英美文学术语(英文版) literary terms

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英美文学术语terms

英美文学术语terms

英美文学术语terms1.alliteration:It is the repetition of the same sound or sounds at the beginning of two or morewords that are next to or close to each other. It is a form of initial rhyme, or head rhyme.2.caesura:a pause in a line of verse, often coinciding with a break between clauses orsentences. It is usually placed in the middle of the line, but may appear near the beginning or towards the end.3.Sonnet - a lyric poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to certain definite patterns. It usually expresses a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment.4.Free verse: a kind of poetry that does not conform to any regular metre: the length of its lines is irregular, as is its use of rhyme.5. heroic couplet: a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines.6. Paradox: a statement or expression so surprisingly self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another sense or context in which it would be true.7. Conceit: An unusually far-fetched or elaborate metaphor or simile presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings.8. Mock epic: a poem employing the lofty style and the conventions of the epic poetry to describe a trivial or undignified series of events; thus a kind of satire that mocks its subject bytreating it in an inappropriately grandiose manner, usually at some length. One of the outstanding examples in English is Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock.9. Satire: a mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions or societies to ridicule and scorn. Satire is often an incidental element in literary works that may not be wholly satirical, especially in comedy. Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a bitter satire on the policy of the English government towards the Irish people.10. Epigram:a short poem with a witty turn of thought, or a wittily condensed expression in prose. Originally a form of monumental inscription in ancient Greece, the epigram was developed into a literary form by poets.11. Allegory:Allegory is a story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning. The principal technique of allegory is personification, whereby abstract qualities are given human shape.12. Simile:A figure of speech in which two things, essentially different but thought to be alike in one or more respects, are compared using “like,” “as,” “as if,” or “such” for the purpose ofexplanation, allusion, or ornament.13. metaphor: the most important and widespread figure of speech, in which one thing, idea, or action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea, or action, so as to suggest some common quality shared by the two. In metaphor, this resemblance is assumed as an imaginary identity rather than directly stated as a comparison.14. verbal irony: it involves a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant, as in its crude form, sarcasm..15. dramatic irony:the audience knows more about a character’s situation than the character does, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character’s expectations, and thus ascribing a sharply different sense to some of the character’s own statements.。

英国文学 术语英文版term

英国文学 术语英文版term

1.METAPHYSICAL POETS refer to a school of poets at the beginning of the 17th century England who wrote under the influence of John Donne. The works of the Metaphysical poets are characterized, generally speaking, by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form. The most eminent poets are John Donne, George Herbert & Andrew Marwell2.Renaissance: The DefinitionThe rise of the bourgeoisie showed its influence in cultural life. The result is an intellectual movement known as the Renaissance, or the rebirth of literature. Renaissance sprang in Italy and spread to France, Germany, the Low Countries, and lastly to England. Two features are striking of this movement. One is the thirst for classical literature, the other is the rise of Humanism.3.Humanism was the keynote of the Renaissance. People ceased to look upon themselves as living only for God and a future world. They began to admire human beauty and human achievement. Man is no longer the slave of the external world. He can mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks.4.The Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement that flourished in France and swept though the whole Western Europe at that time. Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. The enlighteners celebrated reason of rationality, equality and science. They also advocated universal education5.NeoclassicismThe Enlightenment brought about a revival of interest in the old classical works. This tendency is known as neoclassicism. According to neoclassicists, all forms of literature were to be modeled after the works of ancient Greek and Roman writers and those of contemporary French ones.6. sentimentalismIn the middle of the 18th century, sentimentalism made its appearance. Sentimentalism came into being as the result of a bitter discontent among the enlightened people with social reality. Dissatisfied with reason, sentimentalists appealed to sentiment, to the human heart. Sentimentalism turned to the countryside for its material.7. RomanticismEnglish Romanticism begins in 1798 with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s The Lyrical Ballads and ends in 1832 with Walter Scott’s death. William Blake and Rob ert Burns also belong to this literary genre, though they live prior to the Romantic period.English Romanticism is a revolt of the English imagination against the neoclassical reason. The French Revolution of 1789-1794 and the English Industrial Revolution exert great influence on English Romanticism. The romanticists express a negative attitude towards the existing social or political conditions. They place the individual at the center of art, as can be seen from Lord Byron’s Byronic Hero. The key words of English Romanticism are nature and imagination. English Romantic tend to be nationalistic, defending the greatest English writers. They argue that poetry should be free from all rules8. Lake PoetsWordsworth, Coleridge and Southey were known as Lake Poets because they lived and knew one another in the last few years of the 18th century in the district of the great lakes in Northwestern England. The former two published The Lyrical Ballads together in 1798, while all three of them had radical inclinations in their youth but later turned conservative and received pensions and poet laureateships from the aristocracy。

Literary terms

Literary terms

Literary TermsTranscendentalism:Emerson in his essay, “The Transcendentalist,”states “What is popular called Transcendentalism among us is idealism; idealism as appeared in 1842.”What happened about this time was that some New Englanders, not quite happy about the materialistic-oriented life of their time, formed themselves into an informal club, the Transcendental Club, and met to discuss matters of interest to the life of the nation as a whole.They expressed their views, published their journal, The Dial, and made their voice heard. The club with membership of some thirty men and a couple of women included Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson, Alcott, and Margaret Fuller, most of them were teachers or clergymen.The Major features of New England Transcendentalism can be summarized as the following: First, the Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe.Secondly, the Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. To them the individual was the most important element of society.Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. Nature was , to them, not purely matter. It was alive, filled with God’s overwhelming presence. It was the garment of the Oversoul. Therefore it could exercise a healthy influence on the human mind.American DreamA vision of America as a land of opportunity, a land in which every individual may achieve his innate potental regardless of sex, color, religion, circumstances of birth etc. The dream drew millions of immigrants to the United States and propelled them across a continent. The dream is often corrupted to mean a mere drive for materialistic values. The tragic toll taken by the pursuit of the American dream has been portrayed in such utterly different novels as The Great gatsby(1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald and An American Tragedy (1925) by Theodore Dreiser.Lost generationA term coined by Gertrude Stein. “You are all a lost generation,” she said to Erne st Hemingway. She was referring to him and his co-expatriate writers and artists who remained in Paris after World War I, without roots, without commitment, without illusions.This includes the young English and American expatriates as well as men and women caught in the war and cut off from the old values and yet unable to come to terms with the new era when civilization had gone mad.Free VerseFree verse is sometimes referred to as “open form” verse. Like traditional verse, it is printed in short lines instead of with the continuity of prose, but it differs from such verse by the fact that its rhythmic pattern is not organized into a regular metrical form—that is, into feet, or recurrent units of weak-and strong-stressed syllables. Most free verse also has irregular line lengths,and either lacks rhyme or else uses it only sporadically.PuritanismPuritanism is the practices and beliefs of the puritans. They were idealists, believing that the Church should be restored to the “purity”of the first-century Church as established by Jesus Christ Himself. To them religion was a matter of primary importance. They accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin, total depravity and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God.The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925. In Gatsby, the central character, we see the corruption and vanity (ostentation display) of that part of the American dream that exalts great wealth as the means to happiness and success. Gatsby was a midwestern boy who fell in love with the beautiful Daisy, several notches (a degree or step) above him in wealth and social class. To get her, he amassed a fortune from bootlegging and gangsterism.He got himself a mansion on Long Island and gave big parties where he felt like a stranger, an outsider. But Daisy had married the enormously rich and brutal Tom Buchanan. Gatsby’s life was empty except for his continuing devotion to the dream of Daisy. In the end, his illusions as to the true nature of the very rich betrayed him.Fitzgerald deals sympathetically with this falsely romantic and tragic character.The Jazz AgeThe period of the 1920s in the United States. The Jazz Age took its name from black music, which was in great part improvisational. F. Scott Fitzgerald labeled his time the Jazz Age. In his books this signified unconventionality, a get-rich-quick mentality (the manner of thinking, esp. the attitude towards life and society etc., of an individual or group), defiance of Prohibition in speakeasies, wild partying.At the end of The Great Gatsby the narrator says of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jazz-Age types, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatuers and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”Beat generationFrom “beat,” meaning worn-out, exhausted, plus “beatitude,” (blessedness) meaning bliss (perfect happiness, heavenly joy). Members of the beat generation hoped to achieve out of the lowest depths of despair that spiritual illumination that leads to the peace that passeth understanding. The beats represented a bohemian revolution against the mores and values of a corrupt, materialistic, military-minded society. They adopted unconventional modes of dress and behavior. They sought release from moral restriction in hallucinogenial drugs, alcohol, sexual experimentation and poverty.The term was first applied in the 1950s to the poets who gathered at the City Lights book Store in San Francisco: Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and, later, Gary Snyder; and to the prose writers Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.。

英美文学1

英美文学1



Requirements for the Course
Try to remember the points learnt in class. 1. literary terms 2. writer’s name 3. writing features
Read more.
5.discussion activities
The Roman Conquest
beginning of 5th century: declining of the Roman Empire In 410 A. D. Romans withdrew. 400 years of occupation
Britons, trodden (trampled) down as slaves or cultivators of the land Buildings of Roman style for Roman conquerors Highways or Roman roads for military purposes Towns built, as London Christianity introduced
Britain
the land of Britons
the tribal society
The Roman Conquest
55 B. C. Julius Caesar, the Roman conqueror Britons fought fiercely
43 A. D. a Roman province Britain was under control completely by the Roman Empire in 78 A. D.
story novel novella poem poetry poesy verse(诗句,诗行) epic (史诗,叙事诗)

英美文学名词解释

英美文学名词解释

英美文学名词解释英美文学是指英国和美国地区的文学作品和文学传统。

在这个领域中,存在着许多特殊的术语和概念,有助于我们理解和欣赏这些文学作品。

本文将解释和介绍一些常见的英美文学名词,以帮助读者深入理解和掌握这些文学作品。

一、1.文学流派(Literary Genre):指文学作品按照特定主题、风格或结构的类别进行分类。

常见的文学流派包括小说、诗歌、戏剧、散文等。

不同的文学流派具有独特的特点和写作风格,反映了不同的文学趣味和审美观念。

2.现实主义(Realism):是19世纪中期兴起的一种文学流派,强调对现实生活的逼真描写和展示。

现实主义文学追求真实、客观和可信的表达方式,通过描绘日常生活和社会环境来反映现实社会的不同层面。

3.自然主义(Naturalism):自然主义是现实主义的一种延伸,强调环境和遗传因素对人的行为和命运的决定性作用。

自然主义文学突出了人类生存环境对人性的影响,对人类行为进行科学观察和探索。

4.浪漫主义(Romanticism):浪漫主义强调个体情感、想象力和超验的体验,追求自由和独立的精神境界。

浪漫主义文学追求充满激情、抒发个人感受和探索内心世界的形式。

二、1.象征主义(Symbolism):象征主义是19世纪末20世纪初出现的一种文学和艺术运动,强调使用象征性的意象和隐喻来表达深层的情感和思想。

象征主义文学倾向于表达个体的情感体验和心灵探索。

2.现代主义(Modernism):现代主义是20世纪初兴起的一种文学和艺术运动,强调对传统形式和观念的挑战和颠覆。

现代主义文学追求形式上的创新和实验,探索自我意识、哲学思考和社会变革。

3.后现代主义(Postmodernism):后现代主义是现代主义的继承和超越,强调文化多样性、相对主义和戏仿。

后现代主义文学打破传统的叙事和结构规则,以戏仿和颠覆的方式探索权力、真实性和历史观念。

4.现实主义小说(Realistic Novel):现实主义小说以真实的描写和社会批判为特征,通过塑造现实人物的经历和命运来反映社会问题。

英语专业考研整理之英美文学术语整理

英语专业考研整理之英美文学术语整理

1.美国清教主义①清教主义是16世纪晚期在英国教会进行的一场宗教改革。

②在教会和皇权的重压下,清教的一个分支于17世纪30年代40年代迁至美洲新大陆的北方殖民地,为新英格兰奠定了宗教,知识,和社会秩序的基础。

③清教主义不仅符合新大陆成立的特定历史,而且还影响了美国的生活方式。

④在教义上讲,清教徒遵循1619年多特宗教会议制定的信条:宿命论,原罪说,全体堕落,有限的救赎。

1.美国文艺复兴、美国浪漫主义、①美国浪漫主义是美国文学史上最重要的时期之一,始于18世纪末期,一直到美国内战的爆发。

它以华盛顿欧文的《见闻杂记》开始到惠特曼《草叶集》结束。

这是美国文学空前繁盛的时期,也被称为美国的文艺复兴时期。

②美国浪漫主义受欧洲浪漫主义运动的影响,并沿袭了部分特点。

他注重自然,强调人的情感和想象力,追求自由,向既定社会制度和传统的挑战,与古典主义形式分离。

③尽管如此,美国浪漫主义文学仍有自由的独特风格。

A.美国浪漫主义本质上是一个“全新的经历”的表达,因新大陆充满生机与活力使美国浪漫主义有种异国情调。

B.清教主义对美国浪漫主义有显著影响。

④美国浪漫主义作家包括:华盛顿欧文,詹姆斯库伯,艾默生,梭罗,纳撒尼尔霍桑,麦尔维尔,惠特曼等。

2.新英格兰的超验主义①超验主义是1836年到1860年在新英格兰发起的一场文化,哲学,艺术运动,是浪漫主义在新英格兰的代名词。

②这场运动由爱默生领导,由其他一些有影响力的知识分子发起。

③核心思想是人能够超越感觉和理性直接认识真理。

超验主义者强调超灵,个人和自然的重要性。

人人都有内在的神性,只有通过接触自然才能使神性和天性相互融合,从而超验主义者强调个人主义,自立,拒绝传统的权威思想。

超验主义者从自然中汲取灵感④美国的超验主义作为一种文化遗产,对美国的道德观产生了深远的影响,对美国的浪漫主义的影响也十分显著。

代表作:艾默生的《论自然》《美国学者》,梭罗的《瓦尔登湖》3.象征主义象征主义是19世纪末在文学和视觉领域中始于法国的一次运动,它首先出现在法国诗人波德莱尔的诗歌中。

英美文学术语

基本文学术语1.Allegory: A narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. The main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of symbols, which have both literal and figurative meanings.2.Allusion: A reference in a literary work to a person, a place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well known characters or events.3.Archetype: Commonly used to describe an original pattern or model from which all other things of the same kind are made.4.Black humor: Also known as Black Comedy, writing that places grotesque elements side by side with humorous ones in an attempt to shock the readers, forcing him or her to laugh at the horrifying reality of a disordered world.5.Classicism: A term used in literary criticism to describe critical doctrines that have their roots in ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy and arts. Works associated with Classicism typically exhibit restraints on the part of the author, unity of design and purpose, clarity, simplicity, logical organization, and respect for tradition. 6.Existentialism: A predominantly 20th century philosophy concerned with the nature and perception of human existence. There are two major strains of existentialist thought: atheistic and Christian. Followers of atheistic Existentialism believe that the individual is alone in a godless universe and that the basic human condition is one of the suffering and loneliness. Nevertheless, because there are no fixed values, individuals can create their own characters—indeed; they can shape themselves—through the exercise of free will.7.Expressionism: An indistinct literary term originally used to describe an early 20th century school of Germany painting. The term applies to almost every mode of unconventional, highly subjective writing that distorts reality in some way. 8.Formalism: In literary criticism, the belief that literature should follow prescribed rules of construction, such as those that govern the sonnet form.9.Imagism: An English and American poetry movement that flourished between 1908 and 1917. The Imagists used precise, clearly presented images in their works. They also used common, everyday speech and aimed for conciseness, concrete imaginary, and the creation of new rhythms.10.Irony:In literary criticism,, the effect of language in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated.11.Lost generation: A term firstly used by Gertrude Stein to describe the post World 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.12.Modernism: Modern literary practice. Also, the principals of a literary school that lasted roughly through the beginning of the 20th century to until the end of WWII.Modernism is defined by its rejection of the literary conventions of the 19th century and by its opposition to conventional morality, taste, traditions, and economic values. 13.Naturalism: A literary movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Naturalists typically viewed human beings as either the products of “biological determinism”, ruled by hereditary instincts and engaged in an endless struggle forsurvival, or as the products of “socioeconomic determinism”, ruled by social and economic forces beyond their control.14.Neoclassicism: In literary criticism, this term refers to the revival of the attitudes and styles of classical literature. It is generally used to describe a period in European history beginning in the late 17th century and lasting until 1800. In its purest form, Neoclassicism marked a return to order, proportion, restraint, logic, accuracy and decorum.15.Postmodernism: Writing from the 1960s forward characterized by experimentation and continuing to apply some of the fundamentals of Modernism, which included Existentialism and alienation. Postmodernists have gone a step further in the rejection of tradition begun with the Modernists by also rejecting traditional forms, preferring the anti-novel to the novel and the anti-hero over the hero.16.Realism: A 19th century European literary movement that sought to portray familiar characters, situations and settings in a realistic manner. This was done primarily by using an objective narrative point of view and through the buildup of accurate detail.The standard for success of any realistic work depends on how faithfully it transfers common experience into fictional form.17.Romanticism: A general term to refer to a type of sensibility found in all periods of literary history and usually considered to be in opposition to the principles of Classicism. In this sense, Romanticism signifies any work of philosophy in which the exotic or dreamlike figure is strongly featured, or that is devoted to individualistic expression, self-analysis, or a pursuit of a higher realm of knowledge than can be discovered by human reason.18.Symbolism: The term refers to the use of one object to represent another. 19.Transcendentalism: An American philosophical and religious movement, based in New England from around 1835 until the Civil War. The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of intuition and subjective experience in communication with God. They rejected religious dogma and texts in favor of Mysticism and scientific Naturalism.。

英美文学术语

TERMS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE1.Allegory寓言;讽喻A narrative in which the characters and the setting stand for abstract qualities and ideas. The writer of an allegory is not primarily trying to make the characters and their actions realistic, but to make them representative of ideas or truths.2. Alliteration (头韵)The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters, in a group of words . Some-times the term is limited to the repetition of initial consonant sounds.3. Assonance(腹韵,半谐音)The repetition of similar vowel sounds , especially in poetry . Here is an example of assonance from John Keat s’s Ode on a Grecian Urn : “Thou foster ch i ld of s i lence and slow t i me .”4. Ballad民谣;叙事诗歌A story told in verse and usually meant to be sung .5. Blank Verse无韵诗,素体诗(不押韵的五音步诗行)Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.6. Byronic Hero拜伦的,拜伦风格的,冷笑而浪漫的The hero with the characteristic of Lord Byron or the hero in his poetry, who is contemptuous of and rebelling against conventional morality, or defying fate, and who is a mixture of good and evil, selflessness and sin, isolated, rebellious, passionate and self-reliant, etc.7. Characterization特性描述;(对书或戏剧中人物的)刻画,塑造The personality a character displays; also, the means by which a writer reveals that personality. Generally, a writer develops a character in one or more of the following ways:1)through the character’s actions;2)through the character’s thoughts and speeches;3)through a physical description of the character;4)through the opinions others have about the character;5)through a direct statement about the character telling what the writer thinks of him or her.8. Classicism古典主义,古典风格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 .9. ClimaxThe point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative . The climax usually marks a story’s turning point.10. ComedyIn general, a literary work that ends happily with a healthy, amicable armistice between the protagonist and society.11. Comedy of MannersA term most commonly used to designate the realistic, often satirical comedy. In the stricter sense of the term, the type is concerned with the manners and conventions of an artificial, highly sophisticated society. The fashions, manners and outlook on life of this social group are reflected. The characters are more likely to be types than individualized personalities. Plot, though ofteninvolving a clever handling of situation and intrigue, is less important than atmosphere, dialogue and satire, The dialogue is witty and finished, often brilliant. Satire is directed against the deficiencies of typical characters.12. Conceit (文学中)巧妙的比喻,别出心裁的对比A kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things.13. Consonance(谐辅音)The repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words . Sometimes the term refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words, as in this line from Thomas Gray’s “ Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard ”: “ And a ll the air a so l emn sti ll ness ho l ds . ”Sometimes the term is used for slant rhyme (or partial rhyme) in which initial and final consonants are the same but the vowels different : l itter/l etter , gree n/groa n .14. Couplet相连并押韵的两行诗,对句Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.15. Dramatic MonologueA poem in which there is an imaginary speaker, at some specific and critical moment, addressing an imaginary, silent but identifiable audience, thereby unintentionally revealing his or her essential personality or temperament. In Browning’s My Last Duchess,for example, he penetrates to the depth the psychology of his characters and through their own speeches, he analyzes and reveals the innermost secret of their lives.16. Heroic Couplet(两行相互押韵、每行分五音节的)英雄偶句诗An iambic pentameter couplet.17. Elegy悲歌;挽歌;挽诗A poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual.18. Epic叙事诗;史诗;史诗般的作品A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated.19. Fable寓言A story with a moral lesson, often employing animals who talk and act like human beings.20 The Graveyard SchoolA group of 18th-century poets, and among them are Thomas Gray, Robert Blair, Thomas Parnell, and Edward Young, who wrote on funeral subjects.21. Iambic Pentameter五音步抑扬格A poetic line consisting of five verse feet (penta-is from a Greek word meaning “five”), with each foot an iamb—that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is the most common verse line in English poetry.22. ImageryWords or phrases that create pictures, or images, in the reader’s mind .23. LyricA poem, usually a short one, that expresses a speaker’s personal thoughts or feelings. The elegy, ode, and sonnet are all forms of the lyric.24. Metaphysical PoetryThe poetry of John Donne and other seventeenth-century poets who wrote in a similar style. Metaphysical poetry is characterized by verbal wit and excess, ingenious structure, irregular meter, colloquial language , elaborate imagery , and a drawing together of dissimilar ideas .25. MeterA generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.26. Narrative PoemA poem that tells a story .One kind of narrative poem is the epic, a long poem that sets forth the heroic ideals of a particular society. Beowulf is an epic. The ballad is another kind of narrative poem.27. NarratorOne who narrates, or tells, a story. A story may be told by a first-person narrator, someone who is either a major or a minor character in the story. Or a story may be told by a third-person narrator, someone who is not in the story at all.28. NaturalismAn extreme form of realism. Naturalistic writers usually depict the sordid side of life and show characters who are severely limited by their environment or heredity, two forces beyond man’s control.29. NeoclassicismA revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. John Dryden and Alexander Pope were major exponents of the neoclassical school.30. OctiveAn eight-line poem or stanza. Usually the term octave refers to the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet. The remaining six lines form a sestet.31. OdeA complex and often lengthy lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some serious subject.32. ParadoxA statement that reveals a kind of truth, although it seems at first to be self-contradictory and untrue .33. Point of viewThe vantage point from which a narrative is told. There are two basic points of view: first-person and third person. In the first-person point of view, the story is told by one of the characters in his or her own words. In the third-person point of view, the narrator is not a character in the story. The narrator may be an omniscient, or “all-knowing” observer.34. PunThe use of a word or phrase to suggest two or more meanings at the same time. Puns are generally humorous.35. RealismThe 19th century literary movement that reacted to romanticism by insisting on a faithful, objective presentation of the details of everyday life.36. The RenaissanceThe period in Europe between the 14th century and the 17th century. During this period, the classical arts and learning were discovered again and widely studied, so the term originally indicates a revival of classical(Roman and Greek) arts and learning after the dark ages of Medieval obscurantism, it also marked the beginning of the bourgeois revolution.In the Renaissance period, scholars and educators called themselves humanists and began toemphasize the capacities of the human mind and they held their chief interest in man’s values and his environment and doings. So humanism became the keynote of the English Renaissance.37. RomanceAny imaginative literature that is set in an idealized world and that deals with heroic adventures and battles between good characters and villains or monsters. Originally, the term referred to a medieval tale dealing with the loves and adventures of kings , queens , knights , and ladies , and including unlikely or supernatural happenings . Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the best of the medieval romances.38. RomanticismRomanticism is a literary movement which came into being in England early in the latter half of the 18th century and prevailed in the first half of the nineteenth century . This literary trend began with the publication of Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads(抒情歌谣集) and ended with Walter Scott’s death. It is a reaction against the classicism or Neoclassicism of the 18th century. Romantic writing emphasizes emotions and feelings instead of reason and logic. It also focuses on the life of common people and encourages an appreciation of nature instead of society. The subject matters of Romanticism can be listed: sensibility, love of nature, interest in the past ,mysticism , individualism , exotic pictures , strong-willed heroes , sometimes resort to symbolism39. SestetA six-line poem or stanza. Usually the term sestet refers to the last six lines of an Italian sonnet . The first eight lines of an Italian sonnet form an octave.40. SentimentalismThe middle of the 18th century in England sees the inception of a new literary current---that of sentimentalism, which came into being as a bitter discontent in social reality on the part of certain enlighteners who found the power of reason to be insufficient in dealing with social injustices, and therefore, appealed to sentiment as a means of achieving happiness and justice.The term is used in two senses in the study of literature. The first is overindulgence in emotion, especially the conscious effort to induce emotion in order to analyze or enjoy it and the failure to restrain or evaluate emotion through the exercise of the judgement. The second is optimistic overemphasis of the goodness of humanity. Sentimentalism is concerned with the development of primitivism. In the first sense given above, sentimentalism is found in the melancholy verse of the Graveyard School.41. SoliloquyIn drama, an extended speech delivered by a character alone onstage. The character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and feelings directly to the audience, as if thinking aloud.42. SonnetA fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.43. Stream of ConsciousnessA method of telling a story in which a writer lets the reader know every thought that enters a character’s mind. This method tries to imitate the way in which people actually think. Therefore , the character’s thoughts are presented in the order in which they occur , and this order is not necessarily logical . When the stream-of-consciousness technique is used, the story is always written from the first-person point of view.44. Spenserian StanzaA nine-line stanza with the following rhyme scheme: ababbcbcc. The first eight lines are written iniambic pentameter. The last line is written in iambic hexameter . The Spenserian Stanza was invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Fairie Queen.45. StyleAn author’s characteristic way of writing, determined by the choice of words, the arrangements of words in a sentence, and the relationship of sentences to one another. Style is the total qualities and characteristics that distinguish the writings of one writer from those of another.46. TragedyIn general, a literary work in which the protagonist meets an unhappy or disastrous end. Unlike comedy, tragedy depicts the actions of a central character who is usually dignified or heroic. Through a series of events, this main character, or tragic hero , is brought to a final downfall .47. ForeshadowingA device by means of which the author hints at something to follow.48. Understatement(轻描淡写的陈述)A figure of speech that consists of saying less than what one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants.49. University WitsA name given to a group of Elizabethan playwrights who had studied at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. John Lyly and Thomas Lodge were at Oxford; Robert Greene, Thomas Nashe and Christopher Marlowe came from Cambridge.50. The Wessex NovelsThe Wessex Novels : novels by Hardy of describing the characters and environment of his native countryside. These novels have for their setting the agricultural region of the Southern counties of England. Hardy truthfully depicts the impoverishment and decay of small farmers who became hired fieldhands and roam the country in search of seasonal jobs. These laborers are mercilessly exploited by the rich landowners. The author is pained to see the decline of the idyllic life in rural England. This is one of the reasons for Hardy’s pessimistic tone throughout his novels. His pessimistic philosophy seems to show that mankind is subjected to human life. Determinism is a tendency in his writings. The major Wessex Novels include:1. Under the Greenwood Tree2. Far from the Madding Crowd3. The Return of the Native4. The Mayor of Casterbridge5. Tess of the D’Urbervilles6. Jude the Obscure。

英美文学术语,中英对照简洁版

1. Allegory (寓言)A tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. 寓言,讽喻:一种文学、戏剧或绘画的艺术手法,其中人物和事件代表抽象的观点、原则或支配力。

2. Alliteration (头韵)Alliteration is the repetition of the same initial consonant sound within a line or a group of words.头韵:在一组词的开头或重读音节中对相同辅音或不同元音的重复。

3. Allusion (典故)A reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects the reader to recognize and respond to. 典故:作者对某些读者熟悉并能够作出反映的特定人物,地点,事件,文学作品的引用。

4. Analogy (类比)A comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them. 类比:为了在两个事物之间找出差别而进行的比较。

5. Antagonist (反面主角)The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero or heroine of a narrative or drama.反面主角:叙事文学或戏剧中与男女主人公或英雄相对立的主要人物。

6. Antithesis (对仗)The balancing of two contrasting ideas, words, or sentences. 对仗:两组相对的思想,言辞,词句的平衡。

Literary Terms2


reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject Example: “The impending threat of global warming…”
Metaphor
A
figure of speech that compares two or more things without “like” or “as” Example: The young boy was a bundle of energy.
Mood
The
emotional quality or atmosphere of a story.
Apostrophe
The
practice in which a poet talks to someone or something not there. Example: In many of his plays, Shakespeare will address the audience.
Hyperbole
A
figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, to make a point, or for humor Example: She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders
Example:
Oxymoron
Two
seemingly contradictory terms “He was always known as an honest crook.”
Example:
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英国文学Alliteration:押头韵repetition of the initial sounds(不一定是首字母)Allegory:寓言a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.Allusion:典故a reference in a literary work to person, place etc. often to well-known characters or events. Archetype:原型Irony:反讽intended meaning is the opposite of what is statedBlack humor:黑色幽默Metaphor: 暗喻Ballad: 民谣about the folk logeEpic:史诗in poetry, refers to a long work dealing with the actions of gods and heroes.Romance: 罗曼史/骑士文学is a popular literary form in the medieval England./ChivalryEuphuism: 夸饰文体This kind of style consists of two distinct elements. The first is abundant use of balanced sentences, alliterations and other artificial prosodic means. The second element is the use of odd similes and comparisons.Spenserian stanza: It refers to a stanza of nine lines, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last line in iambic hexameter. 斯宾塞诗节新诗体,每一节有9排,前8排是抑扬格五步格诗,第9排是抑扬格六步格诗。

The Faerie QueeneConceit:奇特的比喻is a far-fetched simile or metaphor, occurs when the speaker compares two highly dissimilar things. 不像的事物Sonnet: 十四行诗a lyric consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, restricted to a definite rhyme scheme.Blank verse: 无韵体诗written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.Elegy 挽歌The Heroic Couplet:英雄对偶句Lyric:抒情诗is a short poem that expresses the poet’s thoughts and emotion or illustrates some life principle. often concerns love. A red, red Rose.Byronic Hero: refers to a proud, mysterious rebel figure of noble origin.Stream of Consciousness:意识流the author tells the story through the freely flowing thoughts and associations of one of the characters. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf are two major advocates of this technique.Renaissance:文艺复兴14-15th, originated in Italy, encouraged the reformation of the Church and humanism. Humanism: 人文主义it is the essence of the Renaissance. It emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life.Metaphysical poetry:玄学派诗歌it is commonly used to name the work of the 17th-century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With the rebellious spirit, they tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The diction is simple. John Donne, George Herbert.The Enlightenment Movement:启蒙运动18th century flourished in France. Enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. reason, rationality, equality and science and universal education. John Dryden, Alexander Pope.Neoclassicism:新古典主义17-18th centuries of classical standards of standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature. Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson.Sentimentalism:感伤主义18世纪60-80年代,came into being as a result of a bitter discontent on the part of certain enlighteners in social reality. use of pathetic effects and attempts to arouse feeling by “pathetic” indulgence.The Graveyard School: 墓畔派whose poems are mostly devote to sentimental lamentations or meditation onlife, past and present, with death and graveyard as theme.Romanticism: 浪漫主义mid-18th century, strong protest against the bondage of neoclassicism. romanticism gave primary concern to passion, emotion, and natural beauty.Lake Poets:湖畔派诗人refers to such romantic poets as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey who lived in the Lake District.Critical Realism:批判现实主义•applied to the realistic fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.•criticize capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint but did not find a way to eradicate social evils. •concerned about the fate of common people and described what was faithful to reality.•Charles Dickens is the most important critical realist.Modernism: 现代主义began in the late 19th century and flourish until 1950. concentrate more on the private and subjunctive than on the public and objective, mainly concerned with the inner world of an individual.美国文学American Puritanism: 清教徒主义accept the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement.American Romanticism: 美国浪漫主义•subjectivity 主观性emphasis on individualism—personal freedom, no hero worship, natural goodness •back to medieval, esp medieval folk literature•back to nature 回归自然Transcendentalism: 超验主义•Began in New England around 1830, spokesman was R. W. Emerson, man’s capac ity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach the traditional five senses, he can also learn spontaneously, out of his soul or instincts.•Four sources: Unitarianism, Romantic Idealism, Oriental mysticism, puritanism.Free Verse: 自由诗体has no regular rhythm or line length and depends on natural speech rhythms…American Realism: Actualities of everyday life, moral and social effects of writing. It concerns for common place and the low, offers an objective view. three dominant figures, Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. Local Color: Speech and customs peculiar to one particular place, an indigenous and distinctive little world. Hamlin Garland, Willa Cather, and Sarah Orne Jewette are three representatives.American Naturalism: is evolved from realism when the author’s tome in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more pessimistic.Imagism: 意象派•It was influenced by French symbolism, ancient Chinese poetry and Japanese literature ”haiku”.•An image is defined by Pound. 强调诗要具体,避免抽象,意向比喻要非常准确。

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