英国文学史-名词解释

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.