简答-英国文学

Unit 1 Geoffrey Chaucer:

the Canterbury Tales

1, how is the setting of the tales described? The general tone?

The poem is set in the early spring, in the suburb of London. Tone: happy, easy, lively, humorous.

2.

Character of the knight:

noble, honorable, brave, wise, humble, gentle, pious

Unit 2 William Shakespeare

Hamlet

1.

Why sleep is so frightening, since it can “end” the heartache and the thousand natural shocks”?

Nobody

can

predict

what

he

will

dream

of

after

he

falls

asleep.

2.

Why

would

people

rather

hear

all

the

sufferings

of

the

world

instead choosing death to get rid of them

?

Death is so mysterious that nobody knows what death will bring to us. Maybe

bitter

sufferings,

great

pains,

heartbreaking

stories…

3.

What,

after

all,

makes people

lose

their

determination

to

take

action?

Please

explain

in

relation

to

the

so-called hesitation

of

Hamlet.

1)

Conscience

and

over-considerations.

2)

He

wants to revenge, but doesn’t know how; 2) He wants to kill his uncle, but find it too risky; 3) He lives in despair

and wants

to commit suicide, 4)however, he knows if he dies, nobody will comfort his father’s ghost. He is in face of great dilemma.

Romeo

and Juliet

2.

What is Romeo and Juliet’s attitude toward being a Montague or a Capulet?

They would give up

their nam

es for love’s sake.

3. What does Romeo mean when he says “Look thou but sweet, /And I am proof against their

enmity”?

Only if you are kind to me, their hatred cannot hurt me.

Sonnet18

：

Theme:

Expressing the deep love to his friend.

does the poet answer the question he put forth in the first line?

The

poet

first

makes

a

comparison

between

“thou”

and

the

summer’s

day

,

then

continues

that

he

should

not

compare “thou” to a summer’s

day, for “thou” is more beautiful than summer’s day.

makes the poet think that “thou” can be more beautiful than summer and immortal?

Summer’s day cannot last long. It is sometimes too hot and has rough wind. Its gold complexion dimmed, fair de

clines.

Nature’s

change

course

it

untrimmed.

However,

“thou”

is

more

lovely

and

temperate,

“thy”

beauty

is

ever

lasting

and

never changes.

mean

of

the

last

2

lines?

you

will

not

lose

your

own

beauty,

nor

shall

Death

boast

that

you

roam

about

in

his

darkness; so long as men can stay alive, so long as this poem lives, it gives you eternal life.

Unit 3 Francis Bacon

Of Marriage and Single Life

作者观点

：

Bacon prefers marriage to single life. Family and children can give people a

sense of responsibility and make

people

be full of

love. A man may

have a good reason to

marry when

he will. Bad husbands can

become good husbands

under

the

influence

of

good

wives.

If

a

woman

persists

in

choosing

a

bad

man

for

her

husband

against

their

friends’

consent, she is sure to be able to help him to get rid of his shortcomings.

2. In what sense are wife and children “a kind of discipline of humanity”?

A married man kn

ows

how to love, and how to respond to love. By contrast, a single man’s tenderness is not often called

upon. Loving husbands commonly have grave and constant natures. Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions

for

middle age, and old men’s nurses. A man

may have a good reason to marry when he will. Bad husbands can become good

husbands

under

the

influence

of

good

wives.

If

a

woman

persists

in

choosing

a

bad

man

for

her

husband

against

their

friends’ consent, she is sure to be able to help him to get rid

of his shortcomings (folly).

Of studies

1. What lessons can we learn from Bacon’s “Of Studies” in our access to information?

right

decisions

and

judgments

over

important

matters

are

based

upon

comprehensive

knowledge

which

is

acquired

by

studies.

Without

a

wide

range

of

knowledge,

a

person

cannot

digest

information,

analyze

information

and

take

timely

measures accordingly.

2. In what sense does reading make a full man.

引用

+ Studies can train

(shape) a

person’s character and make

up a

person’s

deficiencies.

Every defect of the mind

may

have a special receipt.

3. What does the essay deal with?

内容

This essay analyzes what studies chiefly serve for, the

different ways adopted by

different people to pursue studies,

and

how studies exert influence over human character.

4. What do you think of the language of the essay?

clearness,

brevity,

and

force

of

expression.

The

sentences

are

short,

pointed,

incisive,

and

of

balanced

structures.

Conciseness

of expression and simplicity of diction are two chief

distinguishing features of the prose

style of Bacon

who

was among the earliest of English essayists.

Unit 4 17th-Century British poet

John Donne- The Flea

：概括

“The Flea,” is a persuasive poem in which the speaker is attempting to establish a sexual union

with

his

significant

other. Donne

uses

the

flea

as

a

conceit,

to

represent

a

sexual

union

with

his

significant

other.

The

speaker

is

suggesting

that

through

the

flea

the

two

are

married.

Again,

the

flea

represents

marriage,

union,

and

consum mation

（完成，圆满，完美）

through intimacy. The flea is now considering the baby produced by their bloods.