英国文学问答题.docx

英国文学问答题.docx

《英国文学问答题.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《英国文学问答题.docx（76页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

英国文学问答题

英国文学问答题

Page1-----------------------

                                         Englishliterature

                                  TheRenaissancePeriod

1.HowtodefinetheperiodofOldEnglishliterature?

EnglishliteraturebeginswiththeAnglo-SaxonsettlementinEnglandatabout450BCandendsat

1066BC,theyearoftheNormanConquestofEngland.OfOldEnglishliterature,afewrelicsare

stillpreserved.AllofthemarepoemsorsongsbytheAnglo-Saxonscoporgleemenwhosangof

theheroicdeedsofoldtime.

2.WhatdoesOldEnglishpoetryinclude?

Generallyspeaking,theOldEnglishpoetryincludestwogroups:

thereligiousgroup:

thereligious

groupandthesecularone.Theformerismainlyonbiblicalthemes.Forexample,GenesisA,<创

世纪I>GenesisB,《创世纪II》andExodus《出埃及记》arepoemsbasedontheOldTestament;

whilethelattershowstheharshnessofcircumstanceandthesadnessofthehumanlot.Atypical

exampleisEngland’snationalepicBeowulf.

3.WhatistheplotandthemeofEngland’snationalepicBeowulf?

Beowulf,nephewofthekingoftheGeats,hearsthatHrothgar,aDanishking,isingreattrouble.

ThekingdomofthekingisharassedbyamonstercalledGrendel.Heatoncesailsthere,grapples

withthemonster,andwoundsitfatally.ThencomesGrendel’smother,ashe-monster,inrevenge

ofherson.Beowulffollowshertoherunder-watercaveandkillsherwithagiantsword.With

these   honors  won,  he  returns to his homeland    and  reigns  as its king for 50 years.  Then  a

fire-breathingdragoncomesoutofitsdenandkillsmanypeople.Thougholdnow,Beowulfstill

killsitsingle-handedly.Buthe,too,isfatallywoundedandlaterdied.

Thematically,  this  poem  shows  how  the  primitive  people  fight  against  the  forces  of  the  natural

worldunderawiseandmightyleader.

4．WhatisEpic?

Epic  is  an  extended  narrative  poem  in  elevated  or  dignified  language,  like  Homer’s  Iliad  and

Odyssey.Itusuallycelebratesthefeatsofoneormorelegendaryortraditionalheroes.Theaction

issimplebutfullofmagnificence.Today,somelongnarrativeworks,likenovelsthatrevealan

ageanditspeoplearealsocalledepic.

5.WhatistheMedievalPeriodinEnglishLiterature?

Howmanypartscanitbedividedinto?

      TheMedieval:

PeriodinEnglishliteraturestartsat1066,theyearoftheNormanConquest,

andendsataboutthe15thcentury.Theearlypartoftheperiod,i.e.from1066tothemid-14th

century,is  almost  a  barren  onein  literary creation.  While  inthe  latter  period, starting from the

secondhalfofthe14thcentury,Englishliteratureflourisheswiththeappearanceofwriterslike

GeofferyChaucer,WilliamLangland,JohnGower,andothers.

6.ComparedwithOldEnglishLiterature,whatarethefeaturesofMedievalEnglishLiterature?

      IncomparisonwithOldEnglishliterature,MedievalEnglishliteraturedealswithawider

rangeofsubjects.Itisutteredbymorevoicesandinagreaterdiversityofstyles,tonesandgenres.

                                                                                                                   1

-----------------------Page2-----------------------

And  it  is  deeply  influenced  by  the  principles  of  the  medieval  Christian  doctrine,  which  are

primarily  concerned  with  the  issue  of  personal salvation.  Romance  becomes  a  popular  literary

form,indicatingtheagetobeachivalricratherthanheroicone.

7.Whatisthemiracleplay?

       Themiracleplay,themedievaldramatizationofaBiblicalstory（e.g.CainandAbel）orofa

saint's  life,  was  chiefly  popular  from  the  twelfth  through  the  fifteenth centuries.  The  term  is

sometimeslimitedtoplaysonsaints'lives.TheBiblicalplaysarethencalledmysteryplays.

8.Whatismoralityplay?

       The  morality  play,  a  later  medieval  development,  which  remained  popular  well  into  the

sixteenth    century,   was  an  allegorical   dramatization    of  the conflict  between    good   and   evil,

includingsuchcharactersasEveryman,Gooddeeds,andAvarice.

9.WhyisChaucerregardedas"theFatherofEnglishpoetry"?

        Originally,OldEnglishpoemsaremainlyalliterativeverseswithfewvariations.Chaucer

introducedfromFrancetherhymedstanzasofvarioustypestoEnglishpoetrytoreplaceit.InThe

RomauntoftheRose,hefirstintroducedtoEnglishtheoctosyllabiccouplet.                       InThelegendof

GoodWomen,heusedforthefirsttimeinEnglishheroiccouplet.Andinhismasterpiece,The

CanterburyTales,heemployedheroiccoupletwithtrueeaseandcharmforthefirsttimeinthe

historyofEnglishliterature.

        Besidesthis,thoughhedrewinfluencefromFrench,Italian,andLatinmodels,heisthe

firstgreatpoetwhowroteinthecurrentEnglishlanguage.Hisproductionofsomuchexcellent

poetryisanimportantfactorinestablishingEnglishastheliterarylanguageofthecountry.Andhe

madethedialectofLondonthefoundationforModernEnglishspeech.Smallwonderlaterday

writer,JohnDrydon,wouldcallhim"theFatherofEnglishpoetry".

10.WhatisHeroicCouplet?

  Heroiccoupletisarhymingcoupletofiambicpentameter,oftencontainingacompletethought.

Thereisafairlyheavypauseattheendofthefirstlineandastillheavieroneattheendofthe

second.Commonlythereisaparalleloranantithesiswithinaline,orbetweenthetwolines.Itis

calledheroicbecauseinEngland,especiallyintheeighteenthcentury,itwasmuchusedforheroic

（epic）poems.

11.WhatisChaucer'sliteraryachievement?

（1）  Firstof  all,hepresentedacomprehensive realistic pictureofhis age and createda

whole    gallery  of vivid  characters   in his  works,  especially    in The  Canterbury    Tales.  

（2） He

anticipated  a  new  era,  the  Renaissance,  to  come  under  the  influence  of  men  like  Petrarch  and

Baecacio.  In  his  works,  the  spirit  of  Renaissance  can  be  already  seen.  （3）  He  developed  his

characterization      to a higher   level  by presenting    characters   with   both  typical  qualities  and

individual  dispositions,  （4）  And  he  greatly  contributed  to  the  maturing  of  English  prosody  by

adoptingdifferentrhymingskills.Drydoncalledhim"theFatherofEnglishProsody"（诗体论。

韵

律学）.

                                                                                                                        2

-----------------------Page3-----------------------

12．Whatispopularballad?

HowhasEnglishballaddeveloped?

      Ballardisoriginallyasongintendedastheaccompanimenttoadance.Inthemodernsense,

aballadisjustasimplespiritedpoeminshortstanzasinwhichsomepopularstoryisgraphically

narrated．TheEnglishpopularballadflourishedfromthe12thcenturytothe15thcentury，

reflectingthelifeofthepeoplethen．AndthemostremarkableonesaretheRobinHoodballads.

Theseareballadsaboutanoutlawedherowholivesintheforestwithhismen,robstherichand

helpsthepoor.Majorcollectionsoftheseballadsdidnotbeginuntilthe18thcenturyandthemost

creditable  among  them  are     Thomas    Percy's  Relics  of  Ancient  English   Poetry,  Walter  Scott's

MinstrelsoftheScottishBorder,etc.

13.HowwouldyoudefinethetermRenaissance?

        ThistermreferstoagreatbourgeoisculturalmovementinEuropewhichbeganinthe14th

centuryandcontinuedtothemid-17thcentury.ItfirststartedfromItalyandthenspreadallover

Europe.Originally,thetermmeans"rebirth"orrevival.Andthemovementseemstobearebirth

orrevivalofancientGreekandRomanculture,causedbyaseriesofhistoricalevents,suchasthe

new    discoveries    in geography     and  astrology,   the religious   reformation    and  the  economic

expansion.  The  Renaissance,  therefore,in essence,  isa historical  periodin  whichthe  European

humanistthinkersandscholarstriedtogetridofthoseoldfeudalisticideasinMedievalEurope,to

introducenewideasthatexpresstheinterestsoftherisingbourgeoisie,andtorecoverthepurityof

theearlychurchfromthecorruptionoftheRomanCatholicchurch.

14.HowtodefinethetermHumanism?

       HumanismisasystemofbeliefsupheldbywritersandartistsoftheRenaissanceperiodin

theirfightingagainstmedievalasceticism.Itstatesthatmanisgodly,thatmanisabletofindtruth,

goodnessandbeauty,andthatmanisincontrolofthepresentliferatherthanbeingcontrolledby

God.Briefly,humanismputsmanatthecenteroftheirbeliefsandtakesmantobethemeasureof

everythingwhiletheformerasceticismputsGodatthecenteroftheirbeliefsandtakespersonal

salvationtobethemostimportantthingontheearthforman.

15.WhatarethemaincharacteristicsofHumanistwritings?

    HumanistwritingsaffirmthevalueofmanandrepudiatetheabsolutecontrolofmanbyGod.

They  call  for  man's  freedom  in  thinking,  praise  man's  worldly  aspirations,  and  denunciate  the

feudalisticcontrolofman'sthought.Theystatethatmanhasarightforearthlyhappinessandthat

asceticism  is  against  human  nature.  In  them,  reason  and  science  are  put  into  a  very  high  place

whilemysticismisthrownaway.Theyaremostlyrealisticinessence.

16.WhatisthehistoricalandculturalbackgroundoftheEnglishRenaissance?

          BecauseofthewarofRoseswithinthe