新大纲规定的英语专业自考英美文学重点要记的作家有
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英语专八英美文学作品及作者简介☆英国文学名家名著《贝奥武甫》(Beowulf)是英国盎格鲁·撒克逊时期的一首英雄史诗,古英语文学的最高成就,同时标志着英国文学的开始。
史诗的第一部分讲述瑞典青年王子贝奥武甫来到丹麦,帮助丹麦国王赫罗斯加杀死了12年来常来进行夜袭的巨妖格伦德尔及他的母亲;第二部分简述了贝奥武甫继承王位,平安统治50年。
后来,他的国土被一条喷火巨龙蹂躏,老当益壮的贝奥武甫与火龙交战,杀死火龙,自己也受了致命伤。
杰弗里·乔叟(Geoffrey Chaucer ,1340-1400)是英国文学之父亲和前最杰出的作家。
主要作品有《坎特伯雷故事集》等。
作品的主要特点是主题、题材、风格、笔调的多样性及描写人对生活的追求的复杂性。
他的代表作品是《坎特伯雷故事集》(The Canterbury Tales)不仅描绘了31位朝圣者的各个社会阶层,而且也反映了他们各自叙述故事的不同风格,读者广泛,对后世影响很大。
威廉·莎士比亚(William Shakespeare ,1564-1616)是文艺复兴时期英国著名的剧作家和诗人。
他创作了大量的作品,其中包括喜剧、悲剧和历史剧。
他的剧本至今仍在许多国家上演,并为人们所普遍阅读。
莎上比亚的作品文才横溢,创造的喜、怒、哀、乐场面使人印象深刻,历久难忘。
主要作品有四大悲剧:《奥赛罗》(Othello)、《哈姆雷特》(Hamlet)、《麦克白》(Macbeth),《李尔王》(King Lear);四大喜剧:《仲夏夜之梦》(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)、《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice)、《无事生非》(Much Ado about Nothing)和《皆大欢喜》(As You Like It)等。
此外,历史剧《亨利六世》(Henry VI)三部曲,爱情悲剧《罗密欧与朱丽叶》(Romeo and Juliet)也都很受欢迎。
English drama是英国文艺复兴的主流姓名年代-生卒年国籍备注Geoffrey Chaucer 中世纪(1343-1400) 英国<The Canterbury Tales>:firsttime to use …heroic couplet‟(双韵体) by middle EnglishThe father of English poetry. (writingstyle: wisdom, humor, humanity.)尔Edmund Spenser 埃德蒙.斯宾塞文艺复兴1552~1599英国the Fairy Queen仙后(for QueenElizabeth)Thomas More 托马斯.莫文艺复兴:(1478~1535)英国<Utopia>乌托邦是英国的空想社会主义者Oneof the greatest English humanistsFrancis Bacon 弗兰西斯.培根(1561-1626)英国Essays:<Of studies>;New InstrumentAdvancement of Learning英国唯物主义及现代实验科学之父Christopher Marlowe 克里斯托弗.马洛(1564~1595)英国①<The Tragical History of DoctorFaustus>浮士德博士的悲剧(根据德国民间故事书写成)②<Tamburlaine>帖木耳大帝③<The Jew of Malta>马耳他的犹太人把blank verse无韵诗作为英语戏剧主要表达方式的开创者。
“UniversityWits”, the pioneer of English drama(完善了无韵体诗。
)Blank verse:written in unrhymed iambicpentameter.John Lyly: 约翰。
自考英美文学选读书单全文共四篇示例,供读者参考第一篇示例:自考英美文学选读书单:自考英美文学选读一直是自考英美文学专业的核心课程之一,对学生的文学修养和英语水平提升起着非常重要的作用。
下面给大家推荐一份【自考英美文学选读】书单,希望对大家学习和备考有所帮助。
1. 《简·爱》(Jane Eyre)- 夏洛蒂·勃朗特(Charlotte Bronte)《简·爱》是英国文学史上的经典之作,描写了主人公简·爱的一生遭遇及成长历程。
小说通过简·爱的内心世界、对生活的思考和对爱情的追求,展示了女性独立、坚强和自由的形象,被誉为女性主义文学的杰作。
2. 《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)- 简·奥斯汀(Jane Austen)《傲慢与偏见》是英国文学史上的又一经典之作,讲述了伊丽莎白·班奇和达西先生之间的爱情故事。
小说通过调侃社会习俗、揭示人性弱点和倡导女性独立,展现了简·奥斯汀的精湛文学功底和对人性深刻洞察的能力。
3. 《了不起的盖茨比》(The Great Gatsby)- F·司各特·菲茨杰拉德(F. Scott Fitzgerald)《了不起的盖茨比》是美国文学史上的代表作之一,讲述了上世纪20年代美国高盛时期的繁荣与荒诞。
小说通过主人公盖茨比的爱情故事、社会地位和金钱的探讨,揭示了美国梦的虚幻和人性的贪婪,具有较高的文学价值和社会意义。
《呼啸山庄》是英国文学史上的经典之作,描绘了希斯克利夫和凯瑟琳之间的爱恨纠葛。
小说通过家族恩怨、爱情悲剧和人性探讨,展现了勃朗特姐妹的文学才华和对人性矛盾的深刻理解。
《去吧,告诉她们,我在这里》是美国文学史上的力作之一,讲述了黑人青年约翰尼的成长经历和对信仰的追求。
小说通过种族歧视、家庭纠葛和自我认同的挣扎,反映了美国社会的种族问题和对人类命运的深刻思考。
英美文学选读自考重点英美文学选读是自考中一门重要且富有魅力的课程,它涵盖了英国和美国文学发展历程中的众多经典作品和重要作家。
对于自考生来说,掌握重点内容是顺利通过考试的关键。
以下将为您详细介绍英美文学选读自考的重点。
一、英国文学部分1、古英语时期与中世纪文学这一时期的重点是了解英国文学的起源和早期发展。
比如,《贝奥武甫》是英国文学史上第一部重要的史诗,要理解其主题、结构和语言特点。
另外,乔叟的《坎特伯雷故事集》也是重点,需掌握其对人物的刻画、叙事技巧以及反映的社会现实。
2、文艺复兴时期文学文艺复兴时期的英国文学成就斐然。
威廉·莎士比亚是重中之重,他的戏剧作品如《哈姆雷特》《罗密欧与朱丽叶》《麦克白》等,要深入研究其人物塑造、情节设置、主题思想以及对人性、命运、爱情等问题的探讨。
同时,还需了解这一时期其他重要作家如托马斯·莫尔的《乌托邦》。
3、 17 世纪文学这一时期的玄学派诗歌和清教徒文学是重点。
约翰·多恩的玄学派诗歌以奇特的比喻和复杂的思维著称,要理解其诗歌的独特风格和思想内涵。
而弥尔顿的《失乐园》《复乐园》等作品,则要把握其宗教主题和史诗般的气魄。
4、 18 世纪文学启蒙运动时期的英国文学注重现实和理性。
丹尼尔·笛福的《鲁滨逊漂流记》是必读作品,要分析主人公的形象和作品所反映的殖民主义、个人奋斗等主题。
此外,乔纳森·斯威夫特的《格列佛游记》也是重点,理解其讽刺手法和对社会现象的批判。
5、 19 世纪浪漫主义文学浪漫主义时期的诗人如威廉·华兹华斯、塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治、拜伦、雪莱和济慈的作品都需要认真研读。
了解他们各自的诗歌风格、主题以及对自然、爱情、自由等的追求。
同时,简·奥斯汀的小说《傲慢与偏见》也是常考内容,要分析其细腻的人物描写和婚姻爱情观。
6、 19 世纪现实主义文学查尔斯·狄更斯的作品在这一时期占据重要地位,如《雾都孤儿》《大卫·科波菲尔》《双城记》等,要理解其对社会现实的批判和对人性的关怀。
英美文学选读自学考试大纲一、考试简介英美文学选读自学考试旨在测试考生对于英美文学的基本概念、发展历程、重要作家及其作品的掌握程度,以及对于英美文学的基本理论和分析方法的了解和运用能力。
考试形式为闭卷笔试,考试时间为180分钟,满分为100分。
二、考试内容1、英美文学基本概念及发展历程(20%)测试考生对于英美文学的基本概念、发展历程和重要时期的了解和掌握程度。
2、英美文学重要作家及其作品(30%)测试考生对于英美文学的重要作家及其代表作品的了解和掌握程度,包括但不限于莎士比亚、简·奥斯汀、托尔斯泰、海明威等。
3、英美文学的基本理论和分析方法(30%)测试考生对于英美文学的基本理论和分析方法的了解和掌握程度,包括但不限于新批评、结构主义、后现代主义等。
4、阅读理解与写作能力(20%)测试考生的阅读理解能力和写作能力,包括对于所给文本的理解、分析、评价和论述能力。
三、考试形式及题型1、单项选择题(20分)要求考生从四个选项中选择一个最符合题意的答案。
2、多项选择题(20分)要求考生从五个选项中选择两个或以上的答案。
21、简答题(20分)要求考生用简短的语言回答问题,考查考生的理解和概括能力。
211、分析题(30分)要求考生对所给的文学作品进行分析、评价和论述,考查考生的分析能力和语言表达能力。
2111、写作题(10分)要求考生根据给定的题目和要求进行写作,考查考生的写作能力和语言表达能力。
四、自学建议系统学习英美文学基本知识:了解英美文学的发展历程、重要时期和流派,掌握基本概念和理论。
阅读重要作家作品:选择一些经典作家及其代表作品进行阅读和研究,深入了解作家的创作风格和思想内涵。
培养阅读和分析能力:通过阅读和分析文学作品,提高自己的阅读能力和分析能力,掌握基本的文学分析方法。
加强写作训练:通过写作练习,提高自己的写作能力和语言表达能力,为考试做好准备。
英美文学选读复习资料一、英国文学1、文艺复兴时期:代表人物:莎士比亚、培根、哈姆雷特等。
英美文学流派与作家知识点整理英美文学源远流长,在其发展历程中涌现出了众多的文学流派和杰出作家,这些流派和作家的作品不仅反映了当时的社会、文化和历史背景,也展现了人类思想和情感的丰富多样性。
以下是对一些重要的英美文学流派与作家的知识点整理。
一、浪漫主义文学浪漫主义文学兴起于 18 世纪末至 19 世纪初,强调个人情感、想象力和自然的重要性。
(一)英国浪漫主义作家1、威廉·华兹华斯(William Wordsworth)他是英国浪漫主义诗歌的先驱之一,其作品强调对自然的热爱和对普通人生活的关注。
代表作有《抒情歌谣集》(Lyrical Ballads)。
2、塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)他的诗作充满奇幻的想象和神秘的元素,《古舟子咏》(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)是其经典之作。
3、乔治·戈登·拜伦(George Gordon Byron)拜伦以其奔放的激情和叛逆的精神著称,作品有《唐璜》(Don Juan)等。
4、珀西·比希·雪莱(Percy Bysshe Shelley)雪莱的诗歌富有理想主义和革命精神,《西风颂》(Ode to theWest Wind)广为流传。
(二)美国浪漫主义作家1、华盛顿·欧文(Washington Irving)他的作品具有浓厚的地方色彩和幽默风格,《瑞普·凡·温克尔》(Rip Van Winkle)是其代表作。
2、詹姆斯·费尼莫·库珀(James Fenimore Cooper)以描写边疆生活和印第安人而闻名,《皮袜子故事集》(The Leatherstocking Tales)是其重要作品。
二、现实主义文学现实主义文学在 19 世纪中叶兴起,注重真实地反映社会现实和生活。
(一)英国现实主义作家1、查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)狄更斯的作品生动描绘了英国社会底层人民的生活,如《雾都孤儿》(Oliver Twist)、《大卫·科波菲尔》(David Copperfield)。
1.Benjamin Franklin①富兰克林美国启蒙运动的发起人,是一位伟大的科学家,发明家,产业家也是美国革命的先驱。
他是美国建国元勋之一,参与起草《独立宣言》和美国宪法。
②在文学领域,他是美国独立战争前最伟大的作家之一,代表作包括《自传》、《穷理查德年鉴》③自传描写了富兰克林的个人背景,包括他早年的学习经历和日后的工作经历,以及他政治,科学,经济方面的成就。
全书充满请教主义思想,反映了作者自我教育孜孜以求的信念和他为进步事业奋斗一生的决心。
全书语言方面上讲,辞藻华丽,多长句。
④写作风格:直接,明了,风格平实,比喻通俗,措辞句法简洁,文字朴素,幽默,叙述清楚简介,使读者感到亲切,易于接受,开创了美国传记文学的传统,使传记成为一种新文学。
2.爱默生①艾默生是美国新英格兰超验主义最杰出的作家,是美国著名的散文家和诗人。
②最著名的散文包括:自然,美国学者,超灵,论自立.③自然是艾默生出版的第一部作品,体现了他对物质世界的超验主义态度。
美国学者中他号召美国学者一位遵照欧洲文学的模式,而是作为一个自由人面对新世界。
这篇散文被誉为“美国思想文化领域的独立宣言”④主要观点:超验主义最主要的元素就是“超灵”。
自然是最纯洁的,最能影响人们的道德思想。
如果人依靠自己的力量锻炼自己,使自己变的神圣,他就越来越完善,近乎完美。
每个人都要理解,通过创造世界,他同样改变了自己,而又通过创造自己,他同样创造了世界。
3.霍桑①霍桑是美国浪漫主义最伟大的浪漫主义作家,是清教徒的后裔,因此作品中有浓重的请教主义色彩、②主要作品:红字,有七个尖角的房子,大理石雕像,牧师的黑面纱③写作特点:1)描写社会和人性的阴暗面是霍桑作品的突出特点,这与加尔文教关于认得“原罪”和“内在堕落”理论影响是分不开的。
2)霍桑是心理小说的开创者,擅长剖析人的“内心”。
3)他着重探讨道德和罪恶的问题,主张通过善行和自忏来洗刷罪恶,净化心灵,从而得到拯救。
《英美文学》复习大纲第一部分英国文学一、课程简介本课程简要介绍英国各个历史断代的主要文学文化思潮,文学流派,主要作家; 本课程要求学生掌握英国文学史上各个时期的文学特点,出现的文学流派以及该时期一至两位重要作家的文学生涯,创作思想,艺术特色及代表作品;并要求学生做到在掌握有关知识理论的基础上使之转换这能力,即能用有关知识和理论来分析英国文学中的相关问题。
二、课程重点章节简介:第一章:古代与中世纪英国文学1. <<贝尔武夫>>2. 乔叟及其代表作第二章: 文艺复兴时期1. 文艺复兴的定义2. 萨士比亚的戏剧及十四行诗3. 培根的代表作第三章: 十七世纪英国文学1. 弥尔顿的代表作<<失乐园>>、诗剧<<力士参孙>>的主要内容及<<失乐园>>选短第四章: 启蒙运动时期1. 新古典主义2. 伤感主义3. 笛福及代表作4. 蒲伯及代表作第五章: 浪漫主义时期1. 浪漫主义时期文学的特点2. 彭斯的创作特点及代表作3. 华兹华斯的创作特点及代表作4. 拜伦诗歌的特点及代表作第六章: 维多利亚时期1. 维多利亚时期的文学特点2. 布朗蒂姐妹的代表作第七章: 现代时期1. 现代主义文学2. 汤姆斯.哈代创作特点及代表作3. D.H.劳伦斯创作特点及代表作三、本课程重点和难点内容简介第一章:古代与中世纪英国文学:1.<<贝尔武夫>>简介及在英国文学史上的意义。
2.乔叟及其代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》对英国文学做出的贡献。
3.名词解释“骑士抒情诗”第二章: 文艺复兴时期:1. 文艺复兴时期的时间界定2. “文艺复兴”的名词解释3. “人文主义”的名词解释4. 莎士比亚的“Sonnet 18”的主题5. 哈姆雷特的性格分析6. 英语解释《论学习》中的句子第三章: 十七世纪英国文学:1. 英语解释弥尔顿《失乐园》选段中的句子2. 《失乐园》的主要内容和意义3. 《失乐园》中撒旦的人物分析第四章: 启蒙运动时期:1. 启蒙运动时期的界定2. 新古典主义的基本主张和特色3. 伤感主义的名词解释4. 《鲁滨逊漂流记》中鲁滨逊的人物分析5. 蒲伯的《论批评》的主题6. 英文解释《论批评》第五章: 浪漫主义时期:1. 浪漫主义时期的界定及文学特点2. 彭斯的诗歌的特点及其诗作“红玫瑰”3. 华兹华斯和科勒律治合作的《抒情歌谣集》的重要意义4. 华兹华斯的诗歌特点5. 英文解释华兹华斯“我如行云独自游”中的句子6. 拜伦“致希腊”的主题并用英语解释其中句子7. 雪莱“西风颂”的主题并用英语解释其中句子第六章: 维多利亚时期1. 维多利亚时期的文学特点2. 艾米莉。
新大纲规定的英语专业自考英美文学重点要记的作家有: William Shakespeare威廉.莎士比亚1564-1616John Milton约翰.弥尔顿1608-1674Daniel Defoe丹尼尔.笛弗1660-1731Jonathan Swift乔纳森.斯威夫特1667-1745Henry Fielding亨利.菲尔丁1707-1754William Blake威廉.布莱克1757-1827William Wordsworth威廉.华兹华斯1770-1850Percy Bysshe Shelley铂.比.雪莱1792-1822Jane Austen简.奥斯汀1775-1817Charles Dickens查尔斯.狄更斯1812-1870The Brontë SistersCharlotte Brontë (1816-1855),Emily Brontë (1818-1848),Anne Brontë (1820-2849)布郎帝姐妹Thomas Hardy托马斯.哈代137240324481840-1928George Bernard Shaw萧伯纳1856-1950T. S. EliotT.S.艾略特1888-1965D. H. Lawrence戴维.赫伯特.劳伦斯1885-1930Nathaniel Hawthorne纳萨尼尔.霍桑1804-1864Walt Whitman华尔特.惠特曼1819-1892Herman Melville赫尔曼.麦尔维尔1819-1891Mark Twain马克.吐温1835-1910Henry James亨利.詹姆斯1843-1916Emily Dickinson艾米莉.狄金森1830-1886Theodore Dreiser西奥多.德莱塞1871-1945Robert Lee Frost罗伯特.弗罗斯特1874-1963F. Scott Fitzgerald弗.斯科特.菲茨杰拉德1896-1940Ernest Hemingway厄内斯特.海明威1899-1961 William Faulkner威廉.福克纳1897-1962祝你考试成功!这是广外知名老师的PPT的WORD版,我们上课就用这个,感觉比较其它的简洁,讲得更精炼,对考试更有效,内容也没那么多.我有PPT的,不过太大了,我不知道如何上传,WORD版内容一样,希望对大家有帮助,你们的考试都是他们批卷,我知道的几个原则,1.答题作者人名,可以差一个两个这母,只要大体相同.2.用自己的话答题,不用原文,没有问题,只要成句子通顺,不要是单词.3.背大题的内容要答点,答不出来,就答那一时期的也给部分数.4.不要空,都知道自考不容易,老师们都会尽量找点分给你,空了没办法.5.实在不会,从前的选择题看一下,有时会被用来答后边大题.例,我考试时,前边的选择题,是下列那个不是四大悲剧,单选题.后边的大题是四大悲剧是什么,哈哈,起码你能答出来三个,而且有直接的英文抄.想到这了,希望有帮助,认识BUS里的朋友,有动力,希望一起进步,实现愿望!!英美文学选读》应用English LiteratureChapter One The Renaissance PeriodI. Shakespeare’s sonnets1. With a few exceptions, Shakespeare writes his sonnets in the popular English form of three quatrains and a couplet. The couplet usually ties the sonnet to one of the general themes, leaving the quatrains free to develop the poetic intensity.2. The sonnet’s most common themes concern the destructive effects of time, the quickness of physical decay, and the loss of beauty, vigor, and love. Although the poems celebrate life, they are always with a keen awareness of death.3. His sonnet 18 expresses that beautiful things can rely on the force of literature to reach eternity. Literature is created by man, thus it declares man’s eternity. The poem shows the mighty self-confidence ofthe newly class. The vivid, variable and rich images reflect the lively and adventurous spirits of those who were opening new world.II. Shakespeare’s A Merchant of Venice1. Theme(1) Justice vs. mercy: Shakespeare suggests that all men should be merciful. There is a further aspect of justice—the injustice revealed in the Christians’ treatment of the Jews.(2) Appearance vs. reality: e.g. superficial or external beauty vs. moral or spiritual beauty or truth (in the case of three caskets); the letters of law vs. the spirit of the law.(3) Commercial or material values vs. love: True love is much more worthwhile than money and material values. Antonio epitomizes true love in his friendship for Bassanio.2. The character analysis of ShylockShylock is a Jewish usurer, and he is a tragic-comic character.He is comic because he finally becomes the one punished by his own evil deed. He is avaricious. He accumulates as much wealth as he can and he even equates his lost daughter with his lost money. He is also cruel. In order to revenge, he would rather claim a pound of flesh from his enemy Antonio than get back his loan.He is tragic, because he is the victim of the society. As a Jew, he is not treated equally by the society. The law is harsh to him. He has to make as much money as he can in order to protect him. He is abused by Antonio, so he wants to get revenge.III. The character analysis of HamletHamlet is a scholar and a warrior. His father has been killed by his uncle, Claudius, who then take the throne and marries his mother. Hamlet is informed by the ghost of his father to take revenge, but the weakness of indecisiveness or indetermination in his character always delay his action, and finally leads to his tragic fall of death. Hamlet is not a man of action, but a man of thinking at first. He hesitates at some crucial moments. At last when he is forced to take some actions, he does kill Claudius gloriously, but he also sacrifices his own life.V. Milton’s Paradise Lost :1.Structure: The story is taken from the Old Testament. It extends chronologically from the exaltation of Christ before the creature of universe to the second coming of Christ. Geographically, it ranges over the entire world.2. The character analysis of Satan:He has the strength, the courage and the capacity for leadership, but he devoted all those qualities to evil. His defiance of God shows his egoistic pride, his false conception of freedom, and his alienation from all good. His own evil and damnation give him potentially tragic dimensions. Therefore, Satan is enveloped in dramatic irony because he fight in ignorance of the unshakable power of God and goodness.3.Features: Parallel and contrastThe central conflict and contrast between good and evil are intensified by the contrast between heaven and hell, light and darkness, love and hate, reason and passion, etc.Chapter Two The Neo-classical PeriodIII. The social satire of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s TravelsThe account of Lilliputian life, especially the games for people at court, alludes to the similar ridiculous practices or tricks in the English government. The description of the competition in the games before the royal members leads to the fact that the success of those government officials such as the Prime Minister lies not in their being any wiser or better but in their being more dexterous in the game. This alludes to the practices in England. And the pompous words singing of the Lilliputian emperor ridicule the aristocratic arrogance and vanity.IV. Henry Fielding and his Tom JonesIt is a good example of “comic epic in prose”. Fielding describes the fight between Molly and the villagers and her fistfight with Goody Brown in the grand style of the Homeric epic. He first of all calls on the Muses to assist him in recounting the fight as if it were of great historical importance. Like Homer who would list names of gods involved in the battle, he lists the names of the villagers. He treats Molly as a great hero at battle, an “Amazonian heroine”.Besides, he uses a mock-epic tone and seems very solemn about what he is describing. He uses formal words andrefined language. Finally, he makes use of different figures of speech, particularly, irony and hyperbole.Chapter Three The Romantic PeriodI. Wordsworth and his “I wandered lonely as a cloud”The poem is crystal clear and lucid. Below the immediate surface, we find that all the realistic details of the flowers, the trees, the waves, the wind, and all the realistic details of the active joy, are absorbed into an over-all concrete metaphor, the recurrent image of the dance. The flowers, the stars, the waves are units in this dancing pattern of order in diversity, of linked eternal harmony and vitality. Through the revelation and recognition of his kinship with nature, the poet himself becomes as it were a part of the whole cosmic dance.II. Shelley and his “Ode to the West Wind”In the poem, Shelley eulogizes the west wind as a powerful phenomenon of nature that is both destroyer and preserver. The wind enjoys boundless freedom and has the power to spread messages far and wide. The keynote in the poem is Shelley’s ever-present wish for himself and his fellow men to share the freedom of the west wind, remembering meanwhile his own and common human miseries. And the dominant mood is that of hope rather than despair, as the poet is hoping for the realization of the freedom and joy. The optimism expressed in the last two lines show the poet’scritical attitude toward the ugly social reality and his faith in a bright future for humanity.IV. The character analysis of Elizabeth in Jane Austen’s Pride and PrejudiceElizabeth is a beautiful young lady in the Bennets. She is intelligent, contrasting her empty-minded, snobbish and vulgar mother. She is a women of distinct character. She is not passive, but pursue her true love bravely. She turns down Mr. Collin’s marriage proposal and seeking her happiness with Darcy, the one she possesses true affection for her. She is also courageous. When Darcy’s aunt lady comes to force her into a promise of never consenting to marry Darcy, she boldly challenges her authority, contempt and arrogance. On the whole, Elizabeth is a typical image of the good, attractive lady in the 19th century.Chapter Four The Victorian PeriodI. The features of Charles Dickens1. His critical realism: While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the 18th-century realist novel, he carried the duty to the criticism of the society and the defense of the mass.2. He is a master storyteller. With his first sentence, he engages the reader’s attention and holds it to the end.3. What he writes is mainly the middle and lower-middle class life in London.4. He is a master of language with a large vocabulary and an adeptness with the vernacular.5. He is a great humorist as well as a great painter of pathos. He always mingles the two to make his fictional world realistic.6. His characters are not only true to life but also large than life. There are both individual characters and type characters.II. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre1. Theme: The novel sharply criticizes the religious hypocrisy of charity institutions like Lowood School, where girls are trained to be humble slaves. It rebukes the social discrimination and false convention about love and marriage. Besides, the novel is a moral fable. It tells us that people have to go through all kinds of physical or moral tests to obtain their final happiness.2. The character analysis of Jane Eyre: Jane Eyre is an orphan child witha fiery spirit and a longing to love and be loved. She is poor and plain, but she dares to love her master, a man superior to her in many ways, as a little governess. She is brave enough to declare to the man her love for him. She cuts a completely new women image. She represents those middle-class working women who are struggling for recognition of their basic rights and equality as a human being.III. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Height1. The novel is an extraordinary moving love story: the passion between Heathcliff and Catherine is the most intense, beautiful, and the most horrible passions ever found among human beings.2. It is also a work of critical realism. Heathcliff is abused, rejected and distorted by the society only because he is a poor orphan of obscure parents. He suffers all kinds of inhuman treatment after the death of his benefactor. He loves Catherine dearly but forced to be separated from her. So, Heathcliff’s cruel revenge upon his enemies is justified ina way.3. The author makes clear that it is wrong to discriminate on the basis of social status, and it is cruel and destructive to break genuine, natural human passions. Although Catherine and Edgar’s marriage is ideal in the eyes of the whole neighborhood, her love for Heathcliff is hard and everlasting.Chapter Five The Modern PeriodI. The features of Shaw’s plays:1. Problem plays: He took the modern social issues as his subject with the aim of directing social reforms. Most of his plays are concerned with political, economic, or religious problems.2. In his characterization, he makes the tricks of showing up one character vividly at the expense of another. His characters are the representatives of ideas, which shift and alter during the play.3. The strong sense of comedy in his play are achieved through his witty dialogues, sharp satires, and vivid portrayal of characters.II. The theme of Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s profession1. The play is not only moral, but also has a strong realistic theme. The guilt for prostitution lies more upon the social system than immoral woman. He shows all human sufferings are consequences of the economic exploitation.2. The play is a spiritual triumph for Vivie who experiences a journey from illusion to reality. At first, she is ignorant of the evil, and through a series of temptations, she understands the capitalist world better.IV. T. S. Eli ot’s“The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock”Written in the form of monologue, the poem is the song of a being divided between passion and timidity. It is about the impotence and futility of a modern everyman and his existence. Prufrock is an interesting tragic figure. He is a man caught in a sense of defeated idealism and tortured by unsatisfied desire. He does not dare to seek love because even if he could find it, it would not satisfy his needs. He compares himself with Hamlet. As a result of his timidity he has become incapable of action of any sort.V. D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers1. Theme: Sociologically, it is a novel about modern civilization, the “sickness of a whole civilization”.Psychologically, it is a case study of the Oedipus complex theory, for it deals with a son who loves the mothertoo dearly and hates the father too despisingly. The psychic conflict (between dark self and white self) in human relationships is the central theme of the novel.2. The character analysis of Paul Morel:He is a light, quick, slender boy. From his childhood, he is especially sensitive, artistic and imaginative, and he becomes extraordinarily dependent on his mother. When he gets older, his distorted relationship with his mother prevents him from loving girls as fully as he feels he should. Besides, Paul is also an artist, and a likeable young man adored by many girls.VI. The features of stream of consciousness1. The unspoken thoughts and feelings of their characters are described without resorting to objective description or conventional dialogue.2. The flux of a character’s thoughts, impressions, emotions are often shown without logical sequence or syntax.American LiteratureChapter one : The romantic periodII. Hawthorne’s Puritanism and his black vision of man:1. Puritanism—it is the religious belief of the Puristans, who had intended to purify and simplify the religious ritual of the church of England.2. his black vision of man—by the Calvinistic concept of original sin, he believed that human being are evil natured and sinful, and this sin is ever present in human heart and will pass one generation to another.3. Young Goodman Brown—it shows that everyone has some evil secrets. The innocent and naïve Brown is confronted with the vision of human evil in one terrible night, and then he becomes distrustful and doubtful. Brown stands for everyone ,who is born pure and has no contact with the real world ,and the prominent people of the village and church. They cover their secrets during daily lives, and under some circumstances such as the witch’s Sabbath, they become what they are. Even his closed wife, Faith, is no exception. So Brown is aged in that night.III. The symbolism of Melville’s Mobby-Dick1.The voyage to catch the white whale is the one of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of universe.2. To Ahab, the whale is an evil creature or the agent of an evil force that control the universe. As to readers, the whale is a symbol of physical limits, or a symbol of nature. It also can stand for the ultimate mystery of the universe and the wall behind which unknown malicious things are hiding.IV. Whitman and his Leaves of Grass :1. Theme: sing of the “en-mass”and the self / pursuit of love, happiness, and sexual love / sometimes about politics (Drum taps)2. Whitman’s originality first in his use of the poetic form free verse(i.e. poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme),by means of which he becomes conversational and casual.3.He uses the first person pronoun “I” to stress individualism, and oral language to acquire sympathy from the common reader.Chapter two : The realistic periodI. The character analysis and social meaning of Huck Finn in Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainHuck is a typical American boy with “a sound heart and a deformed conscience”. He appears to be vulgar in language and in manner, but he is honest and decent in essence. His remarkable raft’s journey down on the Mississippi river can be regarded as his process of education and his way to grow up. At first, he stands by slavery, for he clings to the idea that if he lets go the slave, he will be damned to go to hell. And when the “King” sells Jim for money, Huck decides to inform Jim’s master. After he thinks of the past good time when Jim and he are on the raft where Jim shows great care and deep affection for him, he decide to rescue Jim. And Huck still thinks he is wrong while he is doing the right thing.Huck is the son of nature and a symbol for freedom and earthly pragmatism. Through the eye of Huck, the innocent and reluctant rebel, we see the pre-Civil War American society fully exposed. Twain contrasts the lifeon the river and the life on the banks, the innocence and the experience, the nature and the culture, the wilderness and the civilization.II. Daisy Miller by Henry James1. Theme: The novel is a story about American innocence defeated by the stiff, traditional values of Europe. James condemns the American failure to adopt expressive manners intelligently and point out the false believing that a good heart is readily visible to all. The death of Daisy results from the misunderstanding between people with different cultural backgrounds.2. The character analysis of Daisy: She represents typical American girl, who is uninformed and without the mature guidance. Ignorance and parental indulgence combine to foster he assertive self-confidence and fierce willfulness. She behaves in the same daring naive way in Europe as she does at home. When someone is against her, she becomes more contrary. She knows that she means no harm and is amazed that anyone should think she does. She does not compromise to the European manners.3. The character analysis of Winterbourne: He is a Europeanized American, who has live too long in foreign parts. He is very experience and has a problem understanding Daisy. He endeavors to put her in sort of formula, i.e. to classify her.III. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser:1. Theme: The author invented the success of Carrie and the downfall of Hurstwood out of an inevitable and natural judgment, because the fittestcan survive in a competitive, amoral society according to the social Darwinism.2. The character analysis of Carrie: She follows the right direction toa pursuit of the American dream, and the circumstances and her desire for a better life direct to the successful goal. But she is not contented, because with wealth and fame, she still finds herself lonely. She is a product of the society, a realization of the theory of the survival of the fittest.3. The character analysis of Hurstwood: He is a negative evidence of the theory of the survival of the fittest. Because he is still conventional and can not throw away the social morals, he is not fitted to live in New York.Chapter three : The Modern PeriodI. Ezra Pound and his theory of Imagism1. The principles: a. direct treatment of the thing; b. to use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation; c. to compose in the sequence of the musical; d. to use the language of common speech and the exact word; e. to create new rhythms; f. absolutely freedom in the choice of subject.2. Imagism is to present an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. An imagistic poem must present the object exactly the way the thing is seen. And the reader can form the image of the object through the process of reading the abstract and concrete words.II. Frost and his poetry on nature:Frost is deeply interested in nature and in men’s relationship to nature. Nature appears as an explicator and a mediator for man and serve as the center of reference of his behavior. Peace and order can be found in Frost’s poetical natural world. With surface simplicity of his poems, the thematic concerns are always presented in rich symbols. Therefore his work resists easy interpretation.III. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his The Great Gatsby1. Theme: Gatsby is American Everyman. His extraordinary energy and wealth make him pursue the dream. His death in the end points at the truth about the withering of the American Dream. The spiritual and moral sterility that has resulted from the withered American Dream is fully revealed in the article. However, although he is defeated, the dream has gave Gatsby a dignity and a set of qualities. His hope and belief in the promise of future makes him the embodiment of the values of the incorruptible American Dream .2. The character analysis of Gatsby: Gatsby is great, because he is dignified and ennobled by his dream and his mythic vision of life. He has the desire to repeat the past, the desire for money, and the desire for incarnation of unutterable vision on this material earth. For Gatsby, Daisy is the soul of his dreams. He believe he can regain Daisy and romantically rebels of time. Although he has the wealth that can match with the leisured class, he does not have their manners. His tragedy lies in his possession of a naive sense and chivalry.IV. Ernest Hemingway’s artistic features:1. The Hemingway code heroes and grace under pressure:They have seen the cold world ,and for one cause, they boldly and courageously face the reality. They has an indestructible spirit for his optimistic view of life. Whatever is the result is, the are ready to live with grace under pressure. No matter how tragic the ending is, they will never be defeated. Finally, they will be prevail because of their indestructible spirit and courage.2.The iceberg technique:Hemingway believe that a good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or action. The one-eighth the is presented will suggest all other meaningful dimensions of the story. Thus, Hemingway’s language is symbolic and suggestive.V. The character analysis of Emily in A Rose for Emily:Emily is a symbol of old values, standing for tradition, duty and past glory. But she is also a victim to all those she cares and embrace. The source of Emily’s strangeness is from her born pride and self-esteem, the domineering behavior of her father and the betrayal of her lover. Barricaded in her house, she has frozen the past to protect her dreams. Her life is tragic because the defiance of the community, her refusal to accept the change and her extreme pride have pushed her to abnormality and insanity.《英美文学选读自学考试大纲》的考核知识点与考核要求(一)关于考核知识点的调整考核知识点中的各章概述内容仍为考核内容;对知识点中的作家只保留对如下主要作家的考核。