Page 1 of 35
CSET ENGLISH SUBTEST I
Reading Literature and Informational Texts;
Composition and Rhetoric
● Notes/recommendations:
o Page number references at the beginning of sections in this study guide correlate to the The
Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory: Fifth Edition: Cuddon, J. A., Habib, M.
A. R.
▪ ISBN-10 : 0141047151
▪ ISBN-13 : 978-0141047157
▪ Reasonably priced copies available on thriftbooks.com, abebooks.com or used on
amazon.com
▪ I used this to reference because it was one of the works referred to on the CTC website
used for developing the exams. The list of reference materials can be found at this link,
although some texts are more useful than others
o Another helpful reference for all 4 subtests: CSET English Subtests I-IV Book + Online (CSET
Teacher Certification Test Prep) Paperback by John Allen (Author):
▪ ISBN-10 : 9780738612027
▪ ISBN-13 : 978-0738612027
o The Norton Anthologies are also helpful for reviewing periods and movements. You can get
these used (and even use older editions) to brush up on various authors and genres for subtest I
and III.
o Review test structure at this website: CTC exams
o Link to Quizlet deck derived from this study guide:
▪ Lauren_crook5 on quizlet for all 4 decks
o General preparation materials are here
o Be sure to review the Subject Matter Requirements-this helps give an idea of what the graders
are looking for in constructed responses.
o Use the practice exams from CTC. Subtest I is here
o ***The practice exam SMR codes that follow the correct responses explain which domain the
question comes from. When scoring your practice exam, take note of which domain and area
each incorrect answer comes from so that the areas in which knowledge is lacking can be
identified clearly.
▪ *This gives you an idea/outline for what content areas should be studied further.
▪ Example from the answer key, lined up with the content domains page:
▪ For example, if I answered question 1 on the practice exam incorrectly, this correlates to
SMR Code: 1.1:
Page 2 of 35
● Then reference the English Subject Matter Requirements Part I: Content Domains for Subject Matter
Understanding and Skill in English page from CTC, it will reveal that knowledge is lacking in Domain 1.
Reading Literature and Informational Texts in one of these areas:
● Once all practice questions are completed, it will reveal a trend in the areas that need to be further
studied.
● Use these SMR codes for each multiple-choice subtest to reveal where subject matter knowledge needs
to be strengthened.
Page 3 of 35
POETRY_____________________________________________________
(def. comprehensive term which covers any kind of metrical composition. P. 546 in
Penguin)
● Mostly meant to be heard (spoken word)
● Rhythmical compositions
▪ Rhymed
▪ Unrhymed (aka blank rhyme-p. 608)
●
● Does not follow English language conventions (left up to the author)
● Form and feature are important
o Forms
▪
▪
▪
Traditional
● Regular rhyme scheme (ABABCC)
● Regular meter
Blank Verse
● P. 82 Def. unrhymed verse form first in translation of Aenid 16 th c by Earl of
Surrey.
● Most classical verse is blank
● No regular rhyme scheme
● Iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line-2 syllables per foot)
o Made famous by Shakespeare
o English language cadence (first syllable unstressed, 2nd stressed)
o i.e.
▪ Thomas Heywood A woman killed with kindness
▪ Milton Paradise Lost
▪ Wordsworth used
▪ Used extensively in the romantic period
▪ Maxwell Anderson
▪ TS Eliot
Free Verse
● P 290 Def. no regular meter or line length and depends on natural speech
rhythms and counterpoint of stressed and unstressed syllables
● No regular meter
● No set pattern
● No regular rhyme scheme
● No specific length-2 to 100 lines etc.
● Use of diction (p.543-vocabulary-particular kind of language and artificial
arrangement by many poets in the 18th c. who were guided by the theory and
practice of Neoclassicism) and form define meaning of poem
● Became popular during times of upheaval i.e. walt Whitman during civil war,
early 20c. (WWI)
Page 4 of 35
● Allows author to break completely from traditional forms of poetry
● 19th c. French but made pop in England
● i.e.
o EE. Cummings
o Bible-Psalms and Song of Songs
o Milton-Lycidas
o Renewed in Europe after neoclassicism
o Heine
o Goethe Faust
o Baudelaire
o Walt Whitman possibly did more than any to develop
o Ezra Pound
o William Carlos Williams
▪ Some specific forms of Poetry:
● Haiku
o Def p. 323-Expresses a single idea, image or feeling; in fact, it is a kind of
miniature ‘snap’ in words first est in 16th c.
o 17 syllables
o 3 lines of 5,7,5 ON (syllables) 17 ON total
o No set rhyme scheme
o Fixed form
o Style is related to beauty of nature, feelings, or experiences, contrasting
of ideas (juxtaposition)
o Originates in classic Japan
o i.e.
▪ Robert frost
▪ Conrad Aiken
▪ Yeats
● Limerick
o Def p 397-type of light verse and particularly pop fixed verse form in
English. Five anapaestic(a unit of sound in poetry consisting of two
weak or short syllables followed by one strong or long syllable) lines
o 5 Line poem
o AABBA rhyme scheme
o Final line is a punch line
o Fixed or closed verse form
o Style is witty or funny form of entertainment
o Puns
o Originated in Ireland-famous in 18th c England
● Sonnet (Italian roots)-made famous in England (P. 668)
o 14-line poem
o Iambic pentameter
o First 8 lines(problem)
Page 5 of 35
o
o
o
o
o
Last 6 lines (discuss resolution)
Petrarchan and Spenserian
Unstressed and Stressed syllables repeated 5 times
Fixed/closed verse form
Most popular styles are:
▪ Shakespearean
● ABAB CDCD EFEF | GG (3 quatrains and one couplet)
● Four parts
o Three quatrains of 4 lines each
o Followed by final couplet
● Volta will always be at 12th line before ending in a rhyming
couplet
▪ Petrarchan
● ABBA ABBA | CDEC DE (original style)
● Octet-first 8 lines before volta, then sextet
▪ Spenserian
● ABAB BCBC CDCD| EE (3 quatrains and one couplet) like
Shakespearean)
● More complex rhyme scheme
▪ Miltonic
● ABBA ABBA | CDCD CD
● Octet-first 8 lines, then volta, then sextet
o Pay attention to where the Volta (change) happens!!!
● When taking the exam, mark which sonnet it is by taking notes to recognize what
type it is.
● Villanelle (p. 763)
o 19-line poem
o 5 3-lined stanzas or tercets
o 2 rhyme sounds
o First and third lines of first stanza are rhyming refrains
o Third line forms a couplet at close
o Last two lines are the first and third lines repeated
o Style resists narrative development, addresses hardships, life, beauty
o French origins, made pop in 19th c Eng. Poetry
o I.e.
▪ Sylvia Plath mad girls love song
▪ Passerat
▪ English poets who have experimented:
● Wilde
● Henley
● Auden
● Ballad (p. 64 fundamentally a song that tells a story and originally was a
musical accompaniment to a dance)
Page 6 of 35
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Second and 4th line rhyme
May contain a series of quatrains, quintets, and sestets
Style and subject usually relate to love religion, politics, and war.
Origins in 13th c Italy and Spain but practiced in England, Spain, Italy,
Germany, and France by the 15th c.
Does not follow guidelines of any one language so use caution when
attempting to apply meter
Language is simple
Theme is often tragic
Made popular esp during the Middle Ages
i.e.
▪ Beowulf
▪ Homeric style
▪ Coleridge Rime of the Ancient Mariner
o Features:
▪ Rhythm
● Pattern of sound created by the varying length and emphasis given to different
syllables
● Can be accomplished by
o Repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables
o Repetition of phrases or words
▪ Meter:
● Foot: the metrical unit
● The number of feet in a line tells you what type of meter. i.e. 5 feet with 2
syllables is iambic pentameter
● Types:
o Iambic (most popular) 2 syllables in one foot
▪ The foot of the verse starts with a stressed syllable and ends with
an unstressed syllable
▪ Usually a short vowel sound will have unstressed whereas the
long vowel will have the stressed sound
o Trochaic meter
▪ Start with a stressed syllable but ends with unstressed syllable
▪ i.e. peter peter pumpkin eater
● Types of Rhyme
o Internal Rhyme
▪ Involves a word in the middle of the line and the end of the line or in the middle of the
next.
▪ Rhyme does not happen at the end of the rhyme i.e. Tennyson
o External Rhyme
▪ Happens at the end of the line
▪ Last sound at the end rhymes
▪ i.e. Langston Hughes
Page 7 of 35
o Half Rhyme/Slant Rhyme
▪ Same sort of sound but not an exact rhyme
● Hope is the thing with feathers Dickinson
● Soul/all consonant sound creates slanted rhyme
Questions to consider for Analyzing Poetry for CSET
o *****Does the poem follow an identifiable rhyme scheme that corresponds to a specific
form?
o What kind of rhyme is used?
o Is the rhyme consistent or scattered throughout?
o If inconsistent, where does the rhyme change or appear and why?
o What is the overall purpose or effect of the rhyme scheme?
Prose_________________________________
Types
● Short Story
● A work of prose that rarely includes chapters
● Generally doesn’t exceed 40 pages
● i.e. Kate Chopin Story of an hour
● Novella
o
o
o
o
o
In between the length of a short story and a novel
Conveys same deeper study of character
Shorter span
Lacks subplots
i.e. Henry James Daisy Miller
● Novels
● A long work of prose
● Includes chapters
● Follows actions, emotion, and character development of a protagonist
o Generally over a longer period of time
Page 8 of 35
o Often has subplots related to the main theme
o Ex Ralph Ellison Invisible Man
● Set in a variety of times (historical, present, future)
● Nonfiction
o Autobiography
▪ Authors nonfiction story of his life
▪ i.e. Frederick Douglass
▪ often written in first person but may be omniscient telling a life story.
▪ Told from the pov of author
▪ author is narrator
o Biography
▪ The nonfiction story of a person’s life told from an outside perspective
● Can be written with or without the consent of subject
● i.e. Kitty Kelley Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography
o Essay
▪ A short work of prose written about a particular subject, issue, or idea; may
attempt to convince
▪ Originated with Michel de Montaigne with The Essays of Montaigne, The Prince
of Machiavelli, and common sense by Thomas Paine.
o Informational
▪ Nonfiction prose that provides information and remains neutral
o History
▪ Provide information about events that occurred in the past; may be from a
specific perspective
o How-to-article
▪ Provides info on fixing, arranging etc.; usually in form of a manual etc.
Types of Fictional Prose
● Bildungsroman “(Educational Novel)”
o Psychological and moral growth of protagonist from youth to adulthood
o Single Character
o Formation or development
o i.e. Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
● Picaresque (“rogue”)
o Usually satirical detailing adventures of up and coming hero in a corrupt society
o Character goes against societal norms or expectations
o i.e. Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
● Political fiction
o Deals with political affairs
o Almost always criticizing an existing society
o i.e. Sir Thomas more Utopia
● Utopian
o Explores social and political structures
Page 9 of 35
o Idea of an ideal world
o i.e. Sir Thomas More, Utopia
DRAMA_______________________________________________
● Writing that is intended to be performed by actors for an audience
● Script combines with dialogue (the words actors say) with stage directions (the author’s comments on
how and where the actors should move and speak)
● All of the above are important because they set the tone and mood of the piece
Types of Plays
o
o
o
o
●
●
●
●
●
Not all are the same in tone, style or message
Should have unity of time, place and action
Some employ technique of beginning in media res (in the middle)
Comedy
▪ Humorous play with a happy ending
▪ i.e. Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream
o Tragedy
▪ A hero suffers a major downfall
▪ i.e. Macbeth
o Drama
▪ Serious play although consequences are not as dire as a tragedy
▪ i.e. Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
▪ Steel Magnolias
Plot and Conflict
o Contains plot (series of events, involving a conflict or problem that one or more characters face.
▪ Conflict is introduced early in the play, perhaps in opening scene
▪ Tension builds to climax which ends with resolution of conflict
Dialogue
o Necessary for drama
o How action is conveyed
o Between two or more characters
Monologue
o Lengthy speech that one character addresses to others onstage
o Others present in the scene
Both dialogue and monologue reveal character traits and advance the story action in drama.
Soliloquy
o Long monologue directed at audience
o Follows the train of thought of a character
o Shakespeare’s Hamlet…to be or not to be
Page 10 of 35
● Stage Directions
o The instructions for performing the play and the descriptions of settings, characters, and
actions.
o Help visualize the play
ORAL LITERATURE___________________________________________________
3 major styles
1. Fables (i.e. the Wolf and the Crane)
o Generally short and simplified
o Passed down through oral traditions
o Contain didactic or moral message
o Use animals as characters (Aesop’s Fables)
o Trickster Tales are a sub-genre of fable.
▪ Clever and mischievous characters who either parody or satirize human nature
▪ i.e.Brer Rabbit etc.
2. Legend (used to stress a society’s values or ideals as a character)
o Myth or story about heroes; based on historical figures; embellishment might be used
o Often based on real people but uses hyperbole
o Gives a sort of invented history to culture or area
▪ i.e. :
● Helen of troy (mythical daughter of Zeus, cautionary tale),
● trojan war (waged against city of troy by Achaeans-Greek mythology-Homer’s
Iliad),
o considered an epic poem-long!
● el dorado (tribal chief in gold dust dives into lake)
o intention to move Spanish off their land
● robin hood (true English nobleman adheres to law of the people, altruistic)
o can be much longer than fables
o Often lyrical verse to aid in memorization for retelling
3. Parable
o Told in allegories (a story, play, picture, etc. in which each character or event is a symbol representing
an idea or a quality, such as truth, evil, death, etc.; the use of such symbols)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Every thing (character, action, place) represents something else
Before 17th c. most commonly expressed orally
Illustrates a moral using the allegory
Much shorter-plot w/o subplot
Whole story is symbolic!
Young Adult Literature
● Common Features
o Where the red fern grows, jane eyre, little women
o Teenage or young protagonist
Page 11 of 35
o Often 1st person pov(when not, it will be told from 3rd person limited pov, through eyes of
protagonist)
o Sensitivity to culture and class diversity
o “coming of age”
o Explores issues of
▪ Family
▪ Ethical decisions
▪ Violence
▪ Conflict
▪ Adolescence
▪ Personality
▪ Sexuality
▪ Social alienation
o Forms:
▪ Short stories,
▪ Poetry
▪ Novels
o Examples:
▪ Jd salinger catcher in the rye,
▪ lord of the flies,
▪ to kill a mockingbird, the outsiders….
▪ Where the red fern grows
▪ Diary of Ann Frank
▪ Jane Eyre
▪ Little Women
▪ (most of these novels written in mid 19thc. during a time of upheaval.)
MAJOR TRADITIONS__________________________________________
● American Literature (This is not chronological{movements}! Just American)
o Colonial Literature
▪ 3 distinct eras:
1. (early) founding of colonies,
a. Trying to escape corruption
b. John Smith Journals
2. Post establishment of colonies era
a. puritanical thoughts
b. well educated theologists
c. Puritans began a major shift in theology
d. Believed the universe is divinely controlled by God and that all humans
are equal to God
e. Themes in this era surround
i. Original sin
Page 12 of 35
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
Predestination
f. i.e.
i. John Calvin, The Institute of Christian Religion
ii. Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
3. end of colonial time period when America moved into independence
a. Age of reason
b. Towards Deism
c. Criticizes institutionalized religion
d. Challenges legitimacy of the bible
e. Exposes catholic church and the need to control politics
f. Break away from religion and into ones own evidence or experience
g. i.e.
i. Thomas Paine Common Sense
▪ Was propaganda to entice settlers to new world
▪ Pilgrims decided to write about experiences
▪ Theme: Issues of security in the wilderness
▪ i.e. John Smith, Journals
o Realism and Modernity
▪ Combines elements of picaresque (rough and dishonest but appealing hero) and
bildungsroman (favorite years of spiritual education
▪ Combined wit and wry humor
▪ i.e.
● mark twain, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
o Post Modernism
▪ Rise in various genres of criticism
▪ Modernism is still not over; there is never a neat demarcation line
▪ Still happening
▪ Difficult to define
▪ Established the “New Theatre” of realism
▪ i.e. Maya Angelou, Edward Albee, Toni Morrison, Tennessee Williams…
● Indian Literature (India/Hindu)
o Vedic Literature
▪ Earliest works orally transmitted
▪ Sanskrit literature begins with the Rig Veda
● Rig Veda is collection of sacred hymns.
● Bhagavat Geeta
o Influenced the American Transcendentalists
● Repetitive and legendary
o Epic Sanskrit Literature
▪ Indian Epic Poetry
Page 13 of 35
●
●
●
●
● Mahabharata(civil wars among Aryan clans in norther India
● Ramayana
Chinese Literature
o Maoist Era
▪ Communism controlled literature
▪ Strict censorship implemented
▪ Conflict developed between writers and government
▪ Cultural revolution-stopped all cultural activity
● Writers continued to produce in secret
o Post Mao Literature
▪ Discussed abuses of power
▪ The literature of the wounded
▪ Interest in foreign lit-some believed shift was too quick
▪ Writers used unconventional methods
Japanese Literature
o Classical
▪ Literature of the recent past 1600-1867
● Edo period-cultural influenced of samurai
● Outbursts of creative activity-haiku master Matsuo Basho and novelist Ihara
Saikaku
● Last literature before influence of Western society
● Matsuo Basho
o Regarded as greatest haiku poet
o Narrow road of the interior (1689) most famous
o The Modern Period
▪ Meji Literature 1868-1912
● Western influence moved to japan
● Essence of the novel-advocated psychological realism and realistic character
portrayal
● Japanese Naturalism Movement gained prominence
Arabic Literature and Traditions
o Quran and Islam
▪ Language is Classical Arabic
▪ Most important work
▪ Greatest contribution of Arabic Literature
▪ Complicated structure
Post-Colonial Literature (written in colonies once controlled by dominant euro nations)
o Colonial and/or post-independence influence of the cultural, economic, or political dominance
of a colonizing nation on that nations people, culture, and society
o Usually European dominated country
o Difficult term to define
o Not universal in purpose of scope
o Different aspects
Page 14 of 35
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Literal colonization=political, cultural or tradition changes as result of colonization
Post-independence-have not truly become completely independent; may still be
dependent on cultural, economic or political support
Native writers may implement writing to support colonization
Rival claims between colonized
Often divided along language lines (written in dominant English lang)
MAJOR LITERARY MOVEMENTS_________________________________________
▪
Pay attention to: (for each movement)
o Themes
o Forms
o Literary styles
o Exemplar authors
o Historical time period (general times i.e. what half of which century)
▪ 10 Major Movements (Periods):
1. Homeric Greece
▪ Themes:
● Celebration of heroes and Gods and ancient legends
▪ Forms:
● Epic Poems- long narratives,
● hexameter verse,
● performed or read
▪ Works/Authors
● Homer, Iliad and Odyssey (revered for persuasive speeches)
2. Classical Greece
▪ Themes
● Morality
● Life and death
● Satire
● Seasons
▪ Forms
● Music, poetry, drama
▪ Works/authors
● Sophocles The Theban Plays,
● Euripides Hyppolytus
● Aristophanes The Knights
▪ Historical Context
● Persian Invasion (Persians defeated)
● More of an Athens perspective than Greek
3. Medieval (1066-1450)
▪ Themes
● Centered on God and religion
● Chivalric code of honor
Page 15 of 35
▪
Forms
● Epic (poetry to record legends)
● Romances (stories)
● Lyric Poetry (songs of love to entertain)
▪ Works/authors
● Anonymous, Beowulf
▪ Historical Context
● Weak central government
▪ The middle ages
● Fall of roman empire to conquest
● Assertion of English language as dominant (Norse invasion)
● Shift of language
● English re-established itself after the 100yrs war w/France
● i.e. Canterbury Tales Chaucer, Sir Thomas More, Utopia
4. Renaissance “Rebirth” 1485-1603
▪ Themes
● Human individual as center of thought
● Not everything coming from god, but also what humans can absorb and
understand through humanity
● Greater cosmic order-cosmic hierarchy and cosmic order
▪ Forms
● Prose
● Poetry
▪ Works/Authors
● Christopher Marlowe, Sir Philip Sydney
● William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
● Sir francis Beaumont, the maid’s tragedy
▪ Historical Context
● Protestant reformation
● Catholic church became dogmatic with enormous wealth
● More dogmatic, trying to break away from corruption of Catholic church
▪ The Renaissance
● English Culture flourished after the reign of QE
● There was a greater acceptance of combining other cultures
● Increase of words that become modern English
5. Elizabethan 1558-1603
▪ Themes
● Universe is an orderly whole-newer theme came in through renaissance as
though is reborn
● England as a political whole
● English identity
● Every element has its proper role
▪ Forms
Page 16 of 35
● Plays and Poems
▪ Works/Authors
● Shakespeare, Spenser, Francis Bacon (essays)
▪ Historical Context
● Church replaced by Monarch as head of state; emphasis on central authority to
unify political fragmentation (queen and England)
6. Neoclassical 1660-1798 (also encompasses American lit as opposed to just British)
▪ Themes
● Emphasis on balance and order
● Return to virtues of classical works
o People themselves now have some ruling
▪ Forms
● Poems,
● Prose
o More aligned with classical models with arguments and supporting
evidence
▪ Works/Authors
● Edmund Burke, Alexander Pope, Swift, Johnson, Dryden, Hobbes, Locke
▪ Historical Context
● Enlightenment Period
o Reason over passion
o Questioning god or only queen has power
7. Neoclassical Period (Age of Reason) 1660-1798
▪ The Restoration British Lit during this period
● Increase in literacy
● First period of modern English Prose
▪ Themes
● Witty comedies
● Heroic Stanzas
▪ Works/Authors
● Dryden
● Alexander Pope
▪ American Lit during this period
● Shift from overt theism to subtle deism
● God is the creator of a perfect world for humans to enjoy
● Do not follow a particular religious dogma
● Common is the master of the owner and master of their own world
● Showcased ideals of being own man
● Popular works during this time
o Alexander Hamilton
o John Jay
o James Madison The Federalist
o Benjamin Franklin Poor Richards Almanac
Page 17 of 35
8. Romantic Age 1798-1860
▪ British Lit During this period:
▪ Themes
● Celebrated Imagination
● Praise of Human instincts
● Importance of individual
● Unity
● Beauty and wonders of nature
● Reason is almost rebelled against
● Indulging in emotions and feelings over logic
● Also a rebellion against industrialization
▪ Forms
● Romantic Poems
● Gothic novels
▪ Works/Authors
● Jane Austen, Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Samuel
Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron
▪ Historical Context
● Influenced by French Revolution
▪ General
● Emotional reaction to rational, neo-classicism
● Diverse group of followers
● Includes nature, chivalry, magic, idealistic romantic love
o Works
▪ William blake songs of innocence
▪ John keats ode on a Grecian urn
▪ Sir walter scott the lady of the lake
▪ William wordsworth lyrical ballads
▪ American Lit during this period
● American gothic novel
▪ Transcendentalism
● Happened during romantic age
● Reaction against the perceived structures of Neoclassical age
● Belief system that places god back in nature
● A group of young Bostonians that were concerned with the theology of the
unitarian church
● Centers on Mysticism
o Ralph waldo Emerson “self reliance”
o Henry David Thoreau
▪ Also, within this time period, the American Renaissance 1830-civil war had an effect
● Period in which widely accepted American masterpieces were produced
● African American/Slave literature emerged
● Americans accepted a mainly American identity
Page 18 of 35
● Works (Note beginning of notable female authors)
o Washington Irving, legend of sleepy hollow
o Harriet beecher stowe uncle toms cabin
o Nathaniel hawthorne the scarlet letter
o Frederick douglass autobio of an American slave
▪ Also, during this period but in America:
● American Gothic movement
o Edgar Allen Poe
o Supernatural Tales containing elements of psychologic realism
o Dark literature
o Works
▪ Edgar allen poe, the raven
▪ Nathaniel hawthorne the ministers black veil
9. Victorian 1832-1900 (note that these dates overlap with romantic age)
▪ Themes
● Emphasis on Social reform (correcting social injustices)
● Conservative social and political realms
● Portrayal of social life as expected-pursuing them to happier end
▪ Forms
● Poems
● Prose
● Rebirth of the novel
▪ Works/Authors (note again the influx of female authors in the US)
● Charlotte and Emily bronte
● Elizabeth barrett browning
● Lord Tennyson
● Charles dickens
● Charles Darwin
● Oscar wilde
▪ Historical Context
● Industrial revolution led to economic and social changes
● Growth of newspapers and magazines
▪ Characteristics include:
● Accepting social and political change as the norm
● Rise of the middle class; industrialization and urbanization
● Increase in technology (negative/positive literature)
● Analyzes relationship between people and society
● Works:
o Charlotte bronte, jane eyre (buldingsroman)
o Emily bronte, wuthering heights
o Charles dickens, a tale of two cities
o Oscar wilde, the picture of dorian gray (satirical buldingsroman, subject of
painting with perfections of youth)
Page 19 of 35
10. Modern period 1900-1950 (old west is history)
▪ Themes
● Confrontation of ethical problems
● Alienation vs. isolation-consciousness
▪ Forms
● Detraction from linear forms (stream of consciousness)
▪ Works/Authors
● Upton Sinclair
● Virginia woolf
● Ts Elliot
● Ee cummings
● Ernest hemingway
● James joyce
▪ Historical Context
● WWI
● Rejection of past and traditions
● Heroism and expectations of society
● World is turned upside down
● Europe topples and America becomes dominant
▪ Within the modern period, especially America:
● Naturalism
o Stark realiscm and skepticism about human free will
o Morals matter less than circumstances
o Politics are upside down
o Psychology-sigmund freud
o Science-charles Darwin
o Politics-karl marx
o Works: Stephen crane
11. Postmodernism 1960-present
▪ Themes
● Critical of the absence of tradition
● Reaction against ordered view of world
● Deconstructionism-critical theories
▪ Forms
● Magical realism
● Fragmented narratives
● Shift in perspectives and chronoglogy
▪ Works/authors
● Sylvia plath
● Jorge borges
● Toni Morrison
● Vladimir Nabokov
▪ Historical context
Page 20 of 35
● Social movements
● Social and racial consciousness
th
▪ 20 c. British Literature
● Technology revolution
● Use of literature to express problems
● Describing social cultural problems and lack of social unity
● i.e. Samuel beckett waiting for godot, joseph conrad, typhoon, virginia woolf
12. Other Literary Movements (not as popular, but still important)
▪ Realism 1830-1900
● Honest portrayal of life
● George eliot
● Charles dickens
▪ Magic realism 1935-present
● Combines reality with dream like prose
● Jorge luis borges
● Gabriel garcial marquez
▪ Symbolist 1870-1890
● Highly symbolized expressing individual
● Opposed realism
● Stephanie mallare
▪ Regionalism
● Thorough descriptions of landscape and region as very important to the
understanding of the literary work
● Kate chopin, the awakening
▪ Imagist 20th c.
● Clear image to convey meaning
● Rejects sentiments and discursiveness typical of romantic and Victorian
● No prolonged descriptions
● Te hulme, a city sunset
▪ Harlem renaissance 1918-1930
● Concerns with clash between traditional folkway and western culture
● Zora neale huston, their eyes were watching god
Text Complexity-3 Parts-_______________________________________
1. Qualitative Dimensions
a. Aspects of text complexity that require an attentive human reader to understand and evaluate
i. Levels of meaning
1. Sometimes layers of meaning
ii. Levels of purpose
1. Simplest: explained purpose
2. Highest: implied
iii. Language conventionality
1. Types of language used idioms complexity etc
Page 21 of 35
2. Knowledge demands
a. Background=everyday knowledge
b. Cultural= familiar to the particular reader; complex requires more
extensive knowledge (i.e. social expectations)
c. prior knowledge=educational frontloading, complex texts require more
extensive (possibly historical) knowledge
2. Quantitative Dimensions
a. Things that can be quantified (i.e. by a computer)
i. Word length
ii. Frequency
iii. Sentence length
iv. Text cohesion
3. Reader and Task Considerations
a. Variables specific to each reader
i. Background, motivation, prior knowledge etc.
ii. Best made by the teachers based on their knowledge of the students
iii. Pay attention to text complexity bands
Basic Elements of Literature____________________________
1. Plot Structure
a. Development of a story
b. Concept of a narrative etc
i. Exposition
1. Intro to main characters protagonist or antagonist
ii. Concludes with inciting incident which begins rising action
iii. Rising actions move characters back, culminates in climax
iv. Climax-main decision that protagonist must make which creates turn in action
v. Story goes into either falling events or ended with resolution of story (Denouement)
2. Central Conflict Types (Fiction)
a. Internal
i. Struggling against self
ii. Occurs in the protagonist’s mind
1. Dive into mindset or world of character
2. Not a visual or tangible opposition
3. Man vs. himself
4. A character dealing with his or her own mixed feelings or emotions
a. i.e. john steinbecks of mice and men-moral struggle
b. harper lee, to kill a mockingbird-again, protagonist moral struggle
c. Richard wright black boyd. Chinua acebe things fall apart
Page 22 of 35
e. Charlotte bronte, jane eyre
b. External
i. Struggle b/t char and outside force
ii. May be a physical or mental altercation
iii. May be struggle b/t values or opinions
1. Conflict with another character-man vs. man
2. Conflict with group of moral issues-man vs. society
3. Conflict with nature or weather-man vs. environment
a. i.e. maya angelou I know why the caged bird sings
b. Sandra Cisneros the house on mango street
c. Ernest hemingway old man and the sea
d. Arthur miller the crucible
e. William Shakespeare Macbeth
f. JD salinger the catcher in the rye
3. Fiction-Setting
a. Time(temporally) and place (geographic, cultural etc.) where the event occurs
b. Crucial because it establishes the
i. Mood -setting the atmosphere
ii. Purpose of text-provides historical context or greater insight on social struggles of the
time
iii. Character understanding-provides insight on character motivation and actions
iv. All of these help the reader to understand the story.
c. How the story is introduced
i. Ab ovo/initio: the absolute beginning of events
1. As close to the beginning of the story as possible
2. Reference to trojan war and the double egg
ii. In medias res: into the middle of things
1. A story begins at the mid-point or at the conclusion
a. i.e. the great Gatsby we are introduced in the middle of the story; only
learn later about their past history
4. Fiction Characters
a. Protagonist
i. Main character in the story
b. Antagonist
i. Character that creates conflict for protagonist
c. Round/Dynamic Character
i. Character that changes throughout the story
d. Flat/static character
i. Character that remains stagnant
e. Foil Character
i. Contrasts with another character to highlight the qualities of another character
5. Point of View
a. Story is told from specific points of view
Page 23 of 35
1. First Person
a. Narrator is in the story, telling the story from his perspective
b. Jd salinger catcher in the rye
2. Third Person Limited
a. A narrator outside the story following the thoughts of one character
b. Readers learn about plot structure etc because generally follows
protagonist
c. Lewis carroll alice in wonderland
3. Third Person Omniscient
a. Narrator outside the story
b. Given god like powers to know the thoughts and actions of all the
characters
c. John steinbeck, of mice and men
4. Reliable narrator
5. Unreliable narrator
6. Objective narration
a. Narrator remains neutral
b. Ernest hemingways hills like white elephants
7. Stream of consciousness narration
a. Tells of charactes thoughts, inner feelings and emotions
b. F scott fitzgerald, the great Gatsby
c. Hunter Thompson fear and loathing in las vegas
6. Tone
a. The attitude the author takes toward the audience, subject, or character
b. Conveyed through the authors words and details
c. Questions to consider:
i. Is the tone formal or informal?
ii. Positive or negative?
iii. What is the purpose of the writing?
7. Mood
a. The emotions that the reader feels while reading
b. Author sets the mood
c. Some literature makes you feel an array of emotions
d. Questions to consider
i. How does the passage make you feel?
8. Theme
a. Central or controlling idea or insight in literature
b. May be more than one
c. The theme may be presented as a lesson in the story
d. Consider these questions
i. What is the author saying about the subject of the writing?
ii. What is the purpose of the writing?
iii. What happened?
Page 24 of 35
iv. What are the lessons for the protagonist?
Literary Devices________________________________________
1. Diction (word choice)
a. Denotation
i. Dictionary meaning of a word
ii. Author will use specific diction to evoke a particular feeling or emotion
b. Connotation
i. Meaning of a word beyond its dictionary definition. Emotions and feelings associated
with the word
2. Allusion
a. A reference to history or literature
b. Most common uses of literature are the bible, Shakespeare and Greek mythology
c. Presupposes prior knowledge from the reader
d. Can be crucial to the understanding of the piece
3. Symbolism
a. Often overlaps with other literary devices
b. Uses an image to represent something more than what it is
c. Look for specific diction that is traditionally symbolic
i. i.e. red=passion
ii. sleep=death
iii. dove=peace
iv. flag=patriotism
v. road=decision
vi. snow=purity
vii. fire=passion
4. Imagery
a. Use of descriptive words that appeal to the 5 senses
b. Allows the reader to experience the piece of work by evoking the senses
5. Irony (3 types)
a. Something which is unexpected or unlikely but exists anyway
1. Situational
a. An outcome that is different from what is expected
2. Dramatic
a. Most often found in drama where the audience knows something the
character does not
3. Verbal
a. Intended meaning of the words is opposite of their expected meaning
(can be sarcastic)
6. Paradox
a. A contradiction that is nevertheless true
Page 25 of 35
b. Emily Dickinson my life closed twice
7. Apostrophe
a. Addressing an object as if it were present or living i.e. a star
b. Choose something like a star by Robert frost
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (FALLS UNDER LITERARY DEVICES)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Personification
a. Attributing human qualities or traits to a non-human object
Hyperbole
a. Deliberate exaggeration
i. i.e. appetite by anonymous
Understatement
a. The opposite of hyperbole
b. Lack of emphasis
c. i.e. shakespeare’s my mistress
Simile
a. A comparison between two unlike things
b. *uses like or as
c. More explicit than metaphor
Metaphor p. 432
a. Direct comparison between two unlike things
b. Tend to be more extensive than similes
c. Provide a greater understanding of text (as with similes)
i. Examples of forms of metaphors:
1. Metonymy p 434
a. Def: A figure of speech in which the name of an attribute or a thing is
substituted for the thing itself.
b. Use of a word in place of another word that is closely associated with it
c. i.e.
i. Robert Frosts out! Out! (life from spilling)
ii. ‘The Stage’ for theatrical profession
iii. ‘the crown’ for the monarchy
iv. ‘the bench’ for the judiciary
v. ‘Dante’ for his works
2. Synecdoche def. p. 704
a. Use of a significant part to represent the whole
b.
c. I.e. The love song of j Alfred Prufrock (1 stanza) (ragged claws)
STRUCTURAL DEVICES
▪
▪
Manipulation of letters or sounds, placement of letters to further involve reader or convey ideas more
dramatically or effectively
Alliteration
Page 26 of 35
▪
▪
▪
o The repetition of the same sound in a series of words for effect
Onomatopoeia
o The use of a word whose sound closely resembles the sound of the event or object
named
o Robert Frost Ghost House
Anaphora
o Rhetorical device
o Repeating a sequence of words
o At the beginnings of neighboring clauses, lending emphasis
Epistrophe
o Again, repeating a sequence of words but
o At the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
o Also known as epiphora
▪ Rhyme
o Repetition of a specific sound in two words, usually the end sound
o Internal (inside of a line)
o External (end sounds of a line or subsequent lines) think dr. Seuss
o Forms:
▪ Slant rhyme
▪ Author wants to use 2 words that do not fully rhyme but makes them sound
somewhat the same
● Emily Dickinson hope is the thing with feathers
▪ Meter
o The arrangement of words
o Certain rhythmic measure
o Based on number of syllables and emphasis
o Structural principles
▪ Series
▪ Contrast (juxtaposition) conveys theme or idea
▪ Repetition
o Structural units-separations or lack of for effect or to create clarity
▪ Scenes
▪ acts
▪ chapters
▪ Lines (i.e. sonnet that includes volta)
▪ Stanzas
*****When analyzing a poem for the exam:
▪
▪
The poem’s style exemplifies which movement?
o Symbolist
o Romantic
o Modernist
The poem highlights usage of a particular poetic device or convention
Page 27 of 35
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
o Metaphor and other figures of speech
o Personification
o Irony, hyperbole
Identify the mood of the poem; anger, loneliness, expanded awareness
i.e. Baudelaire from les fleurs du mal
The question itself is key
Keep in mind what the question is asking
Pay attention to all aspects of the poem
ANALYZING AN EXCERPT
▪
▪
▪
Be able to understand a passage’s theme
How does the passage exemplify the concerns of a movement or period
With respect to literature understand:
o Style
o Tone
o Mood
o Literary devices
ANALYZE A PASSAGE FROM DRAMA
▪
▪
▪
▪
Understand the different forms of dramatic literature
o Tragedy
o Comedy
o Drama
Be able to understand the theme of the passage
o Identify purpose
o Stage direction
o Particular lines
o Interaction b/t characters
How does the passage exemplify the concerns of:
o Movement
▪ Characteristics of poem help narrow this down
▪ Tone and mood help identify this
o Period
With respect to drama understand
o Style
o Tone
o Mood
▪ What is the reader supposed to feel from this piece?
o Literary devices
Literary Criticism______________________________________________
Aesthetic Approach---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 28 of 35
● Two types of methodology
o Reader engages with the ideas in the text ad draws from his or her own prior experiences
o Reader creates a new experience called an evocation
● Concepts that evoke emotion from literature
o Social values
o Culture
o Religion
o Gender
o These may be present in the characters or situations and allow the reader to relate
Historical/political Approach-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------● Seeks to understand a literary work by investigating
o Social
o Cultural
o Political
o Intellectual
● Provides understanding of work by gaining insight on the authors purpose, intent or
motivations for writing the works
o i.e. Ayn Rand, Anthem: criticism of communism in the Soviet Union
o f scott fitzgerald, the great Gatsby: criticism of fading traditional values of the 1920s
Philosophical/moral approach----------------------------------------------------------------------------------● Belief that larger purpose of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues
o Can be considered too judgmental and as a distractor to the value of the piece of
literature
● Provides credibility to the influence of literature as a means to communicate and promote
morality (alexander pope, a mans essay)
● Plato and Horace argued that literature should serve the purpose to promote good in humans
and be instructive
Formalists/ New Criticism Approach------------------------------------------------------------------------●
●
●
●
All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work itself
Concern with form (style, structure, tone, imagery, etc) as pieces that make up the whole
Readers should be able to enjoy a piece of literature without any prior knowledge
Look for:
o Semantics
o Imagery
o Metaphor
o Symbolism
o Irony
Page 29 of 35
o Allusion (reader already has established cannon of literature including preconceived knowledge
to identify and understand allusions)
o Tone
Deconstructionist Approach-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------●
●
●
●
Rejection of the traditional assumption that language can accurately represent reality
Emphasis on not what is being said, but how it is used
Language will arise different meanings for different people; therefore, there should be no fixed
meaning for literature
Popular since late 1960s to present
Feminist Approach-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------●
●
●
●
Challenges the traditional view that other analytical perspectives are objective and free from bias
A sexist point of view has dominated literature and criticism-distinguishes human experience from
male experience
Argues that male fears are often portrayed through female characters
Three main points:
o Analysis should be principally social and political
o Literature should be reanalyzed with feminist approach scope
o Literature and analysis should strive to achieve an androgynous perspective
Psychoanalytical/Archetypal Approach-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------● Takes a psychological approach to analyzing literature
● Analyzing motivation of characters and authors
● Carl Jung
▪ Archetypal approach
▪ Collective Unconsciousness: certain images or situation create similar emotional
responses in almost everyone.
▪ Enhances critical abilities for readers by requiring them to probe the mythic origins of
symbols, imagery, etc.
● Sigmund Freud
▪ Most of mental processes of human beings takes place in unconscious mind
▪ Psychic organized in three:
● ID (pleasure principle)
● EGO (reality principle)
● SUPEREGO (morality principle)
▪ Dreams are manifestation of unconscious mind
▪ Infantile behavior is basically erotic
▪ Neurosis is closely related to creativity
COMPARING PRINT AND VISUAL MEDIA_________________________________
● Compare print and visual media:
▪ Film
Page 30 of 35
▪ Television
▪ Internet
● Techniques of persuasion and rhetoric of visual media
▪ Montage
▪ Realism
▪ Narrative
● Printed word vs. hypertext?
● Media creates the concept of the how being part of the what.
GENRES IN CONTEXT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
● Narrative
▪ Tells a story
● Persuasive essay
▪ Evaluates a topic and makes a claim or takes a position on the topic
● Descriptive
▪ Provides a description of a person, place, or event
● Expository
▪ Analyzes ideas or expands on details (usually in reference to another text)
● Research
▪ Requires gathering of data, facts, and a collection of sources and provides information
on findings
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND RHETORICAL DEVICES>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
● Non-narrative Organizational Structures
● Not all docs are organized like a narrative or story
● Basic tools of rhetoric used to organize a larger text:
▪ Analogy
● A kind of comparison found in
o Poetry
o Fiction
o Philosophy
o Nonfiction
o Fiction
o “love is like a rock”
▪ Cause and effect
● Philosophical concept of causality (one action or event impacts another)
o In literature: a chain of causes that advances that plot and leads to the
final outcome
o A cause is an action, event or situation that produces a result
o An effect is the result produced by a cause
▪ Compare and contrast
● Slightly different from analogy
o One is also contrasting or showing differences
Page 31 of 35
o The comparison need not bee surprising or unexpected as in analogies
o i.e. likening a nation to an extended family is an analogy or metaphor
whereas comparing the forms of govt in us and Britain would be compare
and contrast
▪
▪
▪
▪
Illustration
● Can serve as an organizing principle when there is a thesis or main argument,
followed by several illustrative examples
● Provides structure and focus or a point of reference
● An illustration can also facilitate instructions
Definition
● Can sometimes organize a text, particularly if we are dealing with technical
jargon
● Legal documents or philosophical arguments
Description
● Can be an organizing principle if the text describes a series of scenes, settings,
technical ideas etc
Hypothesis
● Educated guess usually testable by empirical means
● In science distinguished from theory in that theory is broader and may be built
on a set of tested hypotheses
RHETORICAL APPEALS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
● The art of persuasion
● Aristotle 384-322BCE-adopted Plato’s ed program philosophy
● Three types of appeals
▪ Ethos=ethics (character of speaker)
● Writer or speaker appeals to the sense of audience ethical behavior
● “” presents him or herself to the audience as credible, trustworthy, honest and
ethical.
● i.e. Nancy mairs on being a cripple
▪ Logos=logic (data and empirically proven info)
● An argument based on facts, evidence and reason
● Means appealing to the reader’s sense of what is logical
● Must make sense; but may not always use empirical evidence
▪ Pathos=passions (fears, desires, pulls on heartstrings)
● Argument based on feeling or emotions
● Appealing to emotions and feelings of reader or audience
● i.e. Winston Churchill speech to the House of Commons (uses anaphora and
collective identity)
● Rhetorical square
▪ Purpose-why am I writing
▪ Audience-who am I speaking to; write directly to audience
▪ Voice-clear, concise, straightforward
Page 32 of 35
▪ Message-what is the author trying to say/convey/asking audience to do
● Fallacies in rhetorical appeals
▪ Informal● Do not contain formal flaws that make their conclusions automatically illegitimate
▪ Fools us into thinking that an argument is stronger than it really is
▪ Commonly heard statements that are based on faulty or weak reasoning
▪ Incorrect way of reasoning
▪ Weak reasoning/lack of evidence
▪ Ethos fallacies (main points)
● Appeal to false authority-bandwagon
o Irrelevant appeal based on popularity
● Ad hominem
o Attacking the character of the arguer rather than the argument itself
● Straw man
o Greatly oversimplifying an opposing argument to make it easier to refute or
ridicule
▪ Logos fallacies (4)
● Slippery slope
o Once you move a bit toward an unpleasant end, you will have to go all the
way
● Hasty generalization
o Making a broad generalization based on too little evidence
● False analogy
o Claiming that because x resembles y in this regard, x will resemble y in all
regards
● Begging the Questions (Petitito Prinipii)
o Assuming without any proof when proof is necessary (making an assumption)
▪ Pathos Fallacies
● Red herring
o Present an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue
● Appeal to Force (ad baculum)
o Convinces by arousing facts
TYPES OF PERSUASIVE SPEECH
● Propositions of fact
▪ Founded on something that can be proven true or false
▪ Support:
● Factual evidence,
● Statistics
● Testimony
● Propositions of value
▪ Statement suggesting one belief or idea is preferable to another
▪ Argument that something is right or wrong or better than another
Page 33 of 35
● Propositions of problem
▪ Statement proposing an open-ended question or problem
● Propositions of policy
▪ Argument that some action should or should not be taken
● Logical arguments:
▪ Deductive reasoning
● If premises are true, then conclusion is conclusively sound
▪ Inductive reasoning
● If premises are true it is not likely that the conclusion would be false
Authors/genres to study for exam (these are based on the CSET practice
exams from website, not teachers test prep)
3. Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie, Jeanette Winterson -postmodern British writers
4. American regionalist writers like Kate Chopin, Charles chestnut and Bret Harte focus on what subjects
6. British writers of the neoclassical period-alexander pope, john Dryden, Samuel Johnson
13. Imagist-p.357o
o
o
o
a group of poets who were prominent immediately before the first world war.
Hard, clear image essential to verse
Language of everyday speech
i.e.
▪ Ezra Pound
▪ Amy Lowell
▪ T.E. Hulme
▪ Richard Aldington
▪ HD (Hilda Dolittle)
● Symbol and symbolism (p 699)
o An object, animate or inanimate which represents or stands for something else
o Differs from an allegorical sign in that it has a real existence, whereas an allegorical sign is
arbitrary.
o i.e.
▪ scales symbolize justice
▪ dove=peace
▪ cross=Christianity
o Actions and gestures can also be symbolic
o Literary symbol combines an image with a concept
▪ i.e.
● public or universal symbol is a journey into the underworld (Virgil, Dante)
Page 34 of 35
o Macbeth: recurring blood
o Concrete image to express an emotion or abstract idea
● Parnassians- p. 513
o Influential literary movement in France
o 2nd half of 19th c.
o Reaction against romanticism of Hugo, de Vigny and Lamartine
o Gautier (1811-72) Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) and de Lisle (1818-94) though to be stars of
o Poets are like sculptors-craftsmen who are strictly objective
o Personality of poet is eliminated
17. Metaphor-p.432-figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another
● Basic figure in poetry
● Comparison is usually implicit
● Personification p 529
o Impersonation or embodiment of some quality or abstraction
o Attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects
o
● conventions w/ traditional fables,
o Prose or verse which points a moral
o Non-human creatures or inanimate things normally characters
o Greece 6th b.c. with the first being Aesop.
o i.e.
▪ John Gay
▪ Ivan Krylov
▪ Kipling
▪ George Orwell's Animal Farm
● Irony p 371
o First record: Plato’s Republic 4th c. BC
o “a glib underhand way of taking people in”
o By late 17th and 18th c, high degree of sophistication
▪ Dryden, Swift, Voltaire, Pope, Fielding, Johnson
o Verbal irony and irony of the situation
20. deus ex machina ‘God out of the machine’
● In a Greek drama, a god was lowered onto the stage by a machine so he could get the hero out of
difficulties
o Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus
o Also Bertolt Brecht
o Today applied to any unanticipated intervener who resolves a difficult situation in any genre
21. theatre of the absurd
● Term applied to many authors active in the 1950s
o Adamov, Beckett, Genet, Ionesco, Pinter.
Page 35 of 35
o Dadaism and surrealism influenced this
o Irrational rather than ridiculous
o Earlier works: 1926-Malraux, Sartre, and Camus The myth of Sisyphus,
22. Li-Young Lee
23. danticat
24. woolf short stories
25 charles levi strauss
27. how textual features are used to convey information
28. Jane Austen Emma
34. Qualitative dimensions of text complexity
35. Poe● Alliteration
o Figure of speech i/w consonants, esp at beginning of words or stressed syllables are repeated
o Older than rhyme
o OE poetry=continual and essential part of metrical scheme until late Middle Ages
o Classic Examples:
▪ Colridge’s desc. Of river Alph in Kubla Khan
▪ R.S. Thomas’s The Welsh Hill-Country
o Common in tongue twisters, jingles, and nonsense prose
● Allusion
o Implicit reference to
▪ Another work of literature
▪ Art
▪ Person
▪ Or event
▪ Can enrich the work by association and give it depth
● trochaic octameter
The raven is in 9-10 text complexity band
36-37. Sarah Orne Jewett-Deephaven.
● Inference,
● literary device,
● figurative language
39. what is the role of revision in the writing process