Honors English 11 Final Exam Review

Study for Ms. P final exam

“The Lady of Shalott”

a woman living on an island near Camelot, cursed to weave tapestries and view the world only through a mirror. Isolation and restricted view of the world leads her to a tragic ending. When she finally looks at Camelot, she breaks her curse and dies, her death marking a poignant end to her constrained existence.

“My Last Duchess”

a dramatic monologue where the Duke of Ferrara talks to an envoy, presumably to discuss a potential marriage. Reveals his controlling nature and hints that he was responsible for his previous wife’s death because she was too friendly and unappreciative of his status. Reveals his possessive and insecure nature as he is bothered by his wife’s cheerful interactions with others.

“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold

a lyric poem during the Victorian era, specifically a dramatic monologue, where a speaker contemplates the human condition and the loss of faith, reflecting on the sea as a metaphor for life’s uncertainties.

“The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy

the speaker’s despair and the emptiness at the turn of 20th century, with a brief moment of unexecpected hope that arises from the thrush’s (bird) joyful song.

“The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke

primarily about a solider’s death in a foreign land, while tragic, is also a way for that soldier to become immortalized in the soil of England, thus ensuring the lasting legacy of their nation.

“Dulce Et Decorum Est”

means that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. A pro-war slogan that shows the brutal realities of war. References the phrase to highlight the contrast between the romanticized notion of patriotic death and the actual horrors of war, particularly the gas attacks.

“Preludes” by T.S. Eliot

a depcition of the drudgery, alienation, and isolation of modern udrban life. The poem uses fragmented imagery and stream-of-consciousness to portray the monotonous routines, sordid environment, and existential ennui experiences by individuals in a bustling city.

“The Broken Fountain”

explores and uses imagery to evoke a sense of loss, decay, and the cylical nature of life. Fountain symbolizes a cherished memory or relationship that has ceased to function, and the surrounding details could highlight the ways in which time and circumstances can alter or diminish what was once vibrant and beautiful.

The Metamorphosis

Gregor Samsa wakes up to find he has transformed into a giant insect, likely a bug. Family who depended on him for financial stability reacts with horrow and revulsion. Gregor becomes isolatied, family’s disdain grows as he struggles to communicate and adapt to his new form. Family eventually feels burdened by his presence and is relieved when Gregor dies, leaving them free to move on with their lives. Themes of alienation, isolation, and dehumanization.

“The New Dress”

feminist short story about Mabel Waring who attends a party with a new dress. The dress is old-fashioned so she feels very insecure and self-conscious. Symbolizes the pressure on women of Mabel’s time and class to concentrate on their appearance.

“A Dill Pickle”

Story of a Vera and a man unnamed, who meet after 6 years revisiting their former romantic relationship. Man prosperd, Vera fared less well, highlighting their changed circumstances and exploring themes of unfulfilled love, power dynamics, and alienation. Symbol of equality and freedom, contrasted with the man’s more privileged experiences.

“A Cup of Tea”

Rosemary Fell, a wealthy young woman, invites a poor young woman named Miss Smith into her home for tea after Miss Smith asks for money. Rosemary brings Miss Smith into her home. Revolves around class difference and the superficiality of the upper class. Attempts to bridge the gap between the rich and poor but reveals her own vanity and superficiality.

“Rhinoceros”

humanity’s downfall as human beings transform into rhinoceroses one by one. A warning against conformity, and often associated with fascism.

“Telephone Conversation” by Wole Soyinka

is to expose and sitirize the absurdity of racism and discrimination based on skin color. The poem highlights how superficial judgements can be used to deny someone housing, ultimately demeaning their humanity.

Victorian Period

written during Queen Victoria’s reign, exploring themes of morality, industrialization, and societal change

Trench Poetry

used to portray brutal realities and devastating experiences of soldiers during World War 1’s trench warfare. Ex. “The Soldier” “Wirers”

Modernism

late 19th, early 20th century movement which included a break from traditional artistic and literary styles. Usually aligned with issues of industrialization, urbanization, and the impact of technology on society.

Imagism

creates clear setting and provides a tone in your mind, short, lots of imagery, rules by Ezra Pound, straight to the point

Surrealism

a cultural and artistic movement that emerged in the 1920s, primarily in Europe, as a reaction to the trauma of WW1 and a rejection of rationalism. Challenged reality by depicting illogical, dreamlike, and often bizarre scenes.

New Writing (Modernism)

a deliberate break from traditional writing styles and a focus on experimentation and innovation. Key features include fragmented narratives, stream of consciousness, and a focus on individual experience and subjective reality.

T.S. Eliot

leading figure of the Modernist movement in poetry. His experiments in diction, style, and versification revitalized English-language poetry, in a series of critical essays he shattered old orthodoxies and erected new ones.

Stream-of-Consciousness

during modernism period focusing on depicting a character’s thoughts and feelings as they occur in real-time, often without clear strucutre or organization. This provides intimate and unfiltered view of a characters’s inner experiences, bypassing traditional nararative forms.

Theatre of the Absurd

dramtic genre that emerged in 1950s, focusing on plays that explores belief that life is meaningless. Depcits human existence as illogical, purposeless, and absurd. Plays in this genre typically feature characters who struggle to make sense of the world, engage in repetive or futile actions, and communicate in disjointed or nosensical diologue.

Post-Colonial Period

Crucial phase in global literature, as it addresses the aftermath of colonialism and the struggles for identity, autonomy, and cultural reclamation. Provides insights into the legacies of imperialism, self-definition, and realities of nations becoming independent.

Derek Walcott

Explored themes of colonialism, identity, and cultural hybridity. Blended Western literary traditions with Caribbean language and folklore which reflected the complexitites of post-colonial life.

Wole Soyinka

Soyinka used his writing to challenge tyranny, corruption, and social injustice, particularly in post-colonial Africa. His works often critique both colonial and post-colonial power structures, advocating for human rights and freedom.

Dramatic Monologue

a poem where a character speaks, revealing their personality and motivations through speech directed at an implied, silent listener, rather than the reader

MLA (heading,title, page numbers)

Heading: 1st, name. 2nd, teacher. 3rd, course. 4th, date (d/mo/yr). Title: ONLY standard capitalization and centered. Page Numbers: top right corner of each page with last name then page number.

Marking titles of short stories vs. full books

full books are italicized and short stories are in quotation marks

Alienation

a sense of disconnect from work, community, or self

Archetypes

a universally recognizable character, situation, symbol, or pattern that recurs across cultures and time periods, representing fundamental aspects of the human psyche

Castration

fear or act of powerlessness or emasculation

Class Conflict/class consciousness

describes the inherent tension between different social classes, often defined by their economic status and relationship to the means of production

Dehumanization

characters or people being viewed as less than human

Denial

a defensive mechanism to avoid discomfort by refusing to accept facts

Exploitation

the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work

Gender Roles

culturally and socially defined expectations of how individuals should act, speak, dress, and behave based on their sex

Lack

a character that is underdeveloped, one-dimensional, or fail to resonate with the reader

Oedipus Complex vs Electra Complex

attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex. (Oedipus: son & mom, Electra: daughter & dad)

Oppression

prolonged cruel or unjest treatment or control

Other

a character that is not the main or primary character, but may have some significance that adds to the story

Patriarchy

a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it

Post-colonialism

literary writings that examine the impact of colonialism and decolonization on formerly colonized countries and cultures

Post-mirror stage

the ongoing influence of early developmental stages on the structure of the self

Projection

where an individual unconsciously attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or traits to another person

Repression

when characters suppress painful emotions, memories, or desires, impacting their behavior and relationships

Manifestation

the act of something becoming visible or apparent, or the appearance of something

Transference

the redirection of emotions and desires from one person to another

Voice

the opinion or attitude authors express in their writing or the say that characters have in a story

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning

Antagonist

the person in a story who opposes or is hostile to someone or something (usually the protagonist)

Archetypes

a very typical example of a certain person or thing

Dramatic monologue

a poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character revealing their thoughts, feelings, and motivations

Figurative Language

use of language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words, creating a more vivid image (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, allusion,onomatopoeia)

Fin-de-siecle

relating to or characteristic of the end of a century

Foreshadowing

a warning or indication of a future event

Imagism

movement in early 20th-century English and American poetry seeking clarity of expression through the use of precise images.

Irony

when events or words are the opposite of what is expected, creating humor or deeping meaning

Motif

a repeated pattern—an image, sound word, or symbol that comes back again and again

Pathetic Fallacy

the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals or when the weather shows the mood

Prosody

the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry

Protagonist

the leading character or one of the major characters in a text

Realism

19th century artistic and literary movement seeking to represent reality truthfully and accurately, focusing on everyday life and ordinary people

Romanticism

a 18th and 19th century artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that emphasized emotion, the individual, and the natural world over reason and order

Setting

the time and place where a story takes place

Symbol

something that represents and idea, object, or relationship

Theme

the message of a writing

Tone

the writers attitude toward the story

Shift/Turn

a change in direction or even the overall narrative