5.2　考研真题与典型题详解

I. Fill in the blanks.

1．Shakespeare’s authentic non-dramatic poetry consists of two ______ and 154 ______. （国际关系学院2009研）

【答案】long poems; sonnets

【解析】莎士比亚的作品除了戏剧之外，还包括两首长诗（Venus and Adonis及The Rape of Lucrece）和154首十四行诗。

2．Cordelia is a character in ______. （大连外国语学院2007研）

【答案】King Lear

【解析】Cordelia是莎士比亚著名悲剧《李尔王》中李尔王最小的女儿。

3．______, ______, ______, and ______ are generally regarded as Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. （南开大学2007研）

【答案】Hamlet，Macbeth, Othello, King Lear

【解析】莎士比亚的四大悲剧是《哈姆雷特》、《麦克白》、《奥赛罗》和《李尔王》。

4．Shakespeare’s plays have been traditionally divided into four categories according to dramatic type: histories, ______, tragedies and ______.

【答案】comedies; romances

【解析】莎士比亚的戏剧主要可以分为四种：历史剧，喜剧，悲剧和传奇剧。

5．The principal idea of Shakespeare’s historical plays is the necessity for ______ under one king. These ideas were of vital interest to the Elizabethan audience.

【答案】national unity

【解析】莎士比亚历史剧的一个主要观点就是国王应当维护国家统一，《李尔王》是一个很好的例证。

6．Shakespeare’s plays are poetical dramas. A great number of important dialogues and soliloquies in his plays assume the form of ______.

【答案】poetry

【解析】莎士比亚的戏剧是诗歌戏剧，其作品中大量重要的对话和独白都是采用诗歌的方式创作的。

7．“Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines” is a line taken from “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare. The underlined phrase refers to ______. （首师大2008研）

【答案】the sun

【解析】“天空的眼睛”指的是太阳。此句意为：有时候阳光过于炽烈。

8．Author: ______; Title: _______. （南京大学2008研）

【答案】Author: William Shakespeare; Title: Romeo and Juliet

【解析】题目节选自莎士比亚的Romeo and Juliet中Act II scene 2。题中诗句译文为：她脸庞的光辉，可使群星羞愧。/就像阳光可使灯光失色一般。/她的眼眸从天空穿过大气/流泻出光亮，鸟儿们会以为夜已尽而开始歌唱。

9．“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?”

The speaker is ______. （天津外国语2013研）

【答案】Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

【解析】题中的选段是莎士比亚著名作品《威尼斯商人》中的片段。

10．To what period does the following extract, poetical or prose, belong? If possible, name the author. （北师大2007研）

【答案】English Renaissance; William Shakespeare

【解析】这段文章选自莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》，莎士比亚是英国文艺复兴时期最杰出的艺术大师。译文：生存还是毁灭，这是个值得考虑的问题：默然忍受命运暴虐的毒箭，或是挺身反抗人世无涯的苦难，通过斗争把他们扫清，这两种行为，哪一种更高贵？死了，睡着了，什么都完了。倘若在这一种睡眠之中，我们心头的创痛，以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，这正是我们求之不得的结局。死了，睡着了，睡着了也许还会做梦。嗯，阻碍就在这！

II. Multiple Choices

1．Which of the following plays does NOT belong to Shakespeare’s comedies?

A. Henry V

B. The Merchant of Venice

C. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

D. The Winter Tale

【答案】A

【解析】《亨利五世》是莎士比亚的历史剧，不属于喜剧的范畴。

2．Among the following plays. ______ is NOT written by William Shakespeare? （首师大2009研）

A. Richard II

B. The Tempest

C. The Winter’s Tale

D. Lady Windermere’s Fan

【答案】D

【解析】Lady Windermere’s Fan（《温德米尔夫人的扇子》）的作者是Oscar Wilde（奥斯卡·王尔德），其余都是莎士比亚的剧作。

3．The author of the following sonnet is ______. (大连外国语2007研)

A. William Shakespeare

B. Geoffrey Chaucer

C. John Donne

D. Herbert Spencer

【答案】A

【解析】题中诗句是莎士比亚的十四行诗中的第二十九首，诗中热烈地歌颂了爱情，诗歌的译文为：当我受尽命运和人们的白眼，/暗暗地哀悼自己的身世飘零，/徒用呼吁去干扰聋瞆的昊天，/顾盼着身影，诅咒自己的生辰，/愿我和另一个一样富于希望，/面貌相似，又和他一样广交游，/希求这人的渊博，那人的内行，/最赏心的乐事觉得最不对头；/可是，当我正要这样看轻自己，/忽然想起了你，于是我的精神，/便像云雀破晓从阴霾的大地/振翮上升，高唱着圣歌在天门：/一想起你的爱使我那么富有，/和帝王换位我也不屑于屈就。

4．The Elizabethan age in the history of British literature represents the glory of the English theater. The greatest playwright produced in this age is ______. （天津外国语2007研）

A. William Shakespeare

B. Edmund Spencer

C. Philip Sydney

D. Christopher Marlowe

【答案】A

【解析】伊丽莎白时代最杰出的剧作家是莎士比亚。

5．The Age of William Shakespeare is also called the second period of ______. （北二外2008研）

A. Elizabethan Period

B. Victorian Period

C. English Renaissance

D. James Period

【答案】C

【解析】伊丽莎白一世在位的45年（从1558到1603年）被认为是英国的黄金时代；维多利亚在位的64年（从1837年到1901年）是“日不落帝国”时期；詹姆士一世从1603到1625年在位。英国的文艺复兴主要包括伊丽莎白时代和詹姆士一世统治时期，前期的代表人物主要是斯宾塞、锡德尼和大学才子派等，莎士比亚则是把英国文艺复兴推向高潮的人物。

6．“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” This is the beginning line of one of Shakespeare’s ______.

A. songs

B. plays

C. comedies

D. sonnets

【答案】D

【解析】“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”是莎士比亚十四行诗第28首的开头。

7．With the performance of ______ in 1613, which caused the burning of the Global Theatre by the firing of the cannon at the end of Act I, ended Shakespeare’s dramatic career.

A. Measure for Measure

B. Antony and Cleopatra

C. Coriolanus

D. Henry VIII

【答案】D

【解析】1613年在上演《亨利八世》时剧院失火，莎士比亚的戏剧生涯也告结束。

8．“Denmark is a prison”. In which play does the hero summarize his observation of his world into such a bitter sentence?

A. Charles I

B. Othello

C. Henry VIII

D. Hamlet

【答案】D

【解析】《哈姆雷特》是莎士比亚著名的四大悲剧之一，丹麦王子哈姆雷特目睹了国家统治阶级的残暴与黑暗，人民生活在水深火热之中，由此感慨道：“丹麦就是一座监狱。”

9．Which of the following statements best illustrates the theme of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”?

A. The speaker eulogizes the power of Nature.

B. The speaker satirizes human vanity.

C. The speaker praises the power of artistic creation.

D. The speaker meditates on man’s salvation.

【答案】C

【解析】在第18首十四行诗中，莎士比亚赞美了艺术作品的不朽力量。

10．The works of ______ and the Authorized Version of the English Bible are the two great treasuries of the English language.

A. Geoffrey Chaucer

B. Edmund Spenser

C. William Shakespeare

D. Ben Johnson

【答案】C

【解析】莎士比亚的作品中用词量大，广泛采用民间语言（如民谣、俚语、古谚语和滑稽幽默的散文等），注意吸收外来词，还大量运用比喻、隐喻、双关语，可谓集当时英语之大成。钦定版《圣经》编纂，使《圣经》成为渗透到英国各阶层的一种真正普遍性的读写文字，英语能成为当今世界最通用的语言亦是奠基于此。

Ⅲ. Explain the following terms.

1．Renaissance literature （中国人民大学2006研）

Key: Renaissance literature refers to a new tradition running from Petrarch and Boccaccio in Italy to Jonson and Milton in England, embracing the work of the French Pleiade and of Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare, marked by a new self-confidence in vernacular literatures, a flourishing of lyric poetry, and a revival of such classical forms as epic and pastoral literature.

2．Tragedy （天津外国语学院2008研；厦门大学2009研）

Key: A tragedy is a story that presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death. Tragedies recount an individual’s downfall; they usually begin high and end low. Shakespeare is known for his tragedies, including Macbeth, King Lear, Othello and Hamlet.

3．Sonnet （南开大学2010研）

Key: (1) A lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme.

(2) There are two major patterns of rhyme in sonnets written in the English language: ①The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet (named after the fourteenth century Italian poet Petrarch) falls into two main parts: an octave (eight lines) rhyming abbaabba followed by a sestet (six lines) rhyming cdecde or some variant, such as cdccdc. ②Shakespearean sonnet. This sonnet falls into three quatrains and a concluding couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. There was one notable variant, the Spenserian sonnet, in which Edmund Spenser linked each quatrain to the next by a continuing rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee.

IV. Read the following quotations and answer the questions.

Passage 1 （北航2009研）

Questions:

(1) From which play are these lines taken from?

(2) Who is the playwright?

(3) Who is the speaker?

(4) What does this speech show?

Key: (1) Hamlet

(2) William Shakespeare

(3) Hamlet

(4) In this famous monologue, Hamlet, facing the dilemma of action and mind, is hesitating whether he should revenge for his father, which may bring him death, or he should suffer and hide his hatred for his uncle in his deep heart, which may secure his life.

Passage 2

Identify each of the following quotations by giving the title of the work and the full name of the author, and explain the implications of the underlined parts. （人大2007研）

Key:

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

lead’st this fashion of thy malice: pretend be hate. Here it implies that the Duke hopes they will persuade Shylock to give up his original thought through saying that Shylock is kind and does not want to hurt others in his inner heart.

moiety: a half of his property. Here it implies Shylock is so kind in the Duke’s mouth.

Enow: enough. Here it implies Duke’s sympathy to Bassanio.

（译文：大家让开些，让他站在我的面前。（夏洛克）人家都以为——我也是这样想——你不过故意装出这一副凶恶的姿态，到了最后关头，就会显出你的仁慈恻隐来，比你现在这种表面上的残酷更加出人意料；现在你虽然坚持着照约处罚，一定要从这个不幸的商人身上割下一磅肉来，到了那时候，你不但愿意放弃这一种处罚，而且因为受到良心上的感动，说不定还会豁免他一部分的欠款，你看他最近接连遭逢的巨大损失，足以使无论怎样富有的商人倾家荡产，即使铁石一样的心肠，从来不知道人类同情的野蛮人，也不能不对他的境遇发生怜悯。）

V. Short answer questions

1．What are the unique features of Shakespeare’s sonnets?

Key: (1) The Shakespearean sonnet comprises three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming ababcdcdefefgg.

(2) It is obvious that Shakespeare wrote his sonnets partly in conformity with the popular vogue, but we must admit also that in some of them he revealed his innermost thoughts and feelings, made topical allusions to certain contemporary events and to his own life, and above all, divulged a few of his rare comments on social evils of his time.

(3) Generally speaking, in these sonnets, Shakespeare exalted friendship and love, sang the praises of youth and beauty, but since the numerous pieces must have been composed on different occasions, it is quite natural that they were expressions of vastly different moods and thoughts of different moments and their artistic worth was not of the same level.

2．Make comments on the heroines in William Shakespeare’s comedies.

Key: (1) In William Shakespeare’s comedies we find an expression of his ungrudging, equalitarian attitude toward women. These plays show, in different ways, William Shakespeare’s respect for the dignity, honesty, wit, courage, determination and resourcefulness of women. Though there are weariness and frailty sometimes, they never lose courage in time of danger. Portia in The Merchant of Venice is a best example. Portia is a woman of the Renaissance, beautiful, prudent, cultured, courteous and capable of rising to an emergency.

(2) The young heroines in William Shakespeare’s comedies are always independent in character and take their own way of life, such as Julia, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Rosalind, the heroine of As You Like It. Heroines like these are no longer the women who, under the yoke of feudalism, cling about the neck of a father or a husband. They are able to defend themselves.

In all, William Shakespeare’s heroines belong to a new type. They are witty, brave, independent, optimistic and faithful.

（此题主要从莎士比亚对女性的态度以及其创作的新女性形象的特点等方面作答。）

3．What is the central theme revealed by the conflict between the group of Christians such as Antonio, Bassanio, Portia, and the others, and the Jew Shylock in Shakespeare’s comedy The Merchant of Venice? On which side, Antonio’s or Shylock’s, does Shakespeare stand and why? And what is the progressive significance of the play? （人大2003研）

Key: The conflict between Shylock and the Christian characters comes to a head over the issue of mercy. The other characters acknowledge that the law is on Shylock’s side, but they all expect him to show mercy, which he refuses to do. Shakespeare stands by the Antonio’s side. As is seen in the drama, he praises Antonio’s sense of love and generosity, and he condemns Shylock’s selfishness and cold-bloodiness. The progressive significance of the play is that it makes a contrast and comparison of the Christian and the Jew. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages. The Christian is generous and sympathetic, but he only shows his generosity and sympathy within his community, i.e. to other Christians, not the Jew. The Jew, despite his selfishness and sense of hatred, is pitiable, as he is looked down upon and not treated equally by the Christian.

VI. Essay questions

1．What gives Shakespeare the unwavering reputation for greatness in age after age?

Key: ①First of all, living in the transitional period of the rapid decline of feudalism and the steady rise of capitalism, Shakespeare showed much antipathy towards many evil practices. And there is also the intense sympathy that his work conveys for people of every type and class, from the most exalted monarch to the humblest gravedigger or porter. ②He was a consummate artist in playwriting and in poetry. He created a whole gallery of vivid, lifelike characters. In his romantic comedies, there are many brilliant heroines of talent and ingenuity. In his history plays, he portrays his ideal king and the colorful Falstaff. In his early tragedies, Romeo and Juliet have become the celebrated as synonym for young, star-crossed lovers. And in his four great tragedies, his insuperable skill in portrayal reaches the summit in such renowned figures as Hamlet, Othello, etc. ③His most striking attainment in characterization is his ever-conscious emphasis on the psychological make-up of his major characters. His heroes and heroines not only do things and say things, but reveal to the audience and readers their thought. He uses soliloquies to show the thinking process of his characters. ④He also showed great craftsmanship in the management of plot in most of his plays. He took stories from many sources. The secrets of his success lies in his abilities to mould these borrowed source materials to the best advantages. He frequently employed dramatic irony. The use of disguise leads to mistaken identity and comic effects and pathos. ⑤He was a great poet, master of prose, and sonneteer. He has been regarded as the foremost poet and dramatist of England, and by some, of all Europe.

2．In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the tragic hero Hamlet seems to be delaying his revenge. Why? Please give your explanations by in-depth analysis with textual evidences. （北航2012研）

Key: There are many reasons as to why Hamlet might be delaying the revenge.

One of Hamlet’s many reasons could be that he is afraid of the consequence after killing. He worries that the killing will cause turbulence to his country. He can not decide to take such revenge. Also, Hamlet is quite religious, which can been seen in the prayer scene: “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying, and now I’ll don’t - and so goes to heaven, and am I reneged. That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and for that, I his sole son do this same villain send to Heaven.” Hamlet fears the result of killing because he knows that if he kills Claudius while Claudius prays, Claudius will go to heaven, and Hamlet will have to suffer the sin of killing.

Another reason as to why Hamlet postponed the revenge, could be that he didn’t want to hurt his mother Gertrude, especially after his father warned him not to hurt her in any way. “I will speak daggers to her but use non”, this indicates Hamlet’s protection over his mother--he will “speak in daggers”, i.e. talk to her with a sharp tone, but “use non” to hurt his mother. It could be said that Hamlet didn’t want to kill Claudius because he didn’t want to see his mother suffer a loss of another loved one.