美国文学史试题库资料.doc
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英美文学史课程试题库
Fillintheblanks.
1.Americanachievementsintheshortstoryhavedemandedinternationalrespectandadmirationformorethanacenturyandahalf.ThefirstsuccessfulAmericanshortstoriescamefromWashingtonIrvingintheearly19thcentury.
2.EdgarAllanPoeisgenerallythoughtofasthetruebeginneroftheshortstoriesbecausehewasthefirstwriterwhoformulatedapoeticsoftheshortstories.
3.Inthe20thcentury,therehavebeenmanywhohavewonfameabroadaswellasintheUSfortheirshortstories:
SherwoodAnderson,HemingwayFaulkner,AnnaPorter,anddozensofothers.
4.Asyoureadfromwritertowriter,fromWashingtonIrving’s‘RipVanWinkle’toO’Connner’s‘AGoodManisHardtoFind’,youwillseethecomingofashortstoryage,growingfromanentertainingtaleintoastorywhichprobesdeepintohumansouls.
5.Modernliteraryfictionhasbeendominatedbytwoforms:
theshortstoryandthenovel.
6.WashingtonIrving,theFatherofAmericanLiterature,developedtheshortstoryasagenreinAmericanliterature.
7.AllanPoeisusuallyacknowledgedastheoriginatorofdetectivestories.Heisalsocreditedwithdevelopingmanyofthestandardfeaturesofdetectivefiction.
II.Multiplechoice
1.EdgarAllanPoewrotepoemswhicharemarvelsofbeautyandcraftsmanship,suchas____.
A.IHearAmericaSingingB.TheRaven
C.ToawaterfowlD.ThefalloftheHouseofUsher
2.ThecommonthreadthroughoutAmericanliteraturehasbeentheemphasisonthe___.
A.revolutionismB.reason
C.individualismD.rationalism
3.InAmericanliterature,the18thcenturywastheAgeoftheEnlightenment,___wasthedominantspirit.
A.humanismB.rationalism
C.revolutionD.evolution
4.Whowasconsideredthe“PoetofAmericanRevolution”?
A.MichaelWigglesworthB.EdwardTaylor
C.AnneBradstreetD.PhilipFreneau
5.ThomasJefferson’sattitude,thatis,afirmbeliefinprogress,andthepursuitofhappiness,istypicaloftheperiodwenowcall___.
A.AgeofEvolutionB.AgeofReason
C.AgeofRomanticismD.AgeofRegionalism
6.MarkTwaincreated,in_____,amasterpieceofAmericanrealismthatisalsooneofthegreatbooksofworldliterature.
A.HuckleberryFinnB.TomSawyer
C.TheManThatCorruptedHadleyburyD.TheGildedAge
7.ThepessimismanddeterministicideasofnaturalismpervadedtheworksofsuchAmericanwritersas___.
A.MarkTwainB.ScottFitzgerald
C.WaltWhitmanD.StephenCrane
8.Althoughrealismandnaturalismwereproductsofthe19thcentury,theirfinaltriumphcameinthe20thcentury,withthepopularandcriticalsuccessesofsuchwritersasEdwinArlington,WilliamCather,RobertFrost,WilliamFaulknerand_____.
A.EdgarAllanPoeB.SherwoodAnderson
C.WashingtonIrvingD.RalphEllison
9.Americanliteratureproducedonlyonefemalepoetduringthe19thcentury.Shewas___.
A.AnneBradstreetB.JaneAusten
C.EmilyDickinsonD.HarriedBeecher
10.WithHowells,JamesandMarkTwainactiveonthescene,____becamethemajortrendintheseventiesandeightiesofthe19thcentury.
A.sentimentalismB.romanticism
C.realismD.naturalism
11.Choosefromthefollowingwritersastaunchadvocateofthe19thcenturyAmericanrealism.
A.MarkTwainB.WashingtonIrving
C.StephenCraneD.JackLondon
12.Whichwriterhasnaturalisttendency?
A.FrankNorrisB.WilliamDeanHowells
C.TheodoreDreiserD.BothAandC
13.Earlyinthe20thcentury,____publishedworksthatwouldchangethenatureofAmericanpoetry.
A.EzraPoundB.T.S.Eliot
C.RobertFrostD.BothAandB
14.TheImagistwritersfollowedthreeprinciples.Theyrespectivelyaredirecttreatment,economyofexpressionand____.
A.localcolorB.irony
C.clearrhythmD.blankverse
15.____,oneoftheessaysinTheSacredWood,istheearlieststatementofT.S.Eliot’saesthetics,whichprovidedausefulinstrumentformoderncriticism.
A.‘SweenyAgonistes’B.‘TraditionandIndividualTalent’
C.‘APrimerofModernHeresy’D.‘Gerention’
16.T.SEliotusedaform,thatis,theorchestrationofrelatedthemesinsuccessivemovements,insuchworksas____.
A.TheWasteLandB.‘ARoseforEmily’
C.TheScarletLetterD.TheEgg
17.T.S.Eliot’sfirstmajorpoem(1917)____,hasbeencalledthefirstmasterpiecesofmodernisminEnglish.
A.‘TheLoveSongofJ.AlfredPrufrock’B.‘TheWasteLand’
C.‘FourQuartets’D.Prelude
18.ThethreepoetsEzraPound,T.S.Eliotand____openedthewaytomodernpoetry.
A.O.HenryB.HenryDavidThoreau
C.E.E.CummingsD.RobertFrost
19.In1954,___wasawardedtheNobelprizeforliteraturefrohis“masteryoftheartofmodernnarration”.
A.T.SEliotB.EarnestHemingway
C.JohnSteinbeckD.WilliamFaulkner
20.WilliamFaulknerisoneofthemostimportantsouthernwritersintheUnitedStates.____,AsILayDying,LightinAugust,andAbsalom,Absalom!
areworksthatambitiouscriticstendtoadmire.
A.TheSoundandtheFuryB.TheInvisibleMan
C.AGoodManisHardtoFindD.TheWrathoftheGrapes
IV.Questionsandanswers.
1.HowdoyouunderstandMarktwain’suseoflocalcolorinhiswriting?
MarkTwain’snarrativesaredistinguishedforhisuseoflocalcolor.Thismaybedefinedasthecarefulattentiontodetailsofthephysicalsceneandtothosemannerismsinspeech,dress,orbehaviorpeculiartoageographicallocality.Heinsistedthatthejobofthenativenovelistswastodepicteachofthecountry’sregionsandpeopleaccurately.OnlyinthiswaycouldthepeculiarityofAmericanexperience,thepolyglottonguesofitspeople,andthevastnessofthecontinentbecaptured.HemainlyexploitedthepossibilitiesofthelocalcolorintheMississippiregion.
2.Discusstheconceptofwastelandinrelationtotheworksofthosewritersinthe20thcenturyAmericanliterature.
‘TheWasteLand’isapoemwrittenbyT.S.Eliotonthethemeofthesterilityandchaosofth3contemporaryworld.Thismostwidelyknownexpressionofthedespairinthepostwarerahasappearedoverandoveragainintheworksofthosewritersinthe2othcenturyAmericanliterature.FaulknerexemplifiedT.S.Eliot’sconceptofmodernsocietyasawastelandisadramaticway,hecondemnedthemechanized,industrializedsocietythathasdehumanizedmanbyforcinghimtocultivatefalsevaluesanddecreasethoseessentialhumanvaluessuchascourage,fortitude,honestyandgoodness.Fitzgeraldsoughttoportrayaspiritualwastelandofthejazzage.Beneaththemasksofrelaxationandjoviality,therewasonlysterility,meaninglessandfutilityamidthegrandeurandextravagance,therewasahintofdecadenceandmoraldecay.Hemingway,theleadingspokesmanoftheLostGeneration,thoughdisillusionedinthepostwarperiod,strovetobringaboutman’s“graceunderpressure”.Hetriedtobringouttheideathanmancanbephysicallydestroyedbutneverdefeatedspiritually.
3.AnalyzeWaltWhitman’s‘OCaptain!
MyCaptain’intermsoffreeverse.
Inthepoem,WhitmancelebratestheheroicstruggleoftheAmericanpeoplefordemocracy,freedomandjusticeandexpresseshisseethinghatredofslavery.
Freeverseisakindofpoetrythatlacksregularmeterorpatternandmaynotrhyme.Dependingonnaturalspeechrhythms,itslinesmaybeofdifferentlengthsandmayswitchabruptlyfromonerhythmtoanother.WhitmanwasthefirstAmericanpoettousefreeverseextensively,becauseitisanappropriateformforhisliberatingviewoflifeandforhispoetrythatwouldalloweveryaspectoflifetospeakwithoutrestraint.Hetriedtoapproximatethenaturalcadencesofspeechinhispoetry,carefullyvaryingthelengthofhislinesaccordingtohisintendedemphasis.
LiteratureofColonialAmerica
I.LiteraryTerms
1.Separatists:
Inthecolonialperiod,thePuritanswhohadgonetoextremewereknownas“separatists”.UnlikethemajorityofPuritans,theysawnohopeofreformingtheChurchofEnglandfromwithin.Theyfeltthattheinfluencesofpoliticsandcourthadledtocorruptionswithinthechurch.TheywishedtobreakfreefromtheChurchofEngland.AmongthemwasthePlymouthplantationgroup.TheywishedtofollowCalvin’smodel,andtosetup“particular”churches.
2.PilgrimsandPuritans:
AsmallgroupofEuropeanssailedfromEnglandontheMayflowerin1620.Thepassengerswerereligiousreformers---PuritanswhowerecriticaloftheChurchofEngland.Havinggivenuphopeof“purifying”theChurchfromwithin,theychoseinsteadtowithdrawfromtheChurch.ThisactionearnedthemthenameSeparatists.Weknowthemasthepilgrims.
II.Fillintheblanks
1.Theterm“Puritan”wasappliedtothosesettlerswhooriginallyweredevoutmembersoftheChurchofEngland.
2.HarvardCollegewasestablishedin1636,withaprintingpresssetupnearlyin1639.
3.Hardwork,thrift,pietyandsobriety,thesewerethepuritanvaluesthatdominatedmuchoftheearlyAmericanwriting.
4.TheAmericanpoetswhoemergedintheseventeenthcenturyadaptedthestyleofestablishedEuropeanpoetstothesubjectmatterconfrontedinastrange,newenvironment.AnneBradstreetwasoneofsuchpoets.
5.Bradstreetusedaword“pilgrim”todescribethecommunityofbelieverswhosailedfromSouthamptonEngland,ontheMayflowerandsettledinPlymouth,Massachusetts,in1620.
6.Thewriterwh