Conventions of Literature—Focus this Trimester!
Tri B
Conflict: There is probably more than one stock conflict (man v self, man v man, man v nature),
list the stock
conflicts and explain in detail one of the conflicts in a story based (the man v man
conflict is…) explanation.
Person vs. Person
Person vs. Society
Person vs. Self
Person vs. Nature
Person vs. Fate (God)
Setting:
Time and Place a given work takes place
Parody and Satire:
Parody: A form of literature intended to mock a particular literary work
or its style; a comic effect is intended
Satire: A literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or
weakness, often with the intent or correcting, or changing the subject of
the satiric attack
Theme:
A statement about life a particular work is trying to get across to the
reader.
(Multiple Possibilities)
Motif:
A reoccurring subject, idea, theme, or object; a dominant idea or feature.
(Multiple Possibilities)
Tone and Mood:
Tone: The overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of words.
The feeling may be serious, mock-serious, humorous, satiric, and so on. . .
Mood: Is the feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader: happiness,
sadness, peacefulness, etc.
Allegory and Allusion:
Allegory: A story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or
generalization about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.
Allusion: The act of alluding, which is to refer to something else. In
literature it is often references to other writings: stories, novels, etc.
Feeley revised 2014
Symbols: (list them and explain possible significance)
Something in the literature that represents something else: Santa=Christmas, dove=peace
Point of View: What is it; how do you know? (What are the differences between first and third
person perspectives?—definition sheet)
Point of View: Perspective from which the story is told
·
-person: narrator is a character in the story; uses “I,” “we,” etc.
·
-person: narrator outside the story; uses “he,” “she,” “they”
·
-person limited: narrator tells only what one character perceives
·
-person omniscient: narrator can see into the minds of all characters.
Foreshadowing: (list one example) The giving of hints and clues of what is to come later—best
seen in hind-sight.
Imagery: (give one good example) The words or phrases the author uses to create an image in
the readers mind—usually based on sensory detail
1. a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or
absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
2. a self-contradictory and false proposition.
3. any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an
apparently contradictory nature.
4. an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
Paradox:
Dialogue: —some possible purposes: emotion, exposition, setting, develop character,
developing character relationships—how is it used in our story?
Irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal
meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all
weekend.
Dramatic Irony:
irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is
understood by the audience but not by the characters in the
play
Situational Irony:
irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect
that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome
is contrary to what was expected.
Feeley revised 2014
Points of plot and plot of the story: (What’s the difference?—definition)
Exposition/ intro:
Points of plot set out the outline of a work in a patterned academic
sense, while the plot is an overview or review of a work that
derives its core from the points of plot but may or may not be
inclusive of an entire work depending on the thoroughness of the
review.
Rising action:
Climax:
Falling action:
Resolution/ dénouement:
Dialect: What is it? Are there any influences of dialect in this piece?
Motif:
1. a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., esp. in a literary, artistic,
or musical work.
2. a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design,
as in a painting or on wallpaper.
3. a dominant idea or feature: the profit motif of free enterprise.
Author’s Purpose: (literary intent)
What are the goals of the work, which can be author intended but do not have to be. The key
thing impacting intent is audience and focus or perspective. A work may look much different
depending on point of view—academic, social, feminist, cultural, etc.
Attitude:
Shows an angle—gives the reader or audience a clue to what position or side an author is on or is
supporting. This is connected to a thesis statement for academic writing. Example: a paper on
gun control should give an angle that the writer is taking: for or against guns.
Coherence:
Is related to organization of material as either a writer or reader. Having logical connections to
themes and points being made. Material is connected and makes some sense to the intended
audience.
Unity:
All elements, ideas, and points help complete a singular idea or point—everything seems to fit.
There are no stray thoughts or extra, unrelated information or detail.
Feeley revised 2014