英国文学重点作品赏析.docx

英国文学重点作品赏析.docx

《英国文学重点作品赏析.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《英国文学重点作品赏析.docx（18页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

英国文学重点作品赏析

Hamletisthefirstworkofliteraturetolooksquarelyatthestupidity,falsityandshamofeverydaylife,withoutlaughingandwithouteasyanswers.Inaworldwherethingsarenotastheyseem,Hamlet‘sgenuineness,thoughtfulness,andsinceritymakehimspecial.

Hamletisnosaint.Butunlikemostoftheothercharacters（andmostpeopletoday）,Hamletchoosesnottocompromisewithevil.Dying,Hamletreaffirmsthetragicdignityofabasicallydecentpersoninabadworld

Hamletisthefirstworkofliteraturetoshowanordinarypersonlookingatthefutilityandwrongsinlife,askingthetoughestquestionsandcomingupwithhonestsemi-answerslikemostpeopledotoday.

Unlikesomuchofpopularculturetoday,"Hamlet"leavesuswiththemessagethatlifeisindeedworthliving,evenbyimperfectpeopleinanimperfectworld.

犹豫scholarshavedebatedforcenturiesaboutHamlet'shesitationinkillinghisuncle.Someseeitasaplotdevicetoprolongtheaction,andothersseeitastheresultofpressureexertedbythecomplexphilosophicalandethicalissuesthatsurroundcold-bloodedmurder,calculatedrevengeandthwarteddesire.

Morerecently,psychoanalyticcriticshaveexaminedHamlet'sunconsciousdesires（FreudconcludesthatHamlethasan"Oedipaldesireforhismotherandthesubsequentguilt[is]preventinghimfrommurderingtheman[Claudius]whohasdonewhatheunconsciouslywantedtodo".

Analysisof“Tobe,ornottobe”

Themainidea

Thespeechconveysasenseofworld-wearinessaswellastheauthor’sincisivecommentsonthesocialrealityofhistime.

Unliketheearliersingle-mindedavengers,Hamletlivesbetweenactionandresolution.Heissocontemplativethatheexaminesthenatureoftheactiononlytodenyitspossibility.Heconsidersitbetterforpeopletodie,butthensaysnobodyknowswhathappensintheafterlife.

OneoftheclearestsummariesofthissoliloquywasprovidedbySchopenhauer:

'Theessentialpurportoftheworld-famousmonologueinHamletis,incondensedform,thatourstateissowretchedthatcompletenon-existencewouldbedecidedlypreferabletoit.Nowifsuicideactuallyofferedusthis,sothatthealternative"tobeornottobe"laybeforeusinthefullsenseofthewords,itcouldbechosenunconditionallyasahighlydesirabletermination（"aconsummationdevoutlytobewish'd"[ActIII,Sc.I.]）.Thereissomethinginus,however,whichtellsusthatthisisnotso,thatthisisnottheendofthings,thatdeathisnotanabsoluteannihilation.' .

TheMerchantofVenice

—WilliamShakespeare

1.ThecharacterofShylock:

Stone-heartedandpitiless;

Inhuman;

Stubborn;

Malicious;

Revengeful;

Eloquent,quick-mindedandflexible;

Religiouspious

2.Themeoftheplay:

·topraisethefriendshipbetweenAntonioandBassanio,

·toidealizePortiaasaheroineofgreatbeauty,witandloyalty,

·toeulogizethetriumphoffriendshipandloveovergreedandavarice,goodoverevil,humanityoverinhumanity,commercialcapitalismoverthefeudalpracticeofusury,

·asatireontheChristianhypocrisyandtheirfalsestandardsoffriendshipandlove,theircunningwaysofpursuingworldlinessandtheirunreasoningprejudiceagainsttheJews.

Sonnet18

ThissonnetiscertainlythemostfamousinthesequenceofShakespeare'ssonnets;itmaybethemostfamouslyricpoeminEnglish.AmongShakespeare'sworks,onlylinessuchas"Tobeornottobe"and"Romeo,Romeo,whereforeartthouRomeo?

"arebetter-known.Thisisnottosaythatitisatallthebestormostinterestingormostbeautifulofthesonnets;butthesimplicityandlovelinessofitspraiseofthebelovedhasguaranteeditsplace.

MetericalPattern

ababcdcdefefgg

Theme

Themessageisthatinthisworldnobeauty（inNature）canstayexceptpoetryorart;andyourbeautycanonlylastifIwriteitdowninmypoetry.

Alsonoticetheloveplay.Apparentlythepoetisaddressingamanofhisheart,thewooingsoundsmorelikeagameplaythananythingrealandsincere.Thelovehereistooconditionaltobegenuine.

Structure

Proposal（line1-2）

Argument（line3-12）

Conclusion（line13-14）

Sonnet29

Sonnet29showsusthepoetathismostinsecureandtroubled.Hefeelshimselfunlucky,disgraced,andjealousofthosearoundhim.Whatiscausingthepoet'sanguishonecanonlyguess,butanexaminationofthecircumstancessurroundinghislifeatthetimehewrotesonnet29couldhelpustounderstandhisdepression.In1592,theLondontheatresclosedduetoasevereoutbreakoftheplague.AlthoughitispossiblethatShakespearetouredtheoutlyingareasofLondonwithactingcompanieslikePembroke'sMenorLordStrange'sMen,itseemsmorelikelythatheleftthetheatreentirelyduringthistime,possiblytoworkonhisnon-dramaticpoetry.TheclosingoftheplayhousesmadeithardforShakespeareandotheractorsofthedaytoearnaliving.Withplagueandpovertythreateninghislife,itisonlynaturalthathefelt"indisgracewithfortune".

Moreover,in1592therecameascathingattackonShakespearebydramatistRobertGreene,whowroteinadeathbeddiary:

"Thereisanupstartcrow,beautifiedwithourfeathers,thatwithhisTygersheartwraptinaPlayershidesupposesheisaswellabletobombastoutablankverseasthebestofyou;and,beinganabsoluteJohannesFactotum,isinhisownconceittheonlyShake-sceneinacountry."Shakespearewasdeeplydisturbedbythisassault,feelingdisgracedin"men'seyes"aswellasfortune's.

Thepoetissoforlornthateventhepassionforhisprofessionasanactorseemstohavedied（8）.Butthesonnetendswithapositiveaffirmationthatallisnotlost--thatthepoet'sdearfriendcancompensateforthegriefhefeels.

ParadiseLost

—JohnMilton

1.Introduction

Longepicin12books

Writteninblankverse

BasedonGenesis《创世纪》intheOldTestament

DramatizestheBiblicalaccountofhumanity’sbanishment.

2.Theme

—Milton’saimedpurpose:

“justifythewaysofGodtoman”（昭示天道对人的公正）

—Realpurpose:

challengetherestoredmonarch

·God—tyrannical,representstheking

·Satan—rebellingagainstmonarch

·LovebetweenAdamandEve—humanpursuitforhappiness,thespiritofRenaissance

3.Writingfeatures

—Miltonstyle:

Sonority洪亮,Eloquence雄辩,Majesty尊严,Grandeur壮美

·Theblankverse

·Longandinvolvedsentences

—Latinatestyle

·Inversion

·Allusion

RobinsonCrusoe

—DanielDefoe

1.Theme:

—tosingthepraisesofhumanlabor

—tocelebratethestrengthofhumanrationalwilltoconquerthenaturalenvironment

—tobeautifycolonialism&Negroslavery

2.Plot:

runawayfromhome→becomeasailor→aplanterinBrazil→toanuninhabitedislandbecauseofshipwreck→madealivingthereallbyhimself→saveanegronamedFridaywhobecamehisservant→backtoEngland→visittheremoteislandagainandFridaywaskilled

3.RobinsonCrusoe’scharacterization:

typicaloftherisingEnglishbourgeoisclass,practical,diligent,arestlesscuriositytoknowmoreabouttheworldandadesiretoproveindividualpowerinthefaceofsocialandnaturalchallenges;shrewd,careaboutmoneyandgoodatmanaging;courageousandintelligenttoovercomeallkindsofobstacles

4.Style:

journalistictruthwithmanyvividdetails,simpleandplainsentencestructureandlanguage,firstpersonpointofview,naturalorderinnarration,makingthestoryintimatetothereadersandbecomepopularamonglowerclasses

Robinsonisagrandheroinwesterners’eyes.Hesurvivedinthedesertedislandandledameaningfullife.

Robinsonisacolonist,ascanbeseenfromhissellingtheboywhohelpedsavehislifeatthebeginningofthenovel.

Robinsonisacapitalist,ascanbeseenfromhisdisposalofthegoldcoinshehappenstofindonthewreckedship.

Robinsonisamanchauvinist,ascanbeseenfromhiscommentonwomen.

RobinsonCrusoeisthefirstimportantEnglishnovelinthepicaresquetradition.ItisalsothefundamentalworkinEnglishislandliterature.

AlexanderPope

AnEssayonMan（knowthenthyself）

Thepoemiswritteniniambictetrameter,everytwolinehavethesamethymeatthelastword.

Thepoemisimportantinthesensethatitembodiesthe18thcenturyconceptsoftheuniverseandman’splaceinit,thatismanismadeintheshapeofGod,andoccupiesamiddlepositionintheGreatChainofBeing.Asthepoetsayssometimeswehavetoomuchknowledgeandfeelsuspectabouteverything,butsometimeswehavetoomuchweaknessandcannotbeasprideasStotic,sometimesweseemtohavethepowertoruleallthingsbutsometimesweseempreytoall.Weareinthemiddleplaceandsometimesweareconfusedaboutwhethertoactorrest.Thepoetperfectlydescribesman’sfeelingaboutourselvesandabouttheworld.

AlthoughPopeisneverprofoundinthoughtbutheisveryadaptinvoicingtheideaofhiscontemporariesinabeautifulandcleverway.

RobertBurns

ARed,Red,Rose

Themetricalpatternofthepoemisbasicallyintheballadform,i.e.eachstanzaconsistingoffourlines,withfourstressedsyllablesintheodd-numberedlinesandthreestressedsyllablesintheeven-numberedlines,andwithrhymesoccurringontheeven-numberedlines.

Theimageofroseevokestraditionalassociationsofbeauty,loveandromance.Itssimplelyricsandstraightformandexpressionoffeelingmakeitafavoritechoiceforpoetryanthologiesandamostappreciatedpoemforreaders.Incorporatingvariouselementsfromfolksongs,thepoemissupposedtobeasongsungbyanIrishsailortohissweetheartbeforehisshipsailedofftosea,theexaggerateddeclarationoflove“tilltheseasaregonedryandtilltherockmelts”canremindusofawellknownChineseoath.Thereisnotearfulpa