英国文学名词解释及问答题

名词解释：

1, Humanism: a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason,

scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the

importance of belief in God. It focuses on human values and concerns, attaching

prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.

2, Renaissance: the period of European history at the close of the Middle Ages and the

rise of the modern world; a cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the

17th centuries. The renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected

European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and

spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature,

philosophy, art, music, politics, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual

inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched

for realism and human emotion in art.

3, Spenserian stanza: a fixed verse form invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic

poem The Faerie Queene. Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight

lines in

iambic pentameter followed by a single 'Alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter

The rhyme scheme of these lines is "ababbcbcc."

4, Metaphysical poets: The metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and

critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group

of British lyric

poets of the 17th

century, whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by

speculation about topics such as love or religion.

5, Lake Poets: The Lake Poets are a group of English poets who all lived in the Lake

District of England at the turn of the nineteenth century. The three main figures of

what has become known as the Lakes School are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor

Coleridge, and Robert Southey

6, Beowulf: It is the oldest poem in the English language and the most important

specimen of Anglo-Saxon literature. The main stories are based on the folk legends of

the primitive northern tribes. It is a pagan poem, which presents us an all-round

picture of the tribal society.

7, Byronic hero: The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type

of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. a man proud, moody,

cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind,

implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep and strong affection

8, Romanticism: Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement, which prevailed in

England from 1798 to 1832. It is concerned with the expression of the individual's

feeling and emotions and stressed strong emotion as a resource of aesthetic

experience. 9, Ode: a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something

which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode.

10, University Wits: The University Wits were a group of late 16th

century English playwrights who were educated at

the universities

and who became

playwrights and popular secular writers. Prominent members of this group

were Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and Thomas Nashe from Cambridge,

and John Lyly, Thomas Lodge, George Peele from Oxford.

11, Sentimentalism: Sentimentalism stresses on material senses as being spiritual

and/or considers soul to be material, thus anything done on sentimental level is more

or less materialistic rather than spiritual/transcendental.

12, Alliteration: Alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first

syllables of a series of words or phrases. Alliteration has developed largely through

poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any

syllables that, according to the poem's meter, are stressed. Alliteration is commonly

used in many languages, especially in poetry.

13,Glorious Revolution: the name of the overthrow of King James II of

England (James VII of Scotland and James II of Ireland) by a union of

English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William

III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). William's successful invasion of England

with a Dutch fleet and army led to his ascending the English throne as William III of

England jointly with his wife Mary II of England. in 1688, William of orange landed

at torbay and marched upon London. This takeover was

smooth, with neither

bloodshed, nor any execution of the King, which became known as the glorious

revolution.

14, Norman Conquest: the invasion and conquest of England by an army

of Normans and French led by Duke William II of Normandy. William, who defeated

King Harold II of England on 14 October 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, was crowned