【英文文学】A Defence of Poetry and other essays

2009年7月高等教育自学考试全国统一命题考试英美文学选读试题课程代码：00604请将答案填在答题纸相应的位置上（全部题目用英文作答）PART ONE (40 POINTS)I．Multiple Choice(40 points in all, 1 for each)Select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.1. The first mass movement of the English working class and the early sign of the awakening of the poor, oppressed people is_____.A. The Enclosure MovementB. The Protestant ReformationC. The Enlightenment MovementD. The Chartist Movement2. Daniel Defoe’s works are all the following EXCEPT_____.A. Moll FlandersB. A Tale of a TubC. A Journal of the Plague YearD. Colonel Jack3. “Metaphysical Poetry” refers to the works of the 17th - century writers who wroteunder the influence of _____.A. John DonneB. Alexander PopeC. Christopher MarloweD. John Milton4. The most important play among Shakespeare’s comedies is _____.A. A Midsummer Night’s DreamB. The Merchant of VeniceC. As You Like ItD. Twelfth Night5. The most perfect example of the verse drama after Greek style in English is Milton’s _____.A. Paradise LostB. Paradise RegainedC. Samson AgonistesD. Areopagitica6. Which of the following descriptions of Enlightenment Movement is NOT true?A. It was a progressive intellectual movement that flourished in France.B. It was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries.C. The purpose was to enlighten the whole world with moderu philosophical and artisticideas.D. The Enlighteners advocate individual education.7. Neoclassicists had some fixed laws and rules for prose EXCEPT_____.A. being preciseB. being directC. being flexibleD. being satiric8. A good style of prose“proper works in proper places”was defined by_____.A. John MiltonB. Henry FieldingC. Jonathan SwiftD.T.S. Eliot9. The major theme of Jane Austen’s novels is_____.A. love and moneyB. money and social statusC. social status and marriageD. love and marriage10. Wordsworth’s_____ is perhaps the most anthologized poem in English literature.A. “To a Skylark”B. “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud”C. “An Evening Walk”D. “My Heart Leaps Up”11. William Blake’s work ______ marks his entry into maturity.A. Songs of ExperienceB. Marriage of Heaven and HellC. Songs of InnocenceD. The Book of Los12. Best of all the Romantic well- known lyric pieces is Shelley’s_____.A. “The Cloud”B. “To a Skylark”C. “Ode to a Nightingale”D. “Ode to the West Wind”13. In the Victorian Period _____ became the most widely read and the most vital and challenging expression of progressive thought.A. poetryB. novelC. proseD. drama14. In Charles Dickens’early novels, he attacks one or more specific social evils, _____is a good example of describing the dehumanizing workhouse system and the dark, criminal underworld life.A. David CopperfieldB. Oliver TwistC. Great ExpectationsD. Dombey and Son15. Thomas Hardy’s most cheerful and idyllic work is_____.A. The Return of the NativeB. Far from the Maddin CrowdC. Under the Greenwood TreeD. The Woodlanders16. The rise of _____ and new science greatly incited modernist writers to make new explorations on human natures and human relationships.A. the existentialistic ideaB. the irrational philosophyC. scientific socialismD. social Darwinism17. In Modern English literature, the literary interest of _____lay in the tracing of thepsychological development of his characters and in his energetic criticism of the dehu-manizing effect of the capitalist industrialization on human nature.A. George Bernard ShawB.T.S. EliotC. Oscar WildeD.D.H. Lawrence18. George Bernard Shaw’s _____ is a better play of the later period, with the author’s almost nihilistic bitterness on the subjects of the cruelty and madness of WWI and the aimlessness and disillusion of the young.A. Too True to Be GoodB. Mrs. Warren’s ProfessionC. Widowers’HousesD. Fanny’s First Play19. Renaissance first started in Italy, with the flowering of the following fields EXCEPT_____.A. architectureB. paintingC. sculptureD. literature20. English Romanticism,as a historical phase of literature,is generally said to have begun with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s_____.A. Poetical SketchesB. A Defence of PoetryC. Lyrical BalladsD. The Prelude21. Charlotte Bront e ’s work _____ is famous for the depiction of the life of the middle - class working women, particularly governesses.A. Jane EyreB. Wuthering HeightsC. The ProffessorD. Shirley22. The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot is a poem concerned with the _____ breakup of a modern civilization in which human life has lost its meaning, significance and purpose.A. spiritualB. religiousC. politicalD. physical23. Perhaps Emily Dickinson’s greatest interpretation of the moment of _____ is to be found in “I heard a Fly buzz--when I died—”, a poem universally regarded as one of her masterpieces. A. fantasy B. birthC. crisisD. death24. The fiction of the American _____ period ranges from the comic fables of Washing-ton Irving to the social realism of Rebecca Harding Davis.A. RomanticB. RevolutionaryC. ColonialD. Modernistic25. The modern _____ technique was frequently and skillfully exploited by Faulkner to emphasizethe reactions and inner musings of the narrator.A. stream - of - consciousnessB. flashbackC. mosaicD. narrative and argumentative26. By means of “_____,”Whitman believed, he has turned the poem into an openfield, an area of vital possibility where the reader can allow his own imagination to play.A. balanced structureB. free verseC. fixed verseD. regular rhythm27. In 1954, _____ was awarded the Nobel Prize for “his powerful style -forming mas tery of the art”of creating modern fiction.A. Ernest HemingwayB. Sherwood AndersonC. Stephen CraneD. Henry James28. The period ranging from 1865 to 1914 has been referred to as the Age of _____ in the literary history of the United States, which is actually a movement or tendency that dominated the spirit of American literature.A. RationalismB. RomanticismC. RealismD. Modernism29. When he was eighty - seven he read his poetry at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. This poet was_____.A. Ezra PoundB. Robert FrostC. E. E. CummingsD. Wallace Stevens30. The renowned American critic H. L. Mencken regarded _____ as “the true father of our national literature.”A. Bret HarteB. Walt WhitmanC. Washington IrvingD. Mark Twain31. We can easily find in Theodore Dreiser’s fiction a world of jungle, where “kill or to be killed”was the law. Dreiser’s _____ found expression in almost every book he wrote.A. naturalismB. romanticismC. cubismD. classicalism32. A preoccupation with the Calvinistic view of _____ and the mystery of evil marked the works of Hawthorne, Melville and a host of lesser writers.A. love and mercyB. bitterness and hatredC. original sinD. eternal life33. “H e possessed none of the usual aids to a writer’ s career: no money, no friend in power, noformal education worthy of mention, no family tradition in letters. ”This is a description most suitable to the American writer_____.A. Henry JamesB. Theodore DreiserC. W.D. Howells D. Nathaniel Hawthorne34. People generally considered _____ to be Henry James’ masterpiece, which incar nates t he clash between the Old World and the New in the life journey of an American girl in a European cultural environment.A. The EuropeansB. Daisy MillerC. The Portrait of A LadyD. The Private Life35. The Jazz Age of the 1920s characterized by frivolity and carelessness is brought vividly to life in_______.A. The Great GatsbyB. The Sun Also RisesC. The Grapes of WrathD. Tales of the Jazz Age36. Guided by the principle of adhering to the truthful treatment of life, the American _______ introduced industrial workers and farmers, ambitious businessmen and vagrants, prostitutes and unheroic soldiers as major characters in fiction.A. romanticistsB. modernistsC. psychologistsD. realists37. The American literary spokesman of the Jazz Age is often acclaimed to be_______.A. Henry JamesB. Robert FrostC. William FaulknerD.F. Scott Fitzgerald38. By writing Moby - Dick, _______ reached the most flourishing stage of his literary creativity.A. Herman MelvilleB. Edgar Ellen PoeC. William FaulknerD. Theodore Dreiser39. Faulkner once said that _____ is a story of “lost innocence,”which proves itself to be an intensification of the theme of imprisonment in the past.A. Light in AugustB. The Sound and the Fur yC. Absalom, Absalom!D. The Hamlet40. Hawthorne was not a Puritan himself, but his view of man and human history origina ted, to a great extent, in_______.A. CalvinismB. PuritanismC. RealismD. NaturalismPART TWO (60 POINTS)Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension (16 points in all, 4 for each)Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.41. Behold her, single in the field,Yon solitary Highland lass!Reaping and singing by herself;Stop here, or gently pass!Alone she cuts and binds the grain,And sings a melancholy strain;O listen! For the Vale profoundIs overflowing with the sound.Questions:A. Identify the poet.B. What’ s the rhyme scheme for the stanza?C. What’s the theme of the poem?42. The following quotation is from Mrs. Warren’s Profession:VIVIE: [ intensely interested by this time] No; but why did you choose that business?Saving money and good management will succeed in any business.MRS. W ARREN: Yes, saving money. But where can a woman get the money to save in any other business? Could you save out of four shillings a week and keep yourself dressedas well? Not you. Of course, if you’ re a pl ain woman and cant earn anything more ;or if you have a turn for music, or the stage, or newspaper - writing ; that’s different...Questions :A. Identify the playwright of the above quotation.B. What business do you think Mrs. Warren is involved in?C. What's the theme of the play?43. My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.Questions:A. Identify the poet and the title of the poem from which this stanza is taken.B. What figure of speech is used in this stanza?C. Briefly interpret the meaning of this stanza.44. “Where are we going, Dad?”Nick asked.“Over to the Indian camp. There is an Indian lady very sick. ”“Oh,”said Nick.Across the bay they found the other boat beached. Uncle George was smoking a cigar in the dark. The young Indian pulled the boat way up on the beach. Uncle George gave both the Indians cigars.Questions :A. Identify the author and the title of the work from which the passage is taken.B. What does Dad imply when he says “There is an Indian lady very sick”?C. Why is Dad going to the Indian camp?Ⅲ. Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 for each)Give a brief answer to each of the following 9uestions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.45. What’ s the literary style of Shelley as a Romantic poet?46. What are the main features of Bernard Shaw’s plays with regard to the theme, charac-terizationand plot?47. Henry Jame s’ literary criticism is an indispensable part of his contribution to literature. What’shis outlook in literary criticiam?48. Local colorism is a unique variation of American literary realism. Who is the most famouslocal colorist? What are local colorists most concerned?IV. Topic Discussion(20 points in all, 10 for each)Write no less than 150 words on each of the following topics in English in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.49. Define modernism in English literature. Name two major modernistic British writers and listone major work by each.50. Briefly discuss the term “The Lost Generation”and name the leading figures of this literarymovement (Give at least three).。

PART ONE: ENGLISH LITERATURE 英国文学An Introduction to Old and Medieval English LiteratureChapter 1 The Renaissance Period 文艺复兴时期I. Edmund Spenser 埃蒙德.斯宾塞牧人日记《The Shepheardes Calender》仙后《The Faerie Queene》婚曲《Epithalamion》II. Christopher Marlowe 克里斯托夫.马洛帖木儿-----Tamburlaine浮士德博士的悲剧----Dr. Faustus爱德华二世----Edward II激情的牧人致心爱的姑娘---- The Passionate Shepherd to His LoveIII. William Shakespeare 威廉.莎士比亚哈姆莱特---Hamlet奥塞罗---Othello李尔王—King Lear麦克白--Macbeth终成眷属---All’s Well That Ends Well仲夏夜之梦—A Midsummer Night’s Dream威尼斯商人---The Merchant of Venice无事生非---Much Ado about Nothing皆大欢喜---As You Like It罗密欧和朱丽叶---Romeo and JulietIV. Francis Bacon 弗兰西斯.培根培根散文集---Essays学术的进展---The Advancement of Learning新工具----Novum Organum法律原理---Maxims of Law—论学习---Of StudiesV. John Donne 约翰.邓恩挽歌与讽刺----The Elegies and Satires歌与十四行诗---The Songs and Sonnets告别爱情----Farewell to Love圣十四行诗---Holly Sonnets圣父赞美诗----A Hymn to God the Father日出---The Sun Rising死亡，你别骄傲---Death, Be Not ProudVI. John Milton 约翰.弥尔顿失乐园---Paradise Lost复乐园---Paradise Regained力士参孙----Samson AgonistesChapter 2 The Neoclassical Period 新古典主义时期I. John Bunyan 约翰.班扬天路历程---The Pilgrim’s Progress罪人头目的赦免---Grace Abounding to the Chiel of Sinners拜得门先生生死录—The Life and Death of Mr. Badman圣战----The Holy WarII. Alexander Pope 亚历山大.蒲伯论批评---An Essay on Criticism夺发记---The Rape of the Lock群愚史诗---The Dunciad人伦---An Essay on Man译有荷马史诗《伊利亚特》、《奥德塞》III. Daniel Defoe 丹尼尔.笛福鲁滨逊漂流记----Robinson Crusoe辛利顿船长----Captain Singleton莫尔.弗朗德斯-----Moll Flanders杰克上校----Colonel Jack— <成为异教徒的捷径>---The Shortest Way with the Dissenters(1702) 让他身陷囹圄《地地道道的英国人》-The True-Born Englishman使他成为英王的好朋友。

I.Multiple Choice.1.Which of the following is NOT a typical feature of Romanticism in England?A.Spontaneity in expressing feelings.B.Emphasis on reason.C.Worship of nature.D.Simplicity in language.2.The writer of “The solitary Reaper” also wrote _________.A.“Holly Willie’s Prayer”B.“The Defense of Poetry”C.“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”D.“The Fall of Bastille”3._________ can be found among Percy Bysshe Shelley’s love lyrics.A.“One Word Is Too Often Profaned”B.“When We Two Parted”C.“A Red, Red Rose”D.“Song to Celia”4.Romanticism prevailed in England during the period _________.A.1789—1823B. 1798—1823C. 1789—1832D. 1798-18325.Lyrical Ballads (1798) was written by ________.A.James Thomson and William CollinsB.Thomas Gray and Robert BurnsC.Percy Bysshe Shelley and George Gordon ByronD.William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge6.“The Lamb” is included in William Blake’s _________.A.Poetical SketchesB. Songs of InnocenceC. Songs of ExperienceD. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell7.Robert Burns’poem _______ has long become a universal parting song of all the English-speaking countries.A.“A Red, Red Rose”B. “Auld Lang Syne”C. “My Heart’s in the Highlands”D. “John Anderson, My Jo”8.George Gordon Byron was a staunch champion of the people’s cause. He raised his voice in defense of the oppressed workers in his well-known _________.A.Song for the LudditesB. The Prisoner of ChillonC. The Vision of JudgementD. The Revolt of Islam9. The following statements are about Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Which statement is NOT true?A. George Gordon Byron used his own experiences as the material of the long poem.B. The first canto deals with the hero’s journey in Portugal and Spain.C. The second canto describes Albania and Greece.D. The fourth canto describes Greek.10. Which is Percy Bysshe Shelley’s masterpiece?A. IsabellaB. Prometheus UnboundC. Prometheus BoundD. Endymion11. Which is Percy Bysshe Shelley’s work of literary criticism?A. An Essay on CriticismB. A Defence of PoetryC. On the Necessity of AtheismD. Of Studies12.Which poet belongs to the Active Romantic group?A. John MiltonB. William WordsworthC. Charles LambD. John Keats13. Which work is not based on ancient Greek mythology?A. Prometheus BoundB. Prometheus UnboundC. EndymionD. Paradise Lost14. The literary form which is fully developed and the most flourishing during the Romantic Period is __________.A. proseB. dramaC. novelD. poetry15. English Romanticism, as a historical phase of literature, is generally said to have ended in 1832 with _______.A. the passage of the first Reform Bill in the Parliament and the death of Walter ScottB. the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical BalladsC. the publication of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste LandD. the passage of the Bill of Rights in the Parliament16. All of the following poets are regarded as “Lake Poets” EXCEPT ________.A. Samuel Taylor ColeridgeB. Robert SoutheyC. William WordsworthD. George Gordon Byron17. The Byronic Hero first appeared in _________.A. Oriental TalesB. The Rime of the Ancient MarinerC. Childe Harold’s PilgrimageD. Don Juan18. The two major novelists of the English Romantic period are _______.A. William Wordsworth and John KeatsB. William Blake and Oliver GoldsmithC. Jane Austen and Walter ScottD. John Keats and Jane Austen19. The poems such as “The Chimney Sweeper” are found in both Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience by _______.A. William WordsworthB. William BlakeC. John KeatsD. Lord Gordon Byron20. William Wordsworth, a romantic poet, advocated all the following EXCEPT _______.A. the use of everyday language spoken by the common peopleB. the expression of the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelingsC. the use of humble and rustic life as subject matterD. the use of elegant wording and inflated figures of speechII.True or False?1.English Romantic Period is one of poetical revival.2.Percy Bysshe Shelley’s masterpiece, Prometheus Bound, borrows the basic story from a Greek myth.3.Romanticism was a literary trend prevailing in England during the period 1789 to 1832.4.From her novel we can deduce Jane Austen’s view of life is realistic.5.Literature of Neoclassicism is different from that of Romanticism in that the former is heavilyreligious but the latter secular.6.William Blake’s central concern in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience is happiness, which gives the two books a strong social and historical reference.7.William Blake’s Songs of Experience paints a world of misery, poverty mixed with love and happiness with a melancholy tone.8.William Blake’s Songs of Experience paints a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone.9.Samuel Taylor Coleridge asserted that poetry originated from “emotion recollected in tranquility”.10.William Wordsworth asserted that poetry originated from “emotion recollected in tranquility”.11.English Romanticism rose and grew under the impetus of the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution.12.Emotion, common sense and intuition of humankind are what the romanticists emphasize in their works.13.Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage is written in the Spenserian stanza.14.The English Romantic period produced two major novelists: Charles Lamb and Jane Austen.15.Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey are known as the escapist romanticists.III.Match.(1)Column A Column B1.Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage A. Wordsworth and Coleridge2.Ode to the West Wind B. William Blake3.Kubla Khan C.Jane Austen4.“Auld Lang Syne” D. William Wordsworth5.“The Chimney Sweeper” E. Percy Bysshe Shelley6.“Ode to a Nightingale” F. John Keats7.Ivanhoe G. Robert Burns8.Pride and Prejudice H. Samuel Taylor Coleridge9.“To the Cuckoo”I. Walter Scott10.Lyrical Ballads J. George Gordon Byron(2)Column A Column B1.“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” A. George Gordon Byron2.The Rime of the Ancient Mariner B. John Keats3.Thalaba the Destroyer C. Thomas Gray4.Don Juan D. Jane Austen5.Prometheus Unbound E. Robert Southey6.“Ode on a Grecian Urn” F. William Wordsworth7.Tales from Shakespeare G. Charles Lamb8.Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard H. Percy Bysshe Shelley9.Sense and Sensibility I.Mary Shelley10.Frankenstein J. Samuel Taylor ColeridgeIV.Reading ComprehensionRead the following quotations and answer the questions.Passage 1O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,That’s newly sprung in June;O, my luve’s like the melodie,That’s sweetly play’d in tune.As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,So deep in luve am I;And I will luve thee still, my dear,Till a’ the seas gang dry.Questions:1.Who wrote this poem?2.What is the title of the poem?3.What is the rhyme scheme of the quoted lines?4.The odd-numbered lines are iambic tetrameter, what about the even-numbered lines?5.What do you know about the poem?Passage 2However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfiled Park is let at last?”Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.Questions:1.From which novel is this passage taken from?2.Who is the author of this novel? another two novels written by the author.4.What is “this truth”?5.What is this story about?V.Essay QuestionWhat do you know about William Wordsworth? You may talk about his literary status, his representative works and his poetic principles, etc.English Romanticism TestI. Multiple Choice.1B 2C 3A 4D 5D 6B 7B 8A 9D 10B11B 12D 13D 14D 15A 16D 17C 18C 19B 20DII. True or False1T 2F 3F 4T 5F 6F 7F 8T 9F 10T 11T 12F 13T 14F 15TIII.Match.(1)1J 2E 3H 4G 5B 6F 7I 8C 9D 10A(2)1F 2J 3E 4A 5H 6B 7G 8C 9D 10IIV.Reading ComprehensionPassage 11.Robert Burns2.A Red, Red Rose3.ABCBDEFE4.Iambic trimeter5.“A Red, Red Rose”is one of Robert Burns’most popular love lyrics. It’s composed of four quatrains with alternate lines of four and three feet. It is a good example of how Burns made use of old Scottish folk poetry to create immortal lines by revising the old folk material. Burns clearly states and restates the theme: The speaker loves the young lady beyond measure. Its charm mainly lies in its rhythmic simplicity and its vehement sentiment.Passage 21.Pride and Prejudice2.Jane Austen3.Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion (写两个即可)4.It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.5.The story centers round the poor, beautiful and intelligent heroine Elizabeth Bennet who stands for “prejudice”, one of the daughters in Bennet’s family and the hero Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich proud young man who stands for “pride” and a minor couple, her sister Jane and his friend Charles Bingley. At first, Mr. Darcy slights and offends Elizabeth with his pride. Later, he is fascinated by Elizabeth. However, due to the slander from Mr. Wickham, Elizabeth is full of prejudice against Mr. Darcy. After a succession of twists and turns, things are cleared up. Elizabeth finally changes her feeling toward Darcy from original prejudice to now admiration and marries herself to Darcy. Bingley and Jane get married too with the help of Darcy. The novel ends with the marriage of the happy couples.V. Essay QuestionWilliam Wordsworth, the representative poet of the first generation of Romantics and the chief spokesman of Romantic poetry, was one of the founders of English Romanticism. He is remembered as a poet concerned with the human relationship to nature and a fierce advocate of using the vocabulary and speech patterns of common people in poetry.In 1798, he and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published their joint work Lyrical Ballads, which marked the beginning of English Romanticism. William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey are known as the “Lake Poets”because they had lived for a time in close association in the mountainous Lake District in the northwest of England and William Wordsworth is the most talented member of “Lake Poets”. In 1843, he became “Poet Laureate” after Southey.In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth set forth his principles of poetry. “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” He appealed to individual sensation, i.e, pleasure, excitement and enjoyment, as the foundation in the creation and appreciation of poetry. “Poetry takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility…) tranquil contemplation of an emotional experience matures the feeling and sensation, and makes possible the creation of good poetry like the mellow of old wine.” The function of poetry lies in its power to give an unexpected splendor to familiar and commonplace things, to incidents and situations from common life. Nature inspires poetry. He skillfully combined natural description with expressions of inward states of mind. His poems are characterized by a sympathy with the poor, simple peasants, and a passionate love of nature. Wordsworth advocated the use of language of the common people, the simplicity of the poetic language. The language of the poet should not be abstract and should be “language really used by men”.。

雪莱名言语录英文范文一：As a student, I have been inspired by the many famous quotes and sayings of Percy Bysshe Shelley, a celebrated English poet of the Romantic era. Shelley's words have given me comfort during difficult times and have motivated me to keep trying even when faced with adversity. Below are some of my favorite quotes by him and the reason why they are important to me.One of my favorite quotes by Shelley is, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" This quote, which comes from his poem "Ode to the West Wind," reminds me that no matter how difficult a situation might seem, there is always hope for a better tomorrow. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or discouraged, I remind myself of these words and find the strength to keep going.Another quote by Shelley that has resonated with me is, "Life, like a dome of many colored glass, stains the white radiance of eternity." This quote speaks to the idea that our everyday experiences, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, shape our understanding of the world around us. It reminds me to appreciate all the small things in life and to find joy in the present moment.Finally, one of the most famous quotes by Shelley is, "We are all Greeks. Our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their root in Greece." In this quote, Shelley celebrates the enduring legacy of Greek culture and its influence on Western civilization. As a student of literature and history, this quote has beenparticularly inspiring to me, as it highlights the importance of studying and preserving the cultural heritage that has shaped our world.In conclusion, Percy Bysshe Shelley's words have been a constant source of inspiration for me as a student. From reminding me ofthe power of hope to embracing the beauty of the present moment, his quotes have helped me to better understand the world aroundme and my place in it.要点分析：1. 介绍文中重点关注的人物：Percy Bysshe Shelley2. 分析为什么他的名言语录对学生如此重要：激励人继续努力，提醒学生珍惜生活的点滴，强调希腊文化对西方文化的影响3. 突出3个Shelley的名言语录，总结他的思想和教诲。

Chapter 4 The Romantic periodHistorical Background1. French Revolution (1789) American Revolution (1775-1783)national liberation movements and democratic民主movements2. “the full swing of English Industrial Revolution”英国工业革命开展brought great wealth to the rich and worsened working and living conditions of the poor Romanticism“It is a broad artistic and literary movement that affected the whole of Europe and America.”Romanticism stresses strong emotions, imagination, nature, freedom from classical art form, self and the value of individual●Chief Literary Achievements●Poetry Romanticists 华兹华斯, Coleridge柯尔律治, Byron拜伦, Shelly, Keats ●2) Prose Essayists随笔作家Charles Lamb兰姆(Essays of Elia伊利亚随笔)●3) Novel Two novelists Gothic novel哥特式小说4) Poetic drama诗剧1、Pre-romantic poets Robert Burns罗伯特.彭斯, William Blake威廉.布莱克2、passive消极poets“Lake Poets”William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge,3、active poets George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley,(John Keats)一、William Wordsworth PoetLyrical Ballads“Preface to Lyrical Ballads”抒情歌谣“Humble and rustic低卑乡村生活life was generally chosen, in that condition, the essential passions本质的of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity成熟,less under restraint限制, and speak a plainer and more emphatic language;”William Wordsworth’s poetic ideas 1、Poetry is Spontaneous.自发2、Nature inspires Poetry.3、Common subjects can be poetic.I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (background)127页also commonly known as “Daffodils”1、Rhyme scheme of each stanza? ababcc2、Theme? Harmony sings harmony between things in nature and the poet himself. Comments on Wordsworth Page 127Leading figure of the English romantic poetry,the main poetic voice .His verse celebrate moral influence exerted by nature on human thought and feeling.二、Samuel Taylor Coleridge塞缪尔.泰勒.柯尔律治Lyrical poet Literary critic It tells a strange, supernatural sea tale in the form of a ballad 民谣. (Page 130) “Kubla Khan”忽必烈汗三、George Gordon Byron拜伦Poet1 、Song for the Luddities2 、She walks in Beauty3 、When We Two Parted MasterpieceDon Juan 唐璜The hero Don Juan was a Spanish noble young man went through different life experiences and adventures against broad and diverse historical and social backgrounds.四、Percy Bysshe Shelley PoetQuotations Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.Major Works1、“Ode to the West Wind”西风颂(ode)2、“To a Skylark”致云雀(ode)3、Prometheus Unbound (verse drama)解放普罗米修斯4、“A Defence of Poetry”诗辩(essay)Ode It is a formal lyric poem, often in the form of a lengthy ceremonious address to a person or abstract entity, always serious and elevated in tone.五、John Keats约翰.济慈The Poet of Beauty 此地长眠者，声名水上书Keats’quotationsNothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination.I love you the more in that I believe you had liked me for my own sake and for nothing else.Major Works odes 1、“On a Grecian Urn”希腊古翁颂2、“To a Nightingale”夜莺颂3、“To Autumn”致秋六、Jane Austen 简.奥斯汀novelistVanity虚荣心and pride骄傲are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.1、Sense and Sensibility理智与情感2、Pride and Prejudice傲慢与偏见3、Northanger Abbey诺桑觉奇4、Mansfield Park曼斯菲尔德庄园5、Emma爱玛6、Persuasion劝导七、Walter Scott Scottish Poet novelist Historical novels Representative Work Ivanhoe 劫后英雄传Gothic Novel (Page 125)哥特式小说It is a story of terror and suspense, usually set in a gloomy old castle or monastery. The Gothic novel flourished in Britain from the 1790s to the 1820s.Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are the representative works.●1、Prometheus Unbound is a(n) ___ by ___.●sonnet, Blake B lyrical drama, Shelly C ode, Keats D satirical poem, Byron2、Coleridge’s “The Rime of Ancient Mariner”, the mariner suffers the horror of death, because ____.A. he experiences a ship wreckB. he is tortured with starvationC. he kills an albatrossD. he undergoes much sufferings●3、Which of the following statement is not true in describing Gothic novel?●It predominated in the early eighteenth century.●It is a type of romantic fiction.●Its principal elements are violence, horror and supernatural.●The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe is a typical Gothic romance.4、Which of the following is not written by William Wordsworth?●“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”●“Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802”●“The Solitary Reaper”D“The Chimney Sweeper”5、____, Jane Austen’s first novel, tells a story about two sisters and their love affairs.●Pride and Prejudice Emma Sense and Sensibility Mansfield Park6、The two poets who won the title of the poet laureate are ___.●Coleridge and Southey Wordsworth and Southey Shelly and Wordsworth7、Wordsworth does not emphasize the importance of ___ in poetry composition.●simplicity in diction spontaneity in feelings●recollection in tranquility the right poetic form8、“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”This sentence is presented in a(n) ___ tone.●Indifferent ironic delightful jealous●9、Literally, ___ was the first important Romantic poet showing a contemptfor the rule of reason, opposing the classical tradition of the 18th century.●William Blake William Wordsworth Robert Burns Samuel Taylor Coleridge10、Don Juan is a long poem based on a traditional ___ legend of a great lover and seducer of women.●Spanish Dutch English Russian。

English Essays: Sidney to Macaulay.The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.A Defence of PoetryPercy Bysshe Shelley1 A CCORDING to one mode of regarding those two classes of mental action, which arecalled reason and imagination, the former may be considered as mind contemplating the relations borne by one thought to another, however produced, and the latter, as mind acting upon those thoughts so as to color them with its own light, and composing from them, as from elements, other thoughts, each containing within itself the principle of its own integrity. The one is the [Greek], or the principle of synthesis, and has for its objects those forms which are common to universal nature and existence itself; the other is the [Greek], or principle of analysis, and its action regards the relations of things simply as relations; considering thoughts, not in their integral unity, but as the algebraical representations which conduct to certain general results. Reason is the enumeration of qualities already known; imagination is the perception of the value of those qualities,both separately and as a whole. Reason respects the differences, and imagination the similitudes of things. Reason is to imagination as the instrument to the agent, as the bodyto the spirit, as the shadow to the substance.2 Poetry, in a general sense, may be defined to be ―the expression of the imagination‖:and poetry is connate with the origin of man. Man is an instrument over which a series of external and internal impressions are driven, like the alternations of an ever-changingwind over an Æolian lyre, which move it by their motion to ever-changing melody. But there is a principle within the human being, and perhaps within all sentient beings, which acts otherwise than in the lyre, and produces not melody alone, but harmony, by an internal adjustment of the sounds or motions thus excited to the impressions which excite them. It is as if the lyre could accommodate its chords to the motions of that whichstrikes them, in a determined proportion of sound; even as the musician can accommodate his voice to the sound of the lyre. A child at play by itself will express its delight by its voice and motions; and every inflexion of tone and every gesture will bear exact relation to a corresponding antitype in the pleasurable impressions which awakened it; it will be the reflected image of that impression; and as the lyre trembles and sounds after the wind has died away, so the child seeks, by prolonging in its voice and motionsthe duration of the effect, to prolong also a consciousness of the cause. In relation to the objects which delight a child these expressions are what poetry is to higher objects. The savage (for the savage is to ages what the child is to years) expresses the emotions produced in him by surrounding objects in a similar manner; and language and gesture, together with plastic or pictorial imitation, become the image of the combined effect of those objects, and of his apprehension of them. Man in society, with all his passions andhis pleasures, next becomes the object of the passions and pleasures of man; anadditional class of emotions produces an augmented treasure of expressions; andlanguage, gesture, and the imitative arts, become at once the representation and the medium, the pencil and the picture, the chisel and the statute, the chord and the harmony. The social sympathies, or those laws from which, as from its elements, society results, begin to develop themselves from the moment that two human beings coexist; the futureis contained within the present, as the plant within the seed; and equality, diversity, unity, contrast, mutual dependence, become the principles alone capable of affording the motives according to which the will of a social being is determined to action, inasmuchas he is social; and constitute pleasure in sensation, virtue in sentiment, beauty in art,truth in reasoning, and love in the intercourse of kind. Hence men, even in the infancy of society, observe a certain order in their words and actions, distinct from that of theobjects and the impressions represented by them, all expression being subject to the lawsof that from which it proceeds. But let us dismiss those more general considerationswhich might involve an inquiry into the principles of society itself, and restrict our viewto the manner in which the imagination is expressed upon its forms.3 In the youth of the world, men dance and sing and imitate natural objects, observing in these actions, as in all others, a certain rhythm or order. And, although all men observe a similar, they observe not the same order, in the motions of the dance, in the melody ofthe song, in the combinations of language, in the series of their imitations of natural objects. For there is a certain order or rhythm belonging to each of these classes of mimetic representation, from which the hearer and the spectator receive an intenser and purer pleasure than from any other: the sense of an approximation to this order has been called taste by modern writers. Every man in the infancy of art observes an order which approximates more or less closely to that from which this highest delight results: but the diversity is not sufficiently marked, as that its gradations should be sensible, except in those instances where the predominance of this faculty of approximation to the beautiful (for so we may be permitted to name the relation between this highest pleasure and its cause) is very great. Those in whom it exists in excess are poets, in the most universal sense of the word; and the pleasure resulting from the manner in which they express the influence of society or nature upon their own minds, communicates itself to others, and gathers a sort of reduplication from that community. Their language is vitally metaphorical; that is, it marks the before unapprehended relations of things and perpetuates their apprehension, until the words which represent them, become, through time, signs for portions or classes of thoughts instead of pictures of integral thoughts; and then if no new poets should arise to create afresh the associations which have been thus disorganized, language will be dead to all the nobler purposes of human intercourse. These similitudes or relations are finely said by Lord Bacon to be ―the same footsteps of nature impressed upon the various sub jects of the world‖ 1—and he considers the faculty which perceives them as the storehouse of axioms common to all knowledge. In the infancy of society every author is necessarily a poet, because language itself is poetry;and to be a poet is to apprehend the true and the beautiful, in a word, the good which exists in the relation, subsisting, first between existence and perception, and secondly between perception and expression. Every original language near to its source is in itself the chaos of a cyclic poem: the copiousness of lexicography and the distinctions of grammar are the works of a later age, and are merely the catalogue and the form of the creations of poetry.4 But poets, or those who imagine and express this indestructible order, are not only the authors of language and of music, of the dance, and architecture, and statuary, and painting: they are the institutors of laws, and the founders of civil society, and the inventors of the arts of life, and the teachers, who draw into a certain propinquity withthe beautiful and the true that partial apprehension of the agencies of the invisible world which is called religion. Hence all original religions are allegorical, or susceptible of allegory, and, like Janus, have a double face of false and true. Poets, according to the circumstances of the age and nation in which they appeared, were called, in the earlier epochs of the world, legislators, or prophets: a poet essentially comprises and unites both these characters. For he not only beholds intensely the present as it is, and discoversthose laws according to which present things ought to be ordered, but he beholds the future in the present, and his thoughts are the germs of the flower and the fruit of latest time. Not that I assert poets to be prophets in the gross sense of the word, or that they can foretell the form as surely as they foreknow the spirit of events: such is the pretence of superstition, which would make poetry an attribute of prophecy, rather than prophecy an attribute of poetry. A poet participates in the eternal, the infinite, and the one; as far as relates to his conceptions, time and place and number are not. The grammatical forms which express the moods of time, and the difference of persons, and the distinction of place, are convertible with respect to the highest poetry without injuring it as poetry; and the choruses of Æschylus, and the book of Job, and Dante’s ―Paradise‖ would afford,more than any other writings, examples of this fact, if the limits of this essay did notforbid citation. The creations of sculpture, painting, and music are illustrations still more decisive.5 Language, color, form, and religious and civil habits of action, are all the instrumentsand materials of poetry; they may be called poetry by that figure of speech which considers the effect as a synonym of the cause. But poetry in a more restricted sense expresses those arrangements of language, and especially metrical language, which are created by that imperial faculty, whose throne is curtained within the invisible nature of man. And this springs from the nature itself of language, which is a more direct representation of the actions and passions of our internal being, and is susceptible ofmore various and delicate combinations, than color, form, or motion, and is more plastic and obedient to the control of that faculty of which it is the creation. For language is arbitrarily produced by the imagination, and has relation to thoughts alone; but all other materials, instruments, and conditions of art have relations among each other, which limit and interpose between conception and expression. The former is as a mirror which reflects, the latter as a cloud which enfeebles, the light of which both are mediums of communication. Hence the fame of sculptors, painters, and musicians, although the intrinsic powers of the great masters of these arts may yield in no degree to that of those who have employed language as the hieroglyphic of their thoughts, has never equalledthat of poets in the restricted sense of the term; as two performers of equal skill will produce unequal effects from a guitar and a harp. The fame of legislators and founders of religions, so long as their institutions last, alone seems to exceed that of poets in the restricted sense; but it can scarcely be a question, whether, if we deduct the celebrity which their flattery of the gross opinions of the vulgar usually conciliates, together with that which belonged to them in their higher character of poets, any excess will remain.6 We have thus circumscribed the word poetry within the limits of that art which is the most familiar and the most perfect expression of the faculty itself. It is necessary, however, to make the circle still narrower, and to determine the distinction between measured and unmeasured language; for the popular division into prose and verse is inadmissible in accurate philosophy.7 Sounds as well as thoughts have relation both between each other and towards thatwhich they represent, and a perception of the order of those relations has always been found connected with a perception of the order of the relations of thoughts. Hence the language of poets has ever affected a certain uniform and harmonious recurrence of sound, without which it were not poetry, and which is scarcely less indispensable to the communication of its influence, than the words themselves, without reference to that peculiar order. Hence the vanity of translation; it were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principle of its color and odor, as seek to transfuse from one language into another the creations of a poet. The plant must spring again from its seed, or it will bear no flower—and this is the burden of the curse of Babel.8 An observation of the regular mode of the recurrence of harmony in the language of poetical minds, together with its relation to music, produced metre, or a certain system of traditional forms of harmony and language. Yet it is by no means essential that a poet should accommodate his language to this traditional form, so that the harmony, which isits spirit, be observed. The practice is indeed convenient and popular, and to be preferred, especially in such composition as includes much action: but every great poet must inevitably innovate upon the example of his predecessors in the exact structure of his peculiar versification. The distinction between poets and prose writers is a vulgar error. The distinction between philosophers and poets has been anticipated. Plato was essentially a poet—the truth and splendor of his imagery, and the melody of his language, are the most intense that it is possible to conceive. He rejected the measure ofthe epic, dramatic, and lyrical forms, because he sought to kindle a harmony in thoughts divested of shape and action, and he forebore to invent any regular plan of rhythm which would include, under determinate forms, the varied pauses of his style. Cicero sought to imitate the cadence of his periods, but with little success. Lord Bacon was a poet. 2 His language has a sweet and majestic rhythm, which satisfies the sense, no less than the almost superhuman wisdom of his philosophy satisfies the intellect; it is a strain which distends, and then bursts the circumference of the reader’s mind, and pours itself forth together with it into the universal element with which it has perpetual sympathy. All the authors of revolutions in opinion are not only necessarily poets as they are inventors, nor even as their words unveil the permanent analogy of things by images which participatein the life of truth; but as their periods are harmonious and rhythmical, and contain in themselves the elements of verse; being the echo of the eternal music. Nor are those supreme poets, who have employed traditional forms of rhythm on account of the formand action of their subjects, less capable of perceiving and teaching the truth of things, than those who have omitted that form. Shakespeare, Dante, and Milton (to confine ourselves to modern writers) are philosophers of the very loftiest power.9 A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth. There is this difference between a story and a poem, that a story is a catalogue of detached facts, which have noother connection than time, place, circumstance, cause and effect; the other is thecreation of actions according to the unchangeable forms of human nature, as existing inthe mind of the Creator, which is itself the image of all other minds. The one is partial,and applies only to a definite period of time, and a certain combination of events which can never again recur; the other is universal, and contains within itself the germ of a relation to whatever motives or actions have place in the possible varieties of human nature. Time, which destroys the beauty and the use of the story of particular facts, stripped of the poetry which should invest them, augments that of poetry, and forever develops new and wonderful applications of the eternal truth which it contains. Hence epitomes have been called the moths of just history; they eat out the poetry of it. A storyof particular facts is as a mirror which obscures and distorts that which should be beautiful; poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.10 The parts of a composition may be poetical, without the composition as a whole being a poem. A single sentence may be considered as a whole, though it may be found in the midst of a series of unassimilated portions; a single word even may be a spark of inextinguishable thought. And thus all the great historians, Herodotus, Plutarch, Livy, were poets; and although the plan of these writers, especially that of Livy, restrainedthem from developing this faculty in its highest degree, they made copious and ample amends for their subjection, by filling all the interstices of their subjects with living images.11 Having determined what is poetry, and who are poets, let us proceed to estimate its effects upon society.12 Poetry is ever accompanied with pleasure: all spirits on which it falls open themselvesto receive the wisdom which is mingled with its delight. In the infancy of the world, neither poets themselves nor their auditors are fully aware of the excellence of poetry: forit acts in a divine and unapprehended manner, beyond and above consciousness; and it is reserved for future generations to contemplate and measure the mighty cause and effectin all the strength and splendor of their union. Even in modern times, no living poet ever arrived at the fulness of his fame; the jury which sits in judgment upon a poet, belongingas he does to all time, must be composed of his peers: it must be impanelled by Timefrom the selectest of the wise of many generations. A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why. The poems of Homer and his contemporarieswere the delight of infant Greece; they were the elements of that social system which isthe column upon which all succeeding civilization has reposed. Homer embodied theideal perfection of his age in human character; nor can we doubt that those who read his verses were awakened to an ambition of becoming like to Achilles, Hector, and Ulysses: the truth and beauty of friendship, patriotism, and persevering devotion to an object,were unveiled to the depths in these immortal creations: the sentiments of the auditors must have been refined and enlarged by a sympathy with such great and lovely impersonations, until from admiring they imitated, and from imitation they identified themselves with the objects of their admiration. Nor let it be objected that these characters are remote from moral perfection, and that they can by no means be considered as edifying patterns for general imitation. Every epoch, under names more orless specious, has deified its peculiar errors; Revenge is the naked idol of the worship ofa semi-barbarous age: and Self-deceit is the veiled image of unknown evil, before which luxury and satiety lie prostrate. But a poet considers the vices of his contemporaries asthe temporary dress in which his creations must be arrayed, and which cover without concealing the eternal proportions of their beauty. An epic or dramatic personage is understood to wear them around his soul, as he may the ancient armor or the modern uniform around his body; whilst it is easy to conceive a dress more graceful than either. The beauty of the internal nature cannot be so far concealed by its accidental vesture, but that the spirit of its form shall communicate itself to the very disguise, and indicate the shape it hides from the manner in which it is worn. A majestic form and graceful motions will express themselves through the most barbarous and tasteless costume. Few poets of the highest class have chosen to exhibit the beauty of their conceptions in its naked truth and splendor; and it is doubtful whether the alloy of costume, habit, etc., be not necessary to temper this planetary music for mortal ears.13 The whole objection, however, of the immorality of poetry rests upon a misconceptionof the manner in which poetry acts to produce the moral improvement of man. Ethical science arranges the elements which poetry has created, and propounds schemes and proposes examples of civil and domestic life: nor is it for want of admirable doctrinesthat men hate, and despise, and censure, and deceive, and subjugate one another. But poetry acts in another and diviner manner. It awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering it the receptacle of a thousand unapprehended combinations of thought. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar; it reproduces all that it represents, and the impersonations clothed inits Elysian light stand thenceforward in the minds of those who have once contemplated them, as memorials of that gentle and exalted content which extends itself over all thoughts and actions with which it coexists. The great secret of morals is love; or a going out of our nature, and an identification of ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thought, action, or person, not our own. A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasure of his species must become his own. The great instrumentof moral good is the imagination; and poetry administers to the effect by acting upon the cause. Poetry enlarges the circumference of the imagination by replenishing it with thoughts of ever new delight, which have the power of attracting and assimilating to their own nature all other thoughts, and which form new intervals and interstices whose void forever craves fresh food. Poetry strengthens the faculty which is the organ of the moral nature of man, in the same manner as exercise strengthens a limb. A poet therefore would do ill to embody his own conceptions of right and wrong, which are usually those of his place and time, in his poetical creations, which participate in neither. By this assumptionof the inferior office of interpreting the effect, in which perhaps after all he might acquit himself but imperfectly, he would resign a glory in a participation in the cause. Therewas little danger that Homer, or any of the eternal poets, should have so far misunderstood themselves as to have abdicated this throne of their widest dominion. Those in whom the poetical faculty, though great, is less intense, as Euripides, Lucan, Tasso, Spenser, have frequently affected a moral aim, and the effect of their poetry is diminished in exact proportion to the degree in which they compel us to advert to this purpose.14 Homer and the cyclic poets were followed at a certain interval by the dramatic andlyrical poets of Athens, who flourished contemporaneously with all that is most perfectin the kindred expressions of the poetical faculty; architecture, painting, music, the dance, sculpture, philosophy, and, we may add, the forms of civil life. For although the scheme of Athenian society was deformed by many imperfections which the poetry existing in chivalry and Christianity has erased from the habits and institutions of modern Europe; yet never at any other period has so much energy, beauty, and virtue been developed; never was blind strength and stubborn form so disciplined and rendered subject to the will of man, or that will less repugnant to the dictates of the beautiful andthe true, as during the century which preceded the death of Socrates. Of no other epochin the history of our species have we records and fragments stamped so visibly with the image of the divinity in man. But it is poetry alone, in form, in action, or in language, which has rendered this epoch memorable above all others, and the store-house of examples to everlasting time. For written poetry existed at that epoch simultaneouslywith the other arts, and it is an idle inquiry to demand which gave and which received the light, which all, as from a common focus, have scattered over the darkest periods of succeeding time. We know no more of cause and effect than a constant conjunction of events: poetry is ever found to coexist with whatever other arts contribute to the happiness and perfection of man. I appeal to what has already been established to distinguish between the cause and the effect.15 It was at the period here adverted to that the drama had its birth; and however a succeeding writer may have equalled or surpassed those few great specimens of the Athenian drama which have been preserved to us, it is indisputable that the art itselfnever was understood or practised according to the true philosophy of it, as at Athens.For the Athenians employed language, action, music, painting, the dance, and religious institutions, to produce a common effect in the representation of the highest idealism of passion and of power; each division in the art was made perfect in its kind of artists ofthe most consummate skill, and was disciplined into a beautiful proportion and unity one towards the other. On the modern stage a few only of the elements capable of expressing the image of the poet’s conception are employed at once. We have tragedy without music and dancing; and music and dancing without the highest impersonations of which theyare the fit accompaniment, and both without religion and solemnity. Religious institution has indeed been usually banished from the stage. Our system of divesting the actor’s faceof a mask, on which the many expressions appropriated to his dramatic character mightbe moulded into one permanent and unchanging expression, is favorable only to a partial and inharmonious effect; it is fit for nothing but a monologue, where all the attentionmay be directed to some great master of ideal mimicry. The modern practice of blending comedy with tragedy, though liable to great abuse in point of practice, is undoubtedly an extension of the dramatic circle; but the comedy should be as in ―King Lear,‖ universal, ideal, and sublime. It is perhaps the intervention of this principle which determines the balance in favor of ―King Lear‖ against the ―Oedipus Tyrannus‖ or the ―Agamemnon,‖ or, if you will, the trilogies with which they are connected; unless the intense power ofthe choral poetry, especially that of the latter, should be considered as restoring the equilibrium. ―King Lear,‖ if it c an sustain this comparison, may be judged to be the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world; in spite of the narrow conditions to which the poet was subjected by the ignorance of the philosophy of thedrama which has prevailed in modern Europe. Calderon, in his religious autos, has attempted to fulfil some of the high conditions of dramatic representation neglected by Shakespeare; such as the establishing a relation between the drama and religion, and the accommodating them to music and dancing; but he omits the observation of conditionsstill more important, and more is lost than gained by the substitution of the rigidlydefined and ever-repeated idealisms of a distorted superstition for the living impersonations of the truth of human passion.16 But I digress. The connection of scenic exhibitions with the improvement or corruptionof the manners of men has been universally recognized; in other words, the presence or absence of poetry in its most perfect and universal form has been found to be connected with good and evil in conduct or habit. The corruption which has been imputed to the drama as an effect, begins, when the poetry employed in its constitution ends: I appeal to the history of manners whether the periods of the growth of the one and the decline of the other have not corresponded with an exactness equal to any example of moral cause and effect.17 The drama at Athens, or wheresoever else it may have approached to its perfection, ever coexisted with the moral and intellectual greatness of the age. The tragedies of the Athenian poets are as mirrors in which the spectator beholds himself, under a thin disguise of circumstance, stripped of all but that ideal perfection and energy which everyone feels to be the internal type of all that he loves, admires, and would become.The imagination is enlarged by a sympathy with pains and passions so mighty, that they distend in their conception the capacity of that by which they are conceived; the good affections are strengthened by pity, indignation, terror, and sorrow; and an exalted calmis prolonged from the satiety of this high exercise of them into the tumult of familiar life: even crime is disarmed of half its horror and all its contagion by being represented as the fatal consequence of the unfathomable agencies of nature; error is thus divested of its wilfulness; men can no longer cherish it as the creation of their choice. In a drama of the highest order there is little food for censure or hatred; it teaches rather self-knowledgeand self-respect. Neither the eye nor the mind can see itself, unless reflected upon that which it resembles. The drama, so long as it continues to express poetry, is as a prismatic and many-sided mirror, which collects the brightest rays of human nature and dividesand reproduces them from the simplicity of these elementary forms, and touches themwith majesty and beauty, and multiplies all that it reflects, and endows it with the powerof propagating its like wherever it may fall.18 But in periods of the decay of social life, the drama sympathizes with that decay. Tragedy becomes a cold imitation of the form of the great masterpieces of antiquity, divested of all harmonious accompaniment of the kindred arts; and often the very form misunderstood, or a weak attempt to teach certain doctrines, which the writer considersas moral truths; and which are usually no more than specious flatteries of some grossvice or weakness, with which the author, in common with his auditors, are infected. Hence what has been called the classical and domestic drama. Addison’s ―Cato‖ is a specimen of the one; and would it were not superfluous to cite examples of the other! To such purposes poetry cannot be made subservient. Poetry is a sword of lightning, ever unsheathed, which consumes the scabbard that would contain it. And thus we observethat all dramatic writings of this nature are unimaginative in a singular degree; they。

全国2018年7月自考英美文学选读试题课程代码：00604请将答案填在答题纸相应的位置上（全部题目用英文作答）PART ONE (40 POINTS)I．Multiple Choice(40 points in all, 1 for each)Select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.1. The first mass movement of the English working class and the early sign of the awakening of the poor, oppressed people is_____.A. The Enclosure MovementB. The Protestant ReformationC. The Enlightenment MovementD. The Chartist Movement2. Daniel Defoe’s works are all the following EXCEPT_____.A. Moll FlandersB. A Tale of a TubC. A Journal of the Plague YearD. Colonel Jack3. “Metaphysical Poetry” refers to the works of the 17th - century writers who wrote under the influenceof _____.A. John DonneB. Alexander PopeC. Christopher MarloweD. John Milton4. The most important play among Shakespeare’s comedies is _____.A. A Midsummer Night’s DreamB. The Merchant of VeniceC. As You Like ItD. Twelfth Night5. The most perfect example of the verse drama after Greek style in English is Milton’s _____.A. Paradise LostB. Paradise RegainedC. Samson AgonistesD. Areopagitica6. Which of the following descriptions of Enlightenment Movement is NOT true?A. It was a progressive intellectual movement that flourished in France.B. It was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries.C. The purpose was to enlighten the whole world with moderu philosophical and artistic ideas.D. The Enlighteners advocate individual education.7. Neoclassicists had some fixed laws and rules for prose EXCEPT_____.A. being preciseB. being directC. being flexibleD. being satiric8. A good style of prose“proper works in proper places”was defined by_____.A. John MiltonB. Henry FieldingC. Jonathan SwiftD.T.S. Eliot9. The major theme of Jane Austen’s novels is_____.A. love and moneyB. money and social statusC. social status and marriageD. love and marriage10. Wordsworth’s_____ is perhaps the most anthologized poem in English literature.A. “To a Skylark”B. “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud”C. “An Evening Walk”D. “My Heart Leaps Up”11. William Blake’s work ______ marks his entry into maturity.A. Songs of ExperienceB. Marriage of Heaven and HellC. Songs of InnocenceD. The Book of Los12. Best of all the Romantic well- known lyric pieces is Shelley’s_____.A. “The Cloud”B. “To a Skylark”C. “Ode to a Nightingale”D. “Ode to the West Wind”13. In the Victorian Period _____ became the most widely read and the most vital and challenging expression of progressive thought.A. poetryB. novelC. proseD. drama14. In Charles Dickens’early novels, he attacks one or more specific social evils, _____is a good example of describing the dehumanizing workhouse system and the dark, criminal underworld life.A. David CopperfieldB. Oliver TwistC. Great ExpectationsD. Dombey and Son15. Thomas Hardy’s most cheerful and idyllic work is_____.A. The Return of the NativeB. Far from the Maddin CrowdC. Under the Greenwood TreeD. The Woodlanders16. The rise of _____and new science greatly incited modernist writers to make new explorations on human natures and human relationships.A. the existentialistic ideaB. the irrational philosophyC. scientific socialismD. social Darwinism17. In Modern English literature, the literary interest of _____ lay in the tracing of the psychological development of his characters and in his energetic criticism of the dehu-manizing effect of the capitalist industrialization on human nature.A. George Bernard ShawB.T.S. EliotC. Oscar WildeD.D.H. Lawrence18. George Bernard Shaw’s _____ is a better play of the later period, with the author’s almost nihilistic bitterness on the subjects of the cruelty and madness of WWI and the aimlessness and disillusion of the young.A. Too True to Be GoodB. Mrs. Warren’s ProfessionC. Widowers’HousesD. Fanny’s First Play19. Renaissance first started in Italy, with the flowering of the following fields EXCEPT_____.A. architectureB. paintingC. sculptureD. literature20. English Romanticism,as a historical phase of literature,is generally said to have begun with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s_____.A. Poetical SketchesB. A Defence of PoetryC. Lyrical BalladsD. The Prelude21. Charlotte Bront e ’s work _____ is famous for the depiction of the life of the middle - class working women, particularly governesses.A. Jane EyreB. Wuthering HeightsC. The ProffessorD. Shirley22. The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot is a poem concerned with the _____ breakup of a modern civilization in which human life has lost its meaning, significance and purpose.A. spiritualB. religiousC. politicalD. physical23. Perhaps Emily Dickinson’s greatest interpretation of the moment of _____ is to be found in “I heard a Fly buzz--when I died—”, a poem universally regarded as one of her masterpieces.A. fantasyB. birthC. crisisD. death24. The fiction of the American _____ period ranges from the comic fables of Washing-ton Irving to the social realism of Rebecca Harding Davis.A. RomanticB. RevolutionaryC. ColonialD. Modernistic25. The modern _____ technique was frequently and skillfully exploited by Faulkner to emphasize the reactions and inner musings of the narrator.A. stream - of - consciousnessB. flashbackC. mosaicD. narrative and argumentative26. By means of “_____,”Whitman believed, he has turned the poem into an openfield, an area of vital possibility where the reader can allow his own imagination to play.A. balanced structureB. free verseC. fixed verseD. regular rhythm27. In 1954, _____ was awarded the Nobel Prize for “his powerful style -forming mas tery of the art”of creating modern fiction.A. Ernest HemingwayB. Sherwood AndersonC. Stephen CraneD. Henry James28. The period ranging from 1865 to 1914 has been referred to as the Age of _____ in the literary history of the United States, which is actually a movement or tendency that dominated the spirit of American literature.A. RationalismB. RomanticismC. RealismD. Modernism29. When he was eighty - seven he read his poetry at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. This poet was_____.A. Ezra PoundB. Robert FrostC. E. E. CummingsD. Wallace Stevens30. The renowned American critic H. L. Mencken regarded _____ as “the true father of our national literature.”A. Bret HarteB. Walt WhitmanC. Washington IrvingD. Mark Twain31. We can easily find in Theodore Dreiser’s fiction a world of jungle, where “kill or to be killed”was the law. Dreiser’s _____ found expression in almost every book he wrote.A. naturalismB. romanticismC. cubismD. classicalism32. A preoccupation with the Calvinistic view of _____ and the mystery of evil marked the works of Hawthorne, Melville and a host of lesser writers.A. love and mercyB. bitterness and hatredC. original sinD. eternal life33. “H e possessed none of the usual aids to a writer’ s career: no money, no friend in power, no formal education worthy of mention, no family tradition in letters. ”This is a description most suitable to the American writer_____.A. Henry JamesB. Theodore DreiserC. W.D. Howells D. Nathaniel Hawthorne34. People generally considered _____ to be Henry James’ masterpiece, which incar nates the clash between the Old World and the New in the life journey of an American girl in a European cultural environment.A. The EuropeansB. Daisy MillerC. The Portrait of A LadyD. The Private Life35. The Jazz Age of the 1920s characterized by frivolity and carelessness is brought vividly to life in_______.A. The Great GatsbyB. The Sun Also RisesC. The Grapes of WrathD. Tales of the Jazz Age36. Guided by the principle of adhering to the truthful treatment of life, the American _______ introduced industrial workers and farmers, ambitious businessmen and vagrants, prostitutes and unheroic soldiers as major characters in fiction.A. romanticistsB. modernistsC. psychologistsD. realists37. The American literary spokesman of the Jazz Age is often acclaimed to be_______.A. Henry JamesB. Robert FrostC. William FaulknerD.F. Scott Fitzgerald38. By writing Moby - Dick, _______ reached the most flourishing stage of his literary creativity.A. Herman MelvilleB. Edgar Ellen PoeC. William FaulknerD. Theodore Dreiser39. Faulkner once said that _____ is a story of “lost innocence,”which proves itself to be an intensification of the theme of imprisonment in the past.A. Light in AugustB. The Sound and the Fur yC. Absalom, Absalom!D. The Hamlet40. Hawthorne was not a Puritan himself, but his view of man and human history origina ted, to a great extent, in_______.A. CalvinismB. PuritanismC. RealismD. NaturalismPART TWO (60 POINTS)Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension (16 points in all, 4 for each)Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.41. Behold her, single in the field,Yon solitary Highland lass!Reaping and singing by herself;Stop here, or gently pass!Alone she cuts and binds the grain,And sings a melancholy strain;O listen! For the Vale profoundIs overflowing with the sound.Questions:A. Identify the poet.B. What’ s the rhyme scheme for the stanza?C. What’s the theme of the poem?42. The following quotation is from Mrs. Warren’s Profession:VIVIE: [ intensely interested by this time] No; but why did you choose that business?Saving money and good management will succeed in any business.MRS. WARREN: Yes, saving money. But where can a woman get the money to save in any other business?Could you save out of four shillings a week and keep yourself dressed as well? Not you. Of course, ifyou’ re a plain woman and cant earn anything more ; or if you have a turn for music, or the stage, ornewspaper - writing ; that’s different...Questions :A. Identify the playwright of the above quotation.B. What business do you think Mrs. Warren is involved in?C. What's the theme of the play?43. My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.Questions:A. Identify the poet and the title of the poem from which this stanza is taken.B. What figure of speech is used in this stanza?C. Briefly interpret the meaning of this stanza.44. “Where are we going, Dad?”Nick asked.“Over to the Indian camp. There is an Indian lady very sick. ”“Oh,”said Nick.Across the bay they found the other boat beached. Uncle George was smoking a cigar in the dark. The young Indian pulled the boat way up on the beach. Uncle George gave both the Indians cigars.Questions :A. Identify the author and the title of the work from which the passage is taken.B. What does Dad imply when he says “There is an Indian lady very sick”?C. Why is Dad going to the Indian camp?Ⅲ. Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 for each)Give a brief answer to each of the following 9uestions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.45. What’ s the literary style of Shelley as a Romantic poet?46. What are the main features of Bernard Shaw’s plays with regard to the theme, charac-terization and plot?47. Henry James’ literary criticism is an indispensable part of his contribution to literature. What’s his outlook inliterary criticiam?48. Local colorism is a unique variation of American literary realism. Who is the most famous local colorist?What are local colorists most concerned?IV. Topic Discussion(20 points in all, 10 for each)Write no less than 150 words on each of the following topics in English in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.49. Define modernism in English literature. Name two major modernistic British writers and list one major workby each.50. Briefly discuss the term “The Lost Generation”and name the leading figures of this literary movement (Giveat least three).。

[转载]A Defence of Poetry 雪莱——《为诗辩护》原⽂地址：A Defence of Poetry 雪莱——《为诗辩护》作者：oliviaA Defence of PoetryPART IAccording to one mode of regarding those two classes of mentalaction, which are called reason and imagination, the former may beconsidered as mind contemplating the relations borne by one thoughtto another, however produced; and the latter, as mind acting uponthose thoughts so as to colour them with its own light, and composingfrom them, as from elements, other thoughts, each containing withinitself the principle of its own integrity. The one is the [wordin Greek], or the principle of synthesis, and has for its objectsthose forms which are common to universal nature and existenceitself; the other is the [word in Greek], or principle of analysis,and its action regards the relations of things, simply as relations;considering thoughts, not in their integral unity, but as thealgebraical representations which conduct to certain general results.Reason is the enumeration of quantities already known; imaginationis the perception of the value of those quantities, both separatelyand as a whole. Reason respects the differences, and imaginationthe similitudes of things. Reason is to the imagination as theinstrument to the agent, as the body to the spirit, as the shadowto the substance.Poetry, in a general sense, may be defined to be 'the expressionof the imagination': and poetry is connate with the origin of man.Man is an instrument over which a series of external and internalimpressions are driven, like the alternations of an ever-changingwind over an Aeolian lyre, which move it by their motion toever-changing melody. But there is a principle within the humanbeing, and perhaps within all sentient beings, which acts otherwisethan in the lyre, and produces not melody alone, but harmony,by an internal adjustment of the sounds or motions thus excitedto the impressions which excite them. It is as if the lyre couldaccommodate its chords to the motions of that which strikes them,in a determined proportion of sound; even as the musician canaccommodate his voice to the sound of the lyre. A child at playby itself will express its delight by its voice and motions; andevery inflexion of tone and every gesture will bear exact relationto a corresponding antitype in the pleasurable impressions whichawakened it; it will be the reflected image of that impression;and as the lyre trembles and sounds after the wind has died away,so the child seeks, by prolonging in its voice and motions theduration of the effect, to prolong also a consciousness of thecause. In relation to the objects which delight a child, theseexpressions are, what poetry is to higher objects. The savage (forthe savage is to ages what the child is to years) expresses theemotions produced in him by surrounding objects in a similar manner;and language and gesture, together with plastic or pictorial imitation,become the image of the combined effect of those objects, and ofhis apprehension of them. Man in society, with all his passions andhis pleasures, next becomes the object of the passions and pleasuresof man; an additional class of emotions produces an augmentedtreasure of expressions; and language, gesture, and the imitativearts, become at once the representation and the medium, the penciland the picture, the chisel and the statue, the chord and the harmony. The social sympathies, or those laws from which, as fromits elements, society results, begin to develop themselves fromthe moment that two human beings coexist; the future is contained within the present, as the plant within the seed; and equality, diversity, unity, contrast, mutual dependence, become the principles alone capable of affording the motives according to which thewill of a social being is determined to action, inasmuch as he is social; and constitute pleasure in sensation, virtue in sentiment, beauty in art, truth in reasoning, and love in the intercourse ofkind. Hence men, even in the infancy of society, observe a certain order in their words and actions, distinct from that of the objectsand the impressions represented by them, all expression being subject to the laws of that from which it proceeds. But let usdismiss those more general considerations which might involve an inquiry into the principles of society itself, and restrict ourview to the manner in which the imagination is expressed upon its forms.In the youth of the world, men dance and sing and imitate natural objects, observing in these actions, as in all others, a certainrhythm or order. And, although all men observe a similar, they observe not the same order, in the motions of the dance, in the melody of the song, in the combinations of language, in the seriesof their imitations of natural objects. For there is a certainorder or rhythm belonging to each of these classes of mimetic representation, from which the hearer and the spectator receivean intenser and purer pleasure than from any other: the senseof an approximation to this order has been called taste by modern writers. Every man in the infancy of art observes an order which approximates more or less closely to that from which this highest delight results: but the diversity is not sufficiently marked, asthat its gradations should be sensible, except in those instances where the predominance of this faculty of approximation to the beautiful (for so we may be permitted to name the relation between this highest pleasure and its cause) is very great. Those in whomit exists in excess are poets, in the most universal sense of the word; and the pleasure resulting from the manner in which they express the influence of society or nature upon their own minds, communicates itself to others, and gathers a sort or reduplication from that community. Their language is vitally metaphorical; thatis, it marks the before unapprehended relations of things and perpetuates their apprehension, until the words which represent them become, through time, signs for portions or classes of thoughts instead of pictures of integral thoughts; and then if no new poets should arise to create afresh the associations which have been thus disorganized, language will be dead to all the nobler purposes of human intercourse. These similitudes or relations are finely saidby Lord Bacon to be 'the same footsteps of nature impressed upon the various subjects of the world'; [Footnote: De Augment. Scient., cap. i, lib. iii.] and he considers the faculty which perceivesthem as the storehouse of axioms common to all knowledge. In the infancy of society every author is necessarily a poet, because language itself is poetry; and to be a poet is to apprehend thetrue and the beautiful, in a word, the good which exists in the relation, subsisting, first between existence and perception, and secondly between perception and expression. Every original language near to its source is in itself the chaos of a cyclic poem: the copiousness of lexicography and the distinctions of grammar are the works of a later age, and are merely the catalogue and the form ofthe creations of poetry.But poets, or those who imagine and express this indestructible order, are not only the authors of language and of music, of the dance, and architecture, and statuary, and painting; they are the institutors of laws, and the founders of civil society, and the inventors of the arts of life, and the teachers, who draw into acertain propinquity with the beautiful and the true, that partial apprehension of the agencies of the invisible world which iscalled religion. Hence all original religions are allegorical, or susceptible of allegory, and, like Janus, have a double face offalse and true. Poets, according to the circumstances of the age and nation in which they appeared, were called, in the earlier epochsof the world, legislators, or prophets: a poet essentially comprises and unites both these characters. For he not only beholds intensely the present as it is, and discovers those laws according to which present things ought to be ordered, but he beholds the future inthe present, and his thoughts are the germs of the flower and thefruit of latest time. Not that I assert poets to be prophets inthe gross sense of the word, or that they can foretell the form as surely as they foreknow the spirit of events: such is the pretenceof superstition, which would make poetry an attribute of prophecy, rather than prophecy an attribute of poetry. A poet participatesin the eternal, the infinite, and the one; as far as relates tohis conceptions, time and place and number are not. The grammatical forms which express the moods of time, and the difference of persons, and the distinction of place, are convertible with respect to the highest poetry without injuring it as poetry; and the choruses of Aeschylus, and the book of Job, and Dante's Paradise, would afford, more than any other writings, examples of this fact, if the limitsof this essay did not forbid citation. The creations of sculpture, painting, and music, are illustrations still more decisive. Language, colour, form, and religious and civil habits of action,are all the instruments and materials of poetry; they may be called poetry by that figure of speech which considers the effect as a synonym of the cause. But poetry in a more restricted sense expresses those arrangements of language, and especially metrical language, which are created by that imperial faculty; whose throne is curtained within the invisible nature of man. And this springs from the nature itself of language, which is a more direct representation of the actions and passions of our internal being, and is susceptibleof more various and delicate combinations, than colour, form, or motion, and is more plastic and obedient to the control of thatfaculty of which it is the creation. For language is arbitrarily produced by the imagination and has relation to thoughts alone;but all other materials, instruments and conditions of art, have relations among each other, which limit and interpose between conception and expression The former is as a mirror which reflects, the latter as a cloud which enfeebles, the light of which both are mediums of communication. Hence the fame of sculptors, painters, and musicians, although the intrinsic powers of the great mastersof these arts may yield in no degree to that of those who have employed language as the hieroglyphic of their thoughts, has never equalled that of poets in the restricted sense of the term, astwo performers of equal skill will produce unequal effects from a guitar and a harp. The fame of legislators and founders of religions, so long as their institutions last, alone seems to exceed that ofpoets in the restricted sense; but it can scarcely be a question, whether, if we deduct the celebrity which their flattery of thegross opinions of the vulgar usually conciliates, together withthat which belonged to them in their higher character of poets,any excess will remain.We have thus circumscribed the word poetry within the limits of that art which is the most familiar and the most perfect expression ofthe faculty itself. It is necessary, however, to make the circlestill narrower, and to determine the distinction between measured and unmeasured language; for the popular division into prose and verse is inadmissible in accurate philosophy.Sounds as well as thoughts have relation both between each other and towards that which they represent, and a perception of the order of those relations has always been found connected with a perception of the order of the relations of thoughts. Hence the language of poets has ever affected a certain uniform and harmonious recurrence of sound, without which it were not poetry, and which is scarcely less indispensable to the communication of its influence, than the words themselves, without reference to that peculiar order. Hence the vanity of translation; it were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principle of its colourand odour, as seek to transfuse from one language into another the creations of a poet. The plant must spring again from its seed,or it will bear no flower--and this is the burthen of the curse of Babel.An observation of the regular mode of the recurrence of harmonyin the language of poetical minds, together with its relation to music, produced metre, or a certain system of traditional forms of harmony and language. Yet it is by no means essential that a poet should accommodate his language to this traditional form, so that the harmony, which is its spirit, be observed. The practice is indeed convenient and popular, and to be preferred, especially in such composition as includes much action: but every great poet must inevitably innovate upon the example of his predecessors in the exact structure of his peculiar versification. The distinctionbetween poets and prose writers is a vulgar error. The distinction between philosophers and poets has been anticipated. Plato was essentially a poet--the truth and splendour of his imagery, and the melody of his language, are the most intense that it is possibleto conceive. He rejected the measure of the epic, dramatic, and lyrical forms, because he sought to kindle a harmony in thoughts divested of shape and action, and he forbore to invent any regular plan of rhythm which would include, under determinate forms, the varied pauses of his style. Cicero sought to imitate the cadenceof his periods, but with little success. Lord Bacon was a poet. [Footnote: See the Filum Labyrinthi, and the Essay on Death particularly]. His language has a sweet and majestic rhythm, which satisfies the sense, no less than the almost superhuman wisdomof his philosophy satisfies the intellect; it is a strain which distends, and then bursts the circumference of the reader's mind, and pours itself forth together with it into the universal elementwith which it has perpetual sympathy. All the authors of revolutionsin opinion are not only necessarily poets as they are inventors,nor even as their words unveil the permanent analogy of thingsby images which participate in the life of truth; but as theirperiods are harmonious and rhythmical, and contain in themselves the elements of verse; being the echo of the eternal music. Nor are those supreme poets, who have employed traditional forms of rhythm on account of the form and action of their subjects, less capableof perceiving and teaching the truth of things, than those whohave omitted that form. Shakespeare, Dante, and Milton (to confine ourselves to modern writers) are philosophers of the very loftiestpower.A poem is the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth.There is this difference between a story and a poem, that a storyis a catalogue of detached facts, which have no other connexionthan time, place, circumstance, cause and effect; the other is the creation of actions according to the unchangeable forms of human nature, as existing in the mind of the Creator, which is itselfthe image of all other minds. The one is partial, and applies onlyto a definite period of time, and a certain combination of eventswhich can never again recur; the other is universal, and contains within itself the germ of a relation to whatever motives or actionshave place in the possible varieties of human nature. Time, which destroys the beauty and the use of the story of particular facts, stripped of the poetry which should invest them, augments that of poetry, and for ever develops new and wonderful applications of the eternal truth which it contains. Hence epitomes have been calledthe moths of just history; they eat out the poetry of it. A storyof particular facts is as a mirror which obscures and distorts thatwhich should be beautiful: poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.The parts of a composition may be poetical, without the compositionas a whole being a poem. A single sentence may be a considered asa whole, though it may be found in the midst of a series of unassimilated portions: a single word even may be a spark of inextinguishable thought. And thus all the great historians, Herodotus, Plutarch,Livy, were poets; and although, the plan of these writers, especially that of Livy, restrained them; from developing this faculty inits highest degree, they made copious and ample amends for their subjection, by filling all the interstices of their subjects withliving images.Having determined what is poetry, and who are poets, let us proceedto estimate its effects upon society.Poetry is ever accompanied with pleasure: all spirits on which itfalls open themselves to receive the wisdom which is mingled withits delight. In the infancy of the world, neither poets themselvesnor their auditors are fully aware of the excellence of poetry:for it acts in a divine and unapprehended manner, beyond and above consciousness; and it is reserved for future generations to contemplate and measure the mighty cause and effect in all the strength and splendour of their union. Even in modern times, no living poet ever arrived at the fullness of his fame; the jury which sits in judgement upon a poet, belonging as he does to all time, must be composedof his peers: it must be impanelled by Time from the selectest ofthe wise of many generations. A poet is a nightingale, who sitsin darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds;his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why. The poems of Homer and his contemporaries were the delight of infant Greece; they were the elements of that socialsystem which is the column upon which all succeeding civilizationhas reposed. Homer embodied the ideal perfection of his age in human character; nor can we doubt that those who read his verses were awakened to an ambition of becoming like to Achilles, Hector, and Ulysses the truth and beauty of friendship, patriotism, and persevering devotion to an object, were unveiled to the depths inthese immortal creations: the sentiments of the auditors must have been refined and enlarged by a sympathy with such great and lovely impersonations, until from admiring they imitated, and from imitation they identified themselves with the objects of their admiration.Nor let it be objected, that these characters are remote from moral perfection, and that they can by no means be considered as edifying patterns for general imitation. Every epoch, under names moreor less specious, has deified its peculiar errors; Revenge is the naked idol of the worship of a semi-barbarous age; and Self-deceitis the veiled image of unknown evil, before which luxury and satiety lie prostrate. But a poet considers the vices of his contemporariesas a temporary dress in which his creations must be arrayed, and which cover without concealing the eternal proportions of their beauty. An epic or dramatic personage is understood to wear them around his soul, as he may the ancient armour or the modern uniform around his body; whilst it is easy to conceive a dress more graceful than either. The beauty of the internal nature cannot be so far concealed by its accidental vesture, but that the spirit of itsform shall communicate itself to the very disguise, and indicatethe shape it hides from the manner in which it is worn. A majestic form and graceful motions will express themselves through the most barbarous and tasteless costume. Few poets of the highest class have chosen to exhibit the beauty of their conceptions in itsnaked truth and splendour; and it is doubtful whether the alloyof costume, habit, &c., be not necessary to temper this planetary music for mortal ears.The whole objection, however, of the immorality of poetry restsupon a misconception of the manner in which poetry acts to produce the moral improvement of man. Ethical science arranges the elements which poetry has created, and propounds schemes and proposes examples of civil and domestic life: nor is it for want of admirable doctrines that men hate, and despise, and censure, and deceive,and subjugate one another. But poetry acts in another and diviner manner. It awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering itthe receptacle of a thousand unapprehended combinations of thought. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar; it reproduces allthat it represents, and the impersonations clothed in its Elysianlight stand thenceforward in the minds of those who have once contemplated them as memorials of that gentle and exalted content which extends itself over all thoughts and actions with which it coexists. The great secret of morals is love; or a going out of ourown nature, and an identification of ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thought, action, or person, not our own. A man,to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own. The great instrument of moral good is the imagination; and poetry administersto the effect by acting upon the cause. Poetry enlarges the circumference of the imagination by replenishing it with thought of ever new delight, which have the power of attracting and assimilating to their own nature all other thoughts, and which form new intervals and interstices whose void for ever craves fresh food. Poetry strengthens the faculty which is the organ of the moral natureof man, in the same manner as exercise strengthens a limb. A poet therefore would do ill to embody his own conceptions of right and wrong, which are usually those of his place and time, in his poetical creations, which participate in neither By this assumption of the inferior office of interpreting the effect in which perhaps afterall he might acquit himself but imperfectly, he would resign aglory in a participation in the cause. There was little danger that Homer, or any of the eternal poets should have so far misunderstood themselves as to have abdicated this throne of their widest dominion. Those in whom the poetical faculty, though great, is less intense,as Euripides, Lucan, Tasso, Spenser, have frequently affected a moral aim, and the effect of their poetry is diminished in exact proportion to the degree in which they compel us to advert to this purpose.Homer and the cyclic poets were followed at a certain intervalby the dramatic and lyrical poets of Athens, who flourished contemporaneously with all that is most perfect in the kindred expressions of the poetical faculty; architecture, painting, musicthe dance, sculpture, philosophy, and, we may add, the forms ofcivil life. For although the scheme of Athenian society was deformed by many imperfections which the poetry existing in chivalry and Christianity has erased from the habits and institutions of modern Europe; yet never at any other period has so much energy, beauty, and virtue, been developed; never was blind strength and stubborn form so disciplined and rendered subject to the will of man, orthat will less repugnant to the dictates of the beautiful and thetrue, as during the century which preceded the death of Socrates.Of no other epoch in the history of our species have we recordsand fragments stamped so visibly with the image of the divinity in man. But it is poetry alone, in form, in action, or in language,which has rendered this epoch memorable above all others, and the storehouse of examples to everlasting time. For written poetry existed at that epoch simultaneously with the other arts, and it isan idle inquiry to demand which gave and which received the light, which all, as from a common focus, have scattered over the darkest periods of succeeding time. We know no more of cause and effect than a constant conjunction of events: poetry is ever found to coexistwith whatever other arts contribute to the happiness and perfectionof man. I appeal to what has already been established to distinguish between the cause and the effect.It was at the period here adverted to, that the drama had its birth;and however a succeeding writer may have equalled or surpassed those few great specimens of the Athenian drama which have been preserved to us, it is indisputable that the art itself never was understood or practised according to the true philosophy of it,as at Athens. For the Athenians employed language, action, music, painting, the dance, and religious institutions, to produce a common effect in the representation of the highest idealisms of passionand of power; each division in the art was made perfect in its kindby artists of the most consummate skill, and was disciplined intoa beautiful proportion and unity one towards the other. On the modern stage a few only of the elements capable of expressing the imageof the poet's conception are employed at once. We have tragedy without music and dancing; and music and dancing without the highest impersonations of which they are the fit accompaniment, and both without religion and solemnity. Religious institution has indeedbeen usually banished from the stage. Our system of divesting the actor's face of a mask, on which the many expressions appropriatedto his dramatic character might be moulded into one permanentand unchanging expression, is favourable only to a partial and inharmonious effect; it is fit for nothing but a monologue, whereall the attention may be directed to some great master of ideal mimicry. The modern practice of blending comedy with tragedy, though liable to great abuse in point of practice, is undoubtedlyan extension of the dramatic circle; but the comedy should beas in KING LEAR, universal, ideal, and sublime. It is perhaps the intervention of this principle which determines the balance infavour of KING LEAR against the OEDIPUS TYRANNUS or the AGAMEMNON, or, if you will, the trilogies with which they are connected; unlessthe intense power of the choral poetry, especially that of thelatter, should be considered as restoring the equilibrium. KINGLEAR, if it can sustain this comparison, may be judged to be themost perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world;in spite of the narrow conditions to which the poet was subjectedby the ignorance of the philosophy of the drama which has prevailedin modern Europe. Calderon, in his religious AUTOS, has attemptedto fulfil some of the high conditions of dramatic representationneglected by Shakespeare; such as the establishing a relationbetween the drama and religion and the accommodating them to musicand dancing; but he omits the observation of conditions stillmore important, and more is lost than gained by the substitutionof the rigidly-defined and ever-repeated idealisms of a distortedsuperstition for the living impersonations of the truth of humanpassion.But I digress.--The connexion of scenic exhibitions with theimprovement or corruption of the manners of men, has been universally recognized: in other words, the presence or absence of poetry inits most perfect and universal form, has been found to be connectedwith good and evil in conduct or habit. The corruption which hasbeen imputed to the drama as an effect, begins when the poetryemployed in its constitution ends: I appeal to the history of mannerswhether the periods of the growth of the one and the decline of theother have not corresponded with an exactness equal to any exampleof moral cause and effect.The drama at Athens, or wheresoever else it may have approachedto its perfection, ever co-existed with the moral and intellectualgreatness of the age. The tragedies of the Athenian poets areas mirrors in which the spectator beholds himself, under a thindisguise of circumstance, stript of all but that ideal perfectionand energy which every one feels to be the internal type of all thathe loves, admires, and would become. The imagination is enlargedby a sympathy with pains and passions so mighty, that they distendin their conception the capacity of that by which they are conceived;the good affections are strengthened by pity, indignation, terror,and sorrow; and an exalted calm is prolonged from the satiety ofthis high exercise of them into the tumult of familiar life:evencrime is disarmed of half its horror and all its contagion by being represented as the fatal consequence of the unfathomable agenciesof nature; error is thus divested of its wilfulness; men can nolonger cherish it as the creation of their choice. In a drama ofthe highest order there is little food for censure or hatred; itteaches rather self-knowledge and self-respect. Neither the eyenor the mind can see itself, unless reflected upon that which itresembles. The drama, so long as it continues to express poetry, isas a prismatic and many-sided mirror, which collects the brightestrays of human nature and divides and reproduces them from thesimplicity of these elementary forms, and touches them with majestyand beauty, and multiplies all that it reflects, and endows it withthe power of propagating its like wherever it may fall.But in periods of the decay of social life, the drama sympathizeswith that decay. Tragedy becomes a cold imitation of the form ofthe great masterpieces of antiquity, divested of all harmonious accompaniment of the kindred arts; and often the very form。

British Literature<Beowulf> 《贝奥武夫》Pagan literature, epic, alliteration,Caedmon凯德蒙Christian Poet,Anthem《赞美诗》Cynewulf基涅武夫The Christ《基督》Bede比德Father of HistoriographyHistorian Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorun 《英吉利人教会史》King Alfred阿尔弗雷德大帝Father of English ProseAnglo-Saxon Chronicle 《盎格鲁-萨克逊编年史》Sir Gawain and the Green KnightRomanceGeoffrey ChaucerFather of English Poetry14th century is the Age of ChaucerThe Canterbury Tales 《坎特伯雷故事集》: Octosyllabic, Heroic CoupletTroilus and Criseyde 《特罗勒斯与克丽西德》The Romaunt of the Rose 《玫瑰罗曼史》The House of Fame 《声誉之堂》Sir Thomas MaloryLe Morte d’Arthur 《亚瑟王之死》the milestone of the transportation from Medieval English to Early Modern EnglishThomas WyattFirstly introduced the Sonnet to British LiteratureThomas MoreUtopia 《乌托邦》The Painful Life of EdwardⅤ《国王爱德华五世悲凄的一生》Philip SidneyArcadia 《阿卡迪亚》：Forerunner of the Modern Novel, Country RomanceThe Defense of Poesie (or Apology for Poetry) 《诗辩》：opened the British Literature Criticism Edmund SpencerPoet’s Poet 诗人中的战斗机Spencerian Stanza 斯宾塞体The Faerie Queene 《仙后》：Epic, Spencerian StanzaFrancis BaconEssay and MaterialismThe First English EssayistEssay 《随笔》The Advancement of Learning 《学术的推进》The New Instrument 《新工具》Christopher MarloweUniversity WitsTamburlaine 《帖木儿大帝》The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus 《浮士德博士的悲剧历史》Shakespeare154 Sonnets and 37 PlaysIambic PentameterNarrative Poetry: Venus and Adonis 《维纳斯和阿多尼斯》,The Rape of Lucrece 《路克丽丝受辱记》Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, MacbethMiracle Plays: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, TempestBen JonsonComedy of Manners, Satirical ComedyEvery Man in His Humor 《人性互异》John DonneThe Creator of Metaphysical PoemsSongs and Sonnets 《歌谣与十四行诗》The Sun Rising 《升起的太阳》The Flea 《跳蚤》A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning 《分别：莫忧伤》Death, Be Not Proud 《死亡，你别骄傲》George HerbertSaint of the Metaphysical School 玄学派诗圣Andrew MarwellMetaphysicalTo His Coy Mistress 《致他的娇羞女友》John MiltonPuritan PoetParadise Lost 《失乐园》: Blank Verse. Metaphor, Pun, Irony, Allusion, Quotation Paradise Regained 《复乐园》Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》：Closet DramaDefense of the English People 《为英国人民而辩》Comus 《科马斯》L’Allegro 《快乐的人》John BunyanPuritan ProseThe Pilgrim’s Progress 《天路旅程》: Religious AllegoryGrace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners 《罪人受恩记》The Holy War 《圣战》The Life and Death of Mr. Badman 《贝德曼先生的一生》John DrydenFather of English CriticismThe First Poet of LaureateAn Essay of Dramatic Poesy 《论戏剧诗歌》All for Love 《一切为了爱》Alexander’s Feast 《亚历山大的宴会》Alexander PopeNeo-Classicism 1830s is the Age of Pope伏尔泰称之为“欧洲最伟大的诗人”擅长Heroic Couplet是首位将理性主义引入英国的作家An Essay on Criticism 《论批评》Pastorals 《田园诗组》The Rape of the Lock 《卷发遇劫记》Essay on Man 《论人类》Richard Steel & Joseph AddisonThe Tatler 《闲谈者》The Spectator 《旁观者》Jointly created the newspapersSamuel JohnsonA Dictionary of the English Language 《英语辞典》著名的词典编纂家A Letter to Lord Chesterfield 《致切斯特菲尔德爵爷书》London 《伦敦》The Vanity of Human Wishes 《人类的欲望》Daniel Defoe英国现实主义小说的奠基人之一Robinson Cruse 《鲁滨逊漂流记》：英国现实主义小说的创始之作。