美国文学名词解释考研复习

美国文学名词解释考研复习内容摘要：

nt on prose. Poetry is characterized by the following elements: a musical effect created by rhythm and sounds, a precise and fresh imagery, and multiple levels of interpretation suggested by the connotation of the closer words and allusions. (the ultimate aim of a poet, is to integrate all of these elements in order to produce a verbal statement in which everything form overall shape to individual wordchoice is anically related in the most precise way possible.) Imagery is the use of descriptive language to recreate sensory experiences. An image is a verbal picture of an object, action, abstract idea, or sensation. It is often created by using figures of speech. There are ways making an idea or picture e closer into focus by relating the idea or experience to another that may be more familiar to the reader. Tone is inferred by the reader through the word choice, the connotation of those words, the verse form, the rhyme, the figurative language and the allusions. 7. Romanticism had appeared in England in the last years of the eighteenth century. It spread to continental Europe and then came to America early in the nieenth century. It came into being as a reaction against the prevailing neoclassical spirit and rationalism during the Age of Reason. Romanticism opposed neoclassicism which underlined formality, order, and authority, (rebellious in spirit)and stressed imagination and passion and individuality. It was pluralistic。 its manifestations were as varied, as individualistic, and as conflicting as the cultures and the intellects from which it sprang. Yet romantics frequently shared certain general characteristics: enthusiasm, 2. faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perception, and 3 a presumption that the natural world was a source of goodness and man’s societies a source of corruption. (It stressed the pursuit of freedom, individualism, a reliance upon the good of nature and ―natural‖ man and an abiding faith in the boundless resources of the human spirit and imagination.) 1. stress emotion, passion, imagination and fancy, rich in mystic color, deal with moral theme. exalted the individualism and encouraged people to fight for individual right and human happiness bravely. It displays personalities, expresses feelings and thoughts of mon people. It stresses man’s ability to master the world by one’s conscience or intuition. They believed that human nature was of goodwill. One form of it is transcendentalism. 3. The romantic showed a profound admiration and love for nature, the beauty and perfection of nature could produce in him an unspeakable joy and exaltation。 the romantic believed that he was the chosen and favored creature in nature, hence he was free in using his talent to eulogize nature. Nature is symbolized in literary works, marked by men’s subjective mood. (Transcendentalism) The literary works of romanticism mostly reflected the fantastic and thrilling stories taking place ―long ago‖ and ―far away‖ as an escape from the civilized society, and were rich in mystic color. The romantic also had a persistent interest in the primitive literature, such as epics, ballads, and other forms of folk literature, in which he found inspiration of various kinds. Its progress was shown by singing the ordinary person, propagating democratic thinking and humanitarianism, and advocating to love everything in nature and to live a simple life near to nature. 8. Transcendentalism: Following the rise of romanticism, Transcendentalism, which appeared after 1830, marked the maturity of American romanticism and the first renaissance in the American literary history. the term ―transcendentalism‖ was derived from the Latin verb transcendere, meaning to rise above, or to pass beyond the limits. In a general sense it may be used in English to refer to any philosophy which teaches the transcendent nature of ultimate reality. Transcendentalism was a romantic idealism, or philosophical romanticism. It may also be regarded as a considerablescale ideological and cultural revolution after American people struggled to get free from the English colonial rule. Rise of Transcendentalism :New England Transcendentalism was a system of thought that found expression in many forms. It was the product of a bination of foreign influence (Transcendentalism based on the doctrines of ancient and modern European philosophers, particularly Immanuel Kant, took their ideas from the romantic literatures of Europe, from neoPlatonism, from German idealistic philosophy and revelation of Oriental mysticism) and American native Puritan tradition. (1)There was the effect of oriental thought on the western world. English translation of the Hindoo Epic Harivansa and Chinese ancient philosophers such as Confucius and Mencius began to appear and to be read. The major American authors of this time were almost all acquainted with those oriental works. (2) Since American transcendentalists were unhappy about the materialisticoriented life of their time after Americans won their independence from Britain. They turned to the Puritan principle of selfculture and selfimprovement as best exemplified by the success story of America’s first selfmade man, Benjamin Franklin. Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement. It exalted feeling over reason, individual expression over the restraints of law and custom. It expressed a new outlook or new ideas on life. It believed individualism, human beings’ divinity, nature, spiritual life, dignity of manual labor, selftrust/ selfreliance, democracy. (1) They laid emphasis on spirit or Oversoul. “The Universe is posed of Nature and Soul.” “Spirit is present everywhere. It had a considerable influence on the consciousness of man. They believed in transcendence of the ―Over soul‖,。