英国文学名词解释及问答题

名词解释：1, Humanism: a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God. It focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.2, Renaissance: the period of European history at the close of the Middle Ages and the rise of the modern world; a cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the17th centuries.The renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art.3, Spenserian stanza: a fixed verse form invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene. Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a single 'Alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter The rhyme scheme of these lines is "ababbcbcc."4, Metaphysical poets: The metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by speculation about topics such as love or religion.5, Lake Poets: The Lake Poets are a group of English poets who all lived in the Lake District of England at the turn of the nineteenth century. The three main figures of what has become known as the Lakes School are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey6, Beowulf: It is the oldest poem in the English language and the most important specimen of Anglo-Saxon literature. The main stories are based on the folk legends of the primitive northern tribes. It is a pagan poem, which presents us an all-round picture of the tribal society.7, Byronic hero: The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. a man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep and strong affection8, Romanticism: Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement, which prevailed in England from 1798 to 1832. It is concerned with the expression of the individual's feeling and emotions and stressed strong emotion as a resource of aesthetic experience.9, Ode: a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode.10, University Wits: The University Wits were a group of late 16th century English playwrights who were educated at the universities and who became playwrights and popular secular writers. Prominent members of this group were Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and Thomas Nashe from Cambridge, and John Lyly, Thomas Lodge, George Peele from Oxford.11, Sentimentalism: Sentimentalism stresses on material senses as being spiritual and/or considers soul to be material, thus anything done on sentimental level is more or less materialistic rather than spiritual/transcendental.12, Alliteration: Alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words or phrases. Alliteration has developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to the poem's meter, are stressed. Alliteration is commonly used in many languages, especially in poetry.13,Glorious Revolution: the name of the overthrow of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland and James II of Ireland) by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). William's successful invasion of England with a Dutch fleet and army led to his ascending the English throne as William III of England jointly with his wife Mary II of England. in 1688, William of orange landed at torbay and marched upon London. This takeover was smooth, with neither bloodshed, nor any execution of the King, which became known as the glorious revolution.14, Norman Conquest: the invasion and conquest of England by an army of Normans and French led by Duke William II of Normandy. William, who defeated King Harold II of England on 14 October 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066. He then consolidated his control over England and settled many of his followers in England, introducing a number of governmental and societal changes to medieval England.15, Ballad: A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century it took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and the term is now often used as synonymous with any love song, particularly the pop or rock power ballad.问答题：1. Humanism was a study first done in the renaissance. instead of learning only about god and religion, people, for the first time, started to just think about ourselves as people characteristics of humanism include anatomy, classicism, nature, realism, reason and learning, religion, individualism, youth, and perspective.2, Sonnet 18 theme of man and the natural world. On one level, Sonnet 18 is clearly concerned with the relationship between man and the eventual, inescapable death he’ll encounter in nature. On another level, the poet also seems fascinated by the relationship between seasonal weather and personal, internal "weather" and balance. Sonnet 18 Theme of Literature and Writing Like much of Shakespeare’s work, Sonnet 18 is all about writing and expressing one’s self through language. This is, at its clearest, a poem about the power of the written word over death, fate, and possibly even love. Sonnet 18 Theme of Time The speaker of Sonnet 18 is absolutely fixated on fate and mortality, but believes he’s come up with an effective time machine: poetry. Sonnet 18 is addressed to a friend, not to a woman Shakespeare compares his friendship to a summer's day. Friendship is unlike summer not changing and it is everlasting. Friendship is like a mild and eternal summer.3 The historical issues and developments of the time played a major role in provoking and shaping the new literary movement of Romanticism. The Industrial Revolution, its urbanization of English life, and its abuses against the working class called for a change in literary concerns and style. The basis aims of romanticism were various: a return to nature and to belief in the goodness of man; the rediscovery of the artist as a supremely individual creator; the exaltation of senses and emotions over reason and intellect.4，In this novel, Charlotte Bronte pours a great deal of her own experiences, such as the life at Lowood School and life as a governess. One of the central themes of the book is the criticism of the bourgeois system of education. Another problem raised by Charlotte in the novel is the position of woman in society. Jane Eyre is an orphan child with a fiery spirit and a longing to love and be loved. She is poor and plain but she dares to love her master, a man superior to her in many ways. As a little governess, she is brave enough to declare to the man her love for him. She cuts a completely new women image. She represents those middle-class working women who are struggling for recognition of their basic rights and equality as a human being.5，metaphysical poetry——complex, highly intellectual verse filled with intricate and far-fetched metaphors. John Donne is considered the greatest of the metaphysical poets.6 Another important feature of Swift's prose is that he uses the common touch. In other words, everybody can understand his language that is why even children can read his books with so much enjoyment. Also, Swift addresses people as rational and political beings, making them his equals. Swift wrote in a very plain and downrightstyle. He didn't use any embellishment. At times, when Swift was writing serious stuff this same plain style appears dry but when writing humorously, this same plainness gives his wit a singular edge. Swift didn't use ornate or rhetorical language.7 After the Norman Conquest, the general relation of Normans and Saxons was that of master and servant. One of the most striking manifestations of the supremacy of the conquerors was to be seen in the language. The Norman lords spoke French, while their English subjects retained their old tongue. For a long time the scholar wrote in Latin and the courtier in French. There was almost no written literature in English for a time. Chronicles and religious poems were in Latin. Romances, the prominent kind of literature in the Anglo-Norman period, were at first all in French. By the end of the fourteenth century, when Normans and English intermingled, English was once more the dominant speech in the country. But now it became something different from the old Anglo-Saxon. The structure of the language remained English, and the common words were almost all retained, though often somewhat modified in form. But many terms employed by the Normans were adopted into the English language.8 The character Shylock, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is portrayed as a beastly monstrosity, with a lust for Antonio's life. Shylock is clearly a villain in the sense that he takes repeatedly takes advantage of people in vulnerable economic situations and makes a handsome living in this way. He is not an inherently likable character throughout “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare;he avoids friendships, he is cranky, and he is steadfast in his beliefs to the point of being rigid. Shylock is also a man who is unreasonable and self-thinking, demanding Shylock is a man who is hardly likable in all aspects throughout “The Merchant of Venice”.9 Robinson Crusoe is one of the protagonists drawn most successfully in English novels. Through his characterization of Crusoe, Defoe describes him as a hero struggling against nature and human fate with an indomitable will, and highly praises his creative labor, physical and mental, an allusion to the glorification of the bourgeois creativity when it was a rising and more energetic class in the initial stage of its historical development.10 In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, is responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet is driven to reveal the truth of his father's death and seeks to avenge his murder to achieve justice. In his quest to right the wrongdoing, Hamlet delays acting toward justice for many reasons. The main factor for Hamlet's hesitation is attributed to his self-discipline. He lacks of ability to act on his emotions. Hamlet is an intelligent, moral, and reserved character. He restrains himself to act rationally and not on emotion. This hesitation is a tragic flaw for Hamlet, but in order to resolve the truth, it is necessary. Hamlet has doubts about the validity of the ghost; he is too rational a character to seek revenge on Claudius based on a conversation with a supernatural spirit. He is unsure whether it was his father's ghost, or some evil deity trying to trick him.。