英国文学史名词解释

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 telling 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 Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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 imaginative 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 supernatural 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 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 a fair lady.①The 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 France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers●matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte D’Arthur （亚瑟王之死）②Class Nature (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. Alliteration（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 songof 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 English prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）①Definition: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 literature②Features of English Ballads1. The ballads 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.③Stylistic （风格上） Features of the Ballads1. Composed in 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 the common people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）, vivid and, sometimes, idiomatic （符合当地语言习惯的） expressions4. Using a high proportion of dialogue with a romantic or tragic dimension （方面） to achieve dramatic effect.④Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming pairs.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。

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 telling 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 Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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 imaginative 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 supernatural 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 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 a fair lady.①The 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 France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers●matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte D’Arthur （亚瑟王之死）②Class Nature (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. Alliteration（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 English prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）①Definition: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 literature②Features of English Ballads1. The ballads 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.③Stylistic （风格上）Features of the Ballads1. Composed in 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 the common people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）, 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.④Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming pairs.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。

名词解释Heroic Couplet: a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter, and written in an elevated style.1．Renaissance: a revival or rebirth of the artistic and scientific revival which originated in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe. It has two features: a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature and keen interest in activities of humanity.2．Sonnet: 14-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.3．Blank verse: poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.4．Neoclassicism: the Enlightenment brought about a revival of interest in Greek and Roman works. This tendency is known as Neoclassicism.5．Sentimentalism: it was one of the important trends in English literature of the later decades of the 18th century. It concentrated on the free expression of thoughts and emotions, and presented a new view of human nature which prized feeling over thinking, passion over reason. 6．Romanticism: imagination, emotion and freedom are certainly the focal points of romanticism. The particular characteristics of the literature of romanticism include: subjectivity and an emphasis on individualism; freedom from rules; solitary life rather then life in society; the beliefs that imagination is superior to reason; and love of and worship of nature. 7．LakePoets: the English poets who lived in and drew inspiration from the Lake District at the beginning of the 19th century.8．Byronic Heroes: a variant of the Romantic heroes as a type of character( enthusiasm, persistence, pursuing freedom), named after the English Romantic Poet Gordon Byron. 9．Realism: seeks to portray familiar characters, situations, and settings in a realistic manner. This is done primarily by using an objective narrative point of view and through the buildup of accurate detail.10．Aestheticism: an art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, music and other arts.11．Stream-of-Consciousness: it is a literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur without any clarification by the author. It is a narrative mode. 12．Dramatic Monologue: a kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose replies are not given in the poem.13．Iambic Pentameter: a poetic line consisting of five verse feet, with each foot an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, that is, with each foot an iamb.14．Epic: a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated.15．Elegy: a poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual; may also be a lament over the passing of life and beauty or a meditation of the nature of death; a type of lyric poem. 16．Canto: a section of a long poem. The cantos can be a great poem17．Ode: a complex and often lengthy lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some lofty or serious subjects. Odes are written for a special occasion, to honor a person or a season or to commemorate an event.Spenserian Stanza: a nine-line stanza made up of 8 lines of iambic pentameter ending with an Alexandrine. Its thyme scheme is ababbcbcc. This stanza was common to travel literature. 18．Metrical Pattern: a lyric poem of five 14-lined stanzas containing four tercets and a closing couplet. The rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc ded ee.文学史中古时期1.Beowulf?贝奥武甫?: the natural epic of the English people; Denmark story, alliteration, metaphor, understatements2.Sir Gawain and Green Knight?高文爵士和绿衣骑士?3.Geoffrey Chaucer(杰弗里乔叟〕：the Father of English Poetry; The Canterbury Tales?埃特伯雷故事集?〔24stories)文艺复兴时期1.Thomas More: Utopia?乌托邦?- the communication between more and the traveler which just came back from Utopia.2.Francis Bacon: the first English Essayist; Essays?随笔集?- Of Studies, Of Truth (philosophical and literary works)3.Thus Wyatt: first to introduce the sonnet into English literature.4.Edmund Spenser: Poet's poet; The Fairy Queen?仙后?(to Queen Elizabeth I)5.William Shakespeare:Sonnet 18(Shall I compare thee to a summer's day)17世纪英国文学1.John Donne: the leading poet of Metaphysical school of poetry; A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning?别离：莫忧伤?2.John Milton: Paradise Lost?失乐园?〔a revolt against God's authority), Paradise Regained?复乐园?〔how Christ overcame Santa) ——stories were taken from Bible3.John Bunyan: the son of Renaissance; Pilgrim's Progress?天路历程?(imagination, shadowing, realistic religious allegory)18世纪英国文学Novel：1.the age of reason, classicism, sentimentalism and romanticism (novels, prose, dramas, poetry)2.Daniel Defoe: representative of English realistic novel; Robinson Crusoe?鲁滨逊漂流记?(the development of a young man from a naive and artless youth to a clever and hardened man)3.Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels?格列佛游记?(fictional, satirical- human nature, the European Government, the differences between religions, whole English state system)4.Henry Fielding: the Father of English novel; The History of Tome Jones, a Foundling ?汤姆琼斯?，satiricPoetry：5.Thomas Gray: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?墓园挽歌?6.Alexander Pope: perfected in heroic couplet; An Essay on Criticism?论批评?7.William Blake: pre-romantic; Songs of Innonce?天真之歌?，Songs of Experience?经历之歌?-London, The Tiger8.Robert Burns: A Red Red Rose?一朵红红的玫瑰?Drama:9.Richard Brinsley Sheridan:Master of Comedy of manners;The School for Scandal?造谣学校?浪漫主义时期1798-18321.William Wordsworth: the Lake Poets; The Prelude?序曲?；I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud?我似流云天自游?；The Solitary Reaper?孤寂的割麦女?；features: poet of nature and human heart2.Samuel Taylor Coleridge: the first critic of the Romantic school; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?古舟子咏?3.George Gordon Byron: vigorous, strong and beautiful; Childe Harold's Pilgrimage?恰尔德哈罗尔德游记?(spenserian stanza, fights for liberty); Don Juan?唐璜?(a broad critical picture of European life); When We Two Parted?昔日依依别?；She Walks in Beauty?她走在美的光影中?；The Isles of Greece?哀希腊?4.Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ode to the West Wind?西风颂?-赞颂西风，希望与其严密相连; Prometheus Unbound?解放了的普罗米修斯?(the victory for man's struggle against tyranny and oppression)5.John Keats: sensuous, colorful and rich in imagery; Ode to a Nightingale?夜莺颂?；Ode on a Grecian Urn?希腊古瓮颂?6.Walter Scott: Father of Historical Novel; combine historical fact and romantic imagination7.Jane Austen: wit, dry humour, subtle irony,realistic; Pride and Prejudice?傲慢与偏见?(Elizabeth and Darcy)；Sense and Sensibility?理智与情感?；Emma?爱玛?8.Charles Lamb: Poor Relations?穷亲戚?; Dream-children?童年梦幻?; A Reverie?梦想曲?维多利亚时期1.summit：realistic novel2.Charles Dickens: critical realist writer; humour, wit, happy endings; A Tale of Two Cities?双城记?(London & Paris, where there is oppression, there is revolution); David Copperfield?大卫科波菲尔?；Oliver Twist?雾都孤儿?；Hard Time?困难时世?；Great Expectations?远大前程?；Dombey and Son?董贝父子?；Pickwick Papers?匹克威克外传?3.William Makepeace Thackeray: Vanity Fair?名利场?(to satirize the social more, decadence and corruption of his time; to criticize the values measured by wealth)4.George Eliot: novelist, her novels are celebrated for their realism and psychological insights; Adam Bede?亚当比德?(social inequality)；The Mill on the Floss?弗洛斯河上的磨坊?；Silas Marner?织工马南?5.Alfred Tennyson: succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850; Break, Break, Break?拍吧，拍吧，拍吧?；Crossing the Bar?过沙洲?6.Robert Browning: dramatic monologues; My Last Duchess?我已故的公爵夫人?7.The Bronte Sisters:Charlotte: Jane Eyre?简爱?：简·爱是一个心地纯洁、善于思考的女性，她生活在社会底层，受尽磨难。

英国文学史名词解释1. Ballad(民谣)A ballad originally is a song intended as an accompaniment to a dance or a popular song. In the relatively recent sense, now most widely used, a ballad is a single, spirited poem in short stanzas, in which some popular story is graphically narrated. The ingredients of ballads usually include a refrain, stock descriptive phrases, and simple, terse dialogue.2. Alliteration(头韵)It refers to a repeated initial consonant to successive words and it is the most striking feature in its poetic form. In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonant sound. There are generally 4 accents in a line, three of which show alliteration, and it is the initial sound of the third accented syllable that normally determiners the alliteration. In old English verse, alliteration is not an unusual or expressive phenomenon but a regular recurring structural feature of the verse.3. Sonnet (十四行诗)It is a poem of 14 lines (of 11 syllables in Italian and 10 in English), typically in rhymed iambic pentameter. Sonnets characteristically express a single theme or idea.The sonnet was introduced to England by Sir T. Wyatt and developed Henry Howard (Earl of Surrey) and was thereafter widely used notably in the sonnet sequences of Shakespeare, Sidney, and Spenser. 4. Tragedy(悲剧)The word is applied broadly to dramatic works in which events move to a fatal or disastrous conclusion. It is concerned with the harshness and apparent injustice of life. Often the herofalls from power and his eventual death leads to the downfall of others. The tragic action arouses feelings of awe in the audience.5. Lyric(抒情诗)As a genre, it was the tradition of popular song flourishing in all the medieval literatures of Western Europe. In England lyric poems flourished in the Middle English period, and in the 16th century, heyday of humanism. This tradition was enriched by the direct imitation of ancient models. During the next 200 years the links between poetry and music was gradually broken, and the term “lyric” came to be applied to short poems expressive of a poet’s thoughts or feelings.6. Epic(史诗)It is a poem that celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic personages of history or tradition. Among the great epics of the world may be mentioned the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and Paradise Lost.7. Renaissance(文艺复兴)The word “renaissance” means rebirth or revival. It is commonly applied to the movement or period of great flowering of art, architecture, politics, and the study of literature, usually seen as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern worn world. It came about under the influence of Greek and Roman models. It began in Italy in the late 14th century, reached the highest development in the early 16th century, and spread to the rest of Europe in the 15th century and afterwards. Its emphasis was humanist: that is , on regarding the human figure and reason without a necessary relating of it to the superhuman.8. Enlightenment(启蒙运动)Enlightenment also called the neoclassic movement. It refersto the philosophical and artistic movement growing out of the Renaissance and continuing until the 19th century. The term is generally used to describe the philosophical, scientific, and rational spirit, the freedom from superstition, the skepticism and faith in religious tolerance of much of 18th-century Europe. Te Enlightenment writers would use satire to ridicule the illogical errors in government, social custom, and religious belief. This period’s poetry in England was typified by Alexander Pope, John Dryden and others.9. Classicism(古典主义)The term, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose (清新、优雅、对称与和谐) produced by attention to traditional forms. More precisely, the term refers to the admiration and imitation of Greek and Roman literature, art, and architecture. It stands for certain definite ideas and attitudes including dominance of reason, balance and other etc. Classicism is usually contrasted with romanticism.10. Romanticism or Romantic Movement(浪漫主义)The term refers to the literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and early 19th century. Romanticism rejected the rejected the earlier philosophy of the Enlightenment, which stressed that logic and reason were the best response humans had in the face of cruelty, stupidity, superstition, and barbarism. The Romantics asserted that reliance upon emotion and natural passions provided a valid and powerful means of knowing and a reliable guide to ethics and living. Its stylistic keynote is intensity, and its watchword is imagination. Their writings are often set in rural, or Gothic setting and they show an obsessive concern with “innocent” c haracters----children, young lovers, and animals. The major Romantic poets included Blake, Wordsworth, Keats,Shelley, and Byron.11. Genre (样式):A type of category of literature marked by certain shared features or customs. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. For example, the poetry can be sub-classified as epic, elegy, lyric and pastoral etc.12. Critical realism(批判现实主义)Critical realism is one of the literary genres that flourished mainly in the 19th century. It reveals the corrupting influence of the rule of eash upon human nature. Here lies the essentially democratic and humanistic character of critical realism. The English critical realists of the 19th century not only gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all the ruling classes, but also showed profound sympathy for the common people. In their best works, they used humor and satire to contrast the greed and hypocrisy classes. Humorous scenes set off the actions of the positive characters, and the humor is often tinged with a lyricism which serves to stress the fine qualities of such characters. At the same time, bitter satire and grotesque is used to expose the seamy side of the bourgeois society. The critical realists, however, did not find a way to eradicate the social evils they knew so well. They did not realize the necessity of changing the bourgeois society through conscious human effort. Their works do not point toward revolution but rather evolution or reformism. They often start with a powerful exposure of the ugliness of the bourgeois world in their works, but their novels usually have happy endings or an impotent compromise at the end. Here are the strength and weakness of critical reali sm.。

英国文学史名词解释1、Romanticism:浪漫主义An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism.English literary romanticism is from the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads in 1798 to the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1832.2、Byronic hero: 拜伦式英雄an idealized but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of Byron:＊an exile流亡者, an outcast流浪者or an outlaw 歹徒＊being cynical愤世嫉俗的, rebellious反抗的, lonely＊against government, religion or moral values singly逐一地＊being passionate热情的, energetic积极的, talented多才的3、ottava rima ：Italian stanza form established by Boccaccio,An eight-line stanza of poetry in iambic pentameter (a five-foot line in which each foot consists of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable), following the abababcc rhyme scheme.4、Critical realism:批判现实主义English critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the forties and in the early fifties. The critical realists described with much vividness and artistic skill the chief traits of the English society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint. The representative realists of the time were Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, the Bronte sisters, Mrs. Gaskell, etc.The critical realists not only gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all the ruling class, but also showed profound sympathy for the common people.5、Dramatic monologue：戏剧独白a kind of poem in which a single fictional or historical character other than the poet speaks to a silent ‘audience’of one or mor e persons. Such poems reveal not the poet ‘s own thoughts; this distinguishes a dramatic monologue from a lyric，while the implied presence of an auditor distinguishes it from a soliloquy. Major examples of this form in English are Tennyson，Browning and T. S. Eliot.6、Aestheticism：美学主义the doctrine that regards beauty as an end in itself, and attempts to preserve the arts from subordination to moral, didactic, or political purposes. The term is often used synonymously with the Aesthetic Movement, a literary and artistic tendency of the late 19th century which may be understood as a further phase of Romanticism in reaction against vulgar bourgeois values of practical efficiency and morality.7、Naturalism:自然主义A literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions,heredity遗传and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character.8、Modernism:现代主义A general term applied to the wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature of the early 20th century. It takes the irrational philosophy and the theory ofpsycho-analysis as its theoretical base. It is a reaction against realism. It rejects rationalism which is the theoretical base ofrealism; by advocating a free experimentation on new forms and new techniques in literary creation, it casts away almost all the traditional elements in literature such as story, plot, character, chronological narration etc. , which are essential to realism.9、Imagism:意象派A literary movement started by British and American poets early in the 20th century that advocated the use of short lyrics, free verse, common speech patterns, and clear concrete images. Greatly under the influence of Symbolism, and was initially led by Ezra Pound.10、Stream of Consciousness:意识流One of the modern literary techniques, which is used to depict the mental and emotional reactions of characters to external events, rather than plot, story themselves. It adopts the psycho-analytic approach in literary creation to explore the existence of sub-conscious and un-conscious elements in the mind. And it neglects totally “fetters of grammar, syntax, and logic”。

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 telling 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 Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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 imaginative 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 supernatural happenings.Form:long composition, in verse, in proseContent:description of life and adventures of a noble hero Character: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 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 a fair lady.①The 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 France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers●matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte D’Arthur （亚瑟王之死）②Class Nature (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. Alliteration（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 English prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）①Definition: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 literature②Features of English Ballads1. The ballads 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.③Stylistic （风格上）Features of the Ballads1. Composed in 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）, 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.④Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict 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 pairs.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。

1，alliteration 2，kenning 3，caesura 4,romance 5,chivalery 6,quatrain 7,meter:rhyme 8,heroic couplet 9iambic pentameter 10,bob and wheel 11,realism 12,idealism 13,renaissiance 14,blank verse 15,sonnet 16,comedy 17,tragedy 18,humanism 19,cavalier poets 20,metaphysical poets 21,metaphysical conceit1. Epic(史诗)（appeared in the Anglo-Saxon Period ）Epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, like Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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》.1.Romance （传奇）(Anglo-Norman feudal England)•Romance is any imaginative 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 supernatural 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 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 a fair lady.3. Alliteration（押头韵）: a repeated initial(开头的) consonant(协调,一致) to successive(连续的) words.4. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming pairs.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。

英国文学史名词解释英国文学史是西方文学史中重要的一个分支，它以英国作家的作品为研究对象，涵盖了从中世纪到现代的众多文学作品和文学流派。

在这篇文章中，我将解释一些与英国文学史相关的重要名词，帮助读者更好地理解和欣赏英国文学的发展历程。

1. Beowulf (《贝奥武夫》)《贝奥武夫》是一部古老的英国史诗，被认为是英国文学史上最早的重要文学作品之一。

它讲述了贝奥武夫这位英勇的斗士与怪物格列伦德之间的战斗，强调了英雄气概和荣誉观念。

2. Elizabethan Age (伊丽莎白时代)伊丽莎白时代是英国文学史上一段璀璨的时期，时间跨度大约是1558年到1603年，得名于当时的女王伊丽莎白一世。

莎士比亚和培根等众多杰出的文学家在这个时代涌现，他们的作品对英国戏剧和文学产生了深远的影响。

3. Restoration (复辟时期)复辟时期是指英国历史上查理二世复辟王朝（1660年至1688年）期间的文学时期。

在这个时期，英国文学经历了从古典主义到启蒙思想的转变，作家们开始关注社会问题，并使用更加通俗的语言创作。

4. Romanticism (浪漫主义)浪漫主义是18世纪末至19世纪初在英国兴盛的一种文学运动，它强调个人情感和情感共鸣，对自然界、个体感受和非理性有着强烈的兴趣。

威廉·华兹华斯、塞缪尔·柯勒律治和约翰·济慈等浪漫主义诗人的作品在这一时期达到了巅峰。

5. Victorian Era (维多利亚时代)维多利亚时代是19世纪英国的一个时期，得名于维多利亚女王。

这个时期的文学作品反映了当时社会的道德伦理观念和社会问题，女性权益和道德拯救等主题常常被探索和讨论。

查尔斯·狄更斯、艾米丽·勃朗特和托马斯·哈代是这个时期最著名的文学家之一。

6. Modernism (现代主义)现代主义是20世纪初在英国兴起的一种文学运动，它反对传统形式和传统价值观，并试图通过新颖的写作风格和形式来呈现当时复杂多变的现实。

（完整）英国文学名词解释大全（整理版）,推荐文档名词解释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 telling 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 Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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 imaginative 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 supernatural happenings.Form:long composition, in verse, in proseContent:description of life and adventures of a noble hero Character: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 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 a fair lady.①The 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 France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers●matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte D’Arthur （亚瑟王之死）②Class Nature (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. Alliteration（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 English prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）①Definition: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 literature②Features of English Ballads1. The ballads 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.③Stylistic （风格上）Features of the Ballads1. Composed in 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 the common people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）, 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.④Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming pairs.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。

名词解释1．Romance: a long composition, in verse or in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero, especially for the knight. The most popular theme employed was the legend of King Arthur and the round table knight.2．Renaissance: a revival or rebirth of the artistic and scientific revival which originated in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe. It has two features: a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature and keen interest in activities of humanity.3．Sonnet: 14-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter. 4．Enlightenment: a revival of interest in the old classical works, logic, order, restrained emotion and accuracy.5．Neoclassicism: the Enlightenment brought about a revival of interest in Greek and Roman works. This tendency is known as Neoclassicism.6．Romanticism: imagination, emotion and freedom are certainly the focal points of romanticism. The particular characteristics of the literature of romanticism include: subjectivity and an emphasis on individualism; freedom from rules; solitary life rather then life in society; the beliefs that imagination is superior to reason; and love of and worship of nature.7．Byronic Heroes: a variant of the Romantic heroes as a type of character( enthusiasm, persistence, pursuing freedom), named after the English Romantic Poet Gordon Byron. 8．Realism: seeks to portray familiar characters, situations, and settings in a realistic manner. This is done primarily by using an objective narrative point of view and through the buildup of accurate detail.9．Aestheticism: an art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, music and other arts.10．Stream-of-Consciousness: it is a literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur without any clarification by the author. It is a narrative mode. 11．Epic: a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated.一、The Anglo-Saxon period (449-1066)1、这个时期的文学作品分类：pagan(异教徒) Christian(基督徒)2、代表作：The Song of Beowulf 《贝奥武甫》( national epic 民族史诗) 采用了隐喻手法3、Alliteration 押头韵（写作手法）例子：of man was the mildest and most beloved,To his kin the kindest, keenest for praise.二、The Anglo-Norman period (1066-1350)Canto 诗章1、romance 传奇文学2、代表作：Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (高文爵士和绿衣骑士) 是一首押头韵的长诗三、Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) 杰弗里.乔叟时期1、the father of English poetry 英国诗歌之父2、heroic couplet 英雄双韵体：a verse unit consisting of two rhymed(押韵) lines in iambic pentameter(五步抑扬格)3、代表作：the Canterbury Tales 坎特伯雷的故事(英国文学史的开端)大致内容：the pilgrims are people from various parts of England, representatives of various walks of life and social groups.朝圣者都是来自英国的各地的人,代表着社会的各个不同阶层和社会团体小说特点：each of the narrators tells his tale in a peculiar manner, thus revealing his own views and character.这些叙述者以自己特色的方式讲述自己的故事，无形中表明了各自的观点，展示了各自的性格。

名词解释1、Alliteration(头韵) It refers to a repeated initial consonant to successive words and it is the most striking feature in its poetic form. In alliterative verse, certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonant sound。

It usually have a caesura in the middle and two stresses (or accents） in each half. The number of unstressed syllables in the two halves may vary。

Yet，the same consonant is repeated at the beginning of the accented syllables， either twice in the first half of the verse line and once in the second half, or vice versa. Or we can say there are generally 4 accents in a line, three of which show alliteration， and it is the initial sound of the third accented syllable that normally determiners the alliteration. Alliteration makes Anglo—Saxon poetry very musical in sound and acts almost the same part that rhyme plays in later poetry。

1.(1) Modernism （现代主义)A movement of experiment in new techniques in writing. Modernist fic tion represented a trend drifting away from the tradition of the 19th century realism。

It put emphasis on the description ogoometimes it is called modern psychological fiction. Lawrence is a typical representative of itRealism（现实主义)Realism was a loosely used term meaning truth to the observed facts of life （especially when they are gloomy）。

Realism in literature is an approach that attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity。

Realism现实主义： An elastic and ambiguous term with two meanings。

（1） First, it refers generally to any artistic or literary portrayal of life in a faithful， accurate manner, unclouded by false ideals, literary conventions, or misplaced aesthetic glorification and beautification of the world。

英国文学史名词解释重点（西北师大）1. Epic: a long narrative poem, elevated and dignified in theme, tone, and style, celebrating heroic deeds and historically important events; usually focuses on the adventures of a hero who has qualities that are superhuman or divine and on whose fate very often depends the destiny of a tribe, a nation, or even the whole of the human race.2. Alliteration: repetition of the initial letter or first sound of several words, marking the stressed syllables in a line of poetry or prose. A simple example is the phrase “through thick and thin “. The device is used to emphasize meaning and thus can be effectively employed in oratory. Alliteration is a characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry, notably by the epic Beowulf; it is still used, with modifications, by modern poets.3. Ballad: A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and forth lines rhymed, which are known as the ballad stanza, rhyming abcb. When it was chanted by ballad-singers, the audience joined in a refrain which usually followed each stanza.4. Sonnet: A sonnet is a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme.5. Metaphysical poetry: is characterized by verbal wit and excess, ingenious structure, irregular meter, colloquial language, elaborate imagery, and a drawing together of dissimilar.6. Romance: it was a long composition, sometimes sin verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of romance was knight and the reasons for their adventures could be love, religious faith, or the mere desire for excitement.7. Renaissance: in essence, was a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of conservatism in feudalist Europe and introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, to lift the restrictions in all areas placed by the roman church authorities.8. Enlightenment: is a term used to describe the trends in thought and letters in Europe and the American colonies during the 18th century prior to the French revolution. The phrase was frequently employed by writers of the period itself, convinced that they were emerging from centuries of darkness and ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and a respect for humanity. The enlighteners believed in the power of reason, and that is why the 18th century in England has often been called “the age of reason “.9. heroic couplet: it is a term in poetry applied to two successive lines of verse that form a single unit because they rhyme. Couplets in English are usually written in 10-syllableslines, a form first used by Chaucer. This evolvedinto the so-called heroic-couplet popular in 17th and 18th century. The heroic couplet, two rhyming iambic pentameter lines, is also called a closed couplet because the meaning and the grammatical structure are couplet within two lines.10. Iambic pentameter: is a verse form in which a\one line of poem contains 10 syllables, which could be divided into five feet. Two syllables in one feet are stressed syllable followed by a unstressed one.。

1，什么叫文艺复兴The Renaissance (“rebirth” in French) was a cultural and intellectural movement that spanned roughly the 14th through the 17 century, beginning in Italy and later spreading to the rest of Europe 2，Renaissance is considered as the great flowering of art, architecture, politics, and the study of literature, and is also usually seen as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern world.2，什么叫玄学派诗歌the Metaphysical school of poetryI. Definition: A school of highly intellectual（智力的）poetryTime: the early 17th centuryMajor features: mysticism in content and fantasticality in form; peculiar conceit（奇思妙想）, unique way of reasoning and comparisonMain themes: life, death, love, religion, universeRepresentatives: John Donne, Andrew Marvell and George HerbertSignificance: greatly influenced the modernists of the 20th centuryII. Metaphysical conceits悬想比喻，奇喻，别出心裁的比喻Conceit: an elaborate metaphor that offers a surprising or unexpected comparison between two seemingly highly dissimilar things. This can involve original images or familiar images used in an unfamiliar way.Literature in This Age: The 18th century marked the beginning of an intellectual movement throughout in Europe known as Enlightenment. It was a progressive intellectual movement throughout Western Europe in the 18th century and Russia in the 19th Century.In late 17th and early 18th century England, there was a change of taste, which was part of a general movement in Europe, seen perhaps most impressive in 17th century France. The dominant literary theory of this period was “Neoclassicism”.Literary Genre文学流派Generally speaking, literature of the 18th century was very complex. We may classify it under three general heads: the reign of classicism, the pre-romantic poetry, and the beginning of modern novel.3，什么是启蒙运动Enlightenment (1) a progressive intellectual movement(2) flourished in France and swept through the whole Western Europe(3) aims at enlightening the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas; celebrated reason (4) called for a reference to order, reason and rules4，什么是前浪漫主义Pre-RomanticismWhen did Pre-romanticism appear? in the latter half of the 18th centuryWhat are the major features of Pre-romanticism?1)Romantic Revival;2)Strong protest against the bondage ofClassicism; 3)Claims of passion and emotion;4)Renewed interests in medievalliterature.Who are the representatives? William Blake and Robert BurnsWhat’s the significance?marked the decline of classicismPaved the way for the coming of romanticism in England5，什么叫Byron hero: Byronic hero was created by Byron in the Romantic period of the English literature. Such a hero is a proud, rebellious figure of noble origin. Passionate and powerful, he is to right all the wrongs in a corrupt society, and he would fight single-handedly against all the misdoings. These heroes rise against tyranny and injustice, but they are merely lone fighters striving for personal freedom and some individualistic ends.1. epic 史诗a long narrative poem, grand in style, about heroes and heroic deeds, embodying heroic ideals of a nation or race in the making. Beowulf is the English national epic that was passed from mouth to mouth and written down by many unknown hands.3. alliteration 头韵the repetition of the same sound or sounds at the beginning of two or more words that are close to each other. It is a feature of Beowulf and other Old English poems.4. alliterative verse 头韵诗poetry written in alliteration. Nearly all Old English verse, including Beowulf, is heavily alliterative, and the pattern is fairly standard – with either two or three stressed syllables in each line alliterating.5. kenning 隐喻语a metaphor usually composed of two words and used for description and association. Beowulf is full of kennings, such as ―helmet bearer‖ for ―warrior‖ and ―swan road‖ for ―sea‖.8. romance 传奇a type of literature that was popular in the Middle Ages, usually containing adventures and reflecting the spirit of chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was a great verse romance, but its author remains unknown.11. heroic couplet 英雄双韵体two successive lines of rhymed poetry in iambic pentameter. Geoffrey Chaucer’s masterpiece The Canterbury Tale was written in heroic couplet.12. ballad meter 民谣体traditionally a four-line stanza containing alternating four-stress and three-stress lines, usually with a refrain and the rhyme scheme of abcb. Robert Burns’ ―A Red, Red Rose‖ is a great love ballad.14. English Renaissance 英国文艺复兴the literary flowering of England in the late 16th century and early 17th century, with humanism as its keynote. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is considered the summit of this renaissance. 15. Elizabethan literature 伊丽莎白时代的文学literature written in the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603). William Shakespea re’s Romeo and Juliet was a masterpiece of this period.16. sonnet 十四行诗a fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of 5-foot iambic verse. It first flourished in Italy in the 14th century. William Shakespeare was a great English sonnet writer famous for his 154 sonnets.20. rhyme scheme 押韵格式the pattern of end-thymes in a stanza or poem, generally described by using letters of the alphabet to denote the recurrence of rhyming lines. For example, heroic couplets are ―aabbcc‖ and so on.21. quatrain 四行诗节a stanza of four lines, rhymed or unrhymed. It is the commonest of all stanzaic forms in English poetry. Robert Burns’ ―A Red, Red Rose‖ has four quatrains.24. verse drama 诗剧drama written in the form of verse. It was most widely used in the Elizabethan Age. William Shakespeare’s dramas are all verse dramas, Hamlet being the most famous.25. blank verse 无韵诗，素体诗unrhymed iambic pentameter, the most widely used of English verse forms and usually used in English dramatic and epic poetry. William Shakespea re’s play Hamlet is written in blank verse.27. essay 散文a composition, usually in prose, which may be of only a few hundred words or of book length and which discusses, formally or informally, a topic or a variety of topics. It is one of the most flexib le and adaptable of all literary forms. Francis Bacon is a great essayist; his ―Of Studies‖ isa model of good essay.28. English Romanticism 英国浪漫主义a literary movement that aimed at free expression of the writer’s ideas and feelings and flourished in the early 19th century England. A great representative of this movement is Percy Bysshe Shelley, the author of ―Ode to the West Wind‖.Sonnet 18One of the best known of Shakespeare’s sonnets, Sonnet 18 is memorable for the skillful and varied presentatio n of subject matter, in which the poet’s feelings reach a level of rapture unseen in the previous sonnets. The poet here abandons his quest for the youth to have a child, and instead glories in the youth’s beauty.Initially, the poet poses a question—‖Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?‖—and then reflects on it, remarking that the youth’s beauty far surpasses summer’s delights. The imagery is the very essence of simplicity: ―wind‖ and ―buds.‖ In the fourth line, legal terminology—‖summer’s lease‖—is introduced in contrast to the commonplace images in the first three lines. Note also the poet’s use of extremes in the phrases ―more lovely,‖ ―all too short,‖ and ―too hot‖; these phrases emphasize the young man’s beauty.Although lines 9 through 12 are marked by a more expansive tone and deeper feeling, the poet returns to the simplicity of the opening images. As one expects in Shakespeare’s sonnets, the proposition that the poet sets up in the first eight lines—that all nature is subject to imperfection—is now contrasted in these next four lines beginning with ―But.‖ Although beauty naturally declines at some point—‖And every fair from fair sometime declines‖—the youth’s beauty will not; his unchanging appearance is atypical of nature’s steady progression. Even death is impotent against the youth’s beauty. Note the ambiguity in the phrase ―eternal lines‖: Are these ―lines‖ the poet’s ver ses or the youth’s hoped-for children? Or are they simply wrinkles meant to represent the process of aging? Whatever the answer, the poet is jubilant in this sonnet because nothing threatens the young man’s beautiful appearance.Then follows the concludi ng couplet: ―So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.‖ The poet is describing not what the youth is but what he will be ages hence, as captured in the poet’s eternal verse—or again, in a hoped-for child. Whatever one may feel about the sentiment expressed in the sonnet and especially in these last two lines, one cannot help but notice an abrupt change in the poet’s own estimate of his poetic writing. Following the poet’s disparaging reference to his ―pupil pen‖ and ―barren rhyme‖ in Sonnet 16, it comes as a surprise in Sonnet 18 to find him boasting that his poetry will be eternal.John Keats认为，夜莺的歌声是美妙绝伦的，是不朽的，是永恒的，将世世代代的唱下去。

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 telling 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 Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. It usually celebrates the feats of one or more legendary or traditional heroes. The action is simple, 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 imaginative 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 supernatural 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 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 a fair lady.①The 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 France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers●matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte D’Arthur （亚瑟王之死）②Class Nature (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. Alliteration（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 English prose）6. Ballads （民谣）（The most important department of English folk literature ）①Definition: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 literature②Features of English Ballads1. The ballads 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.③Stylistic （风格上）Features of the Ballads1. Composed in 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 the common people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）, 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.④Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体）（introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition:the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming pairs.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。

Renaissance: the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Humanism is the key-note of the Renaissance. Humanism: reflected the new outlook of the rising bourgeois class, which saw the world opening before it.a cultural and artistic movement in England from the early 16th century to the early 17th century.The Renaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. The Renaissance is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts: (1) to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, (2) to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, (3) to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic ChurchRomance（名词解释）(1).The basic material of medieval romance is knightly activity and adventure; we might best define medieval romance as a story of adventure--fictitious, frequently marvelous or supernatural--in verse or prose. (2).A long composition describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character was the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons who was very devoted to the king or to the church. (3).One who wanted to be a knight should serve patiently until he was admitted to the knighthood with solemnceremony and the swearing of oaths.Ballad民谣（名词解释）1.A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. The story, folklore popular legends. straightforward verse, with graphic simplicity and force. suitable for singing generally written in ballad meter, with the last words of the second and fourth lines rhymingHeroic couplet(名词解释) A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. Traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry, a sequence of rhyming paris of iambic pentameter.Sonnet（名词解释）The sonnet is a poem in 14 lines with one or the other rhyme schme, a form much in vogue in Renaissance Europe, especially in Italy，France and England. In 1609 appeared Shakespeare’s sonnets. The Sonnets were written over a number of years, probably beginning in the early 1590sBlank verse 无韵诗Spenserian Stanza（名词解释）Stanza form developed by Edmund Spenser and almost certainly influenced by rhyme royal and ottava rima. Spenser's stanza has nine lines and is rhymed a-b-a-b-b-c-b-c-c. The first eight lines of the stanza are in iambic pentameter and the last line iniambic hexameter. He used this form in his epic poem The Faerie Queene. John Keats, a great admirer of Spenser, used this stanza in his poem The Eve of St. Agnes.Classicism（名词解释）1. In the arts, historical tradition or aesthetic attitudes based on the art of Greece and Rome in antiquity. In the context of the tradition, Classicism refers either to the art produced in antiquity or to later art inspired by that of antiquity; Neoclassicism always refers to the art produced later but inspired by antiquity.Sentimentalism（名词解释）The term sentimentalism is used in two senses: (1) An overindulgence in emotion, especially the conscious effort to induce emotion in order to enjoy it. (2) An optimistic overemphasis of the goodness of humanity (sensibility), representing in part a reaction against Calvinism, which regarded human nature as depraved. The novel of sensibility was developed from this 18th century notion, manifested in the Sentimental novel46. Romanticism要对浪漫主义兴起的时间，根源，主要代表作家。

英国文学史名词解释Romance: The romance was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The medieval romances were tales of chivalry or amorous adventure occurring in King Arthur's court. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is an example of a medieval romance.Ballad: It is a story in poetic form, often about tragic love and usually sung. Ballads were passed down from generation to generation by singers. The medieval ballads are ballads of Robin Hood. Coleridge’s "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is a 19th century English ballad. Heroic couplet: They are poetry composed in iambic pentameter. In this form of poetry, lines consisting of five iambic feet rime together in pairs. The rime scheme :aa bb cc ….. Renaissance: Renaissance marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world. It first started in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe. The word“Renaissance” means rebirth or revival. In essence, it is a historical period in which theEuropean humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe and introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the risingbourgeoisie, and to lift the restriction in all areas placed by the Roman Catholic Churchauthorities. Two features of renaissance: It is a thirsting curiosity for the classical literature.People learned to admire the Greek and Latin works as models of literary form. It is the keen interest in the activities of humanity.Sonnet: A lyric poem of fourteen lines whose ryhme scheme is fixed. The rhyme scheme in the Italian form as typified in the sonnets of Petrarch is abbaabba cdecde. The Petrarchian sonnet has two divisions: the first is of eight lines (the octave), and the second is of six lines (the sestet). The rhyme scheme of the English, or Shakespearean sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. The change of rhyme in the English sonnet is coincidental with a change of theme in the poem.The meter is iambic pentameter.Blank verse: A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.Spenserian Stanza: Spenser invented a new verse form for his poem. The verse form has been called "Spenserian Stanza" since his day. Each stanza has nine lines, each of the first eight lines is in iambic pentameter form, and the ninth line is an iambic hexameter line. The rhythm scheme is abab bcbc c.Enlightenment : The Enlightenment was a progressive intellectual movement throughout Western Europe in the 18th century. It was an expression of struggle of the bourgeoisie against feudalism. The enlighteners fought against class inequality, stagnation, prejudices and other survivals of feudalism. They thought the chief means for bettering the society was "enlightenment" or "education" for the people. The English enlighteners were bourgeois democratic thinkers. They set no revolutionary aim before them and what they strove for was to bring it to an end by clearing away the feudal ideas with the bourgeois ideology. Sentimentalism: Sentimentalism appeared in the middle of the 18th century, as a reaction against commercialism and the cold rationalism. Sentimentalists emphasize “the human heart” and show sympathy to the poor. This trend marks the transition form neoclassicism to romanticism in English poetry. Thomas Gray is one of the models. Another sentimentalistpoet is Oliver Goldsmith (The Disserted Village). The most outstanding figure of English sentimentalism is Laurence Sterne.Pre-romanticism: The Romantic Movement was marked by a strong protest against the bondage of Classicism, by a renewed interest in medieval literature. In England, this movement showed itself in the trend of Pre-romanticism in poetry. It was represented by Blake and Robert Burns. They struggled against the neoclassical tradition of poetry. Romanticism : Romanticism was in effect a revolt of the English imagination against the neoclassical reason, which prevailed from the days of Pope to those of Johnson. The Romantic Movement expressed a more or less negative attitude toward the existing social and political conditions that came with industrialization and the growing importance of the bourgeoisie. Romantics saw men essentially as an individual in the solitary state and emphasized the special qualities of each individual's mind. In essence it designates a literary and philosophical theory which tends to see the individual as the very center of all life and all experience. It also places the individual at the center of art, making literature most valuable as an expression of his or her unique feelings and particular attitudes, and valuing its accuracy in portraying the individual's experiences. The romantics extol the faculty of the imagination, write about nature and they get inspiration form nature, turn to the humble people and the common everyday life for subjects andturn to other times and places, where the qualities they valued would be convincingly depicted.Neo-classicism: A revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance and harmony in literature. John Dryden was the first person who started the movement at the end of the 17th century, while Alexander Pope brought it to its culmination. Elegy: it seeks for "lament". It is a poem on death or on a serious loss; characteristically a sustained meditation expressing sorrow and, frequently, an explicit or implied consolation Realism: A term used in literature and art to present life as it really is without sentimentalizing or idealizing it. Realistic writing often depicts the everyday life and speech of ordinary people. This has led, sometimes to an emphasis on sordid details.Allegory: A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meanings. In Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," Dante, symbolizing mankind, is taken by Virgil the poet on a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise in order to teach him the nature of sin and its punishments, and the way to salvation.Lake Poets: Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey have often been mentioned as the "Lake Poets"because they lived in the lake district in the northwestern part of England. The three traversed the same path in politics and in poetry, beginning as radicals and closing as conservatives. Metaphysical Poetry: The poetry of John Donne and other seventeenth-century poets who wrote in a similar style. Metaphysical poetry is characterized by verbal wit and excess, ingenious structure, irregular meter, colloquial language, elaborates imagery, and a drawing together of dissimilar ideas.Humanism: it refers to the main literary trend and is the keynote of English Renaissance.Humanists took interest in human life and human activities and gave expression to the new feeling of admiration for human beauty, human achievement. They think that man has apotential for culture which distinguishes him from lower orders of beings, and which he should strive constantly to fulfill.Mystery play: The Mystery plays of the Middle Ages were based on the bible and were particularly concerned with the stories of man’s creation, Fall and Redemption. They antedate Miracle Plays.Mystery Plays developed out of the Liturgy of the church and in particular out of the Quem Quaeritis trope of Easter Day. The earlier dramatizations were presented on the greater festivals of the church: Christmas, Easter,, Pentecost and Corpus Christi. At first they were in Latin and performed by the clergy in the church. There then came an increasing admixture of the vernacular, and lay folk also performed in them. This gradual secularization of the religions drama was accompanied by a corresponding physical move. The drama moved out of the church through the west door. Thus, what had been sacred drama became, literally, profane. From the church yard to the market place was the next logical step.Iambic Pentameter: A poetic line consisting of five verse feet, which each foot an iamb__ that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. Iambic pentameter is the most common verse line in English poetry.Lyric: A poem, brief and discontinuous, emphasizes sound and pictorial imagery rather than narrative or dramatic movement.Miracle Play: A popular religious drama of medieval England. Miracle plays were based on stories of the saints or on sacred history.Morality Play: A form of religious allegorical drama dates from 15th century. Moralities differed from mystery plays in that whereas the latter dramatized known episodes from the Bible or from the lives of the saints, the former dramatized the life of man by personifying the forces of good and evil, such as the seven deadly sins and the corresponding virtues or some representative crisis in his life such as his encounter with the fact of death.Neo-classicism: it is a revival in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of classical standards of order, balance and harmony in literature. John Dryden was the first person who started the movement at the end of the 17th century, while Alexander Pope brought it to its culmination. Byronic hero:is an idealized but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of Lordlevel of intelligence and perception; cunning and able to adapt; criminal tendencies;sophisticated and educated; self-critical and introspective; mysterious, magnetic and charismatic; struggling with integrity; power of seduction and sexual attraction; social andself-destructive behavior; a good heart in the end.。

英国文学史名词解释英国文学史中的许多术语和名词对于读者来说可能比较陌生。

下面是对一些常见的名词进行解释，以便更好地理解英国文学史。

1. Middle English (中古英语) - 中古英语是指从1066年诺曼征服英格兰到1470年左右的英语阶段。

在这个时期，英语受到了来自法语、拉丁语和英语本土方言的影响。

2. Renaissance (文艺复兴) - 文艺复兴是指在15世纪至17世纪期间，意大利文化的重要思想和艺术运动迅速传播到欧洲其他地区。

文艺复兴时期在英国产生了许多杰出的文学作品，包括莎士比亚的戏剧。

3. Elizabethan Era (伊丽莎白时代) - 伊丽莎白时代是指英国女王伊丽莎白一世统治期间（1558年-1603年）。

这一时期是英国文化的黄金时代，也是莎士比亚最为活跃的时期。

4. Restoration (恢复时代) - 恢复时代是指英国历史上从1660年到1688年的时期，这一时期发生了英国内战和英国共和国的覆灭后，君主制恢复的事件。

恢复时期的文学作品反映了政治和社会的变化。

5. Romanticism (浪漫主义) - 浪漫主义是指18世纪末到19世纪初的一种文学和艺术思潮。

浪漫主义强调个人情感和经验，追求自然、自由和幻想等主题。

浪漫主义的代表作家包括拜伦、雪莱和济慈等。

6. Victorian Era (维多利亚时代) - 维多利亚时代是指英国女王维多利亚统治期间，即1837年到1901年的时期。

这一时期的文学作品反映了维多利亚时代的道德和社会观念，代表作家包括狄更斯、勃朗特姐妹和汤姆斯·哈代等。

7. Modernism (现代主义) - 现代主义是指20世纪初出现的一种文学和艺术风格，强调个人和社会对现实世界的体验和认识。

现代主义的作品通常以复杂的叙事结构和主题的多样性而著称。

代表作家包括乔伊斯、伍尔夫和弗兰兹·卡夫卡等。

8. Postmodernism (后现代主义) - 后现代主义是指20世纪后半叶出现的一种文学和艺术趋势，它挑战了现代主义的理论和形式，关注权力、语言和现实的构造。