2201 English - Literary Heritage Midterm Exam Study Guide
Creative Narratives
Symbolic narratives of the origin of the world as understood in a particular culture, tries to explain human existence
Features of the Creation Narrative
A supreme creator deity (ies).Â
Describe various stages of creation and development.Â
Recount the creation and purpose of mankind.Â
Relate the purpose of and reinforce the structure of the society.Â
Explain natural phenomenonÂ
Ideological State Apparatus
The Family
The ChurchÂ
The media
The Education System
The Political System
The Legal System
The Enuma Elish
Babylonian Creation Epic c. 1500 BCE
Yahweh
Judo-Christian Story c. 950 BCE
The Four Creations
Hopi c. 1150 CE
Poem
A concise verbal snapshot of a poet’s thoughts and/or feelings. They work through the images they paint the sounds they create and the ideas they communicate
Consider the TitleÂ
What is the Subject of the poem?Â
Determine the SettingÂ
Consider the CharactersÂ
Determine the Point of ViewÂ
Determine the ToneÂ
Determine the ImagesÂ
Determine the SymbolsÂ
Determine the ThemeÂ
How to read poetry:
The Music of Poetry: Its Sounds
Poetry needs to be read aloud. Listen for words that rhyme and for a rhythm you can tap your fingers to
The Images of Poetry: Its Images
Let the poet’s words paint pictures in your mind. Use sensory images
The Structure of Poetry: Its Shape
Pay attention how the poet placed the words on the page. A new stanza or verse may signal a change of focus or tone
Simile
Use “like” or “as” to compare i.e. “The snowflakes were like lace”
Metaphors
State a comparison without using “like” or “as” i.e. “The sun is a flaming torch in the desert sky”
Allusions
Refer to a person or place, or a literary text or character that exists outside the text itself i.e. “His strengths were herculean” (a reference to Hercules in Roman mythology ; a man of great strength)
Personification
Description of an object as if it had human qualities or abilities i.e. “The wind whispered in the trees”
Alliteration
Repetition of a sound made by a consonant i.e. “sweetly singing softly”
Onomatopoeia
Use of a word to imitate the sound it names i.e. “buzz,” “plink,” “sizzle”
Building Mood
Right from the beginning a poet can build mood. Word choice, placement on the page, and incorporating suspense can all build the mood of a poem
Vivid Language
Exciting verbs (action words), descriptive adjectives (words that illustrate nouns), and expressive phrases all contribute to a poet’s vivid use of language
Listen for sounds (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm)
Look for images/pictures, and sensory details
Examine the structure, shape, and punctuation
Search for figures of speech (similes, metaphors, personification)
Connect the ideas in the poem to your own personal thoughts and impressions
SUMMARY
Exposition
Introductory material that creates the tone, gives the setting, introduces the characters, and supplies other facts necessary to understanding the events that follow
Complication/Conflict
the struggle that grows out of the interplay of opposing forces. It provides interest, suspense, and tension
Man vs Nature
Man vs Self
Man vs Man
Man vs Society
Man vs Fate
Types of Conflict
Rising Action
Part of the plot in which the entanglement caused by the conflict of opposing forces is developed
Climax
Highest point of dramatic action where the reader makes the greatest emotional response
Resolution/Conclution
Final unraveling of a plot; the solution or outcome
Character
Any personage in a literary work who acts, appears or is referred to as playing a part
Protagonist
Major character at the center of the story
Antihero
Protagonist who works against our expectations of a traditional hero
Antagonist
Character or force that opposes or conflicts with the protagonist
Foil Characters
Characters who serve as contrast to another perhaps more primary character, so as to point out specific traits of the primary character
Round Character
Character who portrays psychological complexity
Flat Character
Stock character who is simplistic and lacks complexity
Archetypes
Characters that recur in myths and literature many ages. Examples: the hero, the outcast, the scapegoat, the crone
Static Character
Character who remains the same
Dynamic Character
Character who changes in some important way
Characterization
The means by which writers reveal character to the reader
Explicit Judgment
Narrator gives facts and interpretive comments about characters
Implied Judgment
Narrator gives description but allows the reader to make judgments
Sophocles c. 428 BCE
Who and when was Oedipus Rex by/written?
Aristotle’s Poetics
The imitation of highly serious action
The language must be ornate
It must be presented in dramatic, not narrative form
The hero must be noble of character who falls from grace through hamartia
Characters will face great suffering and must make decisions of “ultimate” human consequence
Tragedy
“Goat-song”, reflecting the religious origins of the art form
Characteristics of the Tragic Hero
The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and greatness. The character must occupy a "high" status but must also embody nobility and virtue as part of his innate character
However, the tragic hero is not perfect. Otherwise, we would be unable to identify with him
The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or some malignant fate. This error of judgment or is known as hamartia and is usually translated as "tragic error."Â Often the character's hamartia involves hubris, the arrogance of godly pride
The hero's misfortune is not wholly deserved, thus the punishment exceeds the crime.Â
The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero.
Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the "unhealthy" emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis, which comes from watching the tragic hero's terrible fate, cleanse us of those emotions.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience members know things that the characters do not know. For example: The audience knows that that Oedipus has murdered his father and married his mother—fulfilling the prophecy of the Oracle at Delphi
Hamartia
Tragic error
Hubris
Arrogance of godly pride
Catharsis
Cleanses the audience of pity and fear from watching the tragic hero’s terrible fate, purgation or cleansing of the tragic emotions of pity and fear
Dramatic irony
When the audience members know things that the characters do not know
Greek Axioms
“Know Thyself”
“Fated to be Free, Free to be Fated”
A classic story of the quest for identity, Oedipus also debates fate and freewill
Ancient people may have been impressed, or wanted to be impressed, by the fulfillment of prophecies, as this often alleviated fear and responsibility
Believing in predestination frees people from worry
Our identities often help shape the events of our lives in ways that may appear “predestined”
Purpose of Tragedy
The City is a political partnership that exists in order to allow citizens to live well
Correct regimes are those that look to the common good
A citizen is one who shares in making decisions and holding office
Citizens and leaders must not profit from holding office
The virtue of the citizens must preserve the regime
Education should be a public service and duty
Aristotle’s Politics - the definition of democracy
Stoic Philosophy
Nature is controlled by reason, which is identified with the gods
Coming of Age Genre
A type of narrative in which the protagonist is initiated into adulthood through knowledge, experience, or both, often by a process of disillusionment
ignorance to knowledge
innocence to experience
false view of world to correct view
idealism to realism
immature responses to mature responses
Parts of Coming of Age:
Bildungsroman
a novel in which an adolescent matures into adulthood
The Industrial RevolutionÂ
The Protestant ReformationÂ
Democracy
Impetus for Coming of Age Genre
Rising middle class
Greater literacy rates
Increased education and demand for literature
What happened during these three social revolutions?
Leaves home to get an education – both intellectual and sexual
Rebels against his culture
Falls in love and rededicates himself to learning
Returns home, marries, and settles into a career
Coming of Age Characteristics: