LITERARY TERMS FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 11, 2007

TO ALL STUDENTS IN ALL CLASSES:

These are the literary terms that you are to learn for the week of June 11, 2007. You will study two each night in preparation for a dictation the following day. If other work is too pressing, we may not have time for the dictation. DO NOT take the chance--LEARN THEM. You WILL be responsible for them on the FINAL EXAM. The purpose of this exercise is not only to teach the literary terms, but also to teach correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, root words, prefixes, suffixes, derivations (LOOK IT UP!), context clues and syntax.(LOOK IT UP!) I have told you this many times and written it on the Blog a number of times. Additionally, you will find hints about questions and answers for the FINAL EXAM on the Blog. When you see this expression on the Blog, (LOOK IT UP!.), that is a signal that the preceding word or phrase is on the FINAL EXAM. This admonition (LOOK IT UP!) has also appeared on my Blog a number of times.

Here are the terms:


For Monday, June 11, 2007:

1. The Petrarchan sonnet is named after the fourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarch. The Petrarchan sonnet has two parts: an eight line octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba, an a six-line sestet with the rhyme scheme cdecde. The octave presents a problem, poses a question, or expresses an idea, which the sestet then resolves, answers, or drives home.

2. The Shakespearean sonnet or English sonnet has three quatrains (four-line units) followed by a concluding couplet (a two-line unit). The three quatrains often express related ideas or examples; the couplet sums up the poet's conclusion or message. The most common rhyme scheme for the Shakespearean sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg.


For Tuesday, June 12, 2007:

1, The speaker is the voice that is talking to us in a poem. Sometimes the speaker is the same as the poet, but the poet may also create a different voice, speaking as a child, a woman, a man, a nation, an animal, or even an object.

2. A stanza is group of consecutive lines that form a single unit in a poem. A stanza is somewhat like a paragraph in prose. It often expresses a unit of thought. A stanza may consist of only one line or of any number of lines beyond that.


For Wednesday, June 13, 2007:

1. Suspense is the uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story. Writers often create suspense by hints or clues foreshadowing something--especially bad--that is going to happen later.

2. A symbol is a person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself. Many symbols have become so very widely recognized that they are public symbols: In Western cultures, for example, most people recognize the heart as symbol of love and the snake as a symbol of evil.


For Thursday, June 14, 2007:

1. A tall tale is an outrageously exaggerated and obviously unbelievable story. Some examples are the stories of Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Joe Magarac, and Captain Stormalong. Some tall tales have also been told about real-life historical figures such as Davy Crockett and Annie Oakley.

2. A theme is the central idea or insight revealed by a work of literature. A them is not the same as a work's subject, which can usually be expressed in a word or two: old age, ambition, love.


For Friday, June 15, 2007:

1. The expression of a theme has no specific method. There is no single way to express a theme, and sometimes a work of literature has several themes. Many works have ambiguous themes; that is they have no clear single meaning but are open to a variety of interpretations, even opposing ones.

2. The two types of themes are directly stated themes and implied themes. With implied themes, the reader must piece together all the clues the writer has provided to arrive at a discovery of the work's total meaning. Two of the most important clues to consider are the way the main character has changed and the way the conflict has been resolved.


ASOBI JYANAIYO!