Monday, January 27, 2014

WHAT'S THE STORY?

Why did Charles Dickens write the novel you're reading/reviewing? What in your analysis of literary techniques led you to this conclusion? (Make sure to include textual support illustrating Dickens' use of at least three techniques we've studied/discussed this year.)

Charles Dicken's wrote Great Expectations in order to address the problems of inequality between the upper and lower social classes. Through the use of characterization, Dickens creates Pip, a lower class individual who soon possesses the characteristic of greed. Dickens also utilizes imagery throughout the entire novel to demonstrate his thoughts on social class. However, diction plays a major role in the novel. Dicken's word choice in Great Expectations, informs readers that social class was of great importance during his time era.

LIT TERMS #4

interior monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.

inversion: words out of order for emphasis.

juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.


lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings.


magic(al) realism
a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical.

metaphor: an analogy that compare two different things imaginatively directly.

extended metaphor: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.
controlling metaphor: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work. 
mixed metaphor: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

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.

modernism: literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology.


monologue: an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem. 


mood: the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece. 

motif: a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.


myth: a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.


narrative: a story or description of events.

narrator: one who narrates, or tells, a story.


naturalism: extreme form of realism.

novelette/novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

omniscient point of view: knowing all things, usually the third person.


 

onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning.


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.



pacing: rate of movement; tempo. 

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

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

Thursday, January 23, 2014

LIT TERMS #3

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:  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.

genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content. 

gothic tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence. 

hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.
  
imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.

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.
 
 incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.  

inference: a judgment or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available.
 
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. 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

LIT TERMS REMIX 1-5

circumlocution: a form of writing where the writer uses long and complex sentences in order to convey a meaning that could have been conveyed through a shorter sentence; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.

classicism: literature or art that reflects the principles of ancient Rome and Greece. 

cliche: a common sentence or phrase that has lost originality.

climaxthe highest or most intense point. 

colloquialism: a word or phrase that is not formal; slang.