8.2　考研真题与典型题详解

I. Fill in the blanks.

1．Samson Agonistes was written by ______. （大连外国语学院2007研）

【答案】John Milton

【解析】《力士参孙》是英国作家约翰·弥尔顿（John Milton）的一部悲剧。

2．When he was Latin Secretary to the Council of Foreign Affairs, John Milton wrote a number of pamphlets defending the English revolution. The most well-known is his controversy with the European scholar Salmasius on the Execution of ______.

【答案】Charles I

【解析】约翰·弥尔顿首先是一位革命家。他反对君主专制，并全心地为人民自由摇旗呐喊。1649年，弥尔顿被任命为克伦威尔护国政府的拉丁文秘书，他写了很多政治小册子为英国革命辩护，其中最著名的就是对欧洲学者萨尔梅歇斯关于查理一世被处死的反驳。

3．Because of the success of Paradise Lost, John Milton produced in 1671 another epic, ______.

【答案】Paradise Regained

【解析】由于《失乐园》的巨大成功，约翰·弥尔顿在1671年创作了另一部圣经题材诗《复乐园》。

4．In 1637 Milton wrote the finest pastoral elegy in English, ______, to memorize the tragic death of a Cambridge friend.

【答案】Lycidas

【解析】《利西达斯》是英国诗人弥尔顿年轻时为溺海夭亡的剑桥同学金（Edward King）写的一首悼诗。

5．John Milton wrote his masterpiece ______ during his blindness.

【答案】Paradise Lost

【解析】约翰·弥尔顿花费了7年的时间完成其代表作《失乐园》。整个创作期间，他已经双目失明。有时他让女儿们把他口述的内容记录下来，有时也请来探望他的朋友帮忙。

II. Multiple Choice

1．The epic of Paradise Lost is based on the stories from ______. （北二外2009研）

A. The New Testament

B. The Old Testament

C. The Ancient Greek Myths

D. The Ancient Roman Myths

【答案】B

【解析】《失乐园》的故事取材于圣经旧约中Genesis 3:1-24。

2．In addition to Paradise Lost, John Milton’s another famous poem “Lycidas” is a ______ in which he uses some artificial imagery supplied by an idyllic shepherd’s existence to bewail the loss of a friend. （天津外国语学院2009研）

A. pastoral elegy

B. odes

C. cantos

D. ballads

【答案】A

【解析】《利西达斯》是弥尔顿早年创作的一首田园挽歌，纪念在剑桥读书后来死于海难的一位同学，该诗题目源自维吉尔的《田园诗》中一位牧羊人的名字。

3．Areopagitica is John Milton’s best-known ______.

A. prose

B. epic

C. novel

D. drama

【答案】A

【解析】《论出版自由》是弥尔顿最著名的一篇散文，此书最初是1644年作者向英国国会提出的一篇演说词，也是一篇争取言论自由的战斗檄文。

4．John Milton wrote a number of pamphlets defending the English people. Among the following works which is not pamphlet?

A. Defence of the English People

B. Second Defence of the English People

C. L’Allegro

D. Areoppagitica

【答案】C

【解析】约翰·弥尔顿是英国17世纪的一位诗人、政论家。英国资产阶级革命爆发后，他投身革命，创作了很多的政论小册子呼吁政治、宗教和个人自由以及为英国革命辩护。他最为著名的政论小册子包括：《为英国人民而辩》、《为英国人民再辩》、《论出版自由》、《偶像的破坏者》等。

5．Among the following statements about Paradise Lost, which is not the proper one?

A. John Milton’s masterpiece.

B. A great epic in 10 books

C. Written in blank verse.

D. About the heroic revolt of Satan against God’s authority.

【答案】B

【解析】《失乐园》是弥尔顿的代表作，共十二册。以史诗般磅礴的气势揭露了人的原罪与堕落，同时歌颂了撒旦反抗上帝的英勇事迹。整个著作采用的是无韵诗的形式。

6．John Milton wrote a number of pamphlets defending the English people. Among the following works which is not pamphlet?

A. Defence of the English People

B. Second Defence of the English People

C. L’Allegro

D. Areoppagitica

【答案】C

【解析】约翰·弥尔顿是英国17世纪的一位诗人、政论家。英国资产阶级革命爆发后，他投身革命，创作了很多的政论小册子呼吁政治、宗教和个人自由以及为英国革命辩护。他最为著名的政论小册子包括：《为英国人民声辩》、《再为英国人民声辩》、《论出版自由》、《偶像的破坏者》等。

Ⅲ. Explain the following terms.

1．Paradise Lost （首师大2008研）

Key: Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The poem concerns the Christian story of “the Fall of Man”: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton’s purpose, stated in Book I, is to “justify the ways of God to men” and elucidate the conflict between God’s eternal foresight and free will.

2．blank verse （首师大2009研）

Key: Blank verse is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. In English, the meter most commonly used with blank verse has been iambic pentameter (as used in Shakespearean plays). The first known use of blank verse in the English language was by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Christopher Marlowe was the first English author to make full use of the potential of blank verse, and also established it as the dominant verse form for English drama in the age of Elizabeth I and James I. The major achievements in English blank verse were made by William Shakespeare, who wrote much of the content of his plays in unrhymed iambic pentameter, and Milton, whose Paradise Lost was written in blank verse.

IV. Short answer questions

1．How many books does Paradise Lost consist of? Who are the four main characters in the epic, and what are the respective relations between them? （人大2006研）

Key: Paradise Lost consists of 12 books, the main characters in which are Satan, God, Adam and Eve. Satan and God are enemies. Adam and Eve are the first man and woman made by God. But seduced by Satan, they ate the fruits on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which annoyed God, finally were banished from the Garden of Eden.

2．Make a comment on the image of Satan in Paradise Lost.

Key: (1) In John Milton’s Paradis Lost, Satan, like a conquered and banished giant, remains obeyed and admired by those who follow him down to hell. He is firmer than the rest of the angels. It is he who, passing the guarded gates obstacle, makes man revolt against God.

(2) Satan is the spirit of questioning the authority of God. When he gets to the Garden of Eden, he believes in no reason why Adam and Eve should not taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

(3) Though defeated, Satan prevails, since he has won from God a third part of his angels, and almost all the sons of Adam. Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hits upon his head leaves his heart invincible. Though feebler in force, he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happy servility, and welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty, and a joy. In conclusion, the finest thing in Paradise Lost is the description of hell, and Satan is the real hero of the poem.

（此题主要从撒旦的英勇反抗来进行分析作答。）

V. Essay questions

1．Give supporting reasons for the statement：Samson in Samson Agonistes is John Milton, the author himself.

Key: (1) Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama patterned on Greek tragedies. It deals with the story of Samson from the “Book of Judges” in the Old Testament. Samson is an athlete of the Israelites. He stands as the bravest warrior fighting for the freedom of his country. But he is betrayed by his Philistine wife Dalilah and blinded by his enemies the Philistines. Led into the temple to make them sport, he takes his vengeance upon his enemies by pulling down the temple upon them and upon himself in a common ruin. He dies but regains his dignity in death.

(2) Samson and John Milton share much common life experiences. Like Samson the protagonist, Milton had also been betrayed by his wife, persecuted by his enemies, and suffered from blindness. And yet he holds unconquerable will.

(3) Through Samson’s miserable blindness, his agonizing longing for sight and freedom and his last terrible triumph, Milton puts forward his passionate longing that he could also bring destruction down upon the enemy at the cost of his own life. Therefore, Samson in the drama is Milton himself in life.

2．Discuss the theme and characterization of Paradise Lost.

Key: (1) Paradise Lost is Milton’s masterpiece. Its story is taken from the Bible, about "the fall of man", that is, how Adam and Eve are tempted by Satan to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and how they are punished by God and driven out of Paradise. By depicting Satan and his followers as well as their fiery utterance and brave actions, Milton is showing a Puritan’s revolt against the dictator and against the established doctrines of the Catholics and the Anglican Church.

(2) In the poem God is no better than a cruel and selfish despot, seated On a throne with a chorus of angels about him singing songs to praise him. His long speeches are not pleasing at all. He is cruel and unjust in punishing Satan. His Archangel Raphael is only a bore. His angels are stupid. But Satan is by far the most striking character in the poem, who rises against God and, though defeated, still seeks for revenge.

(3) Adam and Eve embody Milton’s belief in the powers of man. God denied their craving for knowledge. It is this longing for knowledge that opens before mankind a wide road to intelligent and active life. It has been noted by many critics that Milton’s revolutionary feelings made him forget religious orthodoxy. The angels who surround the God never think of expressing any opinions of their own, and they never seem to have any opinions of their own. This image of God surrounded by such angels resembles the court of an absolute monarch. But Satan and his followers, who freely discuss all issues in council, remind us a republican Parliament.