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REVISION
1) The World Picture
childhood individual limited emotions atypical evocation behaviour
thought reason civilization qualities evil insights picturesque
civilization human children mind emphasis outlook
Fill in the
blanks in
the text
with words
from the
box.
1. The spirit of the age was affected by a strong desire to explore new possibilities of [1]
_________and [2]_________.
2. Several means were exploited in the attempt to compensate for the [3]________ possibilities of
the [4]________mind.
3. Imagination was a means of giving expression to experiences non accountable to
[5]____________.
4. The Romantics were seriously concerned about the [6]_________ of [7]________.
5. To the Romantics [8]_________ were purer than adults because they were unspoiled by
[9]________.
6. A new [10] was on the significance of the [11]_______, and the rebel and the [12] _______were
exalted.
7. The Romantics stressed the [13] _____of each individual‟s [14]______, and did not see him as a
social animal.
8. The current of [15] ______of Rousseau stated that [16] _______produced every kind of [17]
______and
corruption in men.
9. In the 18th century, „Romantic‟ was used to describe the [18] _______in the landscape.
10. The term „Romantic‟ gradually came to be applied to the [19] ______of subjective and
incommunicable(20)____
2) Choose the correct alternative to complete these sentences.
1. The Romantic period in England saw the predominance of poetry / novels.
2. Nature was a perfect background / living force in Romantic poems.
3. The main task of the poet was to represent impersonal material / mediate between
nature and man.
4. The Romantic poets described natural settings for their symmetry and harmony /
used nature to mirror their own
feelings.
5. Natural descriptions were for their own sake / a source of joy.
6. The Romantic syntax followed the rules of the ordinary language / was modelled
to follow the rhyme and rhythm.
7. Symbols and images had a decorative function / a vital role in poems.
8. The poets of the second generation regarded poetry as a challenge to the cosmos
and the social order / mirror of reality and an imitation of life.
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3) Decide whether the following statements about the Novel of Manners are true or false. Correct
the false ones.
1. The rise of this genre was influenced by the atmosphere determined by the Napoleonic wars.
2. Novels of Manners are mainly set in ancient times or medieval castles.
3. Most of the characters belong to the upper and middle classes.
4. They are explored and described in relation to important historical events.
5. These novels mainly deal with the code and conventions of daily behaviour.
6. Passions and emotions play a remarkable role in this type of novels and are expressed directly.
7. Description is the main narrative mode.
8. The main themes are love, marriage and friendship.
4) Complete the following sentences.
1. Wordsworth‟s poetry originated_________________________________________________
2. The subjects of his poems were drawn from________________________________________
3. The language to be used in poetry should be________________________________________.
4. He chose humble, rustic men because_____________________________________________.
5. Wordsworth shared Rousseau‟s__________________________________________________.
6. Wordsworth was particularly interested in the_______________________________________.
7. Wordsworth‟s poetry offers a detailed_____________________________________________.
8. Nature teaches man to__________________________________________________________.
5) Daffodils
Fill in the blanks in the following text. Use the words in the box.
sight happiness harmony Memory elements long-lasting senses
alone momentary mentally scene feel solitude pleasure stretch
The poet is wandering [1]____ in the countryside, when he catches [2]____ of a “host, of golden
daffodils”, which [3]____ beside the lake and under the trees and seem to move continually in a
dance. The [4]_______described is peopled only by natural [5]_____, and the poet can enjoy it in a
pleasant state of [6]_____. The[7]_____ vision of natural beauty and [8]____ brings a shock of
[9]_______ and the poet in fact feels the same joy that the flowers seem to [10]____. This vision
has a [11]_____ effect on the poet. [12]_____, the “inward eye”, the capacity to evoke an emotion
experienced through the [13]______ in the past and re-create it [14]______, will give him renewed
[15]__________.
6) Decide whether the following sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.
1. George G. Byron belonged to the upper middle class.
2. In English Bards and Scottish Reviewers he showed his Romantic attitude.
3. The first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage were inspired by his friendship with Shelley.
4. He lived in Geneva and became a friend of Shelley.
5. He wrote the fourth and last canto of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage while he was living in Pisa.
6. He moved to Greece for health problems.
7. He died in Greece while he was training the troops.
8. In Greece he is regarded as a national hero.
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7) Write a sentence to explain:
1. what Byron‟s importance on the European literary scene was;
2. how he denounced the evils of society;
3. what is Romantic in his poetry;
4. what metre he used in Don Juan;
5. what gives unity to Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage;
6. why Byron described nature also in its wild and cruel aspects;
8) Complete the following sentences.
1. Shelley was expelled .
2. He rebelled against .
3. He was interested in .
4. He separated from his wife and .
5. They lived in .
9)Ode to the West Wind
Fill in the blanks in the text with words from the box.
seasons natural regenerating personal destructive three ideas
rhetorical succession sonnet death tone wind two regeneration
optimistic imagery poet’s unity political
1. Shelley‟s ode finds its [1]_________ not in the logic of the [2]____________ but on the
interdependency of the [3]____________, and the basic feeling that underlies them.
2. It contains images connected with the [4]___________ and its effects and images linked with the
cycle of [5]_______________.
3. The wind accompanies the [6] __________of seasons, from autumn to spring, and is in turn
[7]_________ and [8]________________.
4. The [9]__________ and [10]__________ theme has a multiple significance: it is connected with
the [11] ____________world, the [12]__________ life of the poet and the [13] regeneration that
Shelley hoped for.
5. On the whole, the [14]_________ of the Ode is [15]___________, as it is clearly shown in the
last stanza by the [16] ___________question “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”.
6. The first [17]_________ stanzas of the poem contain a general description, the last [18]_______
stanzas contain the [19]__________ personal consideration.
7. Each stanza consists in 14 lines, like a [20]_________, and the rhyme scheme follows the Italian
Terzina dantesca.
10) Mr and Mrs Bennet
Answer the following questions.
1. What is Mrs Bennet‟s immediate purpose?
2. What is her main constant worry?
3. What are the main traits of Mr Bennet?
4. What is the tone of the statement that introduces the main theme of the novel?
5. Whose viewpoint is the introductory statement of the novel?
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11) Darcy’s Proposal
Fill in the blanks in the text with the words in the box.
Frankness revenge prejudices declaring attitudes offended spoilt
proudindependence phrasing relationship qualities awkward indignant
deeds
This passage marks the lowest point in the [1]_______ between Elizabeth and Darcy.
The two characters appear in their most radical [2]_____ even if their potentially best
[3]__________ are foreshadowed. Darcy has forced himself into [4]_________ his
love to Elizabeth, but his [5]________ is so unfortunate that it makes Elizabeth
[6]___________.
However, he has been able to appreciate her talents, her [7]________ of judgement
and her [8]___________, and he has taken the first [9] _______step, towards her.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, is rightly [10] _________at his behaviour but she
accuses him of evil [11] _________of which he is not guilty . Her capacity of
judgement has been [12] ___________by the prejudices she has accumulated against
him, and she wants to take her [13]________ on him. Even if Darcy accuses
Elizabeth of being too [14]_______ and Elizabeth accuses him of [15]
________against her and her family, they are guilty of both.
12) Write a sentence to explain the purpose of the following reforms:
1. The Ten Hours‟ Act;
2. The Poor Law Amendment Act;
3. The Third Reform Act.
13) Complete the following sentences.
1. The role of Queen Victoria as a constitutional monarch was important because she________ .
2. Workhouses were deliberately unpleasant so_______________________________________ .
3. This hard line was due to and___________________________________________________ .
4. Benjamin Disraeli was the leader of (ex- )__________________________________________.
5. Britain wanted free trade and supported some liberal causes abroad, but __________________.
6. The Trade Unions not only campaigned , but contributed to ____________________________.
7. The mechanization of printing made . So reading_____________________________________ .
8. Intellectuals had to face a conflict concerning________________________________________ .
14) Fill in the blanks in the sentences with words from the box.
Possession authority education charitable society races attendance
diligence Philanthropy way of life
1. The values of [1]________, hard-work and good behaviour were applied to all strata of
[2]______. 2. Respectability implied the [3]_____ of good manners, the regular [4] ____at church
and [5]______activity.
3. [6] ______absorbed the energy of a large number of middle-class women.
4. Women obeyed the [7] ______of men but they had a key-role in child-rearing and [8]_____.
5. Victorians believed that some superior [9]_____ had the duty to bestow their superior [10]
________to the others.
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15) Decide whether the following sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.
1. Dickens had an unhappy childhood because his father left the family to work abroad.
2. He started to work as a clerk when he was twenty.
3. His first work Sketches by Boz deals with the exploitation of children.
4. In Oliver Twist he exposed the exploited lives of children.
5. The setting of his novels helps the writer understand important social issues.
16) Complete the following sentences.
1. The plots of Dickens‟s novels are_________________________________________________.
2. His works were influenced by the type of publication because __________________________.
3. His writings were influenced by different types of literature, such as______________________ .
4. He became increasingly critical of society as he was aware of ___________________________.
5. In his novels London is described __________________________________________________.
6. The aim of his mature works was to draw his readers‟ attention __________________________.
17) Oliver wants some more
Complete the following sentences.
1. The events narrated take place______________________________________________________________ .
2. After the meal children _____________________________________________________________________.
3. The boys decide to ask for more food and Oliver _________________________________________________.
4. When Oliver’s asks for more food the master ____________________________________________________.
5. The master is described as a fat, healthy man and this _____________________________________________.
6. Later Oliver is _____________________________________________________________________________.
18) Choose the best alternative.
1. Robert L. Stevenson spent most of his childhood in bed because he was ill / travelling around
Europe.
2. During his university years he was in conflict with the men of letters of the age / the respectable
Victorian world.
3. The origin of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was in a dream of his / his protest
against Victorian
society.
4. The double nature of the city in which he set his novel reflects the damages due to the industrial
revolution / the hypocrisy of the Victorian society.
5. In this novel Stevenson shows his concern with the duality of man’s nature / the vices of his age.
6. Most scenes of the novels take place at night / during the day.
7. The story reflects the male patriarchal world of Victorianism / the Calvinistic values Stevenson
had inherited from his mother.
19) Write a sentence to explain:
1. what the novel is about_________________________________________________________;
2. the main physical features of Mr Hyde_____________________________________________;
3. what Hyde‟s deformity consists in_________________________________________________;
4. what Hyde‟s physical progressive physical growth implies_____________________________;
5. the point of view from which the story is told________________________________________;
6. the value of the strange relationship between Utterson and Enfield_______________________;