1、名词解释1. Epic (史诗)（appeared in the the Anglo-Saxon Period ）It is a narrative of heroic action, often with a principal hero, usually mythical in its content, grand in its style, offering inspiration and ennoblement within a particular culture or national tradition. A long narrative poem telling about t
2、he deeds of great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, like Homers Iliad often described as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournaments(骑士比武), or fighting for his lord in battles;
3、 devoted to the church and the king Romance lacks general resemblance to truth or reality. It exaggerates the vices of human nature and idealizes the virtues. It contains perilous (dangerous) adventures more or less remote from ordinary life. It lays emphasis on supreme devotion to a fair lady.The R
4、omance Cycles/Groups/DivisionsThree Groups matters of Britain Adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table （亚瑟王和他的圆桌骑士） matters of France Emperor Charlemagne and his peers matters of Rome Alexander the Great and the attacks of TroyLe Morte DArthur （亚瑟王之死）Class Nature ( 阶级性) of the Ro
5、manceLoyalty to king and lord was the theme of the romances, as loyalty was the corner-stone（the most important part基石）of feudal morality.The romances were composed not for the common but for the noble, of the noble, and by the poets patronized（supported 庇护,保护） by the noble.3. Alliteration（押头韵） : a
6、repeated initial(开头的) consonant(协调,一致) to successive(连续的) words.e.g. 1.To his kin the kindest, keenest for praise. 2.Sing a song of southern singer4. Understatement（低调陈述） （for ironical humor）not troublesome: very welcomeneed not praise: a right to condemn5. Chronicle编年史 （a monument of Old English pr
7、ose）6. Ballads （民谣） （ The most important department of English folk literature ）Definition: A ballad is a narrative poem that tells a story, and is usually meant to be sung or recited in musical form.An important stream of the Medieval folk literatureFeatures of English Ballads1. The ballads are in
8、various English and Scottish dialects.2. They were created collectively and revised when handed down from mouth to mouth.3. They are mainly the literature of the peasants, and give an outlook of the English common people in feudal society.Stylistic （风格上） Features of the Ballads1. Composed in couplet
9、s （相连并押韵的两行诗 ,对句） or in quatrains （四行诗） known as the ballad stanza （民谣诗节 ）, rhyming abab or abcb, with the first and third lines carrying 4 accented syllables （重读音节） and the second and fourth carrying 3. 2. Simple, plain language or dialect （方言，土语） of the common people with colloquial （口语的，会话的）, viv
10、id and, sometimes, idiomatic （符合当地语言习惯的） expressions3. Telling a good story with a vivid presentation around the central plot.4. Using a high proportion of dialogue with a romantic or tragic dimension （方面） to achieve dramatic effect. Subjects of English Ballads1. struggle of young lovers2. conflict
11、between love and wealth3. cruelty of jealousy4. criticism of the civil war5. matters of class struggle7. Heroic couplet （英雄双韵体） （introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer）Definition: the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter; a verse form in epic poetry, with lines of ten syllables and five stresses, in rhyming
12、pairs.英雄诗体/英雄双韵体：用于史诗或叙事诗，每行十个音节，五个音部，每两行押韵。8. couplet（两行诗，对句）: Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.A heroic couplet is an iambic pentameter couplet. During the Restoration period and the 18th C. it was a popular verse form. 9. iambic pentameter: A poetic line consisting of five Verse feet (p
13、enta- is from a Greek word meaning “five”), with each foot an iamb- that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.10. Rhyme（韵，押韵）: the repetition (反复) of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem. E .g . river/shiver, song/long11. meter (格律) （
14、属于 Prosody prsd（韵文学 ;诗体学；( 某语言的)韵律(学) ） ）: A generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables（音节） in poetry. The meters with two-syllable feet are:Iambic (x /)（抑扬格）: That time of year thou mayst in me beholdTrochaic (/ x)（扬抑格）: Tell me not in mournful numbersSpondaic (/ /)（扬扬格）: Break,
15、 break, break/ On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!The meters with three-syllable feet are:anapestic (x x /)（抑抑扬格） : And the sound of a voice that is stilldactylic (/ x x)（强弱格，长短格，扬抑抑格）: This is the forest primeval, the murmuringpines and the hemlock (a trochee replaces the final dactyl)12. Rhythm（节奏，韵律）
16、 （属于 Prosody prsd（韵文学;诗体学；(某语言的)韵律( 学)） ）： refers to the regular recurrence（反复，重现） of the accent（重读） or stress in poem or song. e.g. the rhythm of day and night, the seasonal rhythm of the year, the beat of our hearts, and the rise and fall of sea tides, etc.basic patterns of rhythmsa) Iambic foot (
17、iambaimb)（抑扬格）: an unstressed syllable followed by an stressed one as in the word “prevent” or “about”Its time the children went to bed.Well learn a poem by Keats.b) Trochaic trukeiik foot (trochee truki:)（扬抑格） : a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one as in “football”, “never”, “happy” or
18、 “English”William Morris taught him English.Double, double, toil and trouble.Fire burns and cauldron bubble.c) Anapestic foot (anapest npi:st )（抑抑扬格）: two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one as in “comprehend” or “intervene” Ive been working in China for forty years.d) Dactylic foot (dac
19、tyl)（强弱格，长短格，扬抑抑格）: a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones as in “dangerous”, “cheerfully”, “yesterday” or “merrily” 13Common line lengths:number of feet per line one foot monometer mnmit (rare)（单音部） two feet dimeter dimit (二步) three feet trimester trimit(三步) four feet tetrameter tetrmi
20、t(四步) five feet pentameter pentmit(五步) six feet hexameter heksmit seven feet heptameter heptmit (rare) eight feet octameter ktmit (rare)14Line patterns: Couplet（相连并押韵的两行诗,对句）: 2 lines rhyming with each other A heroic couplet is an iambic pentameter couplet.Tercet t:sit（三行押韵诗句,三拍子）: 3 lines, terza ri
21、ma (aba, bcb, cdc, ded)Quatrain kwtrein（四行诗） : 4 lines, ballad stanza (abcb)Octave ktv, -,tev（八行诗）: 8 lines, ottava rima (abababcc)Spenserian stanza （斯宾塞诗节）: 9 lines (ababbcbcc) （The Faerie Queene（仙后） ）Sonnet （十四行诗）: 14 lines (Shakespearean: ababcdcdefefgg) Example:She walks in beauty, like the nigh
22、tof cloudless climes and starry skies;And all thats best of dark and brightMeet in her aspect and her eyes:Thus mellowd to that tender lightWhich heaven to gaudy day denies1. Foot and length: Iambic tetrameter2. Rhyme (scheme): ababab15Humanism1) Humanism is the essence of the Renaissance. According
23、 to humanists, human beings were glorious creatures capable of individual development in the direction of perfection and the world can be questioned, explored and enjoyed. 2) By emphasizing the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life, in contrast to the medieval emphasis on Go
24、d and contempt for the things of this world, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to pursue happiness of this life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wanders. 16. Drama1. Definition Drama is “a composition in prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a st
25、age, in which a story is related by means of dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and scenery, as in real life.”2. The Development of Drama1. Religious Period 1) Mystery plays presented stories from the Old and New Testament of the Bible. Creation of the World,
26、 the Fall, the Great Flood, Redemption, Final Judgment, etc. The birth of the Christchild symbolized hope in the darkness of winter; Christs resurrection（复活） accorded with the earths renewal in spring, and the promise of harvest at midsummer. 2) Miracle plays （奇迹剧） Dramatizing（将-改编成剧本） the lives and
27、 miracles of saints, or divine intervention (神的干预，介入 ) in human affairs, that is, stories from the lives of saints. Often focused on blessed virgin Mary3) Morality plays （道德剧） Presenting stories containing abstract（抽象的） virtues and vices （美德和恶习）as characters. They were plays which had a moral messag
28、e: Good and Evil fight for domination（统治） of the human soul. Everyman, the best example, is the story of a character representing mankind.2. Artistic PeriodThe first Comedy, Ralph Roister Doister 拉尔夫罗伊斯特多伊斯特written by the schoolmaster, Nicholas Udall between 1550 and 1553 The first English tragedy,
29、Gorboduc written in 1561 by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton 3. Elements of drama1. Plot (情节 )The structure of a plays action, the order of the incidents, their arrangement and form.2. Character(人物): the vital center of a playHow they look, what they say and in what manners they say; what they do
30、and how their actions reveal who they are and what they representThe human qualities are the most engaging feature.3. Dialogue(对白)Drama is described as “persons moving about on stage using words.”Major functions of Dialogue: to advance the plot, to establish setting, and to reveal character.4. Stagi
31、ng(舞台设计)Things like positions of actors, nonverbal gestures and movements, scenic background, props and costumes, lighting and sound effects5. Theme(主题 ): the central idea of the play.4. Dramatic Terms1. Script(脚本): the written work from which a drama isproduced. It contains stage directions andDial
32、ogue2. Stage Directions(舞台指导): notes provided by the playwright to describe how something should be presented or performed on stage3. Monologue(独白): a long speech given by an actor4. Soliloquy(独白): a speech given by a character who is alone (or thinks he is alone) on stage5. Aside(旁白): a statement i
33、ntended to be heard by the audience or by a single other character but not by all the other characters on stage 6. Act(幕 ): a major division of a drama7. Scene(场): a division of an act. A scene typically begins with the entrance of one or more characters and ends with the exit of one or more charact
34、ers.17. Comedy(喜剧)（Drama form）A play written chiefly to amuse its audience by appealing to a sense of superiority over the characters depicted. A comedy will normally be closer to everyday life than a tragedy, and will explore common human failings rather than tragedys disastrous crimes. Its ending
35、will usually be happy for the leading characters. E.g. （莎士比亚）Romantic Comedies（the overcoming the obstacle of love）: As You Like It(皆大欢喜 ), A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Twelfth Night, now, the tide, so to speak, will turn, and things will begin to go well for him or her. If the story is a tragedy,
36、the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist.4. Falling action: during the falling action, or resolution, which is the moment of reversal（反向，倒转，转变，颠倒） after the climax, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the prot
37、agonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.5. Dnouement, resolution, or catastrophe: comprises events between the falling action and the actual end of the drama or narrative
38、 and thus serves as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader.The comedy ends with a dnouement (a conclusion) in which the protagonist is better off than at the storys outset.
39、 The tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is worse off than at the beginning of the narrative. In Shakespeares tragedies, the dnouement is usually the death of one or more characters. 23. Dramatic irony (戏剧性讽刺)Dramatic irony: the words or acts of a character may carry a meaning u
40、nperceived by the character but under-stood by the audience.Examples of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet Before Romeo drinks the poison, he observes that Juliet looks as though she were alive. Romeo is cheerful because of a dream, but his hopes are quickly dashed by Balthasars news of Juliets deat
41、h.24. Blank Verse （无韵诗） Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. It is a very flexible English verse form which can attain rhetorical grandeur（雄伟，壮观） while echoing the natural rhythms of speech. It was first used by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and soon became a popular form for narrative and dramatic
42、poetry. Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Stevens and Robert Frost are fond of this form.25. SonnetA sonnet is a lyric poem comprising 14 rhyming lines of equal length: iambic pentameter in English, hendecasyllables hen,deksilbl（十一音节） in Italian, and alexandrines.liz:ndrain（亚历山大诗行）
43、 in French. 1. The Italian/Petrarchan（彼得拉克） sonnetIt is named after Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), the Italian poet. The 14 lines break into an octave (or octet) of 2 quatrains, rhymed abbaabba (rhymed sometimes abbacddc or even abababab); and a sestet, usually rhymed cdecde or cdcdcd. 2. The Engli
44、sh/Shakespearean sonnetIt was introduced into English poetry in the early 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542). It consists of 3 quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. An important variant is the Spenserian sonnet,which links the 3 quatrains by rhyme, rhyming abab bcbc cdc
45、d ee.（quatrain: 四行诗 (每节四行,韵律一般为 abab 或 abba)）26. Allegory（寓言） A story with a double meaning: a primary or surface meaning, and a secondary or under-the-surface meaning A story that can be read, understood and interpreted at two levelsTwo levels of allegory One level examines the moral, philosophical
46、 and religious values and is represented by the Red Cross Knight, who stands for all Christians. The second level is the particular, which focuses on the political, social, and religious conflicts in the then English society. 27. Types of poetry1) Narrative poetry epic, romance, and balladThe stress
47、 is on action, e.g. to tell stories and describe actions;2) Lyric poetryElegies eldi:（挽歌）, odes（颂诗，颂歌）, sonnets, epigraphs epir:f （铭文, 碑文）, etc.To combine speech and song to express feelings in varying degrees of verbal（口头的，言语的） music.28. essay（散文，随笔）As a form of literature, the essay is a compositi
48、on of moderate length, usually in prose, which deals in an easy way with the external conditions of a subject, and, in strictness, with that subject, only as it affects the writer.1. Purpose: Essays is intended for the ambitious Elizabethan and Jacobean youth of upper class, to tell them how to be e
49、fficient and make their way in public life.2. Writing style: four prominent qualities:preciseness, directness, tenseness, forcefulness3. Bacons essaysBacon offers his views on a whole smorgasbord of topics ranging from Truth, Death, Adversity, Marriage about mans relationship with God, and about pleasure, learning and art.Metaphysical poems are lyric poems
