自考《英美文学选读》笔记1
Feature of Romanticism [P161-163]
1. Expressiveness.
a. The Romantic period is an age of poetry. The Romantics believed that poetry could purify both individual souls and the society.
b. Wordsworth’s theory of poetry is calling for simple themes drawn from humble life expressed in the language of ordinary people.
c. The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.
d. The Romantics believed that object should be the expression of the writer’s emotion， impression and beliefs.
2. Imagination. It is in solitude， in communication with the natural universe， that man can exercise this most valuable of faculties， the imagination.
3. Worship of Nature. Nature is not only the major source of poetic imagery， but also provides the dominant subject matter.
4. To escape from a world that had become excessively rational， as well as excessively materialistic and ugly， the Romantics would turn to other times and places， where the qualities they valued could be convincingly depicted. Lake poet or passive Romantic poet： Wordsworth， Coleridge， Southey - old and conservative. Active Romantic poet： Byron， Shelly， Keats - young and revolutionary.
5. Romantics also tend to be nationalistic， defending the great poets and dramatists of their own national heritage against the advocates of classical rules.
6. Romantic writers are always seeking for the Absolute， the Ideal through the transcendence of the actual. They have also made bold experiments in poetic language， versification and design， and constructed a variety of forms on original principles of organization and style.
Political Writing [P164]
1. Leading figures： Coleridge， Hazlitt， Lamb， and De Quincey
2. William Hazlitt （1778-1830） is a great critic on Shakespeare， Elizabethan drama， and English poetry. He is also a master of the familiar essays. He has developed an eloquent， courageous and arbitrary prose style.
3. Charles Lam （1775-1844） is a lovable essayist. His essay is a medium for a delightful literary treatment of life’s small pleasures and reassurance. The essential characteristic of his essays is a strong clear intelligence， commanding in its centrality， its courage， and its vital irony.
4. Thomas De Quincey （1785-1859） is one of the keenest intellects of the age. The great literary merit of his Confessions of an English Opium Eater lies in his subtle revelation of the potentiality of human dreams. His concern with the psychological effects of literature achieves. His style， sometimes stately， sometimes headlong， now gorgeous， now musical， shows a harmony between the idea and the expression.hunder which overwhelmed him left heart still unvanquished.der which overwhelmed him left heart still unvanquished.
Novelists of the period
1. Jane Austen （1775-1817） She honors the Augustan virtues of moderation， dignity， disciplined emotion and common sense. Th
