西南大学《美国文学史及选读》网上作业题及答案
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美国文学史及作品选读练习6I。
Blank filling。
(每小题2分,共20分)1.The Puritan philosophy known as ____________ was important in New England duringcolonial time, and had a profound influence on the early American mind for several generations。
2.The term “Puritan”was applied to those settlers who originally were devout membersof the Church of _________.3.___________ was considered as the “ Poet of the American Revolution", because hewrote impassioned verse in support of the American Revolution。
4.In American literature, the eighteenth century was an Age of _____________andRevolution。
5.In 1823 James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Pioneers, the first of the five novels thatmake up___________.6.In the early 19th century, Washington Irving wrote _________which became the firstwork by an American writer to win financial success on both sides of the Atlantic。
1、 Sherwood Anderson explores the motivations and frustrations of his fictional characters in terms of Freud's t book______.1. E. Winesburg, Ohio2. Babbit3. The Grapes of Wrath4. The Cather in the Rye2、________ was the first American writer to conceive his career in international terms.1. Washing Irving2. Henry James3. Ezra Pound4. T. S. Eliot3、Leaves of Grass is written by_______.1. B. Walt Whitman2. F. O. Henry3. Mark Twain4. Emily Dickinson4、_______ is called by Hemingway the one from which "all modern American literature comes."1. A. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn2. The Gilded Age3. Life on the Mississippi4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer5、Walt Whitman's poetry is characteristic of_________.1. free verse2. blank verse3. alliteration4. end rhyme6、“Ripeness was all” in the chapter 41 of Catch-22by Joseph Heller is quoted from Shakespeare’s play______.1. The Merchant of Venice2. Othello3. Romeo and Juliet4. King Lear7、Who could be regarded as the founder of detective fiction?1. William Faulkner2. Edgar Allan Poe3. Washington Irving4. Emily Dickinson8、The time setting of "Looking for Mr. Green" by Saul Bellow is________.1. spring2. summer3. autumn4. winter9、What is Ralp W. Ellison’s attitude toward Booker T. Washington’s philosophy of race relations in Invisible M1. He embraces it wholeheartedly.2. He advocates it with some reservations.3. He regards it with ambivalence.4. He rejects it fiercely and repeatedly.10、What is the essay Once More to the Lake by E.B. White about?1.the writer and his son’s camping experience on the lake2. the great changes that took place on the lake3. the natural beauty of the lake4. the writer’s pilgrimage back to a lakefront resort he visited as a child 11、Who is called “the Singer” of the Lost Generation?1. William Faulkner2. Ernest Hemingway3. F. Scott Fitzgerald4. Dos Passos12、Which statement is fit to describe William Faulkner's works?1. The language is biblical.2. Quite a few of Faulkner's protagonists are mentally diseased.3. There is little of stream of consciousness in Faulkner's works.4. Faulkner liked writing about the northerners of America.13、Which literary school does F. Scot Fitzgerald belong to?1. modernism2. realism3. romanticism4. post-modernism14、_______was the leader of a new movement in poetry which was called the “Imagist” movement.1. T. S. Eliot2. Robert Frost3. Ezra Pound4. Emily Dickinson15、Allen Ginsberg is the representative poet of ________.1. The Lake Poets2. The Lost Generation3. The Beat Generation4. The Imagist16、____ was Sherwood Anderson’s most important work.1. Windy McPherson"s Son2. Beyond Desire3. The triumph of the Egg4. Winesburg, Ohio17、Transcendentalists recognized as the “highest power of the soul”.1. intuition2. logic3. data of the senses4. thinking18、Ralph Waldo Emerson’s is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”.1. Nature2. The Conduct of Life3. Representative Men4. The American Scholar19、Which may NOT be one of the causes for the rise of American Romantic Movement?1. The westward territorial expansion2. The great increase in population3. The victory of the settlers in the Indian war4. The rapid economic transformation20、Edgar Allan Poe occupies an important position in American literature as a poet and a .1. short story writer2. novelist3. dramatist4. translator21、The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were mainly .1. Quakers2. Anglicans3. atholics4. Puritans22、William Faulkner set many of his short stories and novels in_____________.1. Mississippi2. Oxford3. Yoknapatawpha County4. Massachusetts23、________ is considered to be Theodore Dreiser's greatest work.1. D. An American Tragedy2. The Financier3. Sister Carrie4. The Titan24、_________, disregarding grammar and punctuation, always used "i" instead of "I" to refer to himself as a pr1. C. E. E. Cummings2. Robert Frost3. Wallace Stevens4. William Carlos Williams25、Which of the following writers is famous for the humorous writing style?1. Stephen Crane2. Mark Twain3. Emily Dickinson4. Toni Morrison26、______ is the spokesman for the imagist movement.1. T. S. Eliot2. Saul Bellow3. Ezra Pound4. William Faulkner判断题27、The defining characteristics of the modernist works are discontinuity and fragmentation.1. A.√2. B.×28、Each of Emily Dickinson's poems has a well-chosen title.1. A.√2. B.×29、Theodore Dreiser is greatly influenced by Darwinism and it is not surprising to find in his fiction a world of j law.1. A.√2. B.×30、In Robert Frost's poems, profound ideas are delivered under the disguise of the plain language and the simpl1. A.√2. B.×31、Life on the Mississippi tells a story of Henry James's boyhood ambition to become a riverboat pilot up and d1. A.√2. B.×32、Naturalism is evolved from realism.1. A.√2. B.×33、Robert Frost wrote most of his poems in free verse.1. A.√2. B.×34、Stylistically, Henry James's fiction is characterized by highly refined language.1. A.√2. B.×35、Ezra Pound's reputation as a forerunner of the 20th-century American fiction can never be depreciated.1. A.√2. B.×36、Robert Frost is a poet of New England.1. A.√2. B.×37、Faith in Christianity is one of the main ideas advocated by Raph Waldo Emerson, the chief spokesman of Am1. A.√2. B.×38、In Desire Under the Elms by Eugene G. O"Neill, Abbie is the second wife of Cabot after his first wife dies.1. A.√2. B.×39、Langston Hughes is often entitled “New England Poet”.1. A.√2. B.×40、Chinese poetry and philosophy had exerted great influence on Ezra Pound.1. A.√2. B.×41、Howl is a symbol in the movement of the Beat Generation, which was written by Allen Ginsberg.1. A.√2. B.×42、Joseph Heller was an American satirical novelist, poet and short story writer.1. A.√2. B.×43、The Sun Also Rises is a novel about the Lost Generation.1. A.√2. B.×44、The Scarlet Letter is a novel of symbolism.1. A.√2. B.×45、The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story1. A.√2. B.×46、The Autobiography was the masterpiece of Benjamin Franklin.1. A.√2. B.×47、Anne Bradstreet wrote quite a few novels about her hometown Boston.1. A.√2. B.×48、The best work of Walt Whitman was The Leaves of Grass1. A.√2. B.×49、Mark Twain was at his best when he wrote about children.1. A.√2. B.×50、Washington Irving (1783-1859) was the first American writer to get an international reputation.1. A.√2. B.×51、Beyond the Horizon was the first full-length play of O"Neill.1. A.√2. B.×52、The Beat Generation and the Lost Generation are the same.1. A.√2. B.×53、Allan Poe wrote the first detective stories in America.1. A.√2. B.×54、F. S. Fitzgerald was the spokesman of the Jazz Age.1. A.√2. B.×55、Rip Van Winkle was written by James Cooper.1. A.√2. B.×56、Benjamin Franklin was a symbol of the American dream.1. A.√2. B.×57、Emily Dickinson's poetry is unique and unconventional in its own way, covering love, death and nature.1. A.√2. B.×58、Henry James adopts international themes in his fiction writing.1. A.√2. B.×主观题59、菲茨杰拉德(F. Scott Fitzgerald)的小说《了不起的盖茨比》表现了怎样的科技和消费伦理思想?参考答案:需从科技和消费处于物化状态进行分析。
(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugen e O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, AllenGinsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac‟s On the Road and Ginsberg‟s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus fo r the work‟s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person‟s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as a form of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of atraditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip V an Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Y assarian.Free verse:a form of poetry without rhyme, meter, regular line length, and regular stanzaic structure. It depends on natural speech for rhythm. Robert Frost compared it to “playing tennis with the net down.” Though much simpler and less restrictive than conventional poetry and blank verse, free verse does no mean “formlessness.” T. S. Eliot once said that “no verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job.” Though its origin is unknown, it was attempted by such early poets as Surrey, Milton, Blake, and Macpherson. It was Whitman who did the greatest contribution to the development and popularity of free verse. Whitman favored the simplicity and freedom of expression. According to him, “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters is simplicity. Noting is better than simplic ity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, the firs important dramatist was Eugene O‟Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O‟Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O‟Neill, it began to have drama.Jazz age: Jazz is a form of dance music that is derived from early Afro-American folk music, ragtime, and Negro blues. It is marked with exciting rhythm, pronounced syncopation, and constant improvisation. The musical instruments used are mainly drums, trumpets, and saxophones. Major composers of Jazz music include Irvin Berlin and W. C. Handy. The term Jazz Age was specifically employed by Fitzgerald to denote the 1920s, which was characterized by the loss of traditional moral standards, indulgence in romantic yearnings, and great social excitement. According to Malco lm Cowley, the Jazz Age was “a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such profusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.” F. Scott Fitzgerald‟s Tales of the Jazz Age, like Mark Twain‟s The Gilded Age, was an epoch-making work.Autobiography: a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated fromthe first-person point of view. The term was probably first used by Southey. But the first important autobiography was Confessions written by Augustine of Hippo. Othe r examples include Franklin‟s Autobiography, Adams‟s The Education of Henry Adams, John Stuart Mill‟s Autobiography, Carlyle‟s Reminiscences, Henry David Thoreau‟s Walden, and so on. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau‟s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce‟s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman‟s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth‟s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens‟s David Copperfield, Lawrence‟s Sons and Lovers and O‟Neill‟s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.Blank verse: poetry that does not rhyme but has iambic pentameter lines. Though not originated in England or America, it has been the most important and most widely used English verse form. Blank verse is popular because it is closest to the rhythm of daily English speech. Thus most English poems which are dramatic, reflective or narrative are in the form of blank verse. This verse was probably first used in England by Surrey who translated Aeneid, by Sackville and Norton who composed Gorboduc. It was developed and perfected by Marlowe, Shakespeare and Milton. In the 18th century, most poets favored heroic couplets. But Y oung and Thomson were able to write in the tradition of blank verse. The 19th century saw a renewed interest in this poetic form. Masters of blank verse included Wordsworth, Coleridge and Bryant. The fact that blank verse is still practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Y eats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.Black humor:a term frequently used in modern literary criticism. It is sometimes called …black comedy‟ or …tragic farce.‟ It is humor or laughter resulting from great pain, despair, horror and the absurdity of human existence. Black humor is a common quality of modern anti-novels and anti-dramas. Examples are Franz Kafka‟s stories like “Metamorphosis”, “The Castle” and “The Trial”, Joseph Heller‟s novel Catch-22and Albee‟s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In mostcases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope‟s “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” Poe‟s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge‟s“Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”Surprise Ending:Also called “O. Henry ending,” it is a completely unexpected turn or revelation of events at the conclusion of a story or play. An example is “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Another instance is O. Henry‟s story “The Gift of the Magi.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)2.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)3.What is Poe‟s theory concerning poetry? (Consult your book)4.What is Poe‟s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)5.What are the major characteristics of Twain‟s writing style? (Consult your book)6.What are the major characteristics of Irving‟s writing style? (Consult your book)7.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)8.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)9.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)11.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)12.What are Benjamin Franklin‟s contributions to A merican culture? (See your book)13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)14.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)15.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)16.What is imagism? (Consult your book)17.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)18.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not T aken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Y et knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。
0171美国文学史及选读1、艾伦坡(Edgar Allan Poe)的小说表现出怎样的艺术特征?答:作品主题爱伦·坡的恐怖小说带有浪漫主义的特色。
纵观爱伦·坡的恐怖小说创作,其故事主题大都“揭示了人类意识及潜意识中的阴暗面”,这一点显然迥异于同时代的其他浪漫主义作家。
爱伦·坡以恐怖小说这样一种特殊的文学形式深入刻画与呈现了非现实状态下人的精神状态和心理特征,试图“以非现实、非理性的表达方式来揭示现代人的精神因顿”。
他借助想象奇特、恐怖怪异的故事情节,通过夸张、隐喻和象征等修辞手段表现人性的危机,激起读者浓厚阅读兴趣的同时,震撼心灵,发人深省。
爱伦·坡的创作原则是其“效果说”理论,他选择“死亡”作为其文学创作的主题是由他的这个创作原则决定的。
坡认为,无论是创作诗歌还是小说,作家必须讲究效果的统一,必须时刻想到预定的结局,要使每一个情节变得必不可少。
他在《评霍桑的“故事重述”》中曾经这样阐述自己的创作原则:“聪明的艺术家不是将自己的思想纳入他的情节,而是事先精心策划,想出某种独特的、与众不同的效果,然后再杜撰出这样一些情节——他把这些情节联结起来,而他所做的一切都将最大限度地有利于实现在预先构思的效果”。
使“每一事件,每一描写细节,甚至一字一句都收到一定的统一效果,一个预想的效果,印象主义的效果”。
他强调作品对读者所能唤起的情绪和产生的效果。
在“创作的哲学”中,他认为,故事的首要目的是要在情感上扣住读者的心弦,产生最激动人心的效果。
死亡主题是通过谨严紧凑的结构和作品的简洁而表现的。
爱伦坡的作品形式精美,技巧圆熟。
爱伦坡在《评霍桑的“故事重述”》里,强调了作品的简洁和统一效果。
在写作中,他还平萍理留情节和结构的高度简洁,小说中通常只有两个,最多三个人物,也没有离题的枝节和无关的装饰品。
在他看来,一位技巧高明的文学家在写作之前,必须成竹在胸,深思熟虑,为实现预期效果而选择和组织情节,并且不应该有一个词的意向直接或间接与预先的构思无关。
(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)1. Poor Richard’s Almanac2. The Wasteland3. The Pioneers4. The Leaves of Grass5. Go Tell it on the Mountain6. For Whom the Bell Tolls?7. Catch 22 8. Of Mice and Men9. The Sound and the Fury 10.Huck Finn11. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 12. The Old Man and the Sea13. Mending Walls 14. Beloved15. Invisible Man 16. Beyond the Horizons17. Of Mice and Men 18. The Raven19. The Great Gatsby 20. The Streetcar Named Desire21. Rip van Winkle 22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 23. The Scarlet Letter 24. Moby Dick25. Desire Under the Elms 26. The Gilded Age27. The Sound and Fury 28. The Road Not Taken29. The Death of a Salesman 30. The Pathfinder31. Walden 32. Daisy Miller33. Song of Myself 34. The Call of the Wild35. Martin Eden 36. Long Day’s Journey into NightII. Define the following literary terms. (20)1. Beat Generation2. Protagonist3. Biography4. Novel5. Anti-hero6. Free Verse7. Drama 8. Jazz Age9. Biography 10. Blank Verse11. Black Humor 12. Head Rhyme13. Surprise ending 14. Transcendentalism15. Imagery 16. Stream of Consciousness17. Lost Generation 18. Short storyIII. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature?2.Who is the father of American poetry?3.What is Poe’s theory concerning poetry?4.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story?5.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style?6.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style?7.What is “black humor?8.What is the Harlem Renaissance?9.What is the New England Renaissance?10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature?11.What is the Lost Generation?12.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture?13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary?14.What is the Jazz Age?15.What is American transcendentalism?16.What is imagism?17.What is O. Henry Ending?18.What is free verse?IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves onIn a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.(Consult your book)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. (Consult your book)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugene O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac’s On the Road and Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus for the work’s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person’s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as aform of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of a traditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip Van Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Yassarian.Free verse:a form of poetry without rhyme, meter, regular line length, and regular stanzaic structure. It depends on natural speech for rhythm. Robert Frost compared it to “playing tennis with the net down.” Though much simpler and less restrictive than conventional poetry and blank verse, free verse does no mean “formlessness.” T. S. Eliot once said that “no verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job.” Though its origin is unknown, it was attempted by such early poets as Surrey, Milton, Blake, and Macpherson. It was Whitman who did the greatest contribution to the development and popularity of free verse. Whitman favored the simplicity and freedom of expression. According to him, “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters is simplicity. Not ing is better than simplicity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, thefirs important dramatist was Eugene O’Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O’Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O’Neill, it began to have drama.Jazz age: Jazz is a form of dance music that is derived from early Afro-American folk music, ragtime, and Negro blues. It is marked with exciting rhythm, pronounced syncopation, and constant improvisation. The musical instruments used are mainly drums, trumpets, and saxophones. Major composers of Jazz music include Irvin Berlin and W. C. Handy. The term Jazz Age was specifically employed by Fitzgerald to denote the 1920s, which was characterized by the loss of traditional moral standards, indulgence in romantic yearnings, and great social excitement. According to Malcolm Cowley, the Jazz Age was “a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such profusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age, like Mark Twain’s The Gilded Age, was an epoch-making work.Autobiography: a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated from the first-person point of view. The term was probably first used by Southey. But the first important autobiography was Confessions written by Augustine of Hippo. Other examples include Franklin’s Autobiography, Adams’s The Education of Henry Adams, John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography, Carlyle’s Reminiscences, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, and so on. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau’s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth’s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens’s David Copperfield, Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.Blank verse: poetry that does not rhyme but has iambic pentameter lines. Though not originated in England or America, it has been the most important and most widely used English verse form. Blank verse is popular because it is closest to the rhythm of daily English speech. Thus most English poems which are dramatic, reflective or narrative are in the form of blank verse. This verse was probably first used in England by Surrey who translated Aeneid, by Sackville and Norton who composed Gorboduc. It was developed and perfected by Marlowe, Shakespeare and Milton. In the 18th century, most poets favored heroic couplets. But Young and Thomson were able to write in the tradition of blank verse. The 19th century saw a renewed interest in this poetic form. Masters of blank verse included Wordsworth, Coleridge and Bryant. The fact that blank verse isstill practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Yeats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.Black humor:a term frequently used in modern literary criticism. It is sometimes called ‘black comedy’ or ‘tragic farce.’ It is humor or laughter resulting from great pain, despair, horror and the absurdity of human existence. Black humor is a common quality of modern anti-novels and anti-dramas. Examples are Franz Kafka’s stories like “Metamorphosis”, “The Castle” and “The Tria l”, Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22and Albee’s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In most cases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope’s “For fools rush in where an gels fear to tread,” Poe’s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge’s “Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thor oughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”Surprise Ending:Also called “O. Henry ending,” it is a completely unexpected turn or revelation of events at the conclusion of a story or play. An example is “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Another instanc e is O. Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)19.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)20.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)21.What is Poe’s theory concerning p oetry? (Consult your book)22.What is Poe’s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)23.What are the major characteristics of Twain’s writing style? (Consult your book)24.What are the major characteristics of Irving’s writing style? (Consult your book)25.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)26.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)27.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)28.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)29.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)30.What are Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to American culture? (See your book)31.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)32.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)33.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)34.What is imagism? (Consult your book)35.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)36.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not Taken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。
(0171)《美国文学史及选读》复习思考题答案I. Write out the authors’ names of the following works. (15)Benjamin Franklin T. S. EliotJames Cooper Walt WhitmanJames Baldwell Ernest HemingwayJoseph Heller John SteinbeckWilliam Faulkner Mark TwainWashington Irving Ernest HemingwayRobert Frost Toni MorrisonRalph Ellison Eugene O’NeillJohn Steinbeck Allan PoeF. Scott Fitzgerald Tennessee WilliamsWashington Irving Robert FrostNathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvilleEugen e O’Neill Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner Robert FrostArthur Miller James CooperH. D. Thoreau Henry JamesWhitman Jack LondonJack London O’NeillII. Define the following literary terms. (20)Beat generation:The term was coined by Jack Kerouac in 1948 to refer to a group of disillusioned writers following World War Two. Later, this literary and cultural movement continued into the 1960s. The Beat Generation must not be confused with the Lost Generation of writers. Spokesmen and representatives of the Beat Generation were Jack Kerouac, AllenGinsberg and others. They revolted against an America that was materialistic, belligerent and frustrating. Social, intellectual and sexual freedom was advocated. Traditional culture and normal social behavior were attacked and violated. Many of them were drug addicts wearing long hair and dirty clothes. They were fond of slangs and jazz. Masterpieces created by writers of this group include Kerouac‟s On the Road and Ginsberg‟s Howl and Other Poems, which were regarded as pocket Bibles of that generation. Other prominent Beats include William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Michael McClure, and Neal Cassady. The Beat Generation, had greatly influenced the countercultural movements of the 1960s and the adolescents and adults in other countries. In England, the “angry young men” made an echo and imitated the American “beatnik.”Protagonist: the principal character in a play or story; the central character who serves as a focus fo r the work‟s themes and incidents and as the principal rationale for its development; and one who is opposed to the antagonist. In the beginning of ancient Greek drama, there were only a chorus and one actor—the leader of the chorus. Thespis invented the first actor. Then Aeschylus and Sophocles added the second and third actors to the tragedy respectively. The three actors were names Protagonist, Deuteragonist and Tritagonist. In discussions of modern literature, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as the hero or anti-hero.Biography:an account of a person‟s life written by somebody else, or biographical writing as a form of literature.Novel: Generally speaking, it is an imaginative prose narrative of extended length dealing with fictional characters and events. The constituent elements of a novel include plot, character, conflict, and setting. But there can be exceptions. Some novels are short. Some novels are not fictional. Some novels are in verse. And some novels do not even tell a story. There have been many debates over the appropriate length of a novel. No established length for a novel has been agreed upon. It is generally held, however, that a full-length novel is longer than a novella or short novel, and a short novel is longer than a shot story. A novel should be long enough so as to appear in print in an independent volume. The great length of a novel makes it possible for the characters and themes in it to be developed more fully and subtly.Antihero: a main character in a story, novel, play or film who behaves in a completely different way from what people expect a hero to do. A non-hero is without the qualities and features of atraditional or old-fashioned hero. He is doomed to fail. Antiheroes of early days were Don Quixote, Macbeth, Rip V an Winkle, and Tristram Shandy. Examples of antiheroes in modern literature include Leopold Bloom, Jim Dixon, Jimmy Porter, Herzog, and Y assarian.Free verse:a form of poetry without rhyme, meter, regular line length, and regular stanzaic structure. It depends on natural speech for rhythm. Robert Frost compared it to “playing tennis with the net down.” Though much simpler and less restrictive than conventional poetry and blank verse, free verse does no mean “formlessness.” T. S. Eliot once said that “no verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job.” Though its origin is unknown, it was attempted by such early poets as Surrey, Milton, Blake, and Macpherson. It was Whitman who did the greatest contribution to the development and popularity of free verse. Whitman favored the simplicity and freedom of expression. According to him, “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of light of letters is simplicity. Noting is better than simplic ity.”Drama: a form of literature written for actors to perform. A drama is divided into acts. An act can be subdivided into scenes. The constituent elements of a drama include dialogue, plot, characters, setting, stage direction, and others. A drama can be as long as three parts called trilogy, or as short as one act only. Greek drama originated in religious ceremonial in honor of Dionysus. Medieval drama developed out of rites celebrating the life events of Jesus Christ. Dramatists of great importance in literary history include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Shaw. In America, the firs important dramatist was Eugene O‟Neill who wrote the first serious plays. Before O‟Neill, America had theatre. Starting from O‟Neill, it began to have drama.Jazz age: Jazz is a form of dance music that is derived from early Afro-American folk music, ragtime, and Negro blues. It is marked with exciting rhythm, pronounced syncopation, and constant improvisation. The musical instruments used are mainly drums, trumpets, and saxophones. Major composers of Jazz music include Irvin Berlin and W. C. Handy. The term Jazz Age was specifically employed by Fitzgerald to denote the 1920s, which was characterized by the loss of traditional moral standards, indulgence in romantic yearnings, and great social excitement. According to Malco lm Cowley, the Jazz Age was “a legend of glitter, of recklessness, and of talent in such profusion that it was sown broadcast like wild oats.” F. Scott Fitzgerald‟s Tales of the Jazz Age, like Mark Twain‟s The Gilded Age, was an epoch-making work.Autobiography: a story a writer writes about his or her own life experiences. It is narrated fromthe first-person point of view. The term was probably first used by Southey. But the first important autobiography was Confessions written by Augustine of Hippo. Othe r examples include Franklin‟s Autobiography, Adams‟s The Education of Henry Adams, John Stuart Mill‟s Autobiography, Carlyle‟s Reminiscences, Henry David Thoreau‟s Walden, and so on. Sometimes, an autobiography can be fictionalized. An example of this kind is Rousseau‟s Confessions. Some novels and long poems are used for autobiography. Joyce‟s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Whitman‟s “Song of Myself” and Wordsworth‟s The Prelude fall in this category. Dickens‟s David Copperfield, Lawrence‟s Sons and Lovers and O‟Neill‟s Long Day’s Journey into Night have strong autobiographical elements in them.Blank verse: poetry that does not rhyme but has iambic pentameter lines. Though not originated in England or America, it has been the most important and most widely used English verse form. Blank verse is popular because it is closest to the rhythm of daily English speech. Thus most English poems which are dramatic, reflective or narrative are in the form of blank verse. This verse was probably first used in England by Surrey who translated Aeneid, by Sackville and Norton who composed Gorboduc. It was developed and perfected by Marlowe, Shakespeare and Milton. In the 18th century, most poets favored heroic couplets. But Y oung and Thomson were able to write in the tradition of blank verse. The 19th century saw a renewed interest in this poetic form. Masters of blank verse included Wordsworth, Coleridge and Bryant. The fact that blank verse is still practiced by writers like T.S. Eliot, Y eats, Frost and Stevens shows how influential and favorable it really is.Black humor:a term frequently used in modern literary criticism. It is sometimes called …black comedy‟ or …tragic farce.‟ It is humor or laughter resulting from great pain, despair, horror and the absurdity of human existence. Black humor is a common quality of modern anti-novels and anti-dramas. Examples are Franz Kafka‟s stories like “Metamorphosis”, “The Castle” and “The Trial”, Joseph Heller‟s novel Catch-22and Albee‟s The Zoo Story. Other writers who did much contribution to the popularity of black humor were Beckett, Camus, Ionesco, V onnegut, Pynchon and so on.Head rhyme: the use in verse or prose of several words close together which all begin with the same letter. It is done for special musical effect comparable to the effects of end rhyme. In mostcases, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds. Examples are Pope‟s “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” Poe‟s “The weary, wayworn wanderer bore,” and Coleridge‟s“Five miles meandering with a mazy motion.” Alliteration of initial vowels is quite limited in number. An example of vowel alliteration is “It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.”Surprise Ending:Also called “O. Henry ending,” it is a completely unexpected turn or revelation of events at the conclusion of a story or play. An example is “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Another instance is O. Henry‟s story “The Gift of the Magi.”III. Give brief answers to the following questions. (15)1.Who is the father of American literature? (Consult your book)2.Who is the father of American poetry? (Consult your book)3.What is Poe‟s theory concerning poetry? (Consult your book)4.What is Poe‟s theory concerning the short story? (Consult your book)5.What are the major characteristics of Twain‟s writing style? (Consult your book)6.What are the major characteristics of Irving‟s writing style? (Consult your book)7.What is “black humor? (Consult your book)8.What is the Harlem Renaissance? (Consult your book)9.What is the New England Renaissance? (Consult your book)10.What are the major characteristics of colonial American literature? (See your book)11.What is the Lost Generation? (Consult your book)12.What are Benjamin Franklin‟s contributions to A merican culture? (See your book)13.Why is colonial American literature neither American nor literary? (See your book)14.What is the Jazz Age? (Consult your book)15.What is American transcendentalism? (Consult your book)16.What is imagism? (Consult your book)17.What is O. Henry Ending? (Consult your book)18.What is free verse? (Consult your book)IV. Read the following poem and try to understand and explain it.(20)FogTHE FOG comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbor and cityOn silent haunchesAnd then moves on(An imagist poem by Carl Sandburg; depicting the fog and its movement; free verse written in the tradition of Whiman.)In a Station of the Metro(Ezra Pound)The Apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.( a poem of the Imagist school, written by Ezra Pound.)The Road Not T aken(By Robert Frost)TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Y et knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.(A poem by Robert Frost. It is about the difficulty of making a choice.)Dreams(by Langston Hughes)Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.(Consult your book)。
2 The Literature of Colonial AmericaⅠ. Fill in the blanks1. Among the members of the small band of Jamestown settlers was ________, an English soldier of fortune, whose reports of exploration, published in the early 1600s, have been described as the first distinct American literature written in English.2. The term “Puritan” was applied to those settlers who originally were devout members of the Church of ______.3. _______College was established in 1636, with a printing press set up nearly in 1639.4. The first permanent English settlement in North American was established at _____, Virginia.5. ______ was a famous explorer and colonist. He established Jamestown.6. John Smith published _____ books in all.7. In the book _____ John Smith wrote that “here nature and liberty afford us that freely which in English we want, or it costs us dearly.”8. The General History of Virginia contains Smith’s most famous tale of how the Indian princess named ______ saved him from the wrath of her father.9. Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety, these were the _____values that dominated much of the early American writing.10. The American poets who emerged in the seventeenth century adapted the style of established European poets to the subject matter confronted in a strange, new environment. _______Bradstreet was one such poet.11. Bradford used a word “_______” to describe the community of believers who sailed from Southampton England, on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.12. In 1620, ______was elected Governor of Plymouth, Massachusetts.13. From 1621 until his death, ______probably possessed more power than any other colonial governor.14. Bradford’s work consists of two books. The first book deals with the persecutions of the Separatists in Scrooby, England, the second book describes the singing of the “______Compact”.15. The History of New England is a priceless gift _____left us.16. The writer who best expressed the Puritan faith in the colonial period was _______.17. The Puritan philosophy known as ______ was important in New England during colonial time, and had a profound influence on the early American mind for several generations.18. Many Puritan wrote verse, but the work of two writers, Anne Bradstreet and Edward ______, rose to the level of real poetry.19. Before his death, Jonathan ______had gained a position as America’s firstsystematic philosopher.Ⅱ. Match the names of the writers with their works.1. Jonathan Edwards a. The Day of Doom2. Increase Mather b. The magnolia Christi America3. John Smith c. The History of the Dividing Line4. William Byrd d. The General History of Virginia5. Olaudah Equiano e. A True Sight of Sin6. William Bradford f. Freedom of the Will7. Cotton Mather g. Cases of Conscience concerning Evil Spirits8. Thomas Hooker h. The Interesting Narrative9. Anne Bradstreet i. Preparatory Meditations10. Edward Taylor j. The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America11. Michael Wigglesworth k. The History of Plymouth Plantation12. Roger Williams l. A Key into the Language of AmericaⅢ. Multiple Choice.1.Early in the seventeenth century, the English settlements in ________began the main stream of what we recognize as the American national history.A. Virginia and PennsylvaniaB. Massachusetts and New YorkC. Virginia and MassachusettsD. New York and Pennsylvania2. The first writings that we call American were the narratives and _______of the early settlements.A. journalsB. poetryC. dramaD. folklores3. Among the earliest settlers in North America were Frenchmen who settled in the Northern colonies and along the _____River.A. St. LouisB. St. LawrenceC. MississippiD. Hudson4. In 1620 a number of Puritans came to settle in ________.A. VirginiaB. GeorgiaC. MarylandD. Massachusetts5. Whose reports of exploration, published in the early 1600s, have been regarded as the first distinct American literature written in English?A. John Winthrop’sB. John Smith’sC. William Bradford’sD. Christopher Columbus’s6. In 1612, John Smith published in England a book called ________.A. A Map of Virginia with a Description of the CountryB. The General History of MassachusettsC. A Description of New EnglandD. The Early History of Plymouth Colony7. What style did the seventeenth century American poets adapt to the subject matter confronted in a strangely new environment?A. The style of their own.B. The style mixed with England and American elements.C. The style mixed with native-American and British tradition.D. The style of established European poets.8. ______ was a civil covenant designed to allow the temporal state to serve the godly citizen.A. The early history of Plymouth colonyB. The magnolia Christi AmericaC. Mayflower CompactD. Freedom of the Will9. How many books did Cotton Mather, an inexhaustible writer, produced?A. About 400.B. About 500C. About 600D. About 30010. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean ______delivered his sermon A Model of Christian Charity. It became his important work.A. John WinthropB. Michael WigglesworthC. William BradfordD. Thomas Hooker11. ______ was regarded as the most eminent and admired minister in the first generation of New England Puritans.A. Cotton MatherB. John CottonC. John EliotD. Edward Taylor12. Who among the following translated the Bible into the Indian tongue?A. Roger WilliamsB. John EliotC. Cotton MatherD. John Smith13. The best of Puritan poets was ______, whose complete edition of poems appeared in 1960, more than two hundred years after his death.A. Anne BradstreetB. Michael WigglesworthC. Thomas HookerD. Edward Taylor14. English literature in America is only about more than ________years old.A. 500B. 600C. 200D. 10015. The early history of ________ Colony was the history of Bradford’s leadership.A. PlymouthB. JamestownC. New EnglandD. mayflower16. Which statement about Cotton Mather is not true?A. He was a great Puritan historian.B. He was an inexhaustible writer.C. He was a skillful preacher and an eminent theologian.D. He was a graduate of Oxford College.17. Jonathan Edwards’ best and most representative sermon was _________.A. A True Sight of SinB. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GodC. A Model of Christian CharityD. God’s Determinations18. Which writer is not a poet?A. Michael WigglesworthB. Anne BradstreetC. Edward TaylorD. Thomas Hooker19. The common thread throughout American literature has been the emphasis on the ________.A. revolutionismB. reasonC. individualismD. rationalism20. Anne Bradstreet was a puritan poet. Her poems made such a stir in England that she become known as the “_______” who appeared in America.A. Ninth MuseB. Tenth MuseC. Best MuseD. First Muse21. The ship “_______” carried about one hundred Pilgrims and took 66 days to beat its way across the Atlantic. In December of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts.A. SunflowerB. ArmadaC. MayflowerD. Titanic22. Which writer best expressed the Puritan sense of the self?A. Jonathan Edwards.B. Increase Mather.C. John Smith.D. Thomas Hooker.23. Before ______ the American newspapers were cultural and literary in nature, but after this time, they become more political.A. 1620B. 1700C. 1775D. 1750Ⅳ. Literary Terms1. Separatists2. Pilgrims and Puritans3. Olaudah Equiano (1745~1797)4. Literary Journals5. Slave Narratives6. John Smith (1580~1631)7. William Bradford (1590~1657)8. Jonathan Edwards (1703~1758)9. John Winthrop (1588~1649)10. The Mathers11. Michael Wigglesworth (1631~1705)Ⅴ. Identification.1. Identify the author and briefly introduce the following works.(1) Leah and Rachel(2) The Magnalia Christi Americana(3) The Freedom of the Will2. Identify the poem.I heard the merry grasshopper then sing,The black-clad cricket bear a second part,They kept one tune, and played on the same string,Seeming to glory in their little art.Shall creatures abject thus their voice raise?And in their kind resound their maker’s praise,Whilst I, as mite, can warble forth no higher lays?“Under the cooling shadow of a stately Elm,Close state I by a goodly River’s side,Where gliding streams the Rocks did overwhelm;A lonely place with pleasures dignifi’d.I once that lov’d the shady woods so well,Now thought the rivers did the trees excel,And if the sun would ever shine there would I dwell.“While musing thus with contemplation fed,And thousand fancies buzzing in my brain,The sweet tongu’d Philomel percht o’er my head,And chanted forth a most melodious strain,Which rapt me so with wonder and delight,I judg’d my hearing better than my sight,And wisht me wings with her awhile to my flight.”Questions:(1) This is taken from the Contemplations written by an early American woman writer. What is her name?(2) Make a brief comment on this short poem.3. Identify the except. Make a brief comment on this except.“The clouds gathering thick upon us, and the winds singing and whistling most unusually, . . . a dreadful storm and hideous began to blow from out the Northeast, which swelling and roaring as it were by fits, some hours with more violence than others, at length did beat all light from heaven, which like an hell of darkness, turned black upon us…“Prayers might well be in the heart and lips, but drowned in the outcries of the Officers, —nothing heard that could give comfort, nothing seen that might encourage hope…“The sea swelled above the Clouds and gave battle unto heaven.“Sir George Summers being upon the watch, had an apparition of a little round light, like a faint star, trembling and streaming along with a sparking blaze, half the height from the mainmast, and shooting sometimes from shrouds, and for three or four hours together, or rather more, half the night it kept with us, running sometimes along the mainyard to the very end, and then returning…“It being now Friday, the fourth morning, it wanted little but that there had been a general determination to have shut up hatches and commending our sinful souls toGod, committed the ship to the mercy of the sea.”4. Identify the poem.“The kingly Lion and the strong-armed Bear,The large-limbed Mooses, with the tripping Deer;Quill-darting Porcupines and Raccoons beCastled in the hollow of an aged tree;The skipping Squired, Rabbit, purblind Hare,Immured in the self=same castle are.“Concerning lions I will not say that I ever saw any myself, but some affirm that they have seen a lion at Cape Ann, which is not above six leagues from Boston; some likewise being lost in woods have heard such terrible roarings as have made them much aghast: which must either be devils or lions; there being no other creatures which use to roar saving bears, which have not such a terrible kind of roaring.”Questions:(1) The name of the poem is ________.(2) Briefly introduce the writer.5. Identify the poem.Some hide themselves in Caves and DelvesIn places underground.Some rashly leap into the Deep,To scape by being drowned:Some to the Rocks (O senseless blocks!)And woody mountains runThat there they might this fearful sight,And dreaded Presence shun…Not we, but he ate of the Tree,Whose fruit was interdicted:Yet on us all of his sad Fall,The punishment’s inflicted.How could we sin that had not been,Or how is his sin ourWithout consent, which to prevent,We never had a power…Yet to compare your sin with theirWho lived a longer time,I do confess yours is much less,Though every sin’s a crime.…A crime it is, therefore in blissYou may not hope to dwell;But unto you I shall allowThe easiest room in hell.The glorious King thus answering,They cease and plead no longer:Their consciences must needs confessHis reasons are the stronger.Questions:What is the name of the poem? Make a brief comment on it.Ⅵ. Questions and AnswersWho was Anne Bradstreet? What were her literary achievements?Ⅶ. Essay Questions.Do you agree that in colonial America there was no poetry at all? Give your reason. KeysⅠ. Fill in the blanks1. Captain John Smith2. England3. Harvard4. Jamestown5. Captain John Smith6. 87. A Description of New England8. Pocahontas9. Puritan 10. Anne11. Pilgrims 12. William Bradford13. Bradford 14. Mayflower15. John Winthrop 16. John Winthrop17. Puritanism 18. Taylor19. EdwardsⅡ. Matching.1-f ; 2-g; 3-d; 4-c; 5-h; 6-k; 7-b; 8-e; 9-j; 10-i; 11-a; 12-l Ⅲ.Multiple Choice.1-5 CABDB 6-10 ADCBA 11-15 AADCA16-20 DBDCB 21-23 CDDⅣ. Literary Terms.1.Separatists:In the colonial period, the Puritans who had gone to extreme were known as “separatists”. Unlike the majority of Puritans, they saw no hope of reforming the Church of England from within. They felt that the influences of politics and the court had led to corruptions within the church. They wished to break free from the Church of England. Among them was the Plymouth plantation group. They wished to follow Calvin’s model, and to set up “particular” churches.2. Pilgrims and Puritans: A small group of Europeans sailed from England on the Mayflower in 1620. The passengers were religious reformers—Puritans who were critical of the Church of England. Having given up hope of “purifying” the Church from within, they chose instead to withdraw from the Church. This action earned them the name separatists. We know them as the Pilgrims. They landed in North America and established a settlement at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The colony never grew very large, however. Eventually, it was engulfed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the much larger settlement to the north.Like the Plymouth Colony, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was also founded by religious reformers. These reformers, however, did not withdraw from the Church of England. Unlike the separatists, they were Puritans who intended instead to reform the Church from within, in America, the Puritans hopes to establish what John Winthrop, governor of the Colony, called a “city upon a hill,” a model community guided in all aspects by the Bible.Their form of government would be a theocracy, a state under the immediate guidance of God.Among the Puritans’ central beliefs were the ideas that human beings exist for the glory of God and that the Bible is the sole expression of God’s will. They also believed in predestination-- John Calvin’s doctrine that God has already decided who will achieve salvation and who will not. The elect, or saints, who are to be saved cannot take election for granted, however. Because of that, all devout Puritans searched their souls with great rigor and frequency for signs of grace. The Puritans felt that they could accomplish good only through continual hard work and self-discipline. When people today speak of the “Puritan ethic”, that is what they mean.Puritan ideas of hard work, frugality, self-improvement, and self-reliance are still regarded as basic American virtues.3. Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797): When published in 1789, the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano created a sensation.The Interesting Narrative made society face the cruelties of slavery and contributed to the banning of the slave in both the United States and England.The son of a tribal elder in the powerful kingdom of Benin, Equiano might have followed in his father’s footsteps had he not been sold into slavery. When Equiano was eleven years old, he and his sister were kidnapped from their home in West Africa and sold to British slave traders. Separated from his sister, Equiano was taken first to the West Indies, then to Virginia, where he was purchased by a British captain and employed at sea.Renamed Guatavus Vassa, Equiano was enslaved for nearly ten years. After managing his Philadelphia master’s finances and making his own money in the process, Equiano amassed enough to buy his freedom. In later years, he settled in England and devoted himself to the abolition of slavery. To publicize the plight of slaves, he wrote his tow-volume autobiography, The Interesting Narrative. Although Equiano’s writing raised concern about the less than human conditions inherent ill slavery, the slave trade in the United States was not abolished by lawuntil 1808, nearly 20 years after its publication.4. Literary Journals:a journal is an individual’s day-by-day account of events. It provides valuable details that can be supplied only by a participant or an eyewitness. As a record of personal relations, a journal reveals much about the writer.While offering insights into the life of the writer, a journal is not necessarily a reliable record of facts. The writer’s impressions may color the telling of events, particularly a reliable record of facts. The writer’s impressions may color the telling of events, particularly when he or she is a participant. Journals written for publication rather than private use are even less likely to be objective. The European encounters with and conquest of the Americas are recorded in the journals of the explores.5. Slave Narratives: A uniquely American literary genre, a slave narrative is an autobiographical account of life as a slave. Often written to expose the horrors of human bondage, it documents a slave’s experiences from his or her own point view.Encouraged by abolitionists, many freed or escaped slaves published narratives in the year before the Civil War.6. John Smith (1580-1631): adventurer, poet, mapmaker, and egotist are just a few of the labels that apply to Smith, who earned a reputation as one of England’s most famous explorers by helping to lead the first successful English colony in America. Stories of his adventures, often embellished by his own pen, fascinated readers of his day and continue to provide details about early exploration of the Americas.Following a ten-year career as a soldier, Smith led a group of colonists to his continent, where they landed in Virginia in 1607 and founded Jamestown. As president of the colony from 1608 to 1609, Smith helped to obtain food, enforce discipline, and deal with the local Native Americans. Though Smith returned to England in 1609, he made two more voyages to America to explore the New England coast. He published several works in the course of his life, including The General History of Virginia, New England, and The Summer Isles (1624).7. William Bradford (1590-1657): Survival in North America was a matter of endurance, intelligence, and courage. William Bradford had all three. Thirteen years after the founding of Jamestown, Bradford helped lead the Pilgrim to what is now Massachusetts.Bradford, who was born in Yorkshire, England, joined a group of Puritan extremists who believed the Church of England was corrupt and wished to separate from it. In the face of stiff persecution, they eventually fled to Holland and from there sailed to North America.After the death of the colony’s first leader, the Pilgrims elected William Bradford governor. He was reelected thirty times. During his tenure, he organized the repayment of debts to financial backers, encouraged new immigration, and established good relations with the Native Americans, without whose help the colony never would have survived.In 1630, Bradford began writing Of Plymouth Plantation, a firsthand account of the Pilgrims’ struggle to endure, sustained only by courage and unbending faith. The work, written in the simple language known as Puritan Plain Style, was notpublished until 1853.8. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): Jonathan Edwards is so synonymous with “fire and brimstone”—a phrase symbolizing the torments of hell endured by sinners—that his name alone was enough to make many eighteenth-century Puritans shake in their shoes.This great American theologian and powerful Puritan preacher was born in east Windsor, Connecticut, where he grew up in an atmosphere of devout discipline.A brilliant academic, he learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by the age of twelve, entered Yale at thirteen, and graduated four years later as class valedictorian. He went on to earn his master’s degree in theology.Edwards began his preaching career in 1727 as assistant to his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, pastor of the church at Northampton, Massachusetts, one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the Puritan worlds. Edwards also preached as a visiting minister throughout New England. Strongly desiring a return to the orthodoxy and fervent faith of the puritan past, he become a leader of the Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept the colonies in the 1730’s and 1740’s.The great Awakening did not last, however, and in 1750 Edwards was dismissed from his position after his extreme conservatism alienated much of the congregation. He continued to preach and write until his death in 1758, shortly after becoming president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Edward’s highly emotional sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is by far his most famous work. It was delivered to congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, in 1741, and it is said to have caused listeners to rise from their seats in a state of hysteria.9. John Winthrop (1588-1649): Among the company of English Puritans who, in 1630, settled on the shore of Massachusetts Bay, the foremost figure was that of John Winthrop, already appointed Governor of the colony. His family was well known in his home shire of Suffolk, a family of property and position. Winthrop himself was a man of noble character, a conscientious Puritan, yet catholic in spirit beyond some of his associates, possessing the tastes and accomplishments of culture. During his voyage to America, he had busied himself in the composition of a little treatise which was characteristic of this broad-minded man. A Model of Christian Charity is the title of his essay; and in it he presents a plea for the exercise of an unselfish spirit on the part of all the members of this devoted band, now standing on the threshold of an experience which could not but be trying in the extreme on the nerves and temper of the of all. “We must be knit together in this work as one man!” was his cry.10. The Mathers: through three generations Mathers—in grandfather, son and grandson—appear as brilliant intellectual leaders of the Massachusetts clergy.Richard Mather, 1596-1669, an Oxford graduate, who arrived in Boston in 1635, was one of that conscientious Puritan brotherhood that of necessity sought a refuge and a field for spiritual conquest in the New World. He became the minister at Dorchester. “My brother Mather is a mighty man,” Thomas Hooker said of him. Although he was a prolific writer, it is sufficient to the preface of the old BayPsalm Book.Increase Mather, 1639-1723. Among the 4 sons who became ministers, it was through Increase Mather that the chief inheritance of scholarly gifts was transmitted. The father’s eloquence was more than equaled by the son’s; his Puritan zeal, his love of learning, his industry in the production of pamphlets and books, brought the name of Increase Mather into greater prominence than Richard Mather’s vigorous quill had won. For fifty-nine years, he served as minister of the North Church in Boston. He added some ninety titles to the list of colonial publications--the majority representing discourses prepared for his congregation. Perhaps the only one of his books sufficiently vitalized by human interest to be noted today is An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences(1684), in which the piety, pedantry, and superstition characteristic of the religious scholar in that age are curiously mingled. This collection of strange visitations and marvelous deliverances was designed for the pious entertainment and spiritual comfort of its readers. It is one of the most interesting of these early American classics; and, like so many of the works previously cited, affords a vivid glimpse into the Puritan mind. For sixteen years, Increase Mather served as President of Harvard College.Cotton Mather, 1663-1728. His paternal relationship was not the only source of hereditary influence. The famous John Cotton was his grandfather on his mother’s side. All the accumulated piety and learning of his distinguished ancestry seemed to reside in this extraordinary man. He has been not inappropriately termed “tin literary behemoth of New England.” He had read Homer at ten years of age, and at eleven was admitted to Harvard College. He took his first degree at fifteen; at seventeen he began to preach, and soon afterward became associate with his father in the pastorate of the North Church in Boston, a connection which lasted for forty years. In his religious life, he became abnormal also; at times he lay for hours on the floor of his study in spiritual agony. He fortified himself for the conflict with error by fasts and vigils. His speech was full of pious ejaculations. Unhappily, Cotton Mather is most often remembered as a leader in the pitiful persecution of the unfortunate people accused of witchcraft at Salem in the last decade of the century. His Memorable Providence Relating to Witchcrafts (1691) and Wonders of the Invisible World (1693) contain curious records and much interesting matter relative to satanic possession; ideas which were firmly believed at that time, not only in New England, but very generally throughout Europe also.The most remarkable thing about Cotton Mather’s literary career is the number of his writings; four hundred or more titles are included in the catalogue of his works. The great work, the magnum opus of Cotton Mather’s prolific industry, was the famous Magnalia Christi Americana.11. Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705): He is Puritan versifier whose inspiration appealed strongly to contemporary minds. This most popular of early American poets was Rev. Michael Wigglesworth, minister at Malden, Massachusetts, author of a tremendous and dismal epic, surcharged with the extreme Calvinism of the time. His masterpiece of Puritan theological belief is entitled The Day of Doom; it was published in 1662, and for a hundred years remained—as Lowell expressesit— “the solace of every fireside” in the northern colonies.Ⅴ. Identification.1. (1) Leah and RachelIt was written by John Hammond. John Hammond, a resident in the newer colony of Maryland, visiting his old home in 1656, became homesick for the one he had left so America. “It is not long since I came from thence,” he said, “nor do I intend, by God’s assistance, to be long out of is again...It is that country in which I desire to spend the remnant of my days, in which I covet to make my grave,” His little work, entitled Leach and Rachel(“the two fruitful sisters, Virginia and Maryland”), was written with a purpose to show what boundless opportunity was afforded in these two colonies to those who in England had on opportunity at all. (2) The Magnalia Christi MatherIt was written by Cotton Mather.The book, completed in December, 1697, was published at London in 1702. It stands fitly enough is the last important literary effort of seventeenth-century colonial Puritanism. Something over a thousand pages of closely printed matter is included in the seven parts or volumes of this monumental work. The planting of New England and its growth, the lives of its governors and its famous divines, a history of Harvard College, the organization of the churches, “a faithful record of many wonderful Providences,” and an “account of the Wars of the Lord --being an history of the manifold afflictions and disturbances of the churches in New England “--such is the scope of the Magnalia Christi Americana, or The Great Acts of Christ in America.The style is pedantic and artificial, but the spirit of the writer is perfectly sincere. Now and them the narrative grows simple and strong. There is a frequent use of Old Testament phraseology which indicates a clear perception of its poetical value. Cotton Mather lived throughout the first quarter of the eighteenth century; but in all essential respects, in personality and in utterance, he belongs wholly to the seventeenth. The consummate product of the old Puritan theology, he stands as the last important representative of the type in American literature.(3) The Freedom of the WillIt is, however, as the author of an extraordinary book entitled An Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, that Jonathan Edwards holds his position in American letters. This work is a defense of the Calvinistic doctrines of foreordination, original sin, and eternal punishment. It is a masterpiece of philosophical reasoning, and although in the broadening of men’s minds the old theological ideas have been greatly modified, The Freedom of the Will is still recognized as a profound work, and has a definite place in the literature of theological discussion; it has been called “the one large contribution which America has made to the deeper philosophic thought of the world.”2. (1) Anne Bradstreet.(2) These stanzas, written by Anne Bradstreet, taken from her best known and most attractive poem, Contemplations, was written late in her life, at her home in。
Multiple Choice (1’×15=1515=15’’) 1.______was the first colony in American history. A. Massachusetts B. New Jersey C. Virginia D.Georgia 2. ______ was the only good American author before the Revolutionary War. One of his fellow Americans said, ’s on “His shadow lies heavier than any other manthis young nation.”ArrayA. John Smith B. Benjamin Franklin C. Thomas Jefferson D.Thomas Paine 3. Romantics put emphasis on the following EXCEPT ______. A. common sense B. imagination C. intuition D. individualism 4. The Raven was written in 1844 by ________ A. Philip Freneau B. Edgar Allan Poe C. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow D. Emily Dickinson 5. The ship ______ carried about one hundred Pilgrims and took 66 days to beat its way across the Atlantic. In December of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts. A. Sunflower B. Armada C. Mayflower D. Titanic 6. Melville’s novel ______ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage inpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale. A. Typee B. Omoo C. White Jacket D. Moby Dick 7. As a philosophical and literary movement, ______ flourished in New England from the 1830s to the Civil War. A.Modernism B.Rationalism C.Sentimentalism D.Transcendentalism 8. The theme of original sin is fully reflected in _________. A. The Scarlet Letter B. Sister Carrie C. The Great Gatsby D. The Old Man and Sea 9. In all his novels Theodore Dreiser sets himself to project the ______ American values. For examplSister Carrie, there is not one character whose status is not determined economically. A. Puritan B. materialistic C. psychological D. religious 10. Realism was a reaction against______ or a move away from the bias towards romance and self-creafictions, and paved the way to Modernism. A. Rationalism B. Romanticism C. Neoclassicism D. Enlightenment 11. ________ was a poet in American modern period who was deeply influence by eastern culture. A. T. S Eliot B. Robert Frost C. Ezra Pound D. Walt Whitman 12. Which of the following statements about Emily Dickinson is NOT true? A. After 1862 she became a total recluse, not leaving her house nor seeing close friends. B. She once felt a deep affection for Charles Wadsworth, a married aged minister, but it proved to be a frus love affair for Dickinson. C. She wrote about death, immortality, nature, success and failure. D. During her lifetime, all her poems are published. 13. The realistic period is referred to as “the Gilded Age ” by _______. A. Mark Twain B. Henry James C. Emily Dickinson D. Theodore Dreiser 14. Which of the following works is NOT by Ernest Hemingway? A. The Old Man and Sea B. A Farewell to Arms C. Sound and Fury D. For Whom the Bell Tolls 15. Which one is NOT the characteristic of modernism? A. Modernism in literature is characterized by experimentation, a nti-realism, anti-realism, anti-realism, individualism individualism individualism and a stress and a stress on the cerebral rather than emotive aspects. B. Modernism is greatly influenced by the two world wars. C. C. The The The work work work of of of Marx, Marx, Marx, and and and Freud, Freud, Freud, had had had mounted mounted mounted an an an assault assault assault against against against orthodox orthodox orthodox religious religious religious faith faith faith that that that lasted lasted lasted into into into the the twentieth century. D. Modernists believe that human nature is kind. I. Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=1010=10’’) Column A Column B ( ) 1. Dimmesdale a. Robert Frost ( ) 2. Ahab b. Mark Twain ( ) 3. Drouet c. The Scarlet Letter ( ) 4. Pulitzer Prizer d. Thomas Jefferson ( ) 5. Reclusive poet e. Moby Dick ( ) 6. humorist and satirist f. Ernest Heminway ( ) 7. The Decalration of Indepenence g. Henry David Thoreau ( ) 8. transcendentalist h. Emily Dickinson ( ) 9. The Great Gatsby i. Sister Carrie ( ) 10. The Lost Generation j. F. Scott Fitzgerald II. Define the following words within one phrase (2(2’’×5=105=10’’) 1. free verse 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson 3. Mark Twain 4. Benjamin Franklin 5. Ezra Pound III. Simple questions (5’×4=204=20’’) 1. What are Puritan thoughts? 2. What is Transcedentalism and list some representative figures? 3. Explain the symbolic meanings of “A ” in The Scarlet Letter. 4. Illustrate the three principles of Imagist Poetry. IV . Interpreting the following texts (45’) Text 1 When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into s hands hands and and and becomes becomes becomes better, better, better, or or or she she she rapidly rapidly rapidly assumes assumes assumes the the the cosmopolitan cosmopolitan cosmopolitan standard standard standard of of of virtue virtue virtue and and and becomes becomes worse. worse. Of Of Of an an an intermediate intermediate intermediate balance, balance, balance, under under under the the the circumstances, circumstances, circumstances, there there there is is is no no no possibility. possibility. possibility. The The The city city city has has has its its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter. There are large forces w allure allure with with with all all all the the the soulfulness soulfulness soulfulness of of of expression expression expression possible possible possible in in in the the the most most most cultured cultured cultured human. human. human. The The The gleam gleam gleam of of of a a thousand thousand lights lights lights is is is often often often as as as effective effective effective as as as the the the persuasive persuasive persuasive light light light in in in a a a wooing wooing wooing and and and fascinating fascinating fascinating eye. eye. eye. Half Half Half the the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A bl of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal Without a counsellor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these thi breathe breathe into into into the the the unguarded unguarded unguarded ear! ear! ear! Unrecognised Unrecognised Unrecognised for for for what what what they they they are, are, are, their their their beauty, beauty, beauty, like like like music, music, music, too too too often often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions. Questions 1. Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’) 2. What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’) 3. Please find out the figures of speech (2’) 4. What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’) 5. How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate your points with examples (5’) Text 2 Because I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me -- The Carriage held but just Ourselves -- And Immortality. We slowly drove -- He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility –We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess -- in the Ring -- We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -- We passed the Setting Sun –…Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity –Questions: 1.Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’) 2.Explain the underlined words (4’) “the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the Setting Sun”? (3’) 3.What are the implications of 4.How do you understand “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feels shorter than the Day” ? (3’) 5.What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’) Text 3 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Questions: ’) 1.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’) 2.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? (33.How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’) 4.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (4’) ’) 5.What is the theme of this poem? (2V.Interpreting the following texts (45’) Text 1 ’) 1. Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’) 2. What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’) 3. Please find out the figures of speech (2’) 4. What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’) 5. How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate your points with examples (5Text 2 1. Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’) ’) 2. Explain the underlined words (4“the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the Setting Sun”? (3’) 3. What are the implications of “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feels shorter than the Day” ? (3’) 4. How do you understand 5. What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’) Text 3 ’) V.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2VI. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? (3’) VII. How do you understand the word “sigh ”? (4’) VIII. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker ’s mind? (4’) IX. What is the theme of this poem? (2’) 参考答案参考答案I. Multiple Choice (1’×15=1515=15’’) 1. _C___ 2._B__ 3.__A__ 4.__B__ 5.__C___ 6.__D_ 7.__D__ 8._A__ 9.__B__ 10.__B___ 11._C__ 12.__D__ 13._A_ 14._C __ 15._D__ II. Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=1010=10’’) 1.( c ) 2.( e ) 3.( i ) 4.( a ) 5.( h ) 6.( b ) 7.( d ) 8.( g ) 9.(j ) 10.( f ) III. Define the following words within one phrase (2’×5=105=10’’) (Any related information can be given marks) 1. poetry without a fived beat or regular rhyme scheme, produced by Walt Whitman 2. 2. is is is the the the representative representative of of transcedentalists, transcedentalists, who who believes believes in in individualism individualism and and self-reliance self-reliance and and brings brings transcedentalism to New England 3.is a humorist and satirist, who uses broad humor and biting social satire 4.is one of Thoreau’s masterpieces, which is the result of the author ’s two years of living near Walden lake. 5. 5. is is is regarded regarded regarded as as as the the the classical classical classical poem poem poem of of of imagist imagist imagist poetry poetry poetry by by by Ezra Ezra Ezra Pound, Pound, Pound, conveying conveying conveying the the the theme theme theme of of of the the the speaker speaker speaker’’s sudden pleasure of finding some beautiful faces in the subway IV . Simple Questions (5’×4=204=20’’) (Answers should be to the points. 1 score for time, 2 scores for features anscore for representative figures when defining the literary terms) a) Puritan thoughts: to make pure their religious beliefs and practices, to restore simplicity, to live a harddisciplined life and oppose pleasure and arts. b) Transcendentalism is the climax of American Romanticism. First, the Transcendentalist placed emphasis on spirit, or the oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. Secondly, Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the spirit. 3. a. The letter ’s meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester as an adulterer, the “A ” eventually comes to stand for “Able ” or “Angel Angel””. b. Besides Hester, Dimmesdale also ironed the letter A on his body, which provoked his self-consciousness and showed his repent for what he did. c. Pearl, their baby, wore a green letter a in a piece of seaweed while playing on the beach. This green letter A symbolizes vitality or new life, and also suggests her inheritance from her mother. 4. a. direct treatment of the “thing thing””(no fuss, frill, or ornament ), b. exclusion of superfluous words (precision and economy of expression ), c. the rhythm of the musical phrase rather than the sequence of a metronome (free verse form and music ). V . Interpreting the following texts (45’) Text 1 1. The attraction of big city (2’) 2. One is to fall into the saving hands and becomes better; secondly, she may admit the ’) moral value of big city and becomes worse. (2’) 3. Simile, metaphor and synecdoche (24. The gleam of lights, a blare of sound, a roar of life, and a vast array of human hives (4’) 5. Naturalist attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low social economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity. In this novel, the major fem character Carrie Meeber is deeply influenced by the present environment and heredity, which leads to result of her dynamic character.(5’) (the features of naturalism 3 scores, examples 2 scores) Text 2 ”(2(2’’) 1. Emily Dickinson and “Because I Could not Stop for Death2. He: death; civility: politeness; Recess: break Surmised: guessed (4’) 3. They represent three stages of life. The school is the childhood and young age; the fields of gazing grain ’s life. (3’) to the mature period and the setting sun the old age, that is the end of one’) 4. Because this day is towards death, immortal and eternal (35. Death is immortality (3’) Text 3 ’) 1. It is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymed abaab.(22. Similarities: both of the roads are beautiful (fair) Differences: one is quiet and grassy, less-traveled; the other is trodden by many people and flat ’) He took the less-travelled road (3is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it is 3. The word “sigh”is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it i relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker feels glad with the road he took. If it is the regret sig the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. Hence, sigh is ambigous’) for the speaker is not showing whether his choice is right or wrong. (44. The real road; the life road and the road in career (4’) 5.Choice is inevitable but you never know what your choice will mean until you have lived it. This is altheme of the poem. (2’) 。
美国文学史及作品选读模拟试题一I.Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1.C______was the first colony in American history.A. MassachusettsB. New JerseyC. VirginiaD.Georgia2. _B_____ was the only good American author before the Revolutionary War. Oneof his fellow Americans said, “His shadow lies heavier than any other man’s on this young nation.”A. John SmithB. Benjamin FranklinC. Thomas JeffersonD.Thomas Paine3. Romantics put emphasis on the following EXCEPT __A____.A. common senseB. imaginationC. intuitionD. individualism4. The Raven was written in 1844 by __B______A. Philip FreneauB. Edgar Allan PoeC. Henry Wadsworth LongfellowD. Emily Dickinson5. The ship __C____ carried about one hundred Pilgrims and took 66 days tobeatits way across the Atlantic. In December of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore atPlymouth, Massachusetts.A. SunflowerB. ArmadaC. MayflowerD. Titanic6. Melville’s novel __D____ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyageinpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale.A. TypeeB. OmooC. White JacketD. Moby Dick7. As a philosophical and literary movement, __D____ flourished in NewEnglandfrom the 1830s to the Civil War.A.ModernismB.RationalismC.SentimentalismD.Transcendentalism8. The theme of original sin is fully reflected in ___A______.A. The Scarlet LetterB. Sister CarrieC. The Great GatsbyD. The Old Man and Sea9. In all his novels Theodore Dreiser sets himself to project the ___B___American values. For example, in Sister Carrie, there is not one character whose status isnot determined economically.A. PuritanB. materialisticC. psychologicalD. religious10. Realism was a reaction against____B__ or a move away from the bias towardsromance and self-creating fictions, and paved the way to Modernism.A. RationalismB. RomanticismC. NeoclassicismD. Enlightenment11. __C______ was a poet in American modern period who was deeply influenceby eastern culture.A. T. S EliotB. Robert FrostC. Ezra PoundD. Walt Whitman12. Which of the following statements about Emily Dickinson is NOT true?DA. After 1862 she became a total recluse, not leaving her house nor seeingclose friends.B. She once felt a deep affection for Charles Wadsworth, a married agedminister, but it proved to be a frustrated love affair for Dickinson.C. She wrote about death, immortality, nature, success and failure.D. During her lifetime, all her poems are published.13. The realistic period is referred to as “the Gilded Age” by __A_____.A. Mark TwainB. Henry JamesC. Emily DickinsonD. Theodore Dreiser14. Which of the following works is NOT by Ernest Hemingway?CA. The Old Man and SeaB. A Farewell to ArmsC. Sound and FuryD. For Whom the Bell Tolls15. Which one is NOT the characteristic of modernism?DA. Modernism in literature is characterized by experimentation, anti-realism,individualism and a stress on the cerebral rather than emotive aspects.B. Modernism is greatly influenced by the two world wars.C. The work of Marx, and Freud, had mounted an assault against orthodoxreligious faith that lasted into the twentieth century.D. Modernists believe that human nature is kind.II.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)Column A Column B( c ) 1. Dimmesdale a. Robert Frost( e) 2. Ahab b. Mark Twain( i ) 3. Drouet c. The Scarlet Letter( a ) 4. Pulitzer Prizer d. Thomas Jefferson( h ) 5. Reclusive poet e. Moby Dick(b ) 6. humorist and satirist f. Ernest Heminway( d) 7. The Decalration of Indepenence g. Henry David Thoreau( g ) 8. transcendentalist h. Emily Dickinson( j) 9. The Great Gatsby i. Sister Carrie( f ) 10. The Lost Generation j. F. Scott FitzgeraldIII.Define the following words within one phrase(2’×5=10’)1. free verse2. Ralph Waldo Emerson3. Mark Twain4. Benjamin Franklin5. Ezra PoundIV.Simple questions (5’×4=20’)1.What are Puritan thoughts?2.What is Transcedentalism and list some representative figures?3. Explain the symbolic meanings of “A” in The Scarlet Letter.4. Illustrate the three principles of Imagist Poetry.V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 1When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things.Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumesthe cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediatebalance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has itscunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter.There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counsellor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognised for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions.Questions1.Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’)2.What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’)3.Please find out the figures of speech (2’)4.What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’)5.How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate yourpoints with examples (5’)Text 2Because I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me --The Carriage held but just Ourselves --And Immortality.We slowly drove -- He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility –We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess -- in the Ring --We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain --We passed the Setting Sun –…Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses' HeadsWere toward Eternity –Questions:1.Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’)2.Explain the underlined words (4’)3.What are the implications of “the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the SettingSun”? (3’)4.How do you understand “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feelsshorter than the Day” ? (3’)5.What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’)Text 3Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth.Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same.And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.Questions:1.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’)2.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does thespeaker take? (3’)3.How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’)4.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (4’)5.What is the theme of this poem? (2’)参考答案I.Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1. _C___2._B__3.__A__4.__B__5.__C___6.__D_7.__D__8._A__9.__B__ 10.__B___11._C__ 12.__D__ 13._A_ 14._C __ 15._D__II.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)1.( c )2.( e )3.( i )4.( a )5.( h )6.( b )7.( d )8.( g )9.(j ) 10.( f )III.Define the following words within one phrase (2’×5=10’)(Any related information can be given marks)1. poetry without a fived beat or regular rhyme scheme, produced by Walt Whitman2. is the representative of transcedentalists, who believes in individualism and self-reliance and brings transcendentalism to New England3.is a humorist and satirist, who uses broad humor and biting social satire4.is one of Thoreau’s masterpieces, which is the result of the author’s two years ofliving near Walden lake.5. is regarded as the classical poem of imagist poetry by Ezra Pound, conveying thetheme of the speaker’s sudden pleasure of finding some beautiful faces in the subwayIV.Simple Questions (5’×4=20’) (Answers should be to the points. 1 score for time, 2 scores for features and 1 score for representative figures when defining theliterary terms)a)Puritan thoughts: to make pure their religious beliefs and practices, to restoresimplicity, to live a hard and disciplined life and oppose pleasure and arts.b)Transcendentalism is the climax of American Romanticism.First, the Transcendentalist placed emphasis on spirit, or the oversoul, as the mostimportant thing in the universe.Secondly, Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic ofthe spirit.3. a. The letter’s meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester asan adulterer, the “A”eventually comes to stand for “Able”or“Angel”.b. Besides Hester, Dimmesdale also ironed the letter A on his body, which provokedhis self-consciousness and showed his repent for what he did.c. Pearl, their baby, wore a green letter a in a piece of seaweed while playing on thebeach. This green letter A symbolizes vitality or new life, and also suggests herinheritance from her mother.4. a. direct treatment of the “thing”(no fuss, frill, or ornament),b. exclusion of superfluous words(precision and economy of expression),c. the rhythm of the musical phrase rather than the sequence of a metronome(free verse form and music).V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 11. The attraction of big city (2’)2. One is to fall into the saving hands and becomes better; secondly, she may admit the moral value of big city and becomes worse. (2’)3. Simile, metaphor and synecdoche (2’)4. The gleam of lights, a blare of sound, a roar of life, and a vast array of humanhives (4’)5. Naturalist attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presentingcharacters of low social and economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity. In this novel, the major female character Carrie Meeber is deeply influenced by the present environment and heredity, which leads to the result of her dynamic character.(5’) (the features of naturalism 3 scores, examples2 scores)Text 21. Emily Dickinson and “Because I Could not Stop for Death”(2’)2. He: death; civility: politeness; Recess: break Surmised: guessed (4’)3. They represent three stages of life. The school is the childhood and young age; the fields of gazing grain refers to the mature period and the setting sun the old age, that is the end of one’s life. (3’)4. Because this day is towards death, immortal and eternal (3’)5. Death is immortality (3’)Text 31. It is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymed abaab.(2’)2. Similarities: both of the roads are beautiful (fair)Differences: one is quiet and grassy, less-traveled; the other is trodden by many people and flatHe took the less-travelled road (3’)3. The word “sigh”is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker feels glad with the road he took. If it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. Hence, sigh is ambigous here for the speaker is not showing whether his choice is right or wrong. (4’)4. The real road; the life road and the road in career (4’)5.Choice is inevitable but you never know what your choice will mean until you havelived it. This is also the theme of the poem. (2’)。
美国文学史及作品选读模拟试题一I.Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1.C______was the first colony in American history.A. MassachusettsB. New JerseyC. VirginiaD.Georgia2. _B_____ was the only good American author before the Revolutionary War. Oneof his fellow Americans said, “His shadow lies heavier than any other man’s on this young nation.”A. John SmithB. Benjamin FranklinC. Thomas JeffersonD.Thomas Paine3. Romantics put emphasis on the following EXCEPT __A____.A. common senseB. imaginationC. intuitionD. individualism4. The Raven was written in 1844 by __B______A. Philip FreneauB. Edgar Allan PoeC. Henry Wadsworth LongfellowD. Emily Dickinson5. The ship __C____ carried about one hundred Pilgrims and took 66 days to beatits way across the Atlantic. In December of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts.A. SunflowerB. ArmadaC. MayflowerD. Titanic6. Melville’s novel __D____ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage inpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale.A. TypeeB. OmooC. White JacketD. Moby Dick7. As a philosophical and literary movement, __D____ flourished in New Englandfrom the 1830s to the Civil War.A.ModernismB.RationalismC.SentimentalismD.Transcendentalism8. The theme of original sin is fully reflected in ___A______.A. The Scarlet LetterB. Sister CarrieC. The Great GatsbyD. The Old Man and Sea9. In all his novels Theodore Dreiser sets himself to project the ___B___ American values. For example, in Sister Carrie, there is not one character whose status is not determined economically.A. PuritanB. materialisticC. psychologicalD. religious10. Realism was a reaction against____B__ or a move away from the bias towards romance and self-creating fictions, and paved the way to Modernism.A. RationalismB. RomanticismC. NeoclassicismD. Enlightenment11. __C______ was a poet in American modern period who was deeply influence by eastern culture.A. T. S EliotB. Robert FrostC. Ezra PoundD. Walt Whitman12. Which of the following statements about Emily Dickinson is NOT true?DA. After 1862 she became a total recluse, not leaving her house nor seeing close friends.B. She once felt a deep affection for Charles Wadsworth, a married aged minister, but it proved to be a frustrated love affair for Dickinson.C. She wrote about death, immortality, nature, success and failure.D. During her lifetime, all her poems are published.13. The realistic period is referred to as “the Gilded Age” by __A_____.A. Mark TwainB. Henry JamesC. Emily DickinsonD. Theodore Dreiser14. Which of the following works is NOT by Ernest Hemingway?CA. The Old Man and SeaB. A Farewell to ArmsC. Sound and FuryD. For Whom the Bell Tolls15. Which one is NOT the characteristic of modernism?DA. Modernism in literature is characterized by experimentation, anti-realism, individualism and a stress on the cerebral rather than emotive aspects.B. Modernism is greatly influenced by the two world wars.C. The work of Marx, and Freud, had mounted an assault against orthodox religious faith that lasted into the twentieth century.D. Modernists believe that human nature is kind.II.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)Column A Column B( c ) 1. Dimmesdale a. Robert Frost( e) 2. Ahab b. Mark Twain( i ) 3. Drouet c. The Scarlet Letter ( a ) 4. Pulitzer Prizer d. Thomas Jefferson( h ) 5. Reclusive poet e. Moby Dick(b ) 6. humorist and satirist f. Ernest Heminway( d) 7. The Decalration of Indepenence g. Henry David Thoreau( g ) 8. transcendentalist h. Emily Dickinson( j) 9. The Great Gatsby i. Sister Carrie( f ) 10. The Lost Generation j. F. Scott FitzgeraldIII.Define the following words within one phrase(2’×5=10’)1. free verse2. Ralph Waldo Emerson3. Mark Twain4. Benjamin Franklin5. Ezra PoundIV.Simple questions (5’×4=20’)1.What are Puritan thoughts?2.What is Transcedentalism and list some representative figures?3. Explain the symbolic meanings of “A” in The Scarlet Letter.4. Illustrate the three principles of Imagist Poetry.V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 1When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things.Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumesthe cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediatebalance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has itscunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter.There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expressionpossible in the most cultured human. The gleam of a thousand lights is often aseffective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half theundoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forceswholly superhuman. A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives,appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counsellor at handto whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognised for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions.Questions1.Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’)2.What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’)3.Please find out the figures of speech (2’)4.What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’)5.How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate yourpoints with examples (5’)Text 2Because I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me --The Carriage held but just Ourselves --And Immortality.We slowly drove -- He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility –We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess -- in the Ring --We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain --We passed the Setting Sun –…Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses' HeadsWere toward Eternity –Questions:1.Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’)2.Explain the underlined words (4’)3.What are the implications of “the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the SettingSun”? (3’)4.How do you understand “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feelsshorter than the Day” ? (3’)5.What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’)Text 3Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth.Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same.And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.Questions:1.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’)2.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does thespeaker take? (3’)3.How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’)4.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (4’)5.What is the theme of this poem? (2’)参考答案I.Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1. _C___2._B__3.__A__4.__B__5.__C___6.__D_7.__D__8._A__9.__B__ 10.__B___11._C__ 12.__D__ 13._A_ 14._C __ 15._D__II.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)1.( c )2.( e )3.( i )4.( a )5.( h )6.( b )7.( d )8.( g )9.(j ) 10.( f )III.Define the following words within one phrase (2’×5=10’)(Any related information can be given marks)1. poetry without a fived beat or regular rhyme scheme, produced by Walt Whitman2. is the representative of transcedentalists, who believes in individualism andself-reliance and brings transcendentalism to New England3.is a humorist and satirist, who uses broad humor and biting social satire4.is on e of Thoreau’s masterpieces, which is the result of the author’s two years of living near Walden lake.5. is regarded as the classical poem of imagist poetry by Ezra Pound, conveying thetheme of the speaker’s sudden pleasure of finding some beautiful faces in the subwayIV.Simple Questions (5’×4=20’) (Answers should be to the points. 1 score fortime, 2 scores for features and 1 score for representative figures when defining theliterary terms)a)Puritan thoughts: to make pure their religious beliefs and practices, to restoresimplicity, to live a hard and disciplined life and oppose pleasure and arts.b)Transcendentalism is the climax of American Romanticism.First, the Transcendentalist placed emphasis on spirit, or the oversoul, as the mostimportant thing in the universe.Secondly, Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic ofthe spirit.3. a. The letter’s meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester asan adulterer, the “A”eventually comes to stand for “Able”or“Angel”.b. Besides Hester, Dimmesdale also ironed the letter A on his body, which provokedhis self-consciousness and showed his repent for what he did.c. Pearl, their baby, wore a green letter a in a piece of seaweed while playing on thebeach. This green letter A symbolizes vitality or new life, and also suggests herinheritance from her mother.4. a. direct treatment of the “thing”(no fuss, frill, or ornament),b. exclusion of superfluous words(precision and economy of expression),c. the rhythm of the musical phrase rather than the sequence of a metronome(free verse form and music).V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 11. The attraction of big city (2’)2. One is to fall into the saving hands and becomes better; secondly, she may admit themoral value of big city and becomes worse. (2’)3. Simile, metaphor and synecdoche (2’)4. The gleam of lights, a blare of sound, a roar of life, and a vast array of humanhives (4’)5. Naturalist attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presentingcharacters of low social and economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity. In this novel, the major female character Carrie Meeber is deeply influenced by the present environment and heredity, which leads to the result of her dynamic character.(5’) (the features of naturalism 3 scores, examples2 scores)Text 21. Emily Dickinson and “Because I Could not Stop for Death”(2’)2. He: death; civility: politeness; Recess: break Surmised: guessed (4’)3. They represent three stages of life. The school is the childhood and young age; the fields of gazing grain refers to the mature period and the setting sun the old age, that is the end of one’s life. (3’)4. Because this day is towards death, immortal and eternal (3’)5. Death is immortality (3’)Text 31. It is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymed abaab.(2’)2. Similarities: both of the roads are beautiful (fair)Differences: one is quiet and grassy, less-traveled; the other is trodden by many people and flatHe took the less-travelled road (3’)3. The word “sigh”is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker feels glad with the road he took. If it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. Hence, sigh is ambigous here for the speaker is not showing whether his choice is right or wrong. (4’)4. The real road; the life road and the road in career (4’)5.Choice is inevitable but you never know what your choice will mean until you havelived it. This is also the theme of the poem. (2’)。
[0171]《美国文学史及选读》第一次作业[判断题]Faith in Christianity is one of the main ideas advocated by Raph Waldo Emerson, the chief spokesman of American Romanticism.参考答案:错误[判断题]In Desire Under the Elms by Eugene G. O'Neill, Abbie is the second wife of Cabot after his first wife dies.参考答案:错误[判断题]Langston Hughes is often entitled "New England Poet”.参考答案:错误[判断题]Franklin was a symbol of the American dream.参考答案:正确[判断题]Rip Van Winkle was written by James Cooper.参考答案:错误[判断题]Fitzgerald was the spokesman of the Jazz Age.参考答案:正确[判断题]Allan Poe wrote the first detective stories in America.参考答案:正确[判断题]The Beat Generation and the Lost Generation are the same.参考答案:错误[判断题]Beyond the Horizon was the first full-length play of O'Neill.参考答案:正确[判断题]Irving was the first American writer to get an international reputation.参考答案:正确第二次作业[判断题]Chinese poetry and philosophy had exerted great influence on Ezra Pound.参考答案:正确[判断题]Howl is a symbol in the movement of the Beat Generation, which was written by Allen Ginsberg.参考答案:正确[判断题] Joseph Heller was an American satirical novelist, poet and short story writer.参考答案:错误[判断题]Mark Twain was the Lincoln of American literature.参考答案:正确[判断题]The best work of Whitman was The Leaves of Grass参考答案:正确[判断题]Anne Bradstreet was father of American poetry.参考答案:错误[判断题]The Autobiography was the masterpiece of Franklin.参考答案:正确[判断题]The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story参考答案:正确[判断题]The Scarlet Letter is a novel of symbolism.参考答案:正确[判断题]The Sun Also Rises is a novel about the Lost Generation.参考答案:正确第三次作业[单选题]The time setting of Looking for Mr. Green by Saul Bellow is ______.A:springB:summerC:autumnD:winter参考答案:D[单选题]_______was the leader of a new movement in poetry which he called "Imagist” movement.A:T. S. EliotB:Robert FrostC:Ezra PoundD:Emily Dickinson参考答案:C[单选题]Allen Ginsberg is the representative poet of ________.A:The Lake PoetsB:The Lost GenerationC:The Beat GenerationD:The Imagist参考答案:C[单选题]____ was Sherwood Anderson's most important work.A:Windy McPherson's SonB:Beyond DesireC:The triumph of the EggD:Winesburg, Ohio参考答案:D[单选题]Transcendentalists recognized as the "highest power of the soul”.A:intuitionB:logicC:data of the sensesD:thinking参考答案:A[单选题]Ralph Waldo Emerson's is regarded as the "Declaration of Intellectual Independence”.A:NatureB:The Conduct of LifeC:Representative MenD:The American Scholar参考答案:D[单选题]Which may NOT be one of the causes for the rise of American Romantic Movement? A:The westward territorial expansionB:The great increase in populationC:The victory of the settlers in the Indian warD:The rapid economic transformation参考答案:C[单选题]Edgar Allan Poe occupies an important position in American literature as a poet and a .A:short story writerB:novelistC:dramatistD:translator参考答案:A[单选题]The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were quite a few of the .A: QuakersB:AnglicansC:CatholicsD:Puritans参考答案:D[单选题]Herman Melville described as "master of each and mastered by none―the type and genius of his land.”A: John SmithB:Thomas JeffersonC:Benjamin FranklinD:Thomas Paine参考答案:C第四次作业[单选题]"Ripeness was all” in the chapter 41 of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is quoted from Shakespeare's play______.A:The Merchant of VeniceB:OthelloC:Romeo and JulietD:King Lear参考答案:D[单选题]The four survivors in "The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane are_______.A:The oiler, the cook, the businessman, and the correspondentB:The captain, the sailor, the cook, and the correspondentC:The captain, the oiler, the cook, and the sailorD:The captain, the oiler, the cook, and the correspondent参考答案:C[单选题]As to American naturalism, which of the following statements is NOT true?A:Artistically, naturalistic writings are unpolished in language and unwieldy in structure.B:Philosophically, the naturalists believe that the real and true is partially from peo ple’s eyes.C:The tone in the writing more ironic and pessimistic than that of realism.D:They usually chose their subjects from the higher ranks of society.参考答案:D[单选题]Willa's novel, ____, is the story of a female singer's growth and development from childhood to maturity.A:My AntoniaB:The Song of the LarkC:The Professor‘s HouseD:Death Comes for the Archbishop参考答案:B[单选题]The time setting of Looking for Mr. Green by Saul Bellow is ______.A:springB:summerC:autumnD:winter参考答案:D[单选题]What is Ralp W. Ellison's attitude toward Booker T. Washington's philosophy of race relations in Invisible Man?A:He embraces it wholeheartedly.B:He advocates it with some reservations.C:He regards it with ambivalence.D:He rejects it fiercely and repeatedly.参考答案:D[单选题]What is the essay Once More to the Lake by E.B. White about?A:the writer and his son’s camping experience on the lakeB:the great changes that took place on the lakeC:the natural beauty of the lakeD:the writer’s pilgrimage b ack to a lakefront resort he visited as a child参考答案:D[单选题]Who is called "the Singer” of the Lost Generation?A:William FaulknerB:Ernest HemingwayC:F. Scott FitzgeraldD:Dos Passos参考答案:B[单选题]Faulkner set many of his short stories and novels in______.A:MississippiB:OxfordC:Yoknapatawpha CountyD:Massachusetts参考答案:C[单选题]Which literary school does F. Scot Fitzgerald belong to? A:modernismB:realismC:romanticismD:post-modernism参考答案:A第五次作业[论述题]Define the Lost Generation.参考答案:Lost Generation: A term invented by Gertrude Stein, it denotes a group of writers after the First World War. They were characterized with their loss of ideals and values resulting fromthe War and other social evils. When talking with Hemingway, Stein said: "You are all a lost generation.” Hemingway later used it as a preface to his novel The Sun Also Rises, the hero of which is often referred to as the archetype of the generation. Other major representatives of theLost Generation were F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hart Crane, Louis Bromfield, and Malcolm Cowley. These writers had either participated in the War or lived for a long time in Europe. Disillusioned and disenchanted, they were anti-traditional, cynical, desperate, and hedonistic. The term is sometimes used for those killed in the War and those who survived it but could not find their spiritual belonging.[论述题]Why is looking for Green so important to Grebe in Saul Bellow's Looking for Mr. Green? What you think Green symbolize?参考答案:From the short story we can know that Grebe is a rather diligent, careful and persistent man. He treats his work seriously. To him, to fulfill his responsibility is a great issue, therefore to deliver the check to Mr. Green becomes important. Besides, the setting of this short story is in the Great Depression, in the process of looking for Mr. Green, Grebe witnesses the miserable life of the lower class. This makes himmore insistent to the search. To some extent, Green has been endowed with more profound meaning. He is transfigured into a belief, an attitude of life.第六次作业[论述题]What is the relationship between man and nature as presented in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat?参考答案:Key points:1. the plot of the story;2. Nature seems to be indifferent to man;3. Nature consists of opposite force;4.Man should form a dialogue with nature and learn from nature.[论述题]What is naturalism in American literature?参考答案:Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalism Naturalistic writers were influenced by the evolution theory of Charles Darwin. They believed that one's heredity and social environment determine one's character. Naturalism also attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces (e.g. the environment or heredity) influencing the actions of its subjects.。