英美文学名词解释.docx

1、英美文学名词解释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

2、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：

3、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。 7. Aphorism (警句)A concise, poi

4、nted statement expressing a wise or clever observation about life.警句：蕴含关于人生真理的明智的看法的精练的语句。8. Aside (旁白)A piece of dialogue intended for the audience and supposedly not heard by other actors on stage.旁白：只说给观众而认为不会让台上其他演员听到的一段对话。9.Apostrophe (呼语)The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or o

5、f a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition.呼语：直接称呼不在场或虚构的人物或称呼拟人的事物，尤指作为演讲或作文过程中的离题话。10.Assonance (类韵)The repetition of similar vowel sounds, especially in poetry.类音，类韵：相同或相似元音的重复，尤其指在诗歌中的重复。11.Atmosphere (氛围)The prevailing mood or feeling of a l

6、iterary work.12. Autobiography (自传)A persons account of his or her own life.13. Ballad (民谣)A narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung.14. Ballad Stanza (民谣诗节)A type of four-line stanza, the first and the third lines have four stressed words or syllables; the second and fourth lin

7、es have three stresses.15. Biography (传记)A detailed account of a persons life written by another person.传记：由他人篆写的关于某人生平的详细记录。16.Blank Verse (无韵体诗)Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.17. Caesura (休止)A break or pause in a line of poetry.18. Canto (章)One of the principal divisions of a long poe

8、m.诗章：一首长诗的主要部分之一。19. Caricature (夸张讽刺)The use of exaggeration or distortion to make a figure appear comic or ridiculous.夸张讽刺：为了使文中的人物显得可笑而使用的夸张或扭曲人物形象的手法。20. Characterization (人物刻画)The means by which a writer reveals the personality of a character.人物刻画：作者表现作品中人物性格的方法。21. Classicism (古典主义)A movement

9、or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome.古典主义：一种在文学，艺术，音乐领域体现古代希腊，罗马风格的运动。 22. Climax (高潮)The point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative.23. Comedy (喜剧)A dramatic work that is often humorous or satir

10、ical in tone and usually contains a happy resolution of the thematic conflict.喜剧：轻松的和常有幽默感的或在调子上是讽刺的戏剧作品，常包括主题冲突的愉快解决24. Conceit (奇想)A kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things. 奇想：一种在截然不同的事物之间建立起的比喻。25. Conflict (冲突)A struggle between two opposing forces or c

11、haracters in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem.冲突：故事，小说，戏剧中相对的力量和人物之间的对立。26. Connotation (外延)All the emotions and associations that a word or phrase may arouse.外延：包括单词字面意思之外的或被该词汇唤起的全部内涵的意义。27. Consonance (辅音韵)The repetition of consonants or a consonant pattern, especially at the ends of

12、 words.辅音韵：辅音或辅音模式的重复，尤指位于词尾的。28. Couplet (双韵体)A unit of verse consisting of two successive lines, usually rhyming and having the same meter and often forming a complete thought or syntactic unit.双韵体：包括两个相连的诗行的一种诗的单位，通常压韵并具有同样的格律，经常组成一个完整的意思和句法单位29. Heroic couplet (英雄双韵体)A couplet written in iambic

13、pentameter is called a heroic couplet.英雄双韵体：五步抑扬格的双韵体称英雄双韵体。30. Denotation (内涵)The literal or dictionary meaning of a word.直接意义：一个词的字面意义或词典意义。31. Denouement (结局)The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.结局：戏剧或叙事场景的最后结果。32. Diction (措辞)A writers choice and use of words in

14、speech or writing, particularly for clarity, effectiveness, and precision.措词：讲话或书写中，出于表述清晰，言简意赅对词语的使用或选择。33. Dissonance (不协和)A harsh or disagreeable combination of sounds; discord.34. Dramatic monologue (戏剧独白)A kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose repli

15、es are not given in the poem.35. Elegy (挽歌)A poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person.挽歌，挽诗：专门为悼念某一死者所写的诗或歌.36. Emblematic Image (象征)A verbal picture of figure with a long tradition of moral or religious meaning attached to it.37. Epic (史诗)An extended narrative poem in elev

16、ated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.史诗：用严肃或庄重的语言写成的叙事长诗，歌颂传奇中或历史上英雄的丰功伟绩38. Epigram (隽语)A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement, susally in the form of a poem.隽语：一个简明，机智，常常似是而非的陈述,经常以诗的形式出现39. Epigraph (引语/开场白)A motto or quotation at the beginn

17、ing of a literary composition, setting forth a theme. 引语：在一部文学作品开头的引言，警句，阐明主题40. Epilogue (结语/收场白)A short addition or concluding section at the end of a literary work, often dealing with the future of its characters. Also called In this sense, also called afterword 结语：文学作品结束时简短的附加或总结性章节，常常关于作品人物的未来也

18、作 在此意义上也可称作 afterword.41. Epiphany(顿悟)A moment of illumination, usually occurrs at or near the end of a work.顿悟:对现实真谛的顿悟或洞察,通常出现在作品的结尾.42. Epitaph(墓志铭)An inscription on a tombstone or in a short poem in memory of someone who has been dead.墓志铭：刻于墓碑上用以怀念死者的碑铭.43. Epithet (表述词语)A term used to character

19、ize a person or thing。表述词语：用来表示某人某物特性的一个表达。44. Essay (散文)A short literary composition on a single subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author.散文：内容通常论及一个主题的短小文章，通常表达作者个人的观点45. Exemplum (说教故事)A tale, usually inserted into the text of a sermon, that illustrates a moral principle.说教故事:一

20、种短小的体现某种道德原则的故事性文章，通常出现在布道文中。46. Fable (寓言)A brief story that is told to present a moral, or practical lesson.寓言：一种体现某种道德观念或实用价值的说教性文章。47. Farce (轻喜剧)A kind of comedy based on a ridiculous situation, often with stereotyped characters.轻喜剧: 一种以可笑的情节的为基础的喜剧，通常包含固定的角色。48. Figurative Language (象征性语言)Lang

21、uage that is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense.象征性语言：不能直接用字面意义来理解的语言。49. Figure of Speech (比喻)A word or an expression that is not meant to be interpreted in literal sense.比喻：不能直接按照字面意义理解的词语或表述方法。50. Flashback(倒叙)A literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into a narrative

22、.倒叙，闪回镜头：一种文学或电影的表现手法，往往在一段按正常时间顺序记叙的叙事中插入一件以前发生过的事情51. Foil (陪衬)A character who sets off another character by contrast.陪衬：用来反衬其他人物的人物。52. Foreshadowing (铺垫)The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest what will happen later.铺垫：用来预示将要发生的事情的线索或暗示。53. Free verse (自由诗体)Verses that has neither a

23、metrical pattern or an regular pattern.自由诗体:既不具格式韵律又不具常规格律的诗体。54. hyperbole (夸张法)A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect夸张法：一种比喻，使用夸张来强调或产生某种效果。55. Iambic pentameter (五步抑扬格)A poetic line consisting of five verse feet, with each foot an iamb-that is, an unstressed syll

24、able followed by a stressed syllable.五步抑扬格:一种诗句形式，每行诗句包含五个抑扬格音步。56. Imagery(意象)Words or phrases that create pictures, or images, in readers mind.意象：用来在读者的思维中唤起某种图示或形象的词汇。57. Incremental repetition (递进重复)The repetition of a previous line or lines, but with a slight variation each time that advances t

25、he narrative stanza by stanza. 递进重复：诗歌中对上文中一行或几行的重复，但每次重复都有一定的变化，而且每一节的重复中的叙述都有所强化。58. Inversion (倒装句)The technique of reversing, or inverting the normal word order of a sentence.倒装句：一种将句子正常的表达方法倒置的技巧。59. Invocation (开篇祷告)A call to a muse, god or spirit for inspiration at the beginning of an epic or

26、 other poem.开篇祷告：在史诗或诗歌的开篇企求神灵给予启示的文字。60. Irony (反语)A contrast between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happened.反语：一种建立在字面表述和真实意义上或期待产生的结果和真实的结果之间的对比。61.Kenning (隐喻语)A figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or

27、noun, especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry. for example, storm of swords is a kenning for battle. 隐喻语：尤指古英语和古斯堪的纳维亚语诗中，一种比喻性的，在表名字或名词时常用的复合表达方式，如“剑的风暴” 是 “战争” 的隐喻语 62. Lyric (抒情诗)A poem, usually a short one, that expresses a speakers personal thoughts or feelings.抒情诗：一种用来抒发作者感情或思想的短诗。63. M

28、asque (假面剧)A dramatic entertainment, usually performed by masked players representing mythological or allegorical figures, that was popular in England in the 16th and early 17th centuries.假面剧：一种戏剧性娱乐，由代表神话或寓言中人物的佩戴面具者表演，该娱乐形式在16世纪和17世纪早期的英国很流行.64. Melodrama (情节剧)A drama that has stereotyped characte

29、rs, exaggerated emotions, and a conflict that pits an all-good hero or heroine against an all-evil villain.65. Metaphor (隐喻)A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison.隐喻：一种语言表达手法，通常用指某物的词或词组来指代他物，

30、从而暗示它们之间的相似之处.66.Metaphysical Poetry (玄学派诗歌)The poems of 17th-century English poets, whose verse is characterized by an intellectually challenging style and extended metaphors comparing very dissimilar things.玄学派诗歌：17世纪英国诗人的诗歌，这种诗歌的特点是风格极具智慧，引人深思，善用引申的暗喻来对比极其不同的事物.67. Meter (格律)A generally regular p

31、attern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.格律：诗歌中通常的重读音节和非重读音节的排列模式。68. Metonymy (转喻)A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.转喻：一种一个词或词组被另一个与之有紧密联系的词或词组替换的修辞方法.69. Mock epic (讽刺史诗)A comic literary from that treats a trivial subject in the grand, heroic style of the epic.讽刺史诗：一种用史诗的宏大风格来描写微不足道的事情的喜剧形式。70. Motif (主旨)A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work.主题：艺术品或文学作品中反复体现的、揭示主题的部分。71. Motivation (动机)The reasons, either stated or implied, for a characters behavior.动机: 引发作品中人物行为的理由。7