LITERATURA INGLESA II: ILUSTRACIÓN, ROMANTICISMO Y ÉPOCA VICTORIANA PRIMERA PRUEBA DE EVALUACIÓN CONTÍNUA (PEC 1) Si entrega esta PEC, su nota de examen representará solo un 80% de la nota final, con el 20% restante asignado a la PEC; tanto su nota de la PEC como su nota del examen serán ponderadas, es decir multiplicadas por 0,2 y 0,8 respectivamente. Por ejemplo, si obtiene un 6 en el examen y un 7,5 en la PEC, su nota final del cuatrimestre o 1ª P. P. será 6,3 ([4.8 (6 x 0.8) + 1.5 (7.5 x 0.2)]. Su nota de la PEC solo se considerará si obtiene un mínimo de 5 en el examen. I.-Provide the term (a single word or phrase), name or title that is being defined / referred to. Definition: the category of spirits to which Zephyretta, Brillante, Momentilla, Crispissa and Ariel belong. Term: Sylphs Definition: the rhetorical device that runs through A Modest Proposal, by means of which the writer presents his project as serious and feasible, although he means to convey a very different message. Term: Satire Definition: an adjective that refers to the use of letters in fiction, often with the purpose of presenting a character’s point of view or – as in Pride and Prejudice –causing the plot to progress. Term: Epistolar II.-Read and identify the following extract. Choose the best option in the multiple choice questions. Nor you, ye Proud, impute to these the fault If Memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise, Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault The pealing anthem swells the note of praise. Can storied urn or animated bust Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? Can Honour’s voice provoke the silent dust, Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of Death? 1.-Name the extract’s source and its author: "Elegy written in a country churchyard" by Thomas Gray. 1 2.-The author of the poem from which these lines have been taken a) was pilloried because of his fierce satires. b) had a strong interest in Welsh bardic poetry. c) also wrote successful Gothic novels. d) can be considered purely “neoclassical”. 3.- The third and fourth lines of the first stanza above a) refer specifically to Westminster Abbey. b) rely exclusively on visual imagery. c) are an attack on the Catholic liturgy. d) refer in general terms to a place of worship. 4.-Which of the following statements best encapsulates the idea of the second stanza above? a) The “storied” past of the dead should always be remembered. b) Fame and honour make the dead immortal. c) The ghosts of the dead haunt the living. d) Grandiose remembrance of the dead cannot bring them back to life. III.-Write 250-300 words on the following topic. Compare how criminality is portrayed in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera and Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders. At the beginning of the 18th century extremes of wealth and poverty developed in the English society. The low classes were trapped in a circle of harsh labour conditions and the dangerous relief of strong alcoholic drinks, which made dominant classes even richer. Credit and capitalism were becoming predominant and Politics were corrupted. Even the prime minister Robert Walpole was involved in an economic scandal known as "The South Sea Bubble". In "Moll Flanders" (1722) Daniel Defoe shows a woman born in a prison who in vain tries to scape her destiny of becoming a criminal. In John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" (1728) the author compares the highway criminals with the political class. In both cases the main character (Moll or Mr. Peachum) is on the verge of being brought to the gallows at Newgate Prison. Both authors criticize the penal system that condemns a poor citizen for stealing a piece of fabric but releases a prime minister who benefits from a huge fraud. The smelly, overcrowed and disastrous 18th century London is shown in both works. The style of "Moll Flanders" is straightforward, descriptive and realistic, the author tries to provoke in the reader a feeling of distress to make us aware of the unfair conditions of the low classes. "The Beggar's Opera" plays with humor, music, parody and satire to criticize the English Society. Daniel Defoe believes that there is a way to improve low classes lifes, although at his times the only apparent remedy to avoid hanging is transportation of convicts to the overseas colonies. John Gay is more sceptical about the solution of his current England situation and enjoys destroying the establishment at the stage. He even invited the prime minister Horace Walpole to the first representations, bearing in mind that the play is a harsh attack to his government. 2
