Lang/Lit Honors StudyGuide Knowt

Use Multiple Choice Mode

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a term or a phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A might fortress is our God.”

Simile

A figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.”

Imagery

The formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.

Symbolism

The practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.

Personification

Giving human traits/attributes/characteristics to a non-human object.

Irony

A technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, and intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually ostensibly stated.

Foreshadowing

An indication of something that will happen in the future, often used as a literary device to hint at or allude to future plot developments.

Frame Story

A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story.

Flashback

A device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.

Mood

A state or quality of feeling at a particular time

Tone

A particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc..

Theme

A unifying dominant idea, motif, etc.

Allusion

A passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication.

Motif

A recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

Status Quo

Oblivious of adventures to come.

Call to Adventure

Presents challenge or quest to be undertaken.

Assistance

Desperate hero meets a “guide” that helps.

Departure

Regular home life → Unknown world

Trials

Meets obstacles, and develop capabilites, & knowledge

Approach

“The abyss,” The final leap into the Great unknown

Crisis

“Ultimate test”

Treasure

Physical or mental rewards

Result

Actual result for hero

Return

reverse echo of call to adventure

New Life

Hero enters a new version of their old life because they are a new person.

Resolution

Return as a changes man/woman

Tiresias

Blind Prophet who advises Odysseus

Poseidon

god of the sea, earthquakes, horses, and storms at sea

Scylla

6 headed sea monster of gray rock

Zeus

king of the gods

Calypso

sea goddess who loves Odysseus

Charybdis

Enormous and dangerous Whirpool

Apollo

god of archery, light, and music

Odysseus

King of Ithica

Antinous

leader among the suitors

Circe

sorceress-goddess who loves Odysseus

Penelope

Odysseus’ wife

Athena

goddess of wisdom, skills, and warfare

Helios

god of the sun; has the cattle

Telemachus

son of Odysseus and penelope

Persephone

wife of hades, god of the underworld

Polyphemus

Cyclops who imprisons Odysseus

Hermes

herald and messenger of the gods

Alcinous

king of the Phaeacians, to whom Odysseus tells his story

How did the trojan war begin?

Paris of Troy stole Helen from Menelaus → Greeks attacked Troy to get her back.

Who was on the Greek side of the Trojan war?

Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, etc.

How did the war end?

The Greeks used the Trojan horse; soldiers hid inside, opened the gate, and destroyed Troy.

The first 3 events in the Odyssey were…

The Cicones, then the Lotus-Eaters, then the Cyclops (Polyphemus)

The second 3 events in the Odyssey were…

Aeolus giving the bag of winds, Cannibals destroy all but one ship, Circe turns men into pigs.

The third sequence of events in the Odyssey were…

Tiresias gives Odysseus a prophecy, Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis

The fourth sequence of events were…

Crew eats cattle of the sun God (Helios), Odysseus has an affair for seven years with Calypso, he tells his story to the Phaeacians

The fifth sequence of events were…

He returns home as a beggar, reunion with Telemachus, contest of the bow

The last two events were…

Slaughter of the suitors, and Odysseus’s reunion with Penelope

What Homer says about heroism

Loyalty is rewarded

What Homer says about heroism

Excessive pride causes suffering

What Homer says about heroism

Cleverness is as important as strength

What Homer says about heroism

Hospitality is sacred (xenia)

What Homer says about heroism

The gods control fate but humans’ choices still matter

Epic

A long narrative poem about a hero’s adventures

epic hero

a larger than life character who shows courage, strength, and cleverness

epic simile

a long, drawn out simile that compares heroic events to everyday things

motif

a recurring idea or element (examples: loyalty, temptation, hospitality).

Epithet

A repeated descriptive phrase, such as “rosy-fingered dawn” or “wise odysseus”

Xenia

The greek code of hospitality —treating guests with generosity

Antigone

Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta

Ismene

Antigone’s sister

Haimon

Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiance

Eteocles

Son of Oedipus, brother of Antigone

Oedipus

Former King of Thebes

Jocaste / Iocaste

Queen of Thebes, wife and mother of Oedipus

Creon

King of Thebes in Antigone

Eurydice

Creon’s wife

Tiresias

Blind prophet of Apollo

Thesues

King of Athens

Hamartia

an error in judgement

peripeteia

a reversal of circumstances

anagnorisis

the discovery or realization of the truth

catharsis

a satisfied feeling

Key themes of Oedipus Rex

Fate vs Free will, Blindness vs sight (truth), the danger of pride, the limits of human knowledge

Key themes of Oedipus at Colonus

Redemption, Hosipitality, power struggles between Eteocles, & polyneices

Key themes of Antigone

Civil law vs divine law, stubbornness and pride, family loyalty, the cost of tyranny

Shared themes in the Oedipus Cycle

Fate vs. freewill, pride (hubris) leads to the downfall, family and loyalty, leadership: good vs bad rules, the power of the gods/ religious duty

Characters in an Utterly Perfect Murder

Doug Spaulding, Ralph Underhill, Doug’s younger self

“Characters” in There Will Come Soft Rain

The automated house, the family (already dead), the dog

Characters in “The possibility of Evil”

Miss Adela Strange worth, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Crance & Mrs. Crane, Dave Harris & Linda Stewart

Characters in “By the Water of Babylon”

John, John’s father, the “gods”

The plot of “By the Water of Babylon”

John goes on a spiritual journey to the forbidden, “Place of the Gods”

The plot of “The Possiblity of Evil”

Miss Strangeworh believes it is her duty to keep her town perfect, so she writes anonymous, nasty letters pointing out people’s flaws

The plot of “There Will Come Soft Rain”

A futuristic house, automated house, continues to function after a nuclear explosion.

The plot of “An Utterly Perfect Murder”

Doug, an adult, travels to “murder” his childhood friend who basically treated him with indifference.