英国文学问答题（保留）.doc

【精品文档】如有侵权，请联系网站删除，仅供学习与交流英国文学问答题（保留）.精品文档.英国文学问答题Page 1-                                          English literature                                   The Renaissance Period1. How to define the period of Old English literature?English literature begins with the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England at about 450 BC and ends at1066 BC, the year of the Norman Conquest of England. Of Old English literature, a few relics arestill preserved. All of them are poems or songs by the Anglo-Saxon scop or gleemen who sang ofthe heroic deeds of old time.2. What does Old English poetry include?Generally speaking, the Old English poetry includes two groups: the religious group: the religiousgroup and the secular one. The former is mainly on biblical themes. For example, Genesis A,<创世纪I> Genesis B, 创世纪II and Exodus 出埃及记 are poems based on the Old Testament;while the latter shows the harshness of circumstance and the sadness of the human lot. A typicalexample is Englands national epic Beowulf.3. What is the plot and theme of Englands national epic Beowulf?Beowulf, nephew of the king of the Geats, hears that Hrothgar, a Danish king, is in great trouble.The kingdom of the king is harassed by a monster called Grendel. He at once sails there, grappleswith the monster, and wounds it fatally. Then comes Grendels mother, a she-monster, in revengeof her son. Beowulf follows her to her under-water cave and kills her with a giant sword. Withthese    honors   won,   he   returns  to  his  homeland     and   reigns   as  its  king  for  50  years.   Then   afire-breathing dragon comes out of its den and kills many people. Though old now, Beowulf stillkills it single-handedly. But he, too, is fatally wounded and later died.Thematically,   this   poem   shows   how   the   primitive   people   fight   against   the   forces   of   the   naturalworld under a wise and mighty leader.4 What is Epic?Epic   is   an   extended   narrative   poem   in   elevated   or   dignified   language,   like   Homers   Iliad   andOdyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The actionis simple but full of magnificence. Today, some long narrative works, like novels that reveal anage and its people are also called epic.5. What is the Medieval Period in English Literature? How many parts can it be divided into?       The Medieval :Period in English literature starts at 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest,and ends at about the 15th century. The early part of the period, i.e. from 1066 to the mid-14thcentury, is   almost   a   barren   one in   literary  creation.   While   in the   latter   period,  starting  from  thesecond half of the 14th century, English literature flourishes with the appearance of writers likeGeoffery Chaucer, William Langland, John Gower, and others.6. Compared with Old English Literature, what are the features of Medieval English Literature?       In comparison with Old English literature, Medieval English literature deals with a widerrange of subjects. It is uttered by more voices and in a greater diversity of styles, tones and genres.                                                                                                                    1- Page 2-And   it   is   deeply   influenced   by   the   principles   of   the   medieval   Christian   doctrine,   which   areprimarily   concerned   with   the   issue   of   personal  salvation.   Romance   becomes   a   popular   literaryform, indicating the age to be a chivalric rather than heroic one.7. What is the miracle play?        The miracle play, the medieval dramatization of a Biblical story (e. g. Cain and Abel) or of asaint's   life,   was   chiefly   popular   from   the   twelfth   through   the   fifteenth  centuries.   The   term   issometimes limited to plays on saints' lives. The Biblical plays are then called mystery plays.8. What is morality play?        The   morality   play,   a   later   medieval   development,   which   remained   popular   well   into   thesixteenth     century,    was   an   allegorical    dramatization     of   the  conflict   between     good    and    evil,including such characters as Everyman, Gooddeeds, and Avarice.9. Why is Chaucer regarded as "the Father of English poetry"?         Originally, Old English poems are mainly alliterative verses with few variations. Chaucerintroduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types to English poetry to replace it. In TheRomaunt of the Rose, he first introduced to English the octosyllabic couplet.                        In The legend ofGood Women, he used for the first time in English heroic couplet. And in his masterpiece, TheCanterbury Tales, he employed heroic couplet with true ease and charm for the first time in thehistory of English literature.         Besides this, though he drew influence from French, Italian, and Latin models, he is thefirst great poet who wrote in the current English language. His production of so much excellentpoetry is an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country. And hemade the dialect of London the foundation for Modern English speech. Small wonder later daywriter, John Drydon, would call him "the Father of English poetry".10. What is Heroic Couplet?   Heroic couplet is a rhyming couplet of iambic pentameter, often containing a complete thought.There is a fairly heavy pause at the end of the first line and a still heavier one at the end of thesecond. Commonly there is a parallel or an antithesis within a line, or between the two lines. It iscalled heroic because in England, especially in the eighteenth century, it was much used for heroic(epic) poems.11. What is Chaucer's literary achievement?           (1)   First of   all, he presented a comprehensive  realistic  picture of his  age  and  created awhole     gallery   of  vivid   characters    in  his   works,   especially     in  The   Canterbury     Tales.   (2)  Heanticipated   a   new   era,   the   Renaissance,   to   come   under   the   influence   of   men   like   Petrarch   andBaecacio.   In   his   works,   the   spirit   of   Renaissance   can   be   already   seen.   (3)   He   developed   hischaracterization       to  a  higher    level   by  presenting     characters    with    both   typical   qualities   andindividual   dispositions,   (4)   And   he   greatly   contributed   to   the   maturing   of   English   prosody   byadopting different rhyming skills. Drydon called him "the Father of English Prosody"(诗体论。韵律学).                                                                                                                         2- Page 3-12 What is popular ballad? How has English ballad developed?       Ballard is originally a song intended as the accompaniment to a dance. In the modern sense,a ballad is just a simple spirited poem in short stanzas in which some popular story is graphicallynarrated The English popular ballad flourished from the 12th century to the 15th century，reflecting the life of the people then And the most remarkable ones are the Robin Hood ballads.These are ballads about an outlawed hero who lives in the forest with his men, robs the rich andhelps the poor. Major collections of these ballads did not begin until the 18th century and the mostcreditable   among   them   are      Thomas     Percy's   Relics   of   Ancient   English    Poetry,   Walter   Scott'sMinstrels of the Scottish Border, etc.13. How would you define the term Renaissance?         This term refers to a great bourgeois cultural movement in Europe which began in the 14thcentury and continued to the mid-17th century. It first started from Italy and then spread all overEurope. Originally, the term means "rebirth" or revival . And the movement seems to be a rebirthor revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture, caused by a series of historical events, such as thenew     discoveries     in  geography      and   astrology,    the  religious    reformation     and   the   economicexpansion.   The   Renaissance,   therefore, in  essence,   is a  historical   period in   which the   Europeanhumanist thinkers and scholars tried to get rid of those old feudalistic ideas in Medieval Europe, tointroduce new ideas that express the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity ofthe early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic church.14. How to define the term Humanism?        Humanism is a system of beliefs upheld by writers and artists of the Renaissance period intheir fighting against medieval asceticism. It states that man is godly, that man is able to find truth,goodness and beauty, and that man is in control of the present life rather than being controlled byGod. Briefly, humanism puts man at the center of their beliefs and takes man to be the measure ofevery thing while the former asceticism puts God at the center of their beliefs and takes personalsalvation to be the most important thing on the earth for man.15. What are the main characteristics of Humanist writings?     Humanist writings affirm the value of man and repudiate the absolute control of man by God.They   call   for   man's   freedom   in   thinking,   praise   man's   worldly   aspirations,   and   denunciate   thefeudalistic control of man's thought. They state that man has a right for earthly happiness and thatasceticism   is   against   human   nature.   In   them,   reason   and   science   are   put   into   a   very   high   placewhile mysticism is thrown away. They are mostly realistic in essence.16. What is the historical and cultural background of the English Renaissance ?           Because of the war of Roses within the country and its weak and unimportant position inworld trade, Renaissance came later in England than in other European countries. But when it didcome, it was to produce some towering figures in the English, and world literary heritage WilliamShakespeare,   Edmund   Spenser,   Sir   Thomas   More,   Francis   Bacon   and   a   number   of   humanistscholars.            The reign of Elizabeth I (15581603) was a period of political and religious stability onthe one hand and economic prosperity on the other. The Church of England was re-established,                                                                                                                       3- Page 4-ending   the   long   time   religious   strifes   commence   and   industry   forged   ahead   as   a   result   of   theenclosure movement at home and the opening of new sea routes in the world. England began toembark   on   the   road   to   colonization   and   foreign   control   that   was   to   take   it   onto   its   heyday   ofcapitalist development.17. What is blank verse?              This    term,   which    was    first   brought   into  England   by    Surrey,    is  used   to   name   tileunrhymed iambic pentameter line in poetry.18. What is Sonnet?              Sonnet is a type of poem consisting of one single fourteen-line stanza. It was perfectedby the Italian poet in the 13th century and introduced into England in the early 16th century.        English sonnets, in terms of structure, largely fall into two classes, the Petrarchian or Italianform   and   the   Shakespearian   or   English   form.   The   former   divides   its   fourteen   lines   of   iambicpentameters   into   two   parts,   one   octet   and   the   other   sestet;   while   the   latter   consists   of   threequatrains and a final couplet. The three quatrains develop the poem's subject consistently and thecouplet condenses the emotion into an epigram.19. How is English drama as a literary form developed in the Elizabethan period?                The   Elizabethan   drama   is   the   real   mainstream   of   the   English   Renaissance.   Thoughdrama as a literary form could be dated back to the Middle Ages (5th-15th BC), it is not until theElizabethan      age,   under    the  influence     of  the  Renaissance,      that   drama    was    developed     into  asophisticated      and   mature     art  form.   And    great  dramatists     like   Christopher     Malowe,      WilliamShakespeare, and Ben Jonson appeared on the stage.        By   imitating   the   romances   of   Italy   and   Spain,   embracing   the   mysteries   of   the   Germanlegend, and combining the poetic fancy with the facts of daily life, they made a vivid depiction ofthe   sharp   conflicts   between   feudalism   and   the   rising   bourgeoisie   in   a   transitional   period.   Withhumours   of   the   movement,   abstractions   of   philosophical   speculation,   and   intense   vitality,   thisextraordinary       drama,    with    Shakespeare      as   the   master,    stands   out   as   a  monument        of  theRenaissance, which is unrivaled for pure creative power by any other product of that epoch.20. Why is Edmund Spenser regarded as “the poets poet?        Edmund Spenser (1552- 1599) is the author of The Faerie Queene, creator of the Spenserianstanza and one of the greatest figures of the Renaissance period in England. His poetry usuallyenjoys five qualities:       (1) a perfect melody; (2) a rare sense of beauty; (3) a splendid imagination;(4) a lofty moral purity and seriousness and (5) a dedicated idealism. It is just his idealism, hislove of beauty, and his exquisite melody that make him known as "the poet's poet".21. What is the Spenserian stanza?                 A Spenserian stanza is one that consists of eight five-foot iambic lines, followed byan iambic line of six feet, rhyming ababbcbcc. It is so named because it was Spenser that first usedthis form in his masterpiece The Faerie Queene.22 What is the structure of The Faerie Queene?                                                                                                                          4- Page 5-        According      to  Spenser     himself,   he   intends    to  present   through    a  "historical    poem"    theexample   of   a perfect gentleman:   "to   fashion  a gentleman   ornoble  person   in   virtuous   and gentlediscipline." So he speaks of 12 virtues of the private gentleman, and plans 12 books, each one witha   different   hero   distinguished   for   one   of   the   private   virtues.   The   hero   of   heroes,   King   Arthur,possesses all of these virtues. He is to play a role in each of the 12 major adventures, which