Jeri Birdwell
English II Pre-AP
jeri.birdwell@pflugervilleisd.net
AP HANDBOOK
Students: This handbook is to be in your possession each time you enter my
classroom.
Enclosed are vital handouts that will help you succeed in my class and in college.
You should will them to your children, and they, in turn, to theirs.
Keep this handbook in a three-ring binder. I will not replace lost handbooks. It
is your responsibility to do so.
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2
AP HANDBOOK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Literary Terms Glossary
5
2. Levels of Questions
24
3. Tone Words
25
4. Fiction Analysis
a. Character
27
b. Setting
28
c. Plot
30
d. Theme
32
5. Mnemonic Devices For Literary Analysis
a. TPCASTT
34
b. SOAPS
35
c. DIDLS
35
6. Expanding DIDLS: Analyzing Prose and Poetry
7. Plagiarism: A Very Big Deal/Pitts Article
36
37
8. POWER
41
9. Quadcards
42
10. Phrase Toolbox
43
11. The Essence of Style/Literary Analysis
45
12. Mrs. Lake’s Handy Dandy Grammar Guide
3
46
4
LITERARY TERMS
AKA DEVICES THAT WILL HELP ME BECOME A MORE DISCERNING READER, SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE JOSEPHINE,
FITTER IN THE ACADEMIC ARENA. THUS BETTER EQUIPPED THAN MY LESSER (NON-PANTHER) NEIGHBORS WHILE TAKING
THE AP TEST, I WILL ENTER COLLEGE WITH SUPERIOR DENDRITIC ACTION.
MY FAMILY WILL BEAM WITH PRIDE, AND I WILL HOLD MY HEAD UP JUST-THAT-MUCH-HIGHER.
TERM
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE(S) and/or ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Absolute
A term applied to anything totally
A word, such as “unique,” that cannot be compared
(in vocabulary)
independent of conditions, limitations,
controls, or modifiers
Absolute
A phrase consisting of a noun or pronoun
(in grammar)
and a participle as well as any related
modifiers. Absolute phrases do not directly
connect to or modify any specific word in the
rest of the sentence; instead, they modify the
entire sentence, adding information. They are
always treated as parenthetical elements, set
off by commas or dashes.
Abstract
Abstract language refers to things that are
(opposite: concrete)
through the senses but by the mind
Acronym
A word formed by combining the initial
intangible, that is, which are perceived not
letters or syllables of a series of words to form
a name
or modified
 “About the bones, ants were ebbing away, their
pincers full of meat.”
Lessing, African Stories
 “Six boys came over the hill half an hour early
that afternoon, running hard, their heads
down, their forearms working, their breath
whistling.”
Steinbeck, The Red Pony
Truth, God, education, vice, transportation, poetry,
war, love
 NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
 radar - radio detecting and arranging
 SAT – Scholastic Achievement Test
 CD-ROM - Compact Disc read-only memory
Act
A major division of a drama
Dating from ancient Greece, the five-act structure
corresponded to the five main divisions of dramatic
action: exposition, complication, climax, falling, and
catastrophe. Subsequent centuries have seen the
evolution of the three-act and one-act plays.
Action
The series of events that constitute a plot,
what the characters say, do, think, or in some
cases fail to do
Affix
Allegory
A verbal element added before (prefix), inside
 Prefixes: Millimeter, euphoria, predetermine
meaning
 Suffixes: wonderful, resistance
(infix), or after (suffix) a base to change its
A narrative (e.g., fable, parable, poem, story)
that serves as an extended metaphor. The
main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story
that has characters, a setting, and other types
of symbols that have both literal and
figurative meanings.
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 Infixes: abso-freakin-lutely, edumacation
 William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
 George Orwell’s Animal Farm
Alliteration
The repetition of identical initial consonant
sounds or any vowel sounds in successive or
closely associated syllables, especially stressed
“The moan of doves in immemorial elms,
And the murmuring of innumerable bees.”
Tennyson, “Come Down, O Maid”
syllables
Allusion
A figure of speech that makes brief reference

to a historical or literary figure, event, or
character who underwent years of anguish yet
object. Its effectiveness relies on a body of
knowledge shared by writer and reader.
The patience of Job refers to the biblical
never relinquished his faith.

“But just as soon as the sun (which should
make you happy)/Moves well above the
horizon, as the Goddess of Morning Aurora/
Draws back the shady bed curtains from her
bed,/My depressed son runs away from the
light and comes home,/And locks himself in his
bedroom”
Ambiguity
(am-bi-GYOO-i-tee)
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
The capacity of language to function on more
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad’s main
meaning, with resultant uncertainty as to the
translucently pure as a cliff of crystal." A surface
clause
the epitome of integrity, but Conrad leaves it to the
than one level, to have more than one
intended significance of the word, phrase, or
character, Marlow, speaks of Kurtz as a “soul as
reading may show Kurtz to be morally upstanding,
discerning reader to derive the connotations of pure
and crystal, given his knowledge of Kurtz. Even
Marlow seems to be ambivalent in his own feelings
towards Kurtz.
Ambivalence
The existence of mutually conflicting feelings
In Keats’ line, “O golden-tongued Romance,”
or attitudes, often used to describe the
“golden-tongued” could mean euphonious or
contradictory attitudes an author takes
toward characters or societies
Anachronism
(uh-NAK-ruh-niz-uhm)
Assignment of something to a time when it
was not in existence
deceptive.
 Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur’s Court
 Mechanical clocks in Julius Caesar
 Renaissance artists often depicted ancient subjects
in contemporary clothing
Anadiplosis
(an-uh-di-PLOE-sis)
A kind of repetition in which a word or
"All service ranks the same with God,
place in one sentence or line is repeated at the
Are we."
phrase coming last or in another important
beginning of the next
With God, whose puppets, best and worst,
Anagram
A word or phrase made by transposing the
Analogy
A comparison between two things, alike in
An English teacher is like a golden retriever. S/he is
certain aspects, usually by which something
usually good with kids, has a reputation for being
something more familiar. A simile is an
load of you-know-what.
letters of another
 cask
Robert Browning, Pippa Passes
 dormitory
sack
 snooze alarm
unfamiliar is explained by being compared to
expressed analogy, a metaphor an implied
one.
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dirty room
Alas! No more Z’s
fiercely loyal, and is quite practiced at sniffing out a
Anaphora
Repetition, in which the same expression
(uh-NAF-er-uh)
(word or words) is repeated at the beginning
(opposite: epistrophe)
sentences.
Anecdote
A short narrative detailing particulars of an
of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the farthest city light.
Frost, “Acquainted With the Night”
interesting episode or event
Annotation
The addition of explanatory notes to a text by
the author or an editor to explain, translate,
cite sources, comment, or paraphrase
Antagonist
The adversary of the protagonist of a drama,
Jack in Lord of the Flies
Anthem
A song of praise, rejoicing, or reverence
National and religious anthems
Antihero
A protagonist of a modern play or novel who
 Holden Caufield from Catcher in the Rye
attributes of the hero. This hero is graceless,
 Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo
novel, short story, or narrative poem
has the converse of most of the traditional
inept, sometimes stupid, sometimes dishonest.
Bob Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird
 Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights
 Batman
 Sweeney Todd
 Mal Reynolds from Firefly (TV sci-fi)
Antithesis
(an-TITH-uh-sis)
A figure of speech characterized by strongly
 “Man proposes, God disposes.”
ideas. True antithesis is presented in similar
And wretches hang that jury-men may dine.”
contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or
grammatical structure.
 “The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
 “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice,
moderation in the pursuit of justice is no
virtue.” ~Barry Goldwater
 Brutus: “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I
loved Rome more.” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Aphorism
(AF-uh-riz-uhm)
Apostrophe
A brief saying embodying a moral; a concise
 Pope: Some praise at morning what they blame at
words
 Emerson: Imitation is suicide.
A figure of speech in which someone (usually,
 “Age, thou art sham’d!”
statement of a principle given in pointed
night.
 Franklin: Lost Time is never Found again.
but not always absent), some abstract quality,
or a nonexistent personage is directly
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
addressed as though present.
Archetype
A character, action, or situation that is a

prototype, or pattern, of human life,
Characters: the temptress, mentor, damsel in
distress, the “old crone,” the naïve young man
occurring over and over again in literature
from the country

Actions and situations: a quest, an initiation, or
an attempt to overcome evil
Argumentation
One of the four chief forms of discourse, the
others being exposition, narration, and
description. Its purpose is to convince by
establishing the truth or falsity of a
proposition.
Aside
A dramatic convention by which an actor
directly addresses the audience but is not
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The main character in Malcolm in the Middle does
this all the time.
supposed to be heard by the other actors on
stage.
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds but not
consonant sounds
Asyndeton
A lack of conjunctions between succeeding
(uh-SIN-di-ton)
phrases, clauses, or words.
explanation)
 “Veni, vivi, vici”(I came, I saw, I conquered).
night"
Caesar
 “…government of the people, by the people, for
the people…”
(opposite: polysyndeton)
(See mood for a fuller
rage, against the dying of the light."
Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good
(opposite: consonance)
Atmosphere
"Old age should burn and rave at close of day;/Rage,
Lincoln
The prevailing mood of a literary work,
usually when established in part by setting or
landscape
Axiom
An aphorism whose truth is held to be self-
"Goods and services can be paid for only with goods
evident. In logic, an axiom is a premise
and services."
accepted as true without the need of
demonstration and is used in building an
argument.
Background
Either the setting of a piece of writing or the
tradition and point of view from which an
author presents his or her ideas
Banality
A quality referring to phrases and statements
 “Things are not always as they seem.”
that lose effectiveness due to having been
 Wording that tempts you to use quotation marks
over-used. Such wording is characterized as
stale, trite, clichéd.
because you’ve “heard it before, [you’re] just
not sure where.”
 Anything that starts with, “A wise man once
said….”
Bard
Today, a poet; historically, a poet who sang of
heroes
THE Bard
Belles-Lettres
William Shakespeare. Period. Paragraph.
(Fr. , bel-LE-tR )
uh
That body of writing (drama, fiction, poetry,
and essays) valued for its aesthetic qualities
and originality of style and tone rather than
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
Jane Austen’s Emma
its informative or moral content
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations
Bildungsroman
A novel that deals with the development of a
(BIL-doongz-roh-
young person, usually from adolescence to
Bit
A very small role in a dramatic piece
Sampson and Gregory in Romeo and Juliet
Blank verse
Poetry with unrhymed lines but with regular
What flocks of critics over here to-day,
mahn)
maturity
meter, usually written in iambic pentameter
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Jem, not Scout)
As vultures wait on armies for their prey,
All gaping for the carcase of a play!
With croaking notes they bode some dire event,
And follow dying poets by the scent.
Dryden, “All for Love”
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Bon Mot
A witty or clever saying
“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his
(BON MOE)
enemies” ~Oscar Wilde
Caesura
A pause or break in a line of verse
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
A harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds
“Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
(si-ZHOOR-uh)
Cacophony
(kuh-KOF-uh-nee)
He bravely broach'd is boiling bloody breast”
(opposite: euphony)
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Caricature
Writing that exaggerates certain individual
qualities of a person to produce a ridiculous
effect
Character
People or animals who take place in the
Scout, Jem, Atticus, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley
One for whom the author emphasizes a single
Mrs. Dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird
action of a literary work
Flat
important trait
Round
Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird
One with a complex, fully-rounded
personality
Dynamic
Static
in To Kill a Mockingbird
One who changes in response to the
Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird
One who changes little over the course of a
Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird
experience through which s/he passes
narrative
Foil
A character, usually minor, designed to
Frances, the cousin who brutalizes Scout, would be
Stock
A flat character in a standard role with
Aunt Stephanie, the town’s spinster and gossip, in
Characterization
highlight qualities of a major character
standard traits
To Kill a Mockingbird
The author directly states a character’s traits
“Miss Caroline was no more than twenty-one. She
(Direct)
Characterization
(Indirect)
considered a foil to Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird
had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore
crimson fingernail polish.”
A method of characterization in which
“You’re scared,” Dill said…
they say (dialogue), do (actions), what others
Dill said, “You’re too scared even to put your big toe
readers learn about characters through what
say about them, and how other characters
“Ain’t scared, just respectful,” Jem said. The next day
in the front yard.”
react to them
Chronology
The temporal design of a work. A story told
from beginning to end has a linear
chronology.
Cinquain (sing-KANE)
Any five-line stanza
Cliché
Any expression so often used that its
 “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
freshness and clarity have worn off
 “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make
him drink.”
Coined words
Words consciously manufactured
Telephone, airplane, zipper, blurb, spoof
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Colloquialism
An expression used in informal conversation
(kuh-LO-kwee-uh-
but not acceptable universally in formal
liz-uhm)
speech or writing
 I’m worn to a frazzle.
 She told him how the cow ate the cabbage.
 Little man, I’m fixin’ to tear you up if you don’t git
in this house right this instant!
Comedy
As opposed to tragedy, a lighter form of
drama that aims to amuse. In medieval times,
comedy referred to non-dramatic works with
a happy ending and a less exalted style than
tragedy.
Comic relief
A humorous scene, incident, or speech,
 Mercutio’s death scene in Romeo and Juliet
contrast, heighten the seriousness or
 The drunken porter in Macbeth
interjected in the course of a drama to, by
highlight the tragedy of the story
Concrete
 The gravedigger scene in Hamlet
Having the quality of the physical, tangible,
actual, real, particular
(opposite: abstract)
Connotation
The emotional implications and associations
that words may carry, be they personal or
private, group-oriented (national, linguistic,
(opposite: denotation)
Consonance
racial), or general or universal (held by all or
most people)
the repetition, at close intervals, of the final
consonants of accented syllables
Context
The cat peered into the night having stopped just
short of the hut.
Matter that surrounds a word or text in
question
Couplet
Two consecutive lines of verse with end
rhymes
Three couplets follow:
“Love looks not with the eyes but the mind;
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath love’s mind of any judgment taste;
Wings and eyes figure unheedy haste;
And therefore is Love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.”
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Deduction
The process of deductive reasoning that
moves from general principles to individual
cases
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word
Details
The facts, revealed by the author or speaker,
(opposite: connotation)
that support the attitude or tone in a piece of
poetry or prose
Deus ex Machina
The employment of some unexpected and
kuh-nuh)
right
Dialect
The speech of a particular region or group as
“Now don’t you fret, ma’am,” [Little Chuck Little]
it differs from that of standard speech
said. There ain’t no need to fear a cootie. I’ll just
(DAY-uhs eks MAH-
improbable incident to make things turn out
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(Latin for “god from the machine”)
fetch you some cool water.”
Dialogue
Conversation of two or more people
Diction
Word choice intended to convey a certain
(See denotation and
effect
town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the
streets turned to red slop…the courthouse sagged
connotation)
Double Entendre
(DUHB-uhl-ahnTAHN-druh)
“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old
on the square.”
A word or phrase that has dual meanings, one

of which is often sexual in nature
"If I told you you had a beautiful body, would
you hold it against me?"
~Benny Hill, Groucho Marx, John Cleese,
and many others

“I will be cruel with the maids and cut off their
heads.” Sampson, Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet
Drama
A play; a dramatic work intended for
performance by actors on a stage
Effect
Totality of impression or emotional impact
Elaboration
A rhetorical method for developing a theme
Romeo and Juliet, A Raisin in the Sun, Julius Caesar,
The Crucible, Death of a Salesman
or picture in such a way as to give the reader
a completed impression
Elizabethan Age
The segment of the Renaissance during the
reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
Ellipses (dot, dot, dot)
A construction in which words are left out or
You only need three dots in the middle of a sentence; at the
implied
end of a sentence, a fourth dot would be the period.
End Rhyme
Rhyme at the ends of lines in a poem
“The old dog barks backward without getting up.
I can remember when he was a pup.”
Frost
English Sonnet
A sonnet consisting of three quatrains
(Shakespearean
followed by a couplet, rhyming abab cdcd
Epanalepsis
The repetition at the end of a clause of a word
sonnet)
(ep-uh-nuh-LEP-sis)
efef gg
or a phrase that occurred at its beginning
Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answered
blows;/Strength match’d with strength, and power
confronted power.
Epic
A long, narrative poem about the adventures
Epic Simile
An elaborated comparison
Epigram
A pithy saying
of a central hero
Shakespeare, King John
Homer’s Odyssey
Virgil’s Aeneid

To be safe on the Fourth,
Don't buy a fifth on the third.
~ James H Muehlbauer

God bless our good and gracious king,
Whose promise none relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.

Epigraph
An inscription on a tomb or on a statue or a
coin
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“In God We Trust”
Wilmot, "Impromtu on Charles II"
Epilogue
A concluding statement
Epiphany
A sudden unfolding in which a character
(i-PIF-uh-nee)
proceeds from ignorance and innocence to
knowledge and experience
Epistle
Any letter, but usually limited to formal
(i-PIS-uhl)
composition written to a distant individual or
Epistrophe
A rhetorical term applied to the repetition of
(i-PIS-truh-fee)
group

the closing word or phrase at the end of
“And all the night he did nothing but weep
Philoclea, sigh Phgiloclea, and cry out
several clauses
~The New Arcadia
Philoclea.”

(opposite: anaphora)
“…of the people, by the people, for the
people…”
Essay
A moderately brief prose discussion of a
Ethos
The source's credibility, the speaker's/author's
Lincoln
restricted topic

authority. Ethos (Greek for 'character') refers
words on mental illnesses than that same
to the trustworthiness or credibility of the
writer or speaker. Ethos is often conveyed
through tone and style of the message and
through the way the writer or speaker refers
I would sooner trust a doctor of psychiatry’s
doctor’s advice on landscaping.

Were I forced to listen to a celebrity’s advice on
parenting, I would opt for Jennifer Garner over
Britney Spears.
to differing views. It can also be affected by
the writer's reputation as it exists
independently from the message--his or her
expertise in the field, his or her previous
record or integrity, and so forth. The impact
of ethos is often called the argument's 'ethical
appeal' or the 'appeal from credibility.'
Euphemism
From the Greek, the use of good words, the
Sanitary landfill – garbage dump
use of a word or phrase that is less expressive
At liberty – out of work
offensive than another
In the family way – pregnant
or direct but considered less distasteful or
Senior citizens – old people
Man of leisure - hobo
Euphony
(opposite: cacophony)
The subjective impression of pleasantness of
sound
I WANDER’D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
”Daffodils,” William Wordsworth
Eye Rhyme
Figurative Language
Rhyme that appears correct from the spelling
“Watch” and “latch,” good” and “food,” “bowl” and
but is not so from the pronunciation
“jowl,” “imply” and “simply,” “move” and “dove”
The use of imaginative, non-literal words and
phrases
Figure of Speech
An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way, such as a metaphor or a simile
Flashback
A literary or cinematic device in which an
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earlier event is inserted into the normal
chronological order of a narrative
Foreshadowing
the presentation in a work of literature of
The imagery in the opening paragraph of “The
hints and clues that tip the reader off as to
Scarlet Ibis” leaves little doubt as to the outcome of
Framework-Story
A story within a story
The Canterbury Tales, Frankenstein
Free verse
Verse that lacks regular rhyme and regular
“Winter Poem”
what is to come later in the work
meter
the story.
by Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and I loved
it so much and I kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
I reached to love them all
and I squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and I stood perfectly
still and was a flower
Freytag’s Pyramid
A diagram of the general structure of the plot
of a story or drama
Genre
The classification of literary works according
Epic, creative nonfiction, autobiography, biography,
(ZHAHN-ruh)
to common elements of content, form, or
fiction (adventure, comedy, fantasy, horror, mystery,
Hyperbole
Over-exaggeration for effect
technique
romance, satire, science fiction, slave narrative,
thriller, tragedy, etc.), diaries…
“It was not a mere man he was holding, but a giant;
or a block of granite. The pull was unendurable. The
(hie-PUR-buh-lee)
pain unendurable.”
Ullman, “A Boy and a Man”
Idiom
An accepted phrase or expression having a

meaning different from the literal
reliable source


Imagery
Straight from the horse’s mouth – from a
Words or phrases appealing to the senses—
the descriptive diction—a writer uses to
represent persons, objects, actions, feelings,
and ideas
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to get one’s goat – to anger a person
to string someone along – to deceive someone
“It was the clove of seasons, summer was dead but
autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the
bleeding tree. The flower garden was stained with
rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew
rank amid the purple phlox. The five o’clocks by the
chimney still marked time, but the oriole nest in the
elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth
liked an empty cradle. The last graveyard flowers
were blooming, and their smell drifted across the
cotton field and through every room of our house,
speaking softly the names of our dead.”
Hurst, “The Scarlet Ibis”
Inversion
The placing of a sentence element out of its

House beautiful (noun-adjective)
normal position

Lady fair (noun-adjective)

Never have I seen such a mess (adverb
auxiliary)

“A damsel with a dulcimer/In a vision once I
saw” (subject-verb-direct object) Coleridge
Invocation
An address to a deity for aid
"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and
turns driven time and again off course, once he had
plundered the hallowed heights of Troy."
Homer, The Odyssey
Irony
A broad term referring to the recognition of a
reality different from appearance
Verbal Irony
a figure of speech in what is said is the
opposite of what is meant
In a popular song from the ‘70’s, a farmer says to
his wife who has abandoned him, “You picked a fine
time to leave me, Lucille/with four hungry children
and a crop in the field.”
Dramatic Irony
an incongruity or discrepancy between what
In every cheesy horror flick, the killer is behind the
a character says or thinks and what the
door/in the closet/under the bed, while the
character perceives and what the author
while waiting for her date. And the audience gasps.
reader knows to be true (or between what a
intends the reader to perceive)
Situation Irony
A situation in which there is an incongruity
between appearance and reality, or between
unsuspecting victim applies pearly pink nail polish


Donald Trump winning the lottery
The ending of just about every M. Night
Shyamalan film—except for maybe The
expectation and fulfillment, or between the
Happening, which was so bad, I really don’t
actual situation and what would seem
remember the very ending…oh yeah…France.
appropriate
The only good thing about it was John
Leguizamo.
Jargon
Juxtaposition
1. Confused speech, resulting from the

youth and old age
mingling of several languages or dialects

servants and nobles
2. nonsense or gibberish 3. the special

love-sick Romeo and fiery Tybalt
language of a group or profession

the noisy public feast and the private whispers
the act or instance of placing two things close
Examples from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:
of the lovers
together or side by side. This is often done in

youth and old age
order to compare/contrast the two, to show

servants and nobles
similarities or differences, etc. In literature, a

love-sick Romeo and fiery Tybalt
14
juxtaposition occurs when two images that

are otherwise not commonly brought
the noisy public feast and the private whispers
of the lovers
together appear side by side or structurally
close together, thereby forcing the reader to
stop and reconsider the meaning of the text
through the contrasting images, ideas, motifs,
etc.
Kenning
A figurative phrase used in old Germanic
Kennings from Beowulf are “the bent-necked
Kennings are often picturesque metaphorical
sea wood,” for a ship; the “swan road” and “the
languages as a synonym for a simple noun.
compounds
Legend
wood,” “the ringed prow,” “the foamy-necked,” “the
whale road” for the sea
A narrative or tradition handed down from
the past; distinguished from a myth by having
more of historical truth and perhaps less of
the supernatural
Leitmotif
(LITE-moe-teef)
A recurrent repetition of some word, phrase,
situation, or idea, such as tends to unify a
work through its power to recall earlier
The idea of the mockingbird in To Kill a
Mockingbird
occurrences
Literal
Accurate to the letter; without embellishment
One cannot truthfully say, “LITERALLY, Dude, my
Litotes
A form of understatement in which a thing is

( LI-toe-teez)
affirmed by stating the negative of its
teacher is so old, Shakespeare was her prom date!”
"'Not a bad day's work on the whole,' he muttered,
as he quietly took off his mask, and his pale, foxlike eyes glittered in the red glow of the fire. 'Not
opposite
a bad day's work.'" from Orzy’s The Scarlet
Pimpernel

“As you first see him he wonders frequently
whether he is not without honor and slightly
mad…” from Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and the

Damned
A few unannounced quizzes are not
inconceivable.
Logical Fallacies
Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that
will undermine the logic of your argument.
Avoid these in writing and look for them in
your reading.
Ad Hominem
Argument
Literally “to the man”; attacks the character

of the speaker or writer rather than his
faithfulness of dogs because he has no faith at
argument
Begging the Question
all in anything.”
Assumes something to be true that needs

proof. The arguer uses as proof the very
Similar to false dilemma in that argument
does not allow for shades of meaning,
15
“The reason George is so smart is because he is
very intelligent.”
argument that needs proving.
Either/Or Fallacy
“John Smith can’t tell us anything about the

“Either we abolish cars, or the environment is
doomed.”
compromise, or intermediate cases
Emotionally Charged
Diction
False Dilemma
Uses vocabulary carrying strong connotative

meaning, either positive or negative
heart liberal who hates his mother, babies,
apple pie, and the American way.”
Uses a premise that presents a choice which

does not include all the possibilities
Glittering Generality
“People hate politics because politicians often
lie.” The premise that people hate politics is
not necessarily true.
Emotionally appealing words so closely

associated with highly-valued concepts and
“organic”
supporting information or reason
Rushing to a conclusion before gathering
“working families,” the American Dream,”
“your hard-earned freedom,” “motherhood,”
beliefs that they carry conviction without
Hasty Generalization
“Senator Jones is a commie, pinko, bleeding-
 “Only motivated athletes become champions.”
enough relevant facts
Maybe not. There may be other factors in
becoming champions, like good health,
superior genes, etc.
Post hoc ergo propter
hoc (or Circular
Reasoning)
Attempts to prove something by showing one
thing was caused by another merely because

Texas won when I wore my lucky jersey. Texas
won because I wore my lucky jersey.
it followed that prior event in time (X
happened because of Y, just because X
happened after Y)
Red Herring
A diversionary tactic that avoids the key
issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments
rather than addressing them
Straw Man
Slippery Slope
Logos
 The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe,
but what will fishermen do to support their
families?
Oversimplifies an opponent's viewpoint and
then attacks that hollow argument
 People who don't support the proposed state
minimum wage increase hate the poor.
A faulty claim that taking one action
inevitably leads to further negative actions
The logic used to support a claim, it can also
be the facts and statistics used to help support
the argument. Logos (Greek for 'word') refers
to the internal consistency of the message-the clarity of the claim, the logic of its
reasons, and the effectiveness of its
supporting evidence. The impact of logos on
an audience is sometimes called the
argument's logical appeal.
16
 The state of Texas has deemed it necessary to
fingerprint teachers. The next step will be
blood and urine testing.
Loose Sentence
A sentence grammatically complete before
I’m still hungry, although I just ate.
the end
Malapropism
An inappropriateness of speech resulting
The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet says “confidence” for
(MAL-uh-PROP-iz-uhm)
from the use of one word for another, which
“conference.” Mrs. Malaprop (from whom the term
resembles it
is derived), a character in Sheridan’s The Rivals
instructs, “illiterate him, I say, quite from your
memory.”
Maxim
A concise statement, usually drawn from
It is better to be alone than in bad company.”
experience and instilling some practical
George Washington
advice
Meiosis
( My –OE-sis)
Intentional understatement for humorous or

satiric effect
"The unspeakable in full pursuit of the
uneatable."(Oscar Wilde on fox hunting)

"right-wing nutjobs" for Republicans; "leftwing pansies" for Democrats
Memoir
(MEM-wahr)
Form of autobiographical writing dealing
usually with the recollection of one who has
been a part of or has witnessed significant
Elie Wiesel’s Night; James McBride’s The Color of
Water
events
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things
”So excellent a king was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr…,” Shakespeare, Hamlet.
In Act I, Scene 2, Hamlet compares his father,
Claudius, to Hyperion, a Titan in classical
mythology. The godlike view is enhanced by the
comparison of Claudius to Hyperion's antithesis, the
satyr, a creature half-goat and half-man, known for
its drunken and lustful behavior—the behaviors of
the new king, Claudius.
Metonymy
(Muh-TAH-nuh-mee)
The substitution of the name of an object
Referring to the queen as “the crown”
itself
Genesis 3:19
closely associated with a word for the word
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,”
Monologue
A speech delivered to other characters
Mood
The atmosphere of a piece of writing. It is the
Refer to the opening lines of James Hurst’s “The
mind involved. It is different from the tone in
ambience does Hurst create?
prevailing feeling of a work, or the frame of
that it will generally stay the same
throughout the work. It sets an expectation of
what is to follow. Think of the ambience in a
restaurant and the details that create that
ambience. In much the same way, a writer
creates mood.
Motivation
The reasons, justifications, and explanations
for the action of a character
Myth
refers to a body of folklore and legends that a
particular culture believes to be true and that
often use the supernatural to 1) interpret
17
Scarlet Ibis” (see imagery). What kind of mood or
natural events and 2) explain the nature of
the universe and humanity
Narration
One of the four types of composition, its
purpose is to recount events
Narrative
An account of events; anything that is
narrated
Homer’s The Odyssey
Narrative Poem
A poem that tells story
Narrator (see Point of
Anyone who recounts a narrative; the
View)
storyteller
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize, established in Alfred Nobel’s
Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird
will in 1895, was first awarded in Peace,
Literature, Chemistry, Physiology or
Medicine, and Physics in 1901. The first
Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded in
1968. The awards, conferred yearly, are
widely regarded as the most prestigious
award one can receive in said fields.
Nom de plume (or pen
A name adopted by a writer for professional

William Sydney Porter became O. Henry
name)
use or to disguise his or her true identity

Samuel Clemons became Mark Twain
Novel
Any extended fictional narrative almost

To Kill a Mockingbird
Lord of the Flies
A Tale of Two Cities
Candide
Of Mice and Men
Heart of Darkness
always in prose


Novella
A short prose tale often characterized by

moral teaching or satire


Octave
An eight-line stanza
Ode
A lyric poem of some length, usually of a
serious or meditative nature and having an
elevated style and formal stanzaic structure
Onomatopoeia
Words that by their sound suggest their
Hiss, buzz, whirr, whistle
meaning
Oration
A formal speech delivered in an impassioned
manner
Organization
The structure of a piece of writing
Overstatement
Exaggeration for effect; hyperbole
See hyperbole
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines two
Bittersweet, jumbo shrimp, known secret, well-
Parable
An illustrative story teaching a lesson
In Christian countries the most famous parables are
Paradox
A statement that may seem contradictory but
(cousin to the oxymoron)
may be well founded or true
normally contradictory terms
preserved ruins, current history, exact estimate
those told by Christ, the best known of which is that
of the Prodigal Son

“I can resist anything except temptation.

Less is more.

“What a pity that youth must be wasted on the
young.”
18
Oscar Wilde
George Bernard Shaw
Parallelism
Using the same pattern of words to show that
( or Parallel structure)
two or more ideas have the same level of
the road, crashed into a barrier and popped me
phrase, or clause level
Mockingbird

“The tire bumped on gravel, skeetered across
like a cork onto pavement”(37). Lee, To Kill a
importance. This can happen at the word,

“…with his statues, his recognizances, his fines,
his double vouchers, his recoveries: is this the
fine of his fines…” Shakespeare, Hamlet
Paraphrase
A restatement of an idea (typically for the
purposes of clarity) in such a way as to retain
the meaning while changing the diction and
form.
Parenthesis
An explanatory remark inside a statement,
frequently separated from it by parenthesis.
However, any comment—whether a word,
phrase, clause, sentence, or paragraph—that
is an interruption of the immediate subject is
considered parenthetical.
Pathos
The emotional or motivational appeals, it uses
Sarah McLachlan’s commercial about animal abuse
vivid language, emotional language and
relies heavily on pathos.
numerous sensory details. Pathos (Greek for
'suffering' or 'experience') is often associated
with emotional appeal. But a better equivalent
might be 'appeal to the audience's sympathies
and imagination.' An appeal to pathos causes
an audience not just to respond emotionally
but to identify with the writer's point of view-to feel what the writer feels. In this sense,
pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb
'to suffer'--to feel pain imaginatively....
Perhaps the most common way of conveying
a pathetic appeal is through narrative or
story, which can turn the abstractions of logic
into something palpable and present. The
values, beliefs, and understandings of the
writer are implicit in the story and conveyed
imaginatively to the reader. Pathos thus refers
to both the emotional and the imaginative
impact of the message on an audience, the
power with which the writer's message
moves the audience to decision or action.
Periodic Sentence
a sentence that is not grammatically complete
Though generally a tolerant sort, deceit or treachery
Persona
Literally, a mask. The term is widely used to
The character of Huck Finn allowed Mark Twain to
and through whom the narrative is told—a
otherwise would not have been as palatable to many
until its end
refer to a “second self” created by an author
19
she could never forgive.
communicate many of his political views which
voice not directly the author’s but created by
of his Southern readers.
the author and through whom the author
speaks.
Personification
A figure of speech that lends human qualities
to animals, idea s, and inanimate objects
"Because I could not stop for Death-He kindly stopped for me--
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-And Immortality."
Dickinson
Persuasion
A major type of writing whose purpose is to
convince others of the wisdom of a certain
line of action.
Plagiarism
the unauthorized use or close imitation of the
language and thoughts of another author and
the representation of them as one's own
original work
Play
a dramatic work intended for performance by
Plot
By Aristotle’s definition, “the imitation of an
actors on a stage


Romeo and Juliet
A Raisin in the Sun
action,” the “arrangement of the incidents” of
a story which necessitates a beginning, a
middle, and an end
Poet Laureate
(LAWR-ee-it)
1. a poet honored for achievement 2a. a poet
Some American Poets Laureate: Ted Kooser, Billy
appointed for life by an English sovereign as a
Collins, Rita Dove, Robert Frost
expected to compose poems for court and
Hughes, Robert Bridges, William Wordsworth
member of the royal household and formerly
national occasions b. a poet appointed
Some British Poets Laureate: John Dryden, Ted
annually by the United States Library of
Congress as a consultant and typically
involved in the promotion of poetry
Point of View
First-person
Second-person
The perspective from which a story is told
Pronouns frequently used by narrator:
Narration in which a character tells the story
I, me, my, mine, our, ours
Narration in which the narrator tells the story
You, your, yours
to another character using “you,” so that the
story is told through the addressee’s point of
view. Second person is the least commonly
used POV in fiction. Many of the stories in
Lorrie Moore's book "Self-Help" are written in
the second person, as is Tom Robbins's "Half
Asleep in Frog Pajamas," which begins: "The
day the stock market falls out of bed and
breaks its back is the worst day of your life.
Or so you think. It isn't the worst day of your
life, but you think it is."
20
Third-person limited
Narration in which the narrator, an outsider,
He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, their, theirs
knows the thoughts and feelings of only one
character
Third-person
Omniscient
Narration in which the narrator knows the
He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, their, theirs
thoughts and feelings of all the characters
Polysyndeton
The inclusion of conjunctions in close
"Let the whitefolks have their money and power and
(pol-ee-SIN-di-ton)
succession, esp. where one typically uses
segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools
commas
and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly-mostly--let them have their whiteness.”
Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
counter term: asyndeton
Précis (PREY-see)
A concise summary of a text
Preface
An introduction to a book written by the
author. While not a part of the story, it
typically provides insight into the text and
acknowledgments those who helped and/or
inspired the writer in the creation of the
book.
Prologue
A prologue is to a play what a preface is to a
book, minus the acknowledgements.
Prose
Ordinary speech or writing as distinguished
Pun
A humorous play on words that may be based

words or between different senses of the same

from verse
"Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a
grave man...." Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
on similarities in sound between two or more
or derivative words.
Tom Swifties

"The doctor had to remove my left
ventricle," said Tom half-heartedly.

"I have a split personality," said Tom,
being frank.
Quatrain
A stanza of four lines
Redundancy
Excessive repetition
Repetition
Reiteration of a word, sound, phrase, or idea.
Rhetoric
The art of persuasion; the art of speaking or
(RET-er-ik)
writing effectively
Rhetorical Question
A question meant to elicit discussion rather

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

But where will Europe's latter hour /Again find
than a definitive answer. If answered, the
implied answer is yes, no, or never.
Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
Wordsworth's healing power?
(Matthew Arnold. "Memorial Verses") (The
implied answer is "Never! Wordsworth was
one-of-a-kind as far as "healing power" goes!")
Satire
Humorous or witty writing in which human
folly or vice is attacked for the purpose of
improving human institutions or humanity.
Scene
A subdivision of a play; a division of an act
Short Story
A short piece of prose fiction, briefer than a
21
novella; short story can typically be read in a
sitting
“Show, don’t tell.”
A directive to writers of fiction to
engage/involve the reader through action,
dialogue, imagery, etc., as opposed to lifeless
narration.
Soliloquy
A speech delivered while the speaker is alone.
Protagonist
The central character of a drama, novel, short
Sonnet
A poem typically consisting of fourteen lines
counter term: antagonist
story, or narrative poem
Odysseus in The Odyssey, Jonah in The Giver
and a given rhyme scheme depending on the
type of sonnet
Source
a document (or organization) from which
Stage Directions
Directions, usually in italics, added to a script
Stanza
a fixed number of lines of verse forming a
Structure
The planned framework of a piece of
Style
The use of language that is unique to each
information is obtained
to instruct actors how to carry out a scene
“Enter OPHELIA, distracted,”
Shakespeare, Hamlet
unit of a poem
literature
author, much like a fingerprint. It results
from the rhetorical use of such devices as
diction, imagery, repetition, and syntax.
Syllogism
(SIL-uh-jiz-uhm)
A formula for presenting a logical argument,
1.
No dogs have wings.
This animal is not a dog.
consisting of a major premise, a minor
2.
This animal has wings.
premise, and a conclusion
3.
Symbol
Something that retains its identity while
Winter often represents death, loss, or emptiness,
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of

(si-NEK-duh-kee)
representing something else
while spring represents birth, renewal, hope.
something represents the entire thing (the
deck!” refers to the sailors not just their hands,
part for the whole)
thankfully.

Syntax
A ship captain’s command, “All hands on
The rule-governed arrangement of words in
sentences
Some folks refer to cars as their “wheels.”
The syntactical rules for today’s English dictate that
we say, “My dogs are fabulous” rather than
“Fabulous are dogs my.”
Theme
The central idea about which one writes or
speaks. Theme cannot be expressed as a
simple subject or an idea, but must include a
predicate. Through reading a work, then, one
determines the writer’s point and can then fill
Examples for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:


Rash actions lead to tragic consequences.
Old grudges against those we hate the
most can ultimately destroy those we love
the most.
in the blanks: The writer is saying _____
(writer’s opinion) about _____ (the subject of
the piece).
Thesis
The position a writer or speaker takes and
While arguably our most intellectual and
supports in a rhetorical situation
contemplative president, Thomas Jefferson remains
22
our most enigmatic, given his ambivalence on the
subject of slavery.
Stylistic/clichéd NEVERS:

Tone

Things are not always as they seem.

Actions speak louder than words.
The writer’s attitude toward his subject.
Awestruck, belligerent, compassionate, derisive,
Think of this also as the attitude the writer
incredulous, philosophical, reverent, self-pitying,
through the writer’s use of rhetorical devices
Stylistic/clichéd NEVERS:
In general, a work that deals with the idea
Antigone, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Othello
wants the audience to take. Tone is conveyed
as diction, imagery, repetition, and syntax.
Tragedy
In this paper, I will write about…
that through fate, human failure, irony, or
simply the human condition, man is doomed.
skeptical, world-weary.
good, bad, happy, sad
The tragedy’s focus and ultimate triumph lies
in how the hero (typically of high birth and
noble character) meets his certain failure.
Tragic Flaw
The idea that the tragic hero possesses an
inherent quality that ultimately brings about
his downfall. The trait, however, need not
If one buys the theory, the following would be
considered tragic flaws:

Romeo’s rashness
always be a flaw, as with Antigone’s duty to

Othello’s jealousy
God and family. In such tragedies, outside

Hamlet’s indecision
forces working against the hero bring the
character trait into play; given the right—or
wrong, as it may be—circumstances, the hero
meets his untimely demise. So the idea of a
tragic hero is somewhat controversial.
Tudor
The royal house that ruled England from
1485 to 1603: Henry VII (1485-1509),
Henry VIII (1509-1547), Edward VI (15471553), Mary I (1553-1558), and Elizabeth I
(1558-1603)
Verse
1)
A unit of poetry, a stanza
2)
poetry
Sources
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/
http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html
http://grammar.about.com
http://www.merriam-webster.com
http://orwell.ru/library/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://wordnet.princeton.edu
Harmon, William and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature 9th ed Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall 2003
23
Levels of Questions
Level 1: On the Line
 Readers find concrete, factual information directly in the text.
 Readers can literally put their fingers on the answer in the text.
 Key questions include who, what, where, and when.
Level 2: Between the Lines
+
 Readers reason, compare, and contrast. This level is more abstract, thoughtful, analytical,
interpretive.
 Readers still consider the text, but cannot point to the literal answer in the text. They can,
however, point to hints and suggestions in the text that lead to answers.
 Key questions include how and why. Key verbs might include represents, suggests,
personifies, alludes to, etc.
Level 3: Beyond the Lines
+
 This level is super-abstract. Readers think outside of the text, discussing ideas found in the
text but not necessarily discussing the text itself.
 Readers make connections between the text and themselves, the rest of the world, other
pieces of literature, film, etc.
 Readers evaluate, synthesize, create information, using the text as a springboard.
 Key questions include: Why is this text relevant? What does is have to do with me? What do I
think of this text and why? What does this text say about ideas or issues found in the text
such as goodness, humanity, relationships, etc.?
24
Tone Words
1. accusatory - charging of wrong doing
2. apathetic - indifferent due to lack of energy or concern
3. awe - solemn wonder
4. bitter - exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief
5. cynical - questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people
6. condescension; condescending - a sense of superiority
7. callous - unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others
8. contemplative - studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue
9. critical - finding fault
10. choleric - hot-tempered, easily angered
11. contemptuous - showing or feeling that something is worthless or lacks
respect
12. caustic - intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting
13. conventional - lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality
14. disdainful - scornful
15. didactic - author attempts to educate or instruct the reader
16. derisive - ridiculing, mocking
17. earnest - intense, a sincere state of mind
18. erudite - learned, polished, scholarly
19. fanciful - using the imagination
20. forthright - directly frank without hesitation
21. gloomy - darkness, sadness, rejection
22. haughty - proud and vain to the point of arrogance
23. indignant - marked by anger aroused by injustice
24. intimate -very familiar
25. judgmental - authoritative and often having critical opinions
25
26. jovial - happy
27. lyrical- expressing a poet’s inner feelings; emotional; full of images;
song-like
28. matter-of-fact - accepting of conditions; not fanciful or emotional
29. mocking - treating with contempt or ridicule
30. morose - gloomy, sullen, surly, despondent
31. malicious - purposely hurtful
32. objective - an unbiased view-able to leave personal judgments aside
33. optimistic - hopeful, cheerful
34. obsequious- polite and obedient in order to gain something
35. patronizing – with an air of condescension
36. pessimistic - seeing the worst side of things; no hope
37. quizzical- odd, eccentric, amusing
38. ribald - offensive in speech or gesture
39. reverent - treating a subject with honor and respect
40. ridiculing - slightly contemptuous banter; making fun of
41. reflective - illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions
42. sarcastic - sneering, caustic
43. sardonic - scornfully and bitterly sarcastic
44. satiric - ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point, teach
45. sincere - without deceit or pretense; genuine
46. solemn - deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection
47. sanguine - optimistic, cheerful
48. whimsical - odd, strange, fantastic; fun
26
CHARACTER
Authors reveal what characters are like in two general ways: directly or indirectly. In the direct
method, the author simply tells the reader what the characters are like. When the method of
revealing the characters is indirect, however, the author shows us, rather than tells us, what the
characters are like through what they say about one another, through details (dress, bearing, looks),
and through their thoughts, deeds, and speech.
Characters who remain the same throughout the work are considered static, while those who
change over the course of the work are considered dynamic. Dynamic characters, especially main
characters, typically grow in understanding. The climax in this growth is called an epiphany, a term
that Irish author James Joyce used to describe a sudden revelation of truth experienced by a
character. The term comes from the Bible and describes the Wise Men’s first perception of Christ’s
divinity.
ACTIVE READER: You can ask many revealing questions about characters and the
ways they are developed.
1. Are they flat, round, static, or dynamic?
2. If they change, how and why do they change?
3. What steps do they go through to change?
4. What events or moments of self-revelation produce these changes?
5. Does what they learn help or hinder them?
6. What problems do they have?
7. How do they attempt to solve their problems?
8. What types of stock characters do they represent? (ex: repressed housewife, mad scientist)
9. If the characters are complex, what makes them complex?
10.Do they have traits that contradict one another and therefore caused internal conflicts?
11.Do they experience epiphanies? When? Why?
12.What does the epiphany reveal to the character and to us?
13.How does one character relate to others in the novel?
14.Do they have speech mannerisms, gestures, or modes of dress that reveal their inner selves?
15.Comment on the emotional state of the characters.
Keep in mind: The conflicts created through the plot directly affect character development.
27
SETTING
Setting includes several closely related aspects of a work of fiction. First, setting is the physical
sensuous world of the work. Second, it’s the time in which the action of the work takes place. And
third, it’s the social environment of the characters: the manners, customs, and moral values that
govern the characters’ society. A fourth aspect—atmosphere—is largely, but not entirely, an effect
of setting.
Issues to consider when thinking about the setting of a novel:
Questions about place: Get the details about the physical setting clear in your mind. Where does the
action take place? On what planet, in what country or locale? What sensuous qualities does the
author give to the setting? That is, what does it look like, sound like, smell like, feel like? DO you
receive a dominant impression about the setting? What impression, and what caused it? Once you
have established the above, what relationship does the place have to characterization and theme? In
what ways does the physical, or external, setting correspond to or contrast with the psychological,
or internal, landscape? In some fiction, geographic location may be of importance.
Questions about time: Three kinds of time occur in fiction. First, at what period in history does the
action take place? Many stories occur during historical events that affect the characters and themes
in important ways. Second, how long does it take for the action to occur? How does the author use
the passage of time as a thematic and structuring device? Third, how is the passage of time
perceived? Time may seem to move very slowly or quickly, depending on a character’s state of
mind. Thus, our recognition of a character’s perception of time helps us understand the character’s
internal conflicts and attitudes.
Questions about atmosphere: Atmosphere refers to the emotional reaction we, and usually the
character, have to the setting of the work. Sometimes the atmosphere is difficult to define, but it is
often found or felt in the sensuous quality of the setting.
ACTIVE READER: Use the following strategies when analyzing setting.
1. Mark the most extensive or important descriptions of physical place. Underline the most
telling words and phrases.
2. Characterize physical locales, such as houses, rooms and outdoor areas.
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3. Explain the relationship of one or more of the main characters to the physical place.
Explain the influence that place exerts on the characters.
4. Arrange the main events in chronological order. Indicate when each main event occurs.
5. Mark passages where a character’s emotional state effects the way the passage of time is
presented to us.
6. List the historical, factual circumstances and characters that occur in the work. Explain
their importance and their relationship with themes and characters in the book.
7. Lit the patterns of behavior that characterize the social environment of the work.
8. Mark the scenes in which the author or characters express approval or disapproval of
these patterns of behavior.
9. Explain the influence one or more of these patterns have on a character or characters.
10.Mark sections that contribute to atmosphere. Underline key words and phrases.
11.List the traits of atmosphere.
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PLOT
The Nature of Fiction: As a descriptive term, “fiction” is misleading, for although fiction does
often include made-up or imaginary elements, it has the potential for being “true”: true to the
nature of reality, true to human experience. Both writers of history and fiction attempt to create
a world that resembles the multiplicity and complexity of the real world. What makes fiction
different, of course, is its ability to build conflict, to be imaginative, to order events, and be
dramatic. Writers of fiction celebrate their separateness, distinctness, and importance of
individuals and individual differences. They assume that human experiences, whatever they
are, and whenever they occur, are intrinsically important and interesting. Additionally, writers
of fiction see reality as welded to psychological perception, as refracted through the minds of
individuals.
Writers arrange fictional events into patterns (plot), such as that in Freytag’s Pyramid.
ACTIVE READER: Probably the most revealing question one can ask about a work of
literature is: What conflicts does it dramatize?
Since that question might be a bit broad and overwhelming, the following sub-questions
can break it down for you:
 What is the main conflict? What are the minor conflicts?
 How are all the conflicts related?
 What causes the conflicts?
 Which conflicts are external and which are internal?
 Who is the protagonist?
 What qualities or values does the author associate with each side of the conflict?
 Where does the climax occur? Why?
 How is the main conflict resolved? Which conflicts go unresolved? Why?
Additional strategies for thinking about plot:
1. List the qualities of the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s).
2. Draw a two-column chart on a sheet of notebook paper. On the left side, list the external
conflicts of the work. On the right side, list the internal conflicts. Draw a line connecting
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the external and internal conflicts that seem related.
3. List the key conflicts. For each conflict, list the ways in which the conflict has been
resolved, if it has. Mark the conflicts that are left unresolved.
4. List the major structural units of the work (chapters, scenes, parts). Summarize what
happens in each part. What relationship does the action or conflicts have to the
structure?
5. Are certain episodes narrated out of chronological order? What is the effect of the
arrangements of episodes?
6. Are certain situations repeated? If so, what do you make out of the repetitions?
7. Describe the qualities that make the situation at the beginning unstable. Describe the
qualities that make the conclusion stable, if in fact it is.
8. List the causes of the unstable situations at the beginning and throughout the work.
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THEME
The key questions for eliciting a work’s themes are:
 What is the subject? (What is the work about?)
 What is the theme? (What does the work say about the subject?)
 Finally, in what direct and indirect and indirect ways does the work communicate the
theme(s)?
One strategy for discovering a work’s theme(s) is to apply frequently asked questions about areas of
human experience, such as the following:
Human nature: What image of human kind emerges from the work: Are people, for example,
generally good? …deeply flawed?
The nature of society: does the author portray a particular society or social scheme as lifeenhancing or life-destroying? Are characters we care about in conflict with their society? If so, in
what ways do they conflict with that society? Do these characters want to escape from it? What
causes and perpetuates this society? If the society is flawed, how is it flawed?
Human freedom: what control over their lives do the characters have? Do they make choices in
complete freedom? Are they driven by forces beyond their control? Does Providence or some grand
scheme govern history, or is history simply random and arbitrary?
Ethics: what are the moral conflicts of the work? Are they clear cut or ambiguous? That is, is it clear
to us what is right or what exactly is wrong? When moral conflicts are ambiguous in a work, right
often opposes right, not wrong. (Don’t forget to examine these from the perspective of every
character.) What rights are in opposition to one another? If right opposes wrong, does right win in
the end? To what extent are characters to blame for their actions?
Finally, another, strategy for discovering a work’s theme(s) is to answer this question:
Who serves as the moral center of the work? The moral center is the one person whom the author
vests with right action and right thought (that is, what the author seems to think is the right action
and the right thought)—the one character who seems clearly good and who often serves to judge
the other character(s).
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Additional strategies to develop a thematic statement:
1. List the subject or subjects for the work. For each subject, see if you can state a theme in
a complete sentence. Put a check next to the ones that seem the most relevant.
2. Explain how the title, subtitle, epigraph, titles, and/or names of characters may be
related to theme.
3. Describe the work’s depiction of human behavior.
4. Describe the work’s depiction of society. Explain the representation of social ills and
how they might be corrected or addressed.
5. List the moral issues raised by the work.
6. Name the character who is the moral center of the work. List the traits of this character
that support your choice.
7. Mark statements by the writer or characters that seem to state or imply themes.
8. Does the theme of the work reinforce values you hold, or does it to some degree
challenge them?
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TPCASTT
Term
Title
Explanation
Examine the title before reading the poem. What do you predict the
poem will be about?
Paraphrase
Translate the poem into your own words.
Connotation
Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond
the literal.
 Examine literary devices.
 Examine specific words and phrases that contribute to the
meaning of the poem.
 Note your gut instincts/emotional responses.
 UNDERLINE, CIRCLE, DRAW ARROWS BETWEEN
RELATED IDEAS/IMAGES, ETC. LABEL, LABEL,
LABEL…AND MAKE NOTATIONS ABOUT MEANINGS
AND CONNECTIONS, ETC.
Attitude
Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude (tone). Remember,
the poet and the speaker are seldom the same person.
Examine specific word choice/diction.
Shifts
Note shifts in the speakers and in attitudes.
Rarely does a poet begin and end in the same
place.
Look for key words (but, yet, however, although)
Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipses)
Stanza divisions
Change in line and/or stanza length
Irony
Effect of structure on meaning
Changes in sound
Changes in diction (i.e., slang to formal)
Title
Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
Theme
Write a thematic statement. What message is the poet trying to
convey? What point is he trying to make? Remember the three
requirements for your thematic statement:
a. It must be universal.
b. It must be arguable.
c. You must be able support it with the text of the poem.
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SOAPS
(A general mnemonic for any type of writing: what you should address immediately)
S = Speaker -
Who is speaking? What do you know about this person? What is the
perspective and point of view?
O = Occasion -
What are the time and place of the situation? How do they affect the
situation? How did they encourage the writing?
A = Audience -
Other than the reader, to whom is the writer directing this work? Is it
a type of person?
P = Purpose -
Why is the writer writing (or speaker speaking)?
S = Subject -
What is the general topic? Is there more than one subject? Does the
piece purport to be about one topic but is really about another?
DIDLS – Elements of Tone
D = Diction: word choice for effect
I = Imagery: vivid appeals to understanding through the senses
D = Details: facts that are included or omitted
L = Language: the overall use of language, such as formal, clinical,
jargon
S = Syntax: Sentence structure and how it affects the reader’s attitude
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Expanding DIDLS: Analyzing Tone in Prose and Poetry
Diction
1. Circle all the words you do not know.
2. Underline words that seem especially meaningful or well-chosen. For each word, explain
denotations and connotations in the margin.
3. Underline any word play such as double meanings and puns. In the margin, explain what the
word play adds to the sense of the passage.
4. Underline any uses of unusual words. In the margin, explain what qualities and meaning these
words add to the passage.
5. Explain how the choice of words contributes to the speaker’ tone.
Imagery (and Figurative Language)
1. Mark the descriptive passages. For each image, name the sense appealed to. Characterize the
dominate impression these images make.
2. Explain the relationship of descriptive images to the speaker’s state of mind.
3. Note any progression in the descriptive images; for example, from day to night, hot to cold, soft
to loud, color to color, slow to fast, etc.
4. Explain how the descriptive images help create atmosphere and mood. Slow movements for
example, are conducive to melancholy, speed to exuberance and excitement.
5. Mark the similes and metaphors in the passage. Explain the implications of the analogies.
6. Mark any personification in the passage. Explain the implications of the analogies.
7. List the senses appealed to in each analogy. Make note of any links to meaning conveyed through
these appeals.
Details
1. What details are included in the passage that reveal the speaker’s attitude about the subject?
2. What details are omitted in the passage that reveal the speaker’s attitude about the subject?
3. How does the inclusion or exclusion of details in the passage help create tone?
Language
1. Identify the level of diction (formal, informal, colloquial, slang, dialect, etc.) What does the level
of diction have to do with the speaker’s attitude towards the subject?
Syntax
1. Examine the position of words, paying close attention to such placements as first order, last order,
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isolated words, inverted word order. Consider why the writer made these choices.
2. How does the sentence structure affect the reader’s attitude?
Plagiarism: A Very Big Deal
Wikipedia defines plagiarism as “the passing off of another person's work as if it were one's own, by
claiming credit for something that was actually done by someone else. It is not plagiarism to use wellknown or common sense facts, such as “Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence.”
The most blatant examples of plagiarism I find in the classroom include students
1. Turning in papers written entirely by someone else with his/her name on it, the “someone
else” ranging from another students to overzealous parents to anonymous writers on
commercial websites
2. Cutting and pasting from several papers
3. Copying other students’ work
Perhaps not so blatant but still deliberate plagiarism includes students:
4. Copying sentences from another source while changing a few of the words
5. Paraphrasing without giving credit to original source
6. Using the questionable “brain matter” of sources such as Sparknotes for their literary analysis
instead of reading the book
Why students plagiarize:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Laziness/failure to manage time
Lack of knowledge/ability
Stress
Insecurity/perceived lack of knowledge/ability
Not realizing they’re plagiarizing
Not taking assignment seriously
Have never been caught/don’t care if they’re caught
Why plagiarism doesn’t work in the long run:
1. Loss of trust is a very big deal.
2. You need to be evaluated in what you can do. When we’re studying a new concept, I need to
know if you got it, and more importantly, YOU need to know if you got it.
3. Cutting and pasting is for little kids.
Penalties in this class:
1. A zero on the assignment; this could result in a failing grade for the class. Depending on your
grade for the remainder of the course, it could also result in a failing grade for the term, semester,
or course. If you’re a senior, it could mean you don’t graduate.
2. Possible failure to gain entrance to or expulsion from the National Honors Society.
3. My refusal to recommend you to any organizations and/or universities.
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Possible penalties in and out of the classroom:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Zeros on assignments/failing grades
Expulsions from classes/universities
Public distrust/humiliation
Loss of job/income
Jail time
How to avoid plagiarism
1. Simple: Do your own work.
2. Document, document, document. When doing research for an English class, this means using the
MLA (Modern Language Association) format.
3. Don’t procrastinate.
4. Attend tutorials.
5. Trust yourself.
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Posted on Fri, Jun. 03, 2005
IN MY OPINION
Chris Cecil, plagiarism gets you fired
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
D
ear Chris Cecil:
Here's how you write a newspaper column. First, you find a topic that engages you. Then you spend a few hours
banging your head against a computer screen until what you've written there no longer makes you want to hurl.
Or, you could just wait till somebody else writes a column and steal it. That's what you've been doing on a regular
basis.
Before Tuesday, I had never heard of you or the Daily Tribune News, in Cartersville, Ga., where you are associate
managing editor. Then one of my readers, God bless her, sent me an e-mail noting the similarities between a column
of mine and one you had purportedly written.
Intrigued, I did a little research on your paper's website and found that you had ''written'' at least eight columns since
March that were taken in whole or in part from my work. The thefts ranged from the pilfering of the lead from a
gangsta rap column to the wholesale heist of an entire piece I did about Bill Cosby. In that instance, you essentially
took my name off and slapped yours on.
On March 11, I wrote: I like hypocrites. You would, too, if you had this job. A hypocrite is the next best thing to a day
off. Some pious moralizer contradicts his words with his deeds and the column all but writes itself. It's different with
Bill Cosby.
On May 12, you ''wrote:'' I like hypocrites. You would, too, if you had this job. A hypocrite is the next best thing to a
day off. Some pious moralizer contradicts his words with his deeds and the column all but writes itself. It's different
with Bill Cosby.
The one that really got me, though, was your theft of a personal anecdote about the moment I realized my mother
was dying of cancer. ''The tears surprised me,'' I wrote. ''I pulled over, blinded by them.'' Seven days later, there you
were: ``The tears surprised me. I pulled over, blinded by them on central Kentucky's I-75.''
Actually, it happened at an on-ramp to the Artesia Freeway in Compton, Calif.
I've been in this business 29 years, Mr. Cecil, and I've been plagiarized before. But I've never seen a plagiarist as
industrious and brazen as you. My boss is calling your boss, but I doubt you and I will ever speak. Still, I wanted you
to hear from me. I wanted you to understand how this feels.
Put it like this: I had a house burglarized once.
This reminds me of that. Same sense of violation, same apoplectic disbelief that someone has the testicular fortitude
to come into your place and take what is yours.
Not being a writer yourself, you won't understand, but I am a worshiper at the First Church of the Written Word, a
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lover of language, a student of its rhythm, its music, its violence and its power.
My words are important to me. I struggle with them, obsess over them. Show me something I wrote and like a mother
recounting a child's birth, I can tell you stories of how it came to be, why this adjective here or that colon there.
See, my life's goal is to learn to write. And you cannot cut and paste your way to that. You can only work your way
there, sweating out words, wrestling down prose, hammering together poetry. There are no shortcuts.
You are just the latest in a growing list of people -- in journalism and out -- who don't understand that, who think it's
OK to cheat your way across the finish line. I've always wanted to ask one of you: How can you do that? Have you no
shame? No honor or pride? How do you face your mirror knowing you are not what you purport to be? Knowing that
you are a fraud?
If your boss values his paper's credibility, you will soon have lots of free time to ponder those questions.
But before you go, let me say something on behalf of all of us who are struggling to learn how to write, or just
struggling to be honorable human beings:
The dictionary is a big book. Get your own damn words. Leave mine alone.
P.S.: Chris Cecil was fired Thursday by Daily Tribune News Publisher Charles Hurley, immediately after he learned of
the plagiarism.
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Using POWER when you write under pressure
FROM PANICKED
TO EMPOWERED
P = Prewrite
O = Organize
Get as many ideas down as quickly as you can
without thinking about order or form
Organize all of your ideas you hope to include in
your essay
Begin putting all of your ideas by order of
W = Write
importance, beginning with introduction (including
thesis), body paragraphs, and conclusions
Re-read what you have written. Make changes that
E = Edit
you feel will make your paper more effective. Check
your concrete detail/commentary ratio.
R = Revise
Write your final draft.
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QUADCARDS
baneful
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Phrase Toolbox
Phrases are groups of words that do not contain both a subject and a verb.
Collectively, the words in each phrase function as a single part of speech.
Type of
Phrase
Absolute
Function/Composition


A modifier that somewhat
resembles a completes
sentence
Consists of a subject and a
partial verb (omitting an
auxiliary verb—always a
form of the verb to be—is,
are, was, or were)
Examples



Appositive


Gerund


Renames or identifies an
adjacent noun or pronoun
Consists of the appositive
noun plus any of its
modifiers.

A gerund is a verbal that
ends in -ing and functions
as a noun.
A gerund phrase is a type
of verb phrase that begins
with a verb in its -ing form
and is followed by
modifiers.



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The safe-cracker
lurked, his fingers
twitching with
anticipation.
His head down, his
dreams dashed, the
little-leaguer trudged
wearily to the dugout.
The students came to
class prepared,
notebooks and pens in
hand.
Glenn, an avid
outdoorsman, enjoys
poetry as well as
fishing.
Jake, the musclebound Golden
Retriever, is Glenn’s
faithful hunting
companion.
Cooking as a hobby is
something Maxine
never considered; she
has McDonald’s and
the local deli on speed
dial.
Turning in
assignments late can
be costly.
Additional
Information
Most absolutes
phrases begin with
a possessive
pronoun (my, your,
his, her, its, our, or
their). Sometimes,
however, the
possessive is
implied, as in the
third example.
When it adds
nonessential
information, it is set
off by commas.
Since a gerund
functions as a noun,
it occupies some
positions in a
sentence that a
noun ordinarily
would, for
example: subject,
direct object,
subject
Infinitive
A verbal consisting of the word
to plus a verb (in its simplest
"stem" form) and functioning
as a noun, adjective, or adverb.




Participial
phrase


A verb form (past or
present) functioning like an
adjective.
Consists of the participle
plus its modifiers.



Prepositional
phrase


A prepositional phrase is a
group of words beginning
with a preposition and
ending with a noun or
pronoun (called its object).
Prepositional phrases
function in a sentence as
adjectives or adverbs.
Consists of a preposition
plus its objects and its
modifiers


.
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My dream is to write
the great American
novel.
Some feel that to retire
is to die, while others
feel that to retire is to
live a second time.
I implore you to learn
the difference between
the infinitive “to” and
the prepositional “to.”
I invited Sheila to go to
the movies with me.
Mesmerized by the
music, Sara drifted into
a dream world.
Matt, swimming for
his life, fled from the
crocodiles.
Muriel jumped at the
offer, intrigued.
I went down the street,
around the corner, to
the store, to buy a
quart of milk.
“Over the river and
through the wood
To Grandfather's
house we go.”
complement, and
object of
preposition.
The infinitive may
function as a
subject, direct
object, subject
complement,
adjective, or adverb
in a sentence.
The first word in
the phrase is always
the participle itself.
THE ESSENCE OF STYLE/LITERARY ANALYSIS
(What to address in an essay on style analysis)
STEP 1
What did the author do with the piece? (What is the purpose, theme,
message?)
STEP 2
How did the author do it? (What techniques/stylistic devices did the
author use?)
STEP 3
Why is the way those techniques were used especially fitting for
illustrating what the author did? (How do steps 1 and 2 relate?)
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