English semester 1 final- Trotter

Joseph Campbell

Author of "A Hero with a Thousand Faces" and "Hero's Journey". His theories argued that world's mythologies, ritual practices, folk traditions, and major religions share certain symbolic themes, motifs, and patterns of behavior. His theories influenced a wide range of writers.

The Call to Adventure

the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

Refusal of the Call

may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, sense of inadequacy, or any range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.

Supernatural Aid

Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his/her guide and magical helper appears or become known.

Crossing of the First Threshold

The point of no return, the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his/her world and venturing into the unknown.

The Belly of the Whale

Described as the hero's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between/transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made/recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self.

The Road of Trials

a series of tests/tasks/ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. The person often fails repeatedly.

Meeting With the Goddess

the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all-encompassing, unconditional love.

Woman as the Temptress

the temptations that may lead the hero to abandon/stray from his/her quest. Woman is a metaphor for the physical/material temptations of life, since the hero was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.

Atonement with the Father

the person must conform and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his/her life.

Ultimate Boon

the achievement of the goal of the quest- what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step.

Refusal of the Return

the person does not want to come back to all of the troubles and worries of normal life.

Magic Flight

the escape; adventurous, dangerous, and dramatic return

Rescue from Without

the person must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, or the person doesn't realize that it is time to return.

Crossing the First Threshold

returning with the wisdom gained on the quest and integrate that into a human life.

Master of the Two Worlds

the person must become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer world- "superhero" and normal person...

Freedom to live

Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death; a.k.a. living in the moment- no anticipation and regret

Carl Jung and his "Jungian Shadow" as well as his physiological definitions that accompany it

young college of Freud and had a capacity for lucid dreams and occasional visions

Irony

a contrast between what appears to be and what actually exists, between what is expected and what is experienced.

Verbal

when a character says one thing but means another. (Ex. In Oedipus, Tiresias says to Oedipus: I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind." Tiresias calls Oedipus blind, meaning insightfully)

Situational

what happens is different from what is expected to happen. (Ex. In Oedipus, it is ironic that the murderer that Oedipus is looking so carefully for is, in fact, himself)

Dramatic

when the audience/reader is aware of critical information of which the characters are unaware (Ex. In Oedipus, Oedipus says that "by avenging the murdered King I protect myself)

Allusion

a figure of speech that references something indirectly (Ex. Of Mice and Men references the poem "To a Mouse" without it being said)

Epic poem

A narrative poem telling in an elevated style the achievements and brave deeds of heroic characters

Homeric Epithet

the question/ problem- who wrote the Odyssey? was Homer alone? did he perform it and someone anonymous write it later?

Connotation and denotation of words

connotation is the emotional, contextual meaning of a word and the denotation is the dictionary definition of a word

Aristotle's unities

the time and place of the action

Definition of tragedy

an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, and through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation for these emotions.

Greek drama

its origins and stage design, costuming features

Zeus

ruler of Olympus: father of the gods; god of thunder and lightning: against Odysseus at first

Hermes

son of Zues; god of trade and thieves

Poseidon

brother of Zues; eldest of the Big three; god of the sea and thunderstorms; father of Cyclops

Circe

a nymph who tried to enchant Odysseus and his crew when they arrived on her island

Calypso

a nymph who held Odysseus captive on her island (Ogygia) for nine years

Telemachus

the son of Odysseus and Penelope; heir to Ithaca

Eumaeus

Ithaca's swineherd who stayed loyal to Odysseus until the day her returned home; aided in the purge of the suitors

Aeolus

god of the wind

Tiresias

the blind seer in the House of Hades; Odysseus went to him for direction on how to get home

Argos

Odysseus's dog who died when Odysseus returned home

Eurycleia

an old maid in the royal house of Ithaca who loyally served Odysseus since he was a baby; she was the first to be made known about the king's return home

Anticlea

Odysseus's mom; died while he was away; they reunited when Odysseus journeyed to the House of Death

Laertes

Odysseus's father; king of Ithaca before him (Odysseus's predecessor)

Agamemnon

king of Mycenae; brother of Menelaus; one of the great Greeks who fought in the Trojan War; led the Achaean army; died when he got home from Troy; killed by his wife and her lover

Antinous

the leader of the suitors who plagued Penelope and Odysseus's house; killed in the purge

Eurymachus

one of the more powerful of the suitors alongside Antinous; also killed in the purge

Penelope

wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus; also killed in the purge

Polyphemus

Cyclops; son of Poseidon; blinded by Odysseus and the essential reason why Poseidon sought revenge on Odysseus

Charibdis

the deadly whirlpool in the rock formation that Odysseus had to sail through (between Sicily and another Island)

Odysseus

the protagonist of the Odyssey; king of Ithaca; father of Telemachus and husband of Penelope; fought in the Trojan War; orchestrated the Trojan Horse strategy

Achilles

the greatest warrior in Achaea before he was killed by Paris and Apollo in the Trojan War; the leader of a kill squad called the Myrmidons

Alcinous

king of Phaeacia; father of Nausicaa; helped Odysseus return to Ithaca

Naussica

princess of Phaeacia; found Odysseus naked off the coast of Phaeacia and brought him back to the king- where he told the story of his travels

Helen

wife of Menelaus; queen of Sparta; basically caused the Trojan War when she ran off into the sunset with Paris

Clytemnestra

Agamemnon's wife; cheated on him with a man named Aegisthus while he was fihting in Troy, then when he returned, she and her lover killed him

Athena

daughter of Zeus; goddess of wisdom; served as Odysseus's "supernatural aid" in the Odyssey

Scylla

the six-headed dragon woman monster that lives in the cave between the rocks (Sicily and another Island probably) and eats men; Odysseus evaded this thing when he sailed through the rocks

Greek Tragedies

plays that told stories of human suffering that usually ended in disaster

Hubris

excessive pride

Aristotle's Unities

time (24 hours), place (1 setting), action (1 plot conflict)

Unity of Place

a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place

Unity of Action

a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots

Unity of Time

the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours

Oracle

through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity.

Catharsis

a release of emotional tension

Chorus

(role of...)- Ex. Oompa Loompas, Represented the didactic purpose- lesson- of the play, Group of 15 men- considered a civic duty, Tension release (commercial), Linked audience to the actors- can talk to the audience and the actors (broke the fourth wall- like Ferris Bueller), Reflected on what had just happened, Advised central characters, Ethical conscience, Created suspense and excitement, Appeared at perfectly planned times- not random, Separated one scene from another

Leader

spokesperson representing the Chorus which interacted with central characters

Fagles

translated the Odyssey (our favorite translator! )

Delphi

An ancient city in central Greece, in Phocis: site of an oracle of Apollo

Ancient Greek Mask

an article that let an actor impersonate another, determined the role the actor was playing

Cothurni

platform shoes

Chiton

long, flowy robe

Properties

props to distinguish stature (ex. If you were a priest, you would have a staff or something)

Hamartia

tragic flaw

Orchestra

"dancing place"

Theatron

the audience sat here

Parados

a term that identified the entrance to the stage- for the chorus

Skene

a rectangular building that provided generic backdrop

Proskenion

a small platform in front of the skene which appeared to give actors more visibility and to separate them from the chorus in the orchestra below

Life in ancient Greece

usually hot and lots of time was spent outside, Greece is mostly made up of islands and the ancient Greeks welcomed everyone who came to their island, gifts were a sign of respect because the islands produced limited resources

Hero Journey/Hero Archetype

a definition formed by Joseph Campbell that examples how each character in every book, show, and movie has the same fundamental path

Tragic Hero

a decent person, but fate places hero in a situation where hubris brings about his downfall- either physically/spiritually dies in the end (Ex. Oedipus, Othello, Macbeth)

Anti-Hero

comes from the Modernist period (after WW1), a hero who is motivated by disillusionment; usually rebellious and disinterested in living his life in the confines of society's norms. This hero may be unchanged by his experience (Ex. Han Solo, Shrek, Jack Sparrow)

Classic (Greek)

Usually based on Greek Myth, a hero with a super-human strength, magical powers, or who is immortal. (Ex. Hercules)

Arthurian

a knight who though larger than life is based on real person; loyal, honest, brave, and noble; on a quest for external things (land/money) or internal things (truth/power) (Ex. King Arthur, Indiana Jones, National Treasure guy)

American (Adam)

bound to nature; innocent and naïve; has no family/family tradition; spends life on an internal quest (Ex. Huck Finn, Forest Gump)

Apotheosis

to deify; a period of rest, peace, and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.

Archetype

the contents of the collective unconscious; unacknowledged/unlearned patterns in our lives.

Atonement with father

the person must conform and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his/her life.

Master of two worlds

the person must become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer world- "superhero" and normal person...

Belly of the whale

the hero's lowest point, their most hopeless moments

Meeting with Goddess

the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all-encompassing, unconditional love.

Call to adventure

the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

Refusal of the call

may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, sense of inadequacy, or any range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.

Rescue from without

the person must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, or the person doesn't realize that it is time to return.

Initiation

"Change or die" part of the story or play and contains trials of what the hero will do to alter the story

Departure

brings out the hero, hero shows denial for leaving for the quest/journey, eventually gives in leading to initiation

Return

"everything is the same but the hero is a changed person"

Road of trials

a series of tests/tasks/ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. The person often fails repeatedly.

Supernatural aid

Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his/her guide and magical helper appears or become known.

John Steinbeck

One of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novel Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.