英国文学Literary Terms.docx

英国文学Literary Terms.docx

《英国文学Literary Terms.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《英国文学Literary Terms.docx（8页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

英国文学LiteraryTerms

LiteraryTerms

Alliteration[ə,lɪtə'reɪʃn]头韵

Therepetitionofconsonantsoundsinwordsthatareclosetooneanother.Alliterationoccursmostoftenatthebeginningofwords,asin“roughandready.”Butconsonantswithinwordssometimesalliterate,asin“babyblue.”

Theechoesthatalliterationcreatescanincreaseapoem’srhythmicandmusicaleffectsandmakeitslinesespeciallymemorable.AlliterationisanessentialfeatureofAnglo-Saxonpoetry;inmostlines,twoorthreeofthefourstressedsyllablesalliterate.

FrameStory

Anintroductorynarrativewithinwhichoneormoreofthecharactersproceedtotellastory.Perhapsthebest-knownexampleofstoriescontainedinaframestoryisthePersiancollectioncalledTheThousandandOneNights.InEnglishliterature,GeoffreyChaucer’sTheCanterburyTalesusesaframestoryinvolvingagroupofpeopleonapilgrimage;withinthenarrativeframe,eachofthepilgrimsthentellshisorherownstory.GiovanniBoccaccio’sDecameroncontainsanothernotableexampleoftheframe-storydevice.

Couplet['kʌplɪt]对句,对联

Twoconsecutivelinesofpoetrythatrhyme.ThecouplethasbeenwidelyusedsincetheMiddleAges,especiallytoprovideasenseofclosure.Acoupletthatpresentsacompletedthoughtiscalledaclosedcouplet.Shakespeareusedclosedcoupletstoendhissonnets,asinSonnet18.

Acoupletwritteniniambicpentameteriscalledaheroiccouplet.AlthoughtheheroiccouplethasbeenusedinEnglishliteraturesinceChaucer,itwasperfectedduringtheeighteenthcentury.

Character

Anindividualinastoryorplay.Acharacteralwayshashumantraits,evenifthecharacterisananimal,liketheMarchHareinLewisCarroll’sAlice’sAdventuresinwonderland;oragod,asintheGreekandRomanmyths;oramonster,asinBeowulf.Acharactermayalsobeagodlikehuman,likeSuperman.Butmostcharactersareordinaryhumanbeings,likeGeoffreyChaucer’scolorfulpilgrimsinTheCanterburyTales.

Characterization[‚kærəktəraɪ'zeɪʃn]特性描述;性格描述

Theprocessbywhichthewriterrevealsthepersonalityofacharacteriscalledcharacterization.Awritercanrevealacharacterinthefollowingways:

1.Bytellingusdirectlywhatthecharacterislike:

humble,ambitious,impetuous,easilymanipulated,andsoon

2.Bydescribinghowthecharacterlooksanddresses

3.Bylettingushearthecharacterspeak

4.Byrevealingthecharacter’sprivatethoughtsandfeelings

5.Byrevealingthecharacter’seffectonotherpeople–showinghowothercharactersfeelorbehavetowardthecharacter

6.Byshowingthecharacter’sactions

Thefirstmethodofrevealingacharacteriscalleddirectcharacterization.Theotherfivemethodsofrevealingacharacterareknownasindirectcharacterization.

ClassificationofCharacters

Characterscanbeclassifiedasstaticordynamic.Astaticcharacterisonewhodoesnotchangemuchinthecourseofastory.Adynamiccharacter,ontheotherhand,changesinsomeimportantwayasaresultofthestory’saction.Characterscanalsobeclassifiedasflatorround.Flatcharactershaveonlyoneortwopersonalitytraits.Theyareone-dimensional–theycanbesummedupbyasinglephrase.Incontrast,roundcharactershavemoredimensionstotheirpersonalities–theyarecomplex,solid,andmultifaceted,likerealpeople.

End-stoppedandRun-onLines

Anend-stoppedlineisoneinwhichthegrammaticalunit,beitclauseorsentence,iscoterminouswiththeline.Thus,thereisthesatisfactionoffindingthelineandthesenseendingtogether.

Arun-online（sometimescalledanenjambedline）iswherethegrammar,andthusthesense,isleftunfinishedattheendoftheline.

Run-onlinescreatepleasurablefeelingsofexpectation,asthereaderhastolookfurtherforthefullsenseofwhatisbeingsaid.

Oxymoron['ɒksɪ'mɔːrɒn]矛盾修饰法

Afigureofspeechthatcombinesapparentlycontradictoryorincongruousideas.

“Bittersweet,”“cruelkindness,”and“eloquentsilence”areoxymorons.Theclassicoxymoron“wisefool”isalmostaliteraltranslationofthetermfromtheGreek–oxysmeans“sharp”or“keen,”andmorosmeans“foolish.”

AfamousoxymoroninliteratureisJohnMilton’sdescriptionofHellinParadiseLost:

Adungeonhorrible,onallsidesround

Asonegreatfurnaceflamed;yetfromthoseflame

Nolight,butratherdarknessvisible...

Soliloquy[sə'lɪləkwɪ]独白

Alongspeechinwhichacharacterwhoisusuallyaloneonstageexpresseshisorherprivatethoughtsorfeelings.

ThesoliloquyisanolddramaticconventionthatwasparticularlypopularinShakespeare’sday.Perhapsthemostfamoussoliloquyisthe“Tobeornottobe”speechinShakespeare’splayHamlet.

Asoliloquycanbepublic,inwhichcasethecharacterdirectlyaddressestheaudience,orprivate,inwhichcasetheaudienceoverhearsthecharactertalkingtohimselforherself.

InShakespeare,soliloquiesareusuallyonlygiventoimportantcharacter.

Forinstance,Hamlethasanumberofprivatesoliloquies,andIagoanumberofpublicones.

Charactersveryrarelytellliesinsoliloquies,soyoushouldpayparticularattentiontothem.

"Obrawlinglove,Olovinghate,

Oanythingofnothingfirstcreate!

Oheavylightness,seriousvanity,

Misshapenchaosofwell-seemingforms,

Featheroflead,brightsmoke,coldfire,sickhealth,

Still-wakingsleep,thatisnotwhatitis!

"

—ThislovefeelI,thatfeelnoloveinthis.Romeo,ActISceneI

PoeticComparisons

Poeticcomparisonsmaytakeavarietyofforms:

simile,metaphor,conceit,synecdoche,metonymy,andjuxtaposition.

Eachformofcomparison,however,servesthesamebasicsetofpurposes.

Poetsgenerallyusecomparisonstoexpressabstractideasinimagisticlanguage,therebystimulatingthereader’simagination,providingadditionalinformation,andopeningupendlessopportunitiesforentertainmentandpersuasion.

Inthepoem“TheFlea”thespeakertriestoseduceayoungwomanbycomparingtheconsequencesoftheirlovemakingwiththoseofaninsignificantflea-bite.

Conceit

Afancifulandelaboratefigureofspeechthatmakesasurprisingconnectionbetweentwoseeminglydissimilarthings.

Althoughaconceitmaybeabriefmetaphor,itusuallyformstheframeworkofanentirepoem.

Oneofthemostimportantkindsofconceitsisthemetaphysicalconceit,socalledbecauseitwaswidelyusedbytheseventeenthcenturymetaphysicalpoets.

Eg.《金缕衣》（TheGold-ThreadedRobe）

TotheVirgins,toMakeMuchofTime

UnfortunateCoincidence

OnMyFirstSon_byBenJonson-----Background:

ThispoemisaboutJonson’sson,Benjamin,whodiedoftheplagueonhisseventhbirthday.（Jonsonandhiswifealsolostadaughter,Mary,ininfancy.）

ThenameBenjamininHebrewmeans“achildoftherighthand”and,ironically,connotes“alucky,cleverchild.”

Dr.JohnsonandDrydenontheMetaphysicalPoets

Johnson:

“Theircourtshipwasvoidoffondnessandtheirlamentationofsorrow.”（他们的求婚缺乏爱情，他们的悼亡缺少悲伤。

）“Theirwishwasonlytosaywhattheyhopedhadbeenneversaidbefore.”（他们一心只想说前人所未说。

）

DrydenonDonne:

“Heaffectsthemetaphysics,notonlyinhissatires,butinhisamorousverses,wherenatureonlyshouldreign;andperplexesthemindsofthefairsexwithnicespeculationsofphilosophy,whenheshouldengagetheirhearts,andentertainthemwiththesoftnessoflove.

他喜弄玄学，不仅在他的讽刺诗中如此，在爱情诗中也如此。

爱情诗本应言情，他却用哲学的微妙的思辨，把女性们的头脑弄糊涂了。

（爱略特）Eliot:

TheMetaphysicalPoets

Johnson,whoemployedtheterm“metaphysicalpoets,”apparentlyhavingDonne,Cleveland,andCowleychieflyinmind,remarksofthemthat“themostheterogeneousideasareyokedbyviolencetogether.”（“将杂七杂八的思想硬拉一处，全凭蛮力”。

）

Theforceofthisimpeachmentliesinthefailureoftheconjunction,thefactthatoftentheideasareyokedbutnotunited;andifwearetojudgeofstylesofpoetrybytheirabuse,enoughexamplesmaybefoundinClevelandtojustifyJohnson’scondemnation.

Butadegreeofheterogeneityofmaterialcompelledintounitybytheoperationofthepoet’smindisomnipresentinpoetry.ThedifferenceissomethingwhichhadhappenedtothemindofEnglandbetweenthetimeofDonneorLordHerbertofCherburyandthetimeofTennysonandBrowning;itisthedifferencebetweentheintellectualpoetandthereflectivepoet.

TennysonandBrowningarepoets,andtheythink;buttheydonotfeeltheirthoughtasimmediatelyastheodorofarose.AthoughttoDonnewasanexperience;itmodifiedhissensibility.

Whenapoet’smindisperfectlyequippedforitswork,itisconstantlyamalgamatingdisparateexperience;theordinaryman’sexperienceischaotic,irregular,andfragmentary.Thelatterfallsinlove,orreadsSpinoza,andthesetwoexperienceshavenothingtodowitheachother,orwiththenoiseofthetypewriterorthesmellofcooking;inthemindofthepoettheseexperiencesarealwaysformingnewwholes.

爱略特反对的是dissociationofsensibility（思想与情感分离），欣赏的是邓恩的unifiedsensibility（思想与情感溶为一体）。

TheMetaphysicalPoets

Thepoetswhobelongtothisgroupare:

JohnDonne（1572–1631）,GeorgeHerbert（1593–1633）,AndrewMarvell（1621–1678）,RichardCrashaw（1612–1649）,HenryVaughan（1622–1695）,AbrahamCowley（1618–1667）,JohnCleveland（1613–1658）.

TheCavalierPoets

TheothergroupprevailinginthisperiodwasthatofCavalierpoets.Theywereoftencourtierswhostoodonthesideoftheking,andcalledthemselves“sons”ofBenJohnson.

TheCavalierpoetswrotelightpoetry,polishedandelegant,amorousandgay,butoftensuperficial.Mostoftheirverseswereshortsongs,prettymadrigals,andlovefanciescharacterizedbylightnessofheartandofmorals.

CavalierpoemshavethelimpidityoftheElizabethanlyricwithoutitsimaginativeflights.Theyarelighterandneaterbutlessfreshtha