SOL Reading
Literary Terms Review
Woodgrove High School
Allegory
Definition:
- stories that use characters
to represent abstract
qualities
- often teaches religious or
moral lessons
Examples:
- Young Goodman Brown by
Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Lord Of The Flies by William
Golding
- Moby Dick by Herman
Melville
- Divine Comedy by Dante
Alighieri
Allegory
A story, poem, or picture that can be
interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one
Examples:
"Animal Farm" by George Orwell
The short story “Animal Farm” represents the
events leading up to Soviet totalitarianism in
Russia by Stalin in a farm setting.
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
In The Divine Comedy, Dante, symbolizing
humankind, is taken by Virgil the poet on a
journey through Hell, Purgatory and
Paradise
• Definition:
• Examples:
– The Faerie Queene, Edmund
Spenser
– The Pilgrim’s Progress, John
Bunyan
– The Divine Comedy, Dante
– Lord of the Flies, William Golding
– Moby Dick, Herman Melville
– Animal Farm, George Orwell
– Allegory is a form of extended
metaphor, in which objects,
persons, and actions in a
narrative, are equated with the
meanings that lie outside the
narrative itself.
• The underlying meaning has moral,
social, religious, or political
significance, and characters are often
personifications of abstract ideas as
charity, greed, or envy.
Allegory
of the four
elements:
Alliteration
The occurrence of the same
letter or sound at
the beginning of adjacent
or closely connected words.
Examples:
• Sam saw a spider sliding down the stairs.
• Paul picked plums from Patty’s plum patch.
Alliteration
• Alliteration refers to the
repetition of a particular
sound in the first syllables of a
series of words and/or
phrases.
• Ex.
1. Becky’s beagle barked and
bayed, becoming bothersome
for Billy.
2. Peter’s piglet pranced
priggishly
ALLITERATION
Definition:
Alliteration is the
repetition of initial
sounds in
neighboring words.
Examples:
- Sweet smell of success
- Bigger the better
- A dime a dozen
- Jump for joy
Alliteration
• The repetition of initial
consonant sounds in a
series of words
• Example:
-Sally sells seashells by
the seashore.
-Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled peppers
Allusion
Definition:
• An expression designed to
call something to mind
without mentioning it
explicitly; an indirect or
passing reference - an
allusion to Shakespeare
• - a classical allusion
• The practice of making
such references, esp. as
an artistic device
Examples:
"I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and
sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth." ~
Senator Barrack Obama, speech at a fund-raiser for
Catholic charities, October 16, 2008
Barrack Obama makes an allusion to Superman.
She transformed her backyard to look like the Garden of
Eden.
This is an allusion to the Bible.
His wife was his Achilles' heel.
This is an allusion to mythology and this has a different
name know as a mythological allusion
Allusion
•
Definition - is a brief reference to a
person, event, or place, real or
fictitious, or to a work of art within
a work of art. An allusion may be
drawn from history, geography,
literature, or religion
Examples:
1. Andy Warhol, a 20th-century
American artist most famous for his popart images of Campbell soup cans and of
Marilyn Monroe, commented about the
explosion of media coverage by saying,
“In the future, everyone will be worldfamous for 15 minutes.“ Today, when
someone receives a great deal of media
attention for something fairly trivial, and
he or she is said to be experiencing his or
her “15 minutes of fame”, the allusion is
to Andy Warhol's famous saying.
2. Allusion Martin Luther King, Jr., alluded
to the Gettysburg Address in starting his "I
Have a Dream" speech by saying 'Five score
years ago..."; his hearers were immediately
reminded of Abraham Lincoln's "Four score
and seven years ago", which opened the
Gettysburg Address. King's allusion
effectively called up parallels in two historic
moments
Antagonist
Definition:
• “the adversary of
the hero or
protagonist of a
drama or other
literary work” –
dictionary.com
Examples:
•
•
•
•
The antagonist of the Harry Potter series by
J.K. Rowling is Voldemort (with the exception
of The Prisoner of Azkaban)
The antagonist of the Hound of the
Baskervilles is Stapleton.
The antagonist of the play “Hamlet” could be
considered to be Claudius or Hamlet himself
The antagonist of the book Grendel by John
Gardner is the world.
http://deathstarpr.blogspot.com/20
11/04/fame-voldemorts-gonnalive-forever.html
Antagonist
• A person who actively
opposes or is hostile to
someone or something
• The antagonist in
Spider-Man was the
Green Goblin.
• The antagonist in this
novel attempted to
blow up the town.
Antagonist
Definition~
A character who is
opposed to good.
Adversary.
Examples~
~ Voldemort (from Harry
Potter series)
~ Lex Luther (from
Superman series)
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.boomtron.com/w
p-content/uploads/2010/06/harry-voldemor-deathly-hallows.jpg
Aside
Definition:
Example:
A brief comment made on - In Romeo and Juilet: the balcony scene
-Juliet.
stage to the audience, so
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
that the other characters
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
cannot hear.
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
-Romeo.
[Aside.] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at
this?
Aside
Definition-noun-Words spoken (usually in a
play) that can be heard by the audience but
not by other characters
Example 1-The play had an aside in it,
where the main character turned to the
crowed and gave his own, unspoken, opinion
on the situation.
Example 2-The character gave an aside
during the play, explaining the current
situation and his growing suspicions of the
character next to him.
Aside
Definition:
a part of an actor's lines
supposedly not heard
by others on the stage
and intended only for
the audience.
a temporary departure
from a main theme or
topic, especially a
parenthetical
comment or remark;
short digression.
Examples:
• In Othello, examples of asides can be found
while Iago is informing the audience of his
plans and his route he has mapped out to
achieving his goals.
• In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Polonius, who
is a Chamberlin, speaks about his daughter in
an aside.
Aside
Definition:
• In theater, a part of an
actor’s/actress’s lines
that is heard only by
the audience, and by
none of the other
characters that are on
stage.
Examples:
“Time, thou anticipatest my dread exploits.”
-Macbeth, in Macbeth by Shakespeare
Definition:
A narrative poem, often of
folk origin and intended to
be sung, consisting of
simple stanzas and usually
having a refrain.
Examples:
*Oscar Wilde’s
“Ballad of
Reading Gaol”
*Aerosmith’s
“Dream On”
*Led Zeppelin’s
“Stairway to
Heaven”
*Heart’s “What
About Love”
BALLAD
Ballad
Definition:
• a simple narrative
poem of folk origin,
composed in short
stanzas and adapted
for singing.
Examples:
•
•
•
Sir Patrick Spens
Bonnie Barbara Allen
The Rime of Ancient Mariner
Ballad
Definition:
• A poem that tells a
story, usually with a
musical quality or
rhythm and put to
music.
Examples:
•
“Light do I see within my Lady’s eyes
And loving spirits in its plenisphere
Which bear in strange delight on my heart’s care
Till Joy’s awakened from that sepulchre.”
from Ballata 5, by Guido Cavalcanti
Ballad
Definition-noun- A free verse poem that is
usually told orally and set to music.
Example 1- The ballad told a story of a
young man and a young girl who had met
and fell in love, but then were separated
when a terrible storm struck.
Example 2- The man sung the ballad while
playing his banjo to give a more upbeat feel
to the otherwise grim story.
Definiti
on:
Ballad
• any light, simple song,
especially one of
sentimental or
romantic character,
having two or more
stanzas all sung to
the same melody.
Examples
The Ballad of the Green Berets by Sgt. Barry Sadler
The Ballad of Persse O’Reilly by James Joyce
The Ballad Of A Bachelor by Ellis Parker Butler
Ballad on the American War by Robert Burns
Blank Verse
Definition:
A poem written in
unrhymed iambic
pentameter
• Much of Shakespeare’s
plays – “Shall I compare
thee to a summer’s day” as
well as other Renaissance
plays
• Milton’s Paradise Lost
• The Ball Poem
by
John Berryman
What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over-there it is in the water!
Blank Verse
Definition: Verse without
rhyme scheme,
especially that which
uses iambic pentameter
Example: Romeo and Juliet
Example: Hamlet
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and
tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day
to day,To the last syllable of recorded
time;And all our yesterdays have lighted
foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief
candle!Life's but a walking shadow, a poor
playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the
stageAnd then is heard no more: it is a
taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and
fury,Signifying nothing.
"Indeed this counselor / Is now most
still, most secret, and most grave, /
Who was in life a foolish prating
knave”
Blank Verse
•
Definition:
Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter
• Examples:
Paradise Lost by Milton
Men called him Mulciber; and how he fell
From heaven, they fabled, thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o'er the crystal battlements: from morn
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve.
The Ball Poem by John Berryman
What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over-there it is in the water!
Blank Verse
• Verse without rhyme, esp.
that which uses iambic
pentameter
•
What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over-there it is in the water!
•
But soft! What light through yonder window
breaks?
It is the East and Juliet is the sun!
A-rise fair sun and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That though her maid art far more fair than she
• unrhymed verse, especially
the unrhymed iambic
pentameter most frequently
used in English dramatic,
epic, and reflective verse.
Cacophony
• A harsh, discordant
mixture of sounds
• a discordant and
meaningless
mixture of sounds
• She heard a cacophony
of hoots, cackles, and
wails.
• The sound of city traffic
during midday is
ridiculous.
Cacophony
Definition:
harsh or discordant
sound:dissonance;
Specifically:
harshness in the
sound of words
or phrases
Examples:
• The sounds of
barking dogs and
sirens added to the
cacophony on the
streets.
• The cacophony of a
pet store full of
animals.
Cacophony
• Definition:
Harsh, discordant sounds
• Examples:
finger of birth-strangled babe.
EXCERPT FROM JABBERWOCKY BY LEWIS CARROLL
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Cacophony
Definition:
Examples:
a harshness of sound.
discordant noise
•
•
•
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe
Breakers crashed onto jagged rocks and clawed the
sands with brutal strikes, pummeling the beach
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch
Cacophony
Definition: A technique in poetry
in which using an unpleasant,
harsh spoken sound is created
by clashing consonants
Example:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
-Lewis Carroll
Example:
And thou, who didst the stars
and sunbeams know,/Selfschool'd,self-scann'd, selfhonor'd, self-secure,/Didst tread
on earth unguess'd at. –Matthew
Arnold
Characterization
Definition:
• a graphic or vivid
verbal description by
an author describing
the characters of his
story.
Examples:
- The girl was in her teenage years and always wore a
bright yellow dress that expressed her perfect tan.
- There was a middle-aged man who was wearing a
long, brown coat and looked very suspicious.
Climax
• The decisive moment in a drama, the climax is the turning
point of the play to which the rising action leads.
• Examples:
• 1.In Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" the climax occurs at the
end of Marc Antony's speech to the Roman public.
• 2. The climax of Romeo and Juliet occurs in Act 3 just after
Romeo kills Tybalt when he realizes he has just murdered
his wife's cousin
Climax
Definition
the highest or most intense
point in the development or
resolution of something
(in a dramatic or literary work)
a decisive moment that is of
maximum intensity or is a
major turning point in a
plot.
Examples
•In the movie 127 hours when he cuts off his
arm.
•In Toy Story when the toys escape Sid’s
house.
•In Aladin when Aladin fights Jafar.
•In The Patriot when Mel Gibson’s soldiers
fight on the front line against Cornwalis.
Climax
Definition:
Examples:
•
The point at which the action in
a story reaches its emotional
peak
The highest level of conflict and
drama
•
•
In the climax to the film "Star Wars," the empire's
death star is ready to destroy the rebel base. Luke
Skywalker and rebel pilots attack the base, and
after the deaths of some rebel pilots, Skywalker
successfully fires his missile into the death star's
vulnerable spot and destroys the death star, saving
the rebel forces.
In Grendel, the climax is when Beowulf rips
Grendel’s arm off during the fight.
The climax of the book Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows is when Harry Potter and
Voldermort battle and Voldermort is killed by Harry.
Climax
Definition:
• the highest or most intense point
in the development. The climax of
work usually involves an
important event, decision, or
discovery that affects the final
outcome.
Examples:
•
•
The climax in THE SCARLET LETTER is
when Dimmesdale finally confesses his
sins to the crowd.
The climax in Beowulf is when Beowulf
kills Grendel’s mother.
Climax
• Definition:
a) the highest point
b) a figure of speech in which a
series of phrases or sentences is
arranged in ascending order of
rhetorical forcefulness.
Reaching the climax is like reaching the top
of a mountain.
• Examples:
“The climax of that movie kept
me on the edge of my seat because it
was filled with so much action!” –
this is the high point in the movie and
everything leading up to this point.
“The man has reaches the
climax of his life as he has traveled
around the world and experienced
things no one else has.” – this is the
high point and the ascending points
leading to this point of greatest.
Consonance
Definition: the repetition
of consonant sounds in
the middle or at the
end of consecutive
words that do not
rhyme
Examples: blank and
think, brick and clock
Consonance
Definition:
A poetic device, repetition
of sounds or
consonants;
Examples:
•
•
•
“as in guys she gently sways at ease”
-"The Silken Tent" by Robert Frost
"Rap rejects my tape
deck, ejects projectile/Whether Jew or gentile I rank
top percentile."
- Zealots by the Fugees
"And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each
purple curtain."
- ”The Raven” by Adgar Alan Poe
 Totally a picture of Consonance.
Consonance
Definition:
Consonance is
the repetition, at
close intervals,
of the final
consonants of
accented
syllables or
important words ,
especially at the
ends of words,
Examples
• Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow
• Litter and batter
• Spelled and scald
• Laughed and deft
Cultural Hero
Definition
• a mythical or mythicized
character who
embodies the
aspirations of the
society in which the
story takes place
• He appeals to society
because he stands out
from traditional beliefs
Examples
Ulysses in The Odyssey
Beowulf in Beowulf
Robin Hood
Cultural Hero
Definition:
• a mythical or
mythicized historical
figure who embodies
the aspirations or
ideals of a society
Examples:
•
•
Beowulf has extreme strength and is cocky.
Batman is extremely brave and is very humble.
Cultural Hero
• Cultural Hero- A figure
who embodies the
ideals of a society
• Ex. Superman
• Ex. Nelson Mandela
Diction
Definition:
Examples:
style of speaking or writing as
o in a look until dropped like
dependent upon choice of words
an egg on the floor
let slop, crashed to slide
the accent, inflection,
and run, yolk yellow
intonation, and speech-sound
for the live, the dead who
quality manifested by an
worked through me
individual speaker, usually judged
(Wherever You Are, Be Somewhere Else: Denise
in terms of prevailing standards  Riley)
of acceptability
o Or is it the pentagram
Hidden in a bed the
conversation of bodies.
 (The prose of walking back to China: Christopher
Middleton)
Diction
• Definition:
Style of speaking or
writing as dependent
upon choice of words
• Examples:

Grendel uses words
that portray gloominess
and confusion to
provide sympathy for
Grendel.
 Words and Behavior
uses complex words to
provide knowledgeable
feel to the essay.
DICTION- (noun) the
authors choice or words
SentenceThe authors true meaning or
theme cannot be conveyed
without a clear diction.
Her diction while giving her
persuasive speech was flawless.
Definition: Irony that occurs when
the meaning of the situation is
understood by the audience but
not by the characters in the play.
Ex.1: A horror movie is playing all
of the sudden creepy music starts
playing, the viewers know
someone is about to die or
discover something horrible but of
course the characters can’t hear
the music.
Ex.2: In Shrek, donkey knows that
Fiona and Shrek like each other
but only donkey and the audience
knows this, Shrek and Fiona have
no idea…yet .
Dynamic Characters
• Dynamic characters are characters that
change throughout the course of a story
• Ebenezer Scrooge from “A Christmas Carol” is
a Dynamic character
• Aladdin from “Aladdin” is a dynamic character
Visual of Dynamic
Epic Poem
Definition:
- a story that is usually told of
a hero and his adventures
- it is written in a formal
styles
Examples:
- The Iliad and The Odyssey
by Home
- Aeneid by Virgil
- Paradise Lost by Milton
- Beowulf
Epic Poem
a long narrative poem telling of a
hero's deeds.
Examples:
The Iliad by Homer
This epic poem tells of the Trojan Wars
the Greeks fought and of the hero
Achilles. The Iliad is thousands of years
old and has over 15,000 lines.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient
poem who has no specific author from
ancient Mesopotamia.
• Definition:
– An extended narrative poem
recounting actions, travels,
adventures, and heroic episodes
written in a high style.
• Protagonist is heroically larger than
life
• The deeds of the hero are presented
without favoritism
• The action (in battle) reveals the
more-than-human strength of the
heroes
• The gods and lesser divinities play an
active role in the outcome
• All of the various adventures relate in
some way to the central theme
Examples:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Iliad, Homer
Odyssey, Homer
Aeneid, Virgil
Jerusalem Delivered, Tasso
Paradise Lost, Milton
Beowulf
Typical in epics is a set of conventions (or epic
machinery). Among them are these:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Poem begins with a statement of the theme
Invocation to the muse or other
Story begins in medias res
Catalogs (of participants on each side, ships, sacrifices)
Histories and descriptions of significant items (who
made a sword or shield, how it was decorated, who
owned it from generation to generation)
Epic simile (a long simile where the image becomes an
object of art in its own right as well as serving to clarify
the subject).
Frequent use of epithets
Use of patronymics (calling son by father's name)
Long, formal speeches by important characters
Journey to the underworld
Use of the number three (attempts are made three
times, etc.)
Previous episodes in the story are later recounted
Peter Volpone
Ethos
Ethos:
A
persuasive argument
appealing to ethics
EXAMPLES:
“If you support the army,
you support your country – please
donate $5 to the army.”
“You wouldn't kill an
animal would you? Then why do
you litter? Littering is the same as
killing animals, STOP LITTERING
TODAY!!!”
Ethos
Definition:
• A type of rhetoric based
on the ethics and
morals of the speaker
used to persuade
others.
Examples:
•
•
Join the military if you want to be a
proud citizen of your country
-Some would feel obligated to do
something for their country after
seeing this, because of their morals.
Sponsor a child in Africa to make
steps towards a better life for them
-Ethics and morals of many people
would be put into play by this
advertisement.
Ethos
• Persuading someone based on the
character of the speaker
Ex. If Oprah
Winfrey talks
about a book she
likes, many
women will also
want to read the
book because
they like Oprah.
External Confict
• External Conflict- A struggle between a
character and another character, nature, or
outside force.
• Ex. Beowulf, MacBeth
Figurative Language
Definition
Examples
• a type of language that
varies from the norms of literal
language, in which words mean
exactly what they say. Also
known as the "ornaments of
language," figurative language
does not mean exactly what it
says, but instead forces the reader
to make an imaginative leap in
order to comprehend an author's
point.
It usually involves a comparison
between two things that may not,
at first, seem to relate to one
another
• Simile: He is as funny as a
barrel of monkeys
• Metaphor: You are what
you eat.
• Personification: The
tornado ran through town
without a care.
Figurative language
Definition: Figurative
language is a word or
phrase that departs from
everyday literal language
for the sake of comparison,
emphasis, clarity, or
freshness. Metaphor and
simile are the two most
commonly used figures of
speech, but things like
hyperbole, synecdoche,
puns, and personification
are also figures of speech
Examples:
•I was so hungry that I even ate
the plate (Hyperbole)
•The rain seemed like an old
friend who had finally found us
(Simile)
•My father was the sun and the
moon to me (Metaphor)
Figurative Language
Definition:
Literal and figurative language is a
distinction in traditional
systems for analyzing language.
Literal language refers to words
that do not deviate from their
defined meaning. Figurative
language refers to words, and
groups of words, that
exaggerate or alter the usual
meanings of the component
words. Figurative language may
involve analogy to similar
concepts or other contexts, and
may involve exaggerations.
These alterations result
in figures of speech.
Examples:
•
“You are an ant, while I am a lion” http://www.flocabulary.com/hiphoplanguage.html
•
“The poorest man is the richest, and the rich are
poor.” http://www.flocabulary.com/hiphoplanguage.html
•
“I fought a million rappers on an afternoon in
June.”
http://www.flocabulary.com/hiphoplanguage.html
Figurative Language
Definition:
Language that
does not mean
exactly what it
says
Examples:
Busy as a bee.
-Uses “as” = simile
My teddy bear gave me a huge hug!
-gives a teddy bear human characteristics =
personification
She sells seashells by the seashore
-Repetition of initiation letter or sound = alliteration
I am so hungry I could eat an entire bear
-An extreme exaggeration = hyperbole
Life is a journey
-comparing life and journey without using “like” or “as” =
metaphor
Flashback
Definition:
- A literary or cinematic
device in which an
earlier event is
inserted into the
normal chronological
order of a narrative.
Examples:
-
As the prisoner sat in his jail cell, he began to
think about his past… when he was a young
boy his parents never had time to care for him
and were never around.
-
The lady landed in her hometown where she
grew up and began to remember all the fun
times she had when she was growing up.
Flashback
Definition:
• A flashback in
literature is a device
that allows the writer
to present events that
happened before the
time of the current
narration.
Examples:
•
•
•
Memories
Dreams
Stories of the past told by characters
In the Harry Potter series flashbacks are used as
Harry often looks back to his tragic baby years.
Flashback
Definition:
Examples:
“an interruption of the
chronological sequence
(as of a film or literary
work) of an event of
earlier occurrence”
(Merriam, 288).”
A reference to an event
which took place prior
to the beginning of a
story or play.
-
-
In Grendel, John Gardener uses flashbacks to
give the reader a view of Grendel’s early life.
In Harry Potter, flashbacks, in the form of
Pensieves, are used to give the reader a view
of the early life of Tom Riddle, among other
things.
FLASHBACK
A flashback in literature is a device that
allows the writer to present events that
happened before the time of the current
narration.
Foreshadowing
Joshua Kassabian
Block 5
• Definition- To show
or indicate
beforehand.
Examples:
-The witches in the
opening scenes in
Macbeth foreshadow
the terrible things that
will follow.
-At the beginning of
the Wizard of Oz,
when Miss Gluch
turns into a witch,
foreshadows her roll
in Oz.
Foreshadowing
Examples
Definition:
:
•
• the act of providing
vague advance
indications;
representing
beforehand
•
The music in jaws before the shark comes. Duh
nu. duh nu. duhnunununu
The characters in the Wizard of Oz are in the
beginning of the film and appear normal but
later are displayed by their characteristics such
as the mean lady being the wicked witch of the
west.
Foreshadowing
Definition:
• Foreshadowing is a
device in which an
author suggests
certain plot
developments that
might come later in
the story.
Examples:
In the fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood”, Little Red
Riding Hood’s mother warns her to behave herself
on the way to grandmother’s and stay on the path.
This foreshadows danger, more specifically danger
of the wolf.
Foreshadowing is represented in a suspense novel when
a character says, “You must never go through that
door”. The reader can infer that the main character
will venture to open the door in the future.
FORESHADOWING
Foreshadowing is a device in which an
author suggests certain plot developments
that might come later in the story.
Foreshadowing
• Hinting at what will happen later in the
work of literature.
• Harry Potter – Throughout the seven
books, there is talk about a final battle,
in which one survives and one perishes.
This foreshadows the seventh book,
and the battle between Harry and
Voldemort.
• MacBeth – The Three Witches in the
first act prophesied what would later
happen to MacBeth and other
characters in the end of the play.
• (http://www.uleth.ca/edu/currlab/han
douts/fores.jpg)
Foreshadowing
• Definition: to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure
• 2 Examples:1). The witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's
Macbeth foreshadow the evil events that will follow.
2). In the opening of The Wizard of Oz, set in Kansas, the
transformation of Miss Gulch into a witch on a broomstick
foreshadows her reappearance as Dorothy's enemy in Oz.
Foreshadowing
Definition: Foreshadowing is the use of hints
or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
Examples:
1. “I fear too early; for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in
the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night's revels and
expire the term Of a despised life closed in my breast By some vile forfeit
of untimely death. But He that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my
sail! On, lusty gentlemen” (Shakespeare).
2. A classic example of foreshadowing is found in the children's fairytale
"Little Red Riding Hood." Her mother tells her to take some food to her ill
grandmother. However, she warns her to behave herself on the way and
stay on the path otherwise she might fall and break the glass. Her mother's
warning foreshadows the big bad wolf.
Foreshadowing
Definition: n.- the use of hints or clues to
suggest what will happen later in literature.
Examples:
In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William
Shakespeare Juliet foreshadows her death
in the line:
“Go ask his name.—If he be married,
My grave is like to be my wedding bed”
In Macbeth the whole witches scene
foreshadows the death of Machbeth.
"Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
shall come against him".
Free Verse
Definition
• Verse composed of
variable, usually
unrhymed lines having
no fixed metrical
pattern.
• Song of Myself by Walt Whitman
has no rhyme scheme and no
meter.
• A Game of Death by J.A.
McManus has no rhym scheme
and no meter.
Walt Whitman
Free Verse
Joshua Kassabian
Block 5
• Definition- Verse
that does not follow
a fixed metrical
pattern.
Examples
From Marriage
Marianne Moore (1887-1972)
This institution,
perhaps one should say
enterprise
out of respect for which
one says one need not change
one’s mind
about a thing one has believed
in,
requiring public promises
of one’s intention
to fulfill a private obligation:
I wonder what Adam and Eve
think of it by this time,
this fire-gilt steel
alive with goldenness;
how bright it shows—
Free Verse
Definition: n.- Verse that does not follow a fixed
metrical pattern.
Examples:
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or-Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Feelings, Now:
Some kind of attraction that is neither
Animal, vegetable, nor mineral, a
power not
Solar, fusion, or magnetic
And it is all in my head that
I could see into his
And find myself sitting there.
Copyright © 1996 by Katherine
Foreman.
Figurative Language
Definition: a word or
phrase that is used in a
different way for
comparison, emphasis,
or clarity
An example of a personification:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/UfmuE4jhdRo/TarzpK1omuI/AAAAAAAAAAk/1iKMXRaCH4M/s1600/per
son.jpg
Examples: simile,
metaphor, hyperbole and
personification
•An example of a simile
would be “fleece as white
as snow”
•An example of a
hyperbole would be “I’ve
told you a thousand
times”
Free Verse
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.
Example One“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.”
Song of Myself By Walt Whitman
(http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/24-free-verse.htm)
Example Two“I buried my father in my heart.
Now he grows in me, my strange son,
My little root who won’t drink milk,
Little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night,
Little clock spring newly wet
In the fire, little grape, parent to the future
Wine, a son the fruit of his own son,
Little father I ransom with my life.”
From Little Father
Li-Young Lee
http://www.webexhibits.org/poetry/explore_famous_free_examples.
html
•
(http://wendicthomas.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/drummer-boy2.jpg)
Free Verse
Example:
Running through a field of clover,
Stop to pick a daffodil
Definition:
I play he loves me, loves me not,
Poetry with no set meter (rhythm) or rhyme scheme
The daffy lies, it says he does not
love me!
Well, what use a daffy
When Jimmy gives me roses?
Example:
-- Flora Launa
Song of Myself
by
Walt Whitman
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer
grass.
By: Keira Hornyak
Free Verse
Definition:
n. A verse that
does not follow a
fixed metrical
pattern
Verse whose
meter is irregular
in some respect
or whose rhythm
is not metrical
Examples:
Here I swim, with my friends.
They jump around me and flip in the air.
I am in Florida.
There is lots of different kinds of dolphin’s
I am a Bottled nosed dolphin.
I slip in the water to find my prey.
My predators are sharks and some bigger
animals than me that live in the ocean.
I see something standing on land that I have seen
before.
There is a noise coming from there. I keep playing with my friends.
As I slyly run down the path all you can see is a quick flash.
I have nine cubs in a litter when they're only young.
I guide their hunt.
Days go by.
Now it is their birthday.
I don't have to tear meat off the bone.
Free Verse
Definition:
A form of poetry
with no set meter
(rhythm) or
rhyme scheme
A verse without a
fixed metrical
pattern, usually
having
unrhymed lines
of varying length
Examples:
•
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loaf and invite my soul, lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear
of summer grass.
-Song of Myself by Walt Whitman
•
•
The fog comes/ on little cat feet./ It sits looking/ over harbor and
city/ on silent haunches/ and then moves on.
-Fog by Carl Sandburg
Running through a field of clover,/ Stop to pick a daffodil/ I play he
loves me, loves me not,/ The daffy lies, it says he does not love me!/
Well, what use a daffy / When Jimmy gives me roses?
-by Flora Launa
Hyperbole
• Definition:
a literary term in
which a huge
exaggeration
occurs
• Examples:
He was so
hungry he
could eat an
elephant.
I was beginning
to cook from
the heat.
Hyperbole
Definition:
A deliberate
exageration
used for
effect.
Examples:
•
•
“I’m so thirsty that I could drink the whole
ocean.” Saying the person is thirsty.
“I could lift a million pounds”. The person is
strong.
Iambic Pentameter
• Definition: a common
meter in poetry
consisting of an
unrhymed line with five
feet or accents, each
foot containing an
unaccented syllable and
an accented syllable .
• The horse rode around
the big field.
• The dog ate the deer
with relish.
By: Keira Hornyak
Iambic Pentameter
Definition:
Iambic pentameter is a
commonly used metrical line in
traditional verse and verse
drama. The term describes the
particular rhythm that the
words establish in that line.
That rhythm is measured in
small groups of syllables; these
small groups of syllables are
called “feet". The word
“iambic" describes the type of
foot that is used (in English, an
unstressed syllable followed by
a stressed syllable). The word
"pentameter" indicates that a
line has five of these "feet."
Examples•da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM
•When I do count the clock that tells the time
• To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
• To swell | the gourd, || and plump | the ha- |
zel shells
Definition: The formation of
mental images, figures, or
likenesses of things
Ex. 1: The music coursed through
us, shaking our bodies as if it
came from within us.
Ex. 2: The jungle was lush,
teeming with life to its very core.
Imagery
figurative language, especially metaphors and similes or words
addressing the senses, used in poetry, plays, and other literary
pieces
Example 1.
The dessert tastes
sweet yet spicy at
once, with a tinge of
orange taste
Example 2.
I was as stiff as a
wooden plank after
running 8 miles for the
first time in several
months
Irony
something said or written that uses humor based on words suggesting
the opposite of their literal meaning
Verbal Irony: a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of
what is meant
Situational Irony: an outcome that turns out to be very different from
what was expected, the difference between what is expected to happen
and what actually does
Dramatic Irony: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a
drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the
characters in the play.
Definition:
• When something is said or
done that contradicts what
is happening or something
that happened in the past
• Verbal: When something is
said that is sarcastic or
doesn’t mean something
literally.
• Dramatic: When the
audience knows what is
going to happen but the
character does not
• Situational: When
something happens that is
opposite is what has been
said is going to happen.
Irony
Examples:
•
•
A firehouse catches on fire—A fire station
normally puts out fires
The Importance of Being Earnest- The audience
knew who was who
Examples of verbal irony:
Well that helped a lot.
Nice haircut.
Examples of situational irony:
The fire department burns down.
A lifeguard drowns in the kiddy pool
Examples of dramatic irony:
Spooky music in horror movies, you
know something's coming, but the
characters do not.
The audience knows the killer is
hiding in the closet but the character
does not.
Internal Conflict
• Internal Conflict-a struggle or conflict which
takes place in a character’s mind and through
which the character finds a new
understanding or change.
• Ex. Grendel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Implied Promise
Definition
Promises that are not
made directly but
are implied by the
images on the
commercial
Examples:
Use this shampoo
and you’ll look like her
If you buy this sports car
pretty girls will wash it for
you in their bathing suits
Metaphor
Definition:
 a figure of speech in
which a term or phrase
is applied to
something to which it
is not literally
applicable in order to
suggest a resemblance
something used, or
regarded as being
used, to represent
something else;
emblem; symbol.
Examples:
• The assignment was a breeze.
• The desert is a burning furnace.
Metaphor
Definition:
• A comparison of two unlike
things without the use of
like or as.
Examples:
• America is a melting pot
• He has a heart of stone
• The defense was an
impassable wall
• That man is a pig
Metaphor
Definition:
a comparison that does not use ‘like’ or ‘as’
Example:
He was a dog because he cheated
on his girlfriend.
The sun shone brightly, a flashlight
in the sky.
Example: She was a fish.
By: Keira Hornyak
Metaphor
• A metaphor is the
comparison of two
unlike things.
Ex. He is a pig.
Ex. Thou art sunshine.
Monologue
• When a character is
speaking their thoughts
aloud, directly to
another character or
audience.
• Examples:
• - Puck’s verses in
William Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s
Dream
• - Macbeth’s thoughts
and feelings in Macbeth
when he is thinking of
killing the king
Monologue
Definition:
• A composition in which a
single person speaks
alone.
Examples:
•
In the movie “Fight Club,” Edward Norton explains
Tyler’s philosophy and the rules of fight club.
•
In the movie “Men in Black,” Zed recites the
regulations for the Men in Black.
Mood
DEFINITION: The atmosphere that
pervades a literary work with the
intention of evoking a certain emotion
or feeling from the audience. In
drama, mood may be created by sets
and music as well as words; in poetry
and prose, mood may be created by a
combination of such elements as
setting, voice, tone and theme.
EXAMPLES:
- Edgar Allen Poe has disturbing
and horrific moods in his short
stories.
-Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
has a very brooding and desperate
mood.
- Jane Austen’s novels have a
romantic and hopeful mood.
Narrator
Definition:
nar·ra·tor/ˈnarātər/Noun
– A. A person who narrates
something, esp. the events
of a novel or narrative
poem: "his poetic efforts
are mocked by the narrator
of the story".
– B. A person who delivers a
commentary accompanying
a movie, broadcast, piece
of music, etc
Examples:
Morgan Freeman tells many stories and
explains many phenomena on science channels
making him a narrator.
• The narrator of Twilight happens to be Bella
Swan as she tells her story about vampires.
-Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
•
Narrator
Definition:
Examples:
a person who tells a story or
gives an account of
something
a person who speaks in
accompaniment of a film,
television program,
novel, etc.
•
The Harry Potter series is told through
a narrator with a third person limited
point of view.
•
To Kill a Mockingbird is told through a
narrator with a first person point of
view.
fanpop.com
Narrator
Definition:
 narrator (nar-RAY-ter): one who
tells a story, the speaker or the
“voice” of an oral or written work.
Although it can be, the narrator is
not usually the same person as the
author. The narrator is one of three
types of characters in a given work,
(1) participant (protagonist or
participant in any action that may take
place in the story), (2) observer
(someone who is indirectly involved
in the action of a story), or (3)
non participant (one who is not at
all involved in any action of the
story). The narrator is the direct
window into a piece of work.
Depending on the part of the
character of the narrator plays in the
story, the narrator may demonstrate
bias when presenting a piece of
 Example: The professional actress
hired by the Smithsonian Museum was
the narrator of the story in the
reenactment of the civil rights sit-in.
 Example: Brittan was the narrator in
her short story The Testament of
Youth.
Narrator
The narrator is the person
who tells the story to the
audience.
Some examples of a
narrator are; March of
the Penguins narrated
by Morgan Freeman,
and A Clockwork
Orange by Malcolm
McDole.
Definition:
Paradox
a statement or proposition that
seems self-contradictory or
absurd but in reality
expresses a possible truth;
• a self-contradictory and false
proposition;
• any person, thing, or situation
exhibiting an apparently
contradictory nature.
• a seemingly true statment or
group of statements that lead
to a contradiction or a situation
which seems to defy logic or
intuition.
Examples
- Which came first? Chicken or the egg?
- Traveling back in time to kill your grandfather
before you were born.
- The twin paradox (One twin takes a trip into
space and on return finds out he has aged less
than his identical twin).
- The Predestination paradox (traveling back to
discover the source of a fire, while in the
building where the fire started, you start the
fire that inspired you to go back in time).
Onomatopoeia
• Definition:
The formation of a word by
imitation of a sound made
by or associated with it’s
referent.
Examples:
•
The duck was quacking.
•
The bee buzzed by my ear.
•
The cow mooed loudly.
Onomatopoeia
• Definition
– the use of words that sound like what they
mean
• Examples
Boom!
Purr…
Onomatopoeia
Definition:
Examples:
A literary device wherein “crash”
the sound of a word
“zoom”
echoes the sound it
“buzz”
represents
Paradox
• Definition: A
contradictory statement
that upon closer
inspection proves true.
• Examples:
• Those have ears but
hear not
• Stone walls do not a
prison make, nor iron
bars a cage.
Paradox
• Definition: A statement
that appears to
contradict itself.
• Examples :
"Je ne parle pas Français."
(Bart Simpson, The Simpsons)
- Translates to " I do not speak French " , in
French.
"War is peace."
"Freedom is slavery."
"Ignorance is strength."
(George Orwell, 1984)
- Each statement is being directly related
to the other, although they are complete
opposites.
-Stairs go up, but which way is
up?
http://rubenganev.files.wordpress.com/2011/
05/paradox.jpg
http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/paradoxterm.htm
Paradox
Definition:
• a figure of speech in
which a statement
appears to contradict
itself.
• something that has the
possibility of being true
or not true.
Examples:
•
•
•
•
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
I must be cruel to be kind. ~
William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Persuasion
•
•
Definition: The action or fact of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe
something
2 Examples: 1). "In a republican nation, whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and
not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of first importance."(Thomas Jefferson)
2). "Oral delivery aims at persuasion and making the listener believe he has been converted. Few
persons are capable of being convinced; the majority allow themselves to be persuaded."
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Point of View
Definition:
The point of view is the position
of the narrator in relation to
the story, as indicated by the
narrator’s outlook from which
the events are depicted and by
the attitude toward the
characters.
Examples:
•
•
1st person singular – When you’re narrating
yourself. “I was walking down the street when
suddenly…”
3rd person singular – When an outside person
is narrating another person or event. “He was
walking down the street when suddenly...”
First Person Point of View
Definition:
(POV) uses a narrator who
refers to him-herself as
“I.” Often, a first-person
narrator is limited to his
or her own experiences
and thoughts who must
assume the feelings,
thoughts, or reactions of
other characters, so firstperson narrators may be
unreliable or naive.
Examples:
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
What Life Means To Me by Jack London
3rd Person Omniscent
• 3rd person point of view
in which the narrator
knows the thoughts and
feelings of all of the
characters in the story
• McCullough, The Thornbirds
• Mitchell, Gone with the
Wind
• Moby Dick by Herman
Melville
3rd Person Limited
Definition:
(POV) The third-person limited
is a narrative mode in which
the reader experiences the
story through the senses
and thoughts of just one
character. This is almost
always the main character
the narrator cannot tell the
reader things that the focal
character does not know—
but the text is written in the
third person.
Examples:
Card, Ender’s Game
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Protagonist
• The leading character or
a major character in a
work of literature
• Batman, the protagonist
in the Batman movies,
saved many from the
Joker.
• The protagonist in the
book saved everyone
from impending doom.
Protagonist
Examples:
Definition~
The main character who ~ Harry Potter
is usually a hero or ~ Superman
heroine.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://w
ww.superherostuff.com/blog/images/supermanstanding.gif&imgrefurl=http://
Protagonist
Definition:
“the leading
character, hero,
or heroine of a
drama or other
literary work.”
–
dictionary.com
Examples:
•
•
•
•
Harry Potter is the protagonist of the Harry
Potter series by J.K. Rowling
In Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the
Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr.
Watson is the protagonist.
The protagonist of the play “Hamlet” is
Hamlet
The protagonist of the book Grendel by John
Gardner is not a hero, but the monster Grendel
http://www.allthetests.com/fanquizzes-tests-HarryPotter.php?katb=1422
Protagonist
DEFINITION:
the leading character, hero, or
heroine of a drama or other
literary work.
EXAMPLES:
-Sherlock Holmes from Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle’s stories
-Harry Potter in the Harry Potter
series by J.K. Rowling
-Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Refrain
• Definition: A phrase or
verse reoccurring at
intervals within a poem
or song.
-Stanzas
two and
four are
refrains
http://singbookswithemily.files.wordp
ress.com/2010/10/waltzing-matildarefrain-for-book.jpg
• Examples:
- From 'Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom' by
Pentangle
There lived a lady by the North Sea shore,
Lay the bent to the bonny broom*
Two daughters were the babes she bore.
Fa la la la la la la la la. *
As one grew bright as is the sun,
Lay the bent to the bonny broom *
So coal black grew the other one.
Fa la la la la la la la. *
*This contains a refrain midverse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrain
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/refr
ain
Refrain
Definition:
• A repeated line or number
of lines in a poem or song,
typically at the end of each
verse/ chorus
Examples:
•
•
•
•
“Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own”
Firework by Katy Perry
“There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo”
Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland
Refrain
• Definition: A phrase or
verse repeated in
intervals throughout a
song or poem.
•
Each example below is repeated in their
respective song or poem.
•
“Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on
the radio, stereo; The way you move ain't
fair you know; Hey soul sister, I don't wanna
miss a single thing you do; tonight!”- “Hey
Soul Sister” by Train
•
“Quoth the raven, "Nevermore.“”- “The
Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe
RHYTHM
EXAMPLES:
DEFINITION:
 The pattern of beats usually
used in music and poetry
 The movement of a recurring
beat in something
 Rhythm is the alteration of
stressed and unstressed
syllables
 Roses are red, Violets are
blue this is an example of rhythm because
of how you would say it, its kind of sing-songy
In music, the rhythm
makes the song sound the
way it does, with its
stressed and unstressed
syllables
Pitch, speech and many
other things make up how
we hear things, which is
also rhythm if you scream or
something of the sort, it is pitch, which
makes up rhythm.
Dictionary.com
Rhythm
• Definition:
a recognizable pulse, or
"recurrence," which
gives a distinct beat to a
line and also gives it a
shape.
• Example:
Iambic pentameter;
“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” –
William Shakespeare – Sonnet 118
rhythm
• Rhythm-is a recognizable pulse, or
"recurrence," which gives a distinct beat to a
line and also gives it a shape.
• Ex: Rain before seven;
Clear by eleven. A sunshiny shower
Won't last an hour.
•
.
Satire
Definition:
Examples:
• the use of irony,
sarcasm, ridicule, or
the like, in exposing,
denouncing, or
deriding vice, folly,
etc.
•
•
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart constantly
makes fun of politicians.
Stephen Colbert also constantly satires politics
and other people in popular culture.
Satire
• Satire- A literary work
that emphasizes
peoples foolishness and
stupidity by using
sarcasm.
• Ex. “Not Another Teen
Movie”
• Ex. “My Man Godfrey”
Situational Irony
•
Situational irony (also
called cosmic irony) is a
trope in which
accidental events occur
that seem oddly
appropriate, such as the
poetic justice of a
pickpocket getting his
own pocket picked.
However, both the
victim and the audience
are simultaneously
aware of the situation in
situational irony.
Examples:
•A couple appears in court to
finalize a divorce, but during
the proceeding, they remarry
instead
•You buy yourself something
after months of saving and
then someone gets it for you
for Christmas!
Situational Irony
•
Situational irony (also
called cosmic irony) is a
trope in which
accidental events occur
that seem oddly
appropriate, such as the
poetic justice of a
pickpocket getting his
own pocket picked.
However, both the
victim and the audience
are simultaneously
aware of the situation in
situational irony.
Examples:
•A couple appears in court to
finalize a divorce, but during
the proceeding, they remarry
instead
•You buy yourself something
after months of saving and
then someone gets it for you
for Christmas!
Definition: A type of irony
emphasizing that human beings are
enmeshed in forces beyond their
comprehension and control
Ex.1: You and your friend are
walking down a road when you
reach a dead end sign, behind the
sign is a cemetery.
Ex.2: Your walking along a
boardwalk and you see a no
seagulls sign, on top of the sign sits
a seagull.
soliloquy
• Soliloquy- times in a poem when the main character in the poem
speaks about a deep topic when alone
• EX: “To be, or not to be, that is the question“ Act 3, scene 1 of
Shakespeare's "Hamlet“. ”o Romeo, o Romeo wherefore art thou
Romeo” act 2 scene 2
Soliloquy
• Definition:
A speech in which a
character who is alone
speaks his or her thoughts
aloud.
• Example:
•
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let
me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heatoppressed brain? ” – Macbeth Act 2,
Scene 2
Speaker
Definition:
• a. One who speaks.
• b. A spokesperson.
• c. One who delivers a
public speech.
Examples:
•
The Speaker of the House is a vocal speaker
who delivers speeches on the state of the
nation.
•
The President of The United States when he
gives the State of the Union.
Speaker
Is someone in a story who talks
in first person or one who give a
speech or a lecture.
Some examples are Martin Luther
King Jr. in his speech, or Nelson
Mandela in his speech.
Speaker
Definition:
The person who is
(assumed to be)
talking.
Examples:
•
In Frankenstein, speaker shifts
between Robert Walton, Victor
Frankenstein, and Frankenstein’s
monster.
tvtropes.org
Speaker
• Definition:
– The narrative or elegiac
voice in a poem or story
that speaks of his or her
situation or feelings.
– A person who delivers a
speech or lecture
 Examples:
Each night representatives
are shown on C-Span.
.The speaker in the poem
“Uphill” is the author
Christina Rossetti
Static Characters
• A static character is one that stays the same
throughout a story
• Tom from “Tom and Jerry” always tries to
catch the mouse but never seems to learn
• If you ever saw “The Princess Bride” Inigo
Montoya is a static character
Syntax
• Definition:
• Examples:
 the study of the rules for the
formation of grammatical
sentences in a language.
 the study of the patterns of
formation of sentences and phrases
from words.
 a system or orderly arrangement
 The arrangement of words in a
sentence
• "Colorless green ideas sleep
furiously."
•
•
(Linguist Noam Chomsky created this
sentence--which is grammatically
correct but incomprehensible--to
demonstrate that the rules governing
syntax are distinct from the meanings
words convey.)
Now it’s not interesting to talk when we
know that the conversation’s being
recorded.
Don’t you be having no more of ’em
bagels now, son.
SYNTAX- (noun) the order
of words in a sentence
ExamplesIf I pay attention in school
and learn the principles of
grammar I will be able to
use proper syntax.
Thank you, sir. OR Sir,
Thank You
Theme
Definition:
• The theme is
usually described
as being the
dominant or
unifying idea in a
story or work of art.
Examples:
•
•
Romeo and Juliet “Love conquers all” would
the theme.
Macbeth “Evil never Triumphs” would be the
main theme of that story.
Tone
• Tone is a reflection of a writer’s
or speaker’s attitude toward a
subject of a poem, story, or
other literary work.
• Ex.
1. Holden Caulfield has an
undeniable tone in Catcher in the
Rye. He is sarcastic, tough, and
inquisitive. He also makes
poignant observations through
his rather biting tone.
2. Voldemort, in the Harry Potter
series, constantly has a dark and
threatening tone.
http://www.cartoonstock.com/ne
wscartoons/cartoonists/bst/lowr
es/bstn432l.jpg
Tone
The writer's attitude toward the
material and/or readers. Tone
may be playful, formal, intimate,
angry, serious, ironic, outraged, baffled, tender,
serene, depressed, etc.
Examples:
• “All morons hate it when you call them a moron.” The
tone in this sentence could be described as sarcastic.
• “Get to bed. Now.” The tone in this sentence would be
serious.
TONE
Definition: Tone is
the attitude a
writer takes
towards a subject
or character:
serious,
humorous,
sarcastic, ironic,
satirical, tonguein-cheek, solemn,
objective.
Examples:
- "The course of true love never did run
smooth." –A Midsummer Night’s Dream: In a
different context, this quotation could be full
of woe and misery. However, although
Lysander is making comments about troubles
with love, ultimately the reality is that the
words are spoken by a comic character
highlighting that the play is sure to be full of
perplexing yet light trials of love.
-
"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds,
which I should first break through, and pour a
torrent of light into our dark world." Frankenstein: Victor speaks these words at
the very beginning of the novel, setting an
ominous mood for the rest of the tale.
Tone
• The author’s attitude
towards the audience
• Optimism, Anger,
Hatred, Pessimism,
Happiness
• The author’s “voice”
Tragic Flaw
• Definition:
– The character flaw or error of a
tragic hero that leads to his
downfall.
• Example:
– Hamlet’s tragic
flaw is his
indecisiveness
which leads to
his death.
– Romeo’s friends’
aggressiveness
led to tension
between
families.
Tragic Flaw
-noun
Definition: The character flaw or error of a tragic
hero that leads to his downfall.
Although the murder of the man led to his
tragic flaw, he was still a hero
nonetheless.
Tragic Flaw
• The character defect that
causes the downfall of the
protagonist of a tragedy.
• Examples: Macbeth, Hamlet
Tragic Flaw
Definition:
Examples:
a weakness in a character
that eventually leads to
his or her downfall
• In the Tortoise and the Hare,
the Hare’s overconfidence
leads him to losing the race.
• Oedipus’s lack of knowledge of
his adoption leads him to
killing him father and
marrying his mother
Tragic Flaw
•
Definition:–noun Literature . the character
defect that causes the downfall of the
protagonist of a tragedy
•
•
Examples:
Shakespeare's Hamlet---Hamlet's tragic
flaw is his indecisiveness and it leads to his
downfall.
•
Family Guy--- Peter Griffin is
extremely impulsive and causes many
problems for his family and friends
•
Philip J. Fry has a severe lack of
intelligence which causes many
problems for him and his friends:
Futurama.
Tragic Flaw
Definition:
• –noun
• the character defect
that causes
the downfall of the
protagonist of a
tragedy; hamartia.
Examples:
•
•
•
•
Macbeth
Hamlet
Romeo
Juliet
Tragic Flaw
•
Definition:–noun Literature . the character
defect that causes the downfall of the
protagonist of a tragedy
•
•
Examples:
Shakespeare's Hamlet---Hamlet's tragic
flaw is his indecisiveness and it leads to his
downfall.
•
Family Guy--- Peter Griffin is
extremely impulsive and causes many
problems for his family and friends
•
Philip J. Fry has a severe lack of
intelligence which causes many
problems for him and his friends:
Futurama.
Verbal Irony
•
Verbal irony (also called
sarcasm) is a trope in
which a speaker makes a
statement in which its
actual meaning differs
sharply from the
meaning that the words
ostensibly express. Often
this sort of irony is
plainly sarcastic in the
eyes of the reader, but
the characters listening
in the story may not
realize the speaker's
sarcasm as quickly as the
readers do.
Examples:
•Dad is finally out of patience with
picking up after his son, who can't
seem to be trained to put his dirty
clothes in the hamper instead of
letting them drop wherever he
happens to be when he takes them
off. "Would Milord please let me
know when it pleases him to have
his humble servant pick up after
him?“
•Mother comes into the TV room and
discovers her 11-year-old watching
South Park instead of doing his
homework, as he was set to a dozen
minutes ago. Pointing to the screen
she says, "Don't let me tempt you
from your duties, kiddo, but when
you're finished with your serious
studies there, maybe we could take
some time out for recreation and do
a little math."
Definition: When a character means
to say one thing but it's heard by
others as something different.
Ex.1: You call your mom to pick you
up from school however you come
out several minutes late, your mom
says, “Well please let me know what
time your humble servant should be
here next time”
Ex.2: You’ve had a bad day and
when you get home your brother
comes up and says, “Your dog
died”, after hearing this comment
you simply say “Oh great!”
Examples.
• Memories
• Dreams
• Stories of the past told
by characters
• In the Harry Potter
series flashbacks are
used as Harry often
looks back to his tragic
baby years.
Examples.
• In the fairytale “Little
Red Riding Hood”, Little
Red Riding Hood’s
mother warns her to
behave herself on the
way to grandmother’s
and stay on the path.
This foreshadows
danger, more
specifically danger of
the wolf.
• Foreshadowing is
represented in a
suspense novel when a
character says, “You
must never go through
that door”. The reader
can infer that the main
character will venture
to open the door in the
future.
Victorian Era
Definition:
1) Of, relating to, or
belonging to the
period of the reign
of Queen Victoria
2) Relating to or
displaying the
standard or ideals of
morality regarded
as characteristic of
the time of Queen
Victoria
Examples:
1) The house down the
street has a
Victorian style to it,
being built in 1893
and having a castle
like appearance.
2) The woman at in the
play had an
intricately designed
dress that reminded
me of the Victorian
Era
Victorian Era
• A period of history in Britain from 1837-1901, describing the
reign of Queen Victoria.
• Charles Darwin published his book, The Origin of Species,
during the Victorian Era.
• During the Victorian Era, Britain experienced a time of great
imperialism.
Victorian Era Literature
Definition:
The Victorian era of the United
Kingdom was the period of
Queen Victoria's reign from 20
June 1837 until her death on
22 January 1901.
Transition between the writers of
the romantic era to the
literature of the 20th century
The novel became the leading
form of literature
Examples:

Dickens the author of the novel The Pickwick Players
(his first novel and a big success)

William Thackeray author of the novel Vanity Affair.
(which is his most famous and in the Victorian era was popular in the genre of
historic novel)
Victorian literature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Literature
Queen Victoria
Victorian Era
Simple Definition: The Victorian era in England was the
period of queen Victoria's reign. It lasted from 1837 to
1901.
Example: Charles Dickens
and his masterpiece, Vanity
Fair.
Example: The
Importance of Being
Ernest was written by
Oscar Wilde during the
Victorian Era.
Victorian Era
Definition:
Examples:
• The Victorian era of the
United Kingdom was the
period of Queen
Victoria's reign from 20
June 1837 until her
death on 22 January
1901.[1] It was a long
period of prosperity for
the British people.
•
•
Charles Dickens is a prime exemplar of Victorian
novelist.
William Thackeray was Dickens's great rival at the
time