Literary Elements, Hamlet, Night, and Research Review

Practice flashcards covering literary elements, character analysis and plot points from Hamlet and Night, and MLA research documentation rules.

Symbolism

Using a physical object, person, action, or color to represent a larger, more abstract concept or idea.

Irony

A fundamental contrast or gap between expectation and reality.

Conflict

Broken into external (character vs character, nature, society, supernatural) and internal (character vs self).

Setting

The foundational time, place, and environment in which a story unfolds and takes place.

Climax

The high intensity point of a story.

Plot

The sequence of events that makes up a story.

Resolution

When the story comes to an end and all issues are resolved.

Foreshadowing

Hinting at something that will come later in the story.

Theme

The underlying message, central idea, or philosophical concept that the author explores throughout a story.

Tone/Mood

The author's or narrator's attitude towards the subject, or the emotional atmosphere the text creates for the reader.

Dialect

A distinct, localized variety of language spoken by a specific group of people or community.

Flashback

A narrative literary device that temporarily interrupts the chronologic timeline of a story to depict events, memories, or dreams from the past.

Point of view

The narrative perspective from which a story is told.

Simile

Relating two things using like or as.

Metaphor

Relating two things without using like or as.

Propaganda

The use of written works to promote a specific political, ideological, or social agenda to influence public opinion.

Personification

Giving a non-human thing human qualities.

Motif

The repetition of an element that appears throughout a story to help develop a central theme or underlying mood.

Hyperbole

Using extreme exaggeration to make a point, add humor, or evoke strong emotions.

Allusion

A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.

Aside

When a character talks to the audience, not other characters.

Claudius (Relation to Hamlet)

Hamlet's uncle and stepfather who married Hamlet's mother very soon after his father died and murdered Hamlet's father to become king.

The Ghost of Hamlet

Starts the main conflict by looking like the dead king and telling Hamlet that Claudius murdered him and asking for revenge.

Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy

A speech about whether it is better to live or die, showing Hamlet is depressed, confused, and indecisive.

Ophelia

Hamlet's love interest and the daughter of Polonius who is used by Polonius and Claudius to spy on Hamlet.

The Mousetrap

A play used to recreate the death of King Hamlet to see Claudius’ reaction to see if he is guilty.

Polonius

The king's advisor and the father of Ophelia and Laertes who is cocky, spies on others, and helps move conflict forward.

Hamlet's Tragic Flaws

Mainly his indecisiveness, overthinking, and emotions which lead to his downfall.

Horatio

One of the few people Hamlet actually trusts; he survives at the end to tell the true story of what happened.

Yorick's Skull

Symbolizes the irony and contrast between life and death and between past joy and present decay.

Dramatic Irony in Hamlet

When the audience knows truths that the characters don't, such as impending danger, to create tension.

Laertes

A foil character to Hamlet who acts quickly while Hamlet is indecisive.

Gertrude

Hamlet's mother who dies from poison meant for Hamlet after realizing her wrongs and siding with him.

Fortinbras

Serves as an example of revenge outside of Denmark; he arrives at the end to take control of Denmark after the family dies.

Moshe the Beadle

A poor, quiet Jew who is the first to try to warn the Jewish community in Sighet about the Holocaust.

Madame Schachter

A character whose visions of flames and fire foreshadow the horrors of the Holocaust crematories.

Auschwitz-Birkenau (Elie's Arrival)

His arrival is marked by flames and the smell of burning flesh from crematories, confirming previous visions.

Elie's Faith

Changes from being deeply religious to questioning why God would let evil happen, eventually losing trust in God and humanity.

Juliek's Violin Performance

Represents the survival of humanity and emotion amidst extreme suffering and dehumanization during a death march.

Dehumanization in "Night"

The process of stripping prisoners of identity by assigning numbers, forced labor, extreme hunger, and wearing striped pajamas.

The Final Solution

Hitler's plan to kill all Jews to get rid of the "enemy race."

Memoir

A first-person account of real events from a person's life used to provide personal testimony, such as Elie Wiesel's "Night."

Thesis Statement

A brief explanation of what an essay is about that is neither too vague nor too detailed.

Works Cited vs. Bibliography

A bibliography contains all sources researched (source cards), while a works cited page has only the sources used in the paper.

Plagiarism

Copying words or ideas from someone else; avoided by citing or paraphrasing with a citation.

MLA Heading

Consists of Last name, first name; teacher; class; day, month, year.

MLA Running Header

Consists of the student's Last name and the page number ($pg\#$).

MLA Long Quote Formatting

No quotation marks, introduced with a colon ($:$), starts on a new line with two indents, and the citation goes after the period.