中山大学英语专业考研英美文学专业试题

中山大学2004年英语专业考研英美文学专业试题

Entrance EXAM for 2004M. A- Program

Schoolof Foreign Languages Zhongshan(Sun Yat-sen) University

British and American Literature

Duration: 3 hours

Total Score: 150 marks

Instructions: Answer all the 3 questions in Part One and any 3 questions in Part Two. You are required to answer 6 questions altogether.

Part One

I. Explain briefly any 3 of the terms listed below (20%)
A. American Renaissance
B. Epic
C. metaphysical poetry
D. Modernism
E. Theatre of the Absurd

II. Comment briefly on any 2 of the following characters. (20%)
A. Captain Ahab
B. Tom Jones
C. Gatsby
D. Andrea del Sarto
E. King Lear

III. Match the literary work with the author. For each question (A-T) fill in the blank with one figure (1-20). (20%)
Example: David Copperfield                   1. Jack London
                                                         2. Charles Dickens

A. The Portrait of a Lady                      1. William Carlos Williams
B. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  2. Walt Whitman
C. The Wasteland                                3. Henry Fielding
D. The Rainbow                                   4. Eugene O'Neill
E. Leaves of Grass                              5. T. S. Eliot
F. Tom Jones                                      6. Charles Lamb
G. Bleak House                                   7. Henry James
H. The Iceman Cometh                        8. Charles Dickens
I. Essays of Elia _____                        9. D. H. Lawrence
J. Paterson                                        10. Mark Twain
K. A Streetcar Named Desire               11. John Milton
L. The Alchemist                                12. William Faulkner
M. Walden                                         13. Ben Johnson
N. Ode to a Nightingale                       14. Tennessee Williams
O. Catch-22                                      15. James Joyce
P. Paradise Lost                                 16. John Reals
Q. Ulysses                                         17. Joseph Heller
R. Howl                                             18. H. D. Thoreau
S. The Sound and the Fury                 19. Joseph Conrad
T. Heart of Darkness                          20. Allen Ginsberg

Part Two

IV. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem of iambic pentameter. It was originated in Italy in the 14th century and introduced to England by Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of Surrey. Since then it has been a form of poetry much favored by the English poets. William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets. However, the Shakepearean or English sonnet is different from the Italian. Explain the differences of the two kinds of sonnets. (30%)

V. According to many critics, Francis Bacon is the father of the English essay while Charles Lamb, the Shakespeare of it. Make a comment on the statement (30%)

VI. In what sense do you think that critical realism is a suitable label for the realistic novels in 19th century England? (30%)

VII. How do you interpret the concept “the code heroes,” which refers to a certain group of characters created by Hemingway? Give examples to support your point (30%)

VIII. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was praised by Hemingway as a book from which “all modern American literature comes.” How do you interpret Hemingway’s comment? (30%)

IX. Give a brief introduction to one of your favorite writers in British or American literature (30%)