Term Definition：Alliteration（押头韵）: Alliteration is the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. The term is usually applied only to consonants, and only when the recurrent sound begins a word or a stressed syllable within a word.Arthurian legend（亚瑟王传奇）: It is a group of tales (in several languages) that developed in the Middle Ages concerning Arthur L, semi-historical king of the Britons and his knights. The legend is a complex weaving of ancient Celtic mythology with later traditions around a core of possible historical authenticity.Sonnet（十四行诗）: A lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. There are two major patterns of rhyme in sonnets written in the English language:( 1) The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet (named after the fourteenth century Italian poet Petrarch) falls into two main parts: an octave(eight lines) rhyming abbaabba followed by a sestet (six lines) rhyming cdecde or some variant, such as cdccdc .(2) the English sonnet, or else the Shakespearean sonnet. This sonnet falls into three quatrains and a concluding couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. There was one notable variant, the Spenserian sonnet, in which Edmund Spenser linked each quatrain to the next by a continuing rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee.Conceit（夸张）: From the Italian concetto (meaning idea or concept), it refers to an unusually far-fetched or elaborate metaphor or simile presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings. Poetic conceits are prominent in Elizabethan love sonnets and metaphysical poetry. Conceits often employ the devices of hyperbole, paradox and oxymoron.Neoclassicism（新古典主义）: A style of Western literature that flourished from the mid-seventeenth century until the end of the eighteenth century and the rise of Romanticism. The neoclassicists looked to the great classical writers for inspiration and guidance. They believed that literature should both instruct and delight, and the proper subject of art was humanity. Neoclassicism stressed rules, reason, harmony, balance, restraint, decorum, order, serenity, realism, and form—above all, an appeal to the intellect rather than emotion. The Restoration in 1660 marked the beginning of the Neoclassical Period in England, whose writers included John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, etc.Romance（传奇小说）: It is a literary genre popular in the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century), dealing, in verse or prose, with legendary, supernatural, or amorous subjects and characters. Popular subjects for romances included the Macedonian King Alexander the Great, King Arthur of Britain and the Knights of the Round Table, and the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne.Renaissance（文艺复兴）: Renaissance ("rebirth") is the name commonly applied to the period of European history following the Middle Ages. The development came late to England in thesixteenth century, and did not have its flowering until the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. It also has been described as the birth of the modem world out of the ashes of the Dark Ages. Soliloquy（独白）: Soliloquy is the act of talking to oneself, whether silently or aloud. In drama it denotes the convention by which a character, alone on the stage, utters his or her thoughts aloud.Metaphysical poetry（玄学派诗歌）: A term that can be applied to any poetry that deals with philosophical or spiritual matters but that is generally limited to works written by a specific group of 17th century poets who wrote in the manner of the poet John Donne. The metaphysical poets are linked by style and modes of poetic organization. Common elements include the following: (1) an analytical approach to subject matter; (2) colloquial language; (3) rhythmic patterns that are often rough or irregular, and (4) the metaphysical conceit, a figurative device used to capture thought and emotion as accurately as possible.Graveyard school of poetry（墓园派诗歌）: It refers to a group of 18 century English poets who emphasized subjectivity, mystery, and melancholy. Death, mortality (immortality), and gloom were frequent subjects or elements of their meditative poems, which were often actually set in graveyards. Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is the most famous example.In the year 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of HastingsIn the 14th century, the two most important writers are Chaucer and Langland.Today Chaucer is acclaimed not only as “the father of English Poetry” but also as “the father of English fiction”. His masterpiece is The Canterbury TalesThe fifteenth century has been described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English balladsIn the 15th century, there is only one important prose writer whose name is Thomas Malory He wrote an important work called Morte D’Arthur.“the Canterbury Tales” contain in fact a general Prologue and only 24 tales, of which two are left unfinished.The Prologue provides a framewor k for the tales in “the Canterbury Tales” , and it comprises a group of vivid pictures of various medieval figures.“the Canterbury Tales” is Chaucer’s greatest work and written for the greater part in heroic couplets.the name of the “jolly innkeeper” in “ the Canterbury Tales” is Harry Baily, who proposes that each pilgrim of the 32 should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back.“the Canterbury Tales” opens with a general Prologue where we are told of a company of polgrims that gathered at Tabard Inn in Southwark, a suburb of London.The Pilgrims in “the Canterbury Tales” are on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at a place named Canterbury.Chaucer’s work “The Canterbury Tales” gives us a picture of th e condition of English life of his day, such as its work and play, its deeds and dreams , its fun and sympathy.The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism.Thom as More wrote his famous prose work “Utopia”.In Elizabeth Period, Francis Bacon wrote more than fifty excellent essays, which made him one of the best essayists in English literature.Edmund Spencer is often referred to as “the poet’s poet”.Spencer is generally regarded as the greatest nondramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age. His fame is chiefly based on his masterpiece “The Faerie Queene”.“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” is the beginning line of a sonnet written by William Shakespeare.In the Elizabethan Age, William Shakespeare the greatest playwright of England.In Elizabethan Period, Francis Bacon wrote many excellent essays, such as “Of Studies”. Edmund Spencer wrote the masterpiece “The Faerie Queene”.“Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, and “Macbeth”are generally regarded as Shakespeare’s four great tragedies.Christopher Marlowe was the most gifted of the university wits. He Produced in all six plays and several poems.“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is one of William Shakespeare’s best known sonnets.“The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” is one of Christopher Marlowe’s best plays.“Of Youth and Age” is one of the essays written by Francis Bacon.In 1642, civil war broke out in England, the royalists were defeated by the parliament army led by Oliver Cromwell. In 1649, Charles I was sentenced to death, and England was declared to be a commonwealth.The revolution period is also called the Puritan age, because the English revolution was carried out under a religious cloak.The Revolution Period produced one of the most important poets in English literature, whose name is John Milton.John Milton is the greatest writer of the seventeenth century, and one of the giants of English literature.In Revolution Period John Milton towers over his age as William Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan Age and as Chaucer towers over the Medieval period.During the civil war and the commonwealth, there were two leaders in England, Cromwell , the man of action, and John Milton, the man of thought.In 1637 Milton wrote the finest pastoral elegy in English, Lycidas, to memorize the tragic death of a Cambridge friend.Milton wrote his masterpiece Paradise Lost during his blindness.In the field of prose writing of the Puritan Age,John Bunyan occupied the most important place.The Pilgrim’s Progress has been one of the most popular pieces of Christian writing produced during the Puritan Age.John Bunyan wrote his masterpiece The Pilgrim’s P rogress during his second imprisonment.The Pilgrim’s Progress gives a vivid and satirical description of Vanity Fair which is the symbol of London at the time of Restoration.Dryden wrote many works on literary criticism, and has been regarded as the earliest literary critic of real importance in the history of English literature. The famous piece is “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy”. He has been called Father of English prose.“All for Love” is Dryden’s tragedy based on the story of Antony and Cleopatra under the influence of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Antony and Cleopatra”.The literature of the middle and later periods of the 17th century cultimated in the poetry of John Milton and in the prose writing of John Bunyan , and also in the plays and literary criticism of John Dryden.。
