英国文学史简答题

1.乔叟对文学的贡献

（1）.Chaucer introduce the heroic couplet.

(2)Chaucer greatly contributed to the founding of the english literary language,the basis of which was formed by the london dialect,so profusely used by the poet.

2.Sonnet?

A fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in

rhymed iambic pentameter. A sonnet generally expresses a single theme or idea.

Two types: Italian sonnet & Shakespeare sonnet.

Italian sonnet: an octave and a sestet; rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdecde

Shakespeare sonnet: 3 quatrains and a concluding couplet; rhyme scheme is ababbcbc cdcdee.

3.Blank verse:

•Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. •The verse form used in some of the greatest English poetry, including that of W. Shakespeare and John Milton.

The major achievements in English blank verse were made by William Shakespeare, who wrote much of the content of his plays in unrhymed iambic pentameter, Milton, whose Paradise Lost is written in blank verse.

4.Dramatic monologue

Dramatic monologue does not designate a component in a play, but a type of lyric poem that was perfected by Robert Browning. In its fullest form, the dramatic monologue has the following features: (1)a single person, who is patently not the poet, utters the speech that makes up the whole of the poem, in a specific situation at a critical moment;

(2)this person addresses and interacts with one

or more other people; but we know of the auditors’ presence, and what they say and do, only from clues in the discourse of the single speaker; (3)the main principle controlling the poe t’s formulation of what the lyric speaker says is to reveal to the reader, in a way that enhances its interest, the speaker’s temperament and character.

5.Shakespear 的写作时期和特点

⏹A. The Comedies of the First Period

⏹(a) the Key-Note of the Comedies: When

Shakespeare wrote these comedies, he was still young. In them he portrayed young people just freed from the feudal fetters. He sang of their youth, love and ideals of happiness. The victory of their humanist ideal is inevitable, though it is to be attained only after severe struggle against all obstacles.

⏹The heroes and heroines fight against destiny

itself and mould their own fate according to their own free will. As becomes the sons and daughters of the Renaissance, they trust not in God or King but in themselves, and their efforts and good faith are crowned with success. The general spirit of these comedies is optimism.

⏹(b) the Heroines: These comedies show, in

different ways, Shakespeare’s respect for the dignity, honesty, wit, courage, determination and resourcefulness of women. The ideal women of Shakespeare’s comedies is best exemplified in