Abstract

Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series by Julian Fellowes. Four series have been made so far; a fifth is planned for 2014. The series, set in the Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, describes the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy. This thesis first describes the characteristics of British noble spirit in the four series and studies the spiritual and physical characteristics of British noble, then explore the connotation of British noble spirit and the limitation of the noble spirits as well. It is hoped that this thesis would help English learners understand British culture better and provide some implications for Chinese.

Key words: Downton Abbey; noble spirit; English culture; implication

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. Noble Spirit in Downton Abbey-2

3.1 Downton Abbey: Synopsis-2

3.2 Noble Spirit in Downton Abbey-4

4. Spiritual and Physical Characteristics of British Noble-5

4.1 Spiritual Characteristics of British Noble-5

4.2 Physical Characteristics of British Noble-7

5. Connotations and Limitations of Noble Spirit-12

5.1 Connotations of Noble Spirit-12

5.2 Limitations of Noble Spirit-12

6. Implications of Noble Spirit for Modern China-13

7. Conclusion-14

Works Cited-15