英美文学选读考前总复习.doc

一.What is the theme of Beowulf? Thematically the poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader.The poem is an example of the mingling of nature myths and heroic legends. 二.William Shakespeare （i）Name his four greatest tragedies.（2）What are the characteristics of the four tragedies in common? (3)Briefly summarize each hero’s weakness of nature. 1.Shakespeare’s four greatest tragediesare:Hamlet,Othello,Kinglear,and Macbeth.2.Eachportrays some noble hero,who faces the injustice of human life and is caught in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation.3.Each hero has his weakness of nature;the old king Lear who is unwilling to totally give up his power;and Macbeth’s lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to incessant crimes 三. try to discuss William Shakespeare ‘s art of creations. 1.Shakespeare’s major characters are neither merely individual ones nor type ones;they are individuals representing certain types.each character has his or her own personalities;meanwhile,they may share features with others.2.By applying a psycho-analytical approach,Shakespeare succeeds in exploring the characters’inner mind .3.Shakespeare seldom invents his own plots;instead,he borrows them from some old plays or storybooks,or from ancient Greek and Roman sources.4.In his writings,disguise is also an important device to create dramatic irony,usually with woman disguised as man.5.He often wrote skillfully in different poetic forms,like the sonnet,the blank verse,and the rhymed couplet. 四.Briefly discuss why Hamlet is so impressive in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 1.The hero Hamlet in Shakespesare is play Hamlet is noted for his hesition to take his revenge,his melancholy nature of action only to deny possibilities to do anything.2.He came to know that his father was murdered by his uncle who became king.He hated him so deeply tha