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.54564
Key words: Downton Abbey; noble spirit; English culture; implication
摘要英剧《唐顿庄园》由朱利安·费罗思创作，目前已播完四季，第五季计划2014年播出。这部电视剧背景设定在约克郡一个乡村庄园——“唐顿庄园”，描述了贵族Crawley一家与其仆人们后爱德华时期经历的重大历史事件以及对他们的生活和英国等级制度产生的影响。本文基于剧集中的体现贵族精神的情节，分析英国贵族应具备的精神特征（即骑士精神、自立精神、主人翁和社会责任感等）以及形成贵族精神的物质要素（即土地资源，血统，贵族教育，联姻，从政等），探讨贵族精神的内涵和局限性以及对中国人的启示，帮助人们更好地理解当代贵族精神。
毕业论文关键词：《唐顿庄园》；贵族精神；英国文化；启示
Contents
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
1. Introduction
In recent years, many researchers have devoted themselves to the study of intercultural communication and made abundant achievements. Concerning English culture, people always pay more attention to English literature, religious problems and art. In fact, there are some other sparkles in British history worth our attention, such as films and TV series.
Nowadays, the foreign films and TV series are enjoying more and more popularity among foreign language learners of all ages in China. Not to mention the improvements in listening and speaking abilities people made by watching them, they also learn a lot about the foreign cultures. Downton Abbey is such a hot and famous TV series from Britain.
The story, setting in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. It has received critical acclaim from television critics and won numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. Downton Abbey is recognized by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011. It earns the most nominations of any international television series in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with twenty-seven in total (after two series). It is the most watched television series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently has become the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of Brideshead Revisited. By the third series, it has become one of the most widely watched television drama shows in the world. 源'自:优尔`!论~文'网www.youerw.com 从英剧《唐顿庄园》看英国贵族精神:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_58787.html