Thursday, February 21, 2013

I AM HERE

Lately I have been so focused on soccer that I have put all my work second.  This was my last high school season so I used all my energy and time to make it the best.  Being captain and working on top of that has made me change my priorities and caused me to drift away from my smart goal as well.  Now that season is over I am ready to give a lot more time and effort to this class and make a big come around with my blog.  I have been focusing a lot on my senior project but so far that is the only school work I have been giving my attention to. Ready for a full turn around and hope to be demonstrating a lot more!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Lit Terns 101-136


101. Realism: writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightfoward manner to reflect life as it actually is.


102. Refrain: a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus.



103. Requiem: any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.



104. Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.



105. Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.



106. Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.



107. Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion.



108. Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.



109. Romanticism: movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.



110. Satire: ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.



111. Scansion: the analysis of verse in terms of meter.



112. Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.



113. Simile: a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.



114. Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.



115. Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.



116. Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.



117. Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.



118. Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.



119. Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.



120. Style: the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.



121. Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important structures of language.



122. Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.



123. Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.



124. Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.



125. Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.



126. Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.



127. Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.



128. Theme: main idea of the story; its message(s).



129. Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved

or disproved; the main idea.



130. Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the

author’s perceived point of view.



131. Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”



132. Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed



133. Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis



134. Vernacular: everyday speech



135. Voice: The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s pesona.


136. Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lit Terms 82-100


Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person.
 

83. Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its

meaning.

 

84. Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.


85. Pacing: rate of movement; tempo.

 

86. Parable: a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

 

87. Paradox: a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

 

88. Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form.

 

89. Parody: an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.

 

90. Pathos: the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.

 

91. Pedantry: a display of learning for its own sake.

 

92. Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.

 

93. Plot: a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.

 

94. Poignant: eliciting sorrow or sentiment.

 

95. Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.

 

96. Postmodernism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary.

 

97. Prose: the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.


98. Protagonist: the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist.

99. Pun: play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications

100. Purpose: the intended result wished by an author

Sunday, February 10, 2013

lit terms 57-81

57. Gothic tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence
58. Hyperbole: an exaggerate statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point
59. Imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses
60. Implication: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author
61. Incongruity: the deliberate joining if opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other
62. Inference: a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available
63. Irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening
64. Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording if the internal, emotional experience (s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue
65. Inversion: words out of order for emphasis
66. Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of a paragraph to contrast with another nearby
67. Lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings
68. Magic(al) realism: a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with marvelous or magical
69. Metaphor (extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compares two different things imaginatively
--> Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it
--> Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece if work
--> Mixed: a metaphor that ineffective blends two or more analogies
70. Metonymy: literally "name changing" a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing
71. Mode of Discourse: argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition
72. Modernism: literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology
73. Monologue: an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem
74. Mood: the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece
75. Motif: a real curing feature (name, image or phrase) in a piece of literature
76. Myth: a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connects with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world
77. Narrative: a story or description of events
78. Narrator: one who narrates, or tells, a story
79. Naturalism: extreme form of realism
80. Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical
81. Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lit analysis #1

Great Expectations
The first chapters of Great Expectations set the plot as well as introduce the main character Pip and his world. Being both narrator and protagonist, Pip is naturally the most important character in Great Expectations. Dickens’s most important task as a writer in Great Expectations is the actual creation of Pip’s himself. The story is told in Pip's words, using his outlook. Because Pip is the voice with which he tells his story, Dickens must make his voice relatable and believable to readers. In this first few pages, Pip is a young child and he is able to depict a childhood relatable by many readers. Dickens uses Pip to characterize any childhood, so innocent yet open to what life has in store.
Pip being a naive young boy agrees to stay true to his promises to the convict and helps him, all the while being horrified and worrisome of his own safety. Dickens shows his own background through Pip in the beginning; the way Pip's parents die, is close in part to how Dickens father was sent to debt prison, which in those times was like death itself. Still, throughout this section, Dickens continues to show Pip's negative qualities: his dishonesty and his guilt. This is characteristic of Pip as a narrator throughout Great Expectations. Despite his many admirable qualities—the strongest of which are compassion, loyalty, and conscience—Pip constantly focuses on his failures and shortcomings. This is also, in part, relating to Dickens actual life because Pip's lack of values comes from a rough background, one that Dickens experienced first- hand as a child.


In the introduction of Great Expectations the convict is the most important occurrence in the plot of the first section. Though Pip believes that the convict’s appearance in his life is an isolated incident, he will feel this character’s influence in many ways throughout the novel. I felt as if this convict so far kind of personified Pip's views on life.

In addition to the introduction of the convict, the other important plot development in the early chapters of Great Expectations occurs at the very end of Chapter 7, when Pip learns he is to be taken to Miss Havisham’s to play. His introduction to Miss Havisham will determine a great part of his story and will change the young boy forever. Though Pip has no sense of the importance of the event, Dickens conveys its importance to the reader through Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook, who are obviously ecstatic at the idea of Pip befriending the wealthy old woman. The idea of a wealthy person in Pip's life leads up to the idea which relates to the title, his "great expectations" for what life holds for him in his unknown future.
Pip has a very low social standing which makes itself clear with his admiration for Miss Havisham as well as seen through his colloquial language. By describing Pip’s early education, Dickens continues to emphasize the idea of self-improvement. Dicken's shows his own struggles through Pip because he came up from nothing and you can see that through how Pip has such a hard time in school.
I feel as if these first few introduction chapters were not only a look into Pip's crazy world it is also an important sense of where Dickens came from. Dicken's allows himself to show through the struggles of Pip and I feel he may also feel a strong connection with Pip. This not only keeps the novel interesting, but it also makes Pip more and more real as I continue to read "Great Expectations" and by the look of success Charles Dickens has accomplished i'm excited to see where his young, innocent character Pip will end up too.

Dickens

Dickens is known for having self descriptive book titles. You can usually assume what the main character or situation is by simply reading the title. When it comes to A Tale of Two Cities you can guess that it will have something to do with two cities. The stories are about London, England and Paris, France. Dickens decided to write a comparative study between the two of these cities that involve the French Revolution. He wanted to figure out how England contrasted from France. Thus, the tale of two cities.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

lit terms 31-56

Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.



Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing thing.


Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words.



Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education.
 


Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles.
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Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution).
.


Epigram: witty aphorism.


Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone.



Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone’s character, characteristics



Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.



Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality.



Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation..


Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).



Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.



Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.



Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.



Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.



Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile.


Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.



Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.



Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth


Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.



Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.