SEEN7918 Prelims Flashcards

sequence of events and actions in a literary work

sequence of events and actions in a literary work

plot

• pattern formed by the events and actions in a literary work; traditional elements include introduction, complications, climax, and conclusion

• Refers to how the words fit together 

• Based on classification 

• Focus 

  • Contents (Questions based on the type of poem)

Structure

beginning, which usually suggests the setting (time and place) and introduces one or more characters

introduction

• events or actions that establish the conflict in a literary work

• Incidents that change or alter the direction of action

• May arise from the discovery of new information, the unexpected change of plot, the need to choose between two courses of action or introduction of new ideas

Complications

the turning point, often signified by a character’s making a significant decision or taking action to resolve a conflict

Climax

the ending of a work, which often shows the effects of the climactic action or decision

Conclusion

a struggle between internal and external forces in a literary work

Conflict

discrepancy between what is said and what is done or between what is expected and what actually happens

irony of the situation

fictional people who are part of the action of a literary work

Characters

• conversation between two or more fictional characters

• characters' conversations with others, themselves, or audience

Dialogue

variety of language different from that generally taught in school; may include distinctive pronunciations of words, original vocabulary, or grammatical constructions that are considered standard

Dialect

a speech by one character addresses to a silent or absent listener

Monologue

a speech by one character in a play, given while the character is alone on the stage or standing apart from other characters and intended to represent the inner thoughts of the character

Soliloquy

the reason or reasons that cause a character to think, act, or speak in a certain way

Motivation

• comments by the playwright to provide actors (or readers) with information about actions and ways of speaking specific lines

• explain details of setting and give information about the way the characters speak or move

Stage directions

a character who changes in some significant way during the course of the work

Dynamic

• shows many different facets; often presented in depth and with great detail

• (fully developed; dynamic) - change in qualities 

Round

• usually has one outstanding trait or feature

• (stock) - qualities do not change

Flat

one who does not change in any significant way

Static

major character with whom we generally sympathize

Protagonist

character whom the protagonist is in conflict, generally not a sympathetic character

Antagonist

the position from which the details of the work are reported or described

Point of view

person who writes the literary work

Author

(NOT ALWAYS the author) – the persona, the voice that is heard in a poem

Speaker

voice that tells a work of fiction (or sometimes frames a play)

Narrator

knows everything and can report both external actions and conversations as well as the internal thoughts of all characters and who often provide evaluations and judgments of characters and events

Omniscient narrator

can report external actions and conversations but who can describe the internal thoughts of only one character; may offer evaluations and judgments of characters and events

Limited omniscient narrator

• principal character narrating personal experiences

• a character in the work who uses “I” or “we” to tell the story; can report their own thoughts but not the thoughts of others; may offer evaluations and judgments of character and events

First-person narrator

convinces the readers that he or she is reporting events, actions, and conversations accurately and without prejudice

Reliable narrator

raises suspicions in the minds of readers that events, actions, and conversations may be reported inaccurately and that evaluations may reflect intentional and unintentional prejudice

Unreliable narrator

narrator who, like a camera, shows external events and conversations but cannot look inside the minds of characters or offer evaluations and judgments

Objective narrator

• time and place of a literary work; includes social, political, and economic background as well as geographic and physical locations

• places – geographic location; social, cultural, and political background; time and period

Setting

aspects of setting that exist outside the characters

Exterior setting

aspects of setting that exist inside the minds and hearts of the characters

interior setting

comments by the playwright to provide actors (or readers) with information about the times and places in which the play or different scenes of the play are set

Scenic directions

an interruption in the chronological order of a work by description of earlier occurrences

Flashback

the way an author chooses words; arrange them in lines, sentences, paragraphs, or stanzas; conveys meanings through the use of imagery, rhythm, figurative language, irony, and other devices

Style

the attitude of the author toward the subject of the work

Tone

choice of words

Diction

words that appeal to the five senses

Imagery

the way words are arranged in phrases or sentences and the way phrases or sentences are arranged in paragraphs (fiction), speeches (plays), or lines and stanzas (poetry)

Syntax

pattern of sound

Rhythm

the matching of final sounds in two or more words

Rhyme

an object, action, person, or animal that stands for something mor than its literal meaning

Symbol

a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what is said or what the reader knows to be true

Verbal Irony

Essay with a serious purpose, careful and polished style, authoritative and scholarly, explains, persuades, gives instructions

Formal / Impersonal

essay on commonplace and ordinary subjects, conversational and witty, amuses, entertains

Informal/Personal/Familiar

Concerned with dividing a complex subject into its component parts on the principles of logical relationship rather than the chronological order

Analytical Essay

indicates type or form of literature, based on how they are written or the nature of their contents.

genre

written in the continuous form, product of imagination

Fiction

in verses, in lines and stanzas

Poetry

• meant to be acted on stage

• more direct connection

• audience gets first hand experience through the narrator’s eyes since the dialogues are delivered in front of them

• a visual experience, leaves picture in our minds

Drama

written in the continuous form, prose works that are factual

ex. essays, transcriptions of speeches, letters, documents, journals

Nonfiction

seeing thoughts of one or more characters

Short Fiction

can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning (ex. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan)

Allegory

• These are narratives with gods and goddesses as the characters, leaning towards religion.

• predictable storylines

• explain natural phenomena

Myth

Has real characters, learning towards history, i.e King Arthur

Legend

Has a presence of magic

Fairy Tale

Animals as characters to explore human behavior

Fable

Symbolic, Biblical

Parable

young person moves from innocence to experience

Story of initiation

 character experiences sudden insight or profound understanding

Story of epiphany

carrying over of meaning and sound from one line to the next with no pause between lines, an idea may be distorted if we pause at the end of the line

Enjambment

• with established pattern (haiku, sonnet)

  • The structure of a poem is already suggested by the number of lines, foot and meter per line

closed form

resists limitations of poetic form

Open form

does not take into consideration both the rhyme and the meter.

Free verse

has a story to tell

Narrative

type of poetry that expresses feelings, musings, or emotions

Lyric

lyric poem in 14 iambic pentameter lines

Sonnet

abba abba cde cde

• octave - develops an idea or image)

• sestet - comments on idea or image

Italian (Petrarchan)

abab cdcd efef gg

• three quatrains (idea/image)

• concluding couplet (commentary)

English (Shakespearean)

dedicated to Dionysus, performed in amphitheaters

Greek drama

 represents the voice of the community, danced and sang in the opera

chorus

first actor of Greek drama, began to deliver the dialogue

Thespis

introduced the third actor

Sophocles

choral moves one side; right to left

strophe

movement to the original position

antistrophe

stay in place

epode

drama written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth

Elizabethan Drama

• presents everyday life settings and props more important than earlier forms of drama

• creates illusion of real life

• stage is like a room; fourth wall removed

Realistic Drama

• actions that lead in no particular direction

• motivation of characters contradictory or absent altogether

• invite audience to ask questions about the world instead of suggesting coherent themes

Theater of the absurd

• on life's sorrows and serious problems

• moves towards character's downfall ends with death and restoration of order

• traditionally looks at life of royal figures or highly respected officials

Tragedy

(hero's downfall) involves death not only of the hero but also of other, often innocent individuals

Catastrophe

profound relief from the tension of the play; sense of gaining insight and enlightenment or purgation

Catharsis

on life's joys and humorous absurdities (through the characters, we’d know that people are made fun of that tells us the weakness of a human being).

Comedy

exposes foibles and shortcomings of humanity

Satiric comedy

source of humor is on mistaken identity and unexpected discoveries, stage chases, mock fistfights

Romantic comedy

mixes elements of tragedy and comedy, sometimes humor dominates the play (comedy over tragedy)

Tragicomedy

• Uses narration and description

• Informs or persuades

• Vehicle for self-reflection

Creative nonfiction

sub-genre of creative nonfiction; events from the writer's past as the subject

Memoir

nonfictional personal essays, memoirs, descriptive reflections

Bellestristic tradition/fine letters

• Focus: The text – sign; memorization; recall of concepts

  • Ex: To recall the different periods of literary development in the Philippines.

Surface Level

•  Focus: The signified; goal: greater understanding

  • Ex: To understand how history and culture resonate in the literary text.

Deep Level

Conditions of Good Learning (3)

INTENT, CONTENT, INTELLIGIBILITY

Disciplinary Processes (3)

Literary-Textual Analysis, Evaluation, Communication

emphasizes content and information

Subject-centered

• Focuses on what the teacher does and who the teacher is

• Teaching as performance

Teacher-centered

The focus is on the way the students learn.

Student-centered

combination of all theories

Eclectic

• A process

• A way and mean to engage the learners

• Stipulates the step-by-step process

method