哈工大 2013 年 春季学期 2013．6．30
第 1 页 （共 1 页）
I. Multiple choice (20 points: 20ⅹ1)
Directions: Select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement.
II. Say true or false. (20 points: 20ⅹ1)
III. Matching (20 points: 20ⅹ1)
Directions: Find the relevant match from column B for each item Column A 1. Match the writer and his works.
2. Match the works and the characters.
IV . Term Filling (15 points: 10ⅹ
1.5)
Directions: the blanks in following passages. Directions: Find the relevant match from column B for each item in Column A
V . Reading Comprehension （10 points 5ⅹ2）.
Directions: Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answer in the corresponding space on the answer sheet. 1.
2.
VI. Essay writing (15 points 15ⅹ1) .
Directions: Write an essay no less than 100 words
on the topic in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
《研究生英语英美文学欣赏》课程简介 课程编号： 课程名称：研究生英语英美文学欣赏 学时与学分：34学时/1学分 时间：2013-2 ---- 2013-7 教学对象：全日制非英语专业研究生 教师：刘晓燕等 课程描叙 一、课程性质和任务 本课程的目的是为培养理解和鉴赏英国和美国文学原著的能力而设置一门选修课程，旨在使学生掌握英国和美国文学源流和发展的基础上，通过阅读代表性的英国和美国文学作品，理解作品的内容，学会分析作品的艺术特色，并努力掌握正确评价文学作品的标准和方法，增强对作品中表现的社会生活和人物感情的理解，提高语言基本功和阅读文学作品的能力和鉴赏水平，提升整体人文素质。本课程的主要内容包括英国和美国文学史上代表作家的简要介绍和作品选读，结合英国和美国文学各个历史断代的主要历史背景，文学文化思潮和流派，社会政治、经济、文化等对英国和美国文学史上最具有影响、最具有代表性的作家的作品中的艺术特色、主题结构、人物刻画、语言风格和思想意义等进行深入地分析。 本课程主要为英美文学欣赏课，课堂讲授与研讨相结合。教师布置学生课前对作家生平、历史背景、和阅读材料进行研究，课堂上进行重点阅读和分析。本课程要求学生大量阅读，结合课堂上所讲授的英美文学的基本知识点和文学理论批评方法，体会经典文学作品的语言精妙之处、人物塑造方法、情节架构、文学修辞手法、写作技巧等等，并进而了解历史时代背景、文化知识、社会政经形势等。此外，本课程还要求学生能积极参与课堂讨论，鼓励新观点和新视角，能运用文学理论批评方法研究作品，学期中将不定期地布置相关作业，学期末将以学术论文的形式考查学习效果。 二、课程的教学内容及学时分配 第1学时英国文艺复兴时期简介 重点：文艺复兴；人文主义；主要作家和艺术特色 第2-3学时莎士比亚（I）（II） 重点：要重点理解莎士比亚思想和创作风格的变化，了解莎士比亚十四行诗的特点，品味莎士比亚作品的特色，能够对莎士比亚部分作品进行现代阐释。 第4学时弗朗西斯·培根和约翰·多恩 重点：理解培根的“论学习”的主要内容和修辞手法的运用；理解玄学派诗歌在16、17世纪的发展，其文艺宗旨与当时的文艺思潮的区别。
【题型：简答】【分数：4分】得分：4分 [1] What are the characteristics of Byron's works? 答： Although many of Byron’s works are debated by the critics, he is still one of the influential figures in th literature. In most of his works, we can see Byron's violent attack on" Cant politics, religion and morals, oriental scenery, the romantic character of Byronically hero and the easy, fluent and natural beauty of his ver though unequal and frequently faulty, has on a whole a freedom, copiousness and vigor. His descriptions are s often bring vivid objects before the reader. The glowing imagination of the poet r 答案：they are violentattack on politics, religion and morals. They describe the novel scenery and shows the easy, fluent and natural beauty of his verse. 【题型：简答】【分数：4分】得分：4分 [2] Briefly state Mark Twain’ s magic power with language in his novels. 答： A.Setting: In the novel Mark Twain recreates a small-town world of America and presents the local color. https://www.doczj.com/doc/ae8060968.html,ngu direct language faithful to the colloquial speech, the vernacular language of the local people C.Character: two rebels and fugitives running away from civilization, especially Huckleberry Finn, an innocent boy who r conventional village morality D.Theme: The novel is a criticism of social injustice, hypocrisy, conservativ narrow-mindedness of the American small town society E.Style: The novel employs a humorous 答案：His words are colloquial, concrete and direct in effect, and his sentence structu even ungrammatical spoken language; His characters speak with a strong accent, w his local colorism;Different characters from different literary or cultural back differently. 【题型：简答】【分数：4分】得分：0分 [3] What are the main features of Robert Browning’s poetry? 答： Robert Browning’s poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humor, social commentary, histo challenging vocabulary and syntax. 答案：He uses dramatic monologue, fast, rough and unmusical rhythm. His works inclu compressed syntax, similes and illustrations,non-poetic jarring diction. 【题型：简答】【分数：4分】得分：1分 [4] What are the "Wessex novels" of Thomas Hardy?
英语专业-英美文学试卷及答案-期末
英美文学试卷A 共9页第 I. Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F). (10 x 1’=10’) 1. ( ) Chaucer is the first English short-story teller and the founder of English poetry as well as the founder of English realism. His masterpiece The Canterbury tales contains 26 stories. 2. ( ) English Renaissance is an age of essay and drama. 3. ( ) The rise of the modern novel is closely related to the rise of the middle class and an urban life. 4. ( ) The French Revolution and the American War of Independence were two big influences that brought about the English Romantic Movement. 5. ( ) Charlotte’s novels are all about lonely and neglected young women with a fierce longing for life and love. Her novels are more or less based on her own experience and feelings and the life as she sees around. 6. ( ) The leading figures of the naturalism at the turn of 19th century are Thomas Hardy, John Galsworthy and Bernard Shaw. 7. ( ) Emily Dickinson is remembered as the “All American Writer”. 8. ( )The Civil War divides the American literature into romantic literature and realist literature. 9. ( ) Mark Twain is the first American writer to discover an American language and American consciousness.
1.现实主义、批判现实主义（代表人物、作品，以及每部作品讲了什么故事）P276—比如《匹克威克外传》主要讲什么？P281 《双城记》主要讲什么？P298 《大卫科波菲尔》主要讲什么？P292 2.其中自传体形式的作品有哪些？ 3.傲慢与偏见的第一个名字：first impression(Pride and prejudice现) 4.三姐妹指的是？ 5.19世纪有名小说名利场副标题：“A Novel Without a Hero”作者：William Makepeace Thackeray P303 6.18th浪漫主义作家、代表作P211 反对什么,反抗什么思想？ 7.Pop代表作有哪些？P134 剪发记？ 8.玄学诗派有哪些人物组成？Leading Feature? P116 9.乌托邦is written in form of ?P33 10.Universal Wicks大学才子是谁？P50 11.中世纪文学流行的是? 主题特征骑马精神P8？ 12.最著名作家：乔叟P19 13.对于三次征服的概念（1）罗马征服P1 （2）英国人征服P2（3）诺曼征服P5 14.人民大宪章什么时候出现？时间：1837年
1.John Milton He was born in London in 1608. He is a master of the blank verse, and a great stylist. And he is famous for his grand style.But his style is never exactly natural. He devoted almost twenty years of his best life to the fight for political, religious and personal liberty as a writer. His famous works are Paradise lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. 2.Romance Romance was the most prevailing kind of literature of the upper class in feudal England in the Medieval Ages. It is a long composition in verse or in prose which describes the life and chivalric adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romances is the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapon. The theme of loyalty to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances. 3.the Enlightenment It is the philosophical and artistic movement growing out of the Renaissance and continuing until the nineteenth century. It was an optimistic belief that humanity could improve itself by applying logic and reasons to all things. Typically, these enlightenment writers would use satire to ridicule what they felt illogical errors in government, social
英美文学阅读与鉴赏 When you are old By William Butler Yeats
When you are old W hen you are old and grey and full of sleep. And nodding by the fire, take down this book. And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep. How many loved your moments of glad grace. And loved your beauty with love false or true. But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you. And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled. And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. Yeats pain and misfortune hopeless for Mao De Gang love, prompting Yeats to write down a lot for Mao De Gang poetry, in dozens of years, from various angles, Mao De Gang Yeats continue to inspire creative inspiration;
英美文学选读-阶段测评4 成绩：30分 一、Multiple Choice 共40 题 题号: 1 本题分数:2.5 分 ( )is generally regarded as the forerunner of the 20th—century “stream—of—consciousness” novels and the founder of psychological realism. A、Theodore Dreiser B、William Faulkner C、Henry James D、Mark Twain (P498.para.2)亨利.詹姆斯是美国现实主义文学大师，他的作品往往涉及美国之外的主题，其作品的风格是“心理活动”。被誉为20世纪美国意识流文学的先驱。 标准答案：C 考生答案：D 本题得分：0 分 题号: 2 本题分数:2.5 分 Closely related to Dickinson’s religious poetry are her poems concerning( ),ranging over the physical as well as the psychological and emotional aspects of death. A、love and nature B、death and universe C、death and immortality D、family and happiness （P518para2）迪金森的诗歌涉及宗教和爱情两方面，而其涉及宗教的诗歌往往是以死亡和永恒为主题的，所以答案是C。 标准答案：C 考生答案：A
关于英语专业考研准备的几点建议来源：关玲玲的日志 关于考研准备的几点建议 主讲：武汉大学英语系学科带头人--张伯香 如何选择学校和专业 一.按招生性质，全国高校大致可分为以下几类： 1.综合类院校 比较知名的有北大、南大、复旦、武大、中大、南开、厦大等。这类院校重视科研能力，考试有一定的难度，比较适合于那些准备读博或有志于从事理论研究的人报考。 2.师范类院校 比较知名的有北师大、华东师大、华中师大、华南师大、西南师大，以及各省市的师范院校。这类院校更加重视教育专业，重视学生的基础。这类院校适合那些有志于从事教师工作的考生。 3.外语类院校 如北外、上外、天外、川外、西外等，他们重视基本功，重视语言研究。这类院校报名情况火爆，竞争也相对激烈，考生的水平都很强，适合那些既有理论又有实践能力的人报考。 4.理工类院校 如清华、北交、上交、北航、北理、武汉理工等，他们重视词汇量，基本功，以及英语在科学技术中的应用，这些院校题目出得整齐，准备起来也比较容易，但不一定好考，因为近年来报考的人数年年递增。 5.外经贸类院校 如对外经济贸易大学、外交学院、广东外语外贸等等。这类院校适合那些有志于从事外交、外贸工作的考生。 6. 民族类院校 如中央民大和各省的民大。这类院校适合那些有志于在民族地区从事教师工作的考生。二.关于选择院校，要考虑下列因素： 首先要遵从自己的兴趣、实力和发展愿望；
其次要知己知彼，百战不殆。要了解所报考的院校。一般通过两个途径：一是网络，二是目标院校的学报或该校导师、专家发表的文章。 第三，要咨询自己所在学校的老师，听取他们的参考意见。 总之，选择院校既要考虑自己的理想，又要权衡自己的能力，要将两者很好地结合起来。 有关专业和专业方向 –专业方向要选你自己擅长或者感兴趣的，这非常重要。因为你在研究生阶段选择的专业一般不会更改了，而且与你以后从事的工作会密切相关。做自己喜欢的事情会更加快乐。 –如果，你的目标是到高校当老师，选择语言学、应用语言学、文化、文学、翻译等方向都可以。 –如果，你想做翻译，做同声传译，那么最好选一个好一点的学校，北大，北外，上外，对外经贸，南大，广外都不错。 –如果，你想从事传媒等行业，那么你可以选择文化或文学，在写作、文学方面做更多的尝试和实践。 –如果你很有经商的潜质，你可以报考外经贸、广外等商务英语方向，那可是人才辈出的地方。 –如果你将来有意从事外交等工作，北外、上外、外交学院等必定是你最好的选择。 –最近几年全国招收英语专业硕士研究生的学校不断增长，达到在220所到230所之间。–最近几年招生人数较多的院校排名如下： 川外250人， 上外222人， 广外209人， 西外195人， 北外168人， 中南大学135人， 西南大学120人， 湖南大学115人， 天外110人， 大连外国语学院110人， 上海外事学院110人， 上海外贸大学105人， 北二外101人， 中山大学95人，
Part One：English Poetry 1.William Shakespeare Sonnet 18 ?Why does the poet compare `thee` to a summer?s day? And who could `thee` be? Because summer?s day and thee both represent beauty . thee could be beauty, love. ?What picture have you got of English summer, and could you explain why? Warm, beautiful, sunshine. Because summer is the best season of a year ,the most beautiful season. It is like our May. ?How does the poet answer the question he puts forth in the first line? Thee is more beautiful than summer. ?What makes the poet think that “thou” can be more fair than summer and immortal? Because humanism is more eternal than summer and immortal. ?What figures of speech are used in this poem? Simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron and so on . ?What is the theme of the poem? Love conquers all, Beauty lives on. 2. Thomas Nashe Spring ?Read the poem carefully, pay attention to those image- bearing words, and see how many images the poet created in the poem and what sense impressions you can get from those images. There is “Blooms each thing, maids dance in a ring, the pretty birds do sing, the palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk' and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay, The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street these tunes bur ears do greet!” The “Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit，”impressions me most because of the harmony of the people?s relationship. ?Can you point out and explain the sound and their musical effect in the poem? In the Poem, each section has four lines, each line has ten syllables ( five tone step ) . In order to give the reader a spring breeze , streams , flowers , winding , Song Xin texture of sound and light flavor, Naixi greater uses English word S , z , f , V , R , L , and θconsonants means. In Naixi's poem, the use of phonological is also very harmonious, very smooth , very mellow. Section I of the poetry has Three pairs [ ing ] , section II of the poem has three pairs [ ei ] and the third quarter has three pairs [ i : ]. 3.John Donne A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning ?What is a “valediction” any way? Is the speaker in the poem about to die? Why does the speaker forbid mourning? No, it is about the lover s?separation. As the poem metaphors, the poet believed he and his wife?s love is sacred, he didn?t hope they cry when separation comes, let their love be stained by the ordinary and mundane.
英美文学欣赏知识点100句 1.The work that presented,for the first time in English literature,a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life is Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. 首次在英国文学，中世纪英国社会的全面逼真的画面，创造了从各行各业生动的人物整体画廊是杰弗里·乔叟的坎特伯雷故事集。 2. Geoffrey Chaucer is regarded as the father of English poetry. 乔叟被看作是英国诗歌之父。 3. The verse form of heroic couplet was introduced into English poetry and employed in the poem with true ease and charm for the first time in the history of English literature by Geoffrey Chaucer. 3.英雄对联的诗体被引入英国诗歌和诗与真正的轻松和魅力，第一次在英国文学的杰弗里·乔叟的历史就业。 4. The Canterbury Tales presents a whole gallery of vivid characters,the team of pilgrims,people from all walks of life,including 31 members altogether. 4.坎特伯雷故事呈现生动的人物整体画廊，朝圣者的队伍，来自各行各业，其中包括31名成员共有人。 5. Generally,Renaissance refers to the intellectual movement during the period between 14th and mid-17th centuries,its essence was humanism. 5.一般来说，文艺复兴是指智力运动在14和中17世纪之间的时期，它的本质是人文精神。 6. English Renaissance Period was an age of poetry and drama.
《英美文学选读》模拟试题（一） 一、单项选择题 1.The excerpt from Chapter 10 of Sons and Lovers ends with the conflict between Paul and his mother. The conflict is possibly caused by Paul and his mother’s different views towards _____. A. Paul’s father B. art C. life D. Paul’s brother 2.The _____ can be regarded as one of the themes of Joyce’s story “Araby”. A. loss of innocence 在所有有關童年故事中，孩子都是同叔叔同姨媽同住，父母則不在身邊—這便是一種象征，象征父母與孩子之間骨肉親情的隔絕和一種正常關系的缺 失. B. childish love C. awareness of harsh life D. false sentimentality 錯誤的多愁善感 3.After reading “Araby”, one more feel the story has a _____ tone. A. joyous B. harsh C. solemn D. painful 4.In “Araby”, Joyce’s diction evokes a sort of _____ quality that characterizes the boy on this otherwise altogether ordinary shopping trip. A. religious B. moral C. sentimental D. vulgar 5.The major concern of _____ fiction lies in the tracing of the psychological development of his characters and in his energetic criticism of the dehumanizing effect of the capitalist industrialization on human nature. A. D. H. Lawrence’s B. J. Galsworthy’s C. W. Thackeray’s D. T. Hardy’s 6.The mission of _____ drama was to reveal the moral, political and economic truth
海南师范学院本科英语专业理论课教学大纲：美国文学 课程编号：03101026 学时：36 学分：2 一、课程的性质和任务 《美国文学史及选读》是英语语言文学专业（本科）的一门专业知识必修课。它简要介绍了美国文学从十七世纪殖民时期到二十世纪的发展历史及其主要作品。本课程是英语专业的专业基础课，目标是：通过文学史的教学拓宽学生的知识面，提高学生的文学修养，使学生了解英美文学各个历史时期的文艺思潮、文学流派、主要作家和作品； 通过美国文学作品的教学，提高学生对英文原著的理解能力、鉴赏能力，培养学生发现问题、分析问题和解决问题的能力； 通过课外实践活动，激发学生的文学兴趣，培养学生的文学鉴赏和批评能力及论文写作能力 二、相关课程的衔接 本课程是为英语专业高年级学生开设的，学生必须具有良好的英语阅读和理解基本功方能顺利地学习该课程，与此同时，它与美国历史、文化、社会背景等关系密切，因此，学生先期完成英语听说读写等技能训练基本课程，相关衔接课程有《英国文学》，《英语国家概况》《跨文化交际》等课程。 三、教学的基本要求 1．了解美国文学发展史上的重要时期和阶段，包括殖民地时期、独立战争时期、浪漫主义时代、南北战争时期和两次世界大战前后文学现象及特征。 2．了解各个重要发展阶段的代表作家及作品，熟知其内容、风格和艺术价值及其在世界文学史上的重要地位。 3．了解伴随美国文学各个阶段产生的文艺批评思潮，提高学生的文艺理论水平。 四、教学方法与重点、难点 教学方法：教学方法以课堂讲授为主，辅以讨论，并要求学生在课外大量阅读参考书，撰写读书报告及评论课上充分利用网络资源及现代化教学手段，使学生能够积极主动地进行学习 本课程的重点与难点相对来说是一致的 从时段上来说，19世纪20年代以后的美国文学由于处于第二次繁荣时期，对于美国文学的历史走向曾发生了相当重要的影响，自然是本课程的重点而这一阶段的文学语言丰富、色彩各异，且与哲学、史学、艺术学等结合得比较紧密，所以这一时期的文学作品在语言上和思想上都具备一定的难度，是本课程的难点所在另外，后现代文学作品的出现也增加了学生阅读的难度，因此了解后现代作品的创作手法，写作动机也是本科的一个难点解决的办法主要是在专业基础课之外，定期安排专家讲学，题目多涉及与课程难度相关的内容，旨在拓宽
Comment on Walden In 1845, Thoreau decided to conduct an experiment of self-sufficiency by building his own house on the shores of Walden Pond and living off the food he grew on his farm. He sought to reduce his physical needs to a minimum, in order to free himself for study, thought, and observation of nature, himself. Walden can be many things and can be read on more than one level. But it is, first and foremost, a book about man, what he is, and what he should be and must be. Considered one of the all-time great books, Walden is a record of Thoreau's two year experiment of living at Walden Pond. The writer's chief emphasis is on the simplifications and enjoyment of life now. It is regarded as 1. a nature book.2. a do-it-yourself guide to simple life. 3. a satirical criticism of modern life and living. 4. a belletristic achievement 5. a spiritual book. The Scarlet Letter Symbolic meaning of the letter “A” :1.The scarlet letter “A” is the central symbol of the novel. At the beginning it symbolized the sin of Hester—“adultery”, 2.then gradually when Hester became accepted by the community, it stands for Hester’s intelligence and diligence—“able”. 3.At the end of the novel the symbol has evolved to represent the high virtues of Hester Prynne—“angel”. Comments on The Scarlet Letter:1.The theme of the story should be the moral, emotional and psychological effects of the sin on people. 2.Scarlet Letter is a cultural allegory, in which the author indirectly tells the future of Puritanism.3.Scarlet Letter is a sample in which American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritanism.(Because of the strong influence of Puritanism in American society, Hawthorne only expressed his ideas on the sin indirectly by employing symbolism.) Symbolism in the novel Moby Dick A. the voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience.” B. the Pequod is the ship of the American soul and consciousness. C. Moby Dick is a symbol of evil to some, of goodness to others, and of both to still others. D. The whiteness of Moby Dick is a paradoxical color, signifying death and corruption as well as purity, innocence and youth; it represents the final mystery of the universe. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Setting: unpopulated wildness an a dense forest along Mississippi River Characters:1.Ignorant uneducated black slave Jim2.Uneducated outcast white boy Huck Finn。Theme: Huck’s inner waving struggle between what he was taught and what he thought out of good-heart and humanity.Its Features：1.Profound portrait of Huckleberry Finn 2.Magic power with language, the use of vernacular. 3. Humor In a Station of the Metro1 by Ezra Pound The apparition of these faces in the crowd: Petals on a wet, black bough. Note: 1。a Paris subway station Analysis of this poem The poem’s form is similar to Japanese haiku, with considering its title as a verse-line. The word “apparition” has double meaning:1. “appearance”, something which can be clearly observed;2. something which seems real but perhaps is not real; something ghostly which cannot be clearly observed. Petals may refer to the faces in the crowd, while bough may refer to the railway in the Metro.
英美文学复习资料 English Literary History 1. Beowulf is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons. 2. Romance is a popular literary form in the medieval period. 3. Geoffrey Chaucer has been called the father of English poetry. His masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales. 4. Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. 5. Edmund Spenser is known as “the poets’ poet”. Masterpiece the Faerie Queene is a great poem of its age. 6. Christopher Marlowe is the most gifted of the “University Wits”. His masterpieces are T amburlaine, Dr. Faustus, the Jew of Malta and Edward II. Marlowe’s greatest achievement lies in that he perfected the blank verse and made it the principal medium of English drama and the creation of the Renaissance hero for English drama. 7. William Shakespeare is one of the most remarkable playwrights and poets. His greatest tragedies are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. The Merchant of Venice is the most important play among the comedies. 8. Francis Bacon is a well-known Renaissance philosopher, scientist and essayist. 9. John Donne is the leading figure of the “Metaphysical school.” 10. The neoclassical period,that is the eighteenth-century England is also known as the Age of enlightenment or the Age of Reason. Enlightenment Movement brought about in reviving the interest in old classical works is known as neoclassicism. 11. The mid-century was predominated by a newly rising literary form – the modern English novel. 12. John Bunyan was a devout Christian, and a firm non-conformist of the Anglican Church. His masterpiece is the Pilgrim’s Progress. (最成功的宗教寓言诗) 13. Alexander Pope’s best satiric work is The Dunciad (愚人志). 14. Daniel Defoe’s works are the first literary writings devoted to the study of problems of the lower-class people. 15. Jonathan S wift was a master satirist. His “A Modest Proposal” is generally taken as a perfect model. 16. Henry Fielding is regarded as “father of the English Novel”. He was the first to set out, both in theory and practice, to write specifically a “comic epic in prose”, the first to give the modern novel its structure and style. 17. Samuel Johnson, as a lexicographer, distinguished himself as the author of the first English dictionary by an Englishman –A Dictionary of the English Language. 18. Richard Brinsley Sheridan is the only important English dramatist of the eighteenth century. His plays, especially the Rivals and the School for Scandal, are generally regarded as important links between the masterpieces of Shakespeare and those of Bernard Shaw, and as the true classics in English comedy. 19. Thomas Gray’s masterpiece, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” establishes his fame as the leader of the sentimental poetry of the day, especially “the Graveyard School.” 20. English Romanticism is generally said to have begun in 1798 with publication of