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1、英国文学史名词解释重点（西北师大） 1. Epic: a long narrative poem, elevated and dignified in theme, tone, and style, celebrating heroic deeds and historically important events; usually focuses on the adventures of a hero who has qualities that are superhuman or divine and on whose fate very often depends the destiny
2、 of a tribe, a nation, or even the whole of the human race. 2. 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 meanin
3、g 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.3. Ballad: A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and forth lines rhymed
4、, which are known as the ballad stanza, rhyming abcb. When it was chanted by ballad-singers, the audience joined in a refrain which usually followed each stanza.4. Sonnet: A sonnet is a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme.5. Metaphysical poetry: is characterized
5、 by verbal wit and excess, ingenious structure, irregular meter, colloquial language, elaborate imagery, and a drawing together of dissimilar.6. Romance: it was a long composition, sometimes sin verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a noble hero. The central character of r
6、omance was knight and the reasons for their adventures could be love, religious faith, or the mere desire for excitement.7. Renaissance: in essence, was a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of conservatism in feudalist Europe and introduce
7、 new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, to lift the restrictions in all areas placed by the roman church authorities.8. Enlightenment: is a term used to describe the trends in thought and letters in Europe and the American colonies during the 18th century prior to the Fren
8、ch 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 t
9、he 18th century in England has often been called “the age of reason “.9. heroic couplet: it is a term in poetry applied to two successive lines of verse that form a single unit because they rhyme. Couplets in English are usually written in 10-syllableslines, a form first used by Chaucer. This evolve
10、d into the so-called heroic-couplet popular in 17th and 18th century. The heroic couplet, two rhyming iambic pentameter lines, is also called a closed couplet because the meaning and the grammatical structure are couplet within two lines.10. Iambic pentameter: is a verse form in which aone line of poem contains 10 syllables, which could be divided into five feet. Two syllables in one feet are stressed syllable followed by a unstressed one.