英美文学欣赏考题整理

Part One：English Poetry

1.William Shakespeare Sonnet 18

?Why does the poet compare `thee` to a summer’s day? And who could `thee` be?

Because summer’s day and thee both represent beauty . thee could be beauty, love.

?What picture have you got of English summer, and could you explain why?

Warm, beautiful, sunshine. Because summer is the best season of a year ,the most beautiful season. It is like our May.

?How does the poet answer the question he puts forth in the first line?

Thee is more beautiful than summer.

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

Because humanism is more eternal than summer and immortal.

?What figures of speech are used in this poem?

Simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron and so on .

?What is the theme of the poem?

Love conquers all, Beauty lives on.

2. Thomas Nashe Spring

?Read the poem carefully, pay attention to those image- bearing words, and see how many images the poet created in the poem and what sense impressions you can get from those images.

There is “Blooms each thing, maids dance in a ring, the pretty birds do sing, the palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk' and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay, The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street these tunes bur ears do greet!”

The “Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit，”impressions me most because of the harmony of the people’s relationship.

?Can you point out and explain the sound and their musical effect in the poem?

In the Poem, each section has four lines, each line has ten syllables ( five tone step ) . In order to give the reader a spring breeze , streams , flowers , winding , Song Xin texture of sound and light flavor, Naixi greater uses English word S , z , f , V , R , L , and θconsonants means. In Naixi's poem, the use of phonological is also very harmonious, very smooth , very mellow. Section I of the poetry has Three pairs [ ing ] , section II of the poem has three pairs [ ei ] and the third quarter has three pairs [ i : ].

3.John Donne A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

?What is a “valediction” any way? Is the speaker in the poem about to die?

Why does the speaker forbid mourning?

No, it is about the lover s’separation. As the poem metaphors, the poet believed he and his wife’s love is sacred, he didn’t hope they cry when separation comes, let their love be stained by the ordinary and mundane.

In the first verse, the poet used virtuous men’s death metaphor for lovers’separation, in the third verse he used “moving of the earth” and “trepidation of the spheres” metaphor for lovers’ separation and the result of separation, in the last three verse he used stiff twin compasses’two legs metaphor for poet himself and his wife. All these metaphors show poet opinion that he will separate from his wife in peace, their love is a scared love, when they away from each other, they will not be hurt by the pain of the separation. He and his wife will not really separate. They care about each other and listen to the other one’s heart, their trust and loyalty makes their love perfect like the circle made by a twin compasses.

4.William Blake The Tiger

?What is the symbolic meaning of the tiger?

The symbol of the Tiger is unclear what it exactly symbolizes, but scholars have hypothesized that the Tiger could be inspiration, the divine, artistic creation, history, the sublime, or vision itself. The list is almost infinite. The point is, the Ti ger is important, and Blake’s poem barely limits the possibilities.

Here are two major symbolisms:

The tiger is the embodiment of God's power in creation.

The tiger shows the force of French Revolution.

?What paradox can you find in the poem?

"Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" It challenges the one-track religious views of the 18’s century. The view only concluded that god create the lame, he is so kind a father. But it didn’t know god also create the tough tiger. He can also be very serious. The god is someone who can’t be truly understood by human beings.

5.Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose

?How dose the narrator in the love song express his love?

In stanza 1, the narrator presents two similes, the first comparing his love to a rose and the second comparing his love to a melody.

In stanza 2, the narrator addresses the young lady as bonnie. In the last line of the stanza, he presents hyperbole, a figure of speech that exaggerates.

In stanza 3, the man promises eternal love for her.

In stanza 4, the poet vows to love her however far he may go.

?Why is this poem so touching to the readers?

Because this poem professes the poet’s true love for his beloved girl, and uses the mentioned above to touch the readers.

6.William Wordsw orth I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

?What does the poet see?

He sees some daffodils.

?What is the poet’s mood before he sees the daffodils?

Vacant and pensive.

?What is the poet’s mood after he sees the daffodils?

He is very pleasant.

?How does the magical change occur?

Those daffodils show a fantastic picture to the poet, and the poet has been deeply affected by the scene, and his mood changes.

?What is the theme of the poem? Or what does the poet want to tell you?

It shows the beauty of nature, and the nature’s beauty uplifts the human spirit, and the harmony between human and nature.

7.Robert Browning My Last Duchess

? 1. In this poem, who and on what occasion is speaking to whom?

The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family.

?What sort of person is the Duke’s last Duchess?

She is kind, easy-going, innocent and lively.

?And what became of her in the end?

She became very upset and worrying. The duchess died under suspicious circumstances on April 21, 1561, just two years after he married her. She may have been poisoned.

? 2. What sort of person is the Duke?

He is outrageously arrogant, narrow-minded, selfish, hypocritical, cold-blooded, crucial, greedy and treacherous.

8.Walt Whitman O Captain! My Captain!

?Q:Walt Whitman’s poem “O Captain! My Captain!” is written in the form of an allegory. What is the overall connotative meaning in the poem?

A: Ship’s implied meaning is America; My capta in’ implied meaning is Abraham Lincoln who leaded America to triumph in American Civil War then;

our fearful trip’s implied meaning is American Civil War after which Lincoln was assassinated. In this poem author spoken Lincoln’ contribution and expressed his sorrow for Lincoln’ death.

9.Emily Dickinson (1)Success is counted sweetest (67)

?According to the poem, who can understand success most? Do you agree or not with the poet’s view that “Success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed”?

The person who best understands the meaning of success is the person who fails

?What sort of feelings does the poet show toward the victor and the defeated?

The poet shows her awareness of the complicated truths of human desire.

Success can be comprehended by someone who need it; the defeated, dying man understand victory more clearly than the victorious army does.

(2)Because I could not stop for Death (712)

?How many people are there in the carriage? And where are they going right now?

There are three in the carriage, the Poet, Death, and Immortality.

?Where did they pass? What can these places remind us of?

They passed the school, the fields of Gazing grain, the Setting Sun. It reminds us

of childhood, maturity and old age, the children are evident symbols of the beginning of things, the grain rip of the adulthood, and the sun setting of the rest of the days.

?What is the poet’s attitude toward death and life implied in the poem?

The poet’s attitude is that death is nothing to be forced since it is natural part of the endless cycle of nature, it’s only the beginning ;to die is to go on another journey, although death takes one away from the earthy world ;there is still something to look forward to when one dies, death means eternity.

10.Robert Frost Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

?Why did the speaker stop?

Literally he was fascinated by the beautiful night scene and stoped his horse to watch the woods fill up with the snow,it was also a little break for the long travel. But in fact,it's symbolism,the 'woods' stands for the nature,the 'village' stands for the human world, 'horse' for the animal world. The poem represents

a moment of relaxation from the burdensome journey of life, an almost

aesthetic enjoyment and appreciation of natural beauty which is wholesome and restorative against the chaotic existence of modern man.

?Why did he later decide to go?

As the last sentence said 'But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep.'

His 'horse' shake the bell to ask if they should go,which is actually a symbol of vitality, urges him to go. He lives in the real life, and he has his own obligation "promise to keep',he hasn't achieve it, so he must go on his trip,leave the beautiful scene.Though the scene is so amazing,he has to have the real life.

Though the real life is so hard,he must back to it,and reach his goal. One leaves no regrets after he dies, as long as one has reached his goal.

?What is your understanding of “promises to keep”?

“The promise” could be an obligation or a goal. One cannot die before fulf illing one’s dream. The poet uses “sleep” to represent death, just as we usually do. People have their own dream or goal,it's also the duty for us to finish, we live for ourselves and we make life wonderful by keeping on reaching our goal,no regrets leaves as long as we have reached our goals. 11. Ezra Pound In a Station of the Metro

Part Two: English Fiction

12. Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels

●In this chapter, Swift describes the smallness of the Lilliputians. What does

this “smallness” imply in the author’s satire of the aristocratic bourgeois society of the time?

Key: The Lilliput scene depicted in the first volume of the novel is a microcosm of the British Empire. The perennial endless struggle between UK Tories and Whigs and external war are essentially just politicians intrigue in the section has nothing to do with the national economy and the people's livelihood. The “smallness” imply that …

●What is the cause of the civil strife and war between Lilliput and the

neighbouring empire of Blefuscu? Wha t is the target of the author’s satire? (1)Key: The parties are divided as high-heeled party and low-heeled party according

to the height of the heel. The relationship between parties is irreconcilable;

Neighboring countries not only want to conquer and enslave the other, but also argue about trifles such as which head we should knock when we will eat eggs . (2) Key: The author uses irony and innuendo tactics to reflect the British social contradictions among first half of the 18th century, to criticize the British parliamentary politics and reactionary religious forces, to expose the corruption and evil of the ruling clique, and to criticize the hazards of a war of aggression and colonialism.

13Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice

1.Do you agree with the statement “it is truth universally acknowledged that a single

man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”? What is the relationship between money and marriage?

Key: (1) I agree with this statement. In my view, a bachelor who has lots of money is supposed to have a wife to company him. The amount of money demonstrates the ability of a person. The beauties and the wits should come together.

(2) First, the relationship between marriage and money is very close; we can say that the money is the basis of marriage. This is just from the material conditions of life. However, the amount of money can’t measure the quality of marriage. A determinant of marriage is the couple's feelings, and if the lack of the feelings, life is not a happy marriage even though has more money.

2.What do you think of Mrs. Bennet? How can you characterize her?

Key: (1) Mrs. Bennet - a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Because of her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the very suitors whom she tries to attract for her daughters.

(2) Mrs. Bennet is a miraculously tiresome character, who is noisy and foolish. And Mrs. Bennet is totally obedient and submissive in her marriage. Mrs. Bennet is a self-centered woman with the attitude that what is good enough for her is good enough for her children.

14. Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights

1.What is the main plot of the whole novel? What causes the tragic ending of the

love between Heathcliff and Catherine? Would it have been possible, under the circumstances, for the victimized lovers to find a way out?

Key: Novel’s theme is vengeance. Katherine's character flaws is the root causes of the tragedy, Heathcliff to lost love human distortion conducted a series of revenge activities, the capitalist society for the generation of tragedy provides fertile soil. If Heathcliff get marry with Katherine, they’ll be happiness.

2.Is Heathcliff’s revenge upon the Earnshaw and Linton families justifiable? What

is the author’s attitude toward Heathcliff, judging from the final futility of the revenge?

Key: For the vengeance of the people is right .but it’s wrong in law. It’s love, but Heathcliff’s love is crazy.

15. Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour