Chapter One Where do All the Allusions Come from 1
Ⅰ．What Is an Allusion? 1
1．Definition of Allusion 1
2．Key Elements of Allusions 1
3．Quotes about Allusions 2
Ⅱ．What Are the Major Categories of Allusions? 3
1．Historical—Religious/Mythological—Literary Allusions 3
2．Allusions to Events—Allusions to Quotes 4
3．Classical Allusions—Modern Allusions 8
Ⅲ．Why do Writers and Poets Like to Use Allusions? 9
1．Examples from Miscellaneous Literary Works 9
2．Case Study:The Isles of Greece by Lord Byron 11
3．Major Purposes of Using Allusions in Literature 14
Ⅳ．Do People Use Allusions in Daily Communication? 17
Most Popular Allusions in Common Speech 18
Ⅴ．How do Allusions Travel between English and Chinese? 20
1．Literal Translation 20
2．Substitutes 23
3．Free Translation 24
4．Omissions 25
Chapter Two The Bible 29
Ⅰ．About the Bible 29
1．Basic Facts 29
2．Additional Facts 32
3．Quiz 33
Ⅱ．Quotes on the Bible 34
Ⅲ．In-class Reading Materials from the Bible 35
1．Passages 35
Passage One Seven Days of the Creation of the World 35
Passage Two Man's Original Sin and the Loss of Paradise 39
Passage Three The Tower of Babel 42
Passage Four The Ten Commandments 43
Passage Five Solomon's Wisdom 47
Passage Six The Birth of the Messiah 49
Passage Seven The Good Samaritan 53
2．Language in the Bible 54
Ⅳ．Discussions on the Bible 63
1．Comparative Study 63
2．Inconsistencies in the Bible 67
3．Surviving on Noah's Ark 69
4．Different Voices 69
Ⅴ．Fun Stuff 71
1．Jokes 71
2．Cartoon Comics 76
3．Riddles 77
4．Funny Bible Facts 78
5．Ten Misconceptions About the Bible 78
6．Bible Word Search Puzzle Game 80
Ⅵ．After-class Assignments 82
1．Creative Writings 82
2．Oral Presentation 82
3．Readings 83
The Trial that Rock the World 83
Einstein on God 89
Chapter Three Greek and Roman Mythology 94
Ⅰ．About Greek and Roman Mythology 94
1．Why Is It Necessary to Learn Greek and Roman Mythology? 94
2．What Is It? 95
3．Where did It Originate from? 95
4．How did it Come into Being? 95
Ⅱ．Quotes on Greek and Roman Mythology 95
Ⅲ．In-class Reading Passages from Greek and Roman Mythology 97
1．Passages 97
Passage One The Olympian Gods 97
Passage Two The Creation and Recreation of Man 104
Passage Three Cupid and Psyche 109
Passage Four Echo and Narcissus 117
Passage Five The Twelve Labors of Heracles 120
Passage Six The Trojan War 126
2．Idioms in Greek and Roman Mythology 143
Ⅳ．Discussions on Greek and Roman Mythology 145
1．Comparative Studies 145
2．Oral Presentations 148
Ⅴ．Fun Stuff 148
1．Fun Facts about Mythology 148
2．Word Play and Jokes 149
3．Word Puzzles 150
Ⅵ．After-class Assignments 151
1．Creative Writings 151
2．Translation 151
3．Readings 154
Viewpoint:In Defence of Narcissism 154
Chapter Four William Shakespeare 160
Ⅰ．About Shakespeare 160
1．Shakespeare's Life 160
2．Shakespeare's Plays 161
3．Shakespeare's Poems 163
4．The Making of Shakespeare 164
5．The Influence of Shakespeare 165
6．Poems in Praise of Shakespeare 166
Ⅱ．Quotes on William Shakespeare 168
Ⅲ．In-class Readings from Shakespeare's Works 169
1．Sonnets 170
Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 170
Sonnet 19 Devouring Time,blunt thou the lion'paws 173
Sonnet 23 As an unperfect actor on the stage 174
Sonnet 24 Mine eye hath play'd the painter,and hath stell'd 175
2．Plays 177
Hamlet 177
Romeo and Juliet 189
The Merchant of Venice 203
As You Like It 210
Macbeth 217
3．Shakespearean Quotes 221
4．Shakespearean Idioms 224
Ⅳ．Discussions on Shakespeare 227
1．Oral Presentation 227
2．About Hamlet 227
3．About The Merchant of Venice 227
4．About Romeo and Juliet 227
5．Shakespeare VS.Tang Xianzu 228
Ⅴ．Fun Stuff 228
1．Cartoon Comics 228
2．Mysteries and Secrets of Shakespeare 229
3．Interesting Facts About William Shakespeare 234
4．Crossword Puzzles 236
Ⅵ．After-class Assignments 238
1．Role Play:An interview with Shakespeare 238
2．Creative Writing 238
3．After-class Reading 241
Suggested Keys and Answers to Exercises 244
References 255