三双英国文学(上)Terms

Terms of British Literature

(Book I)

1.

Alliteration

: A poetic device in which the first consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in

accented words or syllables in a line are repeated. There are generally 4 accents in a line,

three of which show alliteration.

2.

Romance

refers to some verse narrative that sings of knightly adventures or other heroic

deeds, and usually emphasizes the chivalric love of the Middle Ages in Europe. Most of

the English Romances deal with three major themes: 1) “The Matter of Britain”, a

bout the

Arthurian legends; 2) “The Matter of France”, tales centering about Charlemagne and his

knights;3) “The matter of Greece and Rome”, tales about Alexander and the fall of troy.

3.

Foot:

The

smallest

unit

of

rhythm

in

a

line

of

poetry.

A

foot

is

typically

one

accented

syllable combined with one or two unaccented syllables. There are many different types

of feet. When the accent

（

重音）

is on the second syllable of a two- syllable word(e.g. for

'

get),

the

foot

is

an

“iamb”

（抑扬格）

;

the

reverse

accentual

pattern

('

torture)

is

a

“trochee”

（扬抑格）

.

Other

feet

that

commonly

occur

in

poetry

in

English

are

“anapest”(

抑抑扬格

),

two

unaccented

syllables

followed

by

an

accented

syllable

as

in

“inter ' cept”, and “dactyl”

（扬抑抑格）

, an accented syllable followed by two unaccented

syllables as in “' su

-i-

cide”.

4.

Meter

：

In poetry, the

meter

(or

metre

) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Many

traditional

verse

forms

prescribe

a

specific

verse

meter,

or

a

certain

set

of

meters

alternating in a particular order.

5.

Iambic

pentameter

is

one

of

many

meters

used

in

poetry

and

drama.

It

describes

a

particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small

groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called “feet”. The word “iambic”

describes the type of foot that is used. The word “pentameter” indicates that a line has

five

of these “feet”.

6.

Heroic couplet

(

英雄偶句诗体：

互相押韵的含有五个 抑扬音步的两行诗，

多用于长篇

史诗中

) : A rhyming couplet written in iambic pentameter(a verse with five iambic feet

五音步诗行

).

韵脚为弱强、弱强。

7.

Ballad

(

民谣

) : A short poem that tells a simple story and has a repeated refrain(

叠句

).

Ballads were originally intended to be sung. Early ballads, known as folk ballads, were

passed

down

through

generations,

so

their

authors

are

often

unknown.

Later

ballads

composed by known authors are called literary ballads.

8.

Elizabethan

Age:

A

period

of

great

economic

growth,

religious

controversy

and

nationalism closely associated with the reign of Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603). The

Elizabethan Age is considered a part of the general Renaissance ---- the flowering of arts

and literature ---- that took place in Europe during the 14th to 16th centuries. The era is

considered

the

golden

age

of

English

literature.

The

most

important

dramas

in

English

and a great deal of lyric Poetry were produced during this period. The notable authors of

the

period

----

Philip

Sidney,

Edmund

Spenser,

Christopher

Marlowe,

William

Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Francis Bacon and John Donne ---- are among the best in all of

English literature.

9.

Renaissance:

The period in European history that marked the end of the Middle Ages. It