Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

Novels What? Story, narrative, plots and sub plots (who, why, where, how) Introduction/Exposition Complication Rising Action Climax Falling action Denouement/conclusion

Subplots sometimes enhance the central story Who?characters, static and dynamic. Static characters don't change and dynamic characters may change slightly. Major characters are protagonists (struggle towards or for something) and antagonists ( struggle against someone or something) Stock- character can be referred to as stock, he exists because the plot demands it Stereotype- A character can be a stereotype Foils- characters can be seen as foils for other characters, helping us see one or more for the better. Allegorical-sometimes characters can be allegorical, standing for qualities or concepts rather then for actual personages. The interplay of plot and characters determines in large part of the theme of a work. The why part of the story. Topic- phrase ; theme- turns a phrase into a statement.

Motif- detail of the story repeated throughout and may even become symbolic

Where? Setting but also the when element- time of day, time of year, atmosphere such as calm or chaotic. How? Relates to the authors style. Style involves language (word choices), syntax ( word order, sequence, type, length) the balance between narration and dialogue, the choice of narrative voice ( rst, second, or third person), use of descriptive passages either very formal or casual, or without punctuation, or long paragraphs, or a style of less is more. Short Stories: Realistic, characters are human with recognizable human motivations, both social and psychological. The elements of the plot, character, setting, style, point of view, and theme all work together toward a single unied effect. Some modern writers have mixed in elements of non- realism like supernatural and fantastic. Short stories are much narrower then a novel, the time span is much shorter, focus much tighter. The most important decision of the writer is the point of view. (least objective narrator is rst person)

Essays Fall into four categories- speculative, argumentative, narrative, and expository.

Speculative Essay- it looks at ideas, explores them rather then explains them. The thesis may not be as obvious or clear cut as in other essays. Argumentative Essay- always clear to present a point and provide evidence, which may be factual/anecdotal and to support it. The structure is formal, as in a debate with counterpoints and counter arguments. The writers intent is to persuade the reader of the validity of some claim. Narrative and Expository Essays- have elements of both speculative and argumentative modes. The narrative essay usually recounts an incident or a series of incidents and almost always autobiographical. The expository essay's purpose is to explain and clarify ideas. While all essays usually have some form of persuasion, argumentation is incidental in expository essays. Essays have different sets of elements: voice, style, structure, and thought. Voice- the narrator is the speaker, the author speaks directly to the reader. This directness creates the writers tone, his attitude towards his subject. Style- word choices, syntax, balance between dialogue and narration, voice, use of description. Structure and Thought- to change the structure will alter its meaning, writers signal structural shifts with alterations in focus as well as with visual clues (spacing) verbal cues ( but, therefore, however), or shifts in the kind of information being presented( personal, scientic, etc) Thought- not to tell a story but to present an idea. Whichever format the essay is, the writer has something on his mind that he wants to convey to his readers. And this idea which we are after when we analyze his essay. Reading Satire Satire is a mode which may be employed by writers of various genres: poetry, drama, ction, non- ction. It is more perspective than a product. Satire mainly exposes and ridicules, derides and denounces vice, folly, evil, stupidity etc. Satire has two types gentle or harsh, depending on the authors intent, his audience, and his methods.

Romanticism- sees the world idealistically, as perfectible if not perfect. Realism- sees the world as it is, with healthy doses of both good and bad. Naturalism- sees the world as imperfect, with evil often triumphing over good.

The satirist's techniques- irony, parody, reversal, inversion, hyperbole, understatement, sarcasm,wit, and invective. By using these, the satire can call the readers attention. He uses Juvenalian- harsh, or more gentle- Horatian

Irony- the basis of irony is inversion or reversal - doing or saying the opposite or the unexpected. Poetry Most common is the end rhyme- which has the rhyming word at the end of the line Internal rhyme- includes at least one rhyming word within the line Slant rhyme- sometimes referred to as half, off, near or approximate ( used to express disappointment or let down) Masculine Rhyme- uses one syllable words or stresses the nal syllable, giving the feeling of strength and impact Feminine rhyme- uses a rhyme of two or more syllables, the stress not falling on the last syllable, giving a feeling of softness and lightness

Free rhyme- stanzas have been unrhymed/ rhythm (blank verse has rhythm) Meter- the pattern or measure of stressed or accented words within a line. Iambic rhythm- rising and falling rhythm Iambic meter- a line of poetry that has stressed and unstressed syllables Foot- basic measuring unit in a line

Iambic pentameter - a line of poetry with ten syllables with rising and falling stresses. Has ve groups of two syllables or ten beats

Iambic foot- one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed marked by a U. (pentameter means ve measures) Accentual Meter- Four stresses to the line without attention to the unstressed syllables. (used in old English poetry)

Words have a connotation, denotation, gurative, and literal meaning.

Metaphor- compares two unlike things, feelings, or objects Simile- compares two unlike things too, but uses the words "as if" (for a clause) and "like" (for a word or phrase) Example: the word camel, the metaphor: the camel is the ship of the dessert. The simile: a camel is like a ship in the dessert ( gives a more vivid image)

Personication: the object that is being personied is given a human status for example, "the sun was ecked with bars" (the sun is behind bars)

Image- the person is expected to imagine what the poet is evoking through the senses. It can be literal, or a gurative image which demands more from the readers, almost as if you will need to go into writers imagination to understand the image. Symbol- when an object, image, or feeling takes on a larger meaning outside of itself. Symbols have become stock or conventional like the rose standing for love, ag standing for patriotism, bird for freedom, etc. Alliteration: the repetition on consonants at the beginning of words that are next to each other or close by. For example: skylark scanted, man's mounting.... Mean house

Apostrophe- direct address of someone or something that is not present. (ode or thou)
Assonance- the repetition of vowel sounds usually internally rather than initially. "her godly eyes like sapphires shining bright" the poet wants the entire focus on the eyes.

Bathos- deliberate anticlimax to make a denite point or draw attention to a falseness. Caesura- the pause, marked by punctuation (/) or not within the line Conceits- very elaborate comparisons between unlikely objects.
Consonance- similar to slant rhyme, the repetition of the consonant sounds without the vowel sound repeated. For example, "Pied Beauty": "All things counter, original, spare, strange,......adazzle, dim."

Diction- the word for word choice. Is the poet using formal or informal language?

Enjambment- the running-on of one line of poetry into another. Usually the end of lines are rhymed so there is an end-stop. Hyperbole- refers to large overstatement often used to draw attention to a mark of beauty or a virtue or an action that the poet disagrees with. Irony- plays an important role in voice or tone, inferring a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Metonymy- the name for something closely related to it which then takes on a larger meaning. "you can't ght city hall" has taken on the meaning of ghting against an entire bureaucracy. "you can't go home again" has taken on the meaning that you can never emotionally return to your roots.

Onomatopoeia- a device in which the word captures the sound. Like: whiz of reworks, crashing of waves, booming of water, etc

Oxymoron- a form of paradox in which contradictory words are used next to each other like, painful pleasure, sweet sorrow etc Paradox- a situation or action or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least make sense. Like " the pen is mightier then the sword"

Pun- a play on words often for humorous or sarcastic effect. Sarcasm- lowest form of wit

Synecdoche- when a part of an object is used to represent the entire thing or vice versa. "give us a hand" meaning help with something, not literally. Syntax- the ordering of words in a particular pattern. If a poet shifts words from the usual word order you know he's using an older form of poetry, or a poet wants to shift emphasis onto a particular word

Tone- the voice or attitude of the speaker (angry, sad, abrupt, cynical, etc)

Types of Poetry Form- pattern or design of a poem Closed Form- poet must keep to recognized form, in number of lines, rhyme scheme, and/or meter Open Form- little skill or craft behind the poem, simply creativity, as the name suggests, gives a freedom of pattern to the poet

Sonnet/Fixed Form- sonnet always has 14 lines, 2 types- the Petrarchan or Italian, and the Shakespearean or English. Petrarchan sonnet- organized into two groups, eight lines and six, the octave and the sestet. Octave sets up a problem, and the sestet has the answer or resolution. Shakespearean Sonnet- organizes the lines into 3 groups of four lines, quatrains and a couplet.

Couplet- closed form of poetry that is very useful for poet. It is a 2 line stanza that usually rhymes with an end rhyme.

Ballad - story in a song

Part of the lyric family is the elegy- a lament for someone's death or the passing of a love or a concept. Ode- usually longer, dealing with more profound areas of human life than simply death.

Villanelle- a courtly love poem structure from medieval times built on 5, 3 line stanzas known as tercets, with rhyme scheme, followed by 4 line stanza, and a quatrain which ends the poem, a,b,a,a.

Epigram- short, even abrupt, a little cynical and always to the point Doggerel- rhyming poetry that becomes horribly distorted to t the rhymes Limericks- very skilled, 5 lines using the anapest meter with rhyme scheme: aabba Aubade- originally a song or piece of music sung or played at dawn Blank verse- closed form poetry. Lines are unrhymed Drama and theater

Enacted- performed by an actor or actors free to use the entire stage and such theatrical devices as sets, costumes, makeup, special lighting, and props for support. Mimesis- Greek word for imitation. Successful imitation is one which reproduces natural objects and actions in as realistic portrayal as possible. Later this has been known as " expressive theory"

Plot Structure

It's sequence of events, it's organized collection of incidents. Included in the plot- exposition- the revealing of whatever information we need in order to understand the impending conict. This material should provide us with a sense of place and time (setting), the central participants, important prior incidents and the plays overall mood.

Complication- whatever presents an element of capable of altering the actions direction Crisis- after complication comes the culmination/crisis Character- essential to plots success
Theme- places us within the mirrors image along with the characters and their actions. We look and see ourselves.

Types of Plays

All contain themes, arguments, and overall meaning of the action, together with a mood or tone, and we tend to categorize dramatic thought into three clusters: the serious, the comic, and the seriocomic.

Comedy

The point is to amuse us with a happy ending. Can be high/low amusement in comedy, usually comes from an eventual victory over threats/ ill fortune. Doesn't need to be funny to be comic though. Farce- low comedy, intended to make us laugh by means if a series of exaggerated, unlikely situations.

Tragedy Must be experienced by a certain character, someone who is the tragedy hero

Hamartia- a tragic ow- the frailty which leads him to make an error in judgment which initiates the reversal in his fortune causing death to him, others, or both. These dire consequences become the hero's catastrophe. The most common tragic aw is hubris, an excessive pride that adversely inuences the protagonist's judgement. Catharsis- audience needs a cleansing of emotions, even though change of events led to tragedy, he is not totally defeated as he gains hero stature through the suffering. History- dramatic perspective of some event or series of events identied with recognized historical gures

Modern Drama

Henrik Ibsen's plays began the modern era with their emphasis on realism, a seeking truth through direct observation using the ve senses. 1. Naturalism- strove to push realism towards a direct transformation of life on stage, a "slice of life" showing how the scientic principles of heredity and environment have shaped society, especially in depicting the plights of the lower classes 2. Expressionism- denies realism's premise that the real world can be objectively perceived; instead- inuenced by Sigmund Freud's theories about human behavior's hidden, subconscious motivations and by other modernist trends in the arts, such as James Joyce's ction and Picasso's paintings- expressionism imitated a disconnected dream-like world led with psychological images at odds with the tangible world surrounding it. It's abstract and relies on symbols