英国文学名词解释

1Allegory:astoryordescriptioninwhichthecharactersandeventssymbolizesomedeeperunderlyingmeaning,andservetospreadmoralteaching.Alliteration:Apoeticdevicewherethefirstconsonantsoundsoranyvowelsoundsinwordsorsyllablesarerepeated.Allusion:Areferencetoafamiliarliteraryorhistoricalpersonorevent,usedtomakeanideamoreeasilyunderstood.Ballad:Ashortpoemthattellsasimplestoryandhasarepeatedrefrain.Balladswereoriginallyintendedtobesung.Earlyballads,knownasfolkballads,werepasseddownthroughgenerations,sotheirauthorsareoftenunknown.Laterballadscomposedbyknownauthorsarecalledliteraryballads.BlankVerse:Loosely,anyunrhymedpoetry,butmoregenerally,unrhymediambicpentameterverse(composedoflinesoffivetwo-syllablefeetwiththefirstsyllableaccented,thesecondunaccented).CarpeDiem:ALatintermmeaningseizetheday.ThisisatraditionalthemeofPoetry,especiallylyrics.Acarpediempoemadvisesthereaderorthepersonitaddressestolivefortodayandenjoythepleasuresofthemoment.TwocelebratedcarpediempoemsareAndrewMarvell'sToHisCoyMistressandRobertHerrick'spoembeginningGatheryerosebudswhileyemay....Conceit:Acleverandfancifulmetaphor,usuallyexpressedthroughelaborateandextendedcomparison,thatpresentsastrikingparallelbetweentwoseeminglydissimilarthingsConnotation:Theimpressionthatawordgivesbeyonditsdefinedmeaning.Couplet:TwolinesofPoetrywiththesamerhymeandMeter,oftenexpressingacompleteandself-containedthought.Denotation:Thedefinitionofaword,apartfromtheimpressionsorfeelingsitcreatesinthereader.DramaticMonologueEpic:Alongnarrativepoemabouttheadventuresofaheroofgreathistoricorlegendaryimportance.Thesettingisvastandtheactionisoftengivencosmicsignificancethroughtheinterventionofsupernaturalforcessuchasgods,angels,ordemons.EpicsaretypicallywritteninaclassicalstyleofgrandsimplicitywithelaborateMetaphorsandallusionsthatenhancethesymbolicimportanceofahero'sadventures.Foot:ThesmallestunitofrhythminalineofPoetry.InEnglish-languagepoetry,afootistypicallyoneaccentedsyllablecombinedwithoneortwounaccentedsyllables.Therearemanydifferenttypesoffeet.Whentheaccentisonthesecondsyllableofatwosyllableword(con-tort),thefootisaniamb;thereverseaccentualpattern(tor-ture)isatrochee.OtherfeetthatcommonlyoccurinpoetryinEnglishareanapest,twounaccentedsyllables2followedbyanaccentedsyllableasinin-ter-cept,anddactyl,anaccentedsyllablefollowedbytwounaccentedsyllablesasinsu-i-cide.GrubStreetWriters:HackwritersintheEighteenthCenturyEngland.ManyofthemlivedonGrubStreet.Theytookwritingasaprofession.HeroicCouplet:Arhymingcoupletwritteniniambicpentameter(aVersewithfiveiambicfeet).Humanism:Aphilosophythatplacesfaithinthedignityofhumankindandrejectsthemedievalperceptionoftheindividualasaweak,fallencreature.Humaniststypicallybelieveintheperfectibilityofhumannatureandviewreasonandeducationasthemeanstothatend.Irony:Inliterarycriticism,theeffectoflanguageinwhichtheintendedmeaningistheoppositeofwhatisstated.MetaphysicalPoetry:Thebodyofpoetryproducedbyagroupofseventeenth-centuryEnglishwriterscalledtheMetaphysicalPoets.ThegroupincludesJohnDonneandAndrewMarvell.TheMetaphysicalPoetsmadeuseofeverydayspeech,intellectualanalysis,anduniqueimagery.Theyaimedtoportraytheordinaryconflictsandcontradictionsoflife.Theirpoemsoftentooktheformofanargument,andmanyofthememphasizephysicalandreligiousloveaswellasthefleetingnatureoflife.Elaborateconceitsaretypicalinmetaphysicalpoetry.Meter:Inliterarycriticism,therepetitionofsoundpatternsthatcreatesarhythminPoetry.Thepatternsarebasedonthenumberofsyllablesandthepresenceandabsenceofaccents.TheunitofrhythminalineiscalledaFoot.Typesofmeterareclassifiedaccordingtothenumberoffeetinaline.ThesearethestandardEnglishlines:Monometer,onefoot;Dimeter,twofeet;Trimeter,threefeet;Tetrameter,fourfeet;Pentameter,fivefeet;Hexameter,sixfeet(alsocalledtheAlexandrine);Heptameter,sevenfeet(alsocalledtheFourteenerwhenthefeetareiambic).ThemostcommonEnglishmeteristheiambicpentameter,inwhicheachlinecontainstensyllables,orfiveiambicfeet,whichindividuallyarecomposedofanunstressedsyllablefollowedbyanaccentedsyllable.OedipusComplex:Ason'samorousobsessionwithhismother.ThephraseisderivedfromthestoryoftheancientThebanheroOedipus,whounknowinglykilledhisfatherandmarriedhismother.Oxymoron:Aphrasecombiningtwocontradictoryterms.Oxymoronsmaybeintentionalorunintentional.Paradox:Astatementthatappearsillogicalorcontradictoryatfirst,butmayactuallypointtoanunderlyingtruth.PoeticLicense:Distortionsoffactandliteraryconventionmadebyawriter—notalwaysapoet—forthesakeoftheeffectgained.Poeticlicenseiscloselyrelatedtotheconceptofartisticfreedom.Renaissance:TheperiodinEuropeanhistorythatmarkedtheendoftheMiddleAges.ItbeganinItalyinthelatefourteenthcentury.Inbroadterms,itisusuallyseenasspanningthefourteenth,fifteenth,andsixteenthcenturies,althoughitdidnotreachGreatBritain,forexample,untilthe1480sorso.TheRenaissancesawanawakeninginalmosteverysphereofhumanactivity,especiallyscience,philosophy,andthearts.Theperiodisbestdefinedbytheemergenceofageneralphilosophythatemphasizedtheimportanceoftheintellect,theindividual,andworldaffairs.Itcontrastsstr