A.

Questions

1. Why is it said that Humanism was the progressive ideology of the Renaissance in the
English Literature? Who was the most outstanding author of this period?

It is said that Humanism was the progressive ideology of the Renaissance in the English
Literature because human life,the happiness of people and the belief in man’s abilities became
the main subjects in fine arts and literature.The works of humanists proclaimed ( tuyên bố)
equality of people regardless of their social origin,race and religion.Humanism did away with the
dark scholastic teaching of the Middle ages.the development of a new social order presented
great possibilities for man’s creative power.That is why the humanist outlook was marked with
bright optimism,with belief in man’s great abilities and his high mission.

The most outstanding author of this period was William Shakespeare

2. What are Shakespeare’s great comedies? What are their main features?

The Comedies of errors(1592),The taming of the Shrew (1593),the two gentlemen of

verona(1594),love’s labor’s lost(1594),A midsummer night’s dream(1595),much ado about
nothing(1598),the merry wives of windsor (1599),As you like it (1599),Twelfth night or what you
will(1600)

The comedies describe the adventures of young men and women,their friendship and love,their
search for happiness.The scene is usually laid in some southern countries.The comedies are
usually based on some misunderstanding that creates comic situations.They are full of fun.But
the laughter is not a mockery ( chế giễu) directed against the people and their
voices.Shakespeare never moralizes( bàn về luân lý) in his comedies.He laughs with people but
not at them.His comedies are filled with humanist love for people and the belief in the nobleness
( niềm tin vào sự cao quý) and kindness of human nature.

3. What are Shakespeare’s great tragedies and what do they reflect? In what way does the
tragedy of Hamlet differ from other tragedies of that time?

-Shakespeare’s great tragedies are Hamlet,Prince of Denmark (1601) ,Othello,the Moor of

Venice (1604) ,King Lear(1605) ,Macbeth (1605)

-The tragedies reflect the deep,unsolvable contradictions of life,the falsehood,injustice and

tyranny ( chuyên chê) existing in society.They show people who perish in the struggle against
Evil.In the tragedies which are centered round the life of one man Shakespeare touched on the
moral problems of universal significance-honest,cruelty,kindness,love,vanity and others.That is
why his tragedies are of great interest to every new generation.

-The tragedy of Hamlet differ from other tragedies of that time because unlike other ‘bloody
tragedies’ ( thảm kịch đẫm máu) written before and in Shakespeare’s time,it is a tragedy of
thought and Hamlet is the first thinker that has ever appeared on the stage.

4. What makes “Hamlet” one of Shakespeare’s great masterpieces?

The tragedy Hamlet is one of the greatest of Shakespeare’s masterpieces.It is the most profound
expression of his humanism and his criticism of the epoch.The tragedy tells of the struggle
between Hamlet,the bearer of the ideals of the Renaissance,on the one hand,anf the evil,false
world of kings and courtiers on the other.

The tragedy of Hamlet has always excited the minds of people. It stirs people's conscience,
makes them fight against Evil for the triumph of justice and Good.

5. What were the three periods of English Enlightenement in literature? Who were
representatives of each period?

The Enlightenment epoch in English literature divided into three periods and representatives of
each period

-Early Enlightenment (1688-1740) :this period saw the flourishing of journalism which played
an important part in the country’s public life.Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift

-Mature Enlightenment (1740-1750): the social moralizing novel was born in this period.Samuel
Richardson,Henry Fielding,and Tobias Smollett

-Late Enlightenment (1750-1780):they writers of this period,like the Enlighteners of the first two
periods,expressed the democratic bourgeois ( tư sản dân chủ) tendencies of their time.Oliver
Goldsmith,Lawrence Sterne and Richard Sheridan

6. What is the meaning of the word Enlightenment? What were the two trends among the
English Enlighteners?

- Enlightenment is a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing
reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers
( triết gia) such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe,
Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.

- The English Enlighteners were not unanimous( nhất trí) in their views. Some of them spoke in defence
of the existing order ( lên tiếng bênh vực) , considering that a few reforms were enough to improve it.

+ They were the moderates( tiết chế) represented in literature by Daniel Defoe, Joseph Addison, Richard
Steele, and Samuel Richardson

+ Others, the radicals ( cấp tiến) , wanted more democracy ( dân chủ) in the ruling of the country. They
defended the interests of the exploited masses ( quần chúng vị bóc lột) . The most outstanding
representatives of the radicals were Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith. Richard B.
Sheridan.

7. Briefly state Defoe’s writing career. What was Defoe’s contribution to English
literature?

Briefly state Defoe’s writing career:

Defoe’s contribution to English literature: Daniel defoe is rightly considered the father of the
english and the European novel,for it was due to him that the genre ( thể loại) became once and
for ever established in European literature.He wrote his novels in the form of memoirs,which
made them look like stories about real people.Defoe’s book were written in the living tongue of
the epoch.He addressed the wide public and tried to make himself understood by the readers of
all the layers of society.As a true Englishtener he set himself the task of improving people’s
morals,that was why he provided his books with a moralizing comment.The influence of his
work on the literacy process as well as on the minds of the readers can hardly be overestimated
( đánh giá quá cao) .An English critic once said that without him we should all he different from
what we are.

8. What is the difference between Swift’s realism and the realism of Defoe?(t57-58)

Swift’s realism was different from Defoe’s.Defoe presented extremely precise pictures of
bourgeois life.Swift used his favourite weapon- laughter-to mock – chế nhạo- at bourgeois
reality.He criticized it and his criticism was hidden away in a whole lot of allegorical pictures
( bức tranh ngụ ngôn). At the same time he gave very realistic descriptions,exact mathematical
( toán học chính xác) proportions of the tiny Lilliputs and the giants from Brobdingnag.

Sometimes his laughter was simply goodnatured humor, as for instance,when he wrote of the
intelligent horses.However,it became dangerous,biting satire when he spoke of the horrible
Yahoos.

Swift’s language was more elaborate and literary than Defoe’s.This does not mean that he did
not make use of the language of the common people.He resorted to it when his criticism became
most severe.

Swift’s art had a great effects on the futher development of English and European literature. The
main features of his artistic method,such a hyperbole ( cường điệu hóa) ,grotesque ( cường điệu
hóa) ,generalization ( khái quát), irony ( trớ trêu) ,were widely used by the English novelists
Fielding,Dickens,Thackeray,the poet Byron,the dramatists Sheridan and Shaw,by the French
writer Voltaire ,by the Russian writers Saltykov-Shchedrin,Gogol and others.

9. What are the characteristic features of the Romanticism in the English Literature?

Characteristics of Romanticism: Romantic literature is marked by six primary characteristics:

celebration of nature ( tôn vinh thiên nhiên) , focus on the individual and spirituality, celebration
of isolation and melancholy ( tôn vinh sự cô lập và u uất) , interest in the common man,
idealization of women , and personification and pathetic fallacy. ( nhân cách hóa và sự ngụy biện
thảm hại )

10. Comment on the main themes in Burn’s poems.

Robert Burns’ poetry was inspired by his deep love for his mother-land, for its history and
folklore. His beautiful poem My heart’s in the highlands full of vivid colourful descriptions, is a
hymn ( thánh ca) to the beauty of Scotland’s nature and to its glorious past. - Burns’ poetry is
closely connected with the national struggle of the Scottish people for their liberation ( giải
phóng) from England oppression, the struggle that had been going on in Scotland for many
centuries. - Burns expressed the most sacred thoughts and hopes of the Scottish people, who,
even in their poverty, are full of proud love of freedom, hatred ( hận thù) for all oppressors,
contempt for the rich ( khinh miệt người giàu có ) , human dignity ( phẩm giá của con người) and
an optimistic belief in their beautiful future.

11. In about 150 words write what you know about Jane Austen and her novel Pride and
Prejudice.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was born at Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, England, Jane Austen
spent her childhood and early womanhood at her birthplace. Though the place was secluded
( tách biệt ) from the outside world, it “gave her an intimate knowledge of the segment of
English society – the landed gentry – that was to provide the materials for most of her fiction”.
Jane Austen began writing when she was still a little girl and by 1787, she had already started to
write stories. In 1795, she embarked ( bắt tay vào việc) on the writing of Elinor and Marianne,
an early version of her first published work Sense and Sensibility. One year later, the writing of
First Impressions got under way and it eventually turned out to be her most famous work Pride
and Prejudice. In 1797, she completed First Impressions. Jane Austen returned to Hampshire in
l809 to settle down at Chawton Cottage in Hampshire, a place near her former home at
Steventon. There, she started writing again. In the same year or the next, she embarked on the
revision of the manuscript of Sense and Sensibility that was to be published in 1811. By the time
the book appeared, Austen was rewriting First Impressions newly entitled as Pride and Prejudice.
Though her fame rose as time went by, Austen was opposed to publicity and popularity and lived
a serene and peaceful life (phản đối công khai và sự nổi tiếng và sống một cuộc sống thanh thản
và yên bình) . She died quietly at Winchester in 1817 and was buried in the cathedral there.
Pride and Prejudice tells a story which centres around a series of misunder-standings between
Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth is a lively young middle-class woman who has a satirical
temperament ( trào phúng) whereas Darcy, born in a wealthy upper-class family, is an
unconsciously arrogant ( kiêu ngạo vô thức) young man. After a series of events, reconciliation
( sự hòa giải ) of -'Se two comes. As Darcy renews his proposal to Elizabeth, he realizes that it
was his pride that made him arrogant and insensitive ( kiêu ngạo và vô cảm ) . Elizabeth. in turn,
accepts his offer with the knowledge that her prejudice caused her to mistake his real character
When they join their hands together, they find happiness and a better understanding of each
other.

12. What are the characteristic features of the Critical Realism in the English Literature?

They described the new social force in modern history - the working class. They expressed deep
sympathy for the working people; they described the un-bearable conditions ( điều kiện k thể
chịu đựng được) of their life and work; they voiced a passionate protest ( phản đối) against
exploitation and described their persistent struggle for their rights. ( sự bóc lột và cuộc đấu tranh
bền bỉ)

13. Explain the meaning of the subtitle of Vanity Fair. Why is it said that Vanity Fair is a
novel without a hero?

The subtitle of the book shows the author’s intention no to describe separate individuals,but
English bourgeois-aristocratic society as a whole. ( tư sản-quý tộc)
The title of the book is borrowed from The Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegorical novel ( tiểu thuyết
ngụ ngôn) written by John Bunyan,one of the greatest writers of the second half of the 17 th
century.

Vanity Fair is a social novel which shows not only the bourgeois aristocratic society as a
whole,but the very laws which govern it (nhưng chính những luật lệ chi phối nó) .Describing the
events which took place at the beginning of the 19th century,the author presents a broad satirical
picture of comtemporary England.

The social background of the novel which influences all the characters in their thoughts and
actions,is high society at large.Thackeray attacks the vanity,pretensions,prejudices and
corruption of the aristocracy (sự phù phiếm, giả tạo, thành kiến và sự thối nát của tầng lớp quý
tộc) ,the narrow-mindedness and greed-( tham lam)of the bourgeois.He mercilessly exposes the
snobbishness,hypocrisy,money-worship and parasitism of all those who form the bulwark of
society.

The interest of the novel centres on the characters rather than on the plot.The author shows
various people, and their thoughts and actions,in different situations.There is no definite hero in
the book.In Thackeray’s opinion there can be no hero in a society where the cult of money rules
the world.

14. What is Dickens’s contribution to the world literature?(t107)

Dickens has given a full picture of 19th century English life. He revealed all that was irrational
and monstrous( quái dị) and through his wit ( thông minh) and humour people began to see their
own time and environment in a new light. His method of writing inspired many other to write
realistically, and great works of critical realism appeared after him. Dickens never loses his
warmth of feeling and quickness of sympathy. This impresses all readers, and they follow the
writer in his pilgrimage along the roads of England and witness the administration of law, the
treatment of children in schools, life in workhouses and the insincerity of bourgeois
philanthropy( lòng nhân ái của tư sản ) . He describes offices of large firms, factories, prisons
and the slums of London.( khu ổ chuột)

Dickens portrays people of all the types seen in the streets of great cities in his time. We meet
commercial agents, manufacturers, parliamentarians ( nghị sĩ ), political adventurers ( thám hiểm
chính trị), scoundrels of all sorts ( những kẻ vô lại) , lawyers, clerks, newspaper reporters,
schoolmasters, tradesmen, factory-workers, priggish aristocrats, circus-players, homeless
children, pickpockets and convicts. Dickens lived for the people. It was said of him that he,
Dickens, "never talked down to the people, he talked up to the people"

Some social improvements in England were attributed to the infuence of Dickens's works. To
many European critics Dickens ranked only among the moralists (nhà đạo đức) and reformers of
the 19th century. His works were not considered works of art, because in his writing he was not
inspired by beauty but by human suffering. Such an opinion underrates the great artistic value of
Dickens's works.

15. In what ways Thackeray’s writing style differ from that of Dicken? (91)
Thackeray's realism is different from that of Dickens; it is less combined with fantasy and
lyricism, it is more exact and objecive, While Dickens deal positive characters (sometimes they
are too good to be true and the attitude towards them is somewhat sentimental – đa cảm),
Thackeray portrays his characters more realistically. They are not static - tĩnh; his women
characters, in particular, develop as the story progresses. Thackeray tries to describe things and
human beings as existing outside his mind, they are shown as natural results of their
environnhent and the society which bred them – tạo ra chúng. He depicts his characters as if
viewing then from afar. This was a new feature in literature which was followed by many other
lea th s writers, and was later called objective realism in literature.

Dickens was more optimistic than Thackeray. He tried to reform people and thought that that
was the way to make them happy. In Thackeray's opinion the existing state of things could not be
changed, though he saw that bourgeois morals had fallen into decay ( đạo đức suy tàn), and he
subjected these morals to severe criticism, which is the chief merit of his works. (hứng chịu
những lời chỉ trích gay gắt về những đạo đức này, đó là công lao chính trong các tác phẩm của
ông)

Unlike Dickens, Thackeray is unable to see man reformed in the future.

Chernyshevsky blamed him for this failure in his article on The Newcomers (Russian magazine
Sovremennik, 1857).

Thackeray's pessimism marks the beginning of the crisis of bourgeois humanism which began in
the middle of the 19th century and found its full expression in the literature of the second half of
the age.

Taken together, the novels of Dickens and Thackeray give us a remarkably realistic picture of all
classes of English society up to the middle of the 19th century

16. Why is the 20th English Literature called the Literature of Decadence ? ( văn học của
sự suy đồi)

Philanthropy- Làm từ thiện, never having been able to prevent poverty, now became a laughing
stock. Disillusionment- Sự vỡ mộng- led to pessimism and found its expression in a very
pessimistic literature, the literature of the Decadence. So the phrase "the End of the Century"
meant not only the turn of the century: It also meant that a certain change had occurred in the
more clearly-thinking minds.

It was the End of the Century that created writers who were interested in human society as a
whole (Shaw, Galsworthy), and a. new type of writer who was preoccupied with the future of
mankind (Wells). The spirit of the time lasted till the First World War of 1914-1918.

17. Briefly state Jack London’s writing career.

18. State in brief the writing career of Earnest Hemingway.

B. Comment

1. Comment on W. Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night”

welfth Night is a romantic comedy, and romantic love is the play’s main focus. Despite the fact
that the play offers a happy ending, in which the various lovers find one another and achieve
wedded bliss, Shakespeare shows that love can cause pain. Many of the characters seem to view
love as a kind of curse, a feeling that attacks its victims suddenly and disruptively. Various
characters claim to suffer painfully from being in love, or, rather, from the pangs of unrequited
love. At one point, Orsino depicts love dolefully as an “appetite” that he wants to satisfy and
cannot (I.i.1–3); at another point, he calls his desires “fell and cruel hounds” (I.i.21). Olivia more
bluntly describes love as a “plague” from which she suffers terribly (I.v.265). These metaphors
contain an element of violence, further painting the love-struck as victims of some random force
in the universe. Even the less melodramatic Viola sighs unhappily that “My state is desperate for
my master’s love” (II.ii.35). This desperation has the potential to result in violence—as in Act V,
scene i, when Orsino threatens to kill Cesario because he thinks that -Cesario has forsaken him to
become Olivia’s lover.

2. Comment on W. Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”

Hamlet is one of the greatest of William Shakespeare’s masterpieces.It tells The ghost of the
King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's
uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing
for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the King,
Queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed. We can take two lessons from
Hamlet. The first one is that if people let anger and revenge get the best of them, they can cause
damage. The second one is in life you will be able to get away with something for long but not
forever. We learn these lessons through various actions committed by various characters.The
tragedy Hamlet is an outstanding play because unlike other bloody tragedies written before and
in Shakespeare’s time,it is a tragedy of thought and Hamlet is the first thinker that has ever
appeared on the stage

3. Comment on D. De Foe’s “The life and strange adventures of Robinson Crusoe”

Robinson Crusoe became an instant success after its publication.The charm of this story mainly
lies in its intense reality,in the succession of thought,feelings and incidents that every reader find
true to life.It is an interesting picaresque novel about an 18th century English adventurer who is a
true empire-builder, a coloniser as well as aforeign trader.When he is left alone on the
uninhabited island,he is realistically depicted as a man

4. Comment on J. Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”

“Gulliver’s Travels” is the summit of Swift’s creative work and one of the leer works in world
literature.The book consists of four independent parts that tell about the adventures of Gulliver, a
ship surgeon.The first part is the story of Lemuel’s voyage to the land of Lilliput.The second part
is an account of Gulliver’s adventures in Brobdingnag, a country,inhabited by giants.The third
tells of Gulliver’s voyage to Laputa, a flying island in the country of Houyhnhnms inhabited by
intelligent horses and ugly-looking humam beings called Yahoos.This is one of the books most
loved by children because it tells of the entertaining adventures of Lemuel Gulliver in four
strange countries.However,the author did not mean to write a book to amuse children.Gulliver’s
Travels was concieved as a synthesis of everything that Swift had said and written about before
in his satires,essays and pamphlets.It was an exposure of all the evils and vices of the bougeois
society,of its corruption and degradation.

5. Comment on R. Burn’s “Red, red rose” and “My heart in the Highland”

“Red,red rose” is one of the best of Burn’s love poems.It is world famous because it describe

the poet’s own emotions with such vividness and simplicity that it appeals directly to the reader’s
hearts .The idea in this poem is simple enough,but it is expressed with very strong emotions and
in effective words and haunting rhythm,which makes it melodious and immortal.

“My heart in the Highland” is one of Burn’s most beautiful lyrics.It is patriotic and fully reveals
the poet’s deep patriotic sentiments for his native home of Scotland in his powerful expressions
of yearning for the Highlands.The sentiments demonstrated in this and Burn’s other patriotic
poems encouraged the Scots to rebel against the English tyranny and struggle for Scotland’s
freedom and independence.

6. Comment on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice of Jane austen tells a story which centres around a series of
misunderstandings between Elizabeth and Darcy. It has long been a favourite of both readers and
critics alike and is often regarded as Jane austen’s consunmate achievement.In Pride and
Prejudice ,she focused on characters of her own social class:the ladies and gentlemen of the
landed gentry.She wrote about the people that she knew best Pride and Prejudice of Jane austen
tells a story which centres around a series of misunderstandings between Elizabeth and Darcy. It
has long been a favourite of both readers and critics alike and is often regarded as Jane austen’s
consunmate achievement.In Pride and Prejudice ,she focused on characters of her own social
class:the ladies and gentlemen of the landed gentry.She wrote about the people that she knew
best and wove her plots around the intricacies of courtship and marriage between members of the
landed gentry. As she depicted events concerning the class to which she was a member of
herself,she illuminated in their characters the follies and failings of men and women of all times
and classes.

7. Comment on W. M. Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair”

Vanity Fair of Thackeray tells of the destiny of two girls with sharply contrasting characters
Rebecca(Becky) Sharp and amelia sedley.Vanity Fair is one of the greatest examples of 19 th
century Critical Realism.It is an exceedingly rich novel.The action is carried forward by a series
of plots and sunplots,the setting is detailed and varied,the characters are real individuals,puzzling
combinations of good and bad,who have been remembered and talked about from Thackeray’s
days to our own.Towering over all is Thackeray’s ability to expose in his novel the cruel laws of
capitlism which rule the capitalist world up to now.
8. Comment on C. Dicken’s “Oliver Twist”

In 1838, Dickens created this story of powerful emotional appeal and social criticism perhaps at
the inspiration of the Poor Law passed in 1834. The law stopped government aid to the poor
unless they entered workhouses where more miseries awaited them. The novel is significant in
its truthful presentation of the miseries of the poor and the description of the thieves' den and of
the underworld in London.The first two chapters of the book deal with the young hero Oliver
Twist's birth and adventures in the workhouse. Chapter I describes his birth. In order to
appreciate the humour in this chapter, one needs to recognize the ironic tone in which the scene
is presented. Many words are used in an ironic way. Chapter II is famous for the scene in which
Oliver asks for more. Driven by hunger Oliver ventures one day to ask for a second serving of
porridge. The scandalized authorities beat him, put him in solitary confinement, and give him
away along with five pounds. This scene strips the philanthropy mask of the ruling class and
highlights their extreme brutality and corruption. It is in scenes like this that we see the great
critical realist voicing the helplessness of the poor and the oppressed.

9. Comment on O. Wide’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

10. Comment on E. Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea