begin什么意思英美文学名词解释

2021年1月19日发(作者：chaton)
1. Alliteration: repetition of the initial letter or first sound of several words, marking the stressed syllables in a line
of poetry or prose. A simple example is the phrase “through thick and thin “. The device is used to emphasize
meaning and thus can be effectively employed in oratory. Alliteration is a characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry,
notably by the epic Beowulf; it is still used, with modifications, by modern poets.
2. Ballad: A story told in verse and usually meant to be sung. In many countries, the folk ballad was one of the
earliest forms of literature. Folk ballads have no known authors. They were transmitted orally from generation to
generation and were not set down in writing until centuries after they were first sung. The subject matter of folk
ballads stems from the everyday life of the common people. Devices commonly used in ballads are the refrain,
incremental repetition, and code language. A later form of ballad is the literary ballad, which imitates the style of
the folk ballad.
3. Ballad stanza: A type of four-line stanza. The first and third lines have four stressed words or syllables; the
second and fourth lines have three stresses. Ballad meter is usually iambic. The number of unstressed syllables in
each line may vary. The second and fourth lines rhyme.
4. Blank verse: Blank verse was first introduced by the Earl of Surrey in his translations of Books 2 and 4 of
Virgil’s The Aeneid. It consists of lines of iambic pentameter (five
-stress iambic verse) which are
unrhymed
—
hence the term
“blank”. Of all English metrical forms it is closest to the natural rhythms of English
speech, and at the same time flexible and adaptive to diverse levels of discourse; as a result it has been more
frequently and variously used than any other type of versification. It became the standard meter for Elizabethan
and later poetic drama; a free form of blank verse is still the medium in twentieth-century verse plays.
5. Bildungsroman: This is a term more or less synonymous with Erziehungsroman
—literally an “upbringing” or
“education”
novel.
Widely
used
by
German
critics,
it
refers
to
a
novel
which
is
an
account
of
the
youthful
development of a hero or heroine (usually the former). It describes the processes by which maturity is achieved
through the various ups and downs of life.
6. Byronic hero: A stereotyped character created by Byron. This kind of hero is usually a proud, mysterious rebel
figure of noble origin. With immense superiority in his passions and powers, he would carry on his shoulders the
burden of righting all the wrongs in a corrupt society. He would rise single-handedly against any kind of tyrannical
rules either in government, in religion, or in moral principles with unconquerable wills and inexhaustible energies.
The conflict is usually one of rebellious individuals against outworn social systems and conventions.
7. Classicism: 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 traditional and the universal, and places value on reason,
clarity, balance, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reason and universal themes, is traditionally opposed to
Romanticism, which is concerned with emotions and personal themes.
8. Critical Realism: The critical realism of the 19th century flourished in the fouties and in the beginning of fifties.
The realists first and foremost set themselves the task of criticizing capitalist society from a democratic viewpoint
and delineated the crying contradictions of bourgeois reality. But they did not find a way to eradicate social evils.
9. Enlightenment: is a term used to describe the trends in thought and letters in Europe and the American colonies
during the 18
th
century prior to the French revolution. The phrase was frequently employed by writers of the period
itself, convinced that they were emerging from centuries of darkness and ignorance into a new age enlightened by
reason, science, and a respect for humanity. The enlighteners believed in the power of reason, and that is why the
18
th

century in England has often been called “the age of reason “.

10. Epic: A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from
which it originated. Many epics were drawn from an oral tradition and were transmitted by song and recitation
before they were written down.
novel: An alternative term is Gothic romance. It is a story of terror and suspense, usually set in a gloomy