1. Atlantic to Pacific
1. the diversity of the physical conditions in the United States
in its vast area, the United stated comprehends most of the physical conditions know to men: heat and cold, forest and desert, tropical swamp and Arctic waste, mountains and endless plains, empty spaces and megalopolis, and the world`s largest river system.
2. the diversity of the people in the United States
Diversity of the people themselves is immense: people come from the different country, and their origins and ethnic backgrounds are different.
Differences between the first generation of immigrants and the long established Americans, as well as the differences between different generation immigrants. And even they differ according to the degree of intermarriage.
3. How has the Republic of the United States grown in terms of area since the time of its foundation in the 1780s?
The original Union consisted of 13 states
↓
1792 Kentucky 1796 Tennessee were add
↓
1830 Ohio was added
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1912 Arizona was added -----the last one
4. What are some if the characteristics of the uniformity in American culture? What contributed to the uniformity?
a. The lack of cultural difference among the regions, because all these varied peoples are scattered everywhere, with only minor local ethnic concentrations
b. The lack of real regional or class variety in speech or usage is one of the characteristics of uniformity .The English Language is virtually universal in its American form. Regional variations of accent are slight.
c. Another instance of uniformity is in habits and ways of living. They share the same ideas, ideals and objectives.
d. The fact that the United States has always been a single unit, with no tariffs to restrict trade, has contributed to uniformity.
5. a. New England refers to the north-eastern six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, an area running from Canadian shore o New York
b. This area resembles old England in many ways, and the southern section is the most English.
c. Some of the earliest settlement in American history was in this area. This part of the county is small-scale, long-established and urban.
6. a. It is the commercial capital of the United States
b. It is at the southernmost tip of the New York State
c. It is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Richmond and
Queen`s, with Manhattan Island as its center.
d. It is well-known for such places as Wall Street, the Empire State Building, Harlem and
Central Park
7.
generally located between New England and the South Atlantic States. The region often includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., New York, Virginia, and West Virginia. North Carolina is sometimes also included.
8. a. it refers to the area across the Potomac River and southwards down the Atlantic coast b. this was slave-owning area before the Civil War and mainly produced tobacco and cotton c. Economically these states are notoriously backward, but more recently there has been an
industrial development, helped by federal plans and hydro-electric power
9. a. it described the north-eastern part of the central plain, or the north-eastern quarter of the
United States except for the states close to the Atlantic
b. in terms of political geography, it refers to these states: Illinois, Michigan, Indiana,
Wisconsin and Ohio and so on
c. first developed for farming, these states include huge, sparsely-populated open spaces d. Chicago and Detroit are two of the big industrial cities in this area.
10. a. characteristics: empty, featureless, monotonous and vast
b. Location: run from the Gulf of Mexico in the south up to the Canadian border and the
beyond.
c. Containing: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas
* Detroit, Michigan, home of the great American goal, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler
11. the state of Texas
a. the third most populated state in the United States
b. well-known for its cowboys and cattle
c. famous for the millionaires, the brashness and the violence
12. the Mississippi River
a. the biggest river system in the US
b. it flows down to the New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico
c. Ohio and Missouri Rivers are branches of the Mississippi.
13. Refers to the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada
* The most significant representation of the modern American is the Pacific coast especially the southern part.
14. the characteristic of California
it is at the southern part of the Pacific coast ;it has the biggest population in the US; it has the world-famous Hollywood
15. the search for California dream
a. California is blessed with attractive scenery and mild climate
b. It has the fertile land for the growing of oranges and grapes
c. And more important still are the electronics industry, aeroplane factories, defence plants
of many kind , and a whole new industrial complex in this area
d. Therefore, California is regarded as the promised land by many people to fulfill their
goals
The capital of the United States, on the Potomac between Maryland and Virginia: coextensive with the District of Columbia.
第二篇：英美文化基础教程2、3、4、6章笔记改进总结
English History
The Middle Ages
1. King Harold: the Saxon king who was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the French-speaking Normans under William the Conqueror invaded England from France.
2. Alfred the Great: He(846-899) was a fine Saxon king who successfully defeated the invading Danes and was the ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.
3. King Arthur:
he was the king of England in the sixth century
B little was know about him, except that he was associated with Cornwall and is the central figure of many legends about him and his Knights of the Round Table.
4. Crusades : the Crusades were a series of wars in the Middle Ages in which armies from all over Europe tried to snatch the ?Holy Land?(i.e. Palestine, where Jesus Christ once lived)from the ?Infidels?(i.e. the Muslims).
5. Richard Lion-Heart:
A he was a Norman king in the Middle Ages.
he was also the most famous of the English Crusaders at that time.
C Many stories have been told about him and his enemy Saladin.
6. the Magna Carta(?Great Charter?):
A the Magna Carta(?Great Chapter?)was a document signed in 1215 by King John under compulsion by the powerful barons.
B the purpose of the Charter was to make King John to recognize the rights of the barons. The Magna Carta is now in the British Museum, London.
7. the Hundred Year?s War:
a war between England and France which lasted, on and off, for a hundred years from 1337 to 1453.
It was fought entirely in France, and the whole of France very nearly fell into England hands.
Eventually, partly through the inspiration of the brave girl Joan of Arc, and partly through the effective use of guns, the French drove the English from their land for good.
D England became completely severed from France, and the English Language finally took place of French in all classes of society.
The Sixteenth Century
1. the Wars of the Roses: It is the name given to the struggle(1455-1486) for the throne of England between two branches of the English royal family.
2. Changes in Europe:
A the invention of printing, ideas could spread quickly.
it was the age of great voyages of discovery like Columbus and Vasco da Gama
C the beginning of the imperialist expansion which resulted in Europeans establishing themselves throughout the American continent.
the beginning of freedom of thought in the Christian religion, when the decline in the Pope?s political power was followed by a decline in his religious authority. ?Protestant? churches sprang up in Northern Europe.
3. Henry VIII: A king of England in the early sixteenth century. With the support of his Parliament, Henry established himself as head of the Christian Church in England, in place of the pope, after the pope refused to allow his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be dissolved. Since that time, except for a few years of rule under Henry's daughter Mary I, who was a Roman Catholic, Protestantism gradually became the dominant faith.
4. Bloody Mary:
A it was the nickname given to Mary I, Henry III`s elder daughter.
she was a devout Catholic, and had so many Protestants burnt to death that she is remembered less by her official title Mary I than by her nickname Bloody Mary.
5. Elizabeth I:
Definition: queen of England; successor of Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her main interest lay in creating a strong united country in which there should be no more religious persecution.Her reign was notable for commercial growth, maritime expansion(defeating the Spanish Armada), and the flourishing of literature(Shakespeares), music, and architecture.
?Gun-powder Plot?：
it refers to the most famous of a number of Catholic conspiracies in England history which occurred in the reign of James I.
B It was the plot to blow up the King and Parliament, in which a man called Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the House of Commons in the very act of preparing the explosives
?Guy Fawkes Night? is still celebrated on November 5th each year.
The Seventeenth Century
1. King Charles I:
He himself believed he had a ?Divine Right? to govern, while the Parliament believes he was human being answerable to the people. For a time, Charles ruled without Parliament, and levied taxes without Parliament?s approval.
the great civil war break out between the ?Roundheads? and ?Cavaliers?. The king was
defeated through the genius of the Roundheads leader, Oliver Cromwell, and condemned to death.
2. Glorious/Bloodless Revolution:
A it refers to the event of 1688 in the English Revolution, when the Catholic king James II was forced to flee with his baby son to France
B the throne was offered to his Protestant daughter and her husband Dutch king William. C The bill of Rights was passed by Parliament to restrict the power of the Monarchy
This was the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy in Britain.
E For half a century James? descendants lived in hopes of regaining the throne.
The Eighteenth Century
1. the Battle of Waterloo: An important and complete victory won by Duke of Wellington over the great Napoleon in Waterloo, Belgium
2. the Battle of Trafalgar: the great naval victory over Napoleon?s fleet won by Lord Nelson.
3. Industrial Revolution:
A 1750~1850, Great changes took place with the invention of the steam engine.
create an entirely new social class, the industrial worker.
C made Britain stronger and richer.
D More factories and big town were built.
4. The loss of American colonies:
?Pilgrim Fathers?: a group of Puritans who had sailed from England in the ship Mayflower to escape religious persecution under James I.
B the Declaration of Independence, the settlers renounced their British citizenship and became Americans. In the ensuing war the British were defeated.
The Nineteenth Century
1. to overcome social problems, like those connected with the Industry Revolution.
2. to make Parliament more representative of the people.
3. to improve local government and social services.
4. Reform Bill: extended the franchise a little further. Freely elected town councils were established for the first time.
5. Progress in the field of communications
Gorge Stephenson?s locomotive, ?Rocket?, give the steam engine wheels and rails to run on for the first time.
The born of telegram and the widely use of electricity. ?Penny Post?
6. Victorianism:
Definition: it refers to the monarch of Britain under the great Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, the longest reign in Britain.
it was an age of national development and optimism, with only occasional doubts about the future. Stability.
B the Victorians were very religious and conservative in family life. Each home was like a kingdom in which the father was king. His wife was supposed to be his faithful companion, completely submissive, with no interests beyond her husband and children. The children were strictly disciplined.
C The family virtues were a part of religions, for the Victorians were extremely religious.
It was also, in its later stages, an age of imperialism. The British began to see themselves as having a sort of mission in the world to spread the peace and civilization through British rules.
Charles Darwin:
A the famous Britain scientist who wrote the important book ?The origin of Species?, which contributed to the decay of Victorianism. And he dominated nineteenth-century science.
His theory of evolution caused violent reaction of the Victorians against the book, and furious debates were held in private and in public.
7. the Mutiny in India + ?grab for Africa?, in which the whole of Africa was divided into ?spheres of influence?.
The Twentieth Century
1. The working class , many of them now well educated, became conscious of their inferior position and eager to claim their rights in full. The recently formed Labor Party grew rapidly in strength. The doctrine of socialism became widespread. Serious strikes occurred. The class war was on.
2. ?Suffragette? movement:
A a term refers to the movement in the early twentieth century by the British women, who had been meek and submissive in Victorian?s reign.
B they rose up to gain their right to vote.
this was not simply a political campaign but a profound revolt against an inferior status.
3.The trouble in Ireland was going from bad to worse. Civil War there was imminent.
4. the First World War(1914-18): faith of religion had been broken, and the full church of the Victorian age became only a memory.
5. The franchise was extended to virtually all adults, including women.
6. Ireland was granted two separated Parliaments, the Southern part of the country becoming completely independent.
7.The first Labor Government was a failure. Hopes of improving the lot of the workers broke down before economic difficulties. In 1926 there occurred a General Strikes of all industrial workers.
8. the great ?slump? of the early 1930`s:
It?s a dreadful period that the economic situation collapsed completely all over the word. B millions of people cannot find a job.
9. the Second World War(1939-45)
?the Battle of Dunkirk?
?the blitz of 1940?
?Battle of Britain?
10. three worlds :
A the ?West?(including the U.S.A. and Britain)
the Communist powers( lead by Russia and China)
C the “Third World”(i.e. the developing nations of Africa ,Asia and South America)
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3. Which English
Before English
1. The roots of English language: Celtic Britain. No written language, there?s little left that could be incorporated into English except Relics of Celtics.
2.As the Roman extended their empire, their language, Latin, became the lingua franca of most of the western Europe including Britain. From about the third century, the spread of Latin was strengthened by the introduction of Christianity as all prayers and liturgy were in the language. The English alphabet as such, adapt from the Roman script, appeared sometime between AD 500 and 700.
3. The ancestor of modern English: old English of Anglo-Saxon
Old English
1. Definition:
Also called Anglo-Saxon, it is the first period of the English language from the time of
Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in AD450 to the Norman Conquest in 1066
B Used both Latin and Germanic script but always called their language Englisc no matter what their tribe or dialect.
The ancestor of modern English and quite different from today?s English
2.Vikings from Scandinavia(sk-, hard-sounding g and k, by-)
3. Old English, by the end of its period, contained a vocabulary of at least 30,000 words.
4. Most of the Old English poetry, prose and records that have survived were composed or written down by scholar-monks.
The Venerable Bede:
A One of the best-know Old English scholar-monks.
Wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which is one of the main sources of information about the history of Anglo-Saxon England.
The Norman Influence
The Norman invasion led by William the conqueror in 1066.
B Norman French became the official language of England.(many words connected with administration come from Norman French, many titles of nobility).
C The common people, who far from outnumbered the Normans, continued to speak their own Anglo-Saxon language.
Middle English
1. Definition:
A From the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the introduction of the printing press in England in 1476
B The blend of Anglo-Saxon, Latin and French
By the 14th century, while French was still to some extent the language of culture and learning, its place had largely been taken by English, which had freely incorporated many French word.
Different from Old English mainly in the abandonment of the system of grammatical inflexions.
2. Geoffrey Chaucer:
the most important Middle English poet. He used a vocabulary of more than 8,000 words in his written work, of which just over 4,000 were of Romance(that is, Latin and French)origin.
The Middle English dialect used by Chaucer was that of London, with a strong French accent and intonation.
Modern English
1. Definition:
A started about AD1500
B the introduction of the printing press, spellings and written forms of the English language began to become standard.
C different from Middle English involve mainly pronunciation, vocabulary and spelling.
2. William Shakespeare
3. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries scientific investigation brought new words into language derived from words used in ancient Greece.
Standard English
1. Definition: the style of speech of the educated southern upper class, which is spoken by BBS announcers
2. The BBC:
A British Broadcasting Corporation
The motto is Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation, which means the voice of peace spoken over the radio should be universally understood.
The speech patterns of BBC announcers represent the educated southern upper class, and their particular style of speech is recognized as Standard English or Received Pronunciation(RP) English
3. English has had a strong association with class and social status. However, since the Second World War there has been, along with a peaceful social revolution, a considerable change of attitude(more just and equal) towards speech snobbery. With the influence of the ?pop? revolution, by the second half of 1960s it became apparently that it was not necessary to speak Standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful, and rich.
4. The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English language in modern times is the America accent, idiom and vocabulary exported all over the globe by US films. Over the last 25 years the English used by many people, particular by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent.
English today
1. In the 1970s, fashion favored careless enunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and ?in? words, much of it quite incomprehensible to the outside world.
All the changes and fashions in style of speech and pronunciation over the centuries are proof of adaptability and versatility.
2. The King?s English:
Fowler brothers in 1906
It is sound advice for student of English
Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched.
Prefer the concrete word to the abstract.
Prefer the single word to the circumlocution.
Prefer the short word to the long.
Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance.
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4. British Government System
Constitutional Monarchy
1. The monarchy: the oldest secular institution in the United Kingdom. Its continuity has been broken only once in over 1,000 years by the so-called ?Commonwealth? of Oliver Cromwell.
2. In practice, over the century, the real power of monarchy has gradually been reduces and today the Queen acts solely on the advice of her ministers. The United Kingdom is actually governed by Her Majesty?s Government and although all official letters and documents bears the initials OHMS(On Her Majesty?s Service), this is a courtesy rather than a reality. Her principal role is symbolic: she must represent the nation?s present-day hopes and ideals as well as its historic past.
3. The royal family occupies the position of First Family and is expected to set an example in both public and private life.
4. The role of the Queen in the British government
Participates in various important acts of government.
A Summons, prorogues (temporarily suspends) and dissolves Parliament; confirms major public appointment such as government ministers, judges, diplomats, Church of England bishop, the new Prime Ministers, etc.
B In international fairs, she has the power the declare war, make peace, recognize foreign states and conclude treaties.
Confers honors.
The highest honors: the Most Noble Order of the Garter(in Scotland, the Most Noble and Most Ancient Order of the Thistle)
The most common honors: the Order of the British Empire, including CBE(Commander of the Order of the British Empire), OBE(Officer), and MBE(Member).
Involve in day-to-day working of government
A Holds meetings of the Privy Council---her personal advisory council composed of government and non-government members.
Reads dispatched and signs countless document and state papers
Receive reports of Cabinet meetings in her weekly session with the Prime Minister.
the Queen is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life and she must show complete impartiality.
3. the role of the Queen in the Church of England
a member of the Church---the recognized state religion
B is expected to attend its religious services and to bring up her children according to its teaching
4. the Act of Settlement(1701):
neither the monarch nor any member of the Royal family is permitted to marry a Roman Catholic. If any of them ever wished to do so, or wished to convert to the Catholic faith, they would have to renounce royal rights and their place in the line of succession to the Throne
5. the Royal Marriage Act of 1772:
Members of the royal family must obtain the Queen?s permission to marry. Recently, the royal consent has also been given for divorce.
6. the Queen is also a symbol of the spirit of the Commonwealth.
The Constitution
1. The main components of the British Constitution
Acts of parliament:
Parliament Acts
B Reprehensive of the People Act
Act of Union 1707
D Habeas Corpus Act 1679
the Prerogative of the Crown:
The Crown appoints and dismisses Ministers and Officials
B The Crown makes treaties
The Crown summons and dissolves Parliament.
Conventions of the Constitution:
A The powers of the Crown are exercised mainly by Ministers/
the Queen must act on the advice of Ministers.
C Ministers are responsible to Parliament for their actions
The sovereignty of Parliament (the Queen must assent to Bills passed by Parliament)
Common Law: Right upheld by court, but not derived from Acts of Parliament.
Parliamentary Privilege: Freedom of speech of MPs in debate
2. Britain has no written Constitution.
Actual laws passed at one time or another in the course of centuries.
A the Bill of Rights in 1689: It laid down a number of things that future monarchs could not do
the Parliament Act of 1911: limited the power of the House of Lords in the making
laws
C Various Reform acts: people should have the right to elect Members of Parliament, and the ways in which this was to be done.
Conventions and customs
3. Principal changes of the British Constitution:
A Decline in the power of the Monarch, and establishment of the sovereignty of Parliament. B Advent of democracy.
the decline in the powers of the House of Lords
D Growth of the party system
4. General Election:
A every 5 years
The country is divided into 635 constituencies, each of which returns one Member of Parliament. Each constituency contains, on the average, 63,000 electors.
Any citizens over the age 18 only except criminals, lunatics, and members of the House of Lords can vote in the constituency he usually resides.
D Any citizen(with a few exceptions) can become a candidate for election to Parliament while he or she gets ten electors in the constituency to nominate him as a candidate and he puts down a deposit of ?150 which he forfeits if he gets less than one-eighth of all the vote cast in the constituency.
E The one who has the most votes in a constituency because a Member of Parliament of that constituency.
The leader of the party with the largest number of members returned to the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister.
5. Why is it essential for a candidate to belong to one of the big national parties?
A With over 60,000 electors to be canvassed in a limited period and with limited money, a candidate needs the aid of an efficient-yet inexpensive-organization of helpers to do this. Only the big national parties have these in constituencies- the local party association. The most recent developments in Britain have shown a decline in the strength of the big parties, and the rise in voting for the smaller parties. However, as the ?first-past-the-post? electoral system has exaggerated the strength of two big parties, this change in voting pattern has not been so strongly reflected in changes of seats held in the House of Common.
6. Party system in Parliament:
A the leader of the party with the largest number of members returned to the House of Commons become Prime Minister and is invited by the Queen to form a Government. He selects from among his party colleagues in Parliament those whom he wants as Ministers. B the party with the next largest number of supporters in the House of Commons becomes the official Opposition to the Government, its leader taking the title ?Leader of Her Majesty?s Opposition?.
The Prime Minister and other Ministers sit on the Government Front Bench in the House on the Speaker?s right with members of the party in opposition sitting directly across from
the floor
7. The system of government in Britain today:
Monarchy but the Monarch no longer exercises much power.
B The executive power is vested in the Minister, especially in the Cabinet. But the Cabinet can only govern if it has the consent and support of the majority in Parliament.
C Parliament is elected by the people on a basis of universal adult suffrage. The Government is accountable to the people.
Parliament
1. British Parliament:
A includes three elements: the Crow, the House of Lords and the House of Commons The supreme law- making authority in Britain: ?The-Queen-in-Parliament?.
C the real centre of parliamentary power is in the House of Commons
2. House of Lords:
A important part of parliament
its members are peers, most of whom are hereditary
C its powers have been severely reduced be the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949
They cannot touch Money Bills from the House of Commons, and can decay other Bills for only one year
E Interesting and valuable discussion between Commons and Loads on improvement in the details of some scantily-considered legislation.
F It has a special judicial function. The final court of appeal in civil cases and criminal cases, except criminal cases in Scotland, which are dealt with the High Court of Justiciary.
G Life Peerages Act of 1958: Allowing the country to benefit from the wisdom of distinguished men and women, without posterity being burdened by their descendants. Peerage Act of 1963: Permitting peers to disclaim their peerage.
3. House of Commons:
A consists of 635 elected MPs
B Members of Parliament may carry on doing their own jobs as well as their parliamentary duties. They get paid.
MPs have a number of privileges, e.g., The freedom of speech in Parliament.
Parliament procedure is partly an affair of written orders, partly of old established customs. Speaker, elected as soon as a new Common come into being, interprets and controls the procedure. the most powerful and important element in Parliament, therefore plays the key role in the activities of Parliament as a whole
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6. English Literature
Old English literature
1. English literature begins around the 8th century
2. Beowulf
thA The Anglo-Saxon epic poem whose story is around the 6 century. The only manuscript
written down in the 10th century.
B marks the beginning of English literature.
The scene of Beowulf is not England but Denmark.
D Beowulf is a Christian epic, with its hero-king standing for Christian virtues.
3. King Alfred
A Breaking the power of the Danes, he is an important figure in Old English literature. Honored as the only ?the Great? among monarchs in England.
C The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A foundation stone of English history, begun by King Alfred?s, or under his direction.
Made or directed the translation from Latin to Old English of many important religious, philosophical, and historical books from Europe.
Middle English Literature (1100~1500)
Geoffrey Chaucer
A The greatest name in Middle English literature by far, who is named in the trio of English poetry giants: Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton
B his masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales, with 24 tales, most of which with brief introduction,
16th century
1. Sir Thomas More
Utopia, telling of a journey to an imaginary island named Utopia, where an ideal form of society.
2. Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of Surrey
established the sonnet, becoming a major form in all English poetry that followed.
Elizabeth’s England
1. Saw new strength and glories for England. England became the leading sea power. It experience a burst of ideas and literary brilliant of the first order. Drama flourished in this age while containing the greatest of the poetry, although the plays were written to be preformed.
2. William Shakespeare
The greatest Elizabethan theater was the famous Globe, which the Shakespeare described as shaped like ?wooden O?.
B he was an English dramatist and poet in the Elizabethan age
he is generally regarded as the greatest playwright in English literature.
D his plays fall in to three categories:
Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet; Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth
Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; As You Like It; Twelfth Night; The Tempest
Chronicle Plays: Richard III; Richard II; Henry IV parts I and II; Henry V
17th century
1. The King James Bible
the translation of the Holy Scripture done under the order of King James I in 1611. B it will never be matched for majesty of language
for many generations it exerted a greater influence on style and standards of taste than any other single work in English.
2. Francis Bacon
A Essays: making popular a literary form widely practiced afterward.
Novum Organum: written in Latin and sets forth a new method of approaching knowledge. C The New Atlantic: a study in political philosophy
3. John Milton
thA he was an English poet in the 17 century, much bound up in Puriton Revolution.
he is generally regarded as a literary giant in English literature.
C his masterpiece include
Paradise Lost; Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes
Areopagitica: a pamphlet on religious and political disputes, giving one of the most eloquent of all pleas for freedom the press
4. John Bunyan, called ?the tinker of Elstow?
Masterpiece: Pilgrim’s Progress, famous religious allegory.
Other works: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman; The Holy War
18th century
1. Jonathan Swift
Gulliver’s Travels, the fanciful account of four voyages
2. Alexander Pope
A Masterpieces: Essay on Criticism; An Essay on Man
Other work: The Rape of the Lock, mock-heroic (it makes fun of the poems that deal with heroes brave deeds)
Pope?s translation from Homer were highly regarded.
3. Samuel Johnson
Published a dictionary
Poems: London; The Vanity of Human Wishes
Essays: The Prince of Abissinia (Rasselas); Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland Literary criticism: Life of the Poets
4. James Boswell
Life of Samuel Johnson: one of the greatest biographies in any language or time
5. Edmund Burke
Most of his work took the form of political addresses and papers. A speech “On Conciliation with the Colonies”, trying to change the policies that led the American colonies to fight for independence.
6. Robert Burns
Poems: “The Cotter?s Saturday” ”Holy Willie?s Prayer” “Tam O?Shanter” “To a Mouse” “To a Louse”
Songs: “Comin?thro?the Rye” “Auld Lang Syne”
7. William Blake
Poem: “The Tiger”----his most famous poem, comes from Songs of Experience; Songs of Innocence
Chief prose work: Marriage of Heaven and Hell
8. Daniel Defoe
Masterpiece: Robinson Crusoe----Defoe?s first and greatest novel, also the greatest tale of shipwreck and solitary survival in all literature.
Other works: Moll Flanders; Roxana; Journal of the Plague Year
the Romantic Period
1. the romantic poetry?s Declaration of Independence: Lyrical Ballads, written by Wordsworth and Coleridge
William Wordsworth
the long autobiographical poem: The Prelude
short poems: “My Heat Leaps Up When I Behold”, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (also called “Daffodils”)
Taylor Coleridge
the autobiographical: Biographia Literaria;
poem: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”;
unfinished: “Kubla Kham”, “Christabel”
2. three men brought the romantic movement to its height: Byron, Keats and Shelly
George Gordon, Lord Byron
the partly autobiographical: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
the dramatic poem: Manfred, a lovely
the short poem: “She Walks in Beauty”
John Keats
poems: “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; “Ode to a Nightingale”; Endymion (The opening line: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”)
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Verses: “Ode to the West Wind”, “To a Skylark”, “The Revolt of Islam” (preaches revolution), Defence of Poetry (upholds the place of imagination and love in the arts). The long poem: Adonais (a beautiful lament written on the death of Keats)
Dramas: The Cenci; Prometheus Unbound
3. a different type of romanticism in Scotland
Sir Walter Scot
Long narrative poems: The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion, The Lady of the Lake Novels: Waverley, The Heart of the Midlothian, Ivanhoe, Kenilworth, Quentin Durward Jane Austen
Novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey
Bront?s:
A Anne Bront?: Agnes Grey
B Charlotte Bront?: Jane Eyre
Emily Bront?: Wuthering Heights
Victorian Literature
1. William Makepeace Thackeray
Master work: Vanity Fair
Other notable works: Pendennis, Henry Esmond.
2. Charles Dickens:
David Copperfield: partly reflected his boyhood of poverty
Pickwick Papers: combine a rare comic gift and a power to reduce his readers to tears
Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby: reflected his anger at debtors? prison, harsh punishment for minor crimes, and bad schools
3. George Eliot
Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, and Silas: give expert pictures of the working class Middlemarch: presents the problem of a young girl trapped by the will of her dead husband
4. Oscar Wilde:
As a poet: “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”
As a storywriter: “The Happy Prince”
As a novelist: The Picture of Dorian Gray
As a playwright (most important):
poetic drama: Salome
a comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest
5. Robert Louis Stevenson
the nursery classic: A Child`s Garden of Verses
venturesome novels: Treasure Island; Kidnapped;
short novel: The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
6. Lewis Carroll
novels: Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking-Glass
a long nonsense poem of mock-heroic adventure: The Hunting of the Snark
7.Thomas Hardy
Representative of his work, which offer powerful, realistic studies of life: The Return of the Native, Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Jude the Obscure
20th century
1. William Butler Yeats(Irish)
A Poems
B helped founded Dublin`s Abbey Theater, which performed many of his verse play, including At the Hawk`s Well
C received the Nobel prize for literature in 1923
2. Joseph Conrad
Brilliant novels in his adopted tongue: Lord Jim, Nostrom
3. John Galsworthy
received the Nobel prize for literature in 1923
B The Forsyte Saga: In tracing the life of the Forsyte family, the shifting values of an upper-middle-class English family is shown.
4. E. M. Forster
A passage to India: examined the relationships between Englishmen and Indians
5. W. Somerset Maugham
the autobiographical novel: Of Human Bondage
6. James Joyce:
Ulysses
7. D. H. Lawrence
Sons and Lovers: based partly on his own life
8. Aldous Huxley
Point Counter Point: lashes out at British upper-class society of the 1920`s Brave New World: pictures a future world depending too much on science
9. William Golding
Lord of The Flies, The Spire
10. John Braine and Kingsley Amis
11. Virginia Woof
The Waves
12. Katherine Mansfield
Bliss; The Garden Party
13. Elizabeth Bowen
The Heart of the Day
14. Miss Bowen(realistic)
15. George Bernard Shaw
Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Saint Joan
16. John Osborne
Look Back in Anger: spoke out for the “angry young men” of England at war with the society about them