提出英美文学专业课复试面试题准备

英美文学专业课复试题准备

What’s you favorite writer?

Jane Austin is one of my favorite writers. Maybe some critics will think her themes of

novels are limited in the relationship between man and women. But in my opinion, in

this

field,

seldom

writers

can

surpass

her.

Her

advancing

ideas

about

love

and

marriage

and

her

dexterity

in

writing

techniques

attracts

me

a

great

d

eal.

She

wrote several famous novels like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma,

Persuasion. But, her masterpiece Pride and Prejudice is my favorite one. The novel is

well embodied her view towards love and marriage. It reveals the beauty of women

more than physical beauty and their longing for freedom in marriage. What’s more, in

Pride and Prejudice, her writing techniques are extraordinary. I like the first sentence:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good

fortune, must be in want of a wif

e. After finishing the novel, the readers will find

that it is actually about husband hunting. In fact, the novel conveys that it’s a woman

in

possession

of

little

fortune

must

be

in

want

of

a

wealthy

husband.

It’s

just

the

opposite of the point he gets in the beginning of the story.

Jane Austin’s writing techniques

Her

wit and humor

. In her masterpiece Pride and Prejudice, the first sentence, you

will find the use of the bathos.

It makes a big contrast and makes people burst into

laughter.

She

writes

in

gentle

irony

and

satir

e.

Take

an

scenery

as

example

in

Pride

and

Prejudice,

Mr

Darcy

and

Mrs

Binley

took

part

in

a

dance

part,

but

most

of

people

think

Mr

Darcy

is

more

handsome

than

Mr

Binley

just

because

he

have

a

lager

fortune

than

Mr

Binley.

It

show

Austin’s

satire

to

the

public

prejudice

towards

the

higher rank though it may be a not good man.

Her

exactness

in

the

portrait

of

characte

rs.

Proper

words

are

used

in

proper

character. Every character has their unique spoken manner. For example, Mrs Bennet

is

fussy,

fawning

and

boastful.

Like,

My

dear

Mr

Bennet,

have

you

heard

that

Netherfield is let at last?

Her

bright and witty dialogue

s.

I also likes the bestseller novels like Flipped, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

When it comes to this novel, the hazy but a bit blissful love occurs in my mind. At the

same

time,

it

teaches

me

something

precious,

which

is

exactly

the

charm

of

the

protagonist, Juliana. She is the girl who sees things not just through the surface, but

through

the

whole.

Nowadays,

every

time

I

start

to

comment

one

event,

I

will

ruminate on whether I have considered it comprehensively.

What do you think English and American Literature? Are they useful to learn at

this age?

I think literature plays an unparalleled role in our life.

First

of

all,

we

can

know

the

society

at

that

time.

Life

is

the

source

of

the

art.

Compared with history, literature can give us more vivid and detailed information of

at that age.

Secondly, it’s a quite good method to

learn langua

ge.

Thirdly, reading literature can cultivate our

rational thinking.

At the information age,

we

are

overwhelmed

by

massive

fragmented

information.

When

we

are

devoted

to

finish one book, it will calm us down and carefully think of the story.

Fourthly,

some

literature

figures

will

inspire

us

to

pursue

self

-

perfection.

Like

Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, she is a woman with independent wit and thought.

She read lots of books to perfect herself.

Why do you like academic research?

Firstly,

academic

research

is

a

necessary

and

wonderful

way

to

dig

into

the

deeper

connotation of literature.

Secondly, it’s my curiosity. Know internal implication.

Thirdly, it’s influenced by my teacher. encourage

The Renaissance, humanism, neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, modernism

Answer the question point by point. You can make use of conjunction words like, in

terms of , what’s more, actually, besides

Charles Dickson’s writing techniques,

George Eliot’s writing features,

William Wordsworth’s nature view,

His status: the representative of romanticism, worshipper of nature

View about nature: human being, knowledge and strength in peace

Masterpiece: I wandered lonely as a cloud (All good poetry is arising from emotions

recollected in tranquility.) There is a vivid description of the daffodils here, showing

poet’s view that it’s a bliss to recollect the beauty of nature in his mind while he is in

solitude.

William Shakespeare’s achievement,

His

works:

prolific

and

productive.

31

plays,

2

narrative

poems

and

159

sonnets

( Four Great Comedies and four great tragedies)

The theme:

Historical plays: national unity under a might ruler is necessary

Romantic comedies: an optimistic attitude towards love, friendship and youth

Tragedies: portrays some nobles heroes, who faces the injustice of life and is caught

in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of his nation.

To language: common language and phrases come from his work.

To literature: many literary figures are inspired by his achievement.

To

literary

achievement:

the

creation

of

Shakespeare

Sonnet,

characters,

plot

construction, free verse

Francis Bacon’s achievement

The first essayist in English literature.

The founder of materialistic philosophy: investigation, discovery, the verification

Washington Irving’s writing characteristics,

Emerson’s transcendentalism

His fame:

His opinions: the over soul

-

base his region on an intuitive belief in an ultimate unity

The significance of individualism

Nature as the symbol of spiritual world, nature mediates the god and human.

The power of intuition

Thoreau’s Walden

It’s not only demonstrates the Emersonian ideas of self

-

reliance but also develops and

tests Thoreau’s own transcendental philosophy.

Nature is not merely symbolic but also divine in itself and human can receive precise

communication from it

The importance of individual, even holds society fetters the freedom of individuals

Self

-

culture and self

-

reliance to achieve the spiritual perfection.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

Black vision

of life and human beings

-

concern human sins and evil;

His concern

is moral issues of sin and guilt and his psychological analysis of people;

theme

:

the

universality

of

guilt

and

explores

the

complexities

and

ambiguities

of

man’s choices;

Writing techniques: symbolism, ambivalence;

Language: clarity, directness, firmness, sureness

Herman Melville’s Mobby Dick

Its surface and deep meaning

Its romanticism and realism

Symbolism and allegory

Walt Whitman’ democratic view

(fame, content, masterpiece)

Emily Dickson’ writing techniques

Her concern

Her style: personal and meditative

I hear a fly buzz

-

when I died

Stress pattern

-

dash, capital letters

Ostential formal simplicity_variety, subtlety and richness

Short, on single image

American Romanticism,

It started (The Sketch of Book, The Leaves of Grass)

They share common characteristics: moral enthusiasm, the importance the individual,

intuitive perception and a resumption that natural world, Man’s society

American transcendentalism is the summit

Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville

American Transcendentalism

The summit of American Romanticism

Absolute

good,

unspotted

innocent

nature,

humanity

is

godlike

and

that

evil

was

nonexistent.

They

stresses

the

oversoul,

the

importance

of

individual,

nature

as

the

symbol

of

spiritual world.

Nature as

American Puritanism

The beliefs and practices of the members of

Predestination, original sin, total depravity and limited atonment through the infusion

of the grace.

As a cultural heritage, it exerted an influence on the

What’s

the

difference

between

American

Romanticism

and

English

Romanticism?

They share some commons including emphasis on imagination, individualism, nature

and the exalt of the commonplace.

American literature has unique features: describe their native nation, local language,

puritanism,

transcendentalism

and

Calvinism

of

original

sin

are

are

the

influential

elements.

What’s the biggest achievement you have made during you undergraduate period?

What’s literature?

Definition: Literature is an art form

Types: poem, prose, essay, novel, fable and allegory.

Functions: cultural exchange, a way to learn language, an indispensable role in life to

calm us down

Literature is an art to vividly present social life and author’s inner thoughts by means

of language. Literature includes

What’s the characteristic of prose? What do you think of Bacon’s essay

Prose is all forms of writing and speech

which have no structured mete

r. Prose is

the

representative

of

several

forms

of

communication,

including

dramatic,

fiction,