LiterarytermsofBritishLiterature1.Sonnet:It’saformofpoetryiniambicpentameter.2.Humanism:It’sanimportantthoughtinRenaissanceofthe16thcentury.Itsmayconcernwasinmanandthefoughtforemancipationofman.Typically,renaissancehumanismassumedthedignityandcentralpositionofhumanbeingsintheuniverse,emphasizedtheimportanceineducationofstudyingclassicalimaginativeandphilosophicalliterature,althoughwithemphasisonitsmoralandpracticalratherthanitsaestheticvalues;andinsistedontheprimacy,inorderinghumanlife,ofreason(consideringthedistinctivelyhumanfaculty)asopposedtotheinstinctualappetitesandanimalpassions.Manyhumanistsalsostressedtheneedforaroundeddevelopmentofanindividual‘sdiversepowers,physical,mental,artistic,andmoral,asopposedtoamerelytechnicalorspecializedkindoftraining.3.TheEnlightenment:TheEnlightenmentMovementwasaprogressiveintellectualmovementwhichflourishedinFranceandsweptthroughthewholeWesternEuropeatthetime.ThemovementwasafurtheranceoftheRenaissanceofthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies.Itspurposewastoenlightenthewholeworldwiththelightofmodernphilosophicalandartisticideas.Itcelebratedreasonsorrationality,equalityandscience.4.TheRenaissance:TheRenaissancemarksatransitionfromthemedievaltothemodernworld.TheEnglishRenaissancereferstotheperiodbetween16thandmid-17thcentury.ItfirststartedinItaly.TheRenaissancemeansrebirthofrevivalofclassicalartsandsciencesafterthedarkagesofmedievalobscurantism.HumanismisthecoreofRenaissance.Thehumanistsholdtheirchiefinterestinmanandbravelyfightforthefreedomofindividuals.AmongtheliterarygiantsinthisperiodareShakespeare,Spenser,Bacon,DonneandMilton.5.Romanticism:Itisamovementthatflourishedinliteratureduringmostofthenineteenthcentury,beginningasarevoltagainstclassicism.Itseestheindividualastheverycenterofalllifeandallexperiences.Italsoplacestheindividualatthecenterofart.TheRomanticperiodisanageofpoetry.Natureisthedominantsubjectmatterformostromanticpoets,suchasWordsworth,Coleridge,Byron,ShelleyandKeats.1)Subordinatesformtocontent;2)Encouragesfreedomoftreatment;3)Emphasizesimagination,emotionandintrospection;4)Celebratesnature,thecommonman,andfreedomofspirit;5)Triestofindasolution,awayout,forthehumanracefacedwiththebreakingdownoftheoldorder.6.Realism:Theattemptinliteratureandarttorepresentlifeasitreallyis,withoutsentimentalizingoridealizingit.Realisticwritingoftendepictstheeverydaylifeandspeechofordinarylife.Thishasled,sometimes,toanemphasisonsordiddetails.1)takesaninterestinthedetailsratherthanthe“story”;2)Attemptstoreflectrealityfaithfullyandrecreatefamiliareverydayaspectsoflife;3)Prefersastraight-forwardandmatter-of-factmannerofnarration;4)focusoncommonpeople,especiallysocialunderlingsandtheirsufferings;5)Adoptsacriticaltone,exposingsocialillsandcriticizingsocialinjustice.7Modernism:1)ismarkedbyastrongandconsciousbreakwiththetraditionalformandtechniquesofexpression,beingrichlyexperimental;2)Employsadistinctivekindofimagination,onethatinsistsonhavingitsgeneralframeofreferencewithinitself;3)Impliesahistoricaldiscontinuity,asenseofalienation,lossanddespair;4)Rejectstraditionalvalues,assumptionsaswellasrhetoric;5)Elevatestheindividualandtheinnerbeingoverthesocialbeing;6)Prefersthesubconscious,unconscioustotheself-conscious.
