美国文学史术语解释

Stream of consciousness（意识流）：It is one of the modern literary techniques. It is the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images as the character experiences them. It was first used in 1922 by the Irish novelist James Joyce. Those novels broke through the bounds of time and space, and depicted vividly and skillfully the unconscious activity of the mind fast changing and flowing incessantly

Imagism（意象派）: It‟s a poetic movement of England and the U.S. flourished from 1909 to 1917.The movement insists on the creation of images in poetry by “the direct treatment of the thing”and the economy of wording. The leaders of this movement were Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell. Modernism（现代主义）: It is term referring to the art, poetry, literature, architecture, and philosophy of Europe and America in the early twentieth-century. In general, modernism is marked by the following characteristics: (1) the desire to break away from established traditions, (2) a quest to find fresh ways to view man's position or function in the universe, (3) experiments in form and style, particularly with fragmentation--as opposed to the "organic" theories of literary unity appearing in the Romantic and Victorian periods.

The Lost generation：The term Last Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American literary notables who lived in Paris from the time period which saw the end of Word War I to the beginning of the Great Depression .Significant members included Ernest Hemingway ,F.Scott Fitzgerald ,Ezra Pound ,Sherwood Anderson ,T.S .Eliot ,and Gertrude Stein herself .Hemingway likely popularized the term ,quoting Stein as epigraph to his novel ,The Sun Also Rises .More generally ,the term is being used for the young adults of Europe and America during World War I.They were “lost”because after the war many of them were disillusioned with the world in general and unwilling to move into a settled life .

The Beat Generation :The Beat Generation applied to certain American artists and writers who were popular during the 1950s.Essential anarchic ,member of the beat generation rejected traditional social and artistic forms.The beats sought immediate expression in multiple ,intense experiences and beatific illumination like that of some Eastern religions .In literature they adopted rhythms of simple American speech and of jazz.Among those associated with the movement were the novelist Jack Kerouac and numerous poets as Allen Ginsberg ,and Gregory Corso ,and others,many of whom worked in and around San Francisco.

Harlem Renaissance: The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of the arts in the 1920‟s and 30s.African Americans used writing, music, and art to demonstrate strong beliefs.

Many of these beliefs were mphasized the necessity of black liberation, retaining black cultural pride, and not giving into white standards.Especially the awareness of the black‟s identity.//Harlem became the biggest hot spot in America for any aspiring African American artist. The city came alive at night as bars and clubs burst with music and dancing.//Responding to the heady intellectual atmosphere of the time and place, writers and artists, many of whom lived in Harlem, began to produce a wide variety of fine and highly original works dealing with African-American life.//These works attracted many black readers.//HR was more than just a literary movement: it included racial consciousness, …the back to Africa‟ movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the exploring of music particularly jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, dramatic revues, and others. It was a huge leap for black liberation and culture.

Black Humor: In literature ,is drama ,novel ,and film ,grotesque or morbid humor used to