文学术语辞典.docx
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文学术语辞典
A,B,C,D,E
AccentTheemphasis,orstress,givenasyllableinpronunciation.Wesay"syllable"not"syllable,""emphasis"not"emphasis."Accentscanalsobeusedtoemphasizeaparticularwordinasentence:
Isshecontentwiththecontentsoftheyellowpackage?
Seealsometer.
ActAmajordivisionintheactionofaplay.Theendsofactsaretypicallyindicatedbyloweringthecurtainorturningupthehouselights.Playwrightsfrequentlyemployactstoaccommodatechangesintime,setting,charactersonstage,ormood.Inmanyfull-lengthplays,actsarefurtherdividedintoscenes,whichoftenmarkapointintheactionwhenthelocationchangesorwhenanewcharacterenters.Seealsoscene.
AllegoryAnarrationordescriptionusuallyrestrictedtoasinglemeaningbecauseitsevents,actions,characters,settings,andobjectsrepresentspecificabstractionsorideas.Althoughtheelementsinanallegorymaybeinterestinginthemselves,theemphasistendstobeonwhattheyultimatelymean.CharactersmaybegivennamessuchasHope,Pride,Youth,andCharity;theyhavefewifanypersonalqualitiesbeyondtheirabstractmeanings.Thesepersonificationsarenotsymbolsbecause,forinstance,themeaningofacharacternamedCharityispreciselythatvirtue.Seealsosymbol.
AlliterationTherepetitionofthesameconsonantsoundsinasequenceofwords,usuallyatthebeginningofawordorstressedsyllable:
"descendingdewdrops";"lusciouslemons."Alliterationisbasedonthesoundsofletters,ratherthanthespellingofwords;forexample,"keen"and"car"alliterate,but"car"and"cite"donot.Usedsparingly,alliterationcanintensifyideasbyemphasizingkeywords,butwhenusedtooself-consciously,itcanbedistracting,evenridiculous,ratherthaneffective.Seealsoassonance,consonance.
AllusionAbriefreferencetoaperson,place,thing,event,orideainhistoryorliterature.Allusionsconjureupbiblicalauthority,scenesfromShakespeare’splays,historicfigures,wars,greatlovestories,andanythingelsethatmightenrichanauthor’swork.Allusionsimplyreadingandculturalexperiencessharedbythewriterandreader,functioningasakindofshorthandwherebytherecallingofsomethingoutsidetheworksuppliesanemotionalorintellectualcontext,suchasapoemaboutcurrentracialstrugglescallingupthememoryofAbrahamLincoln.
AmbiguityAllowsfortwoormoresimultaneousinterpretationsofaword,phrase,action,orsituation,allofwhichcanbesupportedbythecontextofawork.Deliberateambiguitycancontributetotheeffectivenessandrichnessofawork,forexample,intheopen-endedconclusiontoHawthorne’s"YoungGoodmanBrown."However,unintentionalambiguityobscuresmeaningandcanconfusereaders.
AnagramAwordorphrasemadefromthelettersofanotherwordorphrase,as"heart"isananagramof"earth."Anagramshaveoftenbeenconsideredmerelyanexerciseofone’singenuity,butsometimeswritersuseanagramstoconcealpropernamesorveiledmessages,ortosuggestimportantconnectionsbetweenwords,asin"hated"and"death."
AnapesticmeterSeefoot.
AntagonistThecharacter,force,orcollectionofforcesinfictionordramathatopposestheprotagonistandgivesrisetotheconflictofthestory;anopponentoftheprotagonist,suchasClaudiusinShakespeare’splayHamlet.Seealsocharacter,conflict.
AntiheroAprotagonistwhohastheoppositeofmostofthetraditionalattributesofahero.Heorshemaybebewildered,ineffectual,deluded,ormerelypathetic.Oftenwhatantiheroeslearn,iftheylearnanythingatall,isthattheworldisolatestheminanexistencedevoidofGodandabsolutevalues.YossarianfromJosephHeller’sCatch-22isanexampleofanantihero.Seealsocharacter.
ApostropheAnaddress,eithertosomeonewhoisabsentandthereforecannothearthespeakerortosomethingnonhumanthatcannotcomprehend.Apostropheoftenprovidesaspeakertheopportunitytothinkaloud.
ApproximaterhymeSeerhyme.
ArchetypeAtermusedtodescribeuniversalsymbolsthatevokedeepandsometimesunconsciousresponsesinareader.Inliterature,characters,images,andthemesthatsymbolicallyembodyuniversalmeaningsandbasichumanexperiences,regardlessofwhenorwheretheylive,areconsideredarchetypes.Commonliteraryarchetypesincludestoriesofquests,initiations,scapegoats,descentstotheunderworld,andascentstoheaven.Seealsomythologicalcriticism.
AsideIndrama,aspeechdirectedtotheaudiencethatsupposedlyisnotaudibletotheothercharactersonstageatthetime.WhenHamletfirstappearsonstage,forexample,hisaside"Alittlemorethankin,andlessthankind!
"givestheaudienceastrongsenseofhisalienationfromKingClaudius.Seealsosoliloquy.
AssonanceTherepetitionofinternalvowelsoundsinnearbywordsthatdonotendthesame,forexample,"asleepunderatree,"or"eachevening."Similarendingsresultinrhyme,asin"asleepinthedeep."Assonanceisastrongmeansofemphasizingimportantwordsinaline.Seealsoalliteration,consonance.
BalladTraditionally,aballadisasong,transmittedorallyfromgenerationtogeneration,thattellsastoryandthateventuallyiswrittendown.Assuch,balladsusuallycannotbetracedtoaparticularauthororgroupofauthors.Typically,balladsaredramatic,condensed,andimpersonalnarratives,suchas"BonnyBarbaraAllan."Aliteraryballadisanarrativepoemthatiswrittenindeliberateimitationofthelanguage,form,andspiritofthetraditionalballad,suchasKeats’s"LaBelleDamesansMerci."Seealsoballadstanza,quatrain.
BalladstanzaAfour-linestanza,knownasaquatrain,consistingofalternatingeight-andsix-syllablelines.Usuallyonlythesecondandfourthlinesrhyme(anabcbpattern).Coleridgeadoptedtheballadstanzain"TheRimeoftheAncientMariner."
Allinahotandcoppersky
ThebloodySun,atnoon,
Rightupabovethemastdidstand,
NobiggerthantheMoon.
Seealsoballad,quatrain.
BiographicalcriticismAnapproachtoliteraturewhichsuggeststhatknowledgeoftheauthor’slifeexperiencescanaidintheunderstandingofhisorherwork.Whilebiographicalinformationcansometimescomplicateone’sinterpretationofawork,andsomeformalistcritics(suchastheNewCritics)disparagetheuseoftheauthor’sbiographyasatoolfortextualinterpretation,learningaboutthelifeoftheauthorcanoftenenrichareader’sappreciationforthatauthor’swork.Seealsoculturalcriticism,formalistcriticism,newcriticism.
BlankverseUnrhymediambicpentameter.BlankverseistheEnglishverseformclosesttothenaturalrhythmsofEnglishspeechandthereforeisthemostcommonpatternfoundintraditionalEnglishnarrativeanddramaticpoetryfromShakespearetotheearlytwentiethcentury.Shakespeare’splaysuseblankverseextensively.Seealsoiambicpentameter.
CacophonyLanguagethatisdiscordantanddifficulttopronounce,suchasthislinefromJohnUpdike’s"PlayerPiano":
"nevermynumbplunkerfumbles."Cacophony("badsound")maybeunintentionalinthewriter’ssenseofmusic,oritmaybeusedconsciouslyfordeliberatedramaticeffect.Seealsoeuphony.
CaesuraApausewithinalineofpoetrythatcontributestotherhythmoftheline.Acaesuracanoccuranywherewithinalineandneednotbeindicatedbypunctuation.Inscanningaline,caesurasareindicatedbyadoubleverticalline(||).Seealsometer,rhythm,scansion.
CanonThoseworksgenerallyconsideredbyscholars,critics,andteacherstobethemostimportanttoreadandstudy,whichcollectivelyconstitutethe"masterpieces"ofliterature.Sincethe1960s,thetraditionalEnglishandAmericanliterarycanon,consistingmostlyofworksbywhitemalewriters,hasbeenrapidlyexpandingtoincludemanyfemalewritersandwritersofvaryingethnicbackgrounds.
CarpediemTheLatinphrasemeaning"seizetheday."Thisisaverycommonliterarytheme,especiallyinlyricpoetry,whichemphasizesthatlifeisshort,timeisfleeting,andthatoneshouldmakethemostofpresentpleasures.RobertHerrick’spoem"TotheVirgins,toMakeMuchofTime"employsthecarpediemtheme.
CatharsisMeaning"purgation,"catharsisdescribesthereleaseoftheemotionsofpityandfearbytheaudienceattheendofatragedy.InhisPoetics,Aristotlediscussestheimportanceofcatharsis.Theaudiencefacesthemisfortunesoftheprotagonist,whichelicitpityandcompassion.Simultaneously,theaudiencealsoconfrontsthefailureoftheprotagonist,thusreceivingafrighteningreminderofhumanlimitationsandfrailties.Ultimately,however,boththesenegativeemotionsarepurged,becausethetragicprotagonist’ssufferingisanaffirmationofhumanvaluesratherthanadespairingdenialofthem.Seealsotragedy.
Character,characterizationAcharacterisapersonpresentedinadramaticornarrativework,andcharacterizationistheprocessbywhichawritermakesthatcharacterseemrealtothereader.Aheroorheroine,oftencalledtheprotagonist,isthecentralcharacterwhoengagesthereader’sinterestandempathy.Theantagonististhecharacter,force,orcollectionofforcesthatstandsdirectlyopposedtotheprotagonistandgivesrisetotheconflictofthestory.Astaticcharacterdoesnotchangethroughoutthework,andthereader’sknowledgeofthatcharacterdoesnotgrow,whereasadynamiccharacterundergoessomekindofchangebecauseoftheactionintheplot.Aflatcharacterembodiesoneortwoqualities,ideas,ortraitsthatcanbereadilydescribedinabriefsummary.Theyarenotpsychologicallycomplexcharactersandthereforearereadilyaccessibletoreaders.Someflatcharactersarerecognizedasstockcharacters;theyembodystereotypessuchas