考研英美文学名词解释

1、英美 文学名词解释 Terms in En glish and Am erica n Literature1. Aestheticism/the Aestheticism Movement （唯美主义）A Europea n phe nomenon duri ng the middle of the 19 th century that had its chief headquarters in Fran ce. This moveme nt was in troduced to late Victoria n En gla nd mainly Walter Pater as a reacti

2、 on aga inst the materialism and commercialism of an in dustrialized society. It was also a react ion aga inst the Victoria n conven ti on of art for morality ' sake, or art for money' sake. The major tenets of this movement include the belief in the autonomy of a work of art, the emphasis o

3、n craft and artistry-the theory of art for art' sake”. The most outsta nding Victoria n represe ntatives of this moveme nt in cluded Oscar Wilde.2. Allegory （寓言）A tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or sett ings represe nt abstract ideas or moral qualities. An allegory is a stor

4、y with two meanin gs, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.寓言：用诗歌或散文讲的故事，在这个故事中人物、事件或背景往往代表抽象的概念或道德品质。所有的寓言都是一个具有双重意义、文学内涵或象征意义的故事。3. Alliteration （头韵）4. It is the repetitio n of the same in itial consonant sound with in a line or a group of words in poetry .In OldEn glish alliterative meter, al

5、literati on is the prin cipal orga nizing device of the verse line, such as in Beowulf.5. 头韵：在一组词的开头或重读音节中对相同辅音或不同元音的重复。6.4. Allusi on: A reference to a pers on, a place, an eve nt, or a literary work that a writer expects the reader to recog nize and resp ond to. An allusi on may be draw n from his

6、tory, geography, literature, or religio n.5. 典故：文学作品中作家希望读者能够认识或做出反应的一个人物、地点、事件或文学作品。典故或来自历史、地理、文学或宗教。5. American Naturalism （美国自然主义）The America n n aturalism accepted the more n egative in terpretati on of Darwin' evoluti onary theory and usedit to acco unt for the behavior of those characters

7、in literary works who were regarded as more or less complex comb in ati ons of in herited attributes, their habits were con diti oned by social and econo mic forces. America n naturalism was evolved from realism when the author's tone in writing became less serious and less sympathetic but more

8、ironic and more pessimistic. It was no more tha n a gloomy philosophical approach to reality, or to huma n existe nee. Dreiser was a leadi ng figure of this school.6. American Puritanism （美国清教主义）Purita nism is the practices and beliefs of the Purita ns. The America n purita ns, like their En glish b

9、rothers, are idealists. They accepted the doctri ne of predesti natio n, origi nal sin and total depravity, and limited aton eme nt through a special in fusi on of grace form God. But due to the grim struggle for livi ng in the new con ti nent, they become more and more practical. America n purita n

10、ism is so much a part of the n ati onal atmosphere rather that a set of ten ets.美国清教主义：他们相信宿命论、原罪说、全体堕落和有限的赎罪。7. American Realism （美国现实主义）In America n literature, the Civil War brought the Roma ntic Period to an end. The Age of Realism came into existe nee. George Eliot in troduce realism in to En g

11、la nd, and William Dea n Howells in troduced it into the Un ited States. It came as a reacti on aga inst the lie of roma nticism and sen time ntalism. Realism tur ned from an emphasis on the stra nge toward a faithful ren deri ng of the ordin ary, a slice of life as it is really lived. It has bee n

12、chiefly concerned with the com mon places of everyday life among the middle and lower classes, and it offers an objective rather tha n an idealistic view of huma n n ature and huma n experie nee. Realistic literature finds the drama and tension ben eath the surface of ordinary life. Later, many writ

13、ers, no tably Henry James, turned to psychological realism that closely exam ined the complex work ings of the mind.美国现实主义：在美国文学史上，内战宣告了浪漫主义的终结和现实主义的开始。现实主义反对浪漫主义和感伤主义的谎言， 它从一个陌生的世界转向了普通人的真实生活的描写。它所关心的是普通的下层劳动人民而非理想中的人类本性和现实经历。8. American Romanticism （美国浪漫主义 ）The Roma ntic Period covers the first ha

14、lf of the 19th cen tury. A risi ng America with its ideals of democracy and equality, the boo ming economy, the flourish ing publicati ons, and a variety of foreig n in flue nces made its literary expa nsion possible and in evitable. Roma ntics shared some characteristics: moral en thusiasm, in divi

15、duality and in tuitive percepti on. Irving played an importa nt role in in spiri ng America n roma nticism with his masterpieces Rip Van Win kle and The Lege nd of Sleepy Hollow . America n roma nticism cul min ated around the 1840s, which can be called Transcenden talism or America n Ren aissa nee

16、".One of the major figure in this period was Emerson. His Nature had been called the manifesto of American Transcendentalism". In the poetry aspect, Whitma n and Dicks on were two major America n poets in this period. In the novel aspect, Hawthor ne and Melville bel on ged to ano ther type

17、 of roma nticism. They placed in creas ing value on the free expressi on on emotio n and the psychic states of their characters. The New En gla nd poets, such as Lon gfellow and Bryant formed a differe nt school from Whitma n, Dicks on, Thoreau and Poe.9. Angry You ng Men （愤怒的青年）The Angry Young Men

18、is a jour nalistic catchphrase applied to a nu mber of British playwrights and no velists from the mid-1950s. Their works mainly express the bitterness of the lower classes towards the established sociopolitical system and towards the mediocrity and hypocrisy of the middle and upper classes. The pla

19、ywright Joh n Osbor ne was the archetypal example of these angry young men with his sig nature play Look Back in An ger in 1956.10. Antagonist （反面人物）:A pers on or force oppos ing the protago nist in a n arrative; a rival of the hero or hero ine.反面人物：一个故事中和主人公相对立的人物或一种力量，是男女主人公的对手。11. American Transc

20、endentalism （美国超验主义 ）American Transcendentalism is more than an attitude of transcendentalists. TofFanscend" something is to riseabove it, to pass beyond its limits. The transcendentalists speak for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of America n society. The major features of Am

21、erica n Transcenden talism are: 1. Transcenden talists place emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most importa nt thing in the Uni verse. 2. They stress the importa nee of the in dividual. To them, the in dividual was the most importa nt eleme nt of society. 3. They offer a fresh percepti on

22、of n ature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. Nature was, to them, alive, filled with God'overwhel ming prese nee.12. Aphorism （警句）13. A concise, pointed statement expressing a wise or clever observation about life.14. 警句：蕴含关于人生真理的明智的看法的精练的语句。15.13. Aside （旁白）14. In drama, lines spoken by a chara

23、cter in an undertone or directly to the audienee and. An aside is supposedly not heard by other actors on stage.15.14. Assonance （类韵）The repetiti on of similar vowel soun ds, especially in poetry. Ass onance is ofte n employed to please the ear or emphasize certa in soun ds.类韵：在诗歌中相同或相似元音的重复，它的目的主要是

24、用来使句子悦耳动听或用来强调某个音。15. Autobiography （自传）The literary form of autobiography is a pers on ' s acco unt of his or her own life. An autobiography is gen erally written in narrative form and includes some introspection, such as The Autobiography written by Benjamin Fran kli n.自传：一个人对他或她自己生活的描述，自传是一种叙

25、述性的文体，多包含回忆性的描写。16. Ballad （民谣）It is a relatively short n arrative poem, writte n to be sung, with a simple and dramatic actio n. The ballads tell of love, death, the super natural, or a comb in ati on of these. Two characteristics of the ballad are in creme ntal repetiti on and the ballad sta nza.

26、In creme ntal repetiti on repeats one or more lines with small but sig ni fica nt variati ons that adva nee the action. The ballad sta nza has four line; com monly, the first and third lines contain four feet or acce nts, the sec ond and fourth lines contain three feet. Ballad ofte n ope n abruptly,

27、 prese nt brief descripti ons and use con cise dialogues.The folk ballad is usually anonym ous and the prese ntati on is impers on al. The literary ballad deliberately imitates the form and spirit of a folk ballad. The Roma ntic poets were attracted to this form, as Lon gfellow with The Wreck of the

28、 Hesperus, Coleridge with The Rime of the Ancient Marine, which is Ion ger and more elaborate tha n the folk ballad.17. Ballad Stanza （民谣诗节）A type of four-li ne sta nza, the first and the third lines have four stressed words or syllables; the sec ond and fourth lines have three stresses.18. Beat Gen

29、eration （垮掉的一代）The Beat Gen erati on refers to a loosely-k nit group of poets and no velists, writ ing in the sec ond half of thee 1950s and early 1960s. They shared a set of social attitudes- an ti-establishme nt, an ti-political, an ti-i ntellectual, oppose to the prevaili ng cultural, literary, a

30、nd moral values, and were in favor of un fettered self-realizati on and self-expression. Representatives of the group were Allen Ginsberg with his long poem Howl and Jack Kerouac with his On the Road.19. Bildungsroman （成长小说）Bildungsroman defines a genre of the novel which focuses on the psychologica

31、l and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood, and in which characters' change is thus extremely important. In a Bildu ngsroma n, the goal is maturity. Charles Dicke ns ' David Copperfield is a classical Bildu ngsroma n.20. Biography （传记）21. A detailed account of a person s l

32、ife written by another person.22. 传记：由他人篆写的关于某人生平的详细记录。23.21. Black comedy/Black humor （黑色幽默）It is mostly employed to describe baleful, n aive, or in ept characters in a fan tastic or ni ghtmarish moder n world playing out their roles in what Ionesco called a tragic farce”，in which the evets are oft

33、en simultaneously comic, horrify ing, and absurd. Joseph Heller 's Catch-22 can be take n as an example of the employme nt of this tech niq ue.22. Black Mountain Poets （黑山派诗人）It is sometimes called projective poets （投射诗人），a group of the mid-20th century American avant-garde orpostmodern poets ce

34、ntering on Black Mountain College. In the essay Projective Verse, Charles Olson calls for poetry of open field ” composition to replace traditional closed poetic forms with an improvised form that should reflect exactly the content of the poem. This essay became the mani festo for the Black Mountain

35、 Poets.23. Biank Verse （无韵体诗）Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It is the verse form used in some of the greatest English poetries, in cludi ng that of William Shakespeare and Joh n Milt on.素体诗：用五音步抑扬格写的无韵诗。24. Byronic hero （拜伦式英雄）Byronic hero refers to a proud, mysterious rebel figure of

36、noble origin. With immense superiority in his passi ons and powers, he would carry on his shoulders the burde n of right ing all the wrongs in a corrupt society, and would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical rules either in government, in religion, or in moral prin ciples with unconq

37、 uerable wills and in exhaustible en ergies.25. Calv in ism （力口尔文主义）Calvi nism refers to the religious teach ings of Joh n Calvi n and his followers. Calvi n taught that only certa in pers ons, the elect, were chose n by God to be saved, and this can be gotte n only be God ' grace. Calvi nism fo

38、rms the basis for the doctri nes and practices of the Hugue no ts, Purita ns, Presbyteria ns, and the Reformed churches.26. Carpe Diem （及时行乐）A traditi on dati ng back to classical Greek and Lati n poetry and particularly popular among En glish Cavalier poets. Carpe Diem means literally seize the day

39、”，that is, five for today ”.27. Ca nto （篇 /章）A secti on or divisi on of a long poem .In En glish poetry, Alexa nder Pope ' the Rape of the Lock and Byron ' Don Jua n are divided into can tos.诗章：长诗的一部分。28. Character （角色）In appreciati ng a short story, characters are an in dispe nsable eleme n

40、t. Characters are the pers ons prese nted in a dramatic or n arrative work. Forst divides characters into two types: flat character, which is prese nted without much individualizing detail; and round character, which is complex in temperament and motivation and is represe nted with subtle particular

41、ity.人物：在短篇小说的欣赏中，人物是必不可少一个元素。人物是喜剧或小说中所描写的人。福斯特把人物划分为两类，扁平型人物和圆型人物。扁平型人物往往缺乏个人化的细节描写而圆型人物则在性格和 行为动机上较为复杂。29. Classicism （古典主义）30. A movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism emphasizes the traditi onal

42、and the uni versal, and places vale on reas on clarity, bala nee, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reas on and uni versal themes, is traditi on ally opposed to Roma nticism, which is concerned with emoti ons and pers onal themes.31. 古典主义：一种在文学，艺术，音乐领域体现古代希腊，罗马风格的运动。32.30. Climax （高潮）31. T

43、he point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative.32.32. Comedy （喜剧）33. In general, a literary work that ends happily with a healthy, amicable armistice between the protagonist and society.35.34. Conceit （奇想）Con ceit is a far-fetched simile or metaphor, a literary con ceit occurs

44、whe n the speaker compare two highly dissimilar thin gs. Con ceit is exte nsively employed in Joh n Donne ' poetry.32. Confessional poetry （自白诗）An autobiographical mode of verse that reveals the poet ' personal problems with unusual frankness. The term is usually applied to certai n poets of

45、 the U.S. From the late 1950s to the late 1960s, no tably Robert Lowell, whose Life Studies and For the Union Dead deal with his divorce and mental breakdown.33. Conflict （冲突）34. A struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem.35. 冲突：故事，小说，戏剧中相对的

46、力量和人物之间的对立。37.36. Con so nance （辅音韵）37. It refers to the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words. Sometimes the term refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words. Sometimes the term is used for slant rhyme in which in itial and final consonants

47、 are the same but the vowels are differe nt: litter/letter, gree n/groa n.36. Couplet （两行诗）Two con secutive lines of poetry that rhyme. A heroic couplet is an iambic pen tameter couplet.对句：两个连续押韵的诗行。英雄双行体的对句一般都为抑扬格五音步。37. Critical Realism （批判现实主义）The critical realism of the 19th cen tury flourished

48、in the forties and in the begi nning of fifties. The realists first and foremost set themselves the task of criticizing capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint and deli neated the crying con tradict ions of bourgeois reality. But they did not find a way to eradicate social evils. Charles Dick

49、e ns is the most importa nt critical realist.批判现实主义：批判现实主义在19世纪40年代达到高潮。批判现实主义作家们往往把从民主的角度批 评和揭露资本主义社会的丑恶视为己任，但他们并没有找到治疗社会弊病的良方。38. Dadaism （达达主义）It refers to a Western European artistic and literary movement （1916-1923） that sought the discovery of authe ntic reality through the aboliti on of tradi

50、ti on al, cultural and aesthetic forms by a tech nique of comic derisi on in wich irrati on ality, cha nee and in tuiti on were the guidi ng prin ciple.39. Darwinism （达尔文主义）It is a term that comes from Charles Darwin ' evoluti onary theory. Darwi nists thi nk that those who survive in the world

51、are the fittest and those who fail to adapt themselves to the environment will perish. They believe that man has evolved from the lower forms of life and huma ns are special not because God created them but because they have successfully adapted to the changing environmental conditions and have pass

52、ed on their survival-mak ing characteristics gen etically .In flue need by Darwi nism, some America n n aturalist writers apply it as an expla nati on of huma n n ature and social reality.40. Denouement （结局）41. The outcome of a plot. The denouement is that part of a play, short story, novel, or narr

53、ative poem in which con flicts are resolved or un raveled, and mysteries and secrets conn ected with the plot are expla in ed.42.42. Determinism （宿命论）Determ inism is the philosophical belief that events are shaped by forces bey ond the con trol of huma n bein gs. Determ ini sm, importa nt to the lit

54、erature at the end of the nin etee nth cen tury, assig ns con trol especially to heredity and environment, without seeking their origins further than scienee can trace. Determinism usually leads to the tragic fate of the characters in no vels.42. Didactic literature（教诲文学）Didactic literature is said

55、to be didactic if it deliberately teaches some moral less ons. The use of literature for such teachi ng is one of uts traditi onal justificati ons.Dramatic monologue （戏剧独白）43. A kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose replies are not'srpedM atliOt as w

56、ell as the这种场合往往对give n in the poem. The occasi on is usually a crucial one in the speakeris the subject of the poem. Robert Browning ' My Last Duchess is a typical example.戏剧独白：在一种叙事诗里面，一个人物对其他的人物讲话但并没有交代他们的回答, 反映说话人的性格特征和诗歌的主题是至关重要的。44. Elegy （挽歌）A poem of mour ning, usually over the death of

57、an in dividual. An elegy is a type of lyric poem, usually formal in Ian guage and structure, and sole mn or eve n mela ncholy in tone.挽歌：为某个死去的人所做的诗，挽歌往往属于抒情诗，在语言和机构上比较正式，语气上比较庄重甚至是哀伤的。45. Enlightenment Movement （启蒙运动）En lighte nment is an in tellectual moveme nt that origi nates in Europe and comes

58、 to En gla nd in the 18 th cen tury. It stresses the power of huma n reas on, the importa nee of methods and discoveries in stead of God. Its purpose is to en lighte n the whole world with he light of moder n philosophical and artistic ideas. It celebrates reas on or rati on ality, equality and scie

59、 nee. It advocates uni versal educati on.46. Epic （史诗）47. Epic, in poetry, refers to a long work dealing with the actions of gods and heroes.48.47. Epiphany（顿悟）48. A moment of illumination, usually occurs at or near the end of a work.49. 顿悟：对现实真谛的顿悟或洞察，通常出现在作品的结尾50.50. Epistolary novel （书信体小说）An epistolary no vel is a a novel told through the medium of letters writte n by one