Theme –The idea or point of a story, the human truth offered by the story (NOT a lesson)
also review the list of common theme topics from class.
Setting- Where the story takes place ( ex. the first 4 books in the odyssey take place in Ithaca, that is there "setting)
Tone (remember the handout from class? Use that list to re-familiarize yourself with what words describe tone)-Mood of how the story is told
Characterization-Protagonist, Antagonist, and how they develope
Conflicts- Struggle between opposing forces. (Ex. In the odyssey there was conflict between odysseus and poseidon) (Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, Man vs Supernatural/Unknown, Man vs Himself, Man vs Society)
Point of view- How the story is told
Imagery / Symbolism (give examples of symbols from our readings along with what those symbols represent)-An object with meaning behind the literal.
--the necklace in "The Necklace"--the necklace had the appearance of being expensive (like M. Loisel) but actually was fake (also like M. Loisel)
--the sailboat in "The Lesson"--
--the water in "The Swimmer"--the water becomes increasingly unclear or chemical filled as he becomes more unclear
--the sky in "The Swimmer"--the sky, like the pool, becomes cloudy as he gets more confused
--the hills in "Hills Like White Elephants"--they are round (as her belly would become if she continued with the pregnancy). The pregnancy is like the elephant in the room; it's the thing no one wants to talk about.
--the path in "Dead Man's Path"--the path connects one generation to another. The headmaster wants to improve the look of the campus by destroying it; the villagers want to preserve it.
--the school yard in "Dead Man's Path"--the headmaster destroys the community by destroying their connection to the past. The villagers destroy the yard to represent the destruction of what he is striving for.
Literary terms: definitions and examples
MIKE AND SAMMI GIVE EXAMPLES FROM THE READINGS AS WELL AS DEFINITIONS
Irony: When something is not what it appears
Examples: "The Cask of Amontillado"
Montressor's toast to a long life.
"Dead Man's Path"
The headmaster wants to turn the school grounds into "a place of beauty." Ironically, "the beautiful hedges were torn up not just near the path but right round the school, the flowers trampled to death and one of the school buildings pulled down" directly as a result of his efforts.
Simile: a comparison using "as" or "like." The comparison occurs between two dis-similar things
Example: the title of the story "Hills like White Elephants" is an example of a simile
Example from The Odyssey: (book 10, line 125) "a woman like a mountain crag"
Metaphor: a comparison NOT USING "like" or "as" but one that is suggesting one thing IS another thing.
Example from The Odyssey (book 4, line 360): "Fawns in a lion's lair." The suitors are the fawns in the lair of the lion Odysseus.
Personification-Something that is not living but with living characteristics.
Examples:
"The Odyssey"
As the sun sprung up, leaving the brilliant waters in its wake, climbing the bronze sky to shower light...(book 3, lines 1-3)
Pathos: an appeal to emotion by the author to the reader Examples: "Hills Like White Elephants"
When Jig is getting upset about the conversation about the abortion, she says "Would you please, please, please, please stop talking (Hemingway 7)?"
The reader has a sense of her frustration and sadness at this moment and can empathize with what she's experiencing. The character is conveying her frustration about the situation. "Dead Man's Path"
The village priest tries to convince the headmaster not to destroy the path by appealing to his sympathies about the importance of the path to the villagers. The emotional significance of this place is made clear by connecting it to family, an emotional appeal. "Look here, my son," said the priest bringing down his walking-stick, "this path was here before you were born and before your father was born. The whole life of this village depends on it. Our dead relatives depart by it and our ancestors visit us by it. But most important, it is the path of children coming in to be born. . . ."
Genre: a categorizing of types of literature (as in music)
example: fiction versus non-fiction
example: sci-fi, comedy, adventure
example: short story, epic poem, novel, play
Epiphany- a point of realization
Examples-
"The Necklace"
At the end of the story when Madame Loisel,after 10 years since she returned the necklace, bumps into Madame Forester . Madame Loisel tells her all about the last 10 years she has spent paying off the necklace. "I bought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realize it wasn't easy for us; we had no money.... Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed. Madame Forester says, "Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs!..." That was a true point of realization for Mathilde because the second before she had felt happy for the first time then found out the worst news of her life. She realized that the past 10 years were all for nothing but in those years she learned a lot.
Narrator- a person who tells a story or recounts the events of a novel.
Examples-
Dead Mans Path: The author is the narrator.
Denotation and Connotation: Dictionary definition (denotation) versus emotional implication (connotation) of the word.
Example, "HOUSE" versus "HOME" OR "CHEF" versus "COOK
For more on denotation and connotation, click here.
Sammi will add the new terms including ones from Julius Caesar
Soliloquy- This is when a character during a play is alone and their thoughts are said aloud.
Examples: In Julius Caesar, Act 1 scene 2, lines 306-320. There is a soliloquy of Cassius. In this scene he is thing about the plan to put fake letters in Brutus' room. He plans to trick Brutus by writing in different handwritings many different letters that are supposably from the people of Rome. His motive is to show Brutus that the people didn't think Caesar is a good leader so Brutus will want to kill him.
Aside-a remark by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audiencebut unheard by the other characters in the play.
8 Elements of Literature: definitions and examples
(an online glossary of terms by Virtual Salt)
Plot- The storyline, the sequence of events
Theme –The idea or point of a story, the human truth offered by the story (NOT a lesson)
also review the list of common theme topics from class.
Setting- Where the story takes place ( ex. the first 4 books in the odyssey take place in Ithaca, that is there "setting)
Tone (remember the handout from class? Use that list to re-familiarize yourself with what words describe tone)-Mood of how the story is told
Characterization-Protagonist, Antagonist, and how they develope
Conflicts- Struggle between opposing forces. (Ex. In the odyssey there was conflict between odysseus and poseidon) (Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, Man vs Supernatural/Unknown, Man vs Himself, Man vs Society)
Point of view- How the story is told
Imagery / Symbolism (give examples of symbols from our readings along with what those symbols represent)-An object with meaning behind the literal.
--the necklace in "The Necklace"--the necklace had the appearance of being expensive (like M. Loisel) but actually was fake (also like M. Loisel)
--the sailboat in "The Lesson"--
--the water in "The Swimmer"--the water becomes increasingly unclear or chemical filled as he becomes more unclear
--the sky in "The Swimmer"--the sky, like the pool, becomes cloudy as he gets more confused
--the hills in "Hills Like White Elephants"--they are round (as her belly would become if she continued with the pregnancy). The pregnancy is like the elephant in the room; it's the thing no one wants to talk about.
--the path in "Dead Man's Path"--the path connects one generation to another. The headmaster wants to improve the look of the campus by destroying it; the villagers want to preserve it.
--the school yard in "Dead Man's Path"--the headmaster destroys the community by destroying their connection to the past. The villagers destroy the yard to represent the destruction of what he is striving for.
Literary terms: definitions and examples
MIKE AND SAMMIGIVE EXAMPLES FROM THE READINGS AS WELL AS DEFINITIONS
Irony: When something is not what it appears
Examples:"The Cask of Amontillado"
Montressor's toast to a long life.
"Dead Man's Path"
The headmaster wants to turn the school grounds into "a place of beauty." Ironically, "the beautiful hedges were torn up not just near the path but right round the school, the flowers trampled to death and one of the school buildings pulled down" directly as a result of his efforts.
Simile: a comparison using "as" or "like." The comparison occurs between two dis-similar things
Example: the title of the story "Hills like White Elephants" is an example of a simileExample from The Odyssey: (book 10, line 125) "a woman like a mountain crag"
Metaphor: a comparison NOT USING "like" or "as" but one that is suggesting one thing IS another thing.
Example from The Odyssey (book 4, line 360): "Fawns in a lion's lair." The suitors are the fawns in the lair of the lion Odysseus.Personification-Something that is not living but with living characteristics.
Examples:
"The Odyssey"
As the sun sprung up, leaving the brilliant waters in its wake, climbing the bronze sky to shower light...(book 3, lines 1-3)
Pathos: an appeal to emotion by the author to the reader
Examples:
"Hills Like White Elephants"
When Jig is getting upset about the conversation about the abortion, she says "Would you please, please, please, please stop talking (Hemingway 7)?"
The reader has a sense of her frustration and sadness at this moment and can empathize with what she's experiencing. The character is conveying her frustration about the situation.
"Dead Man's Path"
The village priest tries to convince the headmaster not to destroy the path by appealing to his sympathies about the importance of the path to the villagers. The emotional significance of this place is made clear by connecting it to family, an emotional appeal.
"Look here, my son," said the priest bringing down his walking-stick, "this path was here before you were born and before your father was born. The whole life of this village depends on it. Our dead relatives depart by it and our ancestors visit us by it. But most important, it is the path of children coming in to be born. . . ."
Genre: a categorizing of types of literature (as in music)
example: fiction versus non-fictionexample: sci-fi, comedy, adventure
example: short story, epic poem, novel, play
Epiphany- a point of realization
Examples-
"The Necklace"
At the end of the story when Madame Loisel,after 10 years since she returned the necklace, bumps into Madame Forester . Madame Loisel tells her all about the last 10 years she has spent paying off the necklace. "I bought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realize it wasn't easy for us; we had no money.... Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed. Madame Forester says, "Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs!..." That was a true point of realization for Mathilde because the second before she had felt happy for the first time then found out the worst news of her life. She realized that the past 10 years were all for nothing but in those years she learned a lot.
Narrator- a person who tells a story or recounts the events of a novel.
Examples-
Dead Mans Path: The author is the narrator.
Denotation and Connotation: Dictionary definition (denotation) versus emotional implication (connotation) of the word.
Example, "HOUSE" versus "HOME" OR "CHEF" versus "COOKFor more on denotation and connotation, click here.
Sammi will add the new terms including ones from Julius Caesar
Soliloquy- This is when a character during a play is alone and their thoughts are said aloud.
Examples: In Julius Caesar, Act 1 scene 2, lines 306-320. There is a soliloquy of Cassius. In this scene he is thing about the plan to put fake letters in Brutus' room. He plans to trick Brutus by writing in different handwritings many different letters that are supposably from the people of Rome. His motive is to show Brutus that the people didn't think Caesar is a good leader so Brutus will want to kill him.Aside- a remark by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audiencebut unheard by the other characters in the play.
Example: