Unit 4 Portrait of an Actress.docx

Unit 4 Portrait of an Actress.docx

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Unit4PortraitofanActress

IV.PortraitofanActress

Abouttheauthor

Woolf----

Virginia（Stephen）Woolf,1882–1941,Englishnovelist.Shewasaninnovativeinfluenceonthe20th-cent.novel.Withherhusband,LeonardWoolf,shesetuptheHogarthPressin1917.TheirhomewasthecenterfortheBLOOMSBURYGROUUP.InherwritingsheconcentratedontheflowofordinaryexperiencethroughtheSTREAMOFCONSCIOUSNESStechnique.Herproseispoetic,symbolic,andvisual.Woolf’snovelsincludeMrs.Dalloway（1925）,TotheLighthouse（1927）,Orlando（1928）,TheWaves（1931）,andBetweentheActs（1940）.HercriticismiscontainedinTheCommonReader（1925）andvolumesofessays,letters,anddiaries.Shealsowrotetwofeministtracts,ARoomofOne’sOwn（1929）andThreeGuineas（1938）.

VirginiaWoolfrevoltedagainstwhatshecalledthe‘materialism’ofmajorBritishnovelistsoftheearly1900’s.Bythisshemeanttheirpreoccupationwithoutward,visibleevents.Shefeltitwasmoreimportanttoshowtheinneressenceofacharacterinfictionbyrevealingthecharacter’sthoughtsandconcentratingonprecise,significantdetailsabouthim.ShefollowedthepathwhichJamesJoycehadopenedup,andthenbranchedoffinanewdirection.VirginiaWoolf’sstoriesoftenreflectherconcernaboutwomen.Shesufferedinherownexperienceasaneminentwomanintellectual,andencounteredspecialdifficultiesasawomanwriter,inatimewhenevenuniversitylibrariesweresometimesclosedtowomen.Herpointofviewwasalwaysprogressiveandopen-minded,andsheencouragedotherstoliberatetheirmindslikewise.

Inherworks,VirginiaWoolfwantedtoemphasizethecontinuousflowofpeople’sexperiencesinlife,andtoshowhowexternalcircumstancesonlyaffectapersontothedegreethathenoticesthemortakesaccountofthem,eachaccordingtohisowntypeofcharacter.Shewantedalsotoshowthecontradictionsoftime,whichalwaysexistsinthepresenttense,yetflowsunbrokenthroughtheyearsandcenturies.Inhermostpopularnovels,Mrs.DallowayandToTheLighthouse,sheshowedhertechnicalmasteryasawriter.Bothbookshaveatightlyorganizedform,inwhichthetimeoftheactionisveryshort,allowingspaceformuchdetail,andinwhichimagesrecurlikerhymesinapoem.Heruseofverylongsentences,difficultsyntaxandlargevocabularysometimesmakeherbookshardtoread.

Backgroundnotes

BloomsburyGroup----BloomsburyisasectionofLondon,neartheBritishMuseumandtheuniversities,withseveralsquaresandsmallparkssurroundedbyprivatehouses.ThenamewasgiventoanumberofBritishwriters,philosophersandartistswholivedthereandmetforinformaldiscussionsateachother’shousesbetween1907and1930.Theydiscussedquestionsofartandphilosophywithopenminds,seekingthedefinitionsof‘good’,‘true’and‘beautiful’.Theyexaminedallideascommonlyheldbythesociety,lookingforelementsofinsincerityandfalselogic.Theydidnotformasingleschoolofthought,althoughtheysharedmanyideas.Thegroup’simportancelayinthehighnumberofbrilliant,talentedpeoplewhomadeBloomsburythecentreofprogressivenewthinkinginBritain.Ingeneral,itsmemberscriticizedtheVictorianconservatismofBritishsocietyinmattersofreligion,moralityandart,andtheysoughttruththroughtheuseofreason.

VirginiaWoolfwasoneofthefirstmembers.OthersmembersincludedLyttonSTRACHEY,LeonardWOOLF,.FORSTER,V.SACKVILLE-WEST,RogerFRY,CliveBell,andJohnMaynardKEYNES.

streamofconsciousness----Literarytechniqueforrecordingthethoughtsandfeelingsofacharacterwithoutregardtotheirlogicalassociationornarrativesequence.Thewriterattemptstoreflectalltheforcesaffectingthepsychologyofacharacteratasinglemoment.IntroducedbytheFrenchwriterEdouardDujardininWe’lltotheWoodsNoMore（1888）,thetechniquewasusednotablybyJamesJOYCE,VirginiaWOOLFandWilliamFAULKNER.

Aboutthetext

comeon----appearonormoveto（thestage）

WhenLawrenceOlivercameonforthefirsttime,theaudienceapplauded.

Thenextplayercameonfiveminuteslate.

Peopleclappedandshoutedandmadehercomeonagainandagain.

CaptainBrassbound’sConversion----aplaywrittenbyGeorgeBernardShaw.

thestagecollapsedlikeahouseofcards----Thisisofcoursemetaphorical.TheidesisthatwhenEllenTerryappearedonthestageasLadyCicely,itwasasifthestagehadsuddenlyceasedtoexist.Shewasthecentralfigure,castingalltheotheractorsintotheshade.

aripe,richlyseasoned“cello”----A‘cello’madeofelaboratelyseasonedwood,thatis,woodmadespeciallyhardforuse.Season’:

--toharden（wood）tomakeitreadyforusebydryingitgradually:

Thesedayswoodisrarelyseasonedinthetraditionalwayandistreatedwithpreservativeinstead.

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