CLAIMS, QUOTES, AND POETRY
UNIT
RECAP
TIME TO REVIEW!
TEXTS COVERED UP TO THIS POINT FIRST QUARTER:
• Summer reading homework: Kate Chopin short stories
• Langston Hughes Poetry Packets
• Reminder: Any texts read and analyzed throughout this
first SEMESTER may be used as your prompt for your IOC!
CLAIM THAT CLAIM!
• What is a claim?
•
An assertion of truth or belief
•
A thesis to be supported
•
A conclusion drawn
• How does this apply to YOU in LA?
•
When you read anything, watch anything, listen to anything, or observe anything….you will ALWAYS draw some
sort of inference or conclusion about it. When we study TEXTS (which can be ANYTHING) in LA, we are close
reading and analyzing everything about that text to extract AUTHORIAL INTENTION. From there, we make a
CLAIM about what we think the authorial intention or central assertion is of the work.
• AUTHORIAL INTENTION:
•
Simply put: the author’s intent behind his or her work. What was the intent/purpose of writing that piece?
What is the reader supposed to extract from it?
•
We are FOCUSING on extracting authorial intention based off of LITERARY TECHNIQUES
• Forming a well-organized CLAIM PARAGRAPH
THE CLAIMS PARAGRAPH
• Step 1: State your claim for authorial intention
• Step 2: Provide background context that helps build the foundation for
your claim.
• Step 3: Instill a direct quote (or two or three…) that supports your
argument.
• Step 4: Pull your findings together with a fresh, final point.
EXAMPLE CLAIMS PARAGRAPH
• In the poem “Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughe’s, one can extract his authorial intention that seeks
to bring awareness to the social injustice permeating society by analyzing his use of irony that is present
throughout the entire piece of work. In this poem, the narrator, an African American tenant, has a heated
confrontation with his Caucasian landlord. The narrator has repeatedly expressed a concern over his living
conditions and consistently requested that the landlord make the necessary repairs to his home. The landlord
is presented as obstinate and unwilling to fulfill his duties to the tenant, thereby, causing the debate to raise
to such an escalated manner, that the cops are called and the tenant is taken to jail. The first piece of irony
that can be extracted comes from the title itself, in which it reveals that the ballad belongs to the landlord, not
the tenant whose point of view it is voiced from. This subtle piece of ownership demonstrates the roles of
rights and possession during this time. In addition, when the landlord and the tenant are at the start of their
debate, the tenant says to the landlord “…these steps is broken down. When you come up yourself It's a
wonder you don't fall down.” This quote is wrapped in both sincerity revolving around the fact that the
physical condition of the stairs is deplorable, but is also dripping in irony. The narrator is calling to attention
the question of how is it possible for an immoral, Caucasian landlord to be standing up straight in society with
wealth, prestige, and power when his business dealings are shady? The final piece that really emphasizes the
social injustice of the time occurs when the landlord calls for the police saying: “come and get this man! He's
trying to ruin the government And overturn the land!” The complete irony of this moment is clearly portrayed
by the use of such outlandish words used to describe the tenant’s true intentions. The tenant was simply
trying to have his home fixed and repaired—he was in no way attempting to RUIN anything. He wanted what
was legally owed to him by the law as a renter, not trying to tear apart the government. Through this poem,
Langston Hughes sheds light on the social injustice that was running rampant through his time, reaching out
to humanity and raising a call to action in order to put a check to these unjust actions that only divided people
instead of uniting them in equality.
CLAIMS PARAGRAPHS ARE GREAT WAYS TO….
• Structure an argument
• Write a body paragraph
• Prepare for a short speech
• Organize your ideas
QUOTE THAT QUOTE!
• You use direct quotes to….
•
Support your claims
•
Provide strong evidence
•
Reinforce your points
•
Refer back to specific pieces of the text
• When instilling direct quotes…
•
NEVER LEAVE THEM HANGING!
•
Always incorporate them into one of YOUR OWN sentences.
• Examples:
•
INCORRECT: Chuck must be a zombie because he drinks Gatorade, drools, and has a lazy eye. “Anyone who
drinks red Gatorade turns into a zombie.”
•
Correct: Chuck must be a zombie because he drinks Gatorade, drools, and has a lazy eye. In the Guide to
Zombie Life book, it specifically says that “anyone who drinks red Gatorade turns into a zombie.” Therefore, it
clearly makes sense that Chuck would be a zombie.
LITERARY TECHNIQUES
• Literary techniques are structures, usually a word or phrases in literary texts, that writers employ to achieve
not merely artistic ends, but also give the readers a greater understanding and appreciation of their literary
works.
• We will continue to study their presence and functionality in all text types throughout this course to help us
fully appreciate and analyze a text, and to ultimately extract the central assertion and authorial intention of a
work.
• Examples of literary techniques:
•
Imagery
•
Simile
•
Metaphor
•
Hyperbole
•
Personification
•
Alliteration
•
Irony
•
Enjambement
•
Rhythm
•
And MILLIONS MORE!
MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THE FOLLOWING TECHNIQUES!
• Connotation:
• Consonance
• Denotation
• Assonance
• Imagery
• Anaphora
• Rhetorical appeals
• Juxtaposition
• Diction
• Colloquialism
• Thesis
• Irony
• Point of view
• Satire
• Voice
• Motif
• Allusion
CONNOTATION
• Connotation refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart
from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural
and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal
meanings or denotations. For instance, “Wall Street” literally
means a street situated in Lower Manhattan but connotatively it
refers to “wealth” and “power”.
DENOTATION:
• Denotation is generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in
contrast to its connotative or associated meanings.
Let us try to understand this term with the help of an example. If you search
for meaning of the word “dove” in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is
“a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and
short legs.” In literature, however, you frequently see “dove” referred to as a
symbol of peace.
IMAGERY:
• Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals
to our physical senses.
• Usually it is thought that imagery makes use of particular words that create visual representation of ideas in
our minds. The word imagery is associated with mental pictures. However, this idea is but partially correct.
Imagery, to be realistic, turns out to be more complex than just a picture. Read the following examples of
imagery carefully:
• It was dark and dim in the forest. – The words “dark” and “dim” are visual images.
• The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. - “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of
hearing or auditory sense.
• He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. – “whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell or olfactory sense.
• The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric. – The idea of “soft” in this example appeals to our sense of touch
or tactile sense.
• The fresh and juicy orange are very cold and sweet. – “ juicy” and “sweet” when associated with oranges have
an effect on our sense of taste or gustatory sense.
DICTION
• Diction can be defined as style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or
a writer.
• Diction or choice of words separates good writing from bad writing. It depends on a number of factors.
Firstly, the word has to be right and accurate. Secondly, words should be appropriate to the context in
which they are used. Lastly, the choice of words should be such that the listener or readers understand
easily. Besides, proper diction or proper choice of words is important to get the message across. On the
contrary, the wrong choice of words can easily divert listeners or readers which results in
misinterpretation of the message intended to be conveyed.
• Types of Diction
• Individuals vary their diction depending on different contexts and settings. Therefore, we come across
various types of diction. It may be “formal” where formal words are used in formal situations e.g. press
conferences, presentations etc. Similarly, we use “informal” diction in informal situations like writing or
talking to our friends. Moreover, a “colloquial” diction uses words common in everyday speech. “Slang”
is the use of words that are impolite or newly coined.
THESIS
• A thesis is a statement in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove.
• One can find examples of thesis statement at the beginning of literary pieces. These thesis statements
are of utmost importance, as they serve as clear indicators as to which directions writers will follow in
their work.
• A thesis statement is carefully chosen by a writer and is marked by vigilant selection of words that will
never miss its target. Generally, such a statement shows up in the first paragraph or what is called an
introduction. Despite writers’ efforts to prove their thesis statements, not all of these statements can be
verified for their exactness. Nevertheless, they do develop an argument.
• Importance of a Thesis Statement
•
In writing an essay, a thesis statement determines the worth of an essay by its capacity to stay focused on its
thesis statement. For an instance, if a writer fails to clearly mention or define a solid thesis statement in his or
her essay, it will be almost impossible for him or her to pay attention to the issue he or she plans to discuss and
explain. Suppose a writer wants to write an essay on how to make a perfect fruit salad, the quality of his or her
writing will exceedingly improve if he or she lets the readers have knowledge of the subject matter at the start
of the essay:
POINT OF VIEW
• Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the
individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author
employs to let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc.
• Point of view is a reflection of the opinion an individual from real life or fiction can have. Examples of
point of view belong to one of these three major kinds:
• 1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” and “we”.
• Example:
• “I felt like I was getting drowned with shame and disgrace.”
• 2. Second person point of view employs the pronoun “you”.
• “Sometimes you cannot clearly discern between anger and frustration.”
• 3. Third person point of view uses pronouns like “he”, “she”, “it”, “they” or a name.
ALLUSION
• Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or
political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a
passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion
and grasp its importance in a text.
• For instance, you make a literary allusion the moment you say, “I do not approve of this quixotic idea,”
Quixotic means stupid and impractical derived from Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”, a story of a foolish
knight and his misadventures.
ASSONANCE
Assonance takes place when two or more
words close to one another repeat the same
vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds.
For instance:
“Men sell the wedding bells.”
CONSONANCE
• Consonance refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase.
This repetition often takes place in quick succession such as in pitter, patter. It is classified as a literary
term used in both poetry as well as prose. For instance, the words chuckle, fickle, and kick are
consonant with one and other due to the existence of common interior consonant sounds (/ck/).
• The literary device of consonance is inherently different from assonance which involves the repetition
of similar vowel sounds within a word, sentence, or phrase. Another distinction to be appreciated is
that of between consonance and rhyme. In the case of rhyme, consonant sounds can be present at the
beginning, middle, or end of several successive words, rather than merely at the ends of
words. Further, the device of consonance needs to be distinguished from alliteration. In contrast to
alliteration, consonance involves repetition of consonant sounds only.
ANAPHORA
• In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an
artistic effect is known as Anaphora.
• Anaphora, possibly the oldest literary device, has its roots in Biblical Psalms used to emphasize certain
words or phrases. Gradually, Elizabethan and Romantic writers brought this device into practice.
Examine the following psalm:
• “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?”
• The repetition of the phrase “O Lord,” attempts to create a spiritual sentiment. This is anaphora.
JUXTAPOSITION
• Juxtaposition is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are
placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.
• In literature, juxtaposition is a useful device for writers to portray their characters in great detail to
create suspense and achieve a rhetorical effect. It is a human quality to comprehend one thing easily by
comparing it to another. Therefore, a writer can make readers sense “goodness” in a particular
character by placing him or her side by side to a character that is predominantly “evil”. Consequently,
goodness in one character is highlighted by evil in the other character. Juxtaposition in this case is useful
in the development of characters.
COLLOQUIALISM
• In literature, colloquialism is the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing.
• Colloquial expressions tend to sneak in as writers, being part of a society, are influenced by the way
people speak in that society. Naturally, they are bound to add colloquial expressions in their vocabulary.
However, writers use such expressions intentionally too as it gives their works a sense of realism. For
instance, in a fiction story depicting American society, a greeting “what’s up?” between friends will
seem more real and appropriate than the formal “How are you?” and “How do you do?”
IRONY
• Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is
different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that may end up in quite a
different way than what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference between the
appearance and the reality.
SATIRE
• Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an
individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by
criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer in a satire uses fictional characters, which stand for real people,
to expose and condemn their corruption.
• A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country or even the entire world. Usually, a satire is a
comical piece of writing which makes fun of an individual or a society to expose its stupidity and
shortcomings. In addition, he hopes that those he criticizes will improve their characters by overcoming
their weaknesses.
MOTIF
• Motif is an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work.
• Motif and Theme
•
In a literary work, a motif can be seen as an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic
significance and contributes toward the development of theme. Motif and theme are linked in a literary work
but there is a difference between them. In a literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea or a symbol that
develops or explains a theme while a theme is a central idea or message.
• Motif and Symbol
•
Sometimes, examples of motif are mistakenly identified as examples of symbols. Symbols are images, ideas,
sounds or words that represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing. Motifs, on the other
hand, are images, ideas, sounds or words that help to explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme.
Moreover, a symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work, whereas a motif is a recurring element.
POETRY UNIT
• Poetry is EVERYWHERE!
•
TShirts
•
Magazines
•
Publications
•
Ads
•
Movies
•
Etc.
POETRY IS POETIC BECAUSE…
• Its literary devices appeal to our Aural Sense and our Visual Sense
LANGUAGE HAS NATURAL RHYTHM
• Language has natural RHYTHM, which is created by stressing or not stressing the syllables of words.
Rappers are very conscious of where stresses naturally fall in words, as their use of language has to fit in
with a beat.
• To identify the rhythm of stresses: we use a process in which we determine SCANSION
•
Stressed and unstressed syllables
• Metric Foot: a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
HERE ARE THE 5 KINDS OF FEET OFTEN USED BY
POETS
Name
Pattern
Examples
Iamb
Unstressed, stressed
Would I
Trochee
stressed, unstressed
Pillow’d
Spondee
stressed, stressed
Still, still
Anapest
Unstressed, unstressed
stressed
(rip)ening breast
Dactyl
Stressed, unstressed
unstressed
eremite
VERSES IN POETRY
• VERSES ARE NOT SENTENCES. Many times, verses of poetry neither begin at the beginning of a sentence
nor end at the end of a sentence.
• When a sentence carries on at the end of one verse into the next without a pause at the end of the line,
it is called enjambement.
METRE AND FEET
• If poets experiment with syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed
sentences in a language.) so that verses are not necessarily sentences, what then is the organizing
principle of verses? The answer is METRE (the rhythmic structure of poetic verse).
• After clustering syllables into feet, you need to see if there are patterns of feet.
# of
Feet
Name of
Metre
Examples (all iambic)
5
pentameter
I of snow I upon I the moun I tains and I the moors I
4
tetrameter
I amaz I ing grace I how sweet I the sound I
3
trimeter
I that saves I a wretch I like me I
2
dimeter
I be gone I be gone I
STANZA=A POETRY PARAGRAPH FOR SEPARATING
IDEAS
• 2 verses= couplet
• 3 verses=tercet
• 4 verses=quatrain
• 5 verses=cinquain
• 6 verses=sestet
• 7 verses=septet
• 8 verses=octave
RHYME
• What is a poem? People often think of poetry as rhyming verse, perhaps because we tend to remember
poems that rhyme, but not all poetry has to rhyme. In fact, many poems do not.
TYPES OF POEMS
Genre
Sub Genre
Purpose
Metre
Form
Lyrical
Poetry
(Song-like)
English Sonnet
Expression of deep
sentiment
Iambic pentameter
Abab cdcd efef, gg
Italian sonnet
Expression of love
Iambic pentameter
Abba, cddc, efgefg
Ode
Glorify an event or
person
Free verse, though often
iambic
Abab, cdecde
Villanelle
Usually pastoral
(depicting a rural
theme)
Often iambic
pentamenter
A1ba2, aba1,
aba2, aba1, aba2,
aba1a2
Limerick
Humor
Anapaestic trimeter (a)
and dimeter (b)
aabba
Ballard
Diverse
Iambic
Tetrameter (a,c)
And trimester (b)
abcd
Epic
To tell long stories
about heroes and great
achievements
Free verse, and blank
verse
Narrative Poetry
(Story-telling)