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8.2 考研真题与典型题详解
I. Fill in the blanks.
1．Samson Agonisteswas 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 ofForeign Affairs, John Milton wrote a number of pamphlets defending the Englishrevolution. The most well-known is his controversy with the European scholarSalmasius 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 thesuccess 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．In1637 Milton wrote the finest pastoral elegy in English, ______, tomemorize 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 Miltonwrote 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 storiesfrom ______. （北二外2009研）
A. The NewTestament
B. The OldTestament
C. The AncientGreek Myths
D. The AncientRoman 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 anidyllic shepherd’s existence to bewail the loss of a friend. （天津外国语学院2009研）
A. pastoralelegy
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 pamphletsdefending 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 thefollowing statements about Paradise Lost, which is not the proper one?
A. John Milton’smasterpiece.
B. A great epicin 10 books
C. Written inblank verse.
D. About theheroic 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 pamphletsdefending 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 followingterms.
1．ParadiseLost （首师大2008研）
Key: Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century Englishpoet 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 expulsionfrom the Garden of Eden. Milton’s purpose, stated in Book I, is to “justify theways of God to men” and elucidate the conflict between God’s eternal foresightand free will.
2．blank verse （首师大2009研）
Key: Blank verse is a type of poetry, distinguishedby having a regular meter, but no rhyme. In English, the meter most commonlyused with blank verse has been iambic pentameter (as used in Shakespeareanplays). The first known use of blank verse in the English language was by HenryHoward, Earl of Surrey. Christopher Marlowe was the first English author tomake full use of the potential of blank verse, and also established it as thedominant 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, andMilton, whose Paradise Lost was written in blank verse.
IV. Short answer questions
1．How many books does Paradise Lost consist of? Who are thefour main characters in the epic, and what are the respective relations betweenthem? （人大2006研）
Key: Paradise Lost consists of 12 books, the main characters in which areSatan, God, Adam and Eve. Satan and God are enemies. Adam and Eve are the firstman and woman made by God. But seduced by Satan, they ate the fruits on thetree of the knowledge of good and evil, which annoyed God, finally werebanished from the Garden of Eden.
2．Make a commenton the image of Satan in Paradise Lost.
Key: (1) In John Milton’s Paradis Lost, Satan, like a conqueredand banished giant, remains obeyed and admired by those who follow him down tohell. He is firmer than the rest of the angels. It is he who, passing theguarded gates obstacle, makes man revolt against God.
(2) Satan is thespirit 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 theTree of Knowledge.
(3) Thoughdefeated, 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 thunderwhich hits upon his head leaves his heart invincible. Though feebler in force,he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happyservility, and welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty, anda joy. In conclusion, the finest thing in Paradise Lost is thedescription 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 Agonistesis John Milton, the author himself.
Key: (1) Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama patterned on Greektragedies. It deals with the story of Samson from the “Book of Judges” in the OldTestament. Samson is an athlete of the Israelites. He stands as the bravestwarrior fighting for the freedom of his country. But he is betrayed by hisPhilistine wife Dalilah and blinded by his enemies the Philistines. Led intothe temple to make them sport, he takes his vengeance upon his enemies bypulling down the temple upon them and upon himself in a common ruin. He diesbut regains his dignity in death.
(2) Samson andJohn Milton share much common life experiences. Like Samson the protagonist,Milton had also been betrayed by his wife, persecuted by his enemies, andsuffered from blindness. And yet he holds unconquerable will.
(3) ThroughSamson’s miserable blindness, his agonizing longing for sight and freedom andhis last terrible triumph, Milton puts forward his passionate longing that hecould 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 thetheme and characterization of Paradise Lost.
Key: (1) Paradise Lost is Milton’smasterpiece. 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 theforbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and how they are punished by Godand driven out of Paradise. By depicting Satan and his followers as well astheir fiery utterance and brave actions, Milton is showing a Puritan’s revoltagainst the dictator and against the established doctrines of the Catholics andthe Anglican Church.
(2) In the poem God is no better than a cruel and selfishdespot, seated On a throne with a chorus of angels about him singing songs topraise him. His long speeches are not pleasing at all. He is cruel and unjustin punishing Satan. His Archangel Raphael is only a bore. His angels arestupid. But Satan is by far the most striking character in the poem, who risesagainst God and, though defeated, still seeks for revenge.
(3) Adam and Eve embody Milton’s belief in the powers ofman. God denied their craving for knowledge. It is this longing for knowledgethat opens before mankind a wide road to intelligent and active life. It hasbeen noted by many critics that Milton’s revolutionary feelings made him forgetreligious orthodoxy. The angels who surround the God never think of expressingany opinions of their own, and they never seem to have any opinions of theirown. This image of God surrounded by such angels resembles the court of anabsolute monarch. But Satan and his followers, who freely discuss all issues incouncil, remind us a republican Parliament.