Reading & Literature Content

Criticism that poets struggle against the earlier influences of previous generations of poets

Joining of opposites; things that are out of place or absurd

A wise saying, usually short and witty

Focuses on experiences of characters who can't find any inherent purpose in life; ultimately meaningless actions, events

A philosophy that values human freedom and personal responsibility; existence means to act independently

Philosophy valuing individualism, experimentation, idealism, nature, and spirituality

Any text has more than one interpretation; any interpretive reading can only go to a certain point

Text is viewed as existing independently, & a close reading of the text reveals meaning; no outside knowledge/inference

Text is viewed as an expression of the feelings, thoughts, and desires of the author

A style of writing that portrays the inner thoughts of a character; may not have regard for language/grammar standards

Animals, ideas, and things are represented as having human traits in a figurative sense

Juxtaposition of one sensory image with another that appeals to an unrelated sense i.e. "region where the sun is silent"

The art and science of text interpretation

A sonnet that includes three quatrains and a couplet

Novels composed of idealized events far removed from everyday life; gothic and medieval subgenres

Aesthetic (feelings, thoughts) and efferent (elicit facts of the text) responses to text

Repetition of same vowel sounds in words close to one another

A poem that depicts life in an idyllic, idealized way

A comparison that explains the connection between objects/ideas that appear to be different

An expression in which the specific language means something different from the literal meaning

Ancient epics; religious scriptures and texts; codified laws; early philosophy

Three syllables, stressed unstressed unstressed (', u, u) i.e. "HAPpiness"

Silly, often stereotyped characters are involved in far-fetched scenarios

A long speech made in a play while no other characters speak; usually the speaker is alone on stage

A rhythmical pattern in verse that is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables

A subtle or implicit comparison is made between two unlike things

A feeling the text evokes in the reader

A turn from the general audience to address a specific group of persons or personified abstractions

Reliance on familiar character types and narrative structures

A pun/play on words that results when two words become mixed up in the speaker's mind

Main character seeking to find something/achieve a goal; overcomes obstacles and becomes wiser over the journey

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in words

Golden age of Russian poetry; shift towards realism

British Literature 1660-1785

Examines Western ethnocentrism, colonization, and imperialism; rejects underrepresented people as "others"

A stanza made up of two rhyming lines

Character, plot, image, theme, or setting that appears in literature across cultures and is repeated over time

American Lit: 1660-1760

A 14-line poem, usually written in iambic parameter, with a varied rhyme scheme

Literature that tries to represent life as it really is

A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another which it is closely associated i.e. "Hollywood" for L.A.

A poem in which a character speaks to listeners whose response is not known, and who may or may not be present

Specific type of metaphor that compares two very different things, but with more complexity and clearer juxtaposition

Fireside Poets; Realism; Transcendentalism

Beatniks; Confessional poetry

The flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero; from the Greek word hybris, meaning "excessive pride"

Emphasized a focus on naturalism; serious subjects treated with maximum realism;

A reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event within a work of literature

Two syllables, unstressed stressed (u, ') i.e. "da DUM"

Paradise Lost; Herbert; Carew's elegy for John Donne

The relationship between texts, especially works of literature

Animals, ideas, and things are represented as having human traits in a literal sense

American Lit: 1828-1836

Society is viewed as patriarchal; consider gender/orientation and power relations/roles of characters

Repetition of final consonant sound in words containing different vowels

Two syllables, stressed unstressed (', u) i.e. "MAScot"

Enlightenment

Records events or situations as they have been remembered, often through the subjective views of the characters

Three syllables, unstressed unstressed stressed (u, u, ') i.e. "underSTAND"

Language that intentionally distorts or disguises meaning

Hobbe's Leviathan; Milton's The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates

6 stanzas of 6 lines and a final triplet; same 6 words at the line ends in 6 different sequences that follow a pattern

Shift away from Victorian values; Utopian and science fiction

Rogue main character living by his or her wits and is told in a string of loosely connected events

Sonnet that opens with an octave that states a proposition and ends with a sestet that states the solution

Canterbury Tales; morality play Everyman; lyric poetry

A contradictory statement that makes sense

A descriptive phrase or word frequently used to characterize a person or thing

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole

Beowulf; hymns and elegies

Naturalism, post-modernism

A comparison of two unlike things, usually including the word like or as

Harlem Renaissance; Naturalism; Surrealism

The repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals, particularly at the end of each stanza

Use of words to suggest sounds

A 19-line poem of five tercets with ABA scheme and a final quatrain of ABAA

British Literature 1785-1832

Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing; Marlowe and Spenser

Attribution of human feelings or responses to inanimate things or animals

A genre that uses magic and other supernatural forces as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

Examines economic and social class structures; who has power & money; what happens as a result of these differences;

Word or phrase that substitutes for an offensive or suggestive one

Resolution or conclusion of a story

A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of several clauses

Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth; Donne's songs, sonnets, and elegies; Bacon's Reports

A narrative technique in which the main story is composed primarily for organizing a set of shorter stories

The overall feeling created by the author's use of words; how the author feels

An author's choice of words based on their clarity, conciseness, effectiveness, and authenticity

American Lit: 1760-1787

American Lit: 1625-1660

Criticisms or interpretations of a work of literature should not be influenced by the author's background/beliefs

This era in British lit. (1830-1901) represents a reflection on major transformations and a shift away from romanticism

The multiple use of a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect

A metrical foot consisting of two syllables, both of which are stressed (',') i.e. "cowboy" or "baseball"

Experimental forms of literature are honored; represented by both honoring the past and celebrating popular lit.

Represents an idea or generalization about life; includes strong lesson or moral

A short story or folktale, frequently w/ animals, that contains a moral lesson usually expressed in the end

A lyric or poem on a serious subject, written in dignified language

New Testament; monk writings on the Crusades; Diet of Worms; Machiavelli's The Prince

Dark & picturesque scenery, startling & melodramatic narrative devices; overall atmosphere of mystery & dread