Study Notes On English Literary History

Imagination

________: is the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.

Profane

________ can mean to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence or contempt.

Petrachan sonnet

________: Is a fourteen- line poem with the rhyme scheme.

Subjectivity

________: how someone's judgment is shaped by personal opinions and feelings.

Personification

________: a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.

Concrete poetry

________: Poems in which the shape of the words on the page helps us to understand its meaning.

Free verse

________: Poetry that does not rhyme and does not have a regular rhythm (My Cat Jeoffry)

Fables

________: A story that tried to teach something.

Symbolism

________: A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

Utopia

________: A society where everything is perfect and everyone is happy.

Idealism

________: the belief in perfection, whether in oneself, other people or the world.

Ode

________: A lyric poem where someone or something is praised.

Fragmentation

________: literary techniques that break up the text or narrative.

Lyrical poems

________: During the Old and Middle English periods, ________ were often written as songs or ballads.

Caesura

________: refers to a break or pause in the middle of a line of verse in Old English poetry.

Anticlimax

________: is when something disappoints you because it happens after something that was very exciting, or because it is not as exciting as you expected.

epithet

A(n) ________ is a literary device that describes a person.

Charter

________: Document which explains or gives rights in a democratic state.

Allusion

________: A reference to words and forms of other writers.

Anthology

________: Collection of literary works, especially poetry.

Decorum

________: proper and polite behaviour.

Canto

________: Epic poems and long narrative poems are divided into ________.

Aristocrat

________: People who belong to families with very high social position.

Carpe diem

________: Seize the day, in poetry ________ represents that life should be lived to the fullest every day, just like it was going to be the last.

Stanza

________: A group of lines in poetry that rhyme.

Allegory

________: A simple story that has a deeper meaning.

Enlightenment

________: The 18th C when people believed that science and reason would improve human life.

Heroic couplet

________: ________ is two lines written in iambic pentameter that rhymes.

Morte D'Arthur

________ was written by Thomas Malory.

Volta

________: Petrachan sonnets often contain a(n) ________, and this is a turn of narrative in the poem /turn of thought /argument.

unconventional comparison

Conceit: A conceit is an extended metaphor surprising or ________ between two seemingly dissimilar things.

Dramatic monologue

________: a poem written in the form of a speech by an individual character.

Cynicism

________: An attitude characterised by a general distrust of the motives of others.

members of Parliament

Bill: Plan for a law purposed by ________.

Hymn

________: A religious poem set to music.

Geoffrey Chaucer

________ wrote The Canterbury Tales.

Elegy

________: A poem written about great sadness.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

________: Rhyme of an ancient mariner.

Cavalier poets

________: A group of poets in the 17th century known for their poems celebrating the pleasures of life and sometimes criticising Puritanism.

Old English

In the ________ period, prose narratives were often written in the form of chronicles, such as the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle, which recorded historical events.

John Milton

________: ________ wrote poems in iambic pentameter, but also Shakespeare.

Nostalgia

________: A wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for a return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition.

Trochaic tetrameter

________: ________ contains five sets of two beats, the first is stressed and the second unstressed.

Lyric

________: A poem which was sung and had no narrative.

English sonnet

________: An English sonnet is a fourteen- line poem with the rhyme scheme.

Octave

________: An octave is eight lines of a poem.

Beowulf

________: The author of Beowulf is unknown.

Prose narratives

________ in Old English: Prose narrative was used for religious and historical purposes.

Satire

________: It is meant to poke fun at a person or situation in an entertaining way.

volta

The ________ comes after the first octave.

Beowulf

The author of Beowulf is unknown

Lyrical poems

During the Old and Middle English periods, lyrical poems were often written as songs or ballads

Epic poems

Epic is a genre of a narrative defined by heroic or legendary adventures presented in a long format

Prose narratives in Old English

Prose narrative was used for religious and historical purposes

Caesura

refers to a break or pause in the middle of a line of verse in Old English poetry

Alliteration

Alliteration is when two or more words start with the same sound and are used repeatedly in a phrase or sentence

Ephitet

Ephitets occur in epic poetry

Kenning

A kenning is a two-word phrase used in place of a one-word noun, and is also a figure of speech

Historiography

Historiography deals with the writing of History

Chivalry

Chivalry is a system of ethics and morals that characterised the mediaeval knight, emphasising honour, bravery, and service to others

Prose narratives in the Middle English period

In the Middle English period, prose narratives became more varied and included romances, saints' lives, and moral allegories

Octave

An octave is eight lines of a poem

Heroic couplet

Heroic couplet is two lines written in iambic pentameter that rhymes

Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter consists of 5 iambs and totals 10 syllables with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables

John Milton

John Milton wrote poems in iambic pentameter, but also Shakespeare

Trochaic tetrameter

Trochaic tetrameter contains five sets of two beats, the first is stressed and the second unstressed

Macbeth

In Macbeth, trochaic tetrameter is found

Petrachan sonnet

Is a fourteen-line poem with the rhyme scheme

Volta

Petrachan sonnets often contain a volta, and this is a turn of narrative in the poem/turn of thought/argument

English sonnet

An English sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with the rhyme scheme

Sacred and profound love

"Sacred" refers to something that is dedicated to the service of God, worthy of religious veneration or entitled to reverence and respect

Carpe diem

Seize the day, in poetry carpe diem represents that life should be lived to the fullest every day, just like it was going to be the last

Conceit

A conceit is an extended metaphor surprising or unconventional comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things

Cavalier poets

A group of poets in the 17th century known for their poems celebrating the pleasures of life and sometimes criticising Puritanism

Roundhead poets

 John Milton (Paradise Lost/regained)

Metaphysical poets

John Donne, wrote the flea

Metaphysical poetry

Methapysichal poets often wrote about religious themes, discussing their personal relations with God, often speaking directly to him, as in John Donnes Holy Sonnets

Metaphysical conceit

A conceit is an extended metaphor that draws a surprising or unconventional comparison between two dissimilar things

Puritanism

Puritan authors used direct and simple language and sentence structure to convey their point, shunning the more elaborate style of writing that was popular in many circles at the time

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Rhyme of an ancient mariner

Didacticism

Didacticism is literature that is meant to instruct or teach something

Rationalism

Rationalism is the belief that your life should be based on reason and logic, rather than emotions or religious beliefs

Decorum

proper and polite behaviour

Personification

a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Idealism

the belief in perfection, whether in oneself, other people or the world

Subjectivity

how someone's judgment is shaped by personal opinions and feelings

Imagination

is the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality

Nature

In literature, "nature" refers to the natural world and its elements, such as plants, animals, landscapes, and weather

The Sublime

The sublime is a quality of greatness or vastness beyond comprehension

Scepticism

 Scepticism is questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma

Dramatic monologue

a poem written in the form of a speech by an individual character

Nostalgia

A wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for a return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition

Nihilism

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated

Cynicism

An attitude characterised by a general distrust of the motives of others

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

Free verse

Poetry that does not rhyme and does not have a regular rhythm (My Cat Jeoffry)

Fragmentation

literary techniques that break up the text or narrative

Anticlimax

is when something disappoints you because it happens after something that was very exciting, or because it is not as exciting as you expected

Abbey

Large and important church

An act

A law made by Parliament