英国文学史上外考试资料

1、the sixteenth centurybeginning of 16th centurythomas moreutopia. more gave a profound and truthful picture of the peoples suffering and put forward his ideal of a future happy society.end the centuryfrancis baconscientist and philosopherfirst half of 16th centurythomas wyatt, henry howardthey initia

2、ted new poetical forms, borrowing freely from english popular songs and italian and french poetry. wyatt was the first to introduce the sonnet into english literature.second half of the 16th centuryphilip sidney, thomas campion and edmund spenserlyrical poem become widespread in england. edmund was

3、the author of the greatest epic poem of the time the fairy queen.court life and gallantry noveljohn lyly, thomas logegreat popularity was won by john lylys novel ephesus which gave rise to the term “euphuism”, designating an affected style of court speech.realistic novelthomas delaney, thomas nashed

4、evoted to every day life of craftsman, merchants and other representatives of lower classdramachristopher marlowereformed drama that genre in english and perfected the language and verse of dramatic works. it was marlowe who made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in drama.william shake

5、spearethe works of william shakespeare are a great landmark in the history of world literature for he was one of the first founders of realism, a master hand at realistic portrayal of human characters and relations.worksfirst period: romeo and julietsecond period: 1. hamlet, prince of demark2. othel

6、lo, the moor of venice3. king lear4. the tragedy of macbeththe seventeenth centurypuritan agepuritan attitudethey believed in simplicity of life, breaking up of old ideas, an age of confusion.puritan actionthey disapproved of the sonnets and love poetry written in the previous period.in 1642 the the

7、atres were closethe bible become one book of the peopleliterary characteristicsabsence of fixed standard of literary criticism, exaggeration of “metaphysical” poets.poetry took new and startling forms in donne and herbert, and prose became as somber as burrtons anatomy of melancholy.the spiritual gl

8、oom sooner or later fastens upon all the writers of this age. this so called gloomy age produced some minor poems of exquisites workmanship, and one of great master of verse whose work would glorify any age or people-john milton, in whom the indomitable puritan spirit finds its noblest expression.re

9、storation ageliterary characteristicsrenounced old ideas and demanded that english poetry and dream should follow the style which they had become accustomed in the gaiety of paris. on the whole they were immoral and cynical.french influencerimed couplets instead of blank verse, the unities, a more r

10、egular construction, and the presentation of tryes rather than individualthe comedies are coarse in language and their view of the relation between man and won is immoral and dishonest.john drydenas a critic, poet and playwright was the most distinguished literary figure of the restoration age. the

11、most popular genre was that of comedy whose chief aim as to entertain the licentious aristocrats.john donne1 poetryformpart of his poetry is in such classical forms as satires, elegies, and epistles-though it style has anything but classical smoothness-and part is written in lyrical forms of extraor

12、dinary variety.characteristics1. most of it purports to deal with life, descriptive or experimentally, and the first thing to strike the reader is donnes extraordinary and penetrating realism. 2. the next is the cynicism which marks certain of the lighter poems and which represents a conscious react

13、ion from the extreme idealization of woman encouraged by the patrarchan tradition.love-poemin his serious love-poems, however, donne, while not relaxing his grasp on the realities the love experience, suffuses it with an emotional intensity and a spiritualized ardor unique in english poetry.2. sonne

14、tcontrast between conventional and donnes sonnetconventional sonnetdonnes sonnetthe unvarying succession in formgives nearly every theme a verse and stanza form peculiar to itselfdecorating his theme by conventional comparisonilluminates or emphasizes his thought by fantastic metaphors and extravaga

15、nt hyperbole.stylein moments of inspiration his style becomes wonderfully poignant and direct, heart-searching in its simple human accents, with an originality and force for which we look in vain among the clear and fluent melodies of elizabethan lyrists.conceit1. sometimes the “conceits”, as these

16、extravagant figures are called, are so odd that we lose sight of the thing to be illustrated, in the startling nature of the illustration. 2. the fashion of conceiting writing, somewhat like euphuism in prose, appeared in italy and spain also. its imaginative exuberance has its parallels in baroque

17、architecture and painting.john miltondays in hortonl allegrodescribing happinessil penserosodescribing meditationlycidaspraising a dear friend who had been drownedcomuspresenting a masque or playpamphletsareopagitica, speech for the liberty of unlicensed printinga bold attack on the censorship of th

18、e presseikinoklastesa pamphlets in which the author justified the execution of charles idefense for the english peoplea defense of the commonwealth and revolutionparadise lost1. it represents the authors views in an allegorical religious form, 2. and the reader will easily discern its basic idea-the

19、 exposure of reactionary forces of this time and passionate appeal for freedom.3. it is based on the biblical legend of the imaginary progenitors of the human race-adam and eve, and involves god and his eternal adversary, satan in plot.john bunyanmilton and bunyanmiltonbunyaneducationwell educatedpo

20、orly educatedinheritingson of renaissancean excess of that spiritual independence which had cause the puritan struggle for libertypuritanthe only epic since beowulfthe only great allegorybooks helpful for bunyan significantly 1. the books from his wife the plain mans pathway to heaven and the practi

21、ce of piety gave fire to his imagination, which he saw new visions and dream terrible new dreams of lost souls. 2. without fully digestion of bible and scripture, he was tossed about alike a feather by all the winds of doctrine.the pilgrims progressbunyans most important work is the pilgrims progres

22、s, written in old fashioned, medieval form of allegory and dream.the eighteenth century1. enlightenmentnaturean expression of struggle of the then progressive class of bourgeoisie against feudalismagainstclass inequality, stagnation, prejudice and other survival of feudalismrepudiate the false relig

23、ious doctrines about the viciousness of human natureacceptplace all branches of science at the service of mankind by connecting them with the actual deeds and requirements of the peopleaccept bourgeois relationship as rightful and reasonable relations among people.compared to francerevealed to the m

24、ost progressive minds of the century the contradictions of new society instead of “cleared the minds of men for the coming revolution” of france1.1 first representatives of enlightenmentcommon commentthough in their works they criticized different aspects of contemporary english, they never set them

25、selves the task of struggling against the existing order of life, but on the contrary, attempted to smooth over social contradictions by moralizing and proclaiming, as pope did, that “whatever is, is right”.joseph addison & richard steeldevoted not only to social problem, but also to private lif

26、e and adventures, gave an impetus to the development of the 18 century novelalexander popethe highest authority in matters of literary artelaborated certain regulations for the style of poetical works and made popular the so-called heroics couplets-five foot iambic rhymed in couplet1.2 founders of n

27、ovelthe development of industry and trade brought to the foremen of a new stamp, who had to be typified in the new literature.authorworkdescriptioncommentdaniel defoerobinson crusoethe image of an enterprising englishman of the 18 century was created.one of the forerunners of the english 18 century

28、realistic novel.henry fieldingunfolds a spread of panorama of life in all sections of english society real founder of the genre of the bourgeois realistic novel in england and europeexposes the depraved aristocracy, the avaricious bourgeoisiecontrasts the life of ruling classes to the lack of rights

29、 and misery of the people1.3 innermost life writersalong with the depiction of morals and manners and social mode of life the writers of the enlightenment began to display interest of the inmost life of an individual.authorworkdescriptioncommentjonathan swiftgullivers travelstypified the bourgeoisie

30、 world, drew ruthless pictures of the depraved aristocracy and satirically portrayed the whole of the english state systemthe most outstanding personality of the epoch of enlightenment in englandrichard b.sheridanschool for scandalfalse virtue and actual vices of aristocracy society are derideda sha

31、rp criticism of contemporary system2. sentimentalismthe middle of the 18 century in england sees the inceptions of a new literary current-that of sentimentalism.the sentimentalism came into being as a result of bitter discontent on the part of certain enlighteners in social society.the representativ

32、es of sentimentalism continued to struggle against feudalism but they vaguely sensed at the same time the contradictions of bourgeois progress that brought with it enslavement and ruin to the people. the philosophy of the enlighteners, though rational and materialistic in its essence, did not exclud

33、e sense, or sentiments, as a means of perception and learning. moreover, the cult of nature and, a cult of a “natural man” whose feelings display themselves in a most human and natural manner, contrary to the artful and hypocritical aristocratic-this cult was upheld by the majority of the enlightene

34、rs and helped them to fight against privileges of birth and descent which placed the aristocracy high above common people.but later enlighteners of england having come to the conclusion that, contrary to all reasoning, social injustices, still held strong, found the power of reason to be insufficien

35、t, and therefore, appealed to sentiment as a means of achieving happiness and social justice.3. pre-romanticismanother conspicuous trend in the english literature of the latter half of the 18 century was the so-called pre-romanticism. it originated among the conservatives group of men of letters as

36、a reactions against enlightenment and found its most manifest expression in the gothie novel”, the terms arising from the fact that the greater part of such romance were devoted to the medieval times.endthe task of upholding revolutionary struggle of the people for their rights in the 18 century was

37、 initiated by robert burns and later taken up in the 19 century by the writers of revolutionary romanticism.henry fieldingfieldings positionhenry fielding is the greatest novelist if the eighteenth century, and one of the greatest that england ever produced.fieldings characterpassive aristocrats and

38、 men set in authority embody all the evils; they persecute the heroes and obstruct their every move and actionpositivepositive characters are always people with natural, unpreserved feelings, and though “for the sake of appearance”, and to make them acceptable to the 18 century reader, joseph andrew

39、s, the manservant, and tome jones, the foundling, are eventually give parents of noble descent, still they have nothing aristocratic about them, and in their feelings and behavior, remain closely related to the common peoplefieldings satirehe hates that hypocrisy which tries to conceal itself under

40、a mask of morality. in the evolution of the plots of his novels, he invariably puts such characters in position which tear away their mask. he displays almost savage pleasure in making them ridiculous.joseph andrewscommentsfieldings best work: amelia is the story of a good life in contrast with an u

41、nworthy husbanddescriptionjoseph andrews, was inspired by the success of richardsons novel pamela, and began as a burlesque of the false sentimentality and the conventional virtues of richardsons heroine(pamelarichardsonrichardson, who has no humor, who minces words, and moralizes, and dotes on the

42、sentimental woes of his heroinesfieldingfielding is direct, vigorous, hilarious, and coarse to the point of vulgarity. he is full of animal spirits, and he tells the story of a vagabond life, not for the sake of moralizing, like defoe, but simply because it interests him and his only concerns is “to

43、 laugh men out of their follies.”so his story, though it abounds in unpleasant incidents, generally leaves the reader with the strong impression of reality.jonathan swiftthe eighteenth century in english literature is an age of prose, but because the poetry is very bad but because the prose is very

44、good. writers positionthe supreme master in the first part of the century, the name of jonathan swift is one of the very greatest names in english literaturegullivers travels positionthe book is a classic and devastating satire on the human race.gullivers travels powerthe secret of the power is that

45、 there is no visible sign of anger, nor raising the voice; the tone is cold, restrained, ironic, varied only by some flashed of fooling when swifts sense of the ridiculous gets the better of him.general descriptionthe plot of the book comprises the extraordinary adventure of doctor lemuel gulliver,

46、description of fantastic lands visited by him, their socials systems, ways and customs of their inhabitantshouhnhnmshorse are the real people and human beings, yahoos, are their filthy servant, has a savage power unequalled in english literature or any literaturelilliputiansgulliver is a giant among

47、 them, and with the giants among whom gulliver is a pygmythe tale of a tubsatire on the various churches and religion of the daythe romantic periodbackgroundindustrial revolution and french revolution had a strong influence in britain literature. fighting for “liberty, equality and fraternity” also

48、becomes british national spirit.edmund burkereflections on the revolution in francean anti-revolutionary manifesto for all reactionaries in europe. “he pitied the plumage and forgot the dying bird.” as thomas paine said.thomas painethe rights of manpolitics is the business of the whole mass of commo

49、n people and not only of a governing oligarchy. people would not like a government that failed to secure people “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”age of wordsworthmarkromanticism prevailed during the period of 1798-1832, beginning with the publication of wordsworths lyrical ballads, endin

50、g with walter scotts death.spiritthe great literary impulse of the age is the impulse of individualism in a wonderful varied of forms.whyits great men of genius were mostly eminent in the poetical field, distinction was more easily achieved in poetry than in prose, and the general taste was decidedl

51、y set in the poetic direction.phenomenonfor poetry is the highest form of literary expression, and poetry seems to have been most in harmony with the noblest powers of the english genius.the young enthusiasts turned as naturally to poetry as a happy man to singing.literaturepoetryscott, wordsworth,

52、coleridge, byron, shelly, keats, moore, and southeythe glory of the age is in the poetryprosescottattained a very wide readingnoveljane austenslowly won for their authors a secure place in the history of english literatureessaycharles lambdramathe only great literary form that was not adequately rep

53、resentedduring the nineteenth century, the drama seems to have been practically superseded by the novel as a medium for the portrayal of its complex forms of life and character.lake poets: wordsworth, coleridge and southey.john keatsin 1817 he published a little volume of verse, most of it crude and

54、 immature enough, but contain the magnificent sonnet, on first looking into chapmans homer, which reveals one source of his inspiration. from the first his imagination has turned out to the old greek work with instinctive sympathy; and he now choose as the subject for a long time narrative poem the

55、story of endymion, the latmian shepherd beloved by the moon-goodness.endymion was published in 1818. the exordium of poem, the hymn to pan in the opening episode, and a myriad other lines and short passages are worthy of the keats that was to be; but as a whole endymion is chaotic, and cloyed with o

56、rnament. nobody knew better than keats himself.great odes including on melancholy, on a grecian urn, to psyche, and to a nightingale had done wonders in deepening and strengthening his gift. in turning from spenser and ariosto the great masculine poets of the seventeenth century, shakespeare, webste

57、r, milton, and dryden, he had found the iron which was lacking in his earlier intellectual food, and had learned the lessons of artistic calmness and severity, without sacrifice of the mellow sweetness native to him; to charm, he had added strength.关于美国清教徒的描绘(could you give a description of american

58、 puritans?) like their brothers back in england, were idealists, believing that the church should be restored to the “purity” of the first-century church as established by jesus christ himself. to them religion was a matter of primary importance. they made it their chief business to see that man lived and thought and acted in a way which tended to the glory of god. t