Honors British Literature Summer Assignment Study Guide
Summer Assignment Overview and Reading Requirements
Deadlines: All assignments must be completed for the first class meeting in September.
Instructor Communication: The instructor checks their inbox regularly and encourages students to contact them with any questions.
Reading Assignment 1: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. It is strongly recommended to read this text first to better understand the selected novel.
Reading Assignment 2: Students must select ONE text from the following list. Note that mature language and themes are present in several titles; thorough research is recommended if this is a concern:
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
1984 by George Orwell
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Study Materials: Students must review the provided document regarding literary terms and components of MLA style relevant to the year's units of study.
Assessment Details and Expectations
Timing: The assessment will take place during the first full week of class.
Content: The written assessment covers literary terms, MLA style, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, and the student’s selected novel.
Format: The test involves a combination of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and essay questions.
Competency Requirements: Students are not expected to provide word-for-word definitions of literary terms but must be able to explain each term and provide an example in their own words.
Literary Terms: Definitions and Examples (Part 1)
Allegory
Definition: A text that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Example: The dogs in Animal Farm represent Stalin’s use of military force to intimidate and control.
Alliteration
Definition: The repetition of same sounds in a sequence of words to establish a specific tone or message.
Example: ‐From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life‐ contributes to a somber and foreboding tone in Romeo and Juliet.
Allusion
Definition: When a text incorporates, references, or responds to an earlier work in order to call upon a history or literary tradition that an author and reader are assumed to share.
Example: The Internet can cause people to slide down a ‐rabbit hole‐ and lose track of time, which is an allusion to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Aside
Definition: Words spoken to an audience by a character in a drama that are not intended to be heard by others onstage. An aside is used to let an audience know a character’s thoughts.
Example: Brutus delivers an aside to express concern to his audience that power will corrupt Caesar once he is crowned in Julius Caesar.
Antagonist
Definition: A character in a text who a protagonist opposes and who is often (though not always) a villain.
Example: The White Witch who freezes Narnia is an antagonist in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Anti-Hero
Definition: A protagonist who does not manifest qualities typically assigned to heroes and heroines and whose failings are used to humanize him or her and convey a message about human existence.
Example: Mr. Rochester’s secretive, troubling past that contrasts with his attempts to save his servants from a fire in Jane Eyre blurs moral lines between antagonist and protagonist.
Archetype
Definition: An image, character, or pattern of circumstances that recurs throughout literature and is viewed as a universal concept or situation. Archetypes tend to reference broader or commonplace (stock) character types, plot points, and literary conventions.
Example: Sidekick Dr. John Watson epitomizes an everyman archetype because he is plain and of only average intelligence compared to his eccentric mentor, Sherlock Holmes.
Bildungsroman
Definition: A text that depicts an individual’s coming-of-age through self-discovery and personal knowledge.
Example: Jane Eyre’s transformative journey from an abused child consumed by loss to a mature adult marked by resilience and assertiveness exemplifies many tenets of a bildungsroman.
Denouement
Definition: The falling action of a narrative when central conflicts are resolved and a resolution is found.
Example: The denouement occurs after Romeo and Juliet take their lives and it becomes clear to everyone that their deaths resulted from their families’ feud, which ends soon after.
Deus Ex Machina
Definition: Any character, event, or device suddenly introduced to resolve a conflict.
Example: The boys resort to violence after their initial hope of rescue fades, only to be saved unexpectedly and without warning by a Naval Officer after Piggy is killed in Lord of the Flies.
Literary Terms: Definitions and Examples (Part 2)
Dialogue
Definition: Spoken exchanges between characters in a literary work, usually between two or more speakers.
Example: ‐Do you not want to know who has taken it?‐ cried his wife impatiently. ‐You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.‐ This was invitation enough…
Diction
Definition: Word choice, or specific language used to describe events and interact with other characters.
Example: ‐It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife‐ establishes Austen’s use of formal diction to criticize Georgian England’s upper-class society in Pride and Prejudice.
Exposition
Definition: A detailed discussion including characters, setting, and background information that readers might need to know in order to understand a text.
Example: He ‐had been one of the leading figures of the Party, almost on a level with Big Brother himself, and then had engaged in counter-revolutionary activities… He was the primal traitor, the earliest defiler…‐
Frame Narrative
Definition: A story that an author encloses around a central narrative to provide context. It is often referred to as a ‐story within a story‐ or a ‐tale within a tale.‐
Example: Pilgrims take turns telling bawdy and irreverent stories to pass time as they travel to Canterbury in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
Hyperbole
Definition: Exaggerated language or speech that is not meant to be taken literally but is used for emphasis.
Example: ‐I had to wait in the station for ten days‐an eternity.‐
In Medias Res
Definition: When an author begins a text while action is in progress. This choice incorporates readers directly into a narrative and secures their interest.
Example: The lines ‐Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, / Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks / Incalculable pain…,‐ which open Homer’s The Iliad, suppose that readers are familiar with Achilles and his rage already.
Irony
Definition: Usually refers to saying one thing and meaning its opposite to shock audiences and emphasize that truth is important. Dramatic irony occurs if an audience is privy to information not understood by characters.
Example: The audience knows Juliet is drugged, but Romeo tragically poisons himself thinking she is dead.
Juxtaposition
Definition: Placing contrasting ideas next to each other to produce an ironic or thought-provoking effect.
Example: Mr. Darcy’s upstanding character becomes clear as Mr. Wickham’s scandalous behavior is revealed.
Metaphor
Definition: Refers to one entity by another in order to identify their similarities.
Example: ‐The sun in the west was a drop of burning gold that slid nearer and nearer the sill of the world.‐
Metonymy
Definition: Substitutes a quality, idea, or object associated with a certain entity for this entity itself.
Example: When Antony tells people in attendance at Julius Caesar’s funeral to ‐lend me your ears,‐ he is using ‐ears,‐ which are associated with listening, to refer to people’s attention.
Literary Terms: Definitions and Examples (Part 3)
Motif
Definition: An idea, concept, or object that repeats itself throughout a text to reinforce a theme.
Example: The motif of fire in Lord of the Flies represents a connection to civilization and technology.
Parody
Definition: A narrative work or writing style that mocks or mimics another genre or work. Typically, parodies emphasize elements from another work in order to ridicule, comment on, or criticize its message.
Example: Bored of the Rings is a parody of Lord of the Rings created by The Harvard Lampoon.
Personification
Definition: The artistic representation of a concept, quality, or idea in human form.
Example: The Greek god Ares is a personification of war.
Protagonist
Definition: The primary character in a text, usually positioned as ‐good‐ or a character with whom readers are supposed to identify.
Example: After facing many hardships and losses, Jane ultimately begins to assert herself while demonstrating kindness and a strong moral compass, thereby embodying traits of a protagonist in Jane Eyre.
Satire
Definition: Writing that mocks, ridicules, or pokes fun at a belief, group, or person in order to challenge them.
Example: Jane Austen satirizes Georgian England’s strict social rules and limitations in Pride and Prejudice.
Simile
Definition: Compares two people, objects, elements, or concepts using ‐like‐ or ‐as.‐
Example: ‐She entered with ungainly struggle like some huge awkward chicken, torn… out of its coop.‐
Stream of Consciousness
Definition: Writing in which an author traces his or her thoughts verbatim. This style can be used to convey a variety of emotions.
Example: I grow old… I grow old… I wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.
Symbol(ism)
Definition: An object or element incorporated into a narrative to represent another concept or concern.
Example: Crows and ravens usually represent impending doom or death, as when birds fly over a battlefield in Julius Caesar to symbolize Cassius’s imminent death in battle.
Theme
Definition: A salient abstract idea or lesson that emerges from a text’s treatment of its subject matter. Themes tend to differ depending on author, time period, genre, style, purpose, etc. Themes should always be expressed as statements rather than single words, which are motifs.
Example: The advantages of mental fortitude over physical strength is a prominent theme in The Odyssey.
Tone
Definition: An author’s attitude toward a topic conveyed through a combination of imagery, perspective, style, and word-choice. By adopting a specific tone, authors can help readers accurately interpret meaning in a text.
Example: The serious tone in Julius Caesar reminds readers that events in this play have lasting significance.
MLA Style: Formatting Titles
Italicized Titles: Used for longer, complete, and comprehensive works.
Books: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Plays: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Periodicals: The Philadelphia Inquirer
CDs: Taylor Swift’s Midnights
Films: Disney’s The Lion King
TV Series: Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
Works of Art: Michelangelo’s David
Quotation Mark Titles: Used for shorter, incomplete works and parts of whole works.
Articles and Chapters: ‐Everyday Life as a Learning Experience‐ by Sarah A. Chrisman
Poems: ‐Ozymandius‐ by Percy Shelley
Short Stories: ‐The Landlady‐ by Roald Dahl
Songs: Enya’s ‐Only Time‐ from A Day Without Rain
TV Episodes: ‐The One with Ross’s Wedding‐ from Friends
MLA Style: Quotation Marks and Punctuation
Usage: Place quotation marks around direct quotes only. Do not use them for words that are not part of a direct quote.
Example: Sarah said, ‐I like books.‐
Example: ‐I,‐ said Sarah, ‐like books.‐
Direct Quotes at Sentence Start: Commas, exclamation points, and question marks must go inside the quotation marks.
Example: ‐I like books,‐ said Sarah.
Example: ‐I absolutely love books!‐ exclaimed Sarah.
Example: ‐Do you like books?‐ asked Sarah.
Direct Quotes at Sentence Conclusion: Periods, exclamation points, or question marks go inside the quotation marks.
Example: Sarah said, ‐I like books.‐
Example: Sarah exclaimed, ‐I absolutely love books!‐
Example: Sarah asked, ‐Do you like books?‐
MLA Style: Rules for Comma Usage
Independent Clauses: Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Example: Yesterday was her brother’s birthday, so she took him out to dinner.
Example: We laid out our music and snacks, and began to study.
Introductory Elements: Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words preceding a main clause.
Example: While I was eating, her cat scratched at my door.
Example: Her cat scratched at my door, while I was eating.
Non-essential Elements: Use a pair of commas to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the sentence’s meaning.
Example: That Tuesday, which happens to be my birthday, is the only day when I am available to meet.
Example: The food, on the other hand, is rather bland.
Series and Lists: Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a series.
Example: The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.
Coordinate Adjectives: Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives describing a noun.
Example: He was a difficult, stubborn child.
Example: She often wore a gray, wool shawl.
MLA Style: In-Text Citations and Block Quotations
Standard Citation: Author’s last name and page number appear in parentheses.
Example: ‐spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings‐ (Wordsworth ).
If the author is named in the sentence: (263).
No Known Author: Use a shortened title of the source and a page number if available.
Example: ‐more readily accessible climatic data‐ (‐Impact of Global Warming‐).
Two Authors: List both authors' last names in the sentence or parenthesis.
Example: (Best and Marcus ).
Poetry Slashes: For short quotations (fewer than three lines of verse), mark breaks with a slash.
Example: ‐Of all the things that happened there / That’s all I remember‐ (11-12).
Block Quotations: Required for prose longer than four lines or verse longer than three lines.
Omit quotation marks.
For verse, maintain original line breaks.
Example: In Roethke's ‐My Papa’s Waltz‐: The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy; (1-4).