美国文学史期末复习-名词解释-简答term

Blackhumor:thetermblackhumorwascreatedin1920s,butitwasnotnoticeduntil1960s.itwasparticularlyaliteraryphenomenoninAmericaafterWWⅡ.Blackhumor,inliterature,isdrama,novel,andfilm,grotesqueormorbidhumorusedtoexpresstheabsurdity,insensitivity,paradox,andcrueltyofthemodernworld.Ordinarycharactersorsituationsareusuallyexaggeratedfarbeyondthelimitsofnormalsatireorirony.Blackhumorusesdevicesoftenassociatedwithtragedyandissometimesequatedwithtragicface.JoseghHellerandKuryVonnegutarefamousfortheirnovelsofblackhumor.EspeciallyHeller’sCatch—22.Imagism:ApoeticmovementofEnglandandtheU.S.thatflourishedfrom1909to1917.Themovementinsistsonthecreationofimagesinpoetryby“thedirecttreatmentofthething”andtheeconomyofwording.“poetictechniquestorecordexactlythemomentaryimpressions”ThreemainprinciplesoftheImagistMovement(1912):[1]directtreatmentofpoeticsubjects[2]eliminationofmerelyornamentalorsuperfluouswords,tousenowordthatdoesnotcontributetothepresentation.[3]rhythmicalcompositioninthesequenceofthemusicalphraseratherthaninthesequenceofametronome.4pound’sInaStationoftheMetroisawell-knownpoem.Localcolorism:localcolorismisatypeofwritingthatwaspopularinthelate19th(1860s—1870s).Thefeatureoflocalcolorismare:(1)presentingalocaledistinguishedfromtheoutsideworld;(2)describingtheexoticofthepicturesque;(3)glorifyingthepast;(4)showingthingsastheyare;(5)influenceofsettingoncharacters.ThewellknownlocalcolorismauthorswereMarkTwainwithhisbookTomSawyerandTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,BretHarte’swithhisTheLuckoftheRoaringCamp.AmericanPuritanism:thesettlementofNorthAmericancontinentbyEnglishstartedintheearly17thcentury.Undersiegefromchurchandcrown,itsentanoffshootinthethirdandfourthdecadesoftheseventeenthcenturytothenorthernEnglishcoloniesintheNewWorld—amigrationthatlaidthefoundationforthereligious,intellectual,andsocialorderofNewEngland.Puritanism,howeverwasnotonlyahistoricallyspecificphenomenoncoincidentwiththefoundingofNewZealand;itwasalsoawayofbeingintheworld—astyleofresponsetolivedexperience—thathasreverberatedthroughAmericanlifeeversince.Asacultureheritage,PuritanismdidhaveaprofoundinfluenceontheearlyAmericanmind.AmericanPuritanismalsohadaenduringinfluenceonAmericanliterature.Freeverse:freeverseispoetrythathasanirregularrhythmandlinelength,andthatattemptsavoidanypredeterminedversestructure;instead,itusesthecadeneesofnaturalspeech.Whileitalternatesstressedandunstressedsyllablesasstricterverseformsdo,freeversedoessoinalooserway.Whiteman’spoetryisanexampleoffreeverseatitsmostimpressive,forexampleSongofMyself.IthassincebeenusedEzraPound,T.S.EliotandothermajorAmericanpoetsofthe20thcentury.WaltWhiteman’sLeavesofGrassis,perhaps,themostnotableexample.Lostgeneration:ThelostgenerationisatermfirstusedbySteintodescribethepost-warIgenerationofAmericanwriters:menandwomenhauntedbyasenseofbetrayalandemptinessbroughtaboutbythedestructivenessofthewar.2fullofyouthfulidealism,theseindividualssoughtthemeaningoflife,drankexcessively,hadloveaffairsandcreatedsomeofthefinestAmericanliteraturetodate.3thethreebest-knownrepresentativesoflostgenerationareF.ScottFitzgerald,HemingwayandJohndosPassos.Streamofconsciousness:inliterarycriticism,Streamofconsciousnessdenotesaliterarytechniquewhichseekstodescribeanindividual‘spointofviewbygivingthewrittenequivalentofthecharacter’sthoughtprocesses.Senseofconsciousnesswritingisstronglyassociatedwiththemodernistmovement.Senseofconsciousnesswritingisusuallyregardedasaspecialformofinteriormonologueandischaracterizedbyassociativeleapsinsyntaxandpunctuationthatcanmaketheprosedifficulttofollow,tracingastheydoacharacter’sfragmentarythoughtsandsensoryfeelings.Senseofconsciousnesswritinggainedrapidprominenceinthetwentiethcentury.FamouswriterstoemploythistechniqueintheEnglishlanguageincludeWilliamFaulknerwithhisTheSoundandtheFury.TheateroftheAbsurd:thisisthekindoftheaterwhichdevelopsfromtheexistentialistphilosophy,mainlyinEurope.Playwrights:Ionesco,Adamou,Genet,SamuelBeckett,EdwardAlbee,andHaroldPinterwhoarefoundersoftheschool.EdwardAlbee’sWho’sAfraidofVirginWoolf?,TheZooStoryarefamous.Aformofdramathatemphasizestheabsurdityofhumanexistencebyemployingdisjointed,repetitious,andmeaninglessdialogue,purposelessandconfusingsituations,plotsthatlackrealisticorlogicaldevelopment.Playsthatstresstheillogicalorirrationalaspectsofexperienceusuallyshowthepointlessnessofmodernlife.havewrittenplaysofthiskind.TheBeatGeneration:TheBeatGenerationisagroupofAmericanyoungwritersandartistspopularinthe1950sandearly1960s.thememberofthebeatgenerationwerenewbohemianlibertines,whoengagedinaspontaneous,sometimesmessy,creativity.Thebeatwritersproducedabodyofwrittenworkcontroversialbothforitsadvocacyofnonconformityandforitsnonconformingstyle.ThemajorwritingarejackKerouac’sontheroadandAllenGinsberg’sHowl.Codehero:TheHemingwayheroisanaveragemanofdecidedlymasculinetastes,sensitiveandintelligent,amanofaction,andoneoffewwords.Thatisanindividualistkeepingemotionsundercontrol,stoicandself-disciplinedinadreadfulplace.Thesepeopleareusuallyspiritualstrong,peopleofcertainskills,an