The Princess Bride
All you need to know to get started!
MISD PreAP English I Summer Reading
Format of the novel
• What’s different from what you’ve read before:
▫ Frame Story- a story that has another story or
stories within it
▫ Intrusive Narrator- an omniscient narrator, who
frequently interrupts the plot with comments on
the story, characters, or life in general
Willing Suspension of Disbelief
• Put aside your critical beliefs in order to accept
the unreal world the author creates.
• For example, when reading a horror tale, the
reader must accept that everyone runs back into
the scary mansion with the chain saw murderer
inside without calling for help!
Satire
• Using humor to expose something or someone to
ridicule.
Can you give some examples of popular satire?
• AND, of course, satire’s cousin, SARCASM
▫ The use of harsh words to deride and criticize.
Don’t forget sometimes sarcasm is HOW it’s said,
not what is said.
Remember to look for these additional
elements…
• Repetition
• Allusions
• Symbolism
• Foreshadowing
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Irony
• Flashback
Study these words. What can you infer
about The Princess Bride?
•
•
•
•
•
Scullery
Hovel
Moldering
Queen
Prince
•
•
•
•
•
Ruffian
Marauding
Ardor
Fortune
Besotted
Short answer questions
• First - answer the question
• Second - state your proof (text evidence)
• Third – elaborate or explain
Short answer questions
Use text evidence from the first few pages of
chapter 1 for the following:
• At what point does Buttercup start to be noticed
for her beauty?
• How does Buttercup feel about beauty? What
does the text say about Buttercup’s hygiene?
First – answer the question on your paper
Your text evidence is…
A nobleman notices Buttercup, for her beauty, at
the age of seventeen. Buttercup does not care
about beauty. She is more interested in riding
her horse, which does nothing for her own
beauty. She rarely washes her hair or face, and
she often smells of the stables.
Now put them together for a nice
short answer
Answer
Text
Evidence
Explain
This Summer’s Assignment
• Read The Princess
Bride
• Suggested: Study
guide and chapter
summaries
• Prepare for writing
test
Test
• A writing test
will be given
before the end of
the second week
of school.
Additional helps
• The Study Guide is available online- This is not
an assignment; it’s strongly recommended and
there if you need it.
• It might be helpful to write a chapter summary
on a sticky note and place it at the beginning of
each chapter to use for review.
• Students may find the study guide at their high
school website.
Have Questions?
Contact your high school campus
English Department Chair