英国文学名词解释大全整理版.docx

1、英国文学名词解释大全整理版名词解释1. Epic(史诗)（appeared in the the Anglo-Saxon Period）It is a narrative of heroic action, often with a principal hero, usually mythical in its content, grand in its style, offering inspiration and ennoblement within a particular culture or national tradition.A long narrative poem telli

2、ng about the deeds of great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, like Homers Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple,

3、 but full of magnificence. Today, some long narrative works, like novels that reveal an age & its people, are also called epic. E.g. Beowulf（ the pagan（异教徒），secular(非宗教的) poetry）Iliad 伊利亚特，Odyssey奥德赛 Paradise Lost 失乐园，The Divine Comedy神曲2. Romance （传奇）(Anglo-Norman feudal England) Romance is any ima

4、ginative 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 (中世纪) tale dealing with the love and adventures of kings, queens, knights, and ladies, and including s

5、upernatural happenings.Form:long composition, in verse, in proseContent:description of life and adventures of a noble heroCharacter:a knight, a man of noble birth, skilled in the use of weapons; often described as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournaments(骑士比武), or fighting for his

6、 lord in battles; devoted to the church and the king Romance lacks general resemblance to truth or reality. It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues. It contains perilous (dangerous) adventures more or less remote from ordinary life. It lays emphasis on supreme devotion to

7、a fair lady.The Romance Cycles/Groups/DivisionsThree Groups matters of Britain Adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table （亚瑟王和他的圆桌骑士） matters of FranceEmperor Charlemagne and his peers matters of RomeAlexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte DArthur （亚瑟王之死）Class Nature (

8、阶级性) of the RomanceLoyalty to king and lord was the theme of the romances, as loyalty was the corner-stone（the most important part基石）of feudal morality.The romances were composed not for the common but for the noble, of the noble, and by the poets patronized（supported 庇护,保护） by the noble.3. Allitera

9、tion（押头韵）: a repeated initial(开头的) consonant(协调,一致) to successive(连续的)words.e.g. 1.To his kin the kindest,keenest for praise. 2.Sing a song of southern singer4. Understatement（低调陈述）（for ironical humor）not troublesome: very welcomeneed not praise: a right to condemn5. Chronicle编年史（a monument of Old E

10、nglish prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）Definition: A ballad is a narrative poem that tells a story, and is usually meant to be sung or recited in musical form.An important stream of the Medieval folk literatureFeatures of English Ballads1. The ballads

11、are in various English and Scottish dialects.2. They were created collectively and revised when handed down from mouth to mouth.3. They are mainly the literature of the peasants, and give an outlook of the English common people in feudal society.Stylistic （风格上） Features of the Ballads1. Composed in

12、couplets （相连并押韵的两行诗,对句） or in quatrains （四行诗）known as the ballad stanza （民谣诗节）, rhyming abab or abcb, with the first and third lines carrying 4 accented syllables （重读音节） and the second and fourth carrying 3. 2. Simple, plain language or dialect （方言，土语） of thecommon people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）,

13、vivid and,sometimes, idiomatic （符合当地语言习惯的） expressions3. Telling a good story with a vivid presentation around the central plot.4. Using a high proportion of dialogue with a romantic or tragic dimension （方面） to achieve dramatic effect. Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflic

14、t between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced byGeoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming p

15、airs.英雄诗体/英雄双韵体：用于史诗或叙事诗，每行十个音节，五个音部，每两行押韵。8. couplet（两行诗，对句）: Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.A heroic couplet is an iambic pentameter couplet. During the Restoration period and the 18th C. it was a popular verse form.9.iambic pentameter: A poetic line consisting of five Verse feet (pent

16、a- is from a Greek word meaning “five”), with each foot an iamb- that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.10. Rhyme（韵，押韵）: the repetition (反复) of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem.E .g. river/shiver, song/long11. meter (格律)（属于Pros

17、odyprsd（韵文学;诗体学；(某语言的)韵律(学)）: A generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables（音节） in poetry.The meters with two-syllable feet are:Iambic (x /)（抑扬格）: That time of year thou mayst in me beholdTrochaic (/ x)（扬抑格）: Tell me not in mournful numbersSpondaic (/ /)（扬扬格）: Break, break, break/

18、 On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!The meters with three-syllable feet are:anapestic (x x /)（抑抑扬格）: And the sound of a voice that is stilldactylic (/ x x)（强弱格，长短格，扬抑抑格）: This is the forest primeval, the murmuringpines and the hemlock (a trochee replaces the final dactyl)12. Rhythm（节奏，韵律）（属于Prosodyprsd（

19、韵文学;诗体学；(某语言的)韵律(学)）： refers to the regular recurrence（反复，重现） of the accent（重读） or stress in poem or song. e.g. the rhythm of day and night, the seasonal rhythm of the year, the beat of our hearts, and the rise and fall of sea tides, etc.basic patterns of rhythmsa)Iambic foot (iambaimb)（抑扬格）:an unst

20、ressed syllable followed by an stressed one as in the word “prevent” or “about” Its time the children went to bed. Well learn a poem by Keats.b)Trochaictrukeiik foot (trocheetruki:)（扬抑格）:a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one as in “football”, “never”, “happy” or “English” William Morris

21、taught him English. Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burns and cauldron bubble.c)Anapestic foot (anapestnpi:st)（抑抑扬格）: two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed oneas in “comprehend” or “intervene” Ive been working in China for forty years.d)Dactylic foot (dactyl)（强弱格，长短格，扬抑抑格）: a stress

22、ed syllable followed by two unstressed ones as in “dangerous”, “cheerfully”, “yesterday” or “merrily”13Common line lengths:number of feet per line one foot monometermnmit (rare)（单音部） two feet dimeterdimit (二步) three feettrimestertrimit(三步) four feet tetrametertetrmit(四步) five feet pentameterpentmit(

23、五步) six feet hexameterheksmit seven feet heptameter heptmit (rare) eight feet octameter ktmit (rare)14Line patterns:Couplet（相连并押韵的两行诗,对句）: 2 lines rhyming with each other A heroic couplet is an iambic pentameter couplet.Tercett:sit（三行押韵诗句,三拍子）: 3 lines, terza rima (aba, bcb, cdc, ded)Quatrainkwtrein

24、（四行诗）: 4 lines, ballad stanza (abcb)Octavektv, -,tev（八行诗）: 8 lines, ottava rima (abababcc)Spenserian stanza （斯宾塞诗节）: 9 lines (ababbcbcc) （The Faerie Queene（仙后）Sonnet （十四行诗）: 14 lines (Shakespearean: ababcdcdefefgg) Example: She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; An

25、d all thats best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowd to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies1. Foot and length: Iambic tetrameter2. Rhyme (scheme): ababab15Humanism1) Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. According to humanists, human beings were glor

26、ious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection and the world can be questioned, explored and enjoyed. 2) By emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life, in contrast to the medieval emphasis on God and contempt for the things of this

27、 world, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to pursue happiness of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wanders. 16. Drama1. Definition Drama is “a composition in prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a stage, in which a story is related by m

28、eans of dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and scenery, as in real life.”2. The Development of Drama1.Religious Period1) Mystery plays presented stories from the Old and New Testament of the Bible. Creation of the World, the Fall, the Great Flood, Redemption,

29、 Final Judgment, etc. The birth of the Christchild symbolized hope in the darkness of winter; Christs resurrection（复活） accorded with the earths renewal in spring, and the promise of harvest at midsummer. 2) Miracle plays（奇迹剧） Dramatizing（将-改编成剧本）the lives and miracles of saints, or divine interventi

30、on (神的干预，介入) in human affairs, that is,stories from the lives of saints. Often focused on blessed virgin Mary3) Morality plays（道德剧） Presenting stories containing abstract（抽象的） virtues and vices （美德和恶习）as characters. They were plays which had a moral message: Good and Evil fight for domination（统治） of

31、 the human soul. Everyman, the best example, is the story of a characterrepresenting mankind.2. Artistic PeriodThe first Comedy, Ralph Roister Doister拉尔夫罗伊斯特多伊斯特written by the schoolmaster, Nicholas Udall between 1550 and 1553 The first English tragedy, Gorboduc written in 1561 by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton 3. Elements of drama1. Plot (情节)The structure of a plays action, the order of the incidents, their arrangement and form.2. Character(人物): the vital center of a playHow they look, what they say and in what mannersthey say; what they do and how their actionsr