Elements of Fiction & Literary Lenses Review

Part 1: Elements of Fiction Review & Literary Lenses

• Literary Devices:

  • Symbolism: Using symbols to represent ideas (e.g., a dove symbolizes peace).
  • Hyperbole: Exaggerated statements (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse").
  • Meiosis: Understatement to belittle or dismiss (e.g., calling a huge storm "a bit of rain").
  • Contradictions: Statements that oppose themselves (e.g., "I can resist anything but temptation").
  • Oxymoron: Combining contradictory terms (e.g., "deafening silence").
  • Tone: Author's attitude (e.g., sarcastic, serious, playful).
  • Mood: Emotional atmosphere (e.g., cheerful, somber, tense).

• Humor Types:

  • Satire: Using humor to criticize or mock (e.g., "The Daily Show").
  • Comic Irony: Unexpected opposite of what's expected, often humorous (e.g., a fire station burning down).

• Characterization Types:

  • Direct Characterization: Author explicitly describes a character (e.g., "She was a kind and gentle woman").
  • Indirect Characterization: Author shows a character's personality through actions, thoughts, and dialogue (e.g., "He clenched his fists and glared at the ground").

• Literary Lenses:

  • Psychoanalytical: Analyzing characters based on Freud's ideas (Id, Ego, Superego).
  • Feminist (Gender): Examining literature through gender dynamics and women's roles.
  • Marxist: Analyzing class struggles and economic power dynamics.
  • Historical: Considering the historical context of the work.

• Conflict Types:

  • Internal Conflict: Within a character's mind (e.g., feeling guilty).
  • External Conflict: Between a character and an outside force (e.g., fighting against societal norms).
  • Man vs. Man: Conflict between characters (e.g., rivalry).
  • Man vs. Self: Character's internal struggle (e.g., deciding to tell a truth).
  • Man vs. God: Conflict with a divine entity (e.g., questioning faith).
  • Man vs. Fate: Struggle against destiny (e.g., trying to change future).
  • Man vs. Nature: Conflict with natural forces (e.g., surviving a hurricane).

• Making Inferences:

  • Implicit: Suggested but not directly stated (e.g., sadness inferred from actions).
  • Explicit: Clearly stated (e.g., "She was sad").

Part 2: Antigone

• Analyze key quotes, literary devices, and lenses (including Freud).
• Identify conflict types (man vs. man, man vs. self, etc.).
• Make inferences using implicit and explicit information.

Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy

• Hamartia: Tragic flaw causing a hero's downfall.
• Peripeteia: Reversal of fortune.
• Hubris: Excessive pride leading to downfall.
• Anagnorisis: Moment of critical discovery.
• Catharsis: Emotional release for the audience.
• Nemesis: Retribution or punishment for actions.

Part 3: Poetry

• Identify different poetic forms (e.g., sonnets).
• Understand poetic devices (e.g., metaphor, simile, imagery).
• Analyze tone, mood, and themes.
• Identify rhyme scheme and meter.
• Connect poetic devices to meaning in paragraphs.
• Craft theme statements (author, title, claim, reasoning, evidence).

Poetry Exam Study Guide - Section 1

• Motif: Recurring element with symbolic significance (e.g., light and darkness in "Romeo and Juliet").
• Theme: Central idea or message (e.g., friendship in "The Great Gatsby").
• Tone: Author's attitude (e.g., reflective in "The Road Not Taken").
• Mood: Emotional feeling evoked (e.g., eerie in "The Raven").
• Stanza: Grouped lines in a poem (e.g., quatrain).
• Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of rhymes (e.g., ABABCDCDEFEFGG in a Shakespearean sonnet).
• Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence beyond a line break.
• Diction: Word choice and style.
• Connotation: Implied meaning of a word (e.g., warmth and comfort associated with "home").
• Denotation: Literal meaning of a word (e.g., "snake" is a legless reptile).
• Imagery: Descriptive language appealing to the senses.
• Simile: Comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "Her smile was as bright as the sun").
• Metaphor: Direct comparison between unlike things (e.g., "Time is a thief").
• Personification: Giving human traits to non-human things (e.g., "The wind whispered").
• Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person or object (e.g., "O Death, where is thy sting?").
• Symbolism: Using symbols to represent ideas or qualities (e.g., a red rose symbolizes love).
• Hyperbole: Exaggerated statement (e.g., "I've told you a million times").
• Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds (e.g., "She sells sea shells").
• Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds (e.g., "The rain in Spain").
• Consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds (e.g., "The lumpy, bumpy road").

Poetry Exam Study Guide - Section 2

• English Sonnets vs. Italian Sonnets:
  • Both have 14 lines and explore themes like love and nature.
  • Different rhyme schemes: ABABCDCDEFEFGG (English) vs. ABBAABBA CDCDCD (Italian).

Additional Questions

• Mrs. Behrend's Definition of Poetry: Poetry is expressing emotions and ideas rhythmically and metaphorically.
• Petrarch: 14th-century Italian poet known for sonnets, especially those for Laura, establishing the Petrarchan form.
• Shakespeare: 16th/17th-century English playwright and poet, known for sonnets and plays and exploring human nature.
• Device to Meaning Paragraph Example: In "The Road Not Taken," the diverging paths symbolize life's choices, with the speaker's less-travelled path reflecting individuality and the impact of choices.
• TPCASTT: Analyzing poems by examining the title, paraphrasing, connotations, attitude, shift, revisiting the title, and identifying theme.

Poetry Exam Study Guide - Section 3

• Detailed background information and theme statements for various poems: Includes authors, backgrounds, themes, and topics for poems by Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, various contemporary poets, Robert Frost, Gwendolyn Brooks, and William Shakespeare.

Test your understanding of key literary devices and humor types in this quiz. Explore concepts such as symbolism and satire, and learn how tone and mood influence storytelling. Perfect for Literature students looking to strengthen their analytical skills.