Passage 96 (11/15)“Many readers assume that” 求助一篇阅读

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Many readers assumethat, as a neoclassical literary critic, Samuel Johnson would normally preferthe abstract, the formal, and the regulated to the concrete, the natural, andthe spontaneous in a work of literature. Yet any close reading of Johnson’scriticism shows that Johnson is not blind to the importance of the immediate,vivid, specific detail in literature; rather, he would underscore the need forthe telling rather than the merely accidental detail.

In other ways, too,Johnson’s critical method had much in common with (in common with:和…一样) thatof the Romantics, with whom Johnson and, indeed, the entire neoclassical traditionare generally supposed to be in conflict. Johnson was well aware, for example,of the sterility of literary criticism that is legalistic or pedantic, as wasthe case with the worst products of the neoclassical school. His famousargument against the slavish following of the “three unities” of classicaldrama is a good example, as is his defense of the supposedly illegitimate “tragicomic”mode of Shakespeare’s latest plays. Note, in particular, the basis of thatdefense: “That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism,” Johnsonwrote, “will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal from criticismto nature.”

The sentiment thusexpressed could easily be endorsed by any of the Romantics; the empiricism itexemplifies is vital quality of Johnson’s criticism, as is the willingness tojettison “laws” of criticism when to do so makes possible a more direct appealto the emotions of the reader. Addison’s Cato,highly praised in Johnson’s day for its “correctness,” is damned with faintpraise by Johnson: “Cato affords asplendid exhibition of artificial and fictitious manners, and delivers just andnoble sentiments, in diction easy, elevated, and harmonious, but its hopes andfears communicate no vibration to the heart.” Wordsworth could hardly demur.

Even on thequestion of poetic diction, which, according to the usual interpretation ofWordsworth’s 1800 preface to the LyricalBallads, was the central area of conflict between Romantic and Augustan,Johnson’s views are surprisingly “modern.” In his Life of Dryden, he defends the use of a special diction in poetry,it is true; but his reasons are all-important. For Johnson, poetic dictionshould serve the ends of direct emotional impact and ease of comprehension, notthose of false profundity or grandiosity. “Words too familiar,” he wrote, “ortoo remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear onsmall or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, ordelightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever theyoccur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things.”If the poetic diction of the neoclassical poets, at its worst, erects needlessbarriers between reader and meaning, that envisioned by Johnson would do just theopposite: it would put the reader in closer contact with the “things” that arethe poem’s subject.

1.     Theauthor of the passage develops her points about Johnson primarily by

(A) contrastingJohnson’s critical methods with those of his contemporaries

(B) citingspecific illustrations drawn from Johnson’s work

(C) alluding tocontemporary comments about Johnson’s theories

(D) quotingJohnson’s remarks about the critical approaches prevalent in his own day（B）

(E) emphasizingthe fallacies inherent in the most common view of Johnson

2.     The passage implies that the judging of literary works according to preconceivedrules

(A) tends tolessen the effectiveness of much modern literary criticism

(B) is theprimary distinguishing mark of the neoclassical critic

(C) was theprimary neoclassical technique against which the Romantics rebelled

(D) is theunderlying basis of much of Johnson’s critical work（E）

(E) characterizesexamples of the worst neoclassical criticism

3.     The passage implies that the neoclassical critics generally condemned

(A) Shakespeare’suse of the “tragicomic” (line 18) literary mode

(B) the slavishfollowing of the “three unities” (line 16) in drama

(C) attempts tojudge literary merit on the basis of “correctness” (line 28)

(D) artificialityand abstraction in literary works（A）

(E) the use ofa special diction in the writing of poetry

4.     Accordingto the author, Johnson’s defense of Shakespeare’s latest plays illustratesJohnson’s reliance on which of the following in his criticism?

(A) Thesentiments endorsed by the Romantics

(B) Thecriteria set forth by Wordsworth in his 1800 preface to the Lyrical Ballads

(C) Theprecedents established by the Greek and Roman playwrights of the Classical Age

(D) The principlesfollowed by the neoclassical school of criticism（E）

(E) His ownexperience and judgment

5.     According to the passage, Johnson’s opinionof Addison’s Cato was

(A) roundlycondemnatory

(B) somewhatself-contradictory

(C) ultimatelynegative

(D) effusivelyadulatory（C）

(E) uncharacteristicallybold

6.    Accordingto the passage, Johnson’s views on the use of a special diction in the writingof poetry were

(A) “modern” intheir rejection of a clear-cut division between the diction of poetry and that ofprose

(B) “neoclassical”in their emphasis on the use of language that appeals directly to the emotionsof the reader

(C) “Romantic”in their defense of the idea that a special diction for poetry could bestylistically effective

(D) “modern” intheir underlying concern for the impact of the literary work on the sensibilityof the reader（D）

(E) “neoclassical”in their emphasis on ease of comprehension as a literary virtue

7.     It can be inferred from the passage that in addition to being a literary critic, Johnsonwas also a

(A) surprisinglymodern poet

(B) poet in theAugustan mode

(C) dramatist

(D) biographer（D）

(E) naturalist

8.     Whichone of the following statements best summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) Althoughmany of Johnson’s critical opinions resemble those of the neoclassical critics,his basic concerns are closer to those of the Romantics.

(B) The usualclassification of Johnson as a member of the neoclassical school of criticismis based on an inaccurate evaluation of his critical theories and ideals.

(C) TheRomantic critics were mistaken in their belief that the critical ideas theyformulated represented a departure from those propounded by Johnson.

(D) Althoughmany of Johnson’s critical opinions resemble those of the Romantic critics, hisbasic concerns are closer to those of the neoclassical critics.（A）

(E) Johnson’sliterary criticism represents an attempt to unify the best elements of theneoclassical and the Romantic schools of criticism.

9.     Theauthor of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) defending areputation

(B) reconcilingconflicting views

(C) comparingtwo schools of thought

(D) challengingan assumption（D）

(E) presentingnew evidence in support of an established theory

答案
BEAECDDAD

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