HBRITLIT MIDTERM

semester 1

Alliteration

• the literary technique of using a sequence of words that begin with the same letter or sound for a poetic or whimsical effect.

  • Example: Many of Stan Lee’s iconic comic book characters have alliterative names, such as “Peter Parker,” “Matthew Murdock,” “Reed Richards,” and “Bruce Banner.”

allusion

• an indirect reference to another figure, event, place, or work of art that exists outside the story. Allusions are made to famous subjects so that they don’t need explanation—the reader should already understand the reference.

  • Example The title of Haruki Murakami’s novel 1Q84 is an allusion to George Orwell’s novel 1984. The Japanese word for the number nine is pronounced like the English letter Q.

analogy

•  compares one thing to another to help explain a similarity that may not be obvious.

  • Example:In The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan compares the universe’s entire history with a single Earth year to demonstrate better the context of when significant events occurred

colloquialism

• casual and informal speech, including slang, to make dialogue seem more realistic and authentic. It often incorporates respelling words and adding apostrophes to communicate the pronunciation.

  • Example: In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses phrases like ain’t and yonder to portray the characters’ dialect and regional background, effectively capturing the voice of the American South

Foreshadowing

• the technique of hinting at future events in a story using subtle parallels, usually to generate more suspense or engage the reader’s curiosity.

  • Example: In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker’s vision of himself wearing Darth Vader’s mask foreshadows the later revelation that Vader is, in fact, Luke’s father.

Hyperbole

• exaggeration to add more power to words, often to an unrealistic or unlikely degree.

  • Example :“I had to wait in the station for ten days—an eternity.” —Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Imagery

• refers to writing that invokes the reader’s senses with descriptive word choice to create a more vivid and realistic recreation of the scene in their mind.

  • For example: “The barn was very large. It was very old. It smelled of hay and it smelled of manure. It smelled of the perspiration of tired horses and the wonderful sweet breath of patient cows. It often had a sort of peaceful smell­ as though nothing bad could happen ever again in the world.” —E. B. White, Charlotte’s Web

Irony

 a literary device where the intended meaning of words or events contrasts with their literal or expected meaning. It adds depth, humor, or poignancy by highlighting the difference between appearances and reality.

• For example: In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy says, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me,” yet he falls in love with Elizabeth later, contradicting his statement.

Verbal Irony

• When a character says the opposite of what they are really thinking, they are using verbal irony. When I step outside into pouring rain and state, ‘What a lovely day!’ I am being ironic, because that’s not what I actually mean. 

Dramatic irony

• when the audience or readers know something that the characters do not.We find this type of irony throughout the plays of William Shakespeare. Think of the prologue from Romeo and Juliet, for example:We know from the beginning that the lovers will die at their own hands. Dramatic irony is employed to keep the audience or reader on the edge of their seats, aware of the danger hurtling towards the blithely unaware characters.

Situational irony

• when the opposite of what you’d expect to happen happens.Remember how rain on your wedding day is ironic – if you’re getting married to a weatherman? That’s situational irony. Another example might be if an ambulance, racing to help an injured person, instead struck and further injured that person.

Metaphor

• a figure of speech that compares two different things to show their similarities by insisting that they’re the same.

  • “All the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts…”—William Shakespeare, As You Like It

mood

• the emotional response the author is targeting. A writer sets the mood not just with the plot and characters but also with tone and the aspects they choose to describe.

  • Example:In Bram Stoker’s horror novel Dracula, the literary mood of vampires is scary and ominous, but in the comedic film What We Do In Shadows, the mood is friendly and light-hearted.

oxymoron

• combines two contradictory words to give them a deeper and more poetic meaning.

  • Example: The term bittersweet combines contrasting emotions—bitterness and sweetness—to convey a complex feeling, often associated with nostalgia or moments that are both happy and sad simultaneously.

paradox

• combines two contradictory ideas in a way that, although illogical, still makes sense.

  • Example: “I know only one thing, and that is I know nothing.” —Socrates in Plato’s Apology

Personification

• an author metaphorically attributes human characteristics to nonhuman things like the weather or inanimate objects. Personification is strictly figurative, whereas anthropomorphism posits that those things really do act like humans.

  • Example:“The heart wants what it wants—or else it does not care …” —Emily Dickinson

Satire

•  a style of writing that uses parody and exaggeration to criticize the faults of society or human nature.

  • Example: The works of Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) and Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) are well known for being satirical. A more modern example is the TV show South Park, which often satirizes society by addressing current events.

metaphors

• compare two things to highlight their similarities. However, the difference between similes and metaphors is that similes use like or as to soften the connection and explicitly show it’s just a comparison.

  • Example: “Her smile was as bright as the sun.” This comparison highlights the brightness of her smile in relation to something universally understood, like the sun.

symbolism

• occurs when objects, characters, actions, or other recurring elements take on a deeper, more profound meaning or represent an abstract concept.

  • Example: In J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (and The Hobbit), the ring of Sauron symbolizes evil, corruption, and greed, which everyday people, symbolized by Frodo, must strive to resist.

Tone

• refers to the language and word choice an author uses with their subject matter, like a playful tone when describing children playing or a hostile tone when describing the emergence of a villain. If you’re confused about tone vs. mood, tone refers mainly to individual aspects and details, while mood refers to the emotional attitude of the entire piece of work.

  • Example: Told in the first person, J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye uses its teenage protagonist’s angsty and sardonic tone to depict the character’s mindset, including slang and curse words.

Assonance

• the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

  • Example: “No pain, no gain.”

Caesura

• a pause in a line of poetry, dictated by natural speaking rhythm (as opposed to meter) 

  • Example: To err is human; || to forgive, divine

chiasmus

• takes two parallel clauses and inverts the word order of one to create a greater meaning.

  • Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” —John F. Kennedy (adapted from Khalil Gibran)

  • ABBA Structure to put emphasis on something used for emphasis, irony, or humor

Litotes

• They are phrases that express an affirmative by denying its opposite, usually through understatement. Some examples of litotes that you might find in everyday speech are:You can’t say I didn’t warn you.Meaning you did, in fact, warn them.

• It’s a double negative to emphasize a positive

Epiphet

• characterizing words or phrases firmly associated with a person or thing and typically used in place of an actual name or title.

  • For example, one of the most common epithets describes a dog as man’s best friend. 

Kenning

• A compound poetic renaming of people, places, or things (nouns)

  • Example: Battle sweat (blood), fish-home (ocean), sky-candle (sun)

Patronym

• referring to someone’s father’s name. 

  • Ex: “Edgetho’s son” or “son of __” etc.

Emulate

to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

Coherent

holding or sticking together; making a logical whole, comprehensible, meaningful

Verdant

• green in tint or color, immature in experience or judgement

Murky

dark and gloomy; obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

Distraught

• very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

Nefarious

• wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards 

Devious

• starting or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

Incendiary

• deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion

Avid

• desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

Tenable

• capable of being held or defended 

Beowulf

• Epic hero; brave & self sacrificing, ultimately sacrifices himself to fight the dragon to save the Danes

Hrothgar

• King of the Danes, his mead hall is Herot 

Grendel

• monster who kills the Danes and has been for 12 years before he was defeated by Beowulf

Wiglaf

• Admires Beowulf, makes a speech about how real men should be brave and help Beowulf in his dying moments instead of running away cowardly

Grendel's Mom

• Comes back to avenge her son, her battle with Beowulf is more intense than her son’s, they fight in water and the theme of God destining a winner is introduced. This is because Beowulf was close to losing the battle if it hadn’t been for God deciding that he would win.  

Dragon

• kills Beowulf in his last battle, protecting hoard of gold 

Edgetho

• Beowulf's father

(BEOWULF PLOT)

• Grendel has been terrorizing the Danes for 12 years when Beowulf arrives to save them. Beowulf kills Grendel by ripping his arm off in a long, hard battle. Grendel’s mother wants vengeance for her son, and kills Hrothgar's best friend. Hrothgar demands that Beowulf gets vengeance because it is his fault. Beowulf journey’s down into the swamp to fight Grendel's mom, and through the power of God he wins against Grendel’s mother. Years later Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and he needs to fight one last battle. The Dragon attacks their mead hall and he needs to get vengeance because he is the only one who has a chance of winning. Beowulf fights the Dragon, and wounds it,but dies in the process. Wiglaf actually kills the dragon, they take the Dragon’s treasure and bury Beowulf with the treasure. The end:)

Beowulf Theme #1 (Heroism)

• What makes a character heroic? 

  • Takes risks, fights for what they believe in

  • Putting community over themselves 

  • Bravery, perseverance

Beowulf Theme #2 (Christian Values)

• Christian Values- References back to God, the idea that good will win and evil will lose. The original story didn’t have Christian allusions but because Christian monks wrote it down, they included Christian allusions.

Beowulf Theme # 3 (Anglo-Saxan Values)

• Anglo saxon values- wanting name and legacy to live on, when they cremated Beowulf (did not believe in afterlife so legacy was the only chance they had at “living on”)  Mead hall- peaceful place, no weapons allowed in 

Why does the Beowulf survive

• It is the blueprint for soriees today, it is entertaining, old, inspirational, orally told so it can be passed down by tradition e.t.c.

Patronym

• referring to someone’s father’s name. Ex: “Edgetho’s son” or “son of __” etc.

Kenning

• replacement of a noun with different descriptive words. It's used here especially for old english words to make poetic word combinations. Ex: “whale-road” (sea) “sky-candle” (sun) “battle-sweat” (blood) “ring-giver” (king)

Epic hero

• Ex: Beowulf. Characteristics include being brave and physically strong, often a noble or leader and the main character/hero of their story

Scop

person who reads the story

Mead Hall

• gathering place, sanctuary place, no weapons, no fighting

Ring Structure

• epic descriptive device, helful for scop to remember 

Wergild

• man price (prevent ongoing slaughter); can pay for a crime

Divine Right of Kings

• Blessed by God to rule

Wyrd

• fate/destiny

Epic boast

• Identification (King/Father)

• Achievements (resume)

• Promise

Ring-giver

King

• Maria Dahvana Headley’s Interpretation of Beowulf

• She sees it as a the story of strong female characters (i.e. Grendel’s mom)

• Theme: a human being being seen as monstrous for doung something normal (i.e.e Grendel’s mom fighting back for her son)

• Shows the challenges of trying to translate an older story like Beowulf

Knight

• highly admired, very honorable, good manners, and approved of by narrator

Squire

knight’s son; younger/more lively than the knight, skilled in many ways (artistic), stays at home, stylish, approved of by narrator

Yeoman

•  likes to be outside, narrator is neutral

Nun

• snotty, overindulgent, disapproved of by narrator

Monk

Fat, narrator is sarcastic about what Monk is supposed to do. Monks are supposed to be studying, but he doesn't live up to the traditional ideals.

Friar

Out for making money and keeping it for himself. He is corrupt and beloved and familiar with women. Narrator doesn’t like him.

Doctor

Very greedy, fakely treats patients and only does it for the money. Narrator dislikes him.

Cleric

in the same category as the Yeoman, the narrator is neutral/approves of him. He does what he is supposed to do, a student who spent all of his money on books rather than clothes

Franklin

• narrator approves, peaceful wealthy man, uses his wealth for the good of others

Skipper

• narrator disapproves, works on a boat, participates in "unsavory activities" such as stealing and making his enemies walk the plank

Guild members

• narrator is neutral, show the power of councilmen in society, lower class because of their jobs but they have money and wealth that they show off

Bath woman

• narrator approves, she’s had 5 husbands but all were married in the Church, tradeswoman, respected, religious, travels often on pilgrimages

Parson

• narrator approves; humble, takes job seriously, not concerned with $$, compared to Jesus (non hypocritical)

Miller

• narrator disapproves; big + strong, loud (plays bagpipes), steals, drinks a lot, aggressive (“wrangler” + “buffoon”), ugly

Summoner

narrator disapproves; acne, accepts $ and alcohol as bribes to let people go, dumb

Pardoner

• narrator disapproves; friends with Summoner, sings for , fakes having relics to get even more

PARDONER’S TALE PLOT

• 3 drunk men set out to kill Death after hearing he caused many deaths in their town. They meet an old man and he directs them to a tree where they find gold. They are overcome with greed and two of them plot to kill the third when he went to get food. Meanwhile the third one plans to poison the other two to keep all the gold for himself and adds poison to their wine. The two kill the third and then get poisoned and they all end up dead.

WIFE OF BATH’S TALE

• A knight assaults a young woman and the only way for him to avoid death is to find out in a year, what is it that women most desire. After searching and failing he meets an old woman, who promises to help him in exchange for a favor. He tells him that women most desire control and agency. The knight delivers an answer and saves his life, but the old woman asks him to marry her in return. On their wedding night, the woman gives the knight a choice: that she stays old and loyal, or young and unfaithful. The knight lets her decide what she wants to do, so the woman turns young, beautiful, and faithful because he grants her control over her own decisions. 

Theme #1 Wife of Bath

• Female agency in wife of bath- giving the wife the power to make the choice of whether she wants to be beautiful and disloyal or loyal and ugly, “to be her husbands master”

Theme #2 Wife of Bath

Power in relationships, whether the wife or the husband has the power

Theme #3 Wife of Bath

• Magic: fairies and transformation

• In the prologue of the Wife of Bath

  • The spread of christianity correlated with the disappearance of fairies (the “magic” left with the friars so no one else can take your good)

Theme #4 Wife of Bath

• Applying lessons:

  • Lessons taught in both tales that warn about respecting female agency and being wary of what greed can do to you

Theme of Corruption

CHAUCER:

• when describing the characters the narrator negatively describes the corrupt religious figures like the, summoner, friar, monk, nun, and the doctor, showing his disapproval. This is reflective of the time period The Canterbury Tales was written in because corruption in positions of power was very prominent. 

  • Most of the corruption was driven by the greed of characters. 

Pardoner’s Tale Theme

• The pardoner's tale was driven by greed, and that is how he fuels his own greed by convincing people to donate to ensure that they aren’t greedy so they don’t meet the same fate as the people in the stories

Hamlet

• main character; trying to get revenge for his father on Claudius, acting crazy to fool others and prove he has a reason to be this sad 

Ophelia

•  Hamlet’s ex lover, daughter of Polonius; used to have a thing w/ Hamlet, listens to her dad

Polonius

• father of Ophelia and Laertes; very paranoid and seeking validation from the King and Queen to get into their good graces (he is upper class)he also sent a spy to go to make sure his son is being a good example in France

Laertes

• son of Polonius; headed to France for school, his dad spies on him

Claudius

• the new king, Hamlet Sr. brother, Hamlet Jr. uncle; killed his brother, married his brothers wife, feels super guilty and can’t pray about it

Ghost (Hamlet Sr)

• not confirmed if Hamlet Sr., but told Hamlet not to tell anyone about their little meeting and told him to not hurt Gertrude, just to get revenge on Claudius.

Gertrude

Queen; implied affair w/ Claudius, incestuous relationship with Claudius and married him right after King died

Horatio

Hamlet’s best friend, Hamlet told him about the meeting w/ ghost, he trusts him

Rosencrantz

• Hamlet’s “best friend”; Hamlet does not trust him because Claudius sent him to spy on him

Guildenstern

• Hamlet’s “best friend”; not a trustworthy friend because Claudius sent him to spy on him

Bernardo

the guy in the beginning who saw the Ghost

Marcellus

• the guard who saw the Ghost

HAMLET PLOT ACT 1

• Marcellus and Bernardo see a ghost in the castle for two nights. They believe it to be Hamlet’s late father and they call him to come and talk to the ghost. The Ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his death and kill Claudius, (the new king and Hamlet's uncle) but leave Gertrude, his mother, out of it. 

HAMLET PLOT ACT 2

• Polonius spies on Laertes and Hamlet acts crazy to Ophelia, scaring her a bit(antic disposition). The king and queen scheme to spy on Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s first appearance, Hamlet lies to them and says that he doesn’t know why he is upset, but doesn’t see the point in living anymore. Polonius thinks Hamlet is acting crazy because of Ophelia.The players arrive and Hamlet asks them to do the murder of Gonzago to see if he can catch his uncle acting weird. At the end, Hamlet gives a monologue using the same language  for himself and Claudius because he believes he is no better than Claudius. 

HAMLET PLOT ACT 3

•  Rozencrtaz and Guildenstern report to the king that they don't know why Hamlet is acting depressed. Claudius and Polonius plan to spy on Ophelia and Hamlet and listen to their conversation. This is when Hamlet has his “to be or not to be” speech where he debates living or dying by suicide. Ophelia enters and he criticizes her , he uses harsh, vulgar, and aggressive language and tells her to go to a “nunnery.” Hamlet may know about Claudius and Polonius because he shouts out “where is your father” to Ophelia and openly threatens Claudius. Hamlet then instructs the players to perform a comedy that resembles Claudius killing Hamlet Sr, Claudius’ reaction is proof that he did kill Hamlet’s father. Claudius gives a soliloquy admitting that he did kill Hamlet’s father. Hamlet approaches Claudius kneeling, he’s about to kill him but doesn't because he thinks that Claudius is praying and would go to heaven if killed in that moment. We know that Claudius is in fact not praying because he’s so guilty. Hamlet goes to talk to his mother as part of Polonius’s plan. He hides behind a tapestry while Hamlet and his mother argue. Hamlet uses aggressive and vicious language, causing Gertrude to yell out and call for help, causing Polonius to respond. With his identity concealed, Hamlet assumes Claudius is listening and puts his sword through the tapestry, killing Polonius. Hamlet continues to “speak daggers” at his mother,and says that Polonius was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if he wasn’t so desperate for societal approval he wouldn't have been there. Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears only ro Hamlet and reminds him that he isn't supposed to be fighting his mom, but getting revenge and killing Claudius. Hamlet asks his mom to leave Claudius and not tell Claudius that he is not mad.