Literary Techniques
Literary devices are common structures used in writing. These devices can be either literary elements or literary techniques. Literary elements are found in almost every story and can be used to analyze and interpret (e.g. protagonist, setting, plot, theme). Literary techniques, on the other hand, constructions in the text, usually to express artistic meaning through the use of language (e.g. metaphor, hyperbole).
Please note that sometimes
certain terms can be defined interchangeably as either an element or technique,
depending on your interpretation. When analyzing works of literature or poetry
it is extremely helpful to know these terms and identify them in the text. This
allows for greater understanding and appreciation of the work!
The given
literary terms will be much helpful to analyze the prescribed anthology of the
syllabus will be taught in the English vision programme .
A
|
aesthetics: "Philosophical investigation into the nature of
beauty and the perception of beauty, especially in the arts; the theory of art
or artistic taste." (CB)
allegory: "A story or visual image with a second distinct
meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning. In written
narrative, allegory involves a continuous parallel between two (or more) levels
of meaning in a story, so that its persons and events correspond to their
equivalents in a system of ideas or a chain of events external to the
tale." (CB)
allusion: "An indirect or passing reference to some event,
person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is not
explained by the writer but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is
thus mentioned. The technique of allusion is an economical means of calling
upon the history or the literary tradition that author and reader are assumed
to share. . . ." (CB)
ambiguity: "Openness to different interpretations: or an
instance in which some use of language may be understood in diverse ways."
Defended by modern literary critics as "a source of poetic richness rather
than a fault of imprecision." (CB)
anti-hero: A central figure in a work that repels us by his or her
actions or morality, yet who is not a villain. The Anti-hero accomplishes a
useful purpose or even does heroic deeds. Max of The Road Warrior epitomizes the 1970-80s anti-hero.
archetype: A term from Jungian psychology that has been applied to
literature. Jung meant the symbolic figure of myth and legend, or even a racial
memory that we carry in a "collective unconscious." Archetypes embody
an entire type of character from many cultures. Thus Hercules is an archetypal
flawed hero, Odysseus or the Native-American Coyote are archetypal trickster
figures. In literature and film the term can be more broadly applied, so we
have the suffering mother of sentimental fiction, the greedy landlord of stage
and film, the doomed private writing a letter home the night before the D-Day
invasion, and the kind-hearted "tough guy" in many works.
black
comedy: a subgenre of humor that uses
cruelty or terrible situations to make the reader or viewer laugh, sometimes
uncomfortably. Some Social-Darwinist works (Frank Norris' best known novel, McTeague) are also black comedies.
|
Cliché:
An expression, such as “turn over a new leaf,” that has been used and reused
so many times that it has lost its expressive power.
|
camera
movement: cameras can remain stationary and
move side to side (a pan), up and down (a tilt). It can move along on a vehicle
or set of tracks straight backward or forward (a track or tracking shot). The
camera can be carried for a wobbly (but often powerful) handheld shot.
canon: A body of works considered authentic (as in the body of
works actually written by a particular author) or considered by a particular
culture or subculture to be central to its cultural identity.
catharsis: A process in which a character heals, though often the
process is painful. It can be a process for the audience of a work, as well.
connotation: "The emotional implications and associations that
words may carry, as distinguished from their denotative meanings." (HH)
convention: "An established practice—whether in technique, style,
structure, or subject matter—commonly adopted in literary works by customary
and implicit agreement or precedent rather than by natural necessity."
(CB)
cyberpunk: genre of science fiction pioneered by William Gibson and a
few others in the 1980s; Gibson first coined the term "cyberspace."
In these texts and films, humans have begun to merge with computer technology
and the future is generally dark as major corporations replace governments as
oppressive power-brokers. Life is usually short and uncertain with huge gaps
between a small corporate elite and the gangs, the poor, and the insane who
make up the bulk of the population. Cyberpunk protagonists are often cynical
rebels--punks, mercenaries, hackers, spies, and nomads--who work outside the
system and the "suits" who run it.
denotation: The basic dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to its
connotative meaning.
denouement: The "end game" of a work of fiction. More than
"how the plot comes out," the denouement (a French term using French
pronunciation) suggests the ways in which several plot elements work out toward
the end of a text or film.
determinism/deterministic: the quality of a narrative or character that leads only to
a single conclusion. We know, for example, that certain characters are doomed
to fail, whatever they do.
deus
ex machina: The way of closing a story with an
off-stage character who suddenly appears to bring about the denouement. This
approach to ending a tale has its origins in ancient Greek theater, where an
actor in the role of a god might suddenly appear on stage to help bring about
the ending of the performance.
diction: Literary word choice.
didactic: A work "designed to impart information, advice, or
some doctrine of morality or philosophy." (CB)
discourse: "[A]s a free-standing noun (‘discourse as such) the
term denotes language in actual use within its social and ideological contexts
and in institutionalized representations of the world called discursive
practices." (CB) Literary works may contain or make use of any number of
discourses. Literary language may itself be considered a kind of discourse.
dystopia/utopia: A fictional world so oppressive that it might be a
nightmare for someone from our society. Examples of dystopian fiction would be
Orwell's 1984. Some post-apocalyptic worlds (see below) are dystopias,
but the usual feature of most dystopian fiction and film is that some type of
society, however awful, still exists. A utopian world is exactly the
opposite--a paradise of some sort. The eternal bliss of the biblical Garden of
Eden and the perfect technological future predicted at the 1939 World's Fair in
the film The
World of Tomorrow are both utopian.
epiphany:
A sudden, powerful, and often spiritual or life changing realization that a
character experiences in an otherwise ordinary moment. For example, the main
character in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has
an epiphany during a walk by the sea.
exegesis: the art of close reading in order to interpret a text. We
often do this for poetry, but for fiction it works as well to tease out the
effect of certain words or phrases, uses of repetition, references to earlier
events in the text or hints about what is to come.
fatal
flaw: a character trait that leads to
tragedy, both in characters who are otherwise quite admirable and in terrible
villains. Examples include King Lear's blind trust in his daughters, Eve's
desire for knowledge, Ahab's thirst for revenge, Darth Vader's will to power,
or Pandora's curiosity.
figure
of speech: "An expression that departs
from the accepted literal sense or from the normal order of words, or in which
an emphasis is produced by patterns of sound." (CB)
form: As a critical term, form "can refer to a genre. . .,
or to an established pattern of poetic devices. . ., or, more abstractly, to
the structure or unifying principle of design in a given work. . . When
speaking of a work’s formal properties, critics usually refer to its structural
design and patterning, or sometimes to its style and manner in a wider sense as
distinct from its content." (CB)
foreshadowing:
An author’s deliberate use of hints or suggestions to give a preview of events
or themes that do not develop until later in the narrative. Images such as a
storm brewing or a crow landing on a fence post often foreshadow ominous
developments in a story.
genre: "The French term for a type, species, or class of
composition. A literary genre is a recognizable and established category of
written work employing such common conventions as will prevent readers or
audiences from mistaking it [with] another kind." (CB) Genre as a term is
distinguished from mode in its greater specificity as to form and convention.
hard-boiled: a tone of writing for fiction and film often associated
with American detective fiction by Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, and
Dashiell Hammett. Often film noir (which has several specific themes and even
recurring images, such as spiral staircases) adopts a hard-boiled tone.
Hard-boiled narrators are usually men, "tough guys" who speak like
this "
homage: a French term pronounced that way, this is "a nod of
the head" in a film to a past director or actor. Directors watch lots of
good and bad films, so many engage in this practice. Directors of mysteries or
suspense films often include an homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The opening shot of
Miller's The
Road Warrior resembles Benedek's The Wild One closely enough to qualify as an homage.
hubris: the sort of pride that is so inflated that it binds, even
destroys a character, even an entire people. Many characters in classical
literature and Shakespeare's plays are so prideful that it destroys them. So is
Satan in Milton's Paradise
Lost.
hyperbole: An
excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact. “I’ve told you that
a million times already” is a hyperbolic statement
ideology: A comprehensive world view pertaining to formal and
informal thought, philosophy, and cultural presuppositions usually understood
as associated with specific positions within political, social, and economic
hierarchies. Many schools of modern literary criticism contend that the
ideological context of both reader and author always affects the meanings
assigned to or encoded in the work.
irony: "A. . . perception of inconsistency, [usually but not
always humorous], in which an apparently straightforward statement or event is
undermined by its context so as to give it a very different significance. . .
[V]erbal irony. . . involves a discrepancy between what is said and what is
really meant. . . .[S]tructural irony. . . involves the use of a naive or
deluded hero or unreliable narrator whose view of the world differs widely from
the true circumstances recognized by the author and readers. . . . [In]
dramatic irony. . . the audience knows more about a character's situation than
a character does foreseeing an outcome contrary to a character's expectations,
and thus ascribing a sharply different sense to the character's own
statements". (CB)
idiom: A common
expression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning,
such as “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “That cost me an arm and a leg.”
imagery: Language
that brings to mind sensory impressions. For example, in the Odyssey,
Homer creates a powerful image with his description of “rosy-fingered dawn.”
magical
realism: a type of fiction in which the
world appears just as ours in all respects but very extraordinary things
happen: a poor family finds a sick angel in the back yard and nurses him back
to health, one morning a man wakes up in his family's apartment to find that
he's become a giant bug. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and many Latin-American writers
use the technique well. Unlike science fiction, most magical realism makes no
attempt to explain such events. They simply happen, often with people reacting
as if such things are not all that unusual.
MacGuffin: Alfred Hitchcock coined this term; he meant plot device
that makes the action happen without being important in and of itself. For
instance, two strangers sitting next to each other might lead to a murder or a
love affair. The plane ride is the MacGuffin. See this page on Hitchcockfilm techniques for more information
matte
shot: The end shot of the 1968 Planet of the Apes provides a perfect example. When Taylor falls to his knees
in front of the Statue of Liberty, our actors were (I'm fairly certain) facing
a blank background. A painted background was added--a matte painting--of the
ruined statue.
metaphor: A figure of speech "in which one thing, idea, or
action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing,
idea, or action, so as to suggest some common quality shared by the two."
The term, "metaphor" is often reserved for figures of speech in which
the comparison is implicit or phrased as an "imaginary identity," but
it has become more common in recent years to refer to all figures of speech
that depend upon resemblances as metaphors. You will therefore sometimes hear
similes, where the comparison is explicit and no identity is implied, referred
to as metaphorical figures. All metaphors, in any case, are based on the implicit
formula, phrased as a simile, "X is like Y." The primary literal term
of the metaphor is called the "tenor" and the secondary figurative
term is the "vehicle." "[I]n the metaphor the road of life, the
tenor is "life" and the vehicle is "the road" (CB).
metonymy: "A figure of speech that replaces the name of one
thing with the name of something else closely associated with it" (CB).
The figure is based upon logical connections other than resemblance. For
example, you might use "sail" to refer to "ship," as in
"I saw a sail on the horizon. This metonymy replaces the name of the whole
thing with the name of one of its constituent parts. This kind of metonymy is
called synecdoche. Also very common is replacing the name of a thing with
itslocation, e.g. replacing "President" with "White House,"
or replacing "Congress" with "Capitol Hill."
mimesis: "The Greek word for imitation. . . . A literary work
that is understood to be reproducing an external reality or any aspect of it is
described as mimetic." (CB)
mise-en-scene: unlike montage, this is physically what is in a shot or
scene and does not involve editing. It can involve camera movement and focus,
placement of people or objects, and other elements a director can make happen
on the set rather than later on in the editing process.
mode: "An unspecific critical term usually identifying a
broad but identifiable literary method, mood, or manner that is not tied
exclusively to a particular form or genre. [Some] examples are the satiric
mode, the ironic, the comic, the pastoral, and the didactic." (CB)
modernism: a design feature of architecture that strips ornament from
structures in favor of clean, geometric design, expanses of glass, and exposed
building elements. Modernist buildings do not try to look like older forms.
Literary modernism is another matter, but in literature, Modernist works are
also realistic (no pretense at being an older form), and can be spare (think of
Hemingway's fiction).
montage: how directors connect ideas in a film. The shots are put together
deliberately with transitions and by theme so that "elements should follow
a particular system, and these juxtapositions should play a key role in how the
work establishes its meaning, and its emotional and aesthetic effects"
(Manovich 158).
motif: A recurrent image, word, phrase, represented object or
action that tends to unify the literary work or that may be elaborated into a
more general theme. Also, a situation, incident, idea, image, or character type
that is found in many different literary works, folktales, or myths. (CB&
HH, adapted)
naturalism
& Social-Darwinism: simple
difference here; naturalistic works depict life as it is "warts and
all," without romanticizing. It can depict rich and poor, healthy and ill,
young and old without the sentimental treatment one might get, say, in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Social-Darwinist work tends to feature humans under the
influence of outside or internal forces that reduce them to the level of
animals, prey to their instincts. Consider these lines from Norris' McTeague: "McTeague's mind was as his body, heavy, slow to act,
sluggish. Yet there was nothing vicious about the man. Altogether he suggested
the draught horse, immensely strong, stupid, docile, obedient."
Steinbeck's The
Grapes of Wrath contains both elements; Goldings' Lord of the Flies provides an archetypal example of Social-Darwinism.
novel: Usually an extended realistic fictional prose narrative
most often describing "a recognizable secular social world often in a
skeptical and prosaic manner. . . ." (CB)
O
Onomatopoeia: The use of words like pop,
hiss, or boing, in which the spoken sound resembles the actual
sound.
Oxymoron: The association of two
terms that seem to contradict each other, such as “same difference” or “wise
fool.”
paradox: "A statement or expression so surprisingly
self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another sense or context in
which it would be true. . ."Paradoxical language is valued in literature
as expressing "a mode of understanding [that] . . . challenges our habits
of thought." (CB)
point
of view: "The position or vantage
point from which the events of a story seem to be observed and presented to
us." (CB)
polemic: a work that intends to stir up controversy. A polemical
work can be didactic and/or entertaining. Technically, it does not have to be a
"rant." Still, in popular usage a polemic has come to mean a pointed
and heated film or piece of writing intended to stir up its audience.
post-apocalyptic: fictional worlds depicting life after a global disaster
such as a nuclear holocaust, alien invasion, or ecological collapse. The tone
is usually grim, so The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a
comic piece of science fiction occurring after the earth is destroyed, would
not be post-apocalyptic. Planet
of the Apes, in its original 1968 movie form,
is both dystopian and post-apocalyptic (evolved apes running a society with
human slaves thousands of years after a nuclear war).
prose: "In its broadest sense the term is applied to all
forms of written or spoken expression not having a regular rhythmic
pattern." (HH) "[A]lthough it will have some form of rhythm and some
devices of repetition and balance, these are not governed by a regularly sustained
formal arrangement, the significant unit being the sentence rather than the
line." (CB)
protagonist: Central figure(s) in a text or film.
paradox: A
statement that seems contradictory on the surface but often expresses a deeper
truth. One example is the line “All men destroy the things they love” from
Oscar Wilde’s “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.”
personification:
The use of human characteristics to describe animals, things, or ideas. Carl
Sandburg’s poem “Chicago” describes the city as “Stormy, husky, brawling / City
of the Big Shoulders.”
pun: A play on
words that uses the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly
different meanings. For example, the title of Oscar Wilde’s play The
Importance of Being Earnest is a pun on the word earnest, which
means serious or sober, and the name “Ernest.”
R
Rhetorical question: A question
asked not to elicit an actual response but to make an impact or call attention
to something. “Will the world ever see the end of war?” is an example of a
rhetorical question.
|
sarcasm:
A form of verbal irony (see above) in which it is obvious from context
and tone that the speaker means the opposite of what he or she says. Saying
“That was graceful” when someone trips and falls is an example of sarcasm.
|
scene: a series of connected shots that establish location and
continuity. The scene ends by cutting (often using a visible transition) to
another location, time, or person. A"car-chase scene" is a rather
common example where several cameras follow the action from different
perspectives and are edited to make one long scene.
shot: part of a film presented without any editing, as seen from
a single camera's perspective. A shot can include close-ups, panoramic shots,
camera movement and other techniques.
sign: "A basic element of communication, either linguistic.
. . . or non-linguistic . . . .; or anything that can be construed as having a
meaning. . . . [E]very sign has two inseparable aspects, the signifier, which
is the materially perceptible component such as a sound or written mark, and
the signified, which is the conceptual meaning." (CB) The
"signified" is the abstract and conceptual content of the sign and
can be carried from context to context (e.g., the idea of "chair").
"Referent" is the term used to describe the specific object to which
a sign refers in a given context (e.g. "the chair in my office").
simile: A
comparison of two things through the use of the words like or as.
The title of Robert Burns’s poem “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose” is a simile.
story
arc: the manner in which films and
fiction proceed. These works may have a "turning point" or several of
them, a climax, and then an "end game" or denouement.
subjectivity: "The quality originating and existing in the mind of
a perceiving subject and not necessarily corresponding to any object outside
that mind." (HH) In literary critical usage, texts which explore the
nature of such a perceiving subject are said to be interested in subjectivity.
subtext: While not explicitly part of the plot, this novel deals
heavily with religious ideas and themes from both Christianity and Buddhism.
They are a subtext that runs beneath the plot and influences it.
surrealism: associated with painting and film more than with writing,
but the term has grown with use. Surrealist work tends to delve into the
nonsensical, or the wildest sides of psychological and physical experiences.
Some horror movies become surreal (a man's severed hand begins to stalk him)
and even in realistic work, surreal scenes can occur. For example, Wyatt's and
Billy's acid-trip in New Orleans toward the end of Easy Rider is filmed from their LSD-soaked points of view, so for the
viewer this sequence of scenes is surrealistic. Surrealist work can be absurd,
but a film such as the comedy Office Space would
more accurately be called black comedy.
symbol: "[S]omething that is itself and also stands for
something else. . . . In a literary sense, a symbol combines a literal and
sensuous quality with an abstract or suggestive aspect." (HH)
syntax: "The way in which words and clauses are ordered and
connected so as to form sentences; or the set of grammatical rules governing
such word order." (CB)
technological
sublime: British Romantics and American
Transcendentalists felt a power beyond themselves, often a healing and teaching
power, in nature. This feeling came to be know as the Sublime. Futurists like
Marinetti and the businessmen, planners, and engineers depicted in the film The World of Tomorrow found solace and a power greater than themselves in technology,
architecture, and industry. This is a very 20th-century phenomenon; today most
of the technologies we use are smaller and ubiquitous.
telling
detail: language or a visual element,
sometimes seemingly minor, that shows a great deal about a character, setting,
or an event. When Ahab tosses his pipe into the sea in Moby Dick, it signals his mania to chase the white whale, even if it
means surrendering the domestic comforts of his prior life. Some instances of
foreshadowing provide telling details to readers or viewers.
tension: in most texts and films we study, several tensions may
exist. These are dramatic or even melodramatic elements of plot, setting, or
character that serve to "move things along" well. however, the
tension is significant. A love triangle might not be the subject of a film, for
instance, but it would certainly be one of the tensions.
theme: "A salient abstract idea that emerges from a literary
work’s treatment of its subject-matter; or a topic occurring in a number of
literary works." (CB)
thesis: The
central argument that an author makes in a work. For example, the thesis of
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is that Chicago meat packing plants subject
poor immigrants to horrible and unjust working conditions, and that the
government must do something to address the problem.
topos
(plural, topoi): A term for a type of convention
specific to a given genre. Derived from the Greek term for "place,"
the term usually refers to a convention, motif, trope, or figure of speech that
regularly appears at a particular point in the formal structure of works in a
given genre, the absence or unconventional treatment or placement of which will
always have profound significance for an interpretation of the work. For
example, an epic without an invocation.
transition: the type of editing technique used to connect shots.
Sometimes there is no transition, and others can be quick complicated. Fading
to black is a popular transition, as are wipes and dissolves.
trope: A term often used to denote figures of speech in which
words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning. Distinguished
from figures of speech based upon word order or sound pattern.
Note: where indicated, the above definitions are taken from Chris Baldick, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (Oxford UP, 1990) (CB) or C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon, A Handbook to Literature, 6th edition (Macmillan, 1992) (HH).
Further study of literary techniques with the examples
related to the “Anthology” of English vision programme
A
allegory (AL-eh-GOR-ee): a narrative that serves as an extended
metaphor. Allegories are written in the form of fables, parables, poems,
stories, and almost any other style or genre. The main purpose of an allegory
is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of
symbols, that have both literal and figurative meanings. The difference between
an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete narrative that
conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a
representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning
throughout a literary work (A Handbook to Literature). One well-known
example of an allegory is Dante’s The Divine Comedy. In Inferno,
Dante is on a pilgrimage to try to understand his own life, but his character
also represents every man who is in search of his purpose in the world (Merriam
Webster Encyclopedia of Literature). Although Virgil literally guides Dante
on his journey through the mystical inferno, he can also be seen as the reason
and human wisdom that Dante has been looking for in his life. See A Handbook
to Literature, Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature. Machella
Caldwell, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
alliteration (a-LIT-uh-RAY-shuhn): a pattern of sound that includes the
repetition of consonant sounds. The repetition can be located at the
beginning of successive words or inside the words. Poets often use alliteration
to audibly represent the action that is taking place. For instance, in the
Inferno, Dante states: "I saw it there, but I saw nothing in it,
except the rising of the boiling bubbles" (261). The repetition of the
"b" sounds represents the sounds of bubbling, or the bursting action
of the boiling pitch. In addition, in Sir Phillip Sidney's Astrophel and
Stella, the poet states: "Biting my truant pen, beating myself for
spite" (Line 13). This repetition of the "t" sound
represents the action of the poet; one can hear and visualize his anguish as he
bites the pen. Also in Astrophel and Stella, the poet states, "Oft
turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow, / Some fresh and fruitful
showers upon my sunburn'd brain" (7-8). Again, the poet repeats the
"fr" sounds to emphasize the speaker's desire for inspiration in
expressing his feelings. Poets may also use alliteration to call attention to a
phrase and fix it into the reader's mind; thus, it is useful for emphasis.
Therefore, not only does alliteration provide poetry or prose with a unique
sound, it can place emphasis on specific phrases and represent the action that
is taking place. See A Handbook to Literature, Literature: An
Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stacey Ann Singletary,
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
allusion (a-LOO-zhuhn): a reference in a literary work to a
person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are
often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events. Specific
examples of allusions can be found throughout Dante’s Inferno. In a
passage, Dante alludes to the Greek mythological figures, Phaethon and Icarus,
to express his fear as he descends from the air into the eighth circle of hell.
He states:
I doubt if Phaethon feared more -
that time
he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot
and burned the streak of sky we see today -
he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot
and burned the streak of sky we see today -
or if poor Icarus did - feeling his
sides
unfeathering as the wax began to melt,
his father shouting: "Wrong, your course is wrong" (Canto XVII: 106-111).
unfeathering as the wax began to melt,
his father shouting: "Wrong, your course is wrong" (Canto XVII: 106-111).
Allusions are often used to
summarize broad, complex ideas or emotions in one quick, powerful image. For
example, to communicate the idea of self-sacrifice one may refer to Jesus, as
part of Jesus' story portrays him dying on the cross in order to save mankind
(Matthew 27:45-56). In addition, to express righteousness, one might allude to
Noah who "had no faults and was the only good man of his time"
(Genesis 6:9-22). Furthermore, the idea of fatherhood or patriarchial love can
be well understood by alluding to Abraham, who was the ancestor of many nations
(Genesis 17:3-6). Finally, Cain is an excellent example to convey banishment,
rejection, or evil, for he was cast out of his homeland by God (Genesis 4:12).
Thus, allusions serve an important function in writing in that they allow the
reader to understand a difficult concept by relating to an already familiar
story. See A Handbook to Literature, Literature: An Introduction to
Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stacey Ann Singletary, Student, University
of North Carolina at Pembroke
antagonist (an-TAG-uh-nist): a character in a story or poem who
deceives, frustrates, or works again the main character, or protagonist, in
some way. The antagonist doesn’t necessarily have to be an person. It could be
death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character
from living “happily ever after." In fact, the antagonist could be a
character of virtue in a literary work where the protagonist represents evil.
An antagonist in the story of Genesis is the serpent. He convinces Eve to
disobey God, setting off a chain of events.that leads to Adam and Eve being
banished from paradise. In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the
antagonist is Iago. Throughout the play, he instigates conflicts and sows
distrust among the main characters, Othello and Desdemona, two lovers who have
risked their livelihood in order to elope. Iago is determined to break up their
marriage due to his suspicions that Othello has taken certain liberties with
his wife. See Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia. Victoria Henderson, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
aside (uh-SIDE): an actor’s speech, directed to the audience,
that is not supposed to be heard by other actors on stage. An aside is usually
used to let the audience know what a character is about to do or what he or she
is thinking. For example, in Othello, Iago gives several asides,
informing the audience of his plans and how he will try to achieve his goals.
Asides are important because they increase an audience's involvement in a play
by giving them vital information pertaining what is happening, both inside of a
character's mind and in the plot of the play. See A Handbook to Literature,
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, Merriam Webster’s
Encyclopedia of Literature. Dawn Oxendine, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
B
ballad (BAL-uhd): a narrative folk song. The ballad is traced back
to the Middle Ages. Ballads were usually created by common people and passed
orally due to the illiteracy of the time. Subjects for ballads include
killings, feuds, important historical events, and rebellion. For example, in
the international ballad “Lord Randall,” the young man is poisoned by his
sweetheart, and in “Edward,” the son commits patricide. A common stylistic
element of the ballad is repetition. “Lord Randall” illustrates this well with
the phrase at the end of each verse: “…mother, mak my bed soon, for I’m sick at
the heart and I fain wad lie down.” A Handbook to Literature notes the
ballad occurs in very early literature in nearly every nation. Therefore, in
addition to being entertaining, ballads can help us to understand a given
culture by showing us what values or norms that culture deemed important. See A
Handbook to Literature, Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Merriam-Webster’s
Encyclopedia of Literature, The Book of Ballads. Monica Horne,
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
C
character (KARE-ec-ter): a person who is responsible for the thoughts
and actions within a story, poem, or other literature. Characters are extremely
important because they are the medium through which a reader interacts with a
piece of literature. Every character has his or her own personality, which a
creative author uses to assist in forming the plot of a story or creating a
mood. The different attitudes, mannerisms, and even appearances of characters
can greatly influence the other major elements in a literary work, such as
theme, setting, and tone. With this understanding of the character, a reader
can become more aware of other aspects of literature, such as symbolism, giving
the reader a more complete understanding of the work. The character is one of
the most important tools available to the author. In the ballad
"Edward," for instance, the character himself sets the tone of the
ballad within the first stanza. After reading the first few stanzas, one learns
that Edward has murdered his father and is very distraught. His attitude
changes to disgust and finally to despair when he realizes the consequences he
must face for his actions. An example of the attitudes and personalities of
characters determining the theme is also seen in the book of Genesis. The proud
personality of Cain and the humble personality of Abel help create the conflict
for this story. Cain and Abel were brothers, possibly twins, who displayed
intense sibling rivalry. God was not pleased with Cain's offerings, but found
pleasure in Abel's offerings. Provoked by God's displeasure with him, Cain
murdered his own brother out of jealousy. Victoria Henderson, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
connotation (KAH-nuh-TAE-shun): an association that comes along with a
particular word. Connotations relate not to a word's actual meaning, or
denotation, but rather to the ideas or qualities that are implied by that word.
A good example is the word "gold." The denotation of gold is a
malleable, ductile, yellow element. The connotations, however, are the ideas
associated with gold, such as greed, luxury, or avarice. Another example occurs
in the Book of Genesis. Jacob says: “Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a
viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles
backward" (Gen 49:17). In this passage, Dan is not literally going to
become a snake. However, describing Dan as a "snake" and
"viper" forces the reader to associate him with the negative
qualities that are commonly associated with reptiles, such as slyness, danger,
and evil. Dan becomes like a snake, sly and dangerous to the riders. Writers
use connotation to make their writing more vivid and interesting to read. See A
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Jennifer Lance,
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
couplet (KUP-let): a style of poetry defined as a complete thought
written in two lines with rhyming ends. The most popular of the couplets is the
heroic couplet. The heroic couplet consists of two rhyming lines of iambic
pentameter usually having a pause in the middle of each line. One of William
Shakespeare’s trademarks was to end a sonnet with a couplet, as in the poem
“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”:
So long as men can breathe or eyes
can see,
So long as lives this, and this gives life to thee.
So long as lives this, and this gives life to thee.
By using the couplet Shakespeare
would often signal the end of a scene in his plays as well. An example of a
scene’s end signaled by a couplet is the end of Act IV of Othello. The
scene ends with Desdemona’s lines:
Good night. Good night. Heaven me
such uses send.
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend.
Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend.
See A Handbook to Literature,
Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Mirriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of
Literature, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Monica Horne, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
D
denotation (DEE-no-TAE-shuhn): the exact meaning of a word,
without the feelings or suggestions that the word may imply. It is the opposite
of “connotation” in that it is the “dictionary” meaning of a word,
without attached feelings or associations. Some examples of denotations are:
1. heart: an organ that
circulates blood throughout the body. Here the word "heart" denotes
the actual organ, while in another context, the word "heart" may
connote feelings of love or heartache.
2. sweater: a knitted garment for the upper body. The word "sweater" may denote pullover sweaters or cardigans, while “sweater” may also connote feelings of warmness or security.
2. sweater: a knitted garment for the upper body. The word "sweater" may denote pullover sweaters or cardigans, while “sweater” may also connote feelings of warmness or security.
Denotation allows the reader to know
the exact meaning of a word so that he or she will better understand the work
of literature. See Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama,
A Glossary of Literary Terms, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and
Literary Theory, Webster’s Dictionary. Shana Locklear, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
denouement (day-noo-mon): literally meaning the action of untying, a
denouement is the final outcome of the main complication in a play or story.
Usually the climax (the turning point or "crisis") of the work has
already occurred by the time the denouement occurs. It is sometimes referred to
as the explanation or outcome of a drama that reveals all the secrets and
misunderstandings connected to the plot. In the drama Othello, there is
a plot to deceive Othello into believing that his wife, Desdemona, has been
unfaithful to him. As a result of this plot, Othello kills his wife out of
jealousy, the climax of the play. The denounement occurs soon after, when
Emilia, who was Desdemona's mistress, proves to Othello that his wife was in
fact honest, true, and faithful to him. Emilia reveals to Othello that her
husband, Iago, had plotted against Desdemona and tricked Othello into believing
that she had been unfaithful. Iago kills Emilia in front of Othello, and she
dies telling Othello his wife was innocent. As a result of being mad with
grief, Othello plunges a dagger into his own heart. Understanding the
denouement helps the reader to see how the final end of a story unfolds, and
how the structure of stories works to affect our emotions. See Encyclopedia
of Literature, Miriam Webster. Shelby Locklear, Student, University of
North Carolina at Pembroke
dialogue (di-UH-log): The conversation between characters in a drama
or narrative. A dialouge occurs in most works of literature. For example, many
ballads demonstrate a ocnversation between two or more characters. In the
anonymous ballad, "Sir Patrick Spens", we are able to observe the
dialogue between Sir Patrick Spens and his mirry men. In the verses 21-24,
"Mak hast, mak haste, my mirry men all, Our guid schip sails the morne: O
say na sae, my master deir, for I feir a deadline storme," dialogue can be
seen. According to A Handbook of Literature, dialogue serves several
functions in literature. It moves the action along in a work and it also helps
to characterize the personality of the speakers, which vary depending on their
nationalities, jobs, social classes, and educations. It also gives literature a
more natural, conversational flow, which makes it more readable and enjoyable.
By showcasing human interaction, dialogue prevents literature from being
nothing more than a list of descriptions and actions. Dialogue varies in
structure and tone depending on the people participating in the conversation
and the mood that the author is trying to maintain in his or her writing. See A
Handbook to Literature,The American Heritage Dictionary. Ramon Gonzalez,
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
didactic (di-DAK-tik): refers to literature or other types of art
that are instructional or informative. In this sense The Bible is
didactic because it offers guidance in moral, religious, and ethical matters.
It tells stories of the lives of people that followed Christian teachings, and
stories of people that decided to go against God and the consequences that they
faced. The term "didactic" also refers to texts that are overburdened
with instructive and factual information, sometimes to the detriment of a
reader's enjoyment. The opposite of "didactic" is
"nondidactic." If a writer is more concerned with artistic qualities
and techniques than with conveying a message, then that piece of work is
considered to be nondidactic, even if it is instructive. See Encyclopedia of
Literature, Benet's Readers Encyclopedia. Jennifer Baker,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
dramatic
monologue (dra-MA-tik mon'-O-lôg): a literary
device that is used when a character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and
feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the story line,
through a poem or a speech. This speech, where only one character speaks, is
recited while other characters are present onstage. This monologue often comes
during a climactic moment in a work and often reveals hidden truths about a
character, their history and their relationships. Also it can further develop a
character's personality and also be used to create irony. The most famous
examples of this special type of monologue can be found within the poems of
Robert Browning, poem such as "My Last Duchess," "The Bishop
Orders his Tomb," and "Andrea Del Santo". Browning's use of
dramatic monologue has a special effect on his works. The revelations of his
characters not only develop themselves, but they also create settings within
the monologues with their use of vivid imagery. In Browning's works, the
characters almost seem to take control of the story line, creating a poem of
their own. Other authors whose works included dramatic monologues are Robert
Frost and T.S. Elliot. See A Reader's Companion to World Literature. Jacob
Gersh, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
E
elegy (EL-e-je): a type of literature defined as a song or poem,
written in elegiac couplets, that expresses sorrow or lamentation,
usually for one who has died. This type of work stemmed out of a Greek work
known as a "elegus," a song of mourning or lamentation that is
accompanied by the flute. Beginning in the 16th century, elegies took the form
we know today. Two famous elegies include Thomas Gray’s "Elegy Written in
a Country Churchyard" and Walt Whitman’s "When Lilacs Last in the
Dooryard Bloom’d". Gray’s elegy is notable in that it mourned the loss of
a way of life rather than the loss of an individual. His work, which some
consider to be almost political, showed extreme discontent for strife and
tyranny set upon England by Oliver Cromwell. This work also acted as an outlet
for Gray’s dissatisfaction with those poets who wrote in accordance with the
thoughts and beliefs of the upper class. In his elegy, Gray mourned for his
country and mourned for its citizens. Whitman, inspired by the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln, wrote his elegy in its classic form, showing sorrow for the
loss of an individual. See A Reader’s Companion to World Literature, and
Dictionary of World Literature.
epigram (ep-e-gram): a short poem or verse that seeks to ridicule a
thought or event, usually with witticism or sarcasm. These literary works were
very popular during the Renaissance in Europe in the late 14th century and the
Neoclassical period, which began after the Restoration in 1660. They were most
commonly found in classic Latin literature, European and English literature. In
Ancient Greek, an epigram originally meant a short inscription, but its meaning
was later broadened to include any very short poems. Poems that are meditative
or satiric all fall into this category. These short poems formulated from the
light verse species, which concentrated on the tone of voice and the attitude
of the lyric or narrative speaker toward the subject. With a relaxed manner,
lyricists would recite poems to their subjects that were comical or whimsical.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1771-1834), an English poet, essayist and critic,
constructed an epigram to show humor in Romanticism. His thoughts, “On a
Volunteer Singer”, compares and contrasts the death of swans with that of
humans:
Swans sing before they die- ‘twere
no bad thing
Should certain people die before they sing!
Should certain people die before they sing!
The ballad, “Lord Randall”
illustrates a young man who set off to meet his one true love and ends up
becoming “sick at heart” with what he finds. The young man later arrives home
to his family about to die and to each family member he leaves something
sentimental. When asked what he leaves to his true love, he responds:
I leave her hell and fire…
This epigram tried to depict what
happens to love gone sour. Epigrams have been used throughout the centuries not
only to criticize but also to promote improvement. See Benet’s Reader’s
Encyclopedia, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (unabridged),
and A Glossary of Literary Terms. Melanie P. Stephens, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
F
figurative
language (fig-YOOR-a-tive LAN-gwije): a type
of language that varies from the norms of literal language, in which words mean
exactly what they say. Also known as the "ornaments of language,"
figurative language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the
reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author's point. It
usually involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem
to relate to one another. In a simile,
for example, an author may compare a person to an animal: "He ran like a
hare down the street" is the figurative way to describe the man running
and "He ran very quickly down the street" is the literal way to describe
him. Figurative language facilitates understanding because it relates something
unfamiliar to something familiar. Some popular examples of figurative language
include a simile and metaphor. See A Handbook to Literature, A
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, and A Glossary
of Literary Terms. Charla Cobbler, Student, University of North Carolina
at Pembroke
flashback (flash-BAK): “an interruption of the chronological sequence
(as of a film or literary work) of an event of earlier occurrence” (Merriam,
288). A flashback is a narrative technique that allows a writer to present past
events during current events, in order to provide background for the current
narration. By giving material that occurred prior to the present event, the
writer provides the reader with insight into a character's motivation and or
background to a conflict. This is done by various methods, narration, dream
sequences, and memories (Holman et al, 197). For example, in the Book of
Matthew, a flashback is used when Joseph is the governor of Egypt. Upon seeing
his brothers after many years, Joseph “remembered his dreams” of his brothers
and how they previously sold him into slavery (NIV, 69). Another example would
be the ballad of “The Cruel Mother.” Here, a mother is remembering her
murdered child. As she is going to a church, she remembers her child born,
grow, and die. Later she thinks back to further in her past to remember how her
own mother was unkind to her (Kennedy et al, 626-627). Arthur Miller’s “Death
of a Salesman” uses flashback to relate Willy Loman’s memories of the past. At
one point, Willy is talking with his dead brother while playing cards with
Charley, reliving a past conversation in the present. This shows a character
that is mentally living in the present with the memories and events of the past
(Roberts et al, 1232). By understanding flashbacks, the reader is able to
receive more details about the current narration by filling in the details
about the past. Melanie Stephens, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
G
genre (ZHAHN-ruh): a type of literature. We say a poem, novel,
story, or other literary work belongs to a particular genre if it shares at
least a few conventions, or standard characteristics, with other works in that
genre. For example, works in the Gothic genre often feature supernatural
elements, attempts to horrify the reader, and dark, foreboding settings,
particularly very old castles or mansions. Edgar Allan Poe's short story
"The Fall of the House of Usher" belongs to the Gothic genre because
it takes place in a gloomy mansion that seems to exert supernatural control
over a man who lives in it. Furthermore, Poe attempts to horrify the reader by
describing the man's ghastly face, the burial of his sister, eerie sounds in the
house, and ultimately the reappearance of the sister's bloody body at the end
of the story. Other genres include the pastoral poem, epic poem, elegy, tragic
drama, and bildungsroman. An understanding of genre is useful because it helps
us to see how an author adopts, subverts, or transcends the standard practices
that other authors have developed. See A Handbook to Literature, Benet's
Reader's Encyclopedia. Mark Canada, English professor, University of
North Carolina at Pembroke
Gothic (goth-IK): a literary style popular during the end of the
18th century and the beginning of the 19th. This style usually portrayed
fantastic tales dealing with horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark”
subjects. Gothic literature was named for the apparent influence of the dark
gothic architecture of the period on the genre. Also, many of these Gothic
tales took places in such “gothic” surroundings. Other times, this story of
darkness may occur in a more everyday setting, such as the quaint house where
the man goes mad from the "beating" of his guilt in Edgar Allan Poe's
“The Tell-Tale Heart.” In essence, these stories were romances, largely
due to their love of the imaginary over the logical, and were told from many
different points of view. This literature gave birth to many other forms, such
as suspense, ghost stories, horror, mystery, and also Poe's detective stories.
Gothic literature wasn't so different from other genres in form as it was in
content and its focus on the "weird" aspects of life. This movement
began to slowly open may people's eyes to the possible uses of the supernatural
in literature. Jerry Taylor, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
H
hyperbole (hi-per-bo-lee): an extravagant exaggeration. From the
Greek for "overcasting," hyperbole is a figure of speech that is a
grossly exaggerated description or statement. In literature, such exaggeration
is used for emphasis or vivid descriptions. In drama, hyperbole is quite
common, especially in heroic drama. Hyperbole is a fundamental part of both
burlesque writing and the “tall tales” from Western America. The conscious
overstatements of these tales are forms of hyperbole. Many other examples of
hyperbole can be found in the romance fiction and comedy genres. Hyperbole is
even a part of our day-to-day speech: ‘You’ve grown like a bean sprout’ or ‘I’m
older than the hills.’ Hyperbole is used to increase the effect of a
description, whether it is metaphoric or comic. In poetry, hyperbole can
emphasize or dramatize a person’s opinions or emotions. Skilled poets use
hyperbole to describe intense emotions and mental states. Othello uses
hyperbole to describe his anger at the possibility of Iago lying about his
wife’s infidelity in Act III, Scene III of Shakespeare’s play Othello:
If thou dost slander her and torture
me,
Never pray more; abandon all remorse;
On horror’s head accumulate;
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed;
For nothing canst thou to damnation add
Greater than that.
Never pray more; abandon all remorse;
On horror’s head accumulate;
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed;
For nothing canst thou to damnation add
Greater than that.
In this passage, Othello is telling
Iago that if he is lying then Othello will have no pity and Iago will have no
hope for salvation. Adding horrors with still more horrors, Othello is
describing his potential rage. Othello even declares that the Earth will be
confounded with horror at Othello’s actions in such a state of madness. See A
Glossary of Literary Terms , A Handbook to Literature. Andy
Stamper, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
I
irony (i-RAH-nee): a literary term referring to how a
person, situation, statement, or circumstance is not as it would actually seem.
Many times it is the exact opposite of what it appears to be. There are many
types of irony, the three most common being verbal irony, dramatic irony, and
cosmic irony. Verbal irony occurs when either the speaker means something
totally different than what he is saying or the audience realizes, because of
their knowledge of the particular situation to which the speaker is referring,
that the opposite of what a character is saying is true. Verbal irony also
occurs when a character says something in jest that, in actuality, is true. In Julius
Caesar, Marc Antony’s reference to Brutus being an honorable man is an
example of verbal irony. Marc Antony notes all of the good deeds Julius Caesar
did for his people while, more than once, he asks the rhetorical question, “Did
this in Caesar seem ambitious?” Antony uses this rhetorical question to try to
convince his audience that Caesar is not ambitious, presenting Brutus as a
dishonorable man because of his claim that Caesar was ambitious. Dramatic irony
occurs when facts are not known to the characters in a work of literature but
are known by the audience. In The Gospel According to St. John, the Pharisees
say of Jesus, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” This is dramatic irony
for the reader already knows, according to the author, that Jesus is the Savior
of the world and has already done much good for the people by forgiving their
sins and healing the sick and oppressed. The Pharisees are too blinded to see
what good actually has come out of Nazareth. Cosmic irony suggests that some
unknown force brings about dire and dreadful events. Cosmic irony can be seen
in Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago begs his wife to steal Desdemona’s
handkerchief so he can use this as conclusive proof that Cassio is having an
affair with Desdemona. At the end of the play, when Othello tells Iago’s wife
about the handkerchief, she confesses that Iago put her up to stealing it. Iago
winds up being at Cassio’s mercy. The very handkerchief Iago thought would
allow him to become lieutenant and bring Cassio to ruins was the handkerchief
that brought Iago to ruins and exalted Cassio even higher than his position of
lieutenant. Irony spices up a literary work by adding unexpected twists and
allowing the reader to become more involved with the characters and plot. See A
Handbook to Literature, The Elements of Fiction Writing: Characters and
Viewpoint. Robert Bean, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
lyric (LEER-ick): a lyric is a song-like poem written mainly to
express the feelings of emotions or thought from a particular person, thus
separating it from narrative poems. These poems are generally short, averaging
roughly twelve to thirty lines, and rarely go beyond sixty lines. These poems
express vivid imagination as well as emotion and all flow fairly concisely.
Because of this aspect, as well as their steady rhythm, they were often used in
song. In fact, most people still see a "lyric" as anything that is
sung along to a musical instrument. It is believed that the lyric began in its
earliest stage in Ancient Egypt around 2600 BC in the forms of elegies, odes,
or hymns generated out of religious ceremonies. Some of the more note-worthy
authors who have used the lyric include William Blake, William Wordsworth, John
Keats, and William Shakespeare-who helped popularize the sonnet, another type
of lyric. The importance of understanding the lyric can best be shown through
its remarkable ability to express with such imagination the innermost emotions
of the soul. See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Jerry Taylor, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
M
metaphor (met-AH-for) [from the Gk. carrying one place to another]:
a type of figurative language in which a statement is made that says that one
thing is something else but, literally, it is not. In connecting one object,
event, or place, to another, a metaphor can uncover new and intriguing
qualities of the original thing that we may not normally notice or even
consider important. Metaphoric language is used in order to realize a new and
different meaning. As an effect, a metaphor functions primarily to increase
stylistic colorfulness and variety. Metaphor is a great contributor to poetry
when the reader understands a likeness between two essentially different
things. In his Poetics, Aristotle claims that for one to master the use
of metaphor is “…a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive
perception of the similarity in dissimilars” (The Poet's Dictionary). A
metaphor may be found in a simple comparison or largely as the image of an
entire poem. For example, Emily Dickinson’s poem “My Life had stood – a Loaded
Gun” makes use of a series of comparisons between the speaker and a gun.
Dickinson opens the work with the following: “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun
- / In corners – till a Day / The Owner passed – identified - / And carried me
away”. Of course, the narrator is not really a gun. The metaphor carries
with it all the qualities of a “Loaded Gun”. The speaker in the poem is making
a series of comparisons between themselves and the qualities of a gun. The
narrator had been waiting a long time before their love found them. The
narrator loves her fellow so desperately that she feels as a protective gun
that would kill anyone wishing to harm him. To this effect, Dickinson writes,
"To foe of His – I’m deadly foe –." Dickinson’s poem ends up
being one extended comparison through the use of metaphor between herself and a
gun with “…but the power to kill.” See A Handbook to Literature, The
Poet’s Dictionary, or A Glossary of Literary Terms (7th edition). Andy
Stamper, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
metonymy (me-TAH-nah-me): a figure of speech which substitutes one
term with another that is being associated with the that term. A name transfer
takes place to demonstrate an association of a whole to a part or how two
things are associated in some way. This allows a reader to recognize
similarities or common features among terms. It may provide a more common
meaning to a word. However, it may be a parallel shift that provides basically
the same meaning; it is just said another way. For example, in the book of
Genesis 3:19, it refers to Adam by saying that “by the sweat of your brow, you
will eat your food.” Sweat represents the hard labor that Adam will have to
endure to produce the food that will sustain his life. The sweat on his brow is
a vivid picture of how hard he is working to attain a goal. Another example is
in Genesis 27:28 when Isaac tells Jacob that “God will give you...an abundance
of grain and new wine.” This grain and wine represents the wealth that Jacob
will attain by stealing the birth right. These riches are like money that is
for consumption or material possessions to trade for other goods needed for
survival. Furthermore, in the play Othello, Act I Scene I features
metonymy when Iago refers to Othello as “ the devil” that “will make a
grandsire of you.” This phrase represents a person that is seen as deceitful or
evil. An understanding of metonymy aids a reader to see how an author
interchanges words to further describe a term’s meaning. See A Handbook to
Literature; Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama;
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama; or Merriam
Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Melanie Stephens, Student, University of
North Carolina at Pembroke
motif (moh-TEEF): a recurring object, concept, or structure in a
work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work,
such as good and evil. In the Book of Genesis, we see the motif of separation
again and again throughout the story. In the very first chapter, God separates
the light from the darkness. Abraham and his descendants are separated from the
rest of the nation as God's chosen people. Joseph is separated from his
brothers in order that life might be preserved. Another motif is water, seen in
Genesis as a means of destroying the wicked and in Matthew as a means of
remitting sins by the employment of baptism. Other motifs in Genesis and
Matthew include blood sacrifices, fire, lambs, and goats. A motif is important
because it allows one to see main points and themes that the author is trying
to express, in order that one might be able to interpret the work more
accurately. See A Handbook to Literature, The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Literary Terms. Robert Bean, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
myth (mith): any story that attempts to explain how the world
was created or why the world is the way that it is. Myths are stories that are
passed on from generation to generation and normally involve religion. M.H.
Abram refers to myths as a “religion in which we no longer believe.” Most myths
were first spread by oral tradition and then were written down in some literary
form. Many ancient literary works are, in fact, myths as myths appear in every
ancient culture of the planet. For example you can find them in ethnological
tales, fairy tales as well as epics. A good example of a myth is The Book of
Genesis, which recounts tales of the creation of the universe, the Earth and
mankind. See A Glossary to Literary Terms, Webster’s Encylopedia of
Literature. Becky Davis, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
N
narrative (na-RAH-tiv): a collection of events that tells a story,
which may be true or not, placed in a particular order and recounted through
either telling or writing. One example is Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale
Heart." In this story a madman resolves to kill his landlord because he
fears the man's horrible eye. One night he suffocates the landlord and hides
the body beneath the floorboards of the bedroom. While fielding questions from
the police in the bedroom where the body is hidden, the madman thinks he hears
the heart of the victim beating beneath the floorboards. Scared that the police
hear the heartbeat too, the madman confesses. This is a narrative because of
two things, it has a sequence in which the events are told, beginning with
murder and ending with the confession, and it has a narrator, who is the
madman, telling the story. By understanding the term "narrative,” one
begins to understand that most literary works have a simple outline: the story,
the plot, and the storyteller. By studying more closely, most novels and short
stories are placed into the categories of first-person and third-person
narratives, which are based on who is telling the story and from what
perspective. Other important terms that relate to the term "narrative,”
are "narrative poetry," poetry that tells a story, and
"narrative technique" which means how one tells a story.
narrative
poem (nar-RAH-tiv po-EM): a poem that
tells a story. A narrative poem can come in many forms and styles, both complex
and simple, short or long, as long as it tells a story. A few examples of a
narrative poem are epics, ballads, and metrical romances. In western
literature, narrative poetry dates back to the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh and
Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. In England and Scotland, storytelling
poems have long been popular; in the late Middle Ages, ballads-or storytelling
songs-circulated widely. The art of narrative poetry is difficult in that it
requires the author to possess the skills of a writer of fiction, the ability
to draw characters and settings briefly, to engage attention, and to shape a
plot, while calling for all the skills of a poet besides. See A Handbook of
Literature and Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Melissa Houghton, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
narrator (nar-RAY-ter): one who tells a story, the speaker or the
“voice” of an oral or written work. Although it can be, the narrator is not
usually the same person as the author. The narrator is one of three types of
characters in a given work, (1) participant (protagonist or participant in any
action that may take place in the story), (2) observer (someone who is
indirectly involved in the action of a story), or (3) non participant (one who
is not at all involved in any action of the story). The narrator is the direct
window into a piece of work. Depending on the part of the character of the
narrator plays in the story, the narrator may demonstrate bias when presenting
a piece of work. In the Book of Matthew, the narrator Matthew, probably
presented some bias when giving his accounts of the events that took place
during that time. See Introduction to Literature, A Handbook to
Literature. Heather Cameron, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
P
parable (PAIR-uh-buhl): a brief and often simple narrative that
illustrates a moral or religious lesson. Some of the best-known parables are in
the Bible, where Jesus uses them to teach his disciples. For example, in
"The Parable of the Good Seed," a farmer plants a garden. As the
farmer sleeps, someone sows weeds in his field to destroy the farmer's crops.
However, when he learns of his misfortune, he does not demolish his entire
garden just to remove the weeds. The farmer waits patiently until harvest time
and gathers his wheat after the weeds have first been collected and destroyed.
The lesson to be learned in this parable is to not be quick to annihilate evil;
it will in deserving time receive its punishment. Some other parables in the
Bible are "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" and "The Parable of
the Mustard Seed." See The Encyclopedia of Literature, A
Handbook to Literature. Starlet Chavis, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
persona (per-SO-na): In literature, the persona is the narrator, or
the storyteller, of a literary work created by the author. As Literature: An
Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama puts it, the persona is not the
author, but the author’s creation--the voice “through which the author speaks.”
It could be a character in the work, or a fabricated onlooker, relaying the
sequence of events in a narrative. Such an example of persona exists in the
poem “Robin Hood and Allin a Dale,” in which an anonymous character, perhaps
one of Robin’s “merry men,” recounts the events of the meeting and adventures
of Robin Hood and Allin a Dale. After telling of their initial introduction in
the forest, the persona continues to elaborate on their quest to recover
Allin’s true love from the man she is about to marry. Robin and his entourage
succeed and then proceed to marry her and Allin a Dale. The persona’s
importance is recognized due to the more genuine manner in which the events of
a story are illustrated to the reader—with a sense of knowledge and emotion
only one with a firsthand view of the action could depict. See A Handbook to
Literature, Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, Literature:
An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stephanie White, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
personification {PER-son-E-fih-ka-shEn): A figure of speech where animals,
ideas or inorganic objects are given human characteristics. One example of this
is James Stephens’s poem "The Wind" in which wind preforms several
actions. In the poem Stephens writes, “The wind stood up and gave a shout. He
whistled on his two fingers.” Of course the wind did not actually "stand
up," but this image of the wind creates a vivid picture of the wind's wild
actions. Another example of personification in this poem is “Kicked the
withered leaves about….And thumped the branches with his hand.” Here, the wind
is kicking leaves about, just like a person would and using hands to thump
branches like a person would also. By giving human characteristics to things
that do not have them, it makes these objects and their actions easier to
visualize for a reader. By giving the wind human characteristics, Stephens
makes this poem more interesting and achieves a much more vivid image of the
way wind whips around a room. Personification is most often used in poetry, coming
to popularity during the 18th century. Jennifer Winborne, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
point
of view (point ov veww): a way the events
of a story are conveyed to the reader, it is the “vantage point” from which the
narrative is passed from
author to the reader. The point of view can vary from work to work. For
example, in the Book of Genesis the objective third person point of view
is presented, where a “nonparticipant” serves as the narrator and has no
insight into the characters' minds. The narrator presents the events using the
pronouns he, it, they, and reveals no inner thoughts of the characters. In
Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the first person point
of view is exhibited. In this instance the main character conveys the incidents
he encounters, as well as giving the reader insight into himself as he reveals
his thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Many other points of view exist, such
as omniscient (or “all knowing”) in which the narrator “moves from one
character to another as necessary” to provide those character’s respective
motivations and emotions. Understanding the point of view used in a work is
critical to understanding literature; it serves as the instrument to relay the
events of a story, and in some instances the feelings and motives of the
character(s). See A Handbook to Literature, Literature: An
Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stephanie White, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
protagonist (pro-TAG-eh-nist) A protagonist is considered to be the
main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. It
may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work. Over a period of
time the meaning of the term protagonist has changed. The word protagonist
originated in ancient Greek drama and referred to the leader of a chorus. Soon
the definition was changed to represent the first actor onstage. In some
literature today it may be difficult to decide who is playing the role of the
protagonist. For instance, in Othello,we could say that Iago is the
protagonist because he was at the center of all of the play's controversy. But
even if he was a main character, was he the lead character? This ambiguity can
lead to multiple interpretations of the same work and different ways of
appreciating a single piece of literature. See Merrian Webster Encyclopedia
of Literature, Benet’s Readers Encyclopedia of Literature. Khalil
Shakeel, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
rhyme (rime): repetition of an identical or similarly accented
sound or sounds in a work. Lyricists may find multiple ways to rhyme within a
verse. End rhymes have words that rhyme at the end of a verse-line. Internal
rhymes have words that rhyme within it. Algernon C. Swinburne
(1837-1909), a rebel and English poet, used internal rhymes in many of his
Victorian poems such as “sister, my sister, O fleet sweet swallow.” There are
cross rhymes in which the rhyme occurs at the end of one line and in the middle
of the next; and random rhymes, in which the rhymes seem to occur accidentally
in no specific combination, often mixed with unrhymed lines. These sort of
rhymes try to bring a creative edge to verses that usually have perfect rhymes
in a sequential order. Historically, rhyme came into poetry late, showing in
the Western world around AD 200 in the Church Latin of North Africa. Its
popularity grew in Medieval Latin poetry. The frequently used spelling in
English, r*h*y*m*e , comes from a false identification of the Greek word
“rhythmos.” Its true origin comes from Provencal, which is a relation to
Provence, a region of France. The traditional Scottish ballad, “Edward,”
uses end rhymes to describe what he has done with his sword and property:
And what wul ye doe wi’ your towirs
and your ha’
That were sae fair to see, O?
Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa’
That were sae fair to see, O?
Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa’
Rhyme gives poems flow and rhythm,
helping the lyricist tell a story and convey a mood. See A Handbook to
Literature, Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary (unabridged), A Glossary of Literary Terms.
Nancy Bullard, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
rhyme
scheme (rime skeem): the pattern of rhyme
used in a poem, generally indicated by matching lowercase letters to show which
lines rhyme. The letter "a" notes the first line, and all other lines
rhyming with the first line. The first line that does not rhyme with the first,
or "a" line, and all others that rhyme with this line, is noted by
the letter "b", and so on. The rhyme scheme may follow a fixed
pattern (as in a sonnet) or may be arranged freely according to the poet's
requirements. The use of a scheme, or pattern, came about before poems were
written down; when they were passed along in song or oral poetry. Since many of
these poems were long, telling of great heroes, battles, and other important
cultural events, the rhyme scheme helped with memorization. A rhyme scheme also
helps give a verse movement, providing a break before changing thoughts. The
four-line stanza, or quatrain, is usually written with the first line rhyming
with the third line, and the second line rhyming with the fourth line, abab.
The English sonnet generally has three quatrains and a couplet, such as abab,
cdcd, efef, gg. The Italian sonnet has two quatrains and a sestet, or six-line
stanza, such as abba, abba, cde, cde. Rhyme schemes were adapted to meet the
artistic and expressive needs of the poet. Henry Howard Surrey is credited with
introducing the sonnet form to England. This form differed from the
Italian form because he found that there were fewer rhyming words in English
than there were in Italian.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's
day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Excerpt from Shakespeare's
"Sonnet XVIII", rhyme scheme: a b a b.
See Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, Dictionary of Literary Terms, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. Nancy Bullard, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
See Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, Dictionary of Literary Terms, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. Nancy Bullard, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
S
setting (set-ting): the time, place, physical details, and
circumstances in which a situation occurs. Settings include the background,
atmosphere or environment in which characters live and move, and usually
include physical characteristics of the surroundings. Settings enables the
reader to better envision how a story unfolds by relating necessary physical
details of a piece of literature. A setting may be simple or elaborate, used to
create ambiance, lend credibility or realism, emphasize or accentuate,
organize, or even distract the reader. Settings in the Bible are
simplistic. In the book of Genesis, we read about the creation of the universe
and the lives of the descendants of Adam. Great detail is taken in documenting
the lineage, actions, and ages of the characters at milestones in their lives,
yet remarkably little detail is given about physical characteristics of the
landscape and surroundings in which events occurred. In Genesis 20, we learn
that because of her beauty, Sarah’s identity is concealed to prevent the death
of her husband, Abraham. Yet, we have no description of Sarah or Abraham’s
hair, eye or skin color, height, weight, physical appearance, or surroundings.
Detailed settings that were infrequent in some ancient writings like the Bible
are common in today’s literature. In recent literature, settings are often
described in elaborate detail, enabling the reader to vividly envision even
imaginary characters and actions like the travels of Bilbo Baggins in The
Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Settings have a way of drawing the reader into a
piece of literature while facilitating understanding of the characters and
their actions. Understanding the setting is useful because it enables us to see
how an author captures the attention of the reader by painting a mental picture
using words. See Literature, An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Kate
Endriga, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
simile (sim-EH-lee): a simile is a type of figurative language,
language that does not mean exactly what it says, that makes a comparison
between two otherwise unalike objects or ideas by connecting them with the
words "like" or "as." The reader can see a similar
connection with the verbs resemble, compare and liken. Similes allow an author
to emphasize a certain characteristic of an object by comparing that object to
an unrelated object that is an example of that characteristic. An example of a
simile can be seen in the poem “Robin Hood and Allin a Dale”:
With that came in a wealthy knight,
Which was both grave and old,
And after him a finikin lass,
Did shine like glistening gold.
Which was both grave and old,
And after him a finikin lass,
Did shine like glistening gold.
In this poem, the lass did not
literally glisten like gold, but by comparing the lass to the gold the author
emphasizes her beauty, radiance and purity, all things associated with gold.
Similarly, in N. Scott Momaday’s simple poem, “Simile.” he says that the two
characters in the poem are like deer who walk in a single line with their heads
high with their ears forward and their eyes watchful. By comparing the walkers
to the nervous deer, Momaday emphasizes their care and caution. See A
Handbook to Literature or Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,
Poetry, and Drama. Crystal Burnette, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
short
story (short store-ey): a prose narrative
that is brief in nature. The short story also has many of the same
characteristics of a novel including characters, setting and plot. However, due
to length constraints, these characteristics and devices generally may not be
as fully developed or as complex as those developed for a full-length novel.
There are many authors well known for the short story including Edgar Allan
Poe, Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. According to the book Literary
Terms by Karl Becksonand Arthur Ganz, “American writers since Poe, who
first theorized on the structure and purpose of the short story, have paid
considerable attention to the form” (257). The written “protocol” regarding
what comprises a short versus a long story is vague. However, a general
standard might be that the short story could be read in one sitting. NTC’s Dictionary
of Literary Terms quotes Edgar Allan Poe’s description as being ‘a short
prose narrative, requiring from a half-hour to one or two hours in its perusal’
(201). Please refer to Literary Terms by Karl Beckson and Arthur Ganz
and NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms by Kathleen Morner and Ralph
Rausch for further information. Susan Severson, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
slant
rhyme (slänt rime) is also known as near
rhyme, half rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme, oblique rhyme, or pararhyme. A
distinctive system or pattern of metrical structure and verse composition in
which two words have only their final consonant sounds and no preceding vowel
or consonant sounds in common. Instead of perfect or identical sounds or rhyme,
it is the repetition of near or similar sounds or the pairing of accented and
unaccented sounds that if both were accented would be perfect rhymes (stopped
and wept, parable and shell). Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are
accepted as slant rhyme due to their usage of sound combinations (spilled and
spoiled, chitter and chatter). By not allowing the reader to predict or expect
what is coming slant rhyme allows the poet to express things in different or
certain ways. Slant rhyme was most common in the Irish, Welsh and Icelandic
verse and prose long before Henry Vaughn used it in English. Not until William
Butler Yeats and Gerald Manley Hopkins began to use slant rhyme did it become
regularly used in English.Wilfred Owen was one of the first poets to realize
the impact of rhyming consonants in a consistent pattern. A World War I soldier
he sought a powerful means to convey the harshness of war. Killed in action,
his most famous work was written in the year prior to his death.
Now men will go content with what we
spoiled
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled,
They will be swift with the swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery,
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled,
They will be swift with the swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery,
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
See Benet's Reader Encyclopedia,
Handbook to Literature,Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and
Drama. Michael Prevatte, Student, University of North Carolina at
Pembroke
sonnet (sonn-IT): a sonnet is a distinctive poetic style that uses
system or pattern of metrical structure and verse composition usually
consisting of fourteen lines, arranged in a set rhyme scheme or pattern. There
are two main styles of sonnet, the Italian sonnet and the English sonnet. The
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, named after Petrarch (1304-1374) a fourteenth
century writer and the best known poet to use this form, was developed by the
Italian poet Guittone of Arezzo (1230-1294) in the thirteenth century. Usually
written in iambic pentameter, it consists first of an octave, or eight lines,
which asks a question or states a problem or proposition and follows the rhyme
scheme a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a. The sestet, or last six lines, offers an answer, or a
resolution to the proposed problem, and follows the rhyme scheme c-d-e-c-d-e.
When I consider how my
light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
John Milton, "When
I Consider How My Light Is Spent"
The sonnet was first brought to
England by Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in the sixteenth
century, where the second sonnet form arose. The English or Shakespearean
sonnet was named after William Shakespeare (1564-1616) who most believed to the
best writer to use the form. Adapting the Italian form to the English, the
octave and sestet were replaced by three quatrains, each having its own independent
rhyme scheme typically rhyming every other line, and ending with a rhyme
couplet. Instead of the Italianic break between the octave and the sestet, the
break comes between the twelfth and thirteenth lines. The ending couplet is
often the main thought change of the poem, and has an epigrammatic ending. It
follows the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.
Shall I compare thee to a
summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all to short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d:
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d.
By thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wandered in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all to short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d:
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d.
By thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wandered in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shakespeare, Sonnet XVIII. See Benet’s
Readers Encyclopedia, Handbook to Literature, Literature: An
Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Michael Prevatte, Student,
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
symbol (sim-bol): a symbol is a word or object that stands for
another word or object. The object or word can be seen with the eye or not
visible. For example a dove stands for Peace. The dove can be seen and peace
cannot. The word is from the Greek word symbolom. All language is symbolizing
one thing or another. However when we read the book of Genesis it talked about
a few symbols. In the story of Adam and Eve when Eve ate the apple, the apple
stood for sin. Another reading Cain and Able. The two brothers stood for good
and evil, humility and pride. Cain pulled Able to the fields and killed him. In
this it is a hidden symbol. It is showing that Cain stands for the bad and Able
stands for the good. See The Encyclopedia of Literature and A
Handbook to Literature. Misty Tarlton, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
T
theme (theem): a common thread or repeated idea that is
incorporated throughout a literary work. A theme is a thought or idea the
author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or
even moralistic. Generally, a theme has to be extracted as the reader explores
the passages of a work. The author utilizes the characters, plot, and other
literary devices to assist the reader in this endeavor. One theme that may be
extracted by the reader of Mark Musa’s interpretation of Dante’s The Divine
Comedy Volume I: Inferno is the need to take account of one’s own
behavior now, for it affects one's condition in the afterlife. One example of
this theme can be found in Canto V - “...when the evil soul appears before him,
it confesses all, and he [Minos], who is the expert judge of sins, knows to
what place in Hell the soul belongs: the times he wraps his tail around himself
tells just how far the sinner must go down” (7-12). In addition, Dante’s use of
literary techniques, such as imagery, further accentuates the theme for the
consequences of not living right, for he describes “the cries and shrieks of
lamentation” (III:22), “…the banks were coated with a slimy mold that stuck to
them like glue, disgusting to behold and worse to smell” (XVIII:106-108) and
many other terrifying examples of Hell. In truly great works of literature, the
author intertwines the theme throughout the work and the full impact is slowly
realized as the reader processes the text. The ability to recognize a theme is
important because it allows the reader to understand part of the author’s
purpose in writing the book. See Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,
Poetry and Drama, NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms, and Literary
Terms: A Dictionary. Susan Severson, Student, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke
unreliable
narrator (un-re-LIE-ah-bel nar-ra-AY-tor):
one who gives his or her own understanding of a story, instead of the
explanation and interpretation the author wishes the audience to obtain. This
type of action tends to alter the audience’s opinion of the conclusion. An
author quite famous for using unreliable narrators is Henry James. James is
said to make himself an inconsistent and distorting “center of consciousness”
in his work, because of his frequent usage of deluding or deranged narrators.
They are very noticeable in his novella The Turn of the Screw, and also
in his short story, “The Aspern Papers.” The Turn of the Screw is a
story based solely on the consistency of the Governess’s description of the
events that happen. Being aware of unreliable narrators are essential,
especially when you have to describe the characters and their actions to
others, since the narrator, unreliable as they are, abandons you without the
important guidance to make trustworthy judgments. See The Turn of the Screw and
A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Starlet Chavis,
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
N.B.; Theory note is a preparation for
the syllabus in line with the English vision programme with the auspicious of
the notes which are publish in the web sites of the leading universities of the
world.
