IRONY
Irony has a range of meaning that all involve some sort of discrepancy or an incongruity.
Irony provides insight into human nature; it conveys a truth about human experience by
exposing some inconsistency between the character’s behavior or a society’s traditions.
Irony helps critique the world by noting human foibles. There are several types of irony:
verbal irony utilizes statements conveying the opposite of expectations; dramatic irony
provides a contrast between what the character says or thinks with what the reader knows;
situational irony is the discrepancy between appearance and reality, between expectation
and fulfillment. Irony allows for the author to compress many ideas; it allows him to
generate a complex set of meanings. Irony tells the truth, but not baldly. Irony enables us
to feel the truth—it provides an emotional impact.
THEME
Theme is the controlling idea or central insight provided by a text. Themes provide
generalizations about life. To determine theme, one must figure out the purpose of the
text, to discern what view of life the text supports or what insights are revealed. Theme
may deal with a revelation by a character; however, theme is not necessarily a moral or a
lesson. It is better to ask, “What does the text reveal,” rather than, “what does the text
teach.” All themes should contain a subject and a predicate, not simply a subject. Themes
should be stated as generalizations about life, but be careful not to make the
generalizations larger than justified by the story. Use words like “may,” “some,” and
“sometimes.” Themes transcend the text so do not use specific references to the text.
Moreover, themes incorporate all major details—don’t force a theme to fit. Finally, do not
rely on facts not stated or implied in the text.
Tone: encompasses the attitude an author takes towards his subject and towards his
audience. This may be formal, informal, solemn, somber, funny, intimate, ironic, etc.. Tone
evokes emotion; without tone, the work would sound like an official document. Tone is
built through diction (word choice), syntax (arrangement of words), and imagery.
Motif: recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that inform themes in a text. These
may be ideas, objects, or symbols.
Motif differs from theme in that a theme is a message about life conveyed by the text. A
motif is a recurring element symbolizing that idea.
Symbol: something, be it an object, picture, written word, sound, piece of music, or a
particular mark—that stands for or represents something else-usually something more
abstract like an idea or a concept.
Character: obviously, these are the things doing the action of the plot. Characters do not
have to be people. Characters can be read as symbols too, to stand for an idea or theme.
Characters may also represent certain types or groups of people.
Archetypal characters: define an example of a personality type, like a mother-figure, or a
Christ figure. Jung believed that archetypal characters resonate in an innate and
unconscious way for us. They are universal in the sense that almost all humans respond in
the same way to the characters
Know these words:
Hyperbole:
Oxymoron:
Metaphor:
Simile:
Foreshadowing:
Allusion:
Physiological Needs: food, water, shelter—life and death
needs
Safety Needs: protection, order, law
Belongingness and Love Needs: giving and receiving
affection.
Esteem Needs: stable, firmly based, high evaluation of
one’s self, for self-respect or self-esteem, and from the
esteem of others. We desire strength, master, and
competence, independence and freedom and status
Self-actualization Need: What humans can be, they must
be. Peak experiences.