Exercise One of Book II

Exercise One of Book II A. Multiple-choice questions: (Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement and put the letter in the brackets.) 1. The Romantic Movement expressed a more or less ______attitude toward the existing social and political conditions. A. positive B. negative C. neutral D. indifferent 2. It is ______who established the cult of the individual and championed the freedom of the human spirit. A. Jean Jacques Rousseau B. Johann Wolfgang yon Goethe C. Edmund Burke D. Thomas Paine 3. In Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790), the word "marriage", to Blake, means the ______. A. subordination of the one to the other B. co-existence of the conflicting parts C. reconciliation of the contraries D. fighting of the conflicting parts 4. Blake began writing poetry at the age of 12, and his first printed work is ______, which is a collection of youthful verse. A. Songs of Experience B. Songs of Innocence C. Marriage of Hayden and Hell D. Poetical Sketches 5. In his poem, "The Chimney Sweeper" (from Songs of Experience), Blake depicted the miseries of the child sweepers in order to reveal the ______of Christianity. A. great ideals B. false ideals C. magic power D. true faith 6. For William Blake, the father (and any other in whom he saw the image of the father such as God, priest, and king) was usually a figure of ______. A. benevolence B. admiration C. love D. oppression 7. Adonis is an elegy for ______whose early death from tuberculosis Shelley believed had been hastened by hostile reviews. A. Byron B. Keats C. Tennyson D. oppression 8. "You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party." What figure of speech is used in the underlined part? A. paradox B. simile C. irony D. antithesis 9. According to the subjects, Wordsworth's short poems can be classified into two groups: poems about ______and poems about ______. A. society, universe B. nature, society C. nature, human life D. human life, universe 10. In the poem, "She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways," Wordsworth writes: "A violet by a mossy stone / Half hidden from the eyes!" The figure of speech used in the two lines is ____. A. metaphor B. personification C. simile D. metonymy 11. The ______are generally regarded as Keats's most important and mature works. A. odes B. lyrics C. epics D. elegy 12. Generally speaking, ______was a writer of the 18th century, though she lived mainly in the 19th century. A．Mary Shelley B. George Eliot C. Jane Austen D. Ann Radcliff 13. Shelley’s _____ and The Cenci, Byron's ______, and Coleridge's Remorse are generally regarded as the best verse plays in the Romantic period. A. Prometheus Unbound, Cain B. Cain, Manfred C. Prometheus Unbound, Manfred D. Waverley, Cain 14. Among Coleridge's group of poems, Frost at Midnight is the most important ______. A. conversational B. Romantic C. demonic D. lyrical 15. After reading the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, we come to know that Mrs. Bennet is a woman of ______. . A. simple character and mean understanding B. simple character and good breeding C. intricate character and quick wit D. intricate character and great talent 16. In the conversation with Mrs. Bennet in Chapter One of Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet uses a ______tone and sarcastic humor. A. solemn B. harsh C. intimate D. teasing 17. Jane Austen presents most of the problems of the novel, Pride and Prejudice，from the ______viewpoint． A. masculine B. objective C. feminine D. neutral 18. After reading the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, we can find ______in the author's tone, while presenting a seemingly matter-of-fact description of the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. A. bitter satire B．mild satire C. strong approval D. strong disapproval 19. In his poem, "Ode to the West Wind", Shelley intends to present his wind as a central ______around which the poem weaves various cycles of death and rebirth--- seasonal, vegetation, human and divine. A. concept B. metaphor C．symbol D. metonymy 20. "Those ungrateful drones who would ／ Drain your sweat —nay, drink your blood?” The word “drones” in the above two lines written by Shelley is used as a(n) ______. A. irony B. synecdoche C. metonymy D. metaphor 21. William Wordsworth, a romantic poet, advocated all the following except ______. A. the using of everyday language spoken by the common people. B. the expression of the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings C. the humble ad rustic life as subject matter D. elegant wordings and inflate figures of speech 22. In the poem “She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways”, the ending lines go like this: “But she is in her grave, and, oh, / The difference to me!” The word “me” in the quoted lines may probably refer to ______. A. the poet B. the reader C. her lover D. her father 23. In S. T. Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan”, “A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice” ______. A. refers to the place where Kubla Khan’s father once lived. B. vividly describes a building of poor quality C. is the gift given to a beautiful girl called Abyssinian D. symbolizes the reconciliation of the conscious and the unconscious 24. “Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these sting less drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil?” In the above stanza quoted from Shelley’s “A Song: Men of England”, Shelley employs a(n) ______. A. simile B. metaphor C. oxymoron D. synecdoche 25. Which of the following is NOT a quality of the west wind described by Shelley in his poem “Ode to the West Wind”? A. Wild. B. Tamed. C. Swift. D. Proud. B. Blank-filling: (Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases according to the textbook.) 1. The Romantic poets demonstrated a strong ______against the dominant modes of thinking of the 18th-century writers and philosophers. reaction 2. In a sense, we can say that Romanticism designates a literary and philosophical theory that tends to see the ______as the very center of all life and all experience. individual 3. William Wordsworth defines poetry as “the ______overflow of powerful feelings, which originates in emotion recollected in tranquility”. spontaneous 4. William Blake can be regarded as the first important romantic poet, showing a contempt for the rule of reason, opposing the ______tradition of the 18th century, and treasuring the individual’s imagination. classical 5. Byron has ______European poetry with an abundance of ideas, images, artistic forms and innovations. enriched 6. By contrasting the freedom of ancient Greece and the enslavement of the present Greece in "The Isles of Greece", Byron appealed to the Greek people to fight for ______. liberty 7. Shelley's poem, "Ode to the West Wind", is written in the form of ______. terza rima 8. "Ode to a Nightingale" expresses the contrast between the happiness of the natural world and the agony of the ______world. human 9. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" shows the contrast between the ______of art and the transience of human passion. permanence 10. In the first part of the novel Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy has ______opinion of the Bennet family. low C. T-F statements: (Decide whether the following statements are true or false and write your answers in the brackets.) ( ) 1. William Wordsworth defines poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, which originates in emotion recollected in tranquility". T ( ) 2. "Ode to a Nightingale" expresses the contrast between the happiness of the human world and the agony of the natural world. F ( ) 3. Jane Austen holds the ideals of the country gentry in polities, religion and moral principles. T ( ) 4. Jane Austen has hardly shown her contemptuous feelings towards snobbery, stupidity, worldliness and vulgarity through subtle satire and irony. F ( ) 5. The odes are generally regarded as John Keats's most important and mature works. T ( ) 6. Shelley has used more classical and mythological allusions in poetry than Byron. T ( ) 7. In comparison with Shelley, Byron's poetry seems to be richer in myth and symbols. F ( ) 8. William Wordsworth lived a long life and his creative power never diminished tin his last years. F ( ) 9. In a sense, we can say that Romanticism designates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life and all experience. T ( ) 10. The publication of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage marked the beginning of Romantic Age. F C. Work-author pairing-up E 1. Sense and Sensibility A. J. Keats D 2. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner B. G.G.Byron G 3. Marriage of Heaven and Hell C. W.Wordsworth F 4. Prometheus Unbound D. S.T.Coleridge D 5. Biograthia Literaria E. J.Austen B 6. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage F. P.B.Shelley F 7. Defense of Poetry G. W.Blake C 8. "Tintern Abbey" H. W.Scott H 9. Waverley A 10. "Ode to fl Nightingale" E. Define the literary terms listed below 1. Romanticism 2. Byronic hero F. Reading comprehension: (For each of the quotations listed below please give the name of the author and the title of the literary work from which it is taken and then briefly interpret it.) 1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

2. "For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils."

3. "A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye! —Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky."

4. "The shadow of the dome of pleasure Floated midway on the waves; Where Was heard the mingled measure From the fountain and the caves. It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice!”

5. "The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set."

6. "O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing."

G. Questions: (For each of the following questions you are asked to give a brief answer, explaining what you know about it. You should use no more than 100 words for each answer, and, therefore, concentrate on those essential points.) 1. What are the artistic features of Romantic literature? 2. Why is Lyrical Ballads regarded as a landmark in English poetry? 3. What is the theme of Don Juan? 4. What are the main features of Blake's poetry? 5. How is Shelley's Prometheus Unbound different from the traditional Greek interpretation? H. Essay questions: (In this part you are asked to write a short essay on each of the given topics. You should write no more than 150 words on each one. Therefore, you should concentrate on those most important points, try your best to be logical in your essay, and keep your writing clear and tidy.) 1. Compare "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence with "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience. 2. Analyze Keats's poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn". 3. Comment on the theme and imagery of Shelley's poem "Ode to the West Wind". 4. Analyze the images in "Kubla Khan" and its significance. 5. Analyze and comment on the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. V. Key to the exercises A. Multiple-choice questions 1-25 BACDB DBCCA ACCAA DCBCD DCDBB B. Blank-filling 1. reaction 2. individual 3. spontaneous 4. classical 5. enriched 6. liberty 7. terza tima 8. human 9. permanence 10. low C. T-F statements 1-10 TFTFT TFFTF D. Work-author pairing-up: 1．E 2．D 3．G 4．F 5．D 6．B 7．F 8. C 9. H 10. A E. Define the literary terms listed below 1. Romanticism 2. Byronic hero 1. Romanticism. Romanticism is term applied to literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and 19th century. It can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified classicism in general and late 18th-century neoclassicism in particular. It was also to some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism in general. Inspired in part by the libertarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantics believed in a return to nature and in the innate goodness of humans, as expressed by Jean Jacques Rousseau. They emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. They also showed interest in the medieval, exotic, primitive, and nationalistic. Critics date English literary romanticism from the publication of William Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads in 1798 to the death of Sir Walter Scott and the passage of the first reform bill in the Parliament in 1832. 2. Byronic hero. "Byronic hero" is a stereotyped character created Byron. This kind of hero is usually a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers, he would carry on his shoulders the burden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupt society．He would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either in government, in religion, or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies. The conflict is usually one of rebellious individuals against outworn social systems and conventions. F. Reading comprehension: 1. The two sentences are taken from Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice. They are the opening sentences of the hovel, in which Jane Austen is making an ironic suggestion that the families in the society she wrote about were always looking for rich husbands to whom they could marry their daughters. The sentence sets the tone for the entire novel, in that the whole work is a masterpiece of irony both structurally and verbally. The sentence begins as though the novel were going to be a great philosophical discourse. "It is a truth universally acknowledged" implies that the novel will deal with truths, but the second half of the sentence reveals that the great universal truth is no more than a consideration of a common social situation. Thus there is an ironic difference between the formal manner of the statement and the ultimate meaning of the sentence. The "truth" spoken of is that a man in possession of a fortune must need a wife, whereas in reality the sentence means that a woman without a fortune needs a man with a fortune for a husband. We should also realize that the viewpoint of the first sentence is that of a woman. Only a female would make this statement, and Jane Austen is going to present most of the problems of the novel from the feminine viewpoint. 2. These lines are taken from Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud". This is the 4th stanza of the poem. Nature and man come together explicitly in stanza 4 when the speaker says that his heart dances with the daffodils. A different kind of repetition appears in the movement from the "loneliness" of line one to the "solitude" of line 22. Both words denote an aloneness, but they suggest a radical difference in the solitary person's attitude to his state of being alone. The poem moves from the sadly alienated separation felt by the speaker in the beginning to his joy in recollecting the natural scene, a movement framed by the words "lone" and "solitude". An analogous movement is suggested within the final stanza by words "vacant" and "fills". The emptiness of speaker's spirit is transformed into a fullness of feeling as he remembers the daffodils. 3. These lines are taken from Wordsworth's "She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways". By using a metaphor and a simile, the poet compares Lucy with a violet, a wild flower growing by a mossy stone, and a fair star, shining in the sky. The two comparisons are meant to enhance Lucy's charm by associating her with such attractive objects as flowers and stars. Lucy's natural charm, like that of the violet, was derived from her modesty. She, too, was "half-hidden from the eye", obscure and unnoticed. Though Lucy was, to the world, as completely obscure as the modest flower in the shadow of the mossy stone, to the eye of her lover she was the only star in his heaven, shining like the planet of love itself. 4. These lines are taken from Coleridge's "Kubla Khan". The dome's shadow falls half-way along the river-the birth-death time stream. The shadow is found most often to function in terms of a life after death. But birth and death are both mysteries. The true immorality is extra-dimensional to all this. The "mingled-measure" suggests the blend and marriage of fundamental oppositions: life and death or creation and destruction, sunny, those of light and heat for life and organic nature; and the ice for the coldness of inorganic nature, ultimate being and death. The mingling of ice and sun-fire may lead to a marriage point in life's progress half-way between birth and death. 5. These lines are taken from Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind". These are the opening sentences of the poem. The first line of the poem breaks the very strong literary tradition that associated the west wind with the spring. Of course, Shelley had the best of authorities for his defiance of the convention. The west wind dominates the Florentine autumn. One of the effects he gains is to suggest a fresh and vital contact with the actual by cream his wind in dramatic opposition to the lulling, spring zephyr that had become a conventional poetic prop. But another effect is equally, if not more, important. Shelley begins the poem in defiance of a strong literary convention, the association of the west wind with the spring. He marks this defiance by reminding his reader in the first stanza of the conventional west wind, the autumnal wind's sister. G. Questions: 1. (1) It is a partial reaction against neoclassicism. (2) It is a golden period of poetry: there are two schools: the Lake School of Poetry and the Satanic School of Poetry. (3) In verse form, it preferred to lyrics, odes, sonnets, ballads, blank verses, and Spenserian stanzas. (4) In poetic diction, it stresses on the fresh, simple, commonly used and colloquial language. (5) In thematic matter, it tends to write on nature: the simple, common, rural life; the facts and ideas of revolution; and medieval romances and myths. (6) In poetic effect, it shows a preference for the wild, the irregular or the grotesque in nature and art, the unrestricted imagination and strangeness in beauty. 2. It is a collaboration of Wordsworth and Coleridge, the major representatives of the Romantic Movement. In the book, they explored new theories and innovated new techniques in poetry writing. They saw poetry as a healing energy; they believed that poetry could purify both individual souls and the society. The preface to the second edition of the Lyrical Ballads acts as a manifesto for the new school. Wordsworth's poems in the Lyrical Ballads differs in marked ways from his early poetry, notably the uncompromising simplicity of much of the language, the strong sympathy not merely with the poor in general but with particular, dramatized examples of them, and the fusion of natural description with expressions of inward states of mind. 3. Don Juan is Byron's masterpiece, a great comic epic of the early 19th century. It is a poem based on a traditional Spanish legend of a great lover and seducer of women. In the conventional sense, Juan is immoral, yet Byron takes this poem as the most moral. He invests in Juan the moral positives like courage, generosity and frankness, which, according to Byron, are virtues neglected by the modern society. In addition, though Don Juan is the central figure and all the threads of the story are woven around him, he and his adventures only provide the framework; the poet's true intention is, by making use of Juan's adventures, to present a panoramic view of different types of society Byron puts into Don Juan his rich knowledge of the world and the wisdom gained from experience. It presents brilliant pictures of life in its various stages of love, joy, suffering, hatred and fear. The unifying principle in Don Juan is the basic ironic theme of appearance and reality, i.e. what things seem to be and what they actually are. Byron's satire on the English society in the later part of the poem can be compared with Pope's; and his satire is much less personal than that of Pope's, for Byron is here attacking not a personal enemy but the whole hypocritical society. And the diverse materials and the clash of emotions gathered in the poem are harmonized by Byron's insight into the difference between life's appearance and its actuality. 4. As an imaginative poet, Blake presents his view in visual images instead of abstract terms. He declares that "I know that This World is a World of IMAGINATION & Vision", and that "The Nature of my work is visionary imaginative". (1) Blake's poetry is concerned with social criticism, exposing political tyranny, economic exploitation, and other evils of the reality in his day. Fight for freedom, especially for the inner spiritual freedom of the individual, is also a major topic in his poetry. (2) Blake writes his poems in plain, simple and direct language. His poems often carry the lyric beauty with immense compression of meaning. (3) He distrusts the abstractness and tends to embody his views with visual images. The nature of his poetry is visionary imaginative. (4) Symbolism in wide range is also a distinctive feature of his poetry. 5. According to the Greek mythology, Prometheus, the champion of humanity, who has stolen the fire from Heaven, is punished by Zeus to be chained on Mount Caucasus and suffers the vulture's feeding on his liver. Finally Prometheus reconciles with the tyrant Zeus. Radical and revolutionary as Shelley, he gave a totally different interpretation, transforming the compromise into a struggle, which leads to the liberation of the oppressed. With the strong support of Earth, his mother. Asia, his bride and the help from Demogorgon and Hercules, Zeus is driven from the throne, Prometheus is unbound. The play is an exultant work in praise of humankind's potential, and Shelley himself recognized it as "the most prefect of my products". H. Essay questions: 1. Compare "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence with "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience. [Refer to the comments in Section A(W. Blake), Part II for answer.] 2. Analyze Keats's poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn". [Refer to the comments in section F (J. Keats), Part II for answer,] 3. Comment on the theme and imagery of Shelley's poem "Ode to the West Wind". [Refer to the comments in Section E (P.B.Shelley), Part II for answer.] 4. Analyze the images in "Kubla Khan" and its significance. [Refer to the comments in Section C (S.T.Coleridge), Part II for answer.] 5. Analyze and comment on the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is her father's favorite daughter, having inherited his wit and intelligence. Her appearance is never given specifically but referred to at different times throughout the story. She is tail, slim, and graceful-Darcy could be critical of its imperfectness but has to acknowledge that it made pleasant general impression. Her face is attractive but not nearly so beautiful as Jane's. Its greatest beauty is in the character reflected in her eyes which are beautiful but, which take some time to register with Darcy, affect an occasional feminine archness of expression. Elizabeth is clever, alert, observant. She is more observant and less charitable than Jane in recognizing the characters of Bingley's sisters. She recognizes Mr. Collins' character in his letter and after meeting him turns down firmly and with dignity his patronizing proposal. She is able to match wits with Darcy several times and with Colonel Fitzwilliam, earning their respect and admiration. Fearless and frank, not rattled by the attack of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she wins a notable victory, sending her Ladyship away completely routed. She is independent but not infallible in her judgment—taken in by the charm of the worthless Wickham. She cannot be blamed for misjudging Darcy. She shows flexibility, discernment, and honesty of mind when she reads Darcy's defense in his letter and admits the justice of much of what he says. Thus beginning to lose her prejudice against him. She recognizes and values true worth when she encounters it in Jane, the Gardiners, and, near the end of the novel, in Darcy. She sees more clearly than her father the danger of sending Lydia to Brighton. She is able to control her emotions at times of stress— when she first encounters Darcy at Pemberley; when she realizes that she loves Darcy and has good reason to fear that she has lost him, she waits without repining for time to bring a solution. She is witty, fun-loving, recognizes humor in herself and in others, but ridiculing only folly, nonsense, and inconsistencies. She recognizes the follies of her own family and their shortcomings as well as their virtues. She is considerate of others but quite capable of asserting herself when occasion demands. She is ready to laugh at herself and everything save "what is wise and good". She shows a sense of humor by telling what Darcy has said about her at the Meryton ball.