国土被一条喷火巨龙蹂躏,老当益壮的贝奥武甫与火龙交战,杀死火龙,自己也受了致命伤。
杰弗里·乔叟(Geoffrey Chaucer ,1340-1400)是英国文学之父亲和前最杰出的作家。
主要作品有《坎特伯雷故事集》等。
作品的主要特点是主题、题材、风格、笔调的多样性及描写人对生活的追求的复杂性。
他的代表作品是《坎特伯雷故事集》(The Canterbury Tales)不仅描绘了31位朝圣者的各个社会阶层,而且也反映了他们各自叙述故事的不同风格,读者广泛,对后世影响很大。
威廉·莎士比亚(William Shakespeare ,1564-1616)是文艺复兴时期英国著名的剧作家和诗人。
他创作了大量的作品,其中包括喜剧、悲剧和历史剧。
他的剧本至今仍在许多国家上演,并为人们所普遍阅读。
莎上比亚的作品文才横溢,创造的喜、怒、哀、乐场面使人印象深刻,历久难忘。
主要作品有四大悲剧:《奥赛罗》(Othello)、《哈姆雷特》(Hamlet)、《麦克白》(Macbeth),《李尔王》(King Lear);四大喜剧:《仲夏夜之梦》(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)、《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice)、《无事生非》(Much Ado about Nothing)和《皆大欢喜》(As You Like It)等。
此外,历史剧《亨利六世》(Henry VI)三部曲,爱情悲剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》(Romeo and Juliet)也都很受欢迎。
英国文学选读复习重点
1英国文学选读复习June, 2010Part I 复习重点章节1. William Shakespeare;2. Francis Bacon;3. John Donne;4. William Blake;5. Jane Austen;6. Charles Dickens;7. Thomas Hardy; 8. Oscar Wilde; 9. William Butler Y eats;10. James Joyce;11. D.H. Lawrence;Part II 考试题型1. In this part you are going to explain the following literary terms brieflyand to give examples from the stories you have learned from the course to illustrate the terms. (about 15 points)Examplescharacter and characterization; symbol and allegory allegory, , theme, point of view, etc.)2. Analysis of short stories and novels (about 40 points)Example 1Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.QuestionsWhat can we learn from this short passage about Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet? What was the tone of the passage? Does this passage illustrate the style of Jane Austen?Example 2One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died.It was a dark rainy evening and there was no sound in the house. Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds. Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me. I was thankful that I could see so little.All my senses seemed to veil themselves and feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: O Love! O Love! many times.QuestionsWhat can we learn about “I” from this short passage? What was the meaning of the sentence “I was thankful that I could see so little.” ? What rhetorical device was used in this passage?Example 3“Justice was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his spot with Tess. And the d’Urbervilles knights and dames slept on in their tombs unknowing. The two speechless gazers bent themselves down to the earth, as if in prayer, and remained thus a long time, absolutely. As soon as they had strength motionless: the flag continued to wave silentlyflag continued to wave silently. As soon as they they rose, joined hands again, and went on.QuestionsWhat is your understanding of the sentence “And the d’Urbervilles knight and dames slept on in their tombs unknowing”? Was justice really done?What is your understanding of the very end of the novel “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy?3. Analysis of the poems (about 30 points)Example 1Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!He is called by thy name,For he called himself a Lamb;He is meek & he is mild,He became a little child;I a child & thou a lamb,We are called by his name.Little Lamb God bless thee.Little Lamb God bless thee.QuestionsWho is “he ” in the third line of this stanza? What is the dominant feeling in this stanza? What are you understanding of the last two lines?Example 2Oh stay Oh stay, three lies in one flea spare, , three lies in one flea spare,Where we almost, nay more than married are.The flea is you and I, and thisOur marriage bed and marriage temple is; Though parents grudge, and you, we are met,And cloistered in these living walls of jet.Though use make you apt to kill me,Let not do that, self-murder added be, And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.QuestionsWhat extraordinary metaphors (conceits) do you find in this stanza? Give an example and explain it. What is the central idea in this stanza?4. Paraphrasing (about 15 points)Example 1Certainly wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity; and single men, they e many times more charitable, because their means are less exhaust, yet on the other side, they are more cruel and hard-hearted (good to make severe inquisitors), because their tenderness is not so oft called upon.Example 2Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,Who is already sick and pale with griefThat thou her maid art far more fair than she.Be not her maid, since she is envious.Her vestal livery is but sick and green,And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off.Example 3Thus conscious does make coward of us all, And thus the native hue of resolutionIs sicklied o ’er with the pale cast of thought,And enterprises of great pitch and momentWith this regard their currents turn awryAnd lost the name of action.。
英美文学及选读(学习重点)
III-2.英国文学精读部分
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud She Walks in Beauty Pride and Prejudice (Chapter I) Oliver Twist (Chapter 2) Jane Eyre (Chapter 23) Wuthering Heights (Chapter 15)
-乔叟, 莎士比亚, 弥尔顿,笛福,斯威夫特; -威廉·布莱克, 罗伯特·彭斯; 华兹华斯, 拜伦, 雪莱,济慈, 简•奥斯丁 -查尔斯•狄更斯,夏洛蒂•勃朗特,艾米丽•勃朗特
III-1 英国文学精读部分
General Prologue (Part 1) Get up and Bar the Door Hamlet (Act III) Sonnet 18 The Flea Paradise Lost (Excerpt) Crusoe Visits the Wreck The Chimney Sweeper A Red, Red Rose
V. Literary Terms (文学术语)
1. 3 须掌握的文学术语(定义和理解) Alliteration (头韵) Ballad (民谣) Blank Verse(无韵诗) Byronic Hero (拜伦式英雄) Conceit (巧思妙喻) Dramatic Monologue (戏剧化独白)
2.4 理解和运用类文学术语 Suspense (悬念) Tetrameter (四音步诗行) Pentameter (五音步诗行) Theme (主题) Tragedy(悲剧) Tone (语气) University Wits (大学才子)
英美文学I 重点
I. 英国文学重点时期
Renaissance Period Romantic Period Victorian Age
英国文学选读要点
《英国文学选读》学习要点(1)-- 文学常识标签:英国文学选读要点文学常识分类:英国文学选读课程 2008-10-21 23:29文学常识部分:1. Poetry is the most compressed form of literature.2. Poetry is composed of carefully chosen words expressing great depth of meaning.3. Poetry uses specific devices such as connotation, sound, and rhythm to express the appropriate combination of meaning and emotion.4. Lyrical poetry presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as opposed to poetry that tells a story or presents a witty observation.5. Shakespeare writes his sonnets in the popular English form of three quatrains and a couplet.6. Soliloquy in drama a speech, often of some length, in which a character, alone on the stage, expresses his thoughts and feelings.7. Plot is known as the “series of related events”.8. There are five parts to a plot: introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution9. Climax is the "turning point of the story".10. Conflict describes the struggle between two characters or forces.11. The purpose of the short story's title is to inform readers of story content, to indicate main idea, to create curiosity12. Symbol is an object or idea that has its own meaning and representssomething else as well.13. Theme is the main idea or author's opinion about life expressed in a piece of literature.14. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character - he/she is the protagonist. The opposer of the main character is called the antagonist.15. Characterization is the techniques writers use to create and develop characters.16. Point of View is the relationship between the narrator and the story (who is telling the story).17. A writer tells his story from a different point of view -- narration. There are 3 points of view when telling a story: First person: The narrator "I"; Omniscient: All-knowing narrator; Limited Omniscient: (third person)18. Setting is the time and place of the story.《英国文学选读》要点(2) -- 诗人及其作品解读标签:英国文学选读要点诗人及作品解读分类:英国文学选读课程 2008-10-21 23:361. Introduction of William ShakespeareSignificancel the greatest English poet and dramatistl certainly the most important playwright of the English Renaissancel Likely the most influential writer in all of English literatureTheme of Sonnet 18His sonnet 18 expresses that beautiful things can rely on the force of literature to reach eternity.Analysis of the poeml The first two quatrains focus on the fair lord's beauty: the poet attempts to compare it to a summer's day, but shows that there can be no such comparison, since the fair lord's timeless beauty far surpasses that of the fleeting, inconstant season.l Summer -- "summer" as a metaphor for youth, or perhaps beauty, or perhaps the beauty of youth.l What does “eternal lines” mean in the last but one stanza?l What’s the rhyme of Shakespearean Sonnet?Questions 1 in page 14:The speaker opens the poem with a question addressed to the beloved: "ShallI compare thee to a summer's day?" The next eleven lines are devoted to sucha comparison.l In line 2, the speaker stipulates what mainly differentiates the young man from the summer's day: he is "more lovely and more temperate."l The poet describes summer as a season of extremes and disappointments. Summer's days tend toward extremes: they are shaken by "rough winds"; In them, the sun ("the eye of heaven") often shines "too hot," or too dim. And summer is fleeting: its date is too short, and it leads to the withering of autumn, as "every fair from fair sometime declines."l The final quatrain of the sonnet tells how the beloved differs from the summer in that respect: his beauty will last forever ("Thy eternal summer shall not fade...") and never die.l In the couplet, the speaker explains how the beloved's beauty will accomplish this feat, and not perish because it is preserved in the poem, which will last forever; it will live "as long as men can breathe or eyes can see."2. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 -- 1400)Significance| “the father of English poetry” (by John Dryden)| the founder of modern English| the founder of English realistic literature: the greatest literate before Shakespeare| He was the first to be buried in Westminster Abby, for his great contribution to the making of English and literature.Chaucer’s writing style|His poetry is full of vigor and swiftness.|He enriched the poetic forms for the English poetry.|He is the first people who made the London vernacular the language of his work thus make it the foundation for modern speech and establishing English as the literary language of the country.General Introduction to The Canterbury TalesSignificance| It was the last of Geoffrey Chaucer's works| The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s Masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature.| It is one of the landmarks of English literature, perhaps the greatest work produced in Middle English| It gives us a true to life picture of his time. The work stands as a historical and sociological introduction to the life and times of the late Middle AgesAn Analysis of the opening linesAs April comes, the narrator begins a pilgrimage to Canterbury from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk. Twenty-nine people make the pilgrimage toward Canterbury and the narrator describes them in turn.| These are the opening lines with which the narrator begins the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales. The imagery in this opening passage is of spring’s renewal and rebirth.| After the long sleep of winter, people begin to stir, feeling the need to “goon on pilgrimages,” or to travel to a site where one worships a saint’s relics as a means of spiritual cleansing and renewal.An analysis of the Knight|The Knight represents the ideal of a medieval Christian man-at-arms. The Knight is first to be described in the General Prologue because socially, the Knight is by far the most prestigious person on the pilgrimage. He is the highest on the social scale, being closest to belonging to the highest estate, the aristocracy.Four main qualities of the Knight.|The first is the Knight’s love of ideals—“chivalrie” (prowess), “trouthe”(fidelity), “honour” (reputation), “fredom” (generosity), and “curteisie”(refinement) (General Prologue, 45–46).|The second is the Knight’s impressive military career. The Knight has foughtin the Crusades, wars in which Europeans traveled by sea to non-Christian lands and attempted to convert whole cultures by the force of their swords.|The third quality the narrator remembers about the Knight is his meek, gentle, manner.|And the fourth is his “array,” or dress. The Knight wears a tunic made of coarse cloth, and his coat of mail is rust-stained, because he has recently returned from an expedition.3. Introduction of John Donne(1572 - 1631)Significancel Founder of Metaphysical Schooll Donne was the leading exponent of a style of poetry called "metaphysical poetry," which flourished in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.l The most striking feature of Donne’s Poetry is his frequent use of conceit.l The main themes of the metaphysical poets are love, death and religion.Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,l spare three lives in one fleal you, I, and the fleal Holy trinity: Holy father, Holy son, and Holy spiritWhen we almost, nay more than maryed are.This flea is you and I, and thisOur marriage bed, and marriage temple is;churchThough parents grudge, and you, w'are met,And cloysterd in these living walls of Jet.l live the fleaThough use make thee apt to kill me,Let not to this, selfe murder added bee,l Let self-murder not be added to thisAnd sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three.l Donne’s first metaphor: three lives in one fleal second metaphor: compares the flea to a “marriage bed and marriage temple”Themes of Holy Sonnet 10His Holy Sonnet 10 reveals his belief in life after death. Death is momentarily while happiness after death is eternal.l One short sleep past, we wake eternally,And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.1. What does sleep mean? Death.2. How do you understand we live eternally?Life and death are two periods. Death is the expansion of life. Shortly after our death, our soul will enter heaven and live happily forever.4. Introduction of Robert Burns(1759-1796)Significancel Scottish poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songsl He is the national poet of Scotland. Robert Burns is representative of Scotland. He has become almost a national symbol of all things Scottish.l the greatest poet Scotland in the late 18th century has ever produced;l a remarkable lyricist on the theme of love and friendship;l a patriotic poet calling for national independence, liberty, equality and fraternity for all the people in the world ;l a peasant poet sharing his people’s feelings and drawing material form the folk legends and songs;l He was the people’s poet. He came from the people and wrote for the people.l “A Red, Red Rose” is written as a ballad with four stanzas of four lines, or quatrains each§Themes of A Red, Red RoseTheme - this is a poem of love and reassurance. Burns is leaving his love and intends to reassure her of his fidelity and love for her in his absence.5. Introduction of William Wordsworth(1770-1850)Significancel He is the third greatest poet and the greatest lyric poet in English literature.l He is the leading figure of the English Romantic poetry, and he is regareded as a “worshipper of nature”.l He was one of “lake poets”l He is a poet in memory of the past and was called "prophets of nature"I Wandered Lonely as a CloudForml The four six-line stanzas of this poem follow a quatrain-couplet rhyme scheme: ABABCC.l Each line is metered in iambic tetrameter.Characteristics – The poem is a master piece on natureSignificanceThis poem typically depicts the serene beauty of nature and shows the poet’s respect for nature as well.Exercises"For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dance with the daffodils.(1) What is the "bliss of the solitude"? The Daffodils the poem saw.(2) Interpret the passage.It is a bliss/happiness to recollect the beauty of nature in his mind when he is solitude/lonely.(3) Why did the poet write the poem, what did he want to express?The poem depicts/deals with the flowers that he came across along waterside, by which he expresses the quiet, sympathy, loving feeling to nature just like his words "poetry is from "emotion recollected in tranquility".I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Questions:(1) Interpret briefly the meaning of this stanza.Like a cloud flying over valleys and mountains, I was traveling. Suddenly to my surprise, I saw a grove of daffodils at the side of a lake. How beautiful they were, fluttering and dancing in the wind.(2) Which literary trend does this poem belong to?Romantic period5. Introduction of Percy Shelly(1792~1822)Genre of the PoemThe ode is a lyric poem of some length, dealing with a lofty theme in a dignified manner and originally intended to be sung.Form of the poemEach of the seven parts of "Ode to the West Wind" contains five stanzas--four three-line stanzas and a two-line couplet, all metered in iambicpentameter. The rhyme scheme in each part follows a pattern known as terza rima, Thus each of the seven parts of "Ode to the West Wind" follows this scheme: ABA BCB CDC DED EE.SummaryOde to the West Wind" is one of Shelley's best known lyrics. The poet describes vividly the activities of the west wind on the earth, in the sky and on the sea, and then expresses his envy for the boundless freedom of the west wind, and his wish to be free like the wind and to scatter his words among mankind.Exercises| O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves deadAre driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, …alliteration personificationQuestions:|What kind of wind does west wind refer to?Autumn wind.|What do these lines describe?The destructive power of the west wind that drives away all the old and rotten things.|"Wild spirit, which art moving everywhere;Destroyer and Preserver; hear, O hear!“(1)What does the "wild spirit "refer to?"wild spirit" refers to west wind/autumn wind.(2)Why called it "Destroyer and Preserver" at the same time?Because west wind buries the dead leaves, the symbol of old rotten society, and also the things, thoughts, or ideas that are dead or obsolete. Meanwhile it prepares for a new spring, and preserves new life or seeds that will come to life in the spring, the symbol of a new world.(3)Identify the poet and the poem."Ode to the west wind" of Percy Shelley. (terza rima)"As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.Oh! Lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowedOne too like thee: tameless, and swift and proud.“A heavy weight of hours|It refers to burdens and pressures of life|moral and cultural conventions picked up by individuals in life|lessons learned from life experience| sufferings and misfortunes in life.(1)Explain "I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed“The sentence call Shelley’s desire that he couldn’t best being fetteredto/limited by the humdrum/too ordinary reality of everyday!(2)Can you comprehend the deep emotion contained in the poem? What’s that?In the poem, the west wind has become the poet himself, he wants to befree, proud and uncontrollable like the wild west wind, to destruct and construct with the strong power like the west wind.(3)The poet was called the "the heart of all hearts", he trumpeted the radical prophecy of hope and rebirth. Please write out his classic words.If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?| This is of course a rhetorical question because spring does come after winter.|The question has a deeper meaning and does not only mean the change of seasons, but is a reference to death and rebirth as well.|It illustrates Shelley’s critical attitude to the ugly society and can best express Shelley’s optimistic belief in the bright future of mankind in face of the cold winter, that is the cold society, and the harsh social reality.It may mean that after the struggles and problems in life, there would always be a solution.6. Introduction of John Keats (1795-1821)Significancel The most talented of the English romantic poetsl He wrote best odes in English literaturel The last of the great Romanticsl The most attractive Romantic figure because of his personal life and his poetryl A poet of great beautyl A close friend of Shelley’sType of WorkType of poem: lyric poem Type of lyric poem: odeExercise 1:"Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,Sylvan historian, who canst thus expressA flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:"(1)Who is the poet? The name?(2)Explain the sentence.(3)What was the theme of the poem?Answer:(1)This is the "ode on a Grecian Um", which was written by the poet---John Keats.(2)The sentence means: though time has passed, the urn, the works of the art still remains, and it tells a pastoral/lyrical tale to us, and the description of the urn is much more beautiful than the words of any human.(3)The theme is: Human life is transient, but the art is immortal.Exercise 2:"O Attic shape! Fair attitude! With brede …As doth eternity: cold pastoral!"(1)How do you understand "cold pastoral"(2)What device is used in the poem?(3)Explain the implication of the poem. At the end of the poem, the poet gavea famous saying, and it is also the theme of the poem, what is that?Answer:(1)Cold pastoral means the lyrical scene on the Grecian urn lacks life and warmth.(2)Contrast.(3)The poet wanted to show the permanence of the art and the transience of human passion presenting his ambivalence/opposing feelings about time and nature of beauty. The saying is "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"7. Introduction of Alfred TennysonSignificanceHe was the most prolific poet in the 19th-century English literature.He is the most representative Victorian poet.His wonderful works show all the qualities of England’s great poets.Poet LaureateAnalysis of the poemThe Eagle: A FragmentIn the first stanza the eagle sits perched up on some high mountain crag in some deserted area, and in the second stanza he suddenly swoops down in flight.Notice the contrast between the two stanzas: in the first the eagle is sittingstill, and in the second one he is in flight.Break,Break,Break"Break, Break, Break" is a lyric poem that Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was believed to have completed in 1834. It centers on Tennyson's grief over the death of his best friend, Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet.The fisherman's boy happily playing with his sister, the sailor merrily singing, the ship busily plying the waters of commerce:The poet’s own feelings of sadness are contrasted with the carefree, innocent joys of the children and the unfeeling movement of the ship and the sea waves.ThemesGrief;Preciousness of Youth;Indifference of Nature8 William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)Significance|an Irish poet, dramatist and prose writer|Yeats is the greatest poet in the history of Ireland|the greatest poet to write in English during the twentieth century|He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.The Second Coming|The poem uses religious symbolism to illustrate Yeats' anguish over the apparent decline of Europe's ruling class, and his occult belief that Western civilization (if not the whole world) was nearing the terminal point of a 2000-year historical cycle.|"The Second Coming" is one of Yeats's most famous and most anthologized poemsBackground|The title of the poem refers to the Christian belief that Christ will return to this earth some day and reign over an age of peace after a great war betweeen Good and Evil has destroyed the old civilizations. Theis rebirth of Christ at some future time is called “the Second Coming”Structure|the first stanza describes the conditions present in the world《英国文学选读》要点(3)-- 散文家/短篇小说家/戏剧家及其作品解读标签:英国文学选读要点散文家短篇小说家戏剧家作品解读分类:英国文学选读课程 2008-10-21 23:41Francis Bacon(1561—1626)Significancel He is a philosophy, a scientist and the first English essayist.l He is best known for his Essays that is the first example of that genre in English literature.Of Studies -- The most popular of Bacon’s essays.Language FeaturesForceful and persuasive; compact and precise; and the essays reveals to us Bacon’s nature attitude towards learning.l What studies chiefly serve for.l The different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies.l How studies exert influence over human characterThemeDifferent ways of studies may exert different influences over human characters.10. David Herbert Lawrence,1885~1930Significancel English novelist, story writer, critic, poet and painterl one of the greatest figures in 20th-century English literaturel the greatest novelist form a working familyl one of the primary shapers of 20th-century fictionRocking Horse WinnerStylel The opening paragraphs of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are written in a style similar to that of a fairy tale. ThemesThe theme of the story is that materialism can lead to spiritual death, and that when we gamble or game for gold, we only are going to win a hollow soul.Evident in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is Lawrence's distain for conspicuous consumption, crass materialism, and an emotionally distant style of parenting popularly thought to exist in England during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.| rocking horse -- by its very frantic motion, back and forth, symbolizes the frantic grasping for wealth.| Hester -- Paul’s mother, a cold, unfeeling, wasteful, shallow and materialistic woman who is incapable of loving others.William ShakespeareWorks of Shakespeare and the three major periods of his literary life|The first period: 1590 to 1600, In this period he created his best comedies A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice; Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It; and Twelfth Night;|The second period began from 1601 to 1609. In this period he produced his four great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, which represent the climax of his dramatic power.Please give a brief analysis of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy| “To be or not to be” is a philosophical exploration of life and death. The soliloquy conveys ’the sense of world-weariness.Analysis of Hamlet|Hamlet is a man of Renaissance with humanist’s ideal.|Hamlet is a hero of the Renaissance. His learning, wisdom, noble nature, limitation and tragedy are all representative of the humanists at the turn of the 16th and the 17th century.The theme of “ Hamlet”|It praises Hamlet’s struggle against his evil uncle.|It expresses the sharp contradiction between the rising bourgeoisie and the feudal power through a bloody revenge.|It also shows that England was no longer a merry England as it was before.It’s a country full of disturbances, social evils.《英国文学选读》要点(4)-- 小说家及其作品解读标签:英国文学选读要点小说家作品解读分类:英国文学选读课程 2008-10-21 23:47Daniel Defoe(1661-1731) and his Robinson CrusoeSignificance|a pioneer novelist of England;|one of the forerunners of the English realistic novel;|Along with Samuel Richardson, Defoe is considered the founder of the English novel.The themes|man’s struggles against nature|Glorification of the bourgeois men who has the courage and will to face hardship and determination to improve his livelihood.|Glorification of laborThe style|Realistic styleSymbol – The great wooden cross|The great wooden cross that Crusoe makes to mark time is a symbol of his journey towards rebirth.|The symbol casts a new, somewhat romantic light on the adventure, for it gives hope and foreshadows success for Robinson CrusoeThe Capital letters on the cross|The large size and capital letters show us how important this cross is to Crusoe as a timekeeping device and thus also as a way of relating himself to the larger social world where dates and calendars still matter.|It’s a memorial to Crusoe himself, underscoring how completely he has become the center of his own life.Character Analysis – Robinson Crusoe|Robinson Crusoe is one of the protagonists drawn most successfully in English novels.|Through the characterization of Robinson Crusoe, Defoe depicts him as a hero struggling against nature, and human fate with his indomitable will and hand, and eulogizes creative labor, physical and mental, an allusion to glorification of the bourgeois creativity when it was a rising and more energetic class in the initial stage of its historical development.|From an individual laborer to a master and colonizer, Crusoe seems to have gone through various stages of human civilization, creating a visual picture to manifest how man’s history has developed from the primitive to the feudal, and then to the capitalistic one in the eighteenth century.Jane Austen(1775-1817) and her Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817Significance|a woman novelist of the 18th century|the only important female author in the 18-19th century|the first writer who examines women’s position and their problems in the society|She presented the quiet, day-to-day country life of the middle -upper -class English.How do you understand Pride and Prejudice?|Pride and Prejudice is the most popular of Jane Austen’s novels.|Pride and Prejudice is originally drafted as "First Impressions".|In this novel, the author explores the relationship between great love and realistic benefits.|In this novel, Darcy stands for Pride and Elizabeth represents Prejudice. In the end, pride is humbled and prejudice dissolved.Theme|Marriage is important to individuals and society.Analysis of the NovelIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.|This is the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice and stands as one of the most famous first lines in literature because of its masterful irony, its humorous tone, and its foreshadowing of the entire novel.|It offers a miniature sketch of the entire plot that the pursuit of “single men in possession of a good fortune” by various female characters.|The second half of the sentence, however, reveals that the "universal truth" is nothing more than a social truth, which ironically is not a truth at all, but a misrepresentation of social facts.|In fact, a woman who has no means of outside support in the 19th century is greatly in need of a wealthy husband.Mrs. Bennet|She is a stupid, vulgar, silly, and noisy woman.|She is a single-minded woman with the desire to see her daughters married and seems to care for nothing else in the world.|Austen uses her continually to highlight the necessity of marriage for young women.Elizabeth Bennet|The second daughter in the Bennet family, and the most intelligent and quick-witted, Elizabeth is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice and one of the most well-known female characters in English literature.|She is lovely, clever, and, in a novel defined by dialogue, she converses as brilliantly as anyone.|Her beauty, honesty, virtue, and lively wit enable her to rise above the nonsense and bad behavior that pervade her class-bound and often spiteful society.|She pursues her true love bravely. She is also courageous, fearless and frank.|On the whole, Elizabeth is a typical image of the good, attractive lady in the 19th century.Charles Dickens and his Great ExpectationsSignificance|the greatest novelist in English literature.|the greatest representatives of English critical realism|one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age|His works are intended to expose and criticize all the poverty, injustice, hypocrisy, and corruptness of the 19th-centuray England, particularly London.Key Facts|genres · Bildungsroman (also called initiation stories or coming-of-age stories), social criticism, autobiographical fiction|narrator · Pip|point of view · First personMain Idea of Great Expectations(1861) a novel by Charles Dickens about a young man called Pip who wants to become rich and successful. He is given money by an unknown person, and as a result he becomes a less nice person, but after several difficult experiences, he finally realizes that he must work hard to make enough money to live well, and he becomes a kind, generous man.Meaning of the Title|As a young man, Pip is led into making grave mistakes based on his false expectation of being a gentleman, his false expectation of marrying Estella, and his general false expectation of rising above his past.|Ultimately, he learns that true worth comes from inside a man, and turns away from his once-great expectations.Pip|Because Pip is narrating his story many years after the events of the novel。
(完整word版)英国文学选读复习资料
(完整word版)英国文学选读复习资料Part I The Middle AgeChapter 1 the Anglo-Saxon period (449-1066)1. Beowulf(贝奥武甫): England’s national epic.(第一部民族史诗)2. artistic feature: ① using alliteration② using metaphor and understatementChapter 3 Geoffrey Chaucer (ca1343-1400)1.Geoffrey Chaucer is the father of English poetry and one of the most greatest narrative(叙事)poets of England.2.首创双韵体. tonico-syllabic verse. 运用London dialect.3. writing style: wisdom, humor, humanity.4.代表作:The Canterbury Tales-----In this book, Chaucer created a strikingly brilliant and picturesque panorama of his time and his country. In this poem Chaucer’s realism, trenchant irony and freedom of views reached such a high level of power that it had no equal in all the English literature up to the 16th century. But Chaucer was not entirely devoid of medieval prejudices. [乔叟为他那个时代和国家勾勒出一幅生机勃勃而又充满诗情画意的社会百态图。
新编英国文学选读知识点梳理
新编英国文学选读知识点梳理【实用版】目录1.英国文学的历史背景及分期2.英国文学的代表作家及作品3.英国文学的风格特点及影响正文英国文学是西方文学的重要组成部分,其历史悠久,传统深厚。
英国文学的发展可分为几个阶段,其中最重要的阶段包括古英语文学、中世纪文学、文艺复兴时期文学、17 世纪文学、18 世纪文学、19 世纪文学和 20 世纪文学。
在古英语文学阶段,最著名的作品是《贝奥武甫》。
在中世纪文学阶段,英国文学受到了欧洲大陆文学的影响,这一时期的代表作品包括《亚瑟王传奇》和《尼伯龙根之歌》等。
在文艺复兴时期,英国文学迎来了黄金时期,莎士比亚、斯宾塞和马洛等文学巨匠的作品至今仍被誉为英国文学的经典。
17 世纪文学以约翰·弥尔顿、约翰·班扬和约翰·德莱顿等人的作品为代表,其中《失乐园》、《天路历程》和《论出版自由》等作品成为这一时期的经典。
18 世纪文学则以丹尼尔·笛福、乔纳森·斯威夫特、理查森·谢里丹和简·奥斯汀等人的作品为代表,这一时期的文学作品反映了工业革命时期的社会变革。
19 世纪文学是英国文学的又一辉煌时期,这一时期的代表作家包括查尔斯·狄更斯、夏洛蒂·勃朗特、艾米丽·勃朗特和托马斯·哈代等。
20 世纪英国文学则以弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫、乔治·奥威尔、威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆和阿加莎·克里斯蒂等作家的作品为代表。
英国文学的风格特点多样,受到了历史、地理和文化等多种因素的影响。
英国文学在语言运用、情节安排和人物塑造等方面都有独特的技巧,使其在世界文学史上具有重要地位。
{精品}英美文学选读 复习资料 重点知识点
一、名词解释1. Meter:Meter is the measured arrangement of words in the poetry, the rhythmic pattern of a stanza, determined by the kind and number of lines. It’s the beat of the poem and meter is an organized way to arrange unstressed and stressed syllables. The length of lines is described by the number of repeated meters in the line.1 meter,2 dimeter,3 trimeter,4 tetrameter,5 pentameter,6 hexameter,7 heptameter,8 octameter2. Stressed pattern:The most common stressed pattern in English is the iamb, which consists of 2 syllables and the 2nd one of which is accented. Another common stressed pattern is trochee (also 2 syllables, but with the 1st accented).Iamb: unstressed/ stressedTrochee: stressed/ unstressedAnapest: unstressed/ unstressed/ stressedDactyl: stressed/ unstressed/ unstressed• A line with three iambic feet is known as iambic trimester.• A line with six dactylic feet is known as dactylic hexamete r.•Shakespeare is famous for his use of the iambic pentameter.3. Rhyme:Rhyme is when the endings of the words sound the same.4. Rhyme Scheme:Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhyming word at the end of each line.Not all poetry has rhyme scheme. Poems of more than one stanza often repeat the same rhyme scheme in each stanza.5. AlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or the same kinds of sound at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables. Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal.6. Assonance: 谐音,类韵Assonance is the relatively close succession of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different consonants and it’s a kind of vowel rhyme.7. Consonance:尾韵Consonance is the relatively close succession of the same end consonants with different vowel sounds and it’s a kind of consonant rhyme.8. Repetition:Repetition is the repeating of a sound, word, or phrase for emphasis.10. Meaning devices:Diction is the writer’s choice of words. The words that a writer chooses to use may carry both denotative and connotative meanings. Denotative is the explicit definition as listed in a dictionary, while connotative is the association or set of associations that a word usually brings to mind.11. Figurative language:Figurative language is any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words in order to furnish new effects or f resh insights into an idea or a subject.Whenever you describe sth.by comparing it with sth. else, you’re using figurative language.•Simile:A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared,often in a phrase introd uces by “like” or “as”.•Metaphor:A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made betweentwo unlike things that actually have sth. important in common.•Symbol:Symbol is an image that comes to stand for sth. (often an idea) beyond itself. •Pun:A pun occurs when a word is used in such a way as to have more than one meaning and in this way. It’s a kind of instant metaphor.•Imagery:Imagery is an appeal to the senses. The poet describes sth. to help you see, hear, smell, taste or touch the topic of the poem. It’s similar to descriptive writing only in poetry form.•Personification:Personification is a figure of speech, which gives the qualities of a person to an animal, an object or an idea. It’s a comparison, which the author uses to show sth.in an entirely new light, to communicate a certain feeling or attitude towards it and to control the way a reader perceives it.•Paradox:Paradox is a statement that on the surface seems to contradict itself and doesn’t make sense, but that at another level expresses a truth.12. English Romanticism<1>. It prevailed in English during the period of 1798—1832. The publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798 marked its beginning and the death of Water Scott in 1832 marked its ending.<2>. Highlights of English RomanticismImagination is the supreme faculty of the mindIdealization of Nature: that Nature never did betray the heart that loved herIndividualism: man is an individual in a solitary state; the exploration and evaluation of the inner self.13. Point of view:Point of view is the vantage point from which a story is told.<1>. The First Person Point of View:A character from the story is telling the story; uses pronouns “he”, “she”, “they”.In the first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story; knows and can tell only what he or she thinks and feels; may be reliable and trustworthy or may be an unreliable narrator.<2>. Types of Third-Person Point of View:Third-person limited: the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings on only ONEcharacter in a story.Third-person omniscient: the narrator knows the thoughts and feeling of ALL the characters in a story.•Third-Person-Limited Point of View:In Third-person-limited point of view, the narrator plays no part in the story; he knows and can tell what a single character is thinking and feeling.•Omniscient point of view:In the omniscient point of view, the all-knowing narrator plays no part in the story;knows and can tell what any character is thinking and feeling; knows what is happening in all of the story’s settings.14. SettingSetting generally provides the time and place of a story;Setting can also include the mood of the time period, situation and event;Setting can be the social, political, environmental or emotional climate;Setting can also include the emotional state of a character.15. CharacterThe term character refers to a person or an animal in a story, play or other literary work. Characterization is the way a writer reveals the personality of a character.•The protagonist is the main character in a story and the story often revolves around this character.•The antagonist is the force that or character who opposes the protagonist. •Minor characters are present, generally named and have a role that in some way was highlights the protagonist.16. ThemeTheme is the general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals.Theme is a main idea or strong message tied to life.Theme threads itself through a story, chapter or scene to make a point about life, society or human nature.Theme is typically implied rather than explicit. The reader has to think about it.Generally, there’s one major theme in a piece of literature. Add itional themes can often be found in a piece of literature.17. Parts of a plotPlot is the sequence of events that happen in a story. Plot provides a story with structure, like a map of a story.•Exposition: introduction; This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story.Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story.Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (problem).•Rising action: events that occur as result of central conflictThis part of the story begins to develop the conflicts. A building of interest or suspense occurs and leads to the climax. Complication arises.•Climax: highest point of interest or suspense of a storyThis is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face witha conflict. The main character will change in some way and this is themostintense moment.•Falling action: tension eases; events show the results of how the main character begins to resolve the conflict.It’s the action that follows the climax a nd ultimately leads to the resolution. •Resolution: the conclusion; all loose ends are tied up; the conflict is solved Either the character defeats the problem, learns to live with the problem or the problem defeats the character.18. ConflictConflict is a problem that must be solved; it’s an issue between the protagonist and antagonist forces. It forms the basis of the plot and conflict can be external or internal. External conflict: exists when a character struggles against some outside force such as another character, group, society, nature, fate or a nonhuman obstacle.E.g. <1>. Man vs. Man is the conflict of one person against another person.<2>. Man vs. Nature is the conflict a person encounters with the forces of nature, and shows how insignificant one person can be when compared to the cosmic scheme of things<3>. Man vs. Society is the conflict of a person/ people and the views of society. Prejudice/Racism is a good example.Internal conflict exits within the mind of a character who is torn between different courses of action. E.g. Man vs. Himself is internal conflict. It’s those conflicts an individual has with his conscience.19. Special Techniques used in a Story<1>. Suspense: excitement, tension, curiosity<2>. Foreshadowing: hint or clue about what will happen in story<3>. Flashback: interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past<4>. Symbolism: use of specific objects or images to represent ideas<5>. Personification: when you make a thing, idea or animal do something only humans do<6>. Surprise Ending: conclusion that reader does not expect二、文学作品节选承上启下a connecting link between the preceding and the following1. A Rose for Emily --- William FaulknerThe narration shifts in time frequently and gives out bits of information about the main character Miss Emily in such a way that the reader has to piece them together by himself.Para.1 It tells us who is the main character and who is telling the story. The author chooses “we”, the people of the town, as the collective narrator. “We” represents the gossip of the town, they are observers of the events. But this collective narrator does not know everything. None of “us” have benn inside Miss Emily’s house until her death.•So inevitably there are gaps in the narration that are bound to cause confusion on the part of the readers or the listener of the story. Thatleaves a lot of room for reader participation.Para. 2 This paragraph provides details about the setting of the story --- the place and the time. From the descriptions of the appearance of Miss Emily’s house we learn something about her family and her character, and from the visible changes on the streets over the years we get to know something about the historical and social changes that were taking place then.Part 2.In this part time is shifted back to thirty years before the visit of the deputation. Three things took place during this period of time. There was a bad smell coming from Miss Emily’s house. Two years before that her father dies, and Emily behaved rather strangely by refusing to let the townspeople bury him. A short time after that she had a sweetheart, whom the townspeople believed deserted her.2. A Tale of Two Cities --- Charles Dickensantithesis对照/对仗,anaphora首语重复法,repetition, juxtaposition并列,oxymoron 矛盾3.Romeo and Juliet --- William Shakespeare4.Persuasion --- Jane Austen三、诗歌欣赏1. A Red Red Rose --- Robert Burns①A Red Red Rose is a ballad that written by Robert Burns.②It consists of 4 quatrains (four-line stanzas), in iambic tetrameter in first andthird lines, and iambic trimetersecond and fourth lines. The rhyme scheme isabcb.③The poem focuses on the theme of love. A man professes his true love for hisbeloved girl.④In the first stanzathe author describes her pretty appearance and praise he finedisposition. And he addresses the young lady as bonnie in second stanzas. Hepledges his eternal and faithful love in the next 3 stanzas from 3 dimensions:Depth, length and distance.The man vows to love her however far he may go.⑤There are four main figurative languages used in the poetry.In the first place, the author compares his beloved girl to a red rose which has recently blossomed in June by using simile. And he compares her to melodywhich is the beauty lives on abstraction. Those make the poetry vivid and live.In the second place, he uses hyperbole in the sentence “Till a’ the seas gang dry” to show that all is possible.Furthermore, the author repeat the sentence “Till a’ the seas gang dry” to show the permanent love. The repetition not only emphasizes his love but alsoaddsome musicality to the poetry.In addition, the author uses symbol to expresses his faithful love. Rosesymbolizes passionate love, and rock symbolizes staunch love, sands symbolizeseternal love, seas symbolizes deep love.2.I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud --- William Wordsworth①I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is a lyric poem written byWilliam Wordsworth.②This poem presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet rather thantelling a story or presenting a witty observation.③It consists of 4 six-line stanzas, in iambic tetrameter and an ABABCC rhymescheme.④Figurative language:Using personification, the author compares the cloud to a lonely human.By using simile, there is the c omparison of the speaker’s solitariness to that of acloud.Alliteration: lonely as a cloud(line 1)⑤Diction&Tone:Diction can be assumed as indifferent or melancholy in the firsttwo lines. The speaker is comparing himself to a cloud that floats carelessly andyet feels distant or separated from the world beneath himBy the third line“when all at once I saw a crowd” the poem shifts into ablithe/joyful attitude, an interest towards the gorgeous scene which he describesand keeps throughout the poem.-Fluttering/dancing/shine/twinkle/sprightly/dance/glee/gay/jocund/wealth/bliss/ pleasure fills⑥Analysis :In the first stanzas, Wordsworth describes the scene when we wanders “as lonely as a cloud”.He compares himself to a single cloud that is floating over the valleys and the hills.The speaker feels distant and seperated from the world below. The poet says thathe is like a cloud. That’s a simile.Then he sees a “crowd” of golden daffodils which are under the trees and beside alake and are “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. He uses calm and soft words.In the second stanza, the speaker makes a connection with the daffodils and the stars. This stanza is still full of imagery. He compares the daffodils to the shiningstars that sparkle in the Milky Way as the number of daffodils are near the riverseem to be thousands in number.In the third stanza, he again compares the waves of the lake to the waves of daffodils. He decides that even though the lake is “sparkling”, the daffodils win because they have more “glee.” He felt so happy and expressed his feeling as gay in such a jocund company. He looked at the scene for a long time ,but while he was there, he couldn’t understand what he had gained from his experience. The repetition of “gaze” tells us that he kept looking at the flowers for a long time.In the last stanza, he describes how that scene affected him because whenever he is at home and on his own “in the bliss of solitude,” he remembers the flowers that fills him with pleasure and his heart “dances with the daffodils”. Again the use of words like “bliss” show his happiness each time the memory of tho se flowers and the way theydanced that day comes back to him.⑦This is a beautiful but simple poem about the beauty of nature and how inspiring it can be. This poem was written so that you can visualize and image how it would look in your perspective. In most of this poem, he gave the flowers a human quality, like dancing. There are rhyming words at the end of every alternate line of the poem giving it both continuity and a sense of rhythm.3.Break, Break, Break --- Alfred Tennyson①Break, Break, Break isa lyric poem thatwritten by Alfred Tennyson.②The poem contains four quatrains with combined iambic and anapestic. Mostlines have three feet and some four. The rhyme scheme is abcb.③This poem expresses Tennyson’s grief after his friend died, the preciousness ofyouth and indifference of nature. Namely, the world continues to be busy andbeautiful, but the happy moments of one’s life never stay.④Hallam died of a stroke in 1833 when he was only 22. Nature, of course, doesnot stop to mourn the loss of anyone. Cold and indifferent, it carries on, thewaves of the ocean breaking against rocks along the seashore without pausingeven for a moment. The rest of the world carries on as well: the fisherman's boyhappily playing with his sister, the sailor merrily singing, the ship busily plyingthe waters of commerce. Downcast, isolated by his grief, the narrator yearns totouch the hand of his friend once more, to hear the sound of his voice. But, no,Hallam is gone forever; his "tender grace" will never again return.⑤The author use repetition in the title and the first line to emphasizes that theocean waves are going to keep breaking.Apostrophe (Lines 1 and 2): The narrator addresses the sea.Personification and metaphor also occur in Lines 1 and 2, forthe poet regards the sea as a human being.Alliteration (Line 8): boat on the bay(Lines 9-12): Stanza 3 uses this figure of speech as follows:And the stately ships go onTo their haven under the hill;But O for the touch of a vanished hand,And the sound of a voice that is still!Alliteration (Line 15): day that is deadRepetend: Line 13 repeats Line 1; Line 7 repeats the first twowords of Line 5.Paradox: Touch of a vanished hand (Line 11), sound of a voicethat is still (Line 12).4.Because I Could Not Stop for Death --- Emily Dickinson①Because I Could Not Stop for Death is written by Emily Dickinson.②It consists of 6 four-line stanzas, in iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Therhyme is not strict.③The poem focuses on the theme of death and immortality. The author’s puzzlingover death leading to ly, the arrival of death is not unpleasant.Death means eternity.④The author use simple and plain word to describe the world of living, and moresolemn and serious words to describe death and immortality.⑤In the first stanza is an angel of death, in the image of a kind person comes in acarriage for the sake of immortality and the poet. This stanza reveals Emily’s calm acceptable of death. Death is seen as kind and polite. The journey to her grave begins when death comes calling.In the second stanza, the drive symbolizes her physical leaving life. He drives her slowly, which could be an expression of his consideration for her. Having relinquished her labor and leisure for the ride, she gives death her respect a full attention.In the third stanza, using metaphor, Dickinson speaks about the different stages of her life. School and children at recess symbolizes her childhood. Gazing grain symbolizes her adulthood. The setting sun represents her final years and decent into death. And the atmosphere surrounding the ride begin to change when we see the setting sun.In fourth stanza, it is a shift that makes her getting closer to the death.In fifth stanza, she saw a house with small size, scarcely visible cornice in the ground, which was actually house of the death. The word “house” is used as a euphemism for a grave to indicate how comfortable she feels about death.In the last stanza, she finally realized that she had been dead and also she had already got eternity. The word “eternity” is the echo of the word “immortality ”in first stanza.⑥Tone: In the first place, the tone is light and pleasant, and then turns to serious.In final, it is meditative.5.Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening --- Robert Frost①Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening iswritten by Robert Frost②It consists of 4 four-line stanzas, in iambic tetrameter andanAABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDDrhyme scheme.③As a traveler, the poet is fascinated by the beautiful scene in the woods. He stopsto enjoy it, but his mind urges him to go on, because there is still a long way ahead of him, an unfinished duty waiting for him. This poem stresses a central conflict between man's enjoyment of natural beauty and his responsibility in society.④The first stanza tells us that the man is stopping in front of the woods owned byanother person in the village--the village and the owner can both represent human society. Only the man is watching the woods being filled up with snow.The woods and snow can both hint at natural occurrences.The second stanza says the location is far from civilization (farmhouse), light (darkest evening) and warmth (frozen lake) that even the horse would think the man is queer to stop there.In the third stanza, there is the climax of the whole poem. The man is woken up by his horse and steps out of fantasy but he finds himself in acontradiction between reality and fantasy.The last stanza reveals the woods’ attractiontowards the man as it is “lovely, dark and deep”. It also shows the man’s determination to break away from suchaesthetic temptation because he has to take on worldly burdens andresponsibilities (“promises”).⑥There are four main figurative languages used in the poetry.In the first place, the author uses personification in the sentences “My little horse must think it queer” and “to ask if there is some mistake”.In the second place, there is the alliteration in words “sound”and “sleep”, ”dark” and “deep”Furthermore, the author repeat the sentence “and miles to go before I sleep”. The superficial meaning is that there is still a long distance before thespeaker. But there is an implied meaning is that there are still numerousresponsibilities before the speaker’s life comes to an end. The repetition alsoadds some musicality to the poetry.In addition, the author uses images in many lines. For example, the woods symbolizes the mystery of nature; the temptations in our life. The snowsymbolizes something of purity. Village & He (the owner of thewoods)—Human world & societyPromises--The unavoidable responsibilities & obligationsMiles--Long distance; the heavy duty of lifeSleep--Rest during night; the end of life (death)I am on my way--The journey of life四、散文1.Letter to Lord Chesterfield --- Samuel JohnsonFebruary 7th, 1755My Lord,I have been lately informed, by the proprietor经营者ofthe World,that two Papers两篇文章, in which my Dictionary is recommended to the Public, were written by your Lordship阁下. To be so distinguished, is an honour受到如此破格的垂青,是一份荣耀, which, being very little accustomed to favors from the Great很不习惯来自大人物的褒奖, I know not well how to receive, or in what terms to acknowledge用什么话来表达感激之情.When, upon some slight encouragement, I first visited your Lordship, I was overpowered深受感动, like the rest of Mankind其他人, by the enchantment of your address您富有魅力的言辞; and could not forbear to wish 奢望that I might boast夸口说myself Le vainqueur du vainqueur de la terre世界征服者的征服者, that I might obtain that regard 受到重视for which I saw the world contending争先,奋斗的; but I found my attendance拜访so little encouraged, that neither pride nor modesty谦逊would suffer me to continue it使我能够继续忍受下去. When I had once addressed your Lordship in public 当众向大人致意, I had exhausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and uncourtly scholar can possess我用尽了一个性情懒散,不善逢迎的书生所持有的所有手段以博取您欢心. I had done all that I could; and no Man is well pleased 高兴的to have his all neglected他的一切努力被忽视, be it ever so little无论多么微不足道.Seven years, My Lord, have now past已经过去七年了, since I waited in your outward Rooms, or was repulsed from your Door被拒之于门外; during which time I have been pushing on my work through difficulties在困难中推进我的工作, of which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to the verge of Publication快要出版了, without one Act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one smile of favor. 没有的到一点帮助,没有得到一句鼓励,没有看到一个笑脸支持Such treatment I did not expect, for I never had a Patron before我不曾指望能有这样的待遇,因为我此前从未有权贵提携.The Shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with Love, and found him a Native of the Rocks.维吉尔笔下的牧童最后终于和爱神相识,这才发现所谓爱神只不过是岩穴土人而已。
英国文学选读重点
英国文学选读名词解释:epic 史诗;叙事诗a long narrative poem in the grand stylethe Heroic Couplet(英雄双韵体)The rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter(抑扬格五音步).iambic/iambone unstressed syllabus/one stressed syllabuspentametera line with five main beats a common pattern of beats in poetry, in which each line has five iambs.RenaissanceMeans rebirth or revival. It’s a movement in Europe where humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman, Catholic Church.HumanismHumanism is the essence of the Renaissance. Man is the measure of all things. Human beings were glorious.sonnetA sonnet is a lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines.metreformal rhythm in lines of verserhymetwo or more words with the same soundblank verseany verses, especially iambic pentameters that do not rhymeballad(民歌)originally a song for dancers, then in mediaeval times a simple poem with short stanza a telling a story.Critical realism 批判现实主义Is one of the literary trends that flourished mainly in the 19th century. The great critical realists described the chief traits of the society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint.Stream of consciousness 意识流Is one of the modern literary techniques. It is the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images as the character experiences them.[标黄的地方考出处,其余考问答]1.Geoffrey Chaucer 杰弗里乔叟The Canterbury TalesQ: How is the setting of the tales described? With such a setting, could you predict the general tone of the tales that are to follow?A: Early spring ; happy, easy, lively, humorous2.William Shakespeare 威廉莎士比亚HamletQ: Why sleep is so frightening, according to Hamlet, since it can “end” “the heartache and the thousand natural shocks”?A: Perhaps there is sufferings in the dream.Romeo and JulietQ1: What does Romeo compare Juliet to in the beginning passage of the selection?A: Sun.Q2: What is Romeo and Juliet’s attitude toward being a Montague or a Capulet? A: Hate.Q3: What does Romeo mean when he says “Look thou but sweet, / And I am proof against their enmity”?A: They can not hurt me. Only because you love me.Sonnet 18押韵方式:abab cdcd efef ggSometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimed,And every fair from sometime declines,By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:Q: How does the poet answer the question he puts forth in the first line?A: You are more lovely and more temperate than summer’s day.3. Francis Bacon 弗兰西斯培根Of Marriage and Single LifeWives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men’s nurses, so as a man may have a quarrel to marry when he will.Of StudiesStudies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.Histories make men wise, poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores.4. Jonathan Swift 乔纳森斯威夫特Gulliver’s TravelsYahoos 野胡5. William Blake 威廉布莱克The Lamb组成方式:2 quatrains + couplet押韵方式:aabbccQ1: Does this poem describe a lamb or the mind of the child who is speaking to the lamb? What is the relation of the Lamb and the child to God?A: They combine together. It’s trinity.Q2: What does the Lamb stand for?A: Symbol of Jesus, and symbol of innocence.The Tyger押韵方式:aabbQ: Why does the poet mention the Lamb? Do you think both the Lamb and the Tiger can illuminate each other?A: The Lamb is corresponding the Tiger. Sure.6. Jane Austen 简奥斯丁Jane Austen对婚姻的看法:1. Those who would marry for material wealth and social position.2. Those who would marry just for beauty and passion.3. Those who would marry for true love based on consideration of the person’s personal merit as well as his economical and social status.7. George Gordon Byron 乔治戈登拜伦She Walks in BeautyQ1: What is the color of the lady’s dress? How do you know?A: Black. Of cloudless climes and starry skies.Q2: What does “their dwelling place” refer to in the last line of the second stanza? A: Heart and mind.Q3: Where are the lady’s winning smiles? How do they appear to the poet?A: On the cheek and brow.8. Percy Bysshe Shelley 波西比希雪莱Ode to the West Wind押韵方式:aba bcb cdc ded eeQ1. In what way is the West Wind both a destroyer and a preserver?A: Destroyed the old world and preserve a new life.Q2. What is the relationship between the West Wind and the poet?A: The poet is admires the West Wind.Q3: As “the trumpet of prophecy,” what does the West Wind predict in physical reality? How do you understand it symbolically?A: Since the revolution is going on, a wonderful fine world will emerge.9. John Keats 约翰济慈Ode on a Grecian Urn‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty, -that is all10. Charles Dickens 查尔斯狄更斯Themes in Dickens’ Writing: 1. The powerlessness of children.2. Man’s humanity to man.3. Good’s ability to triumph over evil.4. Man’s inhumanity to man.5. The outcast’s search for status and identity.6.The heinous nature of crime and criminals.11. Alfred Tennyson 阿尔弗雷德丁尼生Break, Break, BreakQ1. Why does the poet describe the stones as “cold” and “gray”?A: Unfeeling.Q2. What effect do the joyful scenes in the second stanza bring to the whole poem?A: Sharp contrast.Q3. Whose is the “ voice that is still” ?A: Best friend. Hallam.12. Oscar Wilde 奥斯卡王尔德著名观点:Art for Art’s sake 为艺术而艺术。
英国文学选读重点
英国文学选读一、中世纪文学(约5世纪——1485)。
有氏族时期的英雄主义和封建时期的理想,体现了非基督教日耳曼文化和基督教文化两种不同的传统。
《贝奥武甫》(Beowulf)是英国的民族史诗,《高文爵士和绿衣骑士》(Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ,1375-1400)以亚瑟王和他的骑士为题材,歌颂勇敢、忠贞、美德、是中古英语传奇最精美的作品之一。
二、文艺复兴时期文学(15世纪后期——17世纪初)。
三、17世纪文学四、启蒙时期文学(17世纪后期——18世纪中期)五、浪漫主义时期文学(1798——1832)。
1798年,威廉华兹华斯与塞穆尔泰勒柯勒律治合作出版了一本小诗集《抒情歌谣集》(Lyrical Ballads)标志着英国浪漫主义文学的崛起。
浪漫主义诗人崇尚自然,主张反哺归真。
六、现实主义时期文学(19世纪30年代——1918)。
客观地、冷静地观察现实生活,按照生活的本来样式精确细腻地加以描写,力求真实地再现典型环境中的典型人物。
七、现代主义文学时期(1918——1945)。
追求心理真实,注重直接观察人物的心理活动,直接体验人物的内心感受,在内心世界这面镜子上折射出丰富多彩的外部现实。
杰弗里•乔叟(1343-1400),Geoffrey Chaucer,英国文学之父。
主要作品有:《公爵夫人之书》(The Book of the Duchess)1836《百鸟会议》(The Parliament of Fowls)1380《声誉之堂》(The House of Fame)1374-1384《特洛勒斯与克丽西德》(Troilus and Criseyde)1380-1385《坎特伯雷故事》(The Canterbury Tales)1386-1400威廉•莎士比亚(1564-1616),William Shakespeare。
主要作品:四大悲剧:《哈姆雷特》(Hamlet)《奥赛罗》(Othello)《李尔王》(king Lear)《麦克白》(Macbeth)四大喜剧:《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice)《仲夏夜之梦》(A Midsummer Night's Dream)《皆大欢喜》(As You Like It)《第十二夜》(Twelfth night)Sonnet的格式:1. 有14行。
英国文学史及选读考试重点
Chapter 1 Old English Literature (450 – 1066)Beowulf(1) National epicBeowulf is the first great English literary work and is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.Chapter 2 Middle English Literature (1066 -- the 14th century)Major ContentA. Medieval romanceSubjects: Matter of France; Matter of Rome; Matter of BritainB. The Popular Ballads:Definition(1) A narrative song, or an oral form of verse.(2) Composed by common people during a long period of time.(3) An important stream of the Medieval folk literature.C. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400)Messenger of Humanism; The first important realistic writer; “Father” of English poetry and Master of the English language:masterpiece: The Canterbury TalesChapter 3 Renaissance (from 14th c. to mid-17th c.)1. Renaissance(1) It marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world (from 14th c. to mid-17th c.).(2) "Renaissance" means rebirth or revival.(3) The combination of Christian (Britain’s tradition) and Greek tradition s.(4) It is stimulated by events like the rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture (culture), the new discoveries in geography and astronomy (science), the religious reformation (religion) and the economic expansion (economy).(5) To get rid of old feudalist ideas and introduce new ideas of the rising bourgeoisie, to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.2. Humanism(1) To exalt human elements or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the supernatural, divine elements—or as opposed to the grosser赚钱的机器, animal elements.(否定旧的)(2) To see human beings as glorious creatures capable of individual development.(肯定新的2、3、4、5)(3) To emphasize the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life.(4) To believe that man does not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. (2、3的总结)(5) To express the rebellious spirit against the tyranny of feudal rule and religious domination. Representatives: More, Marlowe, Shakespeare(同renaissance一样,最后落脚到封建主义与资本主义的对立)Elizabethan PoetryI. Major Forms of Elizabethan Poetry1.Sonnet(1) A lyric poem of 14 lines with a formal rhyme scheme,(形式)(2)Expressing different aspects of a single thought, mood, or feeling,(内容)(3) Iambic pentameter is essentially the meter, but here again certain poets have experimentedwith hexameter and other meters.(方法)2. Blank verse3. heroic coupletII. Selected readings (Discussion)1. Sonnet 18 (by Shakespeare)William Shakespeare(1564-1616)1. Four great tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth2. HamletContrast(a)Hamlet and Claudius: Each tries to probe into the mind of the other.Whether the king is guiltyWhether Hamlet is mad(b) MadnessReal madness v. Feigned madness (Ophelia – Hamlet)(c) Different attitudes toward vengeance(复仇):Hamlet thinks too much, delays too long.Laertes acts too rashly, thinks too little.Fortinbras is a man of both action and thoughts.(d) Inner conflict in Hamlet’s mind:strong urge to revenge vs. disillusioned view of human lifemakes him weakCould you explain Hamlet’s hesitation in action to kill his uncle from the perspective of Oedipus Complex?The study, Hamlet and Oedipus,was written by Sigmund Freud‘s colleague and biographer Ernest Jones. In particular, Jones explains Hamlet’s mysterious delay in action as a consequence of the Oedipus Complex: the son continually postpones the act of revenge because of the impossibly complicated psychodynamic(心理动力的) situation in which he finds himself. Though he hates his fratricidal(杀兄弟的) uncle, he nevertheless unconsciously identifies with him—for, having killed Hamlet's father and married his mother, Claudius has carried out what are Hamlet's own unconscious wishes.In addition, marriage to Hamlet's mother gives the uncle the unconscious status of the father—destructive impulses towards whom provoke great anxiety and meet with repression.John Donne (1572-1631)Special features(1) Conceits: (A fanciful poetic image, especially an elaborate or exaggerated comparison 奇思妙想) – metaphysical conceits refer to bringing together things that are primary unlike(2) Wit: (聪敏机智)-- the centre of Donne’s poetic method, such as the dialectical arrangementof a poem, logical reasoning, dramatic plot(3) Imagery: drawn form his interests, revealing the width of his intellectual exploration(4) Dramatic and conversational style:(5) metric skills: violating conventional and metrical regularities of rhythm and stress(1) The Flea(2) “Death, Be Not Proud”John MiltonII. His worksA. Early poetic works:LycidasB. middle prose pamphletsAreopagitican.《论出版自由》C. last great poemsParadise LostParadise RegainedSamson AgonistesParadise lostPlotsThe story it related (12 books in all)1. The fall of the angels, the tortures andthe struggles they made upon the God.2. God creates the Adam and Eve.3. Man’s disobedience.4. The banishment of Adam and Eve, theirloss of paradise .Major characters analysisSatan (Lucifer) :1. he is the first character to whom the reader is introduced, and the most complex. It has been suggested that Satan is the true "epic hero" of the piece, largely because of his epic language and heroic energy.2. he hold the self-centered perspective , arrogant, boldness and diligence in fighting with god .Adam & Eve1. Strong, intelligent, and rational character possessed of a remarkable relationship with God .2. Innocent and impulsive ,dedicative to their love .3. with the spiritual purity , her capacity for emotion, and forbearance .God1.omnipotent(全能的)character who knows everything before it happens .2. unknowable to mankind and to some extent lacks emotion and depth .Themes1.The Importance of Obedience to God .Paradise Lost presents two moral paths that one can take after disobedience:(1) The downward spiral of increasing sin and degradation, represented by Satan.(2) the road to redemption, represented by Adam and Eve.2. The Hierarchical Nature of the UniverseThe layout of the universe—with Heaven above, Hell below, and Earth in the middle—presents the universe as a hierarchy based on proximity (亲近)to God and his grace .This spatial hierarchy leads to a social hierarchy of angels, humans, animals, and devils, To obey God is to respect this hierarchy.Humankind must now experience pain and death, but humans can also experience mercy, salvation, and grace in ways they would not have been able to had they not disobeyed.On the other side, it also gives individual human beings the opportunity to redeem(救赎)themselves by true repentance and faith.Chapter4 The Neo-classical PeriodFeaturesNeo-classicism (last decades of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century)(1) Models on the classical literature of the ancient Greek and Roman writers like Homer,Virgil, Horace, Ovid, etc. and in the contemporary French writers such as Voltaire and Diderot.(2) A partial reaction against the fires of passion blazed in the late Renaissance, especially inthe Metaphysical poetry.(3) Stresses on the classical artistic ideals of order, logic, proportion, restrained emotion,accuracy, good taste and decorum.(4) Neo-classical writers are: John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Joseph Addison,Richard Steele, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Edward Gibbon, etc.(5) It had a lasting wholesome influence upon the literature of the coming generation.Alexander Pope (1688-1744)Major worksAn Essay on Criticism (1711), The Rape of the Lock (1712-14),The Dunciad (1728-42), The Essay on Man (1733-34)Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)I. Major WorksA Tale of a Tub (1704) The Battle of Books (1704)“A Modest Proposal” (1730) Gulliver's Travels (1726)II. Analysis of Gulliver's Travels (1726)(1) ThemeIt is a satire on the 18th-century English society, touching upon the political, religious, legal, military, scientific, philosophical as well as literary institutions. It takes great pains to bring to light the wickedness of the then English society, with its tyranny, its political intrigues and corruption, its aggressive wars and colonialism, its religious disputes and persecution, and its ruthless oppression and exploitation of the common people.(2) Narrative features(A) Both a fantasy and a realistic work of fiction.(B) The language is very simple, unadorned, straightforward and effective.(C) An apparent innocence and honesty of the hero and his account, the direct, truthful, detailed presentation of people and things encountered set off the biting satire and a desperate indignation of the writer.(D) Tidy structural arrangement. The four seemingly independent parts are linked up by the central idea of social satire and make up an organic whole.(E) From outward-homeward-bound motif to a darkening gradation of incident and a growingperversion of the hero; on one hand, from a chance shipwreck to man-made misfortunes and intended mutinies. The hero's attitude towards mankind changes from firm belief to doubt, further doubt, and finally to dislike.The Rise of the English Novel and DefoeDaniel Defoe (1660-1731)1. Features of his Novels(1) Picaresque tradition(2) Autobiographical form and first person narration(3) Journalistic style with great detail and specific time and space(4) LanguageDiction: plain, smooth, easy, direct, and colloquial but never coarseSyntax: long, rambling sentences without strong pauses to give his style an urgent, immediate, breathless quality, but the units of meaning are small and clear with frequent repetition so that the writing gives an impression of simple lucidity.2. A Brief Analysis of Robinson Crusoe(1) Story: a Alexander Selkirk who once stayed alone on the uninhabited island Juan Fernandez for 5 years(2) Different levels of meaning(a) Adventurous story; (b) Moral tale; (c) Commercial account; (d) Puritan fable; (e)Myth of modern civilization.(3) Theme:(a) It celebrates the strength of human rational will to conquer the natural environment.(b) Robinson is the very prototype of the empire builder, the pioneer colonist. His success was due to the sturdy qualities in his character, to his own unaided efforts, to his courage and patience, to his practical skill, and to his intelligent persistence.Chapter 5 The Romantic Period(The Romantic Movement starts in 1798 and ends in 1832)1. Definitions:Romanticism: Romanticism is a term applied to literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and early 19th century. It can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified classicism in general and late 18th-century neoclassicism in particular. It was also to some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism in general. Inspired in part by the libertarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantics believed in a return to nature and in the innate goodness of humans, as expressed by Jean Jacques Rousseau. 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 nationalistic. Critics date English literary romanticism from the publication of William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads in 1798 to the death of Sir Walter Scott and the passage of the first reform bill in the Parliament in 1832.2. Romantic poets:a. William Blake (1757-1827)Poetical Sketches (1783) (a collection of youthful verse with notes of joy, laughter and love) Songs of Innocence(1809) (presenting a happy and innocent world, though not without itsevils and sufferings)Songs of Experience(1794) (painting a different world, a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone)Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790) (marking Blake's entry into maturity)b.William Wordsworth (1770-1850)c. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)Major worksPoems: a. the demonic poemse.g. (1) “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”; (2) “Christabel”; (3) “Kubla Khan”b. the conversational poemse.g. “Frost at Midnight” “Dejection : an Ode”d. George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)e. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)"Ode to the West Wind” (1819f. John Keats (1795-1821)Odes: The odes are generally regarded as Keats's most important and mature works.“Ode on a Grecian Urn”g. Jane Austen (1775-1817)William Wordsworth (1770-1850)All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which originates from emotion recollected in tranquility.I. Major works(1) Lyrical Ballads (1798)(2) Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind (1850)II. Selected readings(1) “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”Main ideaThe poem is crystal clear and lucid. By recounting a little episode, the poet gives a description of the scene and of the feelings that match it. Then he abstracts the total emotional value of the experience and concludes by summing that up. Below the immediate surface, we find that all the realistic details of the flowers, the trees, the waves, the wind, and all the accompanying sensations of active joy, are absorbed into an over-all concrete metaphor, the recurrent image of the dance, which appears in every stanza. The flowers, the stars, the waves are units in this dancing pattern of order in diversity, of linked eternal harmony and vitality. Through the revelation and recognition of his kinship with nature, the poet himself becomes as it were a part of the whole cosmic dance.Paraphrase(1)I, alone, walked slowly around the valleys and hills, like a lonely cloud moving slowly over. Suddenly, I saw bundles and bundles of golden daffodils growing beside the lake or under the trees. In the breeze, the daffodils moved lightly and quickly as if they were dancing. Paraphrase(2)The yellow flowers fluttered and danced without a stop just like the stars that shine and change their light in the Milky Way. These flowers grew in a long line that extended without an end along the edge of a bay. I had a quick look at the ten thousand flowers when they moved their heads asthey were dancing lively.Paraphrase(3)The waves in the lake next to the daffodils also danced together; but the joyful daffodils danced better than the glimmering waves. I was very cheerful because I have such pleasant companions. And I couldn't help looking steadily and admir ing at the daffodils for a long time, but I didn’t realize at that moment that the scene of the dancing daffodils had brought me something to be cherished forever.Paraphrase(4)Very often, when I recline on my couch, feeling empty or thinking deeply and sadly, dancing daffodils emerge in my mind and inspire my solitary heart. This is the very happiness and comfort for me, a lonely being. Thus my heart, dancing with the golden daffodils, will be full of satisfaction and happiness.George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)Major works(1) Childe Harold's Pilgrimage(2) Don JuanThe Byronic Hero(1) A proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin.(2) With immense superiority in his passions and powers.(3) To right all the wrongs in a corrupt society.(4) Rise single-handedly against tyrannical rules with unconquerable wills and inexhaustibleenergies.Percy Bysshe Shelley(1792-1822)1. Major works(1) Queen Mab (1813) (2) Prometheus Unbound (1819)(3) lyrics: "Ode to the West Wind” (1819)“The cloud” “To a Skylark” (1820)(4) Adonais (1821) (5) In Defence of Poetry (1822)"Ode to the West Wind"Ode: The ode is a lyric poem of some length, dealing with a lofty(崇高的) theme in a dignified manner. (praising and glorifying an individual,Commemorating纪念an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally).Themes(1) The cycle of the seasons(2) Destroyer and preserver(3) Wind sweeps across the land.(4) Wind sweeps across the sky.(5) Wind sweeps across the ocean.(6) Wind and man:Young: tameless, radical, brave, passionate, energetic, courageous, with strong imagination Old: tamed, conservative, inactive, indifferent, cold, loss of imaginationJane Austen (1775-1817)1. Characteristics of her works(1) Chief InterestMain concern is about human beings in their personal relations, human beings with theirfamilies and neighbors.(2) Narrownessthe range of experience.The subject matter, the character range, the moral setting, physical setting and social setting, and plots are all restricted to the provincial or village life of nineteenth-century England, absolute accuracy and sureness by never stepping beyond the limits of her knowledge.3. The Works of Jane AustinSense and Sensibility (1811),Pride and Prejudice (1813),Mansfield Park (1814),Emma (1816)Persuasion and Northanger Abbey (published posthumously by her brother in 1818)4. Pride and Prejudice (First Impressions )(1) Themesgood judgment (pride and prejudice)love and marriage(a) those who marry for money, position and property,(b) those who marry just for passion(c) and those who marry for love which is based on consideration of t he person’s personalmerit as well as his economical and social status.(3) Selected readingMain idea:The selection is the first chapter of the novel, in which the parents of the Bennet girls are busy considering the prospects of their daughters’ marri ages shortly after hearing of the arrival of a rich unmarried young man, Mr. Bingley, as their neighbor.In this selection, we can find mild satire in the author’s seemingly matter-of-fact description of the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, in the vivid portrait of the husband and the wife, and, specifically, in the opening sentence. The relationship of the husband and wife and their attitude towards each other are also subtly presented.Mrs. Bennet, an empty-headed woman, is simple and naive, eager to talk with any slight encouragement. Mr. Bennet is a man of intricate character and quick wit. His teasing tone and sarcastic humor are just beyond his wife’s understanding.Homework1. The characterization in Pride and PrejudiceHow many types of characters have been portrayed in this novel? Who are they? What are their characteristics?2. Austen’s Marital View reflected in Pride and Prejudice.Chapter 6The Victorian Period(Reign of Queen Victorian from 1836 to 1901)Major ContentA.Charles Dickens (1812-1870)1. Major works: Early period: The Pickwick Papers; Oliver Twist; David CopperfieldLate Period: Bleak House; A Tale of Two Cities; Great Expectations2. Special FeaturesB. William M. Thackeray (1811-1863)1. Some features of his works2. V anity FairC. Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)Jane EyreD. Emily Bronte (1818-1848)Wuthering HeightsE. Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)F. Robert Browning (1812-1889)“My Last Duchess”G. George Eliot (1819-1880)Middlemarch(1872)H. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)The Victorian Period and DickensCharles Dickens (1812-1870)Major worksThe Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Great ExpectationsAnalysis of Great Expectations(1) StoryPip, Joe Gargery, Miss Havisham, Estella , Magwitch, Biddy, Satis House(2) Themes(a) A novel about "great expectations", or dreams and disillusions.(b) The personal development of Pip from a innocent, honest boy to a vain, selfish, snobbish young gentleman. The painful experience in the struggle to grow up, to “climb up” or to succeed in the commercialized world.The Bildungsroman("novel of formation") is a genre of the novel which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood. The genre arose during the German Enlightenment.A Bildungsroman tells about the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who is looking for answers and experience. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey.Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)“All his novels present the losing struggle of individuals against the obscure power which moves the universe.1. Major worksThe Return of the Native (1878) , The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) Tess of D’Urbervilles (1891) Jude the Obscure (1896).2. A brief analysis of Tess of D’Urbervilles(1) The storyMajor characters: Alec, Tess, Angel Clare (a triangle)(2) ThemesA.determinism(a) Tess, a pure woman, wages a loosing battle against the evil society 纯真的少女vs.邪恶的社会(b) Once a thief, always a thief. Once a victim, always a victim. Although Tess is a beautiful, innocent, honest, sweet-natured, and hard-working country girl, she can not avoid being played with by fate.Determinism & NaturalismDeterminism refers to the belief or theory that human actions and events are controlled by and result from causes that determine them. Characters who illustrate determinism act without free will in accordance with forces beyond their control.Naturalism: A post-Darwinism movement in the late 19thcentury that tried to apply the “laws” of scientific determinism to fiction. The naturalists went beyond the realists’ insistence on the objective presentation of the details of everyday life and insisted that materials of literature should be arranged to reflect a deterministic universe in which a person is a biological creature controlled by this environment and heredity. There is an emphasis of chance or coincidence and the character’s p assivity in naturalistic works, and the toner is rather pessimistic. Major writers of British literature include Hardy and Gissing.B. Criticism of social conventions of VictorianEngland (ideas of social class as well as thesexual double standard);A Patriarchal Society(男权制的社会): men dominating women(3) Structure(a)A cyclical pattern, divided into three parts. The first part is a prelude, telling how Tess leaves home and encounters Alec. She was seduced by Alec and comes back home disgraced. This is the first cycle, beginning in May and ending in August.(b) The second part is the main love story meeting with Angel at Talbothays. It begins in May, reaches its climax at the turning of the year and ends in the following winter.(c) The last part represents her decline. Forced by poverty, Tess returns to Alec until Angel comes to claim her. In shame and anger, Tess kills Alec, and is finally arrested and executed. This part starts in winter and ends in spring.Chapter 7 The Modern Period( the early decades of 20th century, before WWWI)A. Joseph ConradHeart of Darkness (1902)B. Oscar Wilde (Art for Art’s sake)Major works: The importance of Being EarnestC. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)Greatest dramatist in modern time in British literary history, won Nobel Prize in 1925.Major Works: PygmalionD.Virginia WoolfA novelistMajor Works: Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves, To the LighthouseStream of Consciousness is a narrative mode that se eks to portray an individual’s point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character’s thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions.。
英国文学选读整理资料
T. S. Eliot1888-1965英国现代主义诗歌代名词◎《普鲁弗洛克的情歌》<The Love Song of J.Alfred>◎《荒原》<The Waste Land> 现代派诗歌经典之作,代表了现代诗歌创作的突出成就William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)去世后被艾略特称为我们时代最伟大的诗人。
文学体裁:诗歌poem,小说novel,戏剧dramaOrigin起源:Christianity 基督教→ bible 圣经 Myth 神话 The Romance of king Arthur and his knights 亚瑟王和他的骑士(笔记)一、The Anglo-Saxon period (449-1066)1、这个时期的文学作品分类: pagan(异教徒) Christian(基督徒)2、代表作: The Song of Beowulf 《贝奥武甫》 ( national epic 民族史诗 ) 采用了隐喻手法3、Alliteration 押头韵(写作手法)例子: of man was the mildest and most beloved,To his kin the kindest, keenest for praise.二、The Anglo-Norman period (1066-1350)Canto 诗章1、romance 传奇文学2、代表作: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (高文爵士和绿衣骑士) 是一首押头韵的长诗三、Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) 杰弗里.乔叟时期1、the father of English poetry 英国诗歌之父2、heroic couplet 英雄双韵体:a verse unit consisting of two rhymed(押韵) lines in iambic pentameter(五步抑扬格)3、代表作:the Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷的故事 (英国文学史的开端)4、Popular Ballads 大众民谣:a story hold in 4-line stanzas with second and fourth line rhymed(笔记)Ballads are anonymous narrative songs that have been preserved by oral transmission(书上).歌谣是匿名叙事歌曲,一直保存着口头传播的方式代表人物:Bishop Thomas Percy 托马斯.帕希主教代表作:Robin Hood and Allin-a-Dale 罗宾汉和阿林代尔四、The Renaissance (16世纪) 文艺复兴时期(Greek and Roman)戏剧 drama 诗章 cantoThe term Renaissance originally indicated a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences.文艺复兴最初是指经典艺术和科学在英国的复兴。
新编英国文学选读复习资料
En glish Lite ra ture a nd the Se le cte d Re a dingsDe ve lopm e nt of English Lite ra ture1 . Ea rly a n d M e die va l English lite ra ture ( -1 4 8 5 )2 . The English Re na is sa nce (15 5 0 -16 4 2 ? )3 . Th e 1 7 th Ce ntu ry –Th e Pe riod of Re volu t ion a n d Re stora t ion4 . The 1 8 th Ce ntu ry –T h e Age of Enlighte nm e nt5 . Th e Rom a ntic Pe riod (1 7 9 8 -1 8 3 2 )6 . Th e Victoria n Age (1 8 3 2 -1 9 0 1 )7 . Th e 2 0 th Ce n t u ry Lit e ra t u re –M o d e rn is m a n d Po s t- M o d e rn is mCha pte r 1 Ea rly a nd M e die va l En g lish lite ra ture一. Ep ic (史诗)A poe m th a t ce le bra te in the form of a co ntinu ous n a rra t ive the a chie ve m e nts of o ne or m ore he roic pe rsona ge s of history or t ra d it ion.Am ong the gre a t e pics of the w orld m a y be m e ntione d the Ilia d, Odysse y a nd Ae ne id of cla ssica l.Be ow ulf1 . H istorica l Ba ckgro u n d1)) Thre e Inva s ions:A.The Rom a n Conq u e st ( 5 5B. C - 4 10 A. D)B.The English Conqu e s t ( The Anglo-Sa xon Pe riod)C.The Norm a n Conq u e st (The Anglo-Norm a n Pe riod)2)) Tw o W a rs:A.The Hundre d Ye a rs W a r (1 3 37 -1 4 5 3 )B.The W a r of th e Rose (1 4 5 5 -1 4 85 )a . Anglo-Sa xo n Poe t ry : Pa ga n(异教的) &Christia n Be ow ulf /w orks of Ca e d m on a nd Cy ne w u lf.b. Anglo-Norm a n Poe t ry : Rom a ncec.Poe try in Age of Cha u ce r:d.. Popula r Ba lla ds: Ba lla d s of Ro binHood 2 . 评价1) Be ow u lf is a n a t i o na l e pic(史诗) of English pe o ple .2) It is the re pre se nta t ive w ork of th e e a rly English lit e ra tu re w ith 3 0 00 lin e s .3 ) It s w rit e r is u nknow n.4 ) Be ow u lf is a folk le ge nd brou g ht to Engla nd by the Anglo Sa xon from the ir prim it ive Northe rn Eu rope .5 ) Be ow u lf w a s pa sse d do w n fro m m o uth to m outh.6 )Be ow u lf w a s w rit te n dow n in the 1 0 t h ce n tu ry .3 . Ch a ra cte rs in th e s to ry :Be ow u lf: a ne p he w of king of Ge nts, a pe ople in De nm a rk.Hrothga r: king of De nm a rk.Gre nde l: a m onste r.She -m onste r(女妖怪 ): Gre nde l’s m othe r.Dra go n: a fire dra gon, a m onste r.4. Ou t line o f Th e Son g o f Be o w u lfTe u tonic(日耳曼的) h e ro Be ow u lf, the ne phe w of the king of the Ge a t la nd, he lpe d Hrothga r kill the m onste r ha lf-hu m a n ,Gre nd e l a s w e ll a s his viciou s m oth e r. W ith his he roic de e ds, he w a s m a de the king of Scyldings (Sw e d e n) for 5 0 ye a rs.The n in orde r to ga in m ore tre a sure for his pe ople , h e fought ha rd w ith a fie ry fire dra ke a nd w a s d e a d ly w o und e d , e ve ntu a lly d ie d . His la st w ill w a s to a sk his pe ople to b u ild his to m b in to a be a con for the se a fa re rs w ho sa ile d a long the co a st.5. The w rit in g fe a tu re s o f Be o w u lf ?1 ) The m ost im porta nt is in a llit e ra t ive (头韵的 ) ve rse a nd in a rt is t ic form .Eg:Thus m a d e the ir m ourning the m e n of Ge a t la nd,Fo r th e ir h e ro ’s p a ssin g, h is h e a r th-co m p a n io n s2 ) An othe r is the fre q u e nt u se of m e ta p hors a nd unde rsta te m e nts(低调陈述 ) for ironica l hu m or.ring-give r: king he a rth-com pa nions: a t te nd a nt w a rriors w ha le ’s roa d : se a -w oo d:not t rou ble som e : ve ry w e ll二 Rom a nce (传奇)1 .介绍1 )T he lite r ature for the uppe r class2 )A long composition in ve rse or prose , a bout knights—adve nture s3 )S ubje ct matters: about the matte r of Britain, the mate r of Fra nce , the m atte r of Rome4 )c onte nt :love chivalry a nd re ligion5 )骑士精神:l oyalty,brave l y.hone s ty2 . 代表作1 ) King Arthur a nd His Knights of the Round Ta ble :the most importa nt roma nce of the pe riod 2)Sir Gawa in a nd the Gre e n Knight : The best Arthuria n rom ance , a nonymous, in a l lite rative ve rseIts chara cte rs : King Arthur, Sir Gawain, the Gre e n Knight三 Ba lla d(民谣)1 . A ba lla d is a story told in song, u sua lly in 4 -line sta nza s, w ith the2 nd a nd 4 th rhym e d .2 .The Su bje cts of English Ba lla ds1 ) stru ggle of you ng lo ve rs2 ) the conflict be tw e e n love a nd w e a lth3 ) the crue lty of je a lo usy4 ) the criticism of th e civil w a r5 ) the m a t t e rs of cla ss s t ru ggle3 .代表作Robin ho od ba lla ds四.Ge offre y Cha uce r1 . 评价1 ) Th e first gre a t English po e t2 ) Th e fa th e r of English poe t ry3 ) Th e re pre se nta t ive w rite r in the M e d ie va l English lit e ra tu re2 . C ha u ce r’s thre e lit e ra ry pe riod s :1 ) Th e first or th e Fre nch pe riod:The Rom a u nt of the Rose 《玫瑰传奇》 a t ra nsla t ion, po pu la r in M iddle a ge sThe Book of the Duche ss 《悼公爵夫人》 , the be st w ork of the t im e Cha uce r’s lite ra ry ca re e r2 ) Th e se cond or the It a lia n p e riod:Troilus a nd Crise yde 《特罗伊拉斯和克莱西德》a poe m of a love story3 ) The third or the English pe riod, his be st pe rio d :The Ca nte rbury Ta le s《坎特伯雷故事集》 , i s m a s te rpie ce a nd a re pre se nta t ive w orks of th e M id dle Age s.The Ca nte rbury Ta le s1. O u t lin eIt op e ns w ith a ge ne ra l prologu e w he re w e a re told of a com pa ny of pilgrim s , 3 2 one s th a t ga the re d a t Ta b a rd Inn in Sou th w a rk, a su bu rb of Londo n. The y a re on the ir w a y to the shrine of St. Thom a s Be cke t a t Ca nte rbu ry . Th e y se t ou t tog e the r w ith the jo lly innke e pe r, Ha rry Ba ily , w ho prop ose d tha t e a ch pilgrim sh ou ld te ll tw o t a le s on the w a y to Ca nte rbury a nd tw o m ore on the w a y ba ck. But , tota lly only 2 4 ta le s a re finishe d . The pilgrim s a re from va riou s pa rts of Engla nd, re pre se n ta t ive s of a ll w a lks of life a nd socia l grou ps, knigh ts, m onks, w id ow s a n d prie st e tc. His w ork show e d a strikingly brillia nt a nd pictu re sq u e pa nora m a of his t im e a nd his country.2. C h a u ce r’s la n g u a g e :1) His la ngu a ge is fu ll of hu m or a nd sa t ire .2) His la ngu a ge is vivid, e xa ct a nd sm o oth, a m a ste r of w ord-pictu re s .3) He is the first to u se h e roic co uple t w hich he introduce d from Fra nce .4)He is the first gre a t poe t w ho w rote in the English la ngu a g e , m a king the dia le ct of London the sta n d a rd for th e m ode rn English spe e ch.Ps:1 . W h a t is t h e “h e ro ic co u p le t ”?Th e h e roic cou ple t is a ve rse form in e pic poe try, w ith lin e s of te n sylla ble s a nd five stre sse s , in rhym ing pa irs .(英雄诗体:用于史诗或叙事诗,每行十个音节,五个音部,每两行押韵。
新编英国文学选读知识点梳理
新编英国文学选读知识点梳理摘要:一、概述新编英国文学选读的重要性二、整理新编英国文学选读的主要知识点1.早期英国文学概述2.英国文艺复兴时期文学3.英国浪漫主义时期文学4.维多利亚时期文学5.20世纪英国文学6.当代英国文学三、分析历年考试试题类型及应对策略四、提供学习建议和考试技巧正文:一、概述新编英国文学选读的重要性新编英国文学选读作为一门高校英语专业课程,旨在帮助学生深入理解英国文学的发展脉络,掌握各个时期的重要作家和作品。
通过学习新编英国文学选读,学生能够丰富自己的文学素养,提高英语阅读和分析能力。
二、整理新编英国文学选读的主要知识点1.早期英国文学概述:包括早期英国文学的起源、盎格鲁-撒克逊时期、诺曼征服后的英国文学等。
2.英国文艺复兴时期文学:介绍莎士比亚、斯宾塞、马洛等著名作家,以及他们的代表作品。
3.英国浪漫主义时期文学:分析华兹华斯、骚塞、拜伦、雪莱等诗人的创作特点和作品。
4.维多利亚时期文学:探讨狄更斯、萨克雷、特罗洛普等现实主义作家的社会批判精神。
5.20世纪英国文学:涵盖叶芝、艾略特、乔伊斯等现代主义作家的创新表现。
6.当代英国文学:关注贝克特、品特、石黑一雄等后现代主义作家的实验性创作。
三、分析历年考试试题类型及应对策略历年考试试题主要以选择题、填空题、简答题和论述题为主。
针对不同题型,学生应掌握以下策略:1.选择题:熟练掌握各个时期作家的代表作品、风格特点、生平事迹等基本知识。
2.填空题:对重要作品的主题、情节、人物关系等细节有深入了解。
3.简答题:能够概括作者的创作背景、文学地位和作品的主题思想。
4.论述题:具备对文学作品进行深入分析、评价的能力,并能结合社会历史背景进行探讨。
四、提供学习建议和考试技巧1.制定学习计划:合理安排学习时间,确保系统地学习每个时期的文学知识。
2.积累资料:整理历年考试试题,归纳总结出高频考点和易错点。
3.加强练习:多做模拟试题,提高自己的应试能力和文学分析能力。
英国文学选读复习要点
A Brief RevisionGeoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer is the“father of English poetry”and one of the greatest narrative poets of England. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer ’ s language, now called Middle English,is vivid and exact. Geoffrey Chaucer is the first great poet who wrote in the English language.Chaucer must be ranked among the most learned and accomplished of English poets.The Canterbury Tales is his masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature.The Book of the Duchess was composed by Chaucer probably as a memorial poem for theDuchess of Lancaster, who died of the plague.The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales should be an immense work of 124 stories but only 24 were written.Incomplete as they are, The Canterbury Tales covers practically all the major types ofmedieval literature. The Canterbury Tales was written in heroic couplet.General tone: happy, easy, lively, humorous.Terms:Rhyme: the repetition of sounds at the ends of words is called rhyme. When words rhyme at theend of lines of poetry it is called end rhyme.Heroic couplet: Iambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs. It is called heroic because in England,especially in the 18 th century, it was much used for heroic (epic) poems.Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry, consisting of an unrhymed line with five iambs or feet,felt by many to be the most powerful of all metrical forms in English poetry.RenaissanceGenerally, it refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries. The Renaissancemarks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in Italy, with the floweringof painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature. The Renaissance, therefore, in essence, is ahistorical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get ridof those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed theinterests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the RomanCatholic Church.Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. By emphasizing the dignity of human beings andthe importance of the present life, The Renaissance humanist thinkers voiced their beliefs thatman did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of this life, but had the ability to perfecthimself and perform wonders.Renaissance in EnglandThe 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and theestablishment of the foundations of capitalism. Because of the War of Roses within the countryand its weak and unimportant position in world trade, Renaissance came later in England thanother European countries. But when it did come, it was to produce some towering figures in theEnglish, and — world literary heritage — William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Sir ThomasMore, Francis Bacon and a number of humanist scholars.William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare is one of the most remarkable playwrights and poets the world has everknown. He was man of the late Renaissance who gave the fullest expression to humanist ideals.With his 37/38/39 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long poems, he has established his giant position inworld literature. His works have been translated into every major language in the world. He has beengiven the highest praises by various scholars and critics in the world over. His contemporarypoet and dramatist Ben Jonson dedicated a poem in praise of him:“he was not of an age, bufor all tim e! ”That is definitely true.Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon, a small town to the northwest of London.Shakespeare ’ s achievements1.Shakespeare represented the trend of history in giving voice to the desires and aspirationsof the people.2.Shakespeare ’ s humanism: More important than his historical sense of his time, Shakespeareinhis plays reflects the spirit of his age.3. Shakespeare’ s characters are“ round” , in the sense that they have many aspects or dimensions.4.Shakespeare ’ s originality: Shakespeare drew most of his materials from sources that wereknown to his audience; some from Roman dramas, some from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, andsome from other writers ’ plays. But his plays are original because he instilled into the oldmaterials a new spirit that gives new life to his plays.5.Shakespeare as a great poet: Shakespeare was not only a great dramatist, but also a great poet.6.Shakespeare as master of the English language: Shakespeare was the master of the Englishlanguage.HamletHamlet is considered to be the summit of Shakespeare ’ s art. It is the profoundestpressionexofShakespeare ’ s humanism and his criticism of contemporary life.Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet It is Shakespeare’ s first romantic tragedy.Sonnet: a 14-line poem, predominantly in iambic pentameter. The English (or Shakespearean)sonnet is usually arranged into 3 quatrains and a couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. Thecouplet is usually the conclusion.Some important works of Shakespeare:1) Comedies: The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew,Love ’ s Labour’ s Lost, A Midsummer Night’ s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing 无事生非 , As You Like It 皆大欢喜 , Twelfth Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor, All’ s well That Ends Well 终成眷属 , Measure for Measure 一报还一报 .2)Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antonyand Cleopatra, Troilus and Cressida .4)Histories: Henry IV, Henry VI.ThemeThe theme of Hamlet is revengeThe theme of King Lear is vanity.The theme of Othello is jealousy.The theme of Macbeth is desire.Francis BaconBacon is the founder of modern science in England. He, a philosopher, scientist and essayist, laysthe foundation for modern science with his insistence on scientific way of thinking and freshobservation rather than authority as a basis for obtaining knowledge.Essays58 essays were included in Bacon Essays’s. They are famous for their brevity, compactness, and powerfulness. These essays cover a wide variety of subjects concerning various aspects of life, suchas love, truth, friendship, parents and children, beauty, studies, riches, youth and age, garden, death,and many others. They have won popularity for their precision, clearness, brevity and force.The 17th century was one of the most turbulent periods in English history. It was a period whenabsolute monarchy impeded the further development of capitalism in England and the bourgeoisiecould no longer bear the control of the landed nobility. The contradictions between the feudalsystem and the bourgeoisie had reached its peak and resulted in a revolutionary outburst.The English revolution took place in the middle of 17th century. Among the causes of thisrevolution was the growth of capitalism, the break-up of serfdom and Puritan movement.In 1642, the Civil War broke out between the king and the Parliament. With the support of thepeople and the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, the English bourgeoisie won the victory. In 1649 Charles I was captured and beheaded. England became a commonwealth under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. After his death, monarchy was again restored by King Charles II in 1660. It was called a period of the RestorationThere were two leaders in the English Revolution. Cromwell was the man of action and Miltonthe man of thought.John MiltonIn English literature John Milton ranks with Shakespeare and Chaucer. During his retirementfrom public life,he produced his masterpieces: the epic Paradise Lost, its sequel, Paradise Regained; and the poetic tragedy Samson Agonistes.Paradise LostParadise Lost is long epic poem divided into 12 books. The theme is the fall of men: man’ s disobedience and the loss thereupon of Paradise. In this epic poem Satan is the most successfully portrayed character. He was evil, rebellious, courageous, heroic and tragic.Milton’ s styleMilton is difficult to read, because of his involved style with frequent inversion (probably owingto the influence of Latin syntax)and very complicated sentence structures. His sentences are often long, sometimes running into a dozen, or even more lines. To express his sublimity of thought, he wrote in a style that is unsurpassed in its sonority, eloquence, majesty and grandeur. Daniel DefoeDaniel Defoe is considered one of the greatest fiction writers of 18 th-century England. Defoe wasa very good story-teller. His sentences are sometimes short, crisp and plain, and sometimes longand rambling, while leave on the reader an impression of casual narration. His language is smooth, easy, colloquial and mostly vernacular. There is nothing artificial in his language: it is commonEnglish at its best.Robinson CrusoeThe story of Robinson Crusoe is well-known throughout the world. It tells of how RobinsonCrusoe, an English mariner, having shipwrecked on an island, managed to struggle for live for 28 years there and rescued a black man, whom he named Friday, from the cannibals (person whoeats human flesh). Later, Robinson got hold of a ship and sailed home. The book ’“s realistic”touch and ingenuity(originality)aroused great interest from the readers both in England and abroad.Robinson is here a real hero: a typical eighteenth-century English middle-class man, with a great capacity for work,inexhaustible energy, courage, patience and persistence in overcoming obstacles, in struggling against the hostile natural environment. He is the very prototype of theempire builder, the pioneer colonist.Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift is a master satirist.Gulliver s Travels’Gulliver s Travels’is his best work, a social and political prose satire, in the form of a book oftravels. It is partly burlesque of travelers tales,’ and partly realistic wonder-book with a very different satirical aim. As a whole, the book is one of the most effective and devastating criticismand satires of all aspects in the then English and European life —socially, politically, religiously, philosophically, scientifically, and morally. Its social significance is great and its exploration intohuman nature profound. The book is also an artistic masterpiece.Jonathan Swift himself is one of the greatest masters of English prose. His language is simple,clear, and vigorous. There are no ornaments in his writing, but it becomes homes to the reader.RomanticismRomanticism was a movement in literature, philosophy, music and art which developed in Europein the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries. Starting from the ideas of Rousseau in France and fromthe Storm and Stress Movement in Germany, it held that classicism, dominant since the 16thcentury, failed to express man’ semotional nature and overlooked his profound inner forces. Romanticism emphasized individual values and aspirations above those of society. As a reactionto the industrial revolution, it looked to the Middle Ages and to direct contact with nature for inspiration. It gave impetus to the national liberation movement in 19 th-century Europe.The features of Romanticism were:1) The romantics were against the modes of thinking in the 18th century which saw man as asocial animal.2)They emphasize the special qualities of each individual3)So Romanticism actually constitutes a change of direction from attention to the outer world ofsocial civilization to the inner world of human spirit.4)In essence it tends to see the individual as the very center of life and all experience. They alsoplace the individual at the center of art and make literature most valuable as an express of his orher unique feelings and particular attitudes, and value its accuracy in portraying the individual’ s experiences.Attitudes towards Individualism:Middle ages: emphasize on God; man lived chiefly for the future worldRenaissance period: man is the center of all concern; emphasized on the dignity of man andthe importance of the present lifeEnlightenment: saw man as social man; the general or universal characteristics of human behavior were more suitable subject matterRomanticism: Saw man as an individual in the solitary state; Emphasized the specialqualities of each individual mind;’s Value the exploration and evaluation of the inner self; A prominence of first-person lyric poem “ I ”the–direct person of the poet; A change of direction from attention to the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spiritWilliam BlakeLiterarily William Blake was the first important romantic poet, showing contempt for the rule ofreason, opposing the classical tradition of the 18th century, and treasuring the individual ’ s imagination. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Romantic poetry of the 19 th century.William WordsworthWordsworth is the most representative poet of English Romanticism. Wordsworth ’poetrys is distinguished by the simplicity and purity of his language. He was a worshipper of nature fromhis childhood. In 1842, he received the government pension and in the following year, he succeeded Southey as Poet Laureate. In 1798, Wordsworth and Coleridge jointly published theLyrical Ballads . The publication of this book marked the break with the conventional poeticalthtradition of the 18 century, i.e., with classicism, and the beginning of the Romantic revival in Definition of a poet and poetryHe (poet) is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endowed with more lively sensibility, moreenthusiasm and tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a morecomprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind.Poetry is thespontaneous overflow of powerful feeling;Samuel Taylor ColeridgePoets are born and not made. A poem should not be judged as a mirror of truth—as we judgescience--but as a thing in itself, almost as a living organism. Poems should be judged onlyaccording to their own lights and not according to any established precept or precedent.Lake PoetsWordsworth, Coleridg e and Southey have often been mentioned as the“ Lake Poets”because they lived in the Lake District in the northwestern part of England. The three traversed the same pathin politics and in poetry, beginning as radicals and ends as conservatives.Jane AustenThe major theme of her novel is love and marriage toward which she holds on a practicalidealism— love should be justified by reason and disciplined by self-control.Generally speaking, Jane Austen was a writer of the 18 th–century, though she lived mainly inthe 19th century.Her works show clearly her firm belief in the predominance of reason over passion, the sense ofresponsibility, good manners and clear-sighted judgment over the Romantic tendencies of emotionand individuality. She shows contemptuous feelings towards snobbery, stupidity, worldliness andvulgarity through subtle satire and irony. Austen ’ s main literary concern is about human beings intheir personal relationships. In her works, she characterizes a human being not atmoments of crisis, but in the most trivial incidents of everyday life. Her characteristic theme is thatmaturity is achieved through the loss of illusions. Faults of character are corrected whenthrough tribulation, lessons are learned.Because of her sensitivity to universal patterns of human behavior, Jane Austen has brought theEnglish novel, as an art of form, to its maturity, and she has been regarded as one of thegreatest of all novelists.George Gordon ByronHe is well known in China. Don Juan, the long satirical epic, is generally considered hismasterpiece. As a leading Romanticist, Byron ’ s chief contribution is his creati Byronic of the hero”, aproud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers,this Byronic hero would carry on his shoulders the burden of righting all the wrongsin a corrupt society, and would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either ingovernment, in religion, or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies.The conflict is usually one of rebellious individuals against outworn social systems andconventions. The Byronic hero became an idol of the young.Percy Bysshe ShelleyOne of the leading Romantic poets, an intense and original lyrical poet in the English languageHe is known to Chinese readers mainly for his Ode to the West Wind (1820), whose ending“ Ifwinter comes, can spring be far behind? ” has given courage to many revolutionaries faced with reverses, even death.John Keats (1795-1821)The one artistic aim in Keats’poetry was to create a beautiful world of imagination as opposed to the sordid reality of his day.His leading principle is“ beauty is truth, truth is beauty.”That is,“ What the imaginat Beauty must be truth, whether it existed before or not said by the poet”.George G. Byron, Percy B. Shelley and John Keats were called positive romantic poetsVictorian novelistsThe Victorian period roughly coincides with the reign of Queen Victoria who ruled over Englandfrom 1836 to 1901. The period has generally regarded as one of the most glorious in the Englishhistory. Victorian literature, as a product of its age, naturally took on its quality of magnitude anddiversity. It was many-sided and complex, and reflected both romantically and realistically the greatchanges that were going on in people ’lifes and thought. Charlotte Bronte, William Thackeray, CharlesDickens, Thomas Hardy were representatives of Victorian novelists.Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)Jane Eyre is one of the most popular and important novels of the Victorian Age.It is noted for its sharp criticism of the existing society, that is, the religious hypocrisy of charityinstitutions. The social discrimination Jane experiences first as a dependent at he r aunt ’ s houseand later as a governess at Thornfield, and the false social conversation as concerning love andmarriage.At the same time, it is an intense moral fable, Jane, like Mr. Rochester, has to undergo a seriesof physical and moral tests to grow up and achieve her final happiness.Jane Eyre, taking the form of autobiographies written by authoritative and reliable narrators tellsa story of a child’ s development and maturation.Helen Burns ’ deathrecalls the death of Charlotte’ s sisteBridgesat.CowanIt is a work of critical realism as well as the first and one of the most popular works of theworking middle- class women.Jane ’experiences originates from Charlotte owns’ experience. It is the first governessnovel in the history of English literature.Jane is an orphan who grows up lonely without anybody caring for her.Jane is a small, plain and poor governess of Victorian era instead of the rich, gentle, frail,beauties of the conventional heroine.Jane only has an intense feeling, a ready sympathy and a strong sense of equality andindependence.Critical Realism1.Time: the middle of the 19 th century2.Representatives: Charles Dickens and William Thackeray etc.3.Background: Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840) (employment of machines; extremelywealthy and extremely poor; unemployment); Chartist movement (1838 –1848) ( 宪章运动;workers ’unions to require for political rights; The People ’Charter;s several petitions toParliament but failed; great influence to the society)4. Featuresintroduction of a new set of characters from the working classstrong hatred for vices existing in the societyan illusion of bringing about social justice and harmony by reformsan interest in the theme of woman emancipation (mainly Charlotte Bronte)Charles Dickens (1812-1870)He is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age, “theexpression of theconscience of his age”.In 1837, the publication of The Posthumous Papers of Pickwick Clublifted him into a position of fame and fortune.Dickens is one of the greatest critical realist writers of the Victorian Age. It is his serious intentionto expose and criticize in his works all the property, injustice, hypocrisy and corruptness he sees all around him. Dickens is a humorist. To match his humorous genius, Dickens is also noted for his picture of pathos. Dickens ’ works are also characterized by a mingling of humor and pathos. He seems to believe that life is itself a mixture of joy and grief. Life is delightful because it is at once comic and tragic.The first child hero Dickens created was Oliver Twist.Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)Thomas Hardy is one of the greatest literary figures of the 19th century,“Shakespeare of British novels”, “the greatest tragedy master of British fictions .”His literary genius is apparent in his poems and novels. His novels had an indelible impact during his time and also till date many of his novels inspire theatre productions as well as films. His novels, which reflect the Victorian society with all its idiosyncrasies, were perceived as irreligious. Nevertheless, current scholars believe Hardy to be one of the greatest tragic novelists of English literature.The theme of Tess of theD’ UrbervillesA fierce attack on the hypocritical morality of the bourgeois societyThe capitalist invasion into the country and destruction of the English peasantryTess as a pure woman is a bused and destroyed by both Alec and Angel, agents of thedestructive force of the societyModernismModernism is an omnibus term for a number of tendencies in the arts which were prominent in the first half of the 20 th century; in English literature, it is particularly associated with the writings of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, W. B. Yeats and F. M. Ford. Broadly, Modernism reflects the impact upon literature of the psychology of Freud and the anthropology of Sir J. Frazer. A sense of cultural relativism is pervasive in much modernist writing, as is an awareness of the irrational and the workings of the unconscious mind. Technically, it was marked by a persistent experimentalism. It rejected the traditional framework of narrative, description, and rational exposition in poetry and prose, in favor of stream-of-consciousness presentation of personality, a dependence on the poetic image as the essential vehicle of aesthetic communication, and upon myth as a characteristic structural principle.It takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho-analysis as its theoretical base.Concentrate more the private than the public, more on subjective than the objectiveMore concerned with the inner being of an individualMain writers of ModernismOscar Wilde (1854-1900); George Bernard Shaw (1854-1900); T. S. Eliot(1888-1965); James Joyce(1882-1941); D.H. Lawrence (1879-1970); Virginia Woolf(1882-1930)Robert BrowningRobert Browning is famous for his Dramatic Monologue.Oscar WildeKnown for his barbed and clever wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day.Art for Art’ s SakeArt for Art’ sisSakethe theory that the fine arts are independent of social-historical reality andhave nothing to do with moral or religious purposes. A work of art is free to seek beauty and its values are aesthetic. Oscar Wilde is a most famous writer practicing this theory.George Bernard ShawA brilliant dramatistHe regarded the establishment of socialism by the emancipation of land and industrial capital from individual and class ownership as the final goal. He was against the means of violent revolution or armed struggle in achieving the goal of socialism; he also had a distrust of the uneducated working class in fighting against capitalists. He held that only those superior intellects could have the ability to shoulder this task. And it was his ideal to bring about evolutionary socialism by legal and democratic means, by revealing the evil capitalists and by educating the common people.This reformist view caused him a painful, conscious, inner conflict between his sincere desire forthe new world and his inability to break out of the snobbish intellectual isolation throughout hislife and work.On literature, he was against“ art for art’ s sakert”shouldand servethoughtsocith a lt purposesa by reflecting human life, revealing social contradictions and educating the common people.Shaw followed the great traditions of realism. As a realistic dramatist, he took the modern social issues as his subjects with the aim of directing social reforms. Most of his plays are concerned with political, economic, moral, or religious problems, thus can be termed as problem plays.One feature of Shaw’ scharacterization is that he makes the trick of showing up one character vividly at the expense of another. His plays have plots but they do not work by plots, the plot is usually the disregarded backbone to one long, unbroken conversation. It is the vitality of the talk that takes primacy over mere story.Problem play: a play that explores a controversial social issue of its day.T. S. EliotAchievementT. S. Eliot was the most dominant literary figure between the two world wars. Poet William Carlos Williams describes the effect of The Waste Land as that of an atom bomb. He conceives a poem as an object, an organic thing in itself, demanding a fusion and concentration of intellect, feeling, and experience. He suggests that, through cultural memory, a poet unconsciously continues the tradition of his culture. His poetry presents difficulties of numerous allusions, use of foreign language, use of metaphysical conceit, and an absence of obvious narrative structure. The Waste Land, considered being a remarkable and extraordinary achievement, deals with the failure of Western civilization as shown by World War I.styleEliot ’styles in the Waste Land was deliberately impersonal, concrete, fragmentary, and discontinuous. (1) Impersonality means that an author does not express his own experience and emotion. At least, he does not voice it as his own, but describes things, invents, characters, or creates dramatic scenes, and thus embodies emotion objectively in the particulars he renders. (2) These particulars are concrete in the sense that they render sensations and actions as opposed to general ideas. (3) But in the Waste Land such concrete particulars are only fragments. The poem does not give complete descriptions, quotations, conversations, or actions, but only bits and pieces of them. (4)Such fragments are juxtaposed in unpredictable ways, and since each presents a different voice, action, emotion, and style, their sequence is at first disorienting (confusing). Gradually one finds interrelations within this discontinuity, but the interrelation is by leitmotifs (主旋律) .。
(完整word版)英国文学选读知识总结
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)乔叟He was born in 1343 in London。
He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey,thus founding the “Poets Corner”。
The father of English Poetry and one of the greatest narrative poets of England。
“The Canterbury Tales” (1387—1400) It is Chaucer’s masterpiece and one of the monumental works in English literature.Chaucer’s Contribution to English Literature Chaucer is regarded as the founder of English poetry and has been called “the founder of English realism.” He is the firs t great poet who wrote in the English language。
He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the “heroic couplet” (英雄双韵体)to English poetry。
His masterpiece “The Canterbury Tales" is one of the monumental works in English literature 公爵夫人之书,百鸟议会,声誉之堂,特罗勒思和克里西德Structure of a poem: A poem can be broken down into three parts:(1)Stanza (节) : a group of lines set off from the other lines in a poem。
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英国文学选读名词解释:epic 史诗;叙事诗a long narrative poem in the grand stylethe Heroic Couplet(英雄双韵体)The rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter(抑扬格五音步).iambic/iambone unstressed syllabus/one stressed syllabuspentametera line with five main beats a common pattern of beats in poetry, in which each line has five iambs.RenaissanceMeans rebirth or revival. It’s a movement in Europe where humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman, Catholic Church.HumanismHumanism is the essence of the Renaissance. Man is the measure of all things. Human beings were glorious.sonnetA sonnet is a lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines.metreformal rhythm in lines of verserhymetwo or more words with the same soundblank verseany verses, especially iambic pentameters that do not rhymeballad(民歌)originally a song for dancers, then in mediaeval times a simple poem with short stanza a telling a story.Critical realism 批判现实主义Is one of the literary trends that flourished mainly in the 19th century. The great critical realists described the chief traits of the society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint.Stream of consciousness 意识流Is one of the modern literary techniques. It is the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images as the character experiences them.[标黄的地方考出处,其余考问答]1.Geoffrey Chaucer 杰弗里乔叟The Canterbury TalesQ: How is the setting of the tales described? With such a setting, could you predict the general tone of the tales that are to follow?A: Early spring ; happy, easy, lively, humorous2.William Shakespeare 威廉莎士比亚HamletQ: Why sleep is so frightening, according to Hamlet, since it can “end”“the heartache and the thousand natural shocks”?A: Perhaps there is sufferings in the dream.Romeo and JulietQ1: What does Romeo compare Juliet to in the beginning passage of the selection?A: Sun.Q2: What is Romeo and Juliet’s attitude toward being a Montague or a Capulet?A: Hate.Q3: What does Romeo mean when he says “Look thou but sweet, / And I am proof against their enmity”?A: They can not hurt me. Only because you love me.Sonnet 18押韵方式:abab cdcd efef ggSometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimed,And every fair from sometime declines,By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:Q: How does the poet answer the question he puts forth in the first line?A: You are more lovely and more temperate than summer’s day.3. Francis Bacon 弗兰西斯培根Of Marriage and Single LifeWives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men’s nurses, so as a man may have a quarrel to marry when he will.Of StudiesStudies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.Histories make men wise, poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores.4. Jonathan Swift 乔纳森斯威夫特Gulliver’s TravelsYahoos 野胡5. William Blake 威廉布莱克The Lamb组成方式:2 quatrains + couplet押韵方式:aabbccQ1: Does this poem describe a lamb or the mind of the child who is speaking to the lamb? What is the relation of the Lamb and the child to God?A: They combine together. It’s trinity.Q2: What does the Lamb stand for?A: Symbol of Jesus, and symbol of innocence.The Tyger押韵方式:aabbQ: Why does the poet mention the Lamb? Do you think both the Lamb and the Tiger can illuminate each other?A: The Lamb is corresponding the Tiger. Sure.6. Jane Austen 简奥斯丁Jane Austen对婚姻的看法:1. Those who would marry for material wealth and social position.2. Those who would marry just for beauty and passion.3. Those who would marry for true love based on consideration of the person’s personal merit as well as his economical and social status.7. George Gordon Byron 乔治戈登拜伦She Walks in BeautyQ1: What is the color of the lady’s dress? How do you know?A: Black. Of cloudless climes and starry skies.Q2: What does “their dwelling place” refer to in the last line of the second stanza?A: Heart and mind.Q3: Where are the lady’s winning smiles? How do they appear to the poet?A: On the cheek and brow.8. Percy Bysshe Shelley 波西比希雪莱Ode to the West Wind押韵方式:aba bcb cdc ded eeQ1. In what way is the West Wind both a destroyer and a preserver?A: Destroyed the old world and preserve a new life.Q2. What is the relationship between the West Wind and the poet?A: The poet is admires the West Wind.Q3: As “the trumpet of prophecy,” what does the West Wind predict in physical reality? How do you understand it symbolically?A: Since the revolution is going on, a wonderful fine world will emerge.9. John Keats 约翰济慈Ode on a Grecian Urn‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty, -that is all10. Charles Dickens 查尔斯狄更斯Themes in Dickens’ Writing: 1. The powerlessness of children.2. Man’s humanity to man.3. Good’s ability to triumph over evil.4. Man’s inhumanity to man.5. The outcast’s search for status and identity.6.The heinous nature of crime and criminals.11. Alfred Tennyson 阿尔弗雷德丁尼生Break, Break, BreakQ1. Why does the poet describe the stones as “cold” and “gray”?A: Unfeeling.Q2. What effect do the joyful scenes in the second stanza bring to the whole poem? A: Sharp contrast.Q3. Whose is the “ voice that is still” ?A: Best friend. Hallam.12. Oscar Wilde 奥斯卡王尔德着名观点:Art for Art’s sake 为艺术而艺术。