1、1An Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature(4501066) Definitions of Literary Terms(名词解释与文学术语) 1. Couplet 对句 ( 指两行尾韵相谐的诗句 ) A couplet is two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. The couplet composed of two iambic pentameter lines (五音步抑扬格诗行)more commonly known as the heroic couplet ( 英雄
2、偶句诗 )-is the most favored form. 2. Elegy 哀歌、挽歌 A poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual. It may also be a lament over the passing of life and beauty or a meditation on the nature of death. An elegy is a type of lyric poem, usually formal in language and structure.3. Epic 史诗 An epi
3、c is 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. 4. Exodus 出埃及记The second book of the Old Testa
4、ment, containing an account of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. 5. Genesis A： 创世纪The second book of the Old Testament, containing an account of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. 6. Homer 荷马 Greek epic poet, probably of
5、the 8th century BC, to whom are ascribed the Iliad ( 伊利亚特 ) and Odyssey (奥德赛). Nothing is known about his life, nor even of the genesis of the poems. 7. Iambic pentameter 五音步抑扬格：英诗的韵律主要包括两方面的内容 : 1) 每个音步中轻重音节的排列形式, 即格律。 抑扬格指每一音步中含有一个轻音和一个重音 ; 2) 这种排列形式在一个诗行中出现的次数, 也就是每行内所含有的音步数目。下面以教材中 Thomas Gray 的
6、 Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 为例, 诗歌第一行如下: / / / / / The curfew tolls the knell of parting day ( 表示 “抑”, 即轻读的音节, / 表示 “扬”, 即重读的音节; 表示音步的分布情况 ) 8. Lyric 抒情诗 A poem, usually a short one, that expresses a speakers personal thoughts or feelings. The elegy, ode, and sonnet are all forms of the l
7、yric. As its Greek name indicates, a lyric was originally a poem sung to the accompaniment of a lyre（古代希腊的七弦竖琴）, and lyrics to this day have retained a melodic quality. 9. Motif 主题、母题 A motif generally contributes in some way to the theme of a short story, novel, poem, or play. At times, motif is us
8、ed to refer to some commonly used plot or character type in literature. It can also be motive, a main subject, pattern, etc. on which a work of art is based, or from which it is developed. 10. New Testament 新约全书 The part of the Bible which contains the life and teachings of Christ recorded by his fo
9、llowers, together with their own experiences and teachings. It is the second of the two principal divisions of the Christian Bible.11. Old Testament 旧约全书 The earlier and larger part of the Bible, which contains the religious and social laws of the Hebrews, a record of their history, their important
10、literature, and writings of their prophets. 12. Romance 骑士传奇、浪漫文学 Any imaginative literature that is set in an idealized world and that deals with heroic adventures aand battles between good characters and villains or monsters. Originally, the term referred to a medieval tale dealing with the loves
11、and adventures of kings, queens, knights, and ladies, and including unlikely or supernataural happenings. 13. Verse 韵文 Form of writing arranged in lines, each containing a pattern of accented and 2unaccented syllables; or group of lines forming a unit in a rhyme scheme. The Renaissance Period (14thm
12、id-17th Century)1. Allegory 寓言 A story that is told to explain or teach something, especially a long and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself.2. Blank Verse 无韵体诗 Blank verse is verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It is the verse
13、 form used in some of the greatest English poetry, including that of William Shakespeare and John Milton. 3. Drama 戏剧 It is a genre of literature, in which the words are mainly dialogue. People talking is the basic dramatic action. Wordless activity may interrupt the talk, but it is the context of d
14、ialogue that gives significance to such activity. 4. Imagery 意象 Comparisons, descriptions, and figures of speech that help the mind form forceful or beautiful pictures. Poetry often contains imagery.5. Foot 音步 A unit in the scansion of verse, containing in English poetry one strong or accent. It is
15、applied within a single line, indicating how many meters are employed in that line. 6. Meter 格律 The word is derived from the Greek word “metron,” meaning “measure.”In English when applied to poetry, it refers to the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. The analysis of the meter is c
16、alled scansion（sknn）韵律节奏的分析；按韵律诵读( 格律分析或音步划分, 格律的形式有: 抑扬格, 扬抑格, 抑抑扬扬格和扬抑抑格等) 7. Rhyme 韵, 韵脚 Rhyme is the repetition of the stressed vowel sound and all succeeding sounds. It is a word or line having the same last sound as another. 8. Stanza 诗节 A group of lines of poetry, usually four or more, arrang
17、ed according to a fixed plan. The stanza is the unit of structure in a poem and poets do not vary the unit within a poem.9. Sonnet 十四行诗 Sonnet is the one of the most conventional and influential forms of poetry in Europe. A sonnet is a lyric invariably of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, rest
18、ricted to a definite rhyme scheme.10. Symbol 象征 It is an index that points to or represents something else. A symbol is usually a material object used to represent something abstract. Th e relationship between the symbol and the symbolized is often established through convention, resemblance, or ass
19、ociation.11. The War of Roses 玫瑰战争 It is the intermittent struggle for the English throne between the noble houses of Lancaster (emblem, a rod rose ) and York ( badge, a white rose ). 12. University wits 大学才子 A name given by Saintsbury to a group of Elizabethan playwrights and pamphleteers,（pmflt (r
20、)）小册子作者；檄文执笔者 of whom Nashe, R. Greene, Lyly, and T. Lodge were the chief. 从十六世纪八十年代开始，英国戏剧进入繁荣时期，新的剧院越来越多，演技水平也在不断提高，为适应戏剧发展的需要，一大群中产阶级出身、在大学念过书的作家产生了。他们大多受过人文主义思想的熏陶，具有比较丰富的古典文化修养，被称为“大学才子” 。大学才子派是指 16 世纪 80 年代英国出现的一批受过大学教育的剧作家。大学才子派是莎士比亚之前的一个流派，为莎士比亚的创作提供了丰富的灵感与帮助，莎士比亚并不包括其中。大学才子派是指 16 世纪 80 年代英国
21、出现的一批人文主义剧作家。他们多数确实是大学毕业生，至少是在伦敦最优秀的学校接受过人文主义教育的青年知识分子。这一批作家致力于英国戏剧改革，把戏剧艺术提升到了一个新高度。这些剧作家大都在牛津或剑桥受过教3育，然后从事在当时被视为并不十分光彩的戏剧行业。他们将各种影响融为一体，其中包括古罗马戏剧以及模仿古罗马戏剧的学院剧、中世纪的道德剧、当代的意大利与法国戏剧，从而创作出结构严谨、情节生动、诗意盎然的、他们对于戏剧形式的发展也作出了很大贡献，创造出复仇悲剧、浪漫喜剧和历史剧等多种戏剧形式。这些剧作家包括托马斯洛奇、约翰黎里、乔治皮尔、克利斯托弗马洛、托马斯 基德等。13.Sonnet1). So
22、nnet is a lyric poem of 14 lines with a formal rhyme scheme 2). To express different aspects of a single thought, mood, or feeling 3). The Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, developed from Italian folk song, consists of an octave, or 8-line stanza, and a sestet, or 6-line stanza. 4). The English (Shakespearian) sonnet, is divided into three quatrains, each rhymed differently, with a final, independently rhymed couplet that makes an effective, unifying climax to the whole. The rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
