Literary Theory and Philosophy Practice Flashcards

These flashcards cover vocabulary and key concepts from the lecture notes on Literary Theory, Plot, the Paradoxes of Fiction and Tragedy, Plato's Symposium, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Free Will.

Plot

The sequence of events in a story organized around cause and effect, focusing on how events are connected and create meaning.

Basic ethical plots

Plots that focus on moral development, such as good rewarded/evil punished, a fall through pride, redemption, or corruption of an innocent person.

Rags to Riches

One of Reagan et al.'s six emotional arcs characterized by a continuous rise.

Riches to Rags

One of Reagan et al.'s six emotional arcs characterized by a continuous fall.

Man in a Hole

An emotional arc consisting of a fall followed by a recovery.

Icarus

An emotional arc consisting of a rise followed by a fall.

Cinderella

An emotional arc consisting of a rise, then a fall, followed by a greater rise.

Oedipus

An emotional arc consisting of a fall, then a rise, followed by a catastrophic fall.

Didactic fiction

Fiction written specifically to teach a moral lesson, where the moral is prioritized over artistic quality.

Aesthetic fiction

Fiction written primarily for artistic beauty, imagination, and emotional experience, often associated with the phrase "Art for art's sake."

Toby Dammit

A character in Poe's "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" described as foolish, reckless, a habitual gambler, and someone who doesn't learn from mistakes.

Unreliable Narrator

A narrator who is not objective because they are extremely biased, frequently exaggerate, use satire, or attack critics.

The Paradox of Fiction

The philosophical question of how we can feel genuine emotions toward characters we know are not real.

Suspension of disbelief

The act of temporarily treating fiction as real to allow for emotional engagement.

The Paradox of Tragedy

The question of why people enjoy sad stories despite the negative emotions involved.

Phaedrus

A figure in Plato's Symposium who argues that Love inspires courage, honor, and heroic sacrifice because people want to appear noble to those they love.

Common Love

According to Pausanias, a temporary form of love focused on physical attraction and pleasure.

Heavenly Love

According to Pausanias, an intellectual and moral love that is long-lasting and helps people become virtuous.

Eryximachus

A figure who argues that Love is a universal force creating harmony in medicine, nature, music, and astronomy.

Aristophanes

The figure who tells the story that humans were originally split apart by Zeus and that Love is the search for our missing half.

Agathon

A figure who describes Love as young, beautiful, gentle, virtuous, and the happiest of gods.

Daemon

According to Diotima, a spirit between mortal and divine; Love is described as such.

Diotima's definition of Love

The desire to possess the good forever and the seeking of immortality through creation (giving birth in beauty).

Diotima's Ladder

The progression of love upward from one beautiful body to all beautiful bodies, beautiful souls, laws, knowledge, and finally the Form of Beauty.

Tommy Gnosis

A character in Hedwig and the Angry Inch who steals Hedwig's songs and represents betrayal.

Yitzhak

Hedwig's husband who loves her deeply but suppresses his own identity, eventually becoming free.

The Lazy Argument

The fatalistic claim that if everything is fated, there is no point in taking action, such as seeking medicine for recovery.

Co-fated events

A Stoic concept that certain fated outcomes require specific actions to occur, meaning human action still matters.

Clinamen

In Epicurean physics, an occasional random swerve of atoms that breaks deterministic chains and allows for freedom.