英美文学名词解释最全版

英美文学名词解释最全版
英美文学名词解释最全版

01. Humanism(人文主义)

1>Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance.

2> it emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders.

02. Renaissance(文艺复兴)

1>The word “Renaissance”means “rebirth”, it meant the reintroduction into western Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome.

2>the essence of the Renaissance is Humanism. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and reformation.

3> the real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama with William Shakespeare being the leading dramatist.

03. Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌)

1>Metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne.

2>with a rebellious spirit, the Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry.

3>the diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassical periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech.4>the imagery is drawn from actual life.

04. Classicism(古典主义)

Classicism refers to a movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism emphasizes the traditional and the universal, and places value on reason, clarity, balance, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reason and universal themes, is traditionally opposed to Romanticism, which is concerned with emotions and personal themes.

05. Enlightenment(启蒙运动)

1>Enlightenment movement was a progressive philosophical and artistic movement which flourished in France and swept through western Europe in the 18th century.

2> the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from 14th century to the mid-17th century.

3>its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas.

4>it celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. It advocated universal education.

5>famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like Alexander pope. Jonathan Swift. etc.

06.Neoclassicism(新古典主义)

1>In the field of literature, the enlightenment movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works.

2>this tendency is known as neoclassicism. The Neoclassicists held that forms of literature were to be modeled after the classical works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Homer and Virgil and those of the contemporary French ones.

3> they believed that the artistic ideals should be order, logic, restrained emotion and accuracy, and that literature should be judged in terms of its service to humanity.

07. The Graveyard School(墓地派诗歌)

1>The Graveyard School refers to a school of poets of the 18th century whose poems are mostly devoted to a sentimental lamentation or meditation on life. Past and present ,with death and graveyard as themes.

2>Thomas Gray is considered to be the leading figure of this school and his Elegy written in a country churchyard is its most representative work.

08. Romanticism(浪漫主义)

1>In the mid-18th century, a new literary movement called romanticism came to Europe and then to England.

2>It was characterized by a strong protest against the bondage of neoclassicism, which emphasized reason, order and elegant wit. Instead, romanticism gave primary concern to passion, emotion, and natural beauty.

3>In the history of literature. Romanticism is generally regarded as the thought that designates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life and experience. 4> The English romantic period is an age of poetry which prevailed in England from 1798 to 1837. The major romantic poets include Wordsworth, Byron and Shelley.

09. Byronic Hero(拜伦式英雄)

1>Byronic hero refers to a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin.

2> with immense superiority in his passions and powers, this Byronic Hero would carry on his shoulders the burden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupt society. And would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either in government, in religion, or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies.

3> Byron’s chief contribution to English literature is his creation of the “Byronic Hero”

10. Critical Realism(批判现实主义)

1>Critical Realism is a term applied to the realistic fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

2> It means the tendency of writers and intellectuals in the period between 1875 and 1920 to apply the methods of realistic fiction to the criticism of society and the examination of social issues.

3> Realist writers were all concerned about the fate of the common people and described what was faithful to reality.

4> Charles Dickens is the most important critical realist.

11. Aestheticism(美学主义)

1>The basic theory of the Aesthetic movement--- “art for art’s sake” was set forth by a French poet, Theophile Gautier, the first Englishman who wrote about the theory of aestheticism was Walter Pater.

2> aestheticism places art above life, and holds that life should imitate art, not art imitate life.

3> According to the aesthetes, all artistic creation is absolutely subjective as opposed to objective. Art should be free from any influence of egoism. Only when art is for art’s sake, can it be immortal. They believed that art should be unconcerned with controversial issues, such as politics and morality, and that it should be restricted to contributing beauty in a highly polished style.

4> This is one of the reactions against the materialism and commercialism of the Victorian industrial era, as well as a reaction against the Victorian convention of art for morality’s sake, or art for money’s sake.

美学运动的基本原则”为艺术而艺术”最初由法国诗人西奥费尔.高缔尔提出,英国运用该美学理论的第一人是沃尔特.佩特.美学主义崇尚艺术高于生活,认为生活应模仿艺术,而不是艺术模仿生活.在美学主义看来,所有的艺术创作都是绝对主观而非客观的产物.艺术不应受任何功利的影响,只有当艺术为艺术而创作时,艺术才能成为不朽之作.他们还认为艺术不应只关注一些热点话题如政治和道德问题,艺术应着力于以华丽的风格张扬美.这是对维多利亚工业发展时期物质崇拜的一种回应,也是向艺术为道德或为金钱而服务的维多利亚传统的挑战.

12.The Victorian period(维多利亚时期)

1>In this period, the novel became the most widely read and the most vital and challenging expression of progressive thought. While sticking to the principle of faithful representation of the 18th century realist novel, novelists in this period carried their duty forward to criticism of the society and the defense of the mass.

2> although writing from different points of view and with different techniques, they shared one thing in common, that is, they were all concerned about the fate of the common people. They were angry with the inhuman social institutions, the decaying social morality as represented by the money-worship and Utilitarianism, and the widespread misery, poverty and injustice.

3>their truthful picture of people’s life and bitter and strong criticism of the society had done much in awakening the public consciousness to the social problems and in the actual improvement of the society.

4> Charles Dickens is the leading figure of the Victorian period.

13. Modernism(现代主义)

1>Modernism is comprehensive but vague term for a movement , which begin in the late 19th century and which has had a wide influence internationally during much of the 20th century.

2> modernism takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho-analysis as its theoretical case.

3> the term pertains to all the creative arts. Especially poetry, fiction, drama, painting, music and architecture.

4> in England from early in the 20th century and during the 1920s and 1930s, in America from shortly before the first world war and on during the inter-war period, modernist tendencies were at their most active and fruitful.

5>as far as literature is concerned, Modernism reveals a breaking away from established rules, traditions and conventions. fresh ways of looki ng at man’s position and function in the universe and many experiments in form and style. It is particularly concerned with language and how to use it and with writing itself.

14. Stream of consciousness(意识流)(or interior monologue)

In literary criticism, Stream of consciousness denotes a literary technique which seeks to describe an individual’s point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character’s thought processes. Stream of consciousness writing is strongly associated with the modernist movement. Its introduction in the literary context, transferred from psychology, is attributed to May Sinclair. Stream of consciousness writing is usually regarded as a special form of interior monologue and is characterized by associative leaps in syntax and punctuation that can make the prose difficult to follow, tracing as they do a character’s fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings. Famous writers to employ this technique in the English language include James Joyce and William Faulkner.

学术界认为意识流是一种通过直接描述人物思维过程来寻求个人视角的文学写作技巧。意识流是现代主义运动的体现,它首先出现在心现学领域,由梅.辛克拉提出的,后引进文学领域。意识流写作通常被认为是一种特殊形式的内心独白.它的特别是联想性,以句法和标点的跳跃,文章的晦涩难懂为特征.来表现人物的片断思维和感官性直觉.比较著名的使用此技巧的有乔伊斯.福克纳.

15. American Puritanism(美国清教主义)

Puritanism was a religious reform that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. Under siege from church and crown, it sent an offshoot in the third and fourth decades of the 17th to the northern English colonies in the new world---a migration that laid the foundation for the religious, intellectual, and social order of New England. Puritanism, however, was not only a historically specific phenomenon coincident with the founding of new England, it was also a way of being in the world---a style of response to lived experience---that has reverberated through American life ever since. Doctrinally, puritans adhered to the five points of Calvinism as codified at the synod of dort in 1619:

1) Unconditional election: the idea that God had decreed at the synod of damned and who was saved from before the beginning of the world;

2) limited atonement: the idea that Christ died for the elect only;

3) Total depravity: humanity’s utter corruption since the fall;

4) Irresistible grace: regeneration as entirely a work of God, which cannot be re3sisted and to which the sinner contributes nothing;

5) The perseverance of the saints: the elect, despite their backsliding and faintness of heart, cannot fall away from grace.

清教主义是16世纪晚期在英国教会内进行的一场宗教改革.在教会和皇权的双重压力之下,清教的一个分支于17世纪30,40年代迁至美洲新大陆的北方殖民地,他们为新英格兰奠定了宗教、知识和社会秩序的基础。清教主义不仅符合新英格兰成立的特定历史,而且一直反映了美国生活的一种生活方式。从教义上说,清教徒遵循加尔文派于1619年多特宗教会议上制定的五条信条:1)无条件拣选:神没有任凭人在罪中灭亡,而是在创世以前就拣选了一群人旅行拯救;2)有限救赎:基督的死只是为了特定数目的选民而死;3)完全堕落:自从亚当偷吃善恶果后,整个人类都堕落了;4)不可抗拒的恩典:圣灵的能力在罪人心里运行,一直到他认罪悔改方休;5)圣徒的坚守:圣徒是神所挑选的,无论他们如何退步,始终在神的感召下。

16. American Romanticism(美国浪漫主义)

Romanticism refers to an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual’s

expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions. The romantic period in American literature stretches from the end of the 18th century through the outbreak of the civil war. It was an age of great westward expansion, of the increasing gravity of the slavery question, of an intensification of the spirit of embattled sectionalism in the south, and of a powerful impulse to reform in the north. In literature it was America’s first great creative period, a full flowering of the romantic impulse on American soil. Although foreign influences were strong, American romanticism exhibited from the very outset distinct features of its own. First, American romanticism was in essence the expression of “a real new experience”and contained “an alien quality” for the simple reason that “the spirit of the place” was radically new and alien. Second, puritan influence over American romanticism was conspicuously noticeable. Emerging as new writers of strength and creative power were the novelists Hawthorne, Melville, the poets Dickinson, Whitman, the essayists Thoreau, Emerson. These American writers had made a great literary period by capturing on their pages the enthusiasm and the optimism of that dream.

浪漫主义是于18世纪晚期发起于欧洲的一场艺术性及思想性的运动,它注重自然,强调个人情感表达与想像力,向既定的社会制度和传统挑战,与古典主义形式相分离。美国的浪漫主义时期从18世纪末一直延续到内战爆发前。这个时期发生了大规模的西迁运动,日益严峻的奴隶问题,南部各州的地方保护主义的是益盛行以及北部呼声愈演愈烈火的革新运动。在文学上,这个时期是美国第一次伟大的创作时期,浪漫主义的种子在北美的土壤里生根发芽。尽管受到欧洲浪漫主义运动的影响,美国浪漫主义文学仍然呈现出自己的独特风格。第一,美国浪漫主义在本质上是一个“全新的经历“的表达,因这个新大陆充满着生机和活力而使美国的浪漫主义蕴含异国的气质;第二,清教主义对美国浪漫主义有着显著的影响,作为新生创作力量的有小说家霍桑,麦尔维尔。诗人狄金森和惠特曼,散文家梭罗,爱默生。这些美国作家充满热情地记录下这个伟大时代的乐观主义精神。

17. Transcendentalism(超验主义)

Transcendentalism is literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in new England from about 1836 to 1860. it is the summit of American Romanticism. it originated among a small group of intellectuals who were reacting against the orthodoxy of Calvinism and the rationalism of the Unitarian Church, developing instead their own faith centering on the divinity of humanity and the natural world. Transcendentalism derived some of its basic idealistic concepts from romantic German philosophy, and from such English authors as Coleridge and Wordsworth. Its mystical aspects were partly influenced by Indian and Chinese religious teachings. Although Transcendentalism was never a rigorously systematic philosophy, it had some basic tenets that were generally shared by its adherents. The beliefs that God is immanent in each person and in nature and that individual intuition is the highest source of knowledge led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism, self-reliance, and rejection of traditional authority. The ideas of Transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph waldo Emerson in such essays as Nature, and by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden.

超验主义是从1836至1860于新英格兰发起的一场文学,哲学以及艺术运动.即浪漫主义的顶点.由于一小群知识分子反对加尔文教派和唯一神论教派理性的形式主义,他们从而提出人与自然的神圣这一信念.超验主义受到德国浪漫主义哲学以及英国浪漫主义作家柯勒律治和沃兹华斯的影响,还在一定程度上受到东方古典哲学和宗教的影响.尽管超验主义思想并不能算是严格意义上的哲学, 但是它还是有一些基本原则的.超验主义者认为人人都有内在的神性,

只有通过接触自然才能使神性与人的天性相互融合.从而超验主义十分强调个人主义,自立,拒绝传统权威思想.超验主义思想在爱默生的<论自然> 和梭罗的<瓦尔登湖>等书中表现得淋漓尽致.

18. the Age of Realism(现实主义时期)

1).Realism was a reaction against Romanticism and paved the way to Modernism;

2).During this period a new generation of writers, dissatisfied with the Romantic ideas in the older generation, came up with a new inspiration. This new attitude was characterized by a great interest in the realities of life. It aimed at the interpretation of the realities of any aspect of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. Instead of thinking about the mysteries of life and death and heroic individualism, people’s attention was now directed to the interesting features of everyday existence, to what was brutal or sordid, and to the open portrayal of class struggle;

3) so writers began to describe the integrity of human characters reacting under various circumstances and picture the pioneers of the far west, the new immigrants and the struggles of the working class;

4) Mark Twain Howells and Henry James are three leading figures of the American Realism.

19. American Naturalism(美国自然主义文学)

The American naturalists accepted the more negative interpretation of Darwin’s evolutionary theory and used it to accout for the behavior of those characters in literary works who were regarded as more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes, their habits conditioned by social and economic forces.2) naturalism is evolved from realism when the author’s tone in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic. It is no more than a gloomy philosophical approach to reality, or to human existence.3>Dreiser is a leading figure of his school.

20. Naturalism(自然主义)

Naturalism is a literary movement related to and sometimes described as an extreme form of realism but which may be more appropriately considered as a parallel to philosophic Naturalism. 2) as a more deliberate kind of realism Naturalism usually involves a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment. In Naturalism a more documentary-like approach is in evidence, with a great stress on how environment and heredity shape people. 3) As a literary movement, Naturalism was initiated in France. 4) Naturalist fiction aspired to a sociological objectivity, offering detailed and fully researched investigations into unexplored concerns of modern society.

21. Local Colorism(乡土文学)

1>Generally speaking, the writings of local colorists are concerned with the life of a small, well-defined region or province. The characteristic setting is the isolated small town.

2) Local colorists were consciously nostalgic historians of a vanishing way of life, recorders of a present that faded before their eyes. Yet for all their sentimentality, they dedicated themselves to minutely accurate descriptions of the life of their regions, they worked from personal experience to record the facts of a local environment and suggested that the native life was shaped by the curious conditions of the local.

3) major local colorists is Mark Twain.

22. Imagism(意象主义)

1>Imagism came into being in Britain and U.S around 1910 as a reaction to the traditional English poetry to express the sense of fragmentation and dislocation.

2>the imagists, with Ezra Pound leading the way, hold that the most effective means to express these momentary impressions is through the use of one dominant image.

3>imagism is characterized by the following three poetic principles:A. direct treatment of subject matter;B. economy of expression;C. as regards rhythm, to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of metronome.

4> pound’s In a Station of the Metro is a well-known imagist poem.

23. The Lost Generation(迷惘的一代)

1>The lost generation is a term first used by Stein to describe the post-war I generation of American writers: men and women haunted by a sense of betrayal and emptiness brought about by the destructiveness of the war.

2>full of youthful idealism, these individuals sought the meaning of life, drank excessively, had love affairs and created some of the finest American literature to date.

3>the three best-known representatives of lost generation are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and John dos Passos.

24. Expressionism(表现主义)

1>Expressionism refers to a movement in Germany early in the 20th century. In which a number of painters sought to avoid the representation of external reality and ,instead, to project a highly personal or subjective vision of the world.

2> expressionism is a reaction against realism or naturalism, aiming at presenting a post-war world violently distorted.

3> in a further sense, the term is sometimes applied to the belief that literary works are essentially expressions of their authors’ moods and thoughts; this has been the dominant assumption about literature since the rise of romanticism.

25. The Beat Generation(垮掉的一代)

1>The members of The Beat Generation were new bohemian libertines, who engaged in a spontaneous, sometimes messy, creativity.

2> The Beat writers produced a body of written work controversial both for its advocacy of non-conformity and for its non-conforming style.

3> the major beat writings are Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. Howl became the manifesto of The Beat Generation.

26. Jazz Age(爵士时代)

The Jazz Age describes the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between World War I and World War II. Particularly in North America. With the rise of the great depression, the values of this age saw much decline. Perhaps the most representative literary work of the age is American writer Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Highlighting what some describe as the decadence and

hedonism, as well as the growth of individualism. Fitzgerald is largely credited with coining the term” Jazz Age”.

27. Surrealism(超现实主义)

An anti-rational movement of imaginative liberation in European in art and literature in the 1920s and 1930s, which launched by Andre Breton after his break from the Dada group in 1922. Surrealism seeks to break down the boundaries between rationality and irrationality, exploring the resources and revolutionary energies of dreams, hallucinations and sexual desire. Influenced both by the symbolists and by Sigmund Freud’s theories of the unconscious, the surrealists experimented with automatic writing and with the free association of random images brought in surprising juxtaposition.

超现实主义是20世纪20年代和30年代在欧洲文艺和文学界发起的一场反对理性提倡思想解放的运动.这场运动由安德烈.布里多尼和达达派决裂后发起.超现实主义试图打破理性和非理性之间的界限.探讨梦.幻觉以及性欲的源头和动力.由于受到象征主义和弗洛伊德无意思理论的影响,超现实主义将自由联想和自由写作以不可思议的形式并置合并在一起.

28. Metaphysical poets(玄学派诗人)

It is the name given to a diverse group of 17th century English poets whose work is notable for its ingenious use of intellectual and theological concepts in surprising conceits, strange paradoxes and far-fetched imagery. The leading Metaphysical poet was John Donne, whose colloquial, argumentative abruptness of rhythm and tone distinguishes his style from the conventions of Elizabethan love lyrics.

29. New Criticism(新批评主义)

New Criticism is a movement in American literary criticism from the 1930s to the 1960s, concentrating on the verbal complexities and ambiguities of short poems considered as self-sufficient objects without attention to their origins or effects. The name comes from John Chrisom’s book The New Criticism.

30. Feminism(女权主义)

1> Feminism incorporates both a doctrine of equal rights for women and an ideology of social transformation aiming to create a world for women beyond simple social equality.

2>in gen eral, feminism is ideology of women’s liberation based on the belief that women suffer injustice because of their sex. Under this broad umbrella various feminisms offer differing analyses of the causes, or agents, of female oppression.

3> definitions of feminism by feminists tend to be shaped by their training, ideology or race. So, for example, Marxist and socialist feminists stress the interaction within feminism of class with gender and focus on social distinctions between men and women. Black feminists argue much more for an integrated analysis which can unlock the multiple systems of oppression.

31. Hemingway Code Hero(海明威式英雄)

1>Hemingway Code Hero, also called code hero, is one who, wounded but strong more sensitive, enjoys the pleasures of life (sex, alcohol, sport) in face of ruin and death, and maintains, through some notion of a code, an ideal of himself.

2> barns in the sun also Rises, Henry in a Farewell to arms and Santiago in the old man and the sea are typical of Hemingway Code Hero

32. Impressionism(印象主义)

Impressionism is a style of painting that gives the impression made by the subject on the artist without much attention to details. Writers accepted the same conviction that the personal attitudes and moods of the writer were legitimate elements in depicting character or setting or action.2>briefly, it is a style of literature characterized by the creation of general impressions and moods rather that realistic mood.

33. Postmodernism(后现代主义)

It is a disputed term that has occupied much recent debate about contemporary culture since the early 1980s. in its simplest and least satisfactory sense it refers generally to the phase of 20th century western culture that succeeded the reign of hign modernism, thus indicating the products of the “space age” after some time in the 1950s. More often, though it is applied to a cultural condition prevailing in the advanced capitalist societies since the 1960s, characterized by a superabundance of disconnected images and styles. In this sense, post modernity is said to be a culture of fragmentary sensations, eclectic nostalgia, disposable simulacra, and promiscuous superficiality, in which the traditionally valued qualities of depth, coherence, meaning originality and authenticity are evacuated or dissolved amid the random swirl of empty signals.

这个具有争议的名字概念是从20世纪80年代早期开始应用于近几十年的现代文化领域.最简单也最难说服人的说法是后现代主义是20世纪西方文明继高度现代主义之后的一个阶段.后现代主义是50年代太空时代的产物.通常它被用来解释自60年代起先进资本主义社会主要的社会文化现象.从这个意义上说.后现代主义被认为是片断构建的编织.折衷的怀旧主义,滥用的仿物以及混杂的浅浮,而传统所强调的深度.连贯.意义的原创性,真实性都在空洞信号的随意泛滥中消失瓦解.

34. Confessional poetry(自白派诗歌)

It is an autobiographical mode of verse that reveals the poet’s personal problems with unusual frankness. The term is usually applied to certain poets of the United states from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, notably Robert Lowell. The term’s distinctive sense depends on the candid examination of what were at the time of writing virtually unmentionable kinds of private distress. The genuine strengths of confessional poets, combined with the pity evoked by their high suicide rate, encouraged in the reading public a romantic confusion between poetic excellence and inner torment.

自白诗歌是一种自传体诗歌.诗歌主要用不寻常的坦白展示诗人的个人内心问题.自白诗歌是指50年代后期到60年代后期出现的诗人.特别是罗伯特.洛厄尔.此概念有时在广义上指任何个人或自传的诗歌,但自白诗歌最明显的特征,是坦诚揭露写作时的所思所想,个人心里忧伤的流露.自白派诗人杰出的文学才华和他们由于痛苦而引起的高自杀率,以及诗歌中处处流露着痛苦,迷茫,悲观,隐晦的气氛,让读者们阅读时产生一种诗歌精妙和内心痛苦的迷茫感.

35. The New Y ork School(纽约派)

The New York School was an informal group of American poets and painters active in 1950s New York City, critics argued that their work was a reaction to the confessional’s movement in

contemporary poetry. Their poetic subject matter was often light, violent, or observational, while their writing style was often described as cosmopolitan and world-traveled. the poets often drew inspiration from surrealism and the contemporary avant-garde art movement, in particular the action painting of their friends in the New York City art circle. there are also commonalities between the New York School and the earlier Beat Generation poets active in 1940s and 1950s New York City.

纽约派诗人是50年代活跃在纽约的美国诗人和画家的非正式群体。评论家认为他们是对同时代自白派诗歌运动的反抗。他们作品的主题通常轻快,激烈或者观察入微。他们的写作风格是全球性的。他们接受了超现实主义和先锋艺术运动,特别是纽约画界的朋友的影响创作诗。他们与40,50年代纽约的垮掉一代诗人有一定共同点.

36. The Absurd (荒谬派)

It is a term derived from the existentialism of Albert Camus, and often applied to the modern sense of human purposelessness in a universe without meaning or value. Many 20th century writers of prose fiction have stressed the absurd nature of human existence: notable instances are the novels and stories of Franz Kafka, in which the characters face alarmingly incomprehensible predicaments.

37. The Black Mountain Poets(黑山派诗人)

1>The Black Mountain Poets refer to a group of poets active on the contemporary scene, as these people were either associated with Black Mountain college, or with Black Mountain Review, they have become known as “The Black Mountain Poets”

2> the leading figure of this school of poetry was Charles Olson.

38. Realism(现实主义)

Realism was a loosely used term meaning truth to the observed facts of life (especially when they are gloomy). Realism in literature is an approach that attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity.

39. Meditative Poetry(冥想派诗歌)

40. Allegory(寓言)

1>Allegory is a story told to explain or teach something. Especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself.

2>allegorical novels use extended metaphors to convey moral meanings or attack certain social evils. characters in these novels often stand for different values such as virtue and vice.

3>Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Melville’s Moby Dick are such examples.

41. Alliteration(头韵)

1>Alliteration means a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a line or group.

2>alliteration is a traditional poetic device in English literature.

3>Robert Frost’s Acquainted with the Night is a case in point:” I have stood still and sto pped the sound of feet”

42. Ballad(民谣)

英美文学史名词解释

英美文学史名词解释 TYYGROUP system office room 【TYYUA16H-TYY-TYYYUA8Q8-

英美文学史名词解释 1.English Critical Realism English critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and in the early fifties. The realists first and foremost criticized the capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint and delineated (portrayed) the crying (extremely shocking) contradictions of bourgeois reality. The greatness of the English realists lies not only in their satirical portrayal of bourgeoisie and in the exposure of the greed and hypocrisy of the ruling classes, but also in their sympathy for the laboring people. Humor and satire are used to expose and criticize the seamy (dark) side of reality. The major contribution of the critical realists lies in their perfection of the novel. Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray are the most important representative of English critical realism. 2.The "Stream of Consciousness" The "stream of consciousness" is a psychological term indicating "the flux of conscious and subconscious thoughts and impressions moving in the mind at any given time independently of the person's will." In late 19th century,

英美文学名词解释(1)

Epic: A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecti ng the values of the society from which it originated. The style of epic is grand宏伟的 and elevated高尚的. John Milton wrote three great epics:Paradise Lost,Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. Sonnet(十四行诗 A sonnet is a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definition rhyme scheme Renaissance the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival复活 of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition过渡from the medieval to the modern world.the essence of the Renaissance is Humanism The Renaissance Period A period of drama and poetry. The Elizabethan drama is the real mainstream of the English Renaissance. Humanism人文主义 Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. 2>it emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the impo rtance of the present life.Humanists voiced their belie fs that man was the center of the universe and man did not

英美文学名词解释总结.doc

英美文学名词解释总结 Romance:Anyimaginationliteraturethatissetinanidealizedworldandth atdealswithaheroicadventuresandbattlesbetweengoodcharactersandvi llainsormonsters.传奇故事:指以理想化的世界为背景并且描写主人公的英雄冒险事迹和善与恶的斗争的想象文学作品。 Alliteration:Therepetitionoftheinitialconsonantsoundsinpoetry.头韵:诗歌中单词开头读音的重复。 Couplet:Itisapairofrhymingverselines,usuallyofthesamelength;oneoft hemostwidelyusedverse-sinEuropeanpoetry.Chaucerestablishedtheus eofcoupletsinEnglish,notablyintheCanterburyTales,usingrhymingiam bicpentameterslaterknownasheroiccoupletsBlankverse:Versewritteni nunrhymediambicpentameter.素体诗:用五音步抑扬格写的无韵诗。 Conceit:Akindofmetaphorthatmakesacomparisonbetweentwostartlin glydifferentthings.Aconceitmaybeabriefmetaphor,butitusuallyprovid estheframeworkforanentirepoem.Anespeciallyunusualandintellectual kindofconceitisthemetaphysicalconceit.新奇的比喻:将两种截然不同的食物进行对比的一种隐喻。 它虽被视为是一种隐喻,但是它往往构建了整首诗的框架,

英美文学名词解释

1. In the medieval period , it is Chaucer alone who , for the first time in English literature , presented to usa comprehensive __picture of the English society of his time and created a whole galery of vivid ___ from all walks of life in his masterpiece “the Canterbury Tales ”。 A. visionary / women B. romantic /men C. realistic / characters D. natural / figures 2. Although ____ was essentially a medieval writer, he bore marks of humanism and anticipated a new era of literature to come. A. William Langland B. John Gower C. Geoffrey Chaucer D. Edmund Spenser 3. Humanism spume from the endeavor to restore a medieval reverence for the antique authors and is frequently taken as the beginning of the Renaissance on its conscious ,intellectual side ,for the Greek and Roman civilization was based on the conception that man is the ____ of all things . A. measure B. king C. lover D. rule 4. The essence of humanism is to ______. A. restore a medieval reverence for the church B. avoid the circumstances of earthly life C. explore the next world in which men could live after death D. emphasize human qualities 5. Many people today tend to regard the play “ The Merchant of Venice ” as a satire of the hypocrisy of ___ and their false standards of friendship and love , their cunning ways of pursuing worldliness and their unreasoning prejudice against _________ . A. Christians / Jews B. Jews / Christians C. oppressors / oppressed D. people / Jews 6. In “ Sonnet 18 ”, Shakespeare has a profound meditation on the destructive power of _________ and the eternal __________ brought forth by poetry to the one he loves . A. death/ life B. death/ love C. time / beauty D. hate / love 7.In The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan describes The Vanity Fair in a ______ tone. A. delightful B. satirical C. sentimental D. solemn 8. The religious reformation in the early 16th-century England was a reflection of the class struggles waged by the _____. A. rising bourgeoisie against the feudal class and its ideology B. working class against the corruption of the bourgeoisie C. landlord class against the rising bourgeoisie and its ideology D. feudal class against the corruption of the Catholic Church 9. The ______ was a progressive intellectual movement throughout western Europe in the 18th century . A. Renaissance B. Enlightenmrent C. Religious Reformation D. Chartist Movement 10.The 18th century witnessed a new literary form -the modern English novel, which, contrary to the medieval romance, gives a ______ presentation of life of the common English people. A. romantic B. idealistic C. prophetic D. realistic 1. The title of the novel “ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ” written by James Joyce suggests a character study with strong _________ elements .

英美文学名词解释(1)

1puritanism清教主义 The dogmas 教条preached by Puritans. They believed that all men were predestined命中注定and the individual ‘s free will played no part in his quest for salvation. This was a rejection of the dogmas preached by the Roman Catholic Church and its rites仪式. The Puritans also advocated a strict moral code which prohibited many earthly pleasures such as dancing and other merry-makings.清教徒提倡严格的道德准则禁止如跳舞和其他许多世俗的快乐的气质。They stressed the virtues of self-discipline,自律thrift节俭and hard work as evidence that one was among the “elect” to be chosen to go to Heaven after death 2Romanticism The term refers to the literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and early 19th century. Romanticism rejected the earlier philosophy of the Enlightenment, which stressed that logic and reason were the best response humans had in the face of cruelty, 残忍的stupidity, superstition,迷信的and barbarism. Instead, the Romantics asserted that reliance 依赖upon emotion and natural passions provided a valid and powerful means of knowing and a reliable guide to ethics 伦理and living. The Romantic movement typically asserts 声称,代言the unique nature of the individual, the privileged status 特权地位of imagination and fancy想象和幻想, the value of spontaneity over “artifice” and “convention”价值的理解“技巧”和“公约”,the human need for emotional outlets, the spiritual destruction 精神上的摧残of urban life.城市生活。Their writings are often set in rural, or Gothic settings and they show an obsessive 强迫性的concern with “innocent” characters—children, young

英美文学四大思潮名词解释(全英)

Romanticism began in the mid-18th century and reached its height in the 19th century.It was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe.The ideologies and events of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution laid the background for Romanticism. The Enlightenment also had influence on Romanticism .It was a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature.The movement validated strong emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe.The Romantic literature of the nineteenth century concentrating on emotion, nature, and the expression of "nothing".famous romanticism writers are such as william Wordsworth:lyrical ballods、william whitman :leaves of grass Realism beginning with mid nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-19th- and early-20th-century .It was a reaction againest romanticism and paved the way to modernism.the realism is product of europe capitalist system?s establishment and development.the philosophy and science of europe in 19th century has promated its production authors trend to depictions of contemporary life and society as it was, or is. In the spirit of general "realism" ,realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized

英美文学史名词解释

英美文学史名词解释 Document number:NOCG-YUNOO-BUYTT-UU986-1986UT

英美文学史名词解释 1.English Critical Realism English critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and in the early fifties. The realists first and foremost criticized the capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint and delineated (portrayed) the crying (extremely shocking) contradictions of bourgeois reality. The greatness of the English realists lies not only in their satirical portrayal of bourgeoisie and in the exposure of the greed and hypocrisy of the ruling classes, but also in their sympathy for the laboring people. Humor and satire are used to expose and criticize the seamy (dark) side of reality. The major contribution of the critical realists lies in their perfection of the novel. Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray are the most important representative of English critical realism. 2.The "Stream of Consciousness" The "stream of consciousness" is a psychological term indicating "the flux of conscious and subconscious thoughts and impressions moving in the mind at any given time independently of the person's will." In late 19th century, the literary device of "interior monologue" was originated in France as an application of modern psychological knowledge to literary creations. In the 20th century, under the influence of Freud 's theory of psychological analysis, a number of writers adopted the "stream of consciousness" method of novel writing. The striking feature

英美文学名词解释 2

01. Humanism(人文主义) Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance.2> it emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. 02. Renaissance(文艺复兴) The word “Renaissance”means “rebirth”, it meant the reintroduction into westerm Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome.2>the essence of the Renaissance is Humanism. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and reformation.3> the real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama with william shakespeare being the leading dramatist. 03. Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌) Metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne.2>with a rebellious spirit, the Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry.3>the diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassical periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech.4>the imagery is drawn from actual life. Metaphysical poets(玄学派诗人) It is the name given to a diverse group of 17th century english poets whose work is notable for its ingenious use of intellectual and theological concepts in surprising conceits, strange paradoxes and far-fetched imagery. The leading Metaphysical poets was John Donne, whose colloquial, argumentative abruptness of rhythm and tone distinguishes his style from the conventions of Elizabethan love lyrics. 04. Classcism(古典主义) Classcism refers to a movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism emphasizes the traditional and the universal, and places value on reason, clarity, balance, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reason and universal themes, is traditionally opposed to Romanticism, which is concerned with emotions and personal themes. 05. Enlightenment(启蒙运动) Enlightenment movement was a progressive philosophical and artistic movement which flourished in france and swept through western Europe in the 18th century.2> the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from 14th century to the mid-17th century.3>its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas.4>it celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. It advocated universal education.5>famous among the great enlighteners in england were those great writers like Alexander pope. Jonathan swift.etc. 06.Neoclassicism(新古典主义)

(完整版)英美文学名词解释最全版

01. Humanism(人文主义) 1>Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. 2> it emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. 02. Renaissance(文艺复兴) 1>The word “Renaissance”means “rebirth”, it meant the reintroduction into western Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome. 2>the essence of the Renaissance is Humanism. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and reformation. 3> the real mainstream of the English Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama with William Shakespeare being the leading dramatist. 03. Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌) 1>Metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. 2>with a rebellious spirit, the Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. 3>the diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassical periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech.4>the imagery is drawn from actual life. 04. Classicism(古典主义) Classicism refers to a movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism emphasizes the traditional and the universal, and places value on reason, clarity, balance, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reason and universal themes, is traditionally opposed to Romanticism, which is concerned with emotions and personal themes. 05. Enlightenment(启蒙运动) 1>Enlightenment movement was a progressive philosophical and artistic movement which flourished in France and swept through western Europe in the 18th century. 2> the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from 14th century to the mid-17th century. 3>its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. 4>it celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. It advocated universal education. 5>famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like Alexander pope. Jonathan Swift. etc. 06.Neoclassicism(新古典主义) 1>In the field of literature, the enlightenment movement brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works.

英美文学术语解释

Postmodernism is the expression of thought and culture in art, literature, philosophy and politics in advanced capitalist period. “Post-” of “Postmodernism” is the inheritance and reaction to “modernism”. Postmodernism was originally used by artists and critics in New York in the 1960s and then employed by European theorists in the 1970s. Once this writing entered on the stage of history, it has brought us not only techniques such as parody, fragmentation, pastiche, collage, allegory, irony, playfulness, metafiction, but also intertextuality in history, philosophy, sociology, etc.. 英美文学名词解释(2013-06-29 16:58:29)转载▼ 标签:转载 原文地址:英美文学名词解释作者:kiwi 01. Humanism(人文主义) Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. 2> it emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders. 02. Renaissance(文艺复兴) The word “Renaissance”means “rebirth”, it meant the reintroduction into westerm Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome. 2>the essence of the Renaissance is Humanism. Attitudes and feelings which had been characteristic of the 14th and 15th centuries persisted well down into the era of Humanism and reformation. 3> the real mainstream of the english Renaissance is the Elizabethan drama with william shakespeare being the leading dramatist. 03. Metaphysical poetry(玄学派诗歌) Metaphysical poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. 2>with a rebellious spirit, the Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. 3>the diction is simple as compared with that of the Elizabethan or the Neoclassical periods, and echoes the words and cadences of common speech.4>the imagery is drawn from actual life. 04. Classcism(古典主义) Classcism refers to a movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the

英美文学赏析名词解释

1.A novel is a highly stylized prose account of fictional reality in the form of story with profundity for the purpose of changing the reader’s mind by the aid of the reader’s active involvement while providing entertainment and superior truth of life. 2.Character is an invented personality to resemble but never to equal a real person in life. Characters refer to people, animals, things, etc. in a literary work presented as people. 3.A plot is a particular arrangement of happenings in a novel that is aimed at revealing their causal relationships or at conveying the novelist’s ideas. 4.The theme of a novel is its controlling idea or its central insight about human beings and life. 5.Epistolary novel is a novel which consists of the letters the characters write to each other. 6.Roman a Clef is a novel with a key, and the key is usually a famous figure or, in some cases, the author. 7.Nonfictional novel is a novel that depicts real events with techniques of fiction. 8.Anagnorisis refers to the recognition by the tragic hero of some truth about his or her identity or actions that accompanies the reversal of the situation in the plot, the peripeteia. 9.Catharsis refers to the the purging of the emotions of pity and fear that are aroused in the viewer of a tragedy. 10.Hamartia refers to the "tragic flaw" of the hero such as "sin," "error," "trespass,“and "missing the mark". 11.A ballad refers to a short simple narrative poem often relating a dramatic event (folk and literary). 12.A narrative poem is one that mainly tells a relatively complete story. 13.A sonnet is a lyric invariably of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, restricted to a definite rhyme scheme. 1)Petrarchan Sonnet: Italian sonnet; Named after Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), the Italian poet; Introduced into English poetry in the early 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt; Structure: an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba and a sestet of various rhyme patterns such as cdecde, cdcdcd or cde edc.; Octave: projecting and developing a subject in the octave; sestet: executing a turn 2)Shakespearean Sonnet: Elizabethan sonnet; English sonnet; Developed first by Henry Howard (1517-1547) ; Structure: 3 quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg; 1st quatrain: introducing an idea; 2nd quatrain: complicating it; 3rd quatrain: complicating it still further; final epigrammatic couplet: resolving the whole thing 3)Spenserian Sonnet: a variant on the English Sonnet; Named after the 16th Century poet Edmund Spenser; Structure: 3 quatrains and a couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee. 14.Rhyme refers to the repetition of the stressed vowel sound and all succeeding sounds. 15.Rhythm is communicated by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables 16.Image refers to the element in a poem that sparks off the senses, the representation of sense experience through language

相关文档
最新文档