literary terms - strongsville city schools€¦ · literary terms we will be using these literary...
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Literary Terms
We will be using these literary terms throughout the school year.
You need to keep up with your notes. Don’t lose your terms! You might be
able to use them –
be RESPONSIBLE!!
We will use the following terms:Character Antagonist Protagonist
Diction Denotation Connotation
Imagery Mood Poetry DevicesExposition Rising Action ClimaxFalling Action Resolution Conflict
Flashback Foreshadowing SuspensePoint of View Setting MoodTheme Tone Personification
Metaphor Simile OxymoronAlliteration Onomatopoeia HyperboleIrony Inference Haiku
Round Character Flat Character MotifAllusion
Fiction
Imaginary elements
Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror / Adventure
Can be based on real people and events
Realistic fiction/historical fiction
Nonfiction
Real events, people, and places
Autobiography/biography
Personal narrative/memoirs
Newspapers
Informative articles
Edward Cullen from Twilight Shakespeare’s Titatnia Queen of the faeries in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Jace from The Mortal Instruments
Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web
Round vs Flat CharacterStatic vs Dynamic Character Round = diverse, well-developed
with several character traits
Dynamic = undergoes a change of some kind (personality, thoughts, or beliefs) by the end of the story
Flat = minor character we know little about with limited characteristics—2 dimensional
Static = character that never changes personality, thoughts, or beliefs
Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger
Games is a Round/Dynamic
Character that undergoes major
changes from saving her sister to
taking down the capitol.
President Snow is
an unwavering,
static character
who remained
steadfast in his
thoughts and
actions in The
Hunger Games
Round/Dynamic & Flat/Static
Most major characters are round characters that usually undergo a change which means they can be round and dynamic However, some round characters can remain static or
unchanging
Most flat characters are also 1 dimensional and unchanging which also makes them static.
Round/Dynamic protagonists are common
Characters that are flat are often static as well and are often minor characters but some major characters are static
Let's put it all together now--Check this out
Protagonist The Protagonist is the main
character in a literary work Comes from prefix pro meaning
for, to move forward Can you name some famous
Protagonists that are found in literature?
Protagonists also come in all shapes, sizes, species, etc.
Ender—from? Ponyboy Curtis and the Greasers
Catherine & Heathcliff
Who is the
main protagonist?
Katniss Everdeen—
from? Who is this?
The truth behind protagonists
In the past, were fictional protagonists primarily good or bad?
Can protagonists of stories, novels, video games, movies, etc. be considered immoral or bad?
Can authors or directors manipulate the reader to support , root for, or even like protagonists that are bad?
Can you think of any bad guys/gals that are protagonists?
Protagonists that are “bad”
Amy
Dunn—
the wife
who
found
her
revenge
The story
of how
Elpha
became
the
Wicked
Witch—
novel to
Broadway
Comic book to Big Screen
Appearances can
be deceiving
Good or Bad? From
Showtime’s series
Dexter
Antagonist
The Antagonist is a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist.
Does not have to be human
Comes from prefix anti—meaning opposing/opposite
Do you know your Antagonists???
On your paper take a few minutes to write down some Antagonists that you can recall from short stories, novels, movies, television shows, and video games
Remember the Antagonist is in conflict with the Protagonist, or main character!
Helpful hint – you should now know why people use the saying “Don’t antagonize me!”
NAME THAT ANTAGONIST
Antagonists can be anyone or
anything that poses as an obstacle
for the protagonist
ImageryImagery is words or phrases that
appeal to one or more of the five senses. Writers use
imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel,
taste, and smell.
IMAGERY IN THE OLDEN DAYS“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”
by William Wadsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloudThat 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.
Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazed---and gazed---but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.
EXAMPLES OF IMAGERY in Musical Poetry
If you're tired and hopeless, how can you show someone this instead of just telling them?
I took a walk around the world toEase my troubled mindI left my body laying somewhereIn the sands of timeI watched the world float to the darkSide of the moonI feel there is nothing I can do
--"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down
If you're a rapper, instead of telling someone to let your freestyles come naturally, how can you show them with your words?
From the family tree of old school hip hop Kick off your shoes and relax your socksThe rhymes will spread just like a poxCause the music is live like an electric shock
--Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" From Hello Nasty
You Have to Show Me What You Are Saying--Check This Out
Figurative Language
A figure of speech is a specific device or kind of figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, simile, oxymoron or understatement.
Figurative language is used for descriptive effect, often to imply ideas indirectly. It is not meant to be taken literally. Figurative language is used to state ideas in vivid and imaginative ways.
Metaphor
A Metaphor is a type of speech that compares or equates two or more things that have something in common. A metaphor does NOT use like or as.
Example: Life is a bowl
of cherries.
SimileA Simile is another figure of speech that
compares seemingly unlike things. Simile’s DO use the words like, as, than, or resembles.
Example: Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
Cover Your Ears
Example: She laughed like a hyena
PersonificationPersonification is a figure
of speech in which an animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human qualities or characteristics.
Example: The chair held to me and rocked back and forth.
AlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at
the beginning of words. Alliteration gives emphasis to words.
--True alliteration is either 3 or more words with the same consonant sounds together or close by.
--2 words can be alliteration but it is better when the 2 words are names such as Mickey Mouse
Example: Take Tommy to
the train station today.
Alliterative Fun
Caring Cats Rain
Caring cats cascade off Rain races,
Laughing llamas Ripping like wind.
Lounging. Its restless rage
Underneath yelling yaks Rattles like
Yelling at roaming Rocks ripping through
Rats The air.
Hyperbole
An exaggeration
Often an extreme exaggeration
This can be used to add humor or for dramatic effect
This is also used to emphasize a point
Examples: That cracks me up
Examples: I laughed my head off.
Hold Up, Wait A Minute… Time to take a little challenge.
Get out a piece of paper and put your name on it.
Number 1-40
At top of your paper make a key of the following:
Alliteration (A)
Hyperbole (H)
Onomatopoeia (O)
Simile (S)
Metaphor (M)
Personification (P)
--I will stop for 2-3 seconds only then move on. I will also tell you if there is a bonus or more than one in the same number
-- Let's Do Dis...
You Will ONLY use these figures
of speech as your answers. Use
the abbreviations—JUST THE
FIRST LETTER due to how
quickly we will be going. THIS IS
AN INIDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
OxymoronAn Oxymoron is a figure of speech that is a
combination of seemingly contradictory words.
Examples: Same difference
Pretty ugly
Roaring silence
Allusion
An Allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to people, places, events, or literary works directly or by implying them.
Mythology and The Bible are often mentioned or alluded to in literary works
Irony
Special contrast between reality and appearance
Usually one in which reality is the opposite from what it seems
Irony
Situational-contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens or what we expect to happen is in fact quite opposite to what really does take place
This is like a surprise ending or a twist in the plot that you didn’t expect.
Irony in Animated Films
When you think have a mystery or “whodunit” figured out and you are shocked at the end.
Isn't It Ironic Don't You Think
Irony
Verbal-someone knowingly exaggerates or says one thing and means another
Sarcasm is often verbal irony—We use this in our every day lives
Example: “We try to be civilized here,” said General Zaroff. “The Most Dangerous Game”
Irony Dramatic-When the reader or viewer knows
something that a character does not know.
The writer wants the reader/audience to know. It is NOT A CLUE/HINT. It is direct.
Romeo and Juliet example
MOODMood, or atmosphere, is the feeling created in the reader by a
literary work or passage.
Writer’s use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, setting, and plot.
Often, a writer creates a mood at the beginning of a work and then sustains the mood throughout.
Sometimes, however, the mood of the work changes dramatically.
**Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” emits a mood of terror based on the insanity of the murderous protagonist
ToneTone is a reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude
toward a subject of a poem, story, or other literary work. Tone may be communicated through words and details that express particular emotions and that evoke and emotional response from the reader.
For example, word choice or phrasing may seem to convey respect, anger, lightheartedness, or sarcasm.
What mood do you feel after watching this?
Mood VS Tone
Style
Style is the distinctive way in which an author uses language.
Word choice, phrasing, sentence length, tone, dialogue, purpose, and attitude toward the audience and subject can all contribute to an author’s writing style.
PlotPlot is the sequence of events. The first event causes the
second, the second causes the third, and so forth. In most novels, dramas, short stories, and narrative
poems, the plot involves both characters and a central conflict.
The plot usually begins with an exposition that introduces the setting, the characters, and the basic situation. This is introduced and developed. The conflict then increases until it reaches a high point of interest or suspense, the climax. The climax is followed by the falling action, or end, of the central conflict. Any events that occur during the falling action make up the resolution.
ExpositionThe Exposition is the introduction. It is the part of
the work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation.
***In Harry Potter & the Sorcerer Stone, we quickly learn that Harry was turning 11, had a mysterious scar on his forehead, was living with his very disgruntled and burdened aunt, uncle, and bullying cousin due to the death of his parents when he was a baby. At the end of the exposition, we learn that he was the product of two wizard parents and on his way to entering Hogwarts.
Rising ActionRising Action is the part
of the plot that begins to occur as soon as the primary conflict is introduced. The rising action adds complications to the conflict and increases reader interest.
ClimaxThe Climax is the point of greatest emotional intensity,
interest, or suspense in the plot of a narrative.
On a plot diagram, it is the highest point due to how intense it is and immediately after the climax, there is a drastic drop in events leading to the resolution.
The climax typically comes at the turning point in a story or drama.
Falling Action
Falling Action is the action that typically follows the climax and reveals its results.
ResolutionThe Resolution is the part of the plot
that concludes the falling action by revealing or suggesting the outcome of the conflict.
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces in a story or play. There are two
types of conflict that exist in literature.
External Conflict
External conflict exists when a character struggles against some outside force, such as another character, nature, society, or fate.
Person vs. Person
Person vs. Society
Person vs. Nature (environment)
Person vs. Machine (Technology)
Person vs. Time
Person vs. Supernatural
Person vs. Fate (more currently accepted)
These are the primary 4
and the ones we will
focus on this year
Internal Conflict
Internal conflict exists within the mind of a character who is torn between different courses of action.
Questioning Having a Dilemma
In a predicament What to Do?
Example: Person vs. Self
FlashbackA flashback is a literary device in which an
earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the sequence of events.
Often flashbacks are presented as a memory of the narrator or of another character.
The movie Titanic is told almost entirely in a flashback.
What are some other films that contain flashback to help tell stories?
Holes
Willy Wonka
Think of some more…
Flashback in Literature brought to life
Flashback continued…
ForeshadowingForeshadowing is the author’s use of clues to
hint at what might happen later in the story. Writers use foreshadowing to build their readers’ expectations and to create suspense. This is used to help readers prepare for what is to come.
Can you think of an element of foreshadowing?
Examples:-- The transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader-- Horror movies and psychological thrillers often use foreshadowing
SuspenseSuspense is the growing interest and
excitement readers experience while awaiting a climax or resolution in a work of literature. It is a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events. Writers create suspense by raising questions in the minds of their
readers.
Stonitsch fun time—
What are your reactions during suspenseful parts? Horror Movie Hilarities
Point of View
Point of View is the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told. It is the relationship of the narrator to the story.
First-person is told by a character who uses the first-person pronoun “I”. Narrator is in the story.
Third-person limited point of view is the point of view where the narrator uses third-person pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to the characters. Narrator is not a character in the story.
Types of Third Person
3rd Person Limited: storyteller lets us know thoughts and feelings of main character (protagonist) only
3rd Person Omniscent: storyteller lets us know thoughts and feeling of all characters. Omni = everywhere scient = to know
SettingThe setting of a literary work is the time and place of
the action.
The setting includes all the details of a place and time – the year, the time of day, even the weather. The place may be a specific country, state, region, community, neighborhood, building, institution, or home.
Details such as dialect, clothing, customs, and modes of transportation are often used to establish setting.
In most stories, the setting serves as a backdrop – a context in which the characters interact. The setting of a story often helps to create a particular
mood, or feeling.
ThemeThe theme of a literary work is its central message, concern, or
purpose. A theme can usually be expressed as a generalization, or general statement, about people or life.
The theme may be stated directly by the writer although it is more often presented indirectly.
When the theme is stated indirectly, the reader must figure out the theme by looking carefully at what the work reveals about the people or about life.
A true theme in literature is a complete sentence. A thematic idea is one or 2 words but not a true theme until turned into a complete thought.
Motif A Motif is a recurring symbol throughout literature that helps develop them.
A motif can be a word, image, sound, character, archetype, etc.
Examples:
The repetition of light and dark in Romeo and Juliet help develop the beauty of their love being pulled down by the darkness of hate.
The Wicked Stepmother is a motif in Disney Films
Inference
A conclusion derived from facts/evidence
Making an educated guess based on what you have read, learned, or know
While reading a story, you may be able to infer something about the character based on what you have read in regards to his action, thoughts, viewpoints of others, etc.
Diction Diction is the manner in which we
express words; the wording used.
Diction = enunciation
Some easy examples are:Don’t say ‘goin’ – say ‘going’, Don’t say ‘wanna’ – say ‘want to’
*Now, it’s your turn to provide some enunciation errors or slurs
DenotationThe denotation of a word is its
dictionary meaning, independent of other associations that the word may have.
Mad is defined as insane or crazy
Connotation The connotation of a word is the set of ideas
associated with it in addition to its explicit meaning.
The connotation of a word can be personal, based on individual experiences.
More often, cultural connotations – those recognizable by most people in a group –determine a writer’s word choices.
Denotation versus Connotation
Some examples –
Cheap is “low in cost” (denotation) but “stingy” or “poorly made” are the connotations of cheap
Mad is insane, mentally detached from reality (denotation) but being angry or upset are now connotations of mad which changes the true meaning
Let’s use the word HOT The denotation (or dictionary definition – remember d in denotation =
dictionary) of HOT is having a temperature higher than that of a human body.
However, when you say “Man! He/She is hot!”, are you saying “Man! He is having a temperature higher than that of a human body!”?
NO!!!!!!!!!
You are saying the CONNOTATION of HOT – which could mean a variety of things – man he/she is cute, attractive, beautiful, and many other meanings –those come from personal experiences and cultural meanings, etc.