English 9 Reviewer: Literary Approaches, Semiotics, and Poem Analysis

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering literary criticism contexts, semiotics, structuralism concepts, and line-by-line symbolic analysis of William Blake's poem 'London'.

Historical Approach

Examines a literary work in terms of the social, cultural, or political conditions in which it was produced.

Magi

Biblically refers to the three wise men (three kings), described as the inventors of the art of giving Christmas presents.

Sociocultural Context

The immediate social and cultural environment that shapes a person's life, behaviors, and ideas.

Co-text

Refers to the words or phrases that appear near a word and help you understand its meaning.

Collocation

A type of linguistic context that refers to the natural or habitual pairing/grouping of words.

Psychological Context

Refers to the study of characters' emotions, thoughts, motives, and behaviors that influence actions within a story (what is happening inside a person's mind and emotions).

Ferdinand de Saussure

Introduced the theory of signs, an approach that structuralists also used in analyzing literature.

Signifier

The physical or perceptible form of the sign, such as the letters and sounds that make up a word.

Signified

The mental picture or association that the signifier represents in our mind.

Referent

The actual object or tangible entity that the sign represents in the real world.

Binary Opposition

The idea of understanding something through two contrasting or opposite concepts, often used in literary analysis to show conflict, differences, or opposing ideas.

London (Poem)

A poem written by William Blake, published during the Industrial Revolution, when the English people were beginning to feel the impact of rapid industrialization.

Charter'd

Suggests that streets or natural features like the Thames are controlled, owned, restricted by authorities, or placed under human control.

Woe

Refers to deep sadness or misery.

Ban

Refers to a prohibition or restriction, symbolizing voice and ban censorship, suppression, and loss of freedom.

Mind-forg'd manacles

Invisible chains created by people's minds and society; psychological restrictions, mental oppression, and fear that prevent people from feeling truly free.

Chimney-sweepers cry

Reveals the suffering, child labor, poverty, and exploitation of poor children forced to work in difficult conditions.

Blackening Church

Symbolizes religious hypocrisy, corruption, and indifference because the Church fails to respond to the suffering around it.

Hapless

Means unfortunate or helpless.

Soldier's sigh / Blood down Palace walls

Symbolizes war, suffering, and helplessness of ordinary people, as well as political oppression and the responsibility of those in power whose actions affect others.

Youthful Harlots curse

Symbolizes exploitation, poverty, and social neglect of young women forced into prostitution.

Marriage hearse

Combines two opposite ideas—marriage (associated with love and life) and hearse (associated with death)—symbolizing destroyed love, suffering, and the death of hope.