专八人文知识讲义.docx

1、专八人文知识讲义Unit One English Literature and American LiteratureSection One English Literature1. The Renaissance is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, such as the rediscovery of ancient Rome and Greek culture, new discovery in geography and astrology and the religious reform

2、ation and the economic expansion.2. The Pilgrims Progress （天路历程）is regarded as the most successful religious allegory in the English language.3. Among the representatives of the Enlightenment, Alexander Pope （蒲柏）was the first to introduce rationalism to England.4. Generally speaking, the Renaissance

3、 refers to the period between the 14th and mid-17th centuries, its essence is humanism.5. In “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”(Shakespeare, Sonnets 18), “this” refers to poetry.6. About Renaissance, a) humanism is the essence; b) Attitu

4、des and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and Reformation; c) The Elizabethan drama, in its totality, is the real stream of the English Renaissance.7. It is Geoffrey Chaucer （杰弗里乔叟）alone who, for the first time in Engli

5、sh Literature, presented to us a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his time and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life.8. The sentence “Shall I compare thee to a summers day?” is the beginning line of one of Shakespeares sonnets.9. The reasons for

6、that Edmund Spenser （斯宾塞）is famous for “the poets poet” are Spensers idealism, his love of beauty and his exquisite melody.10. Marlowe （马洛）gave new vigor to blank verse with his “mighty lines”.11. In Shellys “To a Skylark”, （雪莱，云雀颂）the bird, suspended between reality and poetic image, pours forth an

7、 exultant song which suggests to the poet both celestial rapture and human limitation.12. “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? and if God had gifted me with some beauty, and much wealth, I should have made it As hard for you to leave, as it is no

8、w for me to leave you.” The above quoted passage is most probably taken from Jane Eyre.13. The sentences “and now he stared at her so earnestly that I thought the very intensity of his gaze would bring tears into his eyes; but they burned with anguish, they did not melt” are found in Wuthering Heigh

9、ts by Emily Bronte.14. The most eminent dramatists in the Renaissance England are Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson（琼森）.15. Descriptions about the Neoclassical Period: a) The Neoclassical Period is prior to the Romantic Period; b) Henry Fielding （菲尔丁）is one of the representativ

10、es of the Neoclassical period; c) The modern English novel came into being in the Neoclassical period.16. “O prince, O chief of my throned powers, / That led th embattled separation to war / Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds / Fearless, endangered Heavens perpetual king. In the third line of

11、the above passage quoted from Miltons Paradise Lost, the phrase “thy conduct refers to Satans conduct.17. Comments on William Blake（布莱克）: a) Childhood is central to Blakes concern in the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience; b) Blakes Marriage of Heaven and Hell marks his entry into maturity;

12、c) Symbolism in wide range is a distinctive feature of his poetry.18. It is generally regarded that Keats （济慈）most important and mature poems are in the form of ode.19. Daniel Defoes （笛福鲁宾逊漂流记）novels mainly focus on the struggle of the shipwrecked persons for security.20. In the Shepherds Calendar,

13、Edmund Spenser tried to express his laments over the loss of Rosalind.21. In Beowulf, （贝尔武甫）Beowulf fought against the monster Grendel and a five breathing dragon.22. In Spensers masterpiece The Faerie Queen, （仙后）he speaks of 12 virtues of the private gentleman.23. Francis Bacon is best known for hi

14、s essays which greatly influenced the development of this literary form.24. The literary form of The Faerie Queen is allegorical poem.25. The characteristics of Spensers poetry are a perfect melody, a rare sense of beauty and a splendid imagination.26. Most of Thomas Hardys novels are set in Wessex（

15、威塞克斯）, a fictional primitive region.27. We can perhaps describe the west wind in Shellys poem Ode to the West Wind as swift, proud and wild.28. “Blindness”, “Partiality”, “Prejudice” and “Absurdity” in the novel Pride and Prejudice are most likely the characteristics of Elizabeth.29. The modern Engl

16、ish novel came into being in the middle of the 18th century.30. In terms of Pride and Prejudice, a) it is the most popular of Jane Austens novel; b) it is originally drafted as “First Impressions; c) In it, the author explores the relationship between great love and realistic benefits.31. Chronologically the Victorian Period refers to 1836-1901.32. Dickens first child hero is Oliver Twist.33.