Excellent examples of graduation thesis in English literature

Literature and art are related to the ultimate meaning of life, and literary works are the externalized life of us humans. The following is the content of excellent examples of graduation thesis essays on British literature that I have compiled for you. You are welcome to read and refer to it!

Excellent examples of graduation thesis essays on British literature Part 1

Brief discussion Translation methods of fuzzy language in British and American literary works

1. Vagueness in British and American literary works

Vagueness is an inherent attribute of most languages. Fuzzy language plays an important role in our language. It is inevitable in communication. Russell pointed out in a famous paper "On Vagueness" written in 1923: "The whole language is more or less vague." Wang Peizhuang's preface to Wu Tieping's "Fuzzy Linguistics" clearly states at the outset: "Fuzziness is an essential attribute of non-artificial language, and therefore an unavoidable object of linguistics."

Literature as a language arts. Its important feature lies in its imageability. Basically, most readers appreciate literary works through reconstructed imagination in their minds. One of the characteristics of this reconstructed imagination is vague language. It is precisely this use of vague language that greatly expands readers' vision and imagination, and also highlights the charm of writing. A typical passage is Shakespeare's sentence "to be, or not to be" in "The Revenge of the Prince". The few words "to be, or not to be" arouse readers' unlimited imagination and interpretation, and at the same time give this sentence a strong vitality.

2. Translation methods of ambiguous language in British and American literary works

Translation is like marriage, it is a literary art of mutual compromise. The same language translation is also a means of cross-cultural communication between people with different languages ????and different cultural backgrounds. Excellent language translation leads to successful communication, but poor translation can also lead to misunderstandings. In such an important situation, translation will become extremely important. Faced with different languages, translators need to adopt appropriate translation methods to successfully transmit information in different languages. To a certain extent, successful literary translation is also a vague transfer of the spirit of the original author.

2.1. In line with the spirit of the original text

The primary method of article translation is to reproduce the vague language beauty of the original text in a corresponding form. For example, the poem quoted at the beginning of Jack London's "Martin Eden": Let me live out my years in heat of blood/ Let me lie drunken with the dreamer's wine/ Let me not see this soul-house built of mud/ Go toppling to the dust a vacant shrine! (Let me live this life in a boiling blood! / Let me be intoxicated in a mellow dream! / Don’t let me see this clay body, / Finally, it will be destroyed in the dust with an empty body !) The language in the translation is the product of the interaction of image and fuzzy thinking in poetry creation. The translation is just right. It is not only precise but also fuzzy, and the beauty of the article is still there. This translation stimulates readers' imagination and makes the language more dynamic.

2.2. Fuzzy descriptions to reproduce the beauty of images

When translating British and American literary works, translators should make full use of vague descriptions to reproduce the beauty created by the blurred images of characters in the original works. For example, in the novel "The Da Vinci Code", Dan Brown used a series of imagery to describe Langdon's appearance. For the author of the original text, the connotations of these character descriptions are timeless and meaningful. They are also an expression of the author Brown's portrayal of the protagonist Langdon in the novel. Therefore, these vague language descriptions also have symbolic meaning. For readers, these descriptions are meaningful. It is not known whether the meaning beyond the image description can be transformed into the reader's intention.

However, in the Chinese translation, the translator has made favorable preparations for this, such as "sharp eyes", "a dark patch of beard", etc., which invisibly provides a more favorable reference for the "bookish appeal" of the following text. The foreshadowing also successfully retains the image beauty of the original text.

2.3. Translation of fuzzy words

A common phenomenon in various languages ??is fuzziness. In general, if the concept of a word in a language is vague, then there will also be vague concepts in another language. So in this case, we can use the fuzzy-to-fuzzy translation principle to translate. For example, there is a sentence in Thoughts on Various Subjects translated by Wang Zuoliang, as follows: "Complaint is the largest Tribute Heaven rec Eives, and the sincerest Part of our Devotion." It is also the most sincere part of our prayers." Here the translator translated the ambiguous words "largest" and "sincerest" into "largest" and "most sincere" which is probably the most appropriate translation. Generally speaking, in the translation of fuzzy languages, the principle of "fuzzy to fuzzy" is the most common and the most labor-saving.

However, there are also some special cases. Since the clarity between a vague word and its neighboring words is not obvious, there will be some deviations in translation, so some expressions in the target language must be used. Translate ambiguous words from the original language.

For example: Stood up and looked out of the window on the calm summer night through which I was journeying, noting the pale reminiscence of day that still lingered in the northern sky. (A. G. Gardiner: A Fellow-Traveler ) stood up and looked out the window of the journey at the silent summer evening, watching the dim afterglow of the day still lingering in the northern sky. Objectively speaking, "night" can be translated into "evening" and "evening", which are two vague words with unclear boundaries. The reason why "night" is translated as "evening" is that this translation is loyal to the original text and conveys the meaning of the original text smoothly, making it easy for readers to understand and accept.

Since vague words have rich meanings and connotations, sometimes translators will use more precise language when translating according to the specific context, making the translated article more brilliant. From this we can also see the clever translation method of the translator.

3. Conclusion

In a sense, the art of literary language is an art of ambiguous language. In literary works, the use of vague language not only expands readers' horizons and imagination, but also enhances the artistic charm of literary language. Therefore, literary translation is particularly important. The key to successful literary translation is to master translation strategies and translate the ambiguous language in literary works well. When translating, the translator must fully mobilize his or her translation consciousness and grasp the essence of the original work as much as possible. At the same time, translators must also give full play to their subjective initiative and use their imagination to reproduce the vague meaning of the original work.

Excellent Examples of Graduation Thesis on British Literature 2

On Western Allusions and British and American Literature Education

Abstract: One of the difficulties in teaching British and American literature is the face of students Confusion over Western allusions.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to appropriately introduce some related content from the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, world classics and Western history in the teaching process, improve students' sensitivity and familiarity with Western allusions, and strengthen students' literary appreciation and Cultural literacy.

Keywords: Western allusions in British and American literature; the Bible; Greek and Roman mythology; world famous books

In the current English teaching practice, due to the dominant idea of ??cultivating practical foreign language talents, People are becoming increasingly utilitarian in the purpose of English learning, vigorously promote oral English, and pay great attention to grade examinations and various proficiency tests. The role of humanities education such as British and American literature seems to be gradually forgotten. The huge differences between Chinese and Western cultural traditions are prominently displayed in both Chinese and Western literary traditions, causing traditional British and American literature courses to encounter unprecedented challenges in the practice of English teaching in colleges and universities. One of the many obstacles encountered in English and American literature courses in colleges and universities is the use of English allusions.

As a rhetorical device, allusions play an important role in literary works that cannot be ignored. Appropriate use of allusions can explain things more thoroughly, express thoughts more effectively, express emotions more powerfully, enhance the refinement, image and vividness of language, and enhance the artistic effect. In fact, in the teaching process, appropriately introducing some relevant content from the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, world classics and Western history to improve students' sensitivity and familiarity with Western allusions will not only enable students to acquire necessary literary knowledge, but also Promote students' understanding of British and American literary works, enhance their understanding of Western culture, help them improve their appreciation and practical application of English, and thus stimulate their interest in learning English.

1. The Bible and British and American Literature

The Bible is a classic of __. Due to its wide spread in the world, it has had an impact on the literature and art of Western countries. far-reaching impact. In the history of English national literature and art, many great poets, playwrights, novelists and artists have used stories and legends in the Bible as themes to create many poems, dramas, novels, music and paintings. And more stories, legends and phrases have entered daily English and become widely used biblical allusions.

The main ways that British and American writers quote allusions from the Bible are: directly quoting words or names in the Bible as titles of works or character names, or directly quoting biblical stories or deforming prototype stories. . Through metaphors, metaphors or symbols, the morals of the Bible stories are integrated into the plot of the work or the character of the characters, so that these stories can play a powerful foil role. For example, in "The Merchant of Venice" written by Shakespeare, when Portia pretended to confirm Shylock's contract for a pound of flesh, Shylock happily shouted: "A Daniel come to judgment! Yea, a Daniel!---O wise young judge, how I do honor thee!" Daniel is a Hebrew prophet in the Bible. He is extremely intelligent, fair and selfless, and enforces the law like a mountain. Here, this allusion is used to compare Portia to a wise and upright judge. This artistic effect is very strong.

2. Ancient Greek and Roman mythology and British and American literature

Greek culture and Roman culture are the cradle of Western civilization, and ancient Greek and Roman mythology is an important allusion in British and American language and literary works. The source has an extremely glorious page in the entire history of Western literature. In British and American literary works, there are countless works with these mythical stories as the background or theme.

"Homer's Epic", with Greek mythology as its primary source, can be said to be the first of Western literature and is deeply familiar and loved by Westerners. The great medieval poet Dante's masterpiece "The Divine Comedy", although it deals with moral themes, contains many Greek mythological stories.

The tragedies of seventeenth-century classicist writers largely used Greek mythology. Although Milton's "Paradise Lost" takes biblical stories as its theme, allusions to Greek mythology can be seen everywhere in the poem. In Byron's poem "The Isles of Greece", there are many allusions from Greek mythology, and these allusions are familiar to English-speaking people. Another example is the theme of the "Oedipus complex" expressed in the famous work "Sons and Lovers" by the modern writer D.H. Lawrence, which originated from the Greek mythology Oedipus. The theme of this famous work is made more vivid and prominent through metaphor and symbolism. .

3. World classics, folklore, fables and British and American literature

Some popular world classics, folklore, fables, etc. have provided many rich sources of English language and literature. Expressive allusions. Shakespeare's plays, "Arabian Nights", "Aesop's Fables", "Andersen's Fairy Tales And Stories", etc., All are popular among English-speaking people. Therefore, it is only natural that they should be included in the classics and become an integral part of British and American literature.

Hamlet in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is a Danish prince who seeks revenge for his father. Due to his hesitant nature, his revenge plan has been repeatedly delayed. Now Hamlet is used to describe a person who is melancholy, dissatisfied and indecisive. "Aesop's Fables" has a profound influence in the history of European literature. It has become the creative source of fable poets and is often quoted by later generations of writers as an allusion to convey lessons and illustrate principles.

Sour grapes refers to the fox in "Aesop's Fables" who called the grapes "sour grapes" because he couldn't reach them to comfort himself. A wolf in sheep's clothing refers to an enemy disguised as a gentleman, while "cry wolf" refers to a false alarm. Another example is "Open Sesame" in "One Thousand and One Nights", "Cinderella" in the fairy tale, "Faust" in the German folklore, etc., have long been It is frequently used in British and American literature.

Due to different historical traditions and cultural backgrounds, different ethnic groups have their own allusions. Citing allusions has become a rhetorical art in the world's literary tradition. Allusions can stimulate students' imagination and enhance the appeal of language and literature, often achieving concise and comprehensive effects. British and American literature courses are indispensable courses to cultivate students' humanistic spirit and improve their cultural accomplishment and English quality. Therefore, adding the teaching content of allusions to the British and American literature courses not only meets the requirements of the British and American literature syllabus, but also reflects the interest and liveliness of English professional language teaching. Doing so can not only activate the classroom atmosphere, but more importantly, enable students to experience the real, objective and original English language, experience the expressive charm of classic and sophisticated literary language, and effectively improve students' literary appreciation and culture. literacy to achieve the purpose of teaching.

References:

[1] Yu Na. Introduction of Chinese and Western Culture and British and American Literature Teaching [J]. Cultural and Educational Materials, 2005, (26).

[ 2] Guo Hui. British and American Literature and English Learning[J]. Journal of Liaoning Institute of Technology, 2006, (5).

[3] Zhao Yiqian. Cultural penetration in British and American literature classes[J]. Examination Weekly , 2008, (30).

[4] Hu Wenzhong. Language and Culture[M]. Beijing Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1998.