文学术语辞典.docx

文学术语辞典.docx

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文学术语辞典

A,B,C,D,E

AccentTheemphasis,orstress,givenasyllableinpronunciation.Wesay"syllable"not"syllable,""emphasis"not"emphasis."Accentscanalsobeusedtoemphasizeaparticularwordinasentence:

Isshecontentwiththecontentsoftheyellowpackage?

Seealsometer.

ActAmajordivisionintheactionofaplay.Theendsofactsaretypicallyindicatedbyloweringthecurtainorturningupthehouselights.Playwrightsfrequentlyemployactstoaccommodatechangesintime,setting,charactersonstage,ormood.Inmanyfull-lengthplays,actsarefurtherdividedintoscenes,whichoftenmarkapointintheactionwhenthelocationchangesorwhenanewcharacterenters.Seealsoscene.

AllegoryAnarrationordescriptionusuallyrestrictedtoasinglemeaningbecauseitsevents,actions,characters,settings,andobjectsrepresentspecificabstractionsorideas.Althoughtheelementsinanallegorymaybeinterestinginthemselves,theemphasistendstobeonwhattheyultimatelymean.CharactersmaybegivennamessuchasHope,Pride,Youth,andCharity;theyhavefewifanypersonalqualitiesbeyondtheirabstractmeanings.Thesepersonificationsarenotsymbolsbecause,forinstance,themeaningofacharacternamedCharityispreciselythatvirtue.Seealsosymbol.

AlliterationTherepetitionofthesameconsonantsoundsinasequenceofwords,usuallyatthebeginningofawordorstressedsyllable:

"descendingdewdrops";"lusciouslemons."Alliterationisbasedonthesoundsofletters,ratherthanthespellingofwords;forexample,"keen"and"car"alliterate,but"car"and"cite"donot.Usedsparingly,alliterationcanintensifyideasbyemphasizingkeywords,butwhenusedtooself-consciously,itcanbedistracting,evenridiculous,ratherthaneffective.Seealsoassonance,consonance.

AllusionAbriefreferencetoaperson,place,thing,event,orideainhistoryorliterature.Allusionsconjureupbiblicalauthority,scenesfromShakespeare’splays,historicfigures,wars,greatlovestories,andanythingelsethatmightenrichanauthor’swork.Allusionsimplyreadingandculturalexperiencessharedbythewriterandreader,functioningasakindofshorthandwherebytherecallingofsomethingoutsidetheworksuppliesanemotionalorintellectualcontext,suchasapoemaboutcurrentracialstrugglescallingupthememoryofAbrahamLincoln.

AmbiguityAllowsfortwoormoresimultaneousinterpretationsofaword,phrase,action,orsituation,allofwhichcanbesupportedbythecontextofawork.Deliberateambiguitycancontributetotheeffectivenessandrichnessofawork,forexample,intheopen-endedconclusiontoHawthorne’s"YoungGoodmanBrown."However,unintentionalambiguityobscuresmeaningandcanconfusereaders.

AnagramAwordorphrasemadefromthelettersofanotherwordorphrase,as"heart"isananagramof"earth."Anagramshaveoftenbeenconsideredmerelyanexerciseofone’singenuity,butsometimeswritersuseanagramstoconcealpropernamesorveiledmessages,ortosuggestimportantconnectionsbetweenwords,asin"hated"and"death."

AnapesticmeterSeefoot.

AntagonistThecharacter,force,orcollectionofforcesinfictionordramathatopposestheprotagonistandgivesrisetotheconflictofthestory;anopponentoftheprotagonist,suchasClaudiusinShakespeare’splayHamlet.Seealsocharacter,conflict.

AntiheroAprotagonistwhohastheoppositeofmostofthetraditionalattributesofahero.Heorshemaybebewildered,ineffectual,deluded,ormerelypathetic.Oftenwhatantiheroeslearn,iftheylearnanythingatall,isthattheworldisolatestheminanexistencedevoidofGodandabsolutevalues.YossarianfromJosephHeller’sCatch-22isanexampleofanantihero.Seealsocharacter.

ApostropheAnaddress,eithertosomeonewhoisabsentandthereforecannothearthespeakerortosomethingnonhumanthatcannotcomprehend.Apostropheoftenprovidesaspeakertheopportunitytothinkaloud.

ApproximaterhymeSeerhyme.

ArchetypeAtermusedtodescribeuniversalsymbolsthatevokedeepandsometimesunconsciousresponsesinareader.Inliterature,characters,images,andthemesthatsymbolicallyembodyuniversalmeaningsandbasichumanexperiences,regardlessofwhenorwheretheylive,areconsideredarchetypes.Commonliteraryarchetypesincludestoriesofquests,initiations,scapegoats,descentstotheunderworld,andascentstoheaven.Seealsomythologicalcriticism.

AsideIndrama,aspeechdirectedtotheaudiencethatsupposedlyisnotaudibletotheothercharactersonstageatthetime.WhenHamletfirstappearsonstage,forexample,hisaside"Alittlemorethankin,andlessthankind!

"givestheaudienceastrongsenseofhisalienationfromKingClaudius.Seealsosoliloquy.

AssonanceTherepetitionofinternalvowelsoundsinnearbywordsthatdonotendthesame,forexample,"asleepunderatree,"or"eachevening."Similarendingsresultinrhyme,asin"asleepinthedeep."Assonanceisastrongmeansofemphasizingimportantwordsinaline.Seealsoalliteration,consonance.

BalladTraditionally,aballadisasong,transmittedorallyfromgenerationtogeneration,thattellsastoryandthateventuallyiswrittendown.Assuch,balladsusuallycannotbetracedtoaparticularauthororgroupofauthors.Typically,balladsaredramatic,condensed,andimpersonalnarratives,suchas"BonnyBarbaraAllan."Aliteraryballadisanarrativepoemthatiswrittenindeliberateimitationofthelanguage,form,andspiritofthetraditionalballad,suchasKeats’s"LaBelleDamesansMerci."Seealsoballadstanza,quatrain.

BalladstanzaAfour-linestanza,knownasaquatrain,consistingofalternatingeight-andsix-syllablelines.Usuallyonlythesecondandfourthlinesrhyme（anabcbpattern）.Coleridgeadoptedtheballadstanzain"TheRimeoftheAncientMariner."

Allinahotandcoppersky

ThebloodySun,atnoon,

Rightupabovethemastdidstand,

NobiggerthantheMoon.

Seealsoballad,quatrain.

BiographicalcriticismAnapproachtoliteraturewhichsuggeststhatknowledgeoftheauthor’slifeexperiencescanaidintheunderstandingofhisorherwork.Whilebiographicalinformationcansometimescomplicateone’sinterpretationofawork,andsomeformalistcritics（suchastheNewCritics）disparagetheuseoftheauthor’sbiographyasatoolfortextualinterpretation,learningaboutthelifeoftheauthorcanoftenenrichareader’sappreciationforthatauthor’swork.Seealsoculturalcriticism,formalistcriticism,newcriticism.

BlankverseUnrhymediambicpentameter.BlankverseistheEnglishverseformclosesttothenaturalrhythmsofEnglishspeechandthereforeisthemostcommonpatternfoundintraditionalEnglishnarrativeanddramaticpoetryfromShakespearetotheearlytwentiethcentury.Shakespeare’splaysuseblankverseextensively.Seealsoiambicpentameter.

CacophonyLanguagethatisdiscordantanddifficulttopronounce,suchasthislinefromJohnUpdike’s"PlayerPiano":

"nevermynumbplunkerfumbles."Cacophony（"badsound"）maybeunintentionalinthewriter’ssenseofmusic,oritmaybeusedconsciouslyfordeliberatedramaticeffect.Seealsoeuphony.

CaesuraApausewithinalineofpoetrythatcontributestotherhythmoftheline.Acaesuracanoccuranywherewithinalineandneednotbeindicatedbypunctuation.Inscanningaline,caesurasareindicatedbyadoubleverticalline（||）.Seealsometer,rhythm,scansion.

CanonThoseworksgenerallyconsideredbyscholars,critics,andteacherstobethemostimportanttoreadandstudy,whichcollectivelyconstitutethe"masterpieces"ofliterature.Sincethe1960s,thetraditionalEnglishandAmericanliterarycanon,consistingmostlyofworksbywhitemalewriters,hasbeenrapidlyexpandingtoincludemanyfemalewritersandwritersofvaryingethnicbackgrounds.

CarpediemTheLatinphrasemeaning"seizetheday."Thisisaverycommonliterarytheme,especiallyinlyricpoetry,whichemphasizesthatlifeisshort,timeisfleeting,andthatoneshouldmakethemostofpresentpleasures.RobertHerrick’spoem"TotheVirgins,toMakeMuchofTime"employsthecarpediemtheme.

CatharsisMeaning"purgation,"catharsisdescribesthereleaseoftheemotionsofpityandfearbytheaudienceattheendofatragedy.InhisPoetics,Aristotlediscussestheimportanceofcatharsis.Theaudiencefacesthemisfortunesoftheprotagonist,whichelicitpityandcompassion.Simultaneously,theaudiencealsoconfrontsthefailureoftheprotagonist,thusreceivingafrighteningreminderofhumanlimitationsandfrailties.Ultimately,however,boththesenegativeemotionsarepurged,becausethetragicprotagonist’ssufferingisanaffirmationofhumanvaluesratherthanadespairingdenialofthem.Seealsotragedy.

Character,characterizationAcharacterisapersonpresentedinadramaticornarrativework,andcharacterizationistheprocessbywhichawritermakesthatcharacterseemrealtothereader.Aheroorheroine,oftencalledtheprotagonist,isthecentralcharacterwhoengagesthereader’sinterestandempathy.Theantagonististhecharacter,force,orcollectionofforcesthatstandsdirectlyopposedtotheprotagonistandgivesrisetotheconflictofthestory.Astaticcharacterdoesnotchangethroughoutthework,andthereader’sknowledgeofthatcharacterdoesnotgrow,whereasadynamiccharacterundergoessomekindofchangebecauseoftheactionintheplot.Aflatcharacterembodiesoneortwoqualities,ideas,ortraitsthatcanbereadilydescribedinabriefsummary.Theyarenotpsychologicallycomplexcharactersandthereforearereadilyaccessibletoreaders.Someflatcharactersarerecognizedasstockcharacters;theyembodystereotypessuchas