英國文學100問

1、1QUESTIONS ABOUT ENGLISH LITERATURE1.Why is Wordsworth regarded as a “Worshipper of Nature?”Wordsworth is regarded as a“Worshipper of Nature” because he can penetrate to the core of things and give the readers the v

2、ery life of nature．He wrote many poems like “The Sparrow’s Nest”, “To a Skylark”, “To a Butterfly to Rev”. He has genuine love for the natural beauty which can release him out of the solitude and sorrow when he is sad o

3、r empty-minded，as is expressed in “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud”. Beyond the pleasures of the picturesque nests with their emphasis on the eye and the external aspects of nature，the poems lie a moral awareness as he is

4、 aware of his own sublime communion with all things．Nature has become an inspiring force of rapture and a power that reveals the working of the soul．To Wordsworth，nature acts as a substitute for imaginative and intelle

5、ctual engagement with the development of embodied human beings in their diverse circumstances．It’s nature that gives him “strength and knowledge full of peace.” 2.What’s the significance and influence of Wordsworth’s po

6、ems on English literature?William Wordsworth is the leading figure of the English romantic poetry and his works is the focal poetic of the period. His poetry is a voice of searchingly comprehensive humanity and one that

7、 inspires his audience to see the world freshly, sympathetically and naturally. The most important contribution he has made is that he has not only started the modern poetry, the poetry of the growing inner self, but a

8、lso changed the course of English poetry by using ordinary speech of the language and by advocating a return to nature. 3.What does the sentence of Wordsworth“The child is father of the man”mean?The sentence is found in

9、 Wordsworth’s well-known poem “My Heart Leaps Up”. Maybe the idea is derived from Milton’s “Paradise Regained”: “His childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.” Here the statement implies that the influences wh

10、ich contribute to former character of the child endure through life. 4.What does Wordsworth mean when he said “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility”？This sentence i

11、s considered as the principle of Wordsworth’s poetry creation which was set forth in the preface to “the Lyrical Ballads”. As contrasted with the classicists who made reason, order and the old classical traditions the c

12、riteria in their poetical creations，Wordsworth based his own poetic talent on the premise that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling．” He appealed directly on individual sensations，i. e. plea

13、sure，excitement and enjoyment，as the foundation in the creation and appreciation of poetry. A poet’s emotion extends from human affairs to nature，but emotion immediately impressed is as raw as wine newly bottled．Tranqu

14、il contemplation of an emotional experience matures the feelings and sensation，and makes possible the creation of good poetry like the mellow of old wine． 5.What is your understanding of Coleridge’s philosophy and his v

15、iewpoints towards literary criticism？Philosophically and critically，Coleridge opposed the limitedly rationalistic trends of the 18the century thought. He courageously stemmed the tide of the prevailing doctrines derived

16、 from Hume and Hartley, advocating a more spiritual and religious interpretation of life．He believes that art is the only permanent revelation of the nature of reality．A poet should realize the vague intimations derive

17、d from his unconsciousness without sacrificing the vitality of the inspiration．Coleridge is one of the first critics to give close critical attention to language，maintaining that the true end of poetry is to give pleasu

18、re “through the medium of beauty.” He sings highly of Wordsworth’s “purity of language.” “deep and subtle thoughts,” “Perfect truth to nature.” He denies Wordsworth’s opinion that the language in poetry should be the sa

19、me as it in common conversation．Coleridge is not only a poet, but also a literary critic．He offered the critic a new principle, that is：not to judge, but to appreciate and interpret．In Coleridge’s opinion，the poet is a

20、 creator and the critic is an assistant in the work of creation. The poet, as a man endowed with imaginative genius and fine perception, must be allowed to present the truth in his own way regardless of the rules and m

21、odels．Also the critic must enter into the poet’s purpose and art, and interpret ideas and beauty for the benefit of the reader．He is the first critic of the romantic school． 6.What’s the main idea of Kublai Khan？“Kublai

22、 Khan” is one of the best-known poems written by Cole ridge．It was composed in a dream after Coleridge took the opium. Before he fell into sleep, he had been reading a book about Kublai Khan，the ancient conqueror of Mon

23、golia．The poem provides us a gorgeous oriental picture：the magnificent palace, the chasm the sacred river Alph bursts out of, is exotic and vivid. The poem can be a pleasant verbal music. The great poet’s rich imaginat

24、ion found a full expression here. The poem consists some conflicting things：Xanadu represents a beautifully cultivated product of rational will；Alph’s wild and savage chasm represents an irrationally mysterious creativ

25、e energy which is opposed to Xanadu. “Ancestral voices prophesying war” confirms that conflict is always present．The speaker realizes the opposites can be reconciled through the creative imagination. In the poem, the po

26、et reached the goal. 7. What is“Byronic hero”？Byronic hero is a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers, this Byronic hero would carry on his shoulders the bu

27、rden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupt society, and would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either in government, in religion, or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaust

28、ible energies. The conflict is usually one of rebellious individuals against outworn social systems and conventions. Such a 3of Elizabeth．In the process of judging others, Elizabeth finds out absurd about herself：her bli

29、ndness, partiality, prejudice and absurdity. At the same time, Darcy too learns about other people and himself. In the end, false prejudice is humbled and prejudice dissolved． 20.How to describe the writing style of Ja

30、ne Austen? What is the significance of her works?Generally speaking, Jane Austen is a writer of the 18th century though she lived mainly in the l9th century. She holds the ideals of the landlord class in politics，religi

31、on，and moral principles．Her works show clearly her firm belief in the predominance of reason over passion，her sense of repossibility，good manners and clear judgment over the romantic tendencies of emotion and individua

32、lity．She shows her contempt towards snobbery, stupidity, worldliness and vulgarity through subtle satire and irony．Austin’s main literary concern is about human beings in their personal relationships．In her works, she ch

33、aracterizes a human being not at moments of crisis，but in the most travail incidents of everyday life．Compared with other writers. Austin defined her stories within a very narrow sphere. The subject matter, the characte

34、r range, the social setting and plots are all restricted to the late 18th century England. Everything in her novel reminds us of a quiet, uneventful and contented life of the English country. Her characteristic theme i

35、s that maturity is achieved through the loss of illusions. Faults of character displayed by the people of her novel are corrected when, through tribulation, lessons are learned. All these show a mind of the shrewdest i

36、ntelligence adapting the available traditions and deepening the resources of art with consummate craftsmanship. Because of her sensitivity to universal patterns of human behavior, Jane Austin has brought the English nov

37、el, as an art of form, to maturity, and she has been regarded by many critics as one of the greatest of all novelists. 21. What is the general feature of the works of Romanticism？The general feature of the works of the

38、romanticism is a dissatisfaction with the bourgeois society，which finds expression in a revolt against or an escape from the prosaic and sordid dally life．Their writings are filled with strong willed heroes，formidable

39、events，tragic situations，powerful conflicting passions，and exotic pictures．Some times they resort to symbolic methods．In contrast to the rationalism of the enlighteners in the 18th century，the romanticists paid great at

40、tention to the spiritual and emotional life of man. Nature often personified，plays an important role in their works．The passions of man and the beauties of nature appealed strongly to the imagination of the writer，and

41、the glory of lakes and mountains，the little joys and sorrows of children， the weal and woe of ordinary，uncultured peasants，the wonder of the fairy world，and the classical art all became the fountain- heads of the writer’

42、s inspiration． 22. What do you know about Scott’s historical novels？Scott’s historical novels cover a long period of time，from the Middle Ages to the 18th century．They may be conveniently divided into three groups accor

43、ding to their subject matters，namely，the group on the history of Scotland．The representative works of this group is “Rob Roy”. The group on English history，of this group the best known is “Ivanhoe”；and the group on the

44、 history of European countries, “Quentin Durward” is the best known which deals with an epoch of French history. 23.What is the Victorian Period in English history？Chronologically the Victorian period roughly coincides

45、with the reign of Queen Victoria over England from1836 to 1901. The period has been generally regarded as one of the most glorious in the English history. 24. What are the main characteristics of the English literature

46、in Victorian Period？Victorian literature，as a product of its age，naturally took on its quality of magnitude and diversity．It was many-sided and complex，and reflected both romantically and realistically the great changes

47、 that were going on in people’s life and thought．Victorian literature，in general，truthfully represents the reality and spirit of the age. The high-spirited vitality，the down- to-earth earnestness，the good-natured humor a

48、nd unbounded imagination are all unprecedented．In almost every genre it paved the way for the coming century，where its spirits，values and experiments are to witness their bump harvest． 25. What is the Chartist Movement？

49、From 1836 to 1848，the English workers got themselves organized in big cities and brought forth the People’s Charter，in which they demanded basic rights and better living and working conditions．The People’s Parliament ga

50、thered in 1837 and on the People’s Charter there were over a million signatures of workers. The movement swept over most of the bit cities in the country．This was the first mass movement of the English working class an

51、d the early sign of the awakening of the poor，oppressed people． 26. What is Utilitarianism？The ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility，and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happines

52、s of the greatest number of persons． 27. Why was England called“workshop of the world” in the Victorian period？The early years of the Victorian England was a time of rapid economic development as well as serious social p

53、roblems．After the Reform Bill of 1832 passed the political power from the decaying aristocrats into the hands of the middleclass industrial capitalists，the Industrial Revolution soon geared up．Scientific discoveries an

54、d technologic inventions from railways to steamships，from spinning looms to printing machines quickly brought amazing changes to the country．For a time England was the “workshop of the world” 28. What is Critical Reali

55、sm？Critical Realism is the main trend of the literary thoughts in the 19th century．It reveals the corrupting influence of the rule of cash upon human nature．Critical realists first and foremost set themselves the task o

56、f criticizing capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint of bourgeoisie reality．As far as the literary form or “genre” is concerned，the major contribution made by the 19thcentury critical realists lies in their per

57、fection of the novels．Like the realists of the 18thcentury，the19th century critical realists made use of the form of novel for full and detailed representations of social and political events，and of the fate of individ

58、uals and of whole social classes． 29. What are the main characteristics of the English critical realism？English critical realism of them 19thcentury flourished in the forties and in the early fifties．The critical realist