The Georgia High School
Graduation Test
Language Arts Review
March 2011
1
Literary Terms
 Antagonist
 Climax
 Conflict
- man versus man
- man versus nature
- man versus himself
 Dialect
 Dialogue
 Irony
- dramatic
- situational
- verbal
 Plot
 Point-of-View
 Protagonist
 Theme
 Setting
2
Literary Terms (cont.)
 Author’s purpose
 Symbol
 Literal vs. Figurative
Language
 Universal theme
 Foreshadowing
 Tone
 In medias res
 Characterization
 Flashback
The Basic Points-of-View
 1st Person – told from a ‘personal reflection,’ - a
character in the story tells the story
 3rd Person Limited – focuses on the thoughts of one
character
 3rd Person Omniscient – the author lets us see into the
minds of the characters
4
Poetry Terms
 Alliteration
 Oxymoron
 Assonance
 Paradox
 Hyperbole
 Personification
 Imagery
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Theme
 Mood
 Tone
 Onomatopoeia
5
Pattern of Rhyme
(Rhyme Scheme)
“The Road Not Taken”
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, (a)
And sorry I could not travel both (b)
And be one traveler, long I stood (a)
And looked down one as far as I could (a)
To where it bent in the undergrowth (b)
Fact and Opinion
FACT
OPINION
A true statement
that can be proven
through
observation,
research, or
statistics.
A statement of
judgment or
personal belief. It
may or may not be
true. The word “I” is
often used.
7
Slang and Colloquial English
 Slang – Very informal language that enjoys brief
popularity then becomes obsolete.
 Colloquial English – Refers to words that are
appropriate in dialogue and informal writing
but inappropriate in formal writing.
8
Inappropriate and
Standard American English
 Inappropriate English/Informal – Contains
grammar and usage that does not follow the
standard rules of English.
 Standard American English/Formal – The
English that is most widely accepted in the
United States. It is considered the language of
educated people.
9
New Vocabulary
 main idea = theme
 writing focus = genre
 research venue (i.e., library, survey, interview)
 works cited = bibliography
 thesis statement = controlling idea, focus
statement
10
PERIODS OF
AMERICAN
LITERATURE
11
Native-American Era
Characteristics
 Focus on the
common origin of all
things, tribal
traditions, and
respect for all nature.
Types of Literature
 mostly oral
 ceremonial songs
 prayers
 historical narratives
 poems
12
Puritan/Planter Age
Characteristics
 God’s grace saves us.
 Everything is done
for the glorification
of God.
 Plainness in all
things.
Writers and Works
 Anne Bradstreet
 “To My Dear and Loving
Husband”
 Edward Taylor
 “Huswifery”
 Jonathan Edwards
 “Sinners in the Hands of An
Angry God”
13
The Revolutionary Period
(Age of Reason)
Characteristics
 High regard for
reasoning
 Strong belief in human
progress
 Little interest in religion
 Freedom from
restrictive laws and
governments
Writers and Works
 Phyllis Wheatley
 “To His Excellency, George
Washington”
 “An Hymn to the Evening”
 Thomas Paine
 from “Crisis, Number 1”
 Thomas Jefferson
 “Declaration of
Independence”
 Benjamin Franklin
 from The Autobiography
14
The Romantic Age
Characteristics
 High regard for
inner feelings and
emotions
 Nature is
inspirational.
 Interest in the past
 Use of language of
the common people
Writers and Works
 The Fireside Poets
 Longfellow, Bryant,




Holmes, Lowell,
Whittier
Washington Irving
 “The Devil and Tom
Walker”
Nathaniel Hawthorne
 “The Minister’s Black
Veil”
Edgar Allan Poe
 “The Raven”
Herman Melville
 Moby Dick
15
Transcendentalism
Characteristics
 Truth is found in the
physical world.
 Happiness comes
through
individualism and
self-reliance.
 Nature is revered.
Writers and Works
 Walt Whitman
 “Leaves of Grass”
 Emily Dickinson
 “I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I
Died”
 “Because I Could Not Stop For
Death”
 Ralph Waldo Emerson
 from “Nature”
 from “Self Reliance”
 Henry David Thoreau
 from Walden
16
Realism and Naturalism
Characteristics
 Expression of life as
it is actually lived
 Factual
descriptions of
ordinary characters
 Subject matter
often consists of
factories, slums,
criminals, and
social outcasts.
 Heredity,
environment, and
economics
determine one’s
destiny.
 Human beings are at
the mercy of brutal
forces beyond their
control.
17
Realism and Naturalism (cont.)
Writers and Works
 Bret Harte
 “The Outcasts of
Poker Flat”
 Jack London
 “To Build a Fire”
 Mark Twain
 “The Notorious
Jumping Frog of
Calaveras
County”
 The Adventures
of Huckleberry
Finn
 Frederick Douglass
 from My Bondage
and My Freedom
 Kate Chopin
 “The Story of An
Hour”
 Stephen Crane
 “An Episode of
War”
18
The Modern Age
(1914-1945)
Characteristics
 Loss of idealism due to
 Opposition to
dehumanizing
trends in modern
life
 Dignity of people in
spite of great
challenges
 Search for new hope
war, industrialization,
and political changes
 Experimental forms of
poetry
 Raised awareness of
Black culture and
concerns
19
The Modern Age (cont.)
Writers and Works
 Eudora Welty
 “A Worn Path”
 Ernest Hemingway
 “In Another Country”
 Katherine Ann Porter
 “The Jilting of Granny
Weatherall”
 F. Scott Fitzgerald
 The Great Gatsby
 William Faulkner
 “A Race at Morning”
 Flannery O’Connor
 “The Life You Save May Be
Your Own”
 John Steinbeck
 Of Mice and Men
 Alice Walker
 The Color Purple
 Arthur Miller
 The Crucible
20
The Modern Age
The Harlem Renaissance
 Zora Neale Hurston
 from Dust Tracks on a Road
 Their Eyes Were Watching God
 Langston Hughes
 “Dream Variations”
 “Dream Deferred”
 Countee Cullen
 from “The Dark Tower”
21
Post-Modernism
1945 - Present
22