My apologies for being so late with this post for the vocabulary. I have scheduled time with Ms. Saunders for you to enter in all of the information that you have gathered tomorrow, Friday, January 11. So don't worry about having the info in by class time on Friday. MLA format for citations is good (and is usually standard in humanities courses).
The Portrait of an Artist essay question was handed out by my substitute yesterday, so if anyone missed this please see my bookshelf for a copy. I will need to collect these papers on Friday, January 18th, so that I will have time to have them graded before midterms and the end of the quarter. We will be talking about it in class today and we will be discussing parts IV and V early next week. As an alert, I will be asking for a summary for those parts (written just before the discussion, of course) and I am particularly interested in how you understand Stephen's aesthetic theory, as this is where the book as been heading.
1. octet: a company of eight singers
ReplyDeleteThe octet performed very well in last night's show.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/octet
antagonist: a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary.
The antagonist in Harry Potter was almost always Lord Voldermort.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antagonist?s=t
inversion: any change from a basic word order or syntactic sequence, as in the placement of a subject after an auxiliary verb in a question or after the verb in an exclamation
“How beautiful is the rose!”
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inversion?s=t
Tragic hero: a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat
Oedipus, the classic tragic hero.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tragic+hero?s=t
antihero:
a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like.
Huck Finn could be said to be an antihero.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antihero?s=t
plot: Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.
The plot in Portrait of the Artist is not an easy one to understand.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plot?s=t
with correct citations
ReplyDelete1. octet: a company of eight singers
The octet performed very well in last night's show.
"octet." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 11 Jan. 2013. .
antagonist: a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary.
The antagonist in Harry Potter was almost always Lord Voldermort.
"antagonist." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 11 Jan. 2013. .
inversion: any change from a basic word order or syntactic sequence, as in the placement of a subject after an auxiliary verb in a question or after the verb in an exclamation
“How beautiful is the rose!”
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inversion?s=t
Tragic hero: a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat
Oedipus, the classic tragic hero.
"inversion." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 11 Jan. 2013. .
antihero:
a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like.
Huck Finn could be said to be an antihero.
"antihero." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 11 Jan. 2013. .
plot: Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.
The plot in Portrait of the Artist is not an easy one to understand.
"plot." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 11 Jan. 2013. .
Epiphany
ReplyDelete-a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
While taking out the trash I had an epiphany.
Metonymy
-a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong drink,” or “count heads (or noses)” for “count people.”
Conceit
-something that is conceived in the mind; a thought; idea: "He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours."
Rhetorical
-used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect.
Complete a rhetorical analysis of the president's speach.
Denotation
-the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it; the association or set of associations that a word usually elicits for most speakers of a language, as distinguished from those elicited for any individual speaker because of personal experience.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/denotation?s=t
1. Alliteration: the commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter.
ReplyDeleteEx: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alliteration?s=t
2. Terza Rima: an Italian form of iambic verse consisting of eleven-syllable lines arranged in tercets, the middle line of each tercet rhyming with the first and last lines of the following tercet.
Ex: Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost
I have been one acquainted with the night. (a)
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain. (b)
I have outwalked the furthest city light. (a)
I have looked down the saddest city lane. (b)
I have passed by the watchman on his beat (c)
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. (b)
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet (c)
When far away an interrupted cry (d)
Came over houses from another street, (c)
But not to call me back or say good-bye; (d)
And further still at an unearthly height (a)
One luminary clock against the sky (d)
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. (a)
I have been one acquainted with the night. (a)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terza+rima?s=t
3. Villanelle: a short poem of fixed form, written in tercets, usually five in number, followed by a final quatrain, all being based on two rhymes.
Ex: Are you not weary of ardent ways
By James Joyce
Are you not weary of ardent ways,
Lure of the fallen seraphim?
Tell no more of enchanted days.
Your eyes have set man’s heart ablaze
And you have had your will of him.
Are you not weary of ardent ways?
Above the flame the smoke of praise
Goes up from ocean rim to rim.
Tell no more of enchanted days.
Our broken cries and mournful lays
Rise in one eucharistic hymn.
Are you not weary of ardent ways?
While sacrificing hands upraise
The chalice flowing to the brim,
Tell no more of enchanted days.
And still you hold our longing gaze
With languorous look and lavish limb!
Are you not weary of ardent ways?
Tell no more of enchanted days.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/villanelle?s=t
4. Diction: style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words:
Ex: ominous glow vs. beaming light. (both pertain to light, but create different feelings)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diction?s=t
5. Syntax: the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
Ex: “We are going to your house.” vs. “To your house, we are going.”
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syntax?s=t
6. Tone: a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.
Ex: sarcastic, serious, ironic
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tone?s=t
. Iambic pentameter: A commonly used metrical line in traditional verse and verse drama. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line.
ReplyDeleteExample- A standard line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row:
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM
. "Iambic Pentameter." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 15 12 2012. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Full Rhyme: Rhyme in which the stressed vowels and all following consonants and vowels are identical, but the consonants preceding the rhyming vowels are different.
Example- chain, brain; soul, pole.
full rhyme. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 11, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/full rhyme
Hyperbole: Intentional exaggeration, an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally.
Example- “to wait an eternity.”
hyperbole. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 11, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hyperbole
Pun: The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
Example- "he does it for the pun of it"
pun. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 11, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pun
Double Entendre: A double meaning or a word or expression used in a given context so that it can be understood in two ways, especially when one meaning is risqué.
Example- Mercutio's line from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Tis no less [a good day], I tell you; for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
double entendre. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 11, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/double entendre
Quatrain: noun/ a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.
ReplyDeleteAmong the poets works was a quatrain.
Denouement: noun/ the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
The books denouement was a shock to Mr. Telles.
Flashback: noun/ a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.
The main character in the movie had a flashback of his childhood.
Foreshadowing: verb/ to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure.
Political upheavals foreshadowed war.
Internal Conflict: noun/ psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot's suspense
Hamlet's inaction is caused by internal conflict.
All definitions were from:
. "ditionary.com." Dictionary.com. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
-Consonance: The repetition of consonants or of a consonant pattern, especially at the end of words as in STING or STRING.
ReplyDelete#A lot of poems use consonance for rhyming schemes, I guess.
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com)
-Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses or paragraphs.
#Starting every sentence with "We shall" is a way to use an anaphora in you speech.
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com)
-Direct Characterization: process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives, phrases, or epithets.
#The book does not give a direct characterization on Stephen, so we are left to guess as to what he looks like.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse)
-Indirect Characterization: the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, appearance, etc.
#You can tell a lot about someone by watching and listening to their indirect characterization...I guess.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse)
-Dynamic Character: a literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude.
#Stephen Daedulus is a dynamic character as he is constantly changing his attitude on things.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse)
-Static Character: a literary or dramatic character who undergoes little or no inner change; a character who does not grow or develop.
#Half of the other characters in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man are static character- they hardly change at all, though that may be because most are not in it for long.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse)
1. Assonance:rhyme in which the same vowel sounds are used with different consonants in the stressed syllables of the rhyming words, as in penitent and reticence.
ReplyDeleteex. Do you like glue?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/assonance?s=t
2. Ballad: a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing.
ex. "Billy Byrne of Ballymanus" is an Irish ballad.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ballad?s=t
3. Dialect: a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.
ex. The main dialect of Mexico is Spanish.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialect?s=t
4. Colloquialism: a word or phrase appropriate to conversation and other informal situations
ex. "Dead as a door nail."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/colloquialism?s=t
5.Vernacular: expressed or written in the native language of a place, as literary works
ex."If thou remember'st not the slightest folly
That ever love did make thee run into,
Thou hast not lov'd."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vernacular?s=t
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare_quotes_about_love
6. Characterization: portrayal; description
ex. The girl has blonde hair, an eccentric personality and a bright and wide smile.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/characterization?s=t
Italian (Petrerchan) Sonnet
ReplyDeleteThe defining features of the Italian or Petrarchan Sonnets are:
•a single quatorzain made up of an octave followed by a sestet.
•composed with the octave presenting an idea, problem or question, followed by a sestet finding the solution or resolution.
•metered, iambic pentameter.
•rhymed with 5 rhymes or less. The octave made up of envelope quatrains rhymed abba abba is followed by a sestet made up of 2 tercets with a choice of envelope, chained or alternate rhyme. cdccdc or cdecde or cdcdcd.
•composed with a volta (non physical gap) or pivot (a shifting or tilting of the main line of thought) between the octave and the sestet. The epiphany (manifestation or realization) unravels slowly from octave to sestet.
"I will put Chaos into fourteen lines
And keep him there; and let him thence escape
If he be lucky; let him twist, and ape
Flood, fire, and demon--his adroit designs
Will strain to nothing in the strict confines
Of this sweet Order, where, in pious rape,
I hold his essence and amorphous shape,
Till he with Order mingles and combines.
Past are the hours, the years, or our duress,
His arrogance, our awful servitude:
I have him. He is nothing more than less
Than something simple not yet understood;
I shall not even force him to confess;
Or answer. I will only make him good."
----- Edna St Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
"Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet." Poetry Magnum Opus. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. .
End Rhyme
end rhyme, in poetry, a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses, as in stanza one of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”:
Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
End rhyme is the most common type of rhyme in English poetry.
"End Rhyme (poetry)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. .
Synecdoche
: a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage)
"SynecdocheAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. .
Personification
: attribution of personal qualities; especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form
“The rocking chair groaned as it moved back and forth.”
"PersonificationAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. .
Apostrophe
The apostrophe has three uses:
1. To form possessives of nouns
2. To show the omission of letters
3. To indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters
Correct: “Jane’s dog” Incorrect: “There are three use’s”
"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: Apostrophe. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. .
Meter: Systematically arranged and measured rhythm in verse: rhythm that continuously repeats a single basic pattern.
ReplyDeleteEx. Tell me not in mournful numbers
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meter
Near/Off/Half/Slant Rhyme: Rhyme in which either the vowels or the consonants of stressed syllables are identical.
Ex. She sat in the dark, with her pounding heart.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slant+rhyme
Oxymoron: A combination of contradictory or incongruous words
Ex. The questions were almost always difficult to answer.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oxymoron
Paradox: A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
Ex. Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradox
Synesthesia: A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another.
Ex. Looking at the color red reminded me of the letter M.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/synesthesia
Iamb: a foot of meter, a.k.a. iambic foot. comprises of a soft syllable preceding a hard syllable.
ReplyDeletee.g. the following excerpt is the last two iambs of shakespeare's most famous sonnet.
a summer's day?
Corona: cheap,light beer popular amoung latin american types. also a "cycle" or "sequence" of sonnets wherein each piece addresses an aspect of a shared theme and wherein the 1st line of each sonnet is identical to the 14th line in the preceding sonnet.
e.g. In Time of War, by W. H. Auden
from In Time of War (1939)
XIV
Yes, we are going to suffer, now; the sky
Throbs like a feverish forehead; pain is real;
The groping searchlights suddenly reveal
The little natures that will make us cry,
Who never quite believed they could exist,
Not where we were. They take us by surprise
Like ugly long-forgotten memories,
And like a conscience all the guns resist.
Behind each sociable home-loving eye
The private massacres are taking place;
All Women, Jews, the Rich, the Human Race.
The mountains cannot judge us when we lie:
We dwell upon the earth; the earth obeys
The intelligent and evil till they die.
XV
Engines bear them through the sky: they’re free
And isolated like the very rich;
Remote like savants, they can only see
The breathing city as a target which
Requires their skill; will never see how flying
Is the creation of ideas they hate,
Nor how their own machines are always trying
To push through into life. They chose a fate
The islands where they live did not compel.
Though earth may teach our proper discipline,
At any time it will be possible
To turn away from freedom and become
Bound like the heiress in her mother’s womb,
And helpless as the poor have always been.
XVI
Here war is simple like a monument:
A telephone is speaking to a man;
Flags on a map assert that troops were sent;
A boy brings milk in bowls. There is a plan
For living men in terror of their lives,
Who thirst at nine who were to thirst at noon,
And can be lost and are, and miss their wives,
And, unlike an idea, can die too soon.
But ideas can be true although men die,
And we can watch a thousand faces
Made active by one lie:
And maps can really point to places
Where life is evil now:
Nanking; Dachau.
Auden, W. H. “In TIme of War.“ Anthology 1930-1939. Themargins.net. Web. 1. 11 …............2013
Connotation: meaning that is not part of the dictionary deffinition--it is comprehended by association, and is therefore relative. connotation can be affected by personal experience, by culture, and by context.
e.g. excerpt from Portrait
--One difficulty, said Stephen, in esthetic discussion is to know whether words are being used according to the literary tradition or according to the tradition of the marketplace. I remember a sentence of Newman’s, in which he says of the Blessed Virgin that she was detained in the full company of the saints. The use of the word in the marketplace is quite different. I hope I am not detaining you.
--Not in the least, said the dean politely.
--No, no, said Stephen, smiling, I mean...
--Yes, yes: I see, said the dean quickly, I quite catch the point: detain.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners. New York: Barnes …..........& Noble Classics, 2004.
Verbal Irony: Intentional irony drawn by the speaker between what is spoken and what is meant. not to be confused with situational irony. I guess sarcasm is just cheap verbal irony--is that so?
e.g. “I love blogging”
oh, and in the last example (for connotation) the dean is employing verbal irony.
Deletei forgot to put p.166 in the citation
DeleteSITUATIONAL IRONY
ReplyDeleteDefinition - A plot device in which events turn out contrary to expectation yet are perversely appropriate.
Example 1: In a school lottery, the “pocket rocket” motorcycle is won by a shy, demure nun.
Example 2: After successfully going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, the stunt man goes home, takes a shower, slips on the soap, and breaks his leg.
Abrams, M.H. "Situational Irony ." A Glossary of Literary Terms. Boston: 2005. .
THIRD PERSON NARRATION
Definition - Any story told in the grammatical third person, i.e. without using “I” or “we.” In other words, the voice of the telling appears to be akin to that of the author him- or herself. More specifically, THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT NARRATION is a common form of third-person narration in which the teller of the tale, who often appears to speak with the voice of the author himself, assumes an omniscient (all-knowing) perspective on the story being told: diving into private thoughts, narrating secret or hidden events, jumping between spaces and times.
Example - John walked into the dining room and stared at the recently repaired light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. When his gawking had concluded he continued into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Jane entered from outside and greeted John. John has a special fondness for Jane. He sank into a seat at the kitchen table and watched her prepare a pot of coffee, thinking about how perfectly her hair falls around her face. Jane watches the pot tensely, worrying endlessly about the impending board meeting. (Characters referred to in the third person by the narrator, who can examine the thoughts of the characters at will.)
"Third-Person Narration." Narratology. .
"Third-Person Omniscient Narration." Narratology. .
Frontiero, Nathan. Third Person Omniscient Narration Example. Gloucester: 2013.
STYLE
Definition - The way a writer writes, as opposed to what he or she writes about (though the two things are definitely linked). It results from things like word choice, tone, and syntax. It's the voice readers "hear" when they read your work.
Example - “We fillied round what was called the backtown for a bit, scaring old vecks and cheenas that were crossing the roads and zigzagging after cats and that. Then we took the road west. There wasn't much traffic about, so I kept pushing the old noga through the floorboards near, and the Durango 95 ate up the road like spaghetti. Soon it was winter trees and dark, my brothers, with a country dark, and at one place I ran over something big with a snarling toothy rot in the head-lamps, then it screamed and squelched under and old Dim at the back near laughed his gulliver off--"Ho ho ho"--at that. Then we saw one young malchick with his sharp, lubbilubbing under a tree, so we stopped and cheered at them, then we bashed into them both with a couple of half-hearted tolchocks, making them cry, and on we went. What we were after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick and good for smecks and lashings of the ultra-violent.”
Anthony Burgess created a Russified English for the novella A Clockwork Orange called “Nadsat,” a slang spoken by the teenage characters. The entire book is written in this style and the language defines itself gradually in context as the reader progresses. Burgess’ style furthers the understanding of the central character, Alex, since the violent, unyielding nature of the slang mirrors the presence of those dark qualities in his being. Burgess makes Alex’s voice very distinct, relating to the reader in a narration that is both horrifyingly brutal and intriguing.
Wiehardt, Ginny. "Style." About.com Fiction Writing. N.p., 11 Janurary 2013. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, 1962. 11. Print.
VOICE
ReplyDeleteDefinition - “The dominating ethos or tone of a literary work. The voice existing in a literary work is not always identifiable with the actual views of the author.”
Example - In Sonnet 130, the speaker expresses passion for a woman with certain characteristics, but that does not mean that Shakespeare himself is expressing his own passion for the woman identified in the sonnet.
Talib, Ismail S. (Compiler). "Voice." A Brief List of Some Key Terms in Literature. Singapore: .
MOOD
Definition - ‘The atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience. In drama, mood may be created by sets and music as well as words; in poetry and prose, mood may be created by a combination of such elements as setting, voice, tone and theme.”
Example - (Closing portion of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a short-story marked by a distressed, nightmarish mood)
“No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound --much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men --but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!
‘Villains!’ I shrieked, ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!’”
"Mood." Writing for English Courses - Glossary of Literary Terms. 1998. .
Poe, Edgar Allen. The Tell-Tale Heart. 1843. Print. .
PROTAGONIST
Definition - The main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. It may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work.
Examples - Stephen Dedalus and The Invisible Man are the protagonists of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, respectively.
"Protagonist." All American: Glossary of Literary Terms. .
Sestet:
ReplyDeleteA group of six lines of poetry, especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.
Ex: “London, 1802” by Wordsworth
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart;
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
"The Free Dictionary." The Free Dictionary by Farlex. The Free Dictionary by Farlex, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Miller, Nelson. "Basic Sonnet Forms." Sonnet Central Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Exposition:
Writing or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain; a detailed statement or explanation
Ex: When reading books, exposition is often used to explain the background of a character or another important piece of the story.
. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.con, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
. "Examples of Exposition." Your Dictionary Examples. Your Dictionary Examples, n.d. Web. 12 Jan 2013. .
Inciting:
To stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action.
Ex: Revolts are often described as being incited by something else
. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.con, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Action:
An act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity
Ex: Hamlet killing Polonius was an action he made.
. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.con, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Rising Action:
A related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest.
Ex: The rising action in Brave New World occurs as we learn more about the society the people live in, and witness how Johnathan (who is an outsider) reacts to it as well as how Bernard (who doesn't fit in but wants to) and Lenina (who is for the most part entrenched in the society) respond it and how the three all react to each other's different views of what is happening.
. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.con, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
Climax:
A decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
Ex: In Hamlet, the climax is when he finally kills Claudius.
. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.con, n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2013. .
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ReplyDeleteVolta: a sudden change in thought, direction, or emotion near the conclusion of a sonnet
ReplyDeleteEx. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.”
William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 has is a volta between lines 12 and 13
"Volta." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. 2013.
< http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1363412/volta>
Free verse: verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern.
Ex. “After the sea-ship, after the whistling winds,
After the white-grey sails taut to their spars and ropes,
Below, a myriad myriad waves hastening, lifting up their necks,
Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship,
Waves of the ocean bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying,
Waves, undulating waves, liquid, uneven, emulous waves,
Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,
Where the great vessel sailing and tacking displace the surface…”
“After the Sea-Ship” by Walt Witman
"Guide to Literary Terms: Free Verse." ENotes. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. .
Sestina: an elaborate verse form of Italian origin, normally unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a concluding tercet. The six final words of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in a different order in each of the remaining five stanzas and
also in the concluding tercet
Ex.
a b c d e f (first stanza) f a e b d c (second stanza) c f d a b e (third stanza) e c b f a d (fourth stanza) d e a c f b (fifth stanza) b d f e c a (sixth stanza)
a d (1st line of the 7th stanza, "a" must be in the line, but the line must end with "d")
b e (2nd line of the 7th stanza, "b" must be in the line, but the line must end with "e")
c f (3rd line of the 7th stanza, "c" must be in the line, but the line must end with "f")
"The Sestina." Oracle Think Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. 2013.
< http://library.thinkquest.org/3721/poems/forms/sestina.html>
Omniscient narration: common form of third-person narration in which narrator assumes an all-knowing perspective on the story being told
Ex. Omniscient narration is a commonly used style of third-person narration in fiction books.
"Third-Person Omniscient Narration." Perdue Liberal Arts. Perdue University, n.d. Web. Jan. 2013. .
Stream of consciousness: A literary style in which one's thoughts and feelings are depicted in a continuous and uninterrupted flow.
Ex.. James Joyce utilized the stream of consciousness technique
Lombardi, Esther. "Stream of Consciouesness." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. 2013.
* Many definitions from Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. Jan. 2013.
Couplet:a pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhyme and are of the same length.
ReplyDeleteEx.
`Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
External conflict: struggle between a literary or dramatic character and an outside force such as nature or another character, which drives the dramatic action of the plot.
Ex. external conflict between Macbeth and Macduff
Motif: a recurring subject, theme, idea, especially in a literary or artistic work.
Ex. In the poem “ The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe the word nevermore is a motif appearing at the end of each stanza.
Symbol: a word, phrase, or image with associated meanings
Ex. The cross is a symbol of Christianity.
Epigraph: a quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc, suggesting its theme
Ex.
The broad-backed hippopotamus
Rests on his belly in the mud;
Although he seems so firm to us
He is merely flesh and blood.
"The Hippopotamus," T.S. Eliot
Citation
"Dictionary.com: Literature." Dictionary.com. n.d. n. page. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. .
These definitions and examples look good at first glance. The irony examples are really funny, especially the example with the nun and the motorbike.
ReplyDeleteI do want to add that although a word or phrase can be symbolic, a symbol is generally thought to be an object that stands for an abstract idea or set of ideas. Words and phrases are more often signs than symbols, but in certain contexts can be thought of symbolically.
There is also another literary definition for apostrophe which has nothing to do with the punctuation mark.
ReplyDeleteStanza: A unit within a larger poem, a grouping of two+ lines separated from other sections of the poem
ReplyDeleteExample: "Heaven" has different Signs—to me—
Sometimes, I think that Noon
Is but a symbol of the Place—
And when again, at Dawn,
A mighty look runs round the World
And settles in the Hills—
An Awe if it should be like that
Upon the Ignorance steals—
The bolded section is one stanza.
Epistrophe: repetition of the same words at the end of successive clauses. Also called an epiphora
Example: Government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Round Character: A character that changes, or undergoes development through the writing. They are sufficiently complex.
Example: Hopefully any protagonist in a bildungsroman is this, otherwise the author has done something terribly wrong.
Flat Character: Does not change, does not surprise the reader. Uncomplicated and easy to follow.
Example: Bella Swan from Twilight
Foil: Contrasts a particular character, generally the protagonist, in order to highlight certain qualities in the protagonist.
Example: Not in Literature, but Frank Burns is a foil to Hawkeye in the Television show M.A.S.H.