Chapter 1-7 Overview: Diction, Form, and Intertextuality in Larkin and Trethewey

Flashcards cover key ideas from the lecture: writing philosophy and style (avoid clichés, use instinct, neologism), Larkin’s diction (Water, High Windows, Sad Steps, Arundel Tomb), concepts of neologism, ekphrasis, and intertextuality in Trethewey (Miscegenation, Nina Simone reference, ghazal form, Vermeer connection).

What writing approach did the lecturer emphasize as a way to improve writing beyond simply following rules?

Trust your instinct and develop confidence in your own abilities; break free from rigid formulas and aim for organic, reader-aware prose.

Which two Larkin poems were used to illustrate ordinary language and the concept of neologism?

Water and High Windows.

What term describes creating new word combinations in poetry to capture new meanings, as discussed with Larkin’s work?

Neologism.

In Larkin’s Arundel Tomb, what is the famous concluding line about what endures after monuments fade?

What will survive of us is love.

What historical moment does the heading MCMXIV refer to in the poem Never Such Innocence?

The year 1914, the start of World War I.

What is the central subject of the poem Sad Steps, especially in its second half?

The moon as the subject, reflecting on memory, youth, and the ache of aging.

What does the lecturer describe as the effect of moving from everyday diction to more elevated imagery in Larkin’s poems?

A clearing of space: using ordinary language to access deeper, reverent or awe-filled tones without abandoning clarity.

What literary device involves a poem responding to or describing a work of visual art?

Ekphrasis.

Which legal issue and landmark case frame Natasha Trethewey’s Miscegenation in the discussion?

Anti-miscegenation laws and Loving v. Virginia.

Which Nina Simone song is referenced in Trethewey’s Miscegenation, illustrating intertextuality?

Mississippi Goddamn.

What formal form does Trethewey’s Miscegenation employ, described as a Persian-origin structure?

Ghazal.

What is the central idea of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 as discussed in relation to poetry’s immortality?

Poetry preserves the beloved’s beauty beyond death; as long as people can breathe or see, the poem lives on.

In Trethewey’s Miscegenation, what effect does repeating the place-name Mississippi have on meaning?

It recontextualizes memory, place, and identity through a recurring anchor.

What Vermeer-related poem is Trethewey associated with in the lecture, inviting readers to consider a painting alongside the text?

Repentance (a Trethewey poem that engages with a Vermeer painting).