MTTC (English 002) Study Guide PDF

1 MTTC (English 002) Phonemes Morphemes Descriptive Grammar Examples Relevant examples of descriptive grammar in English include: 'I ain't going nowhere,' accepted to mean, 'I am not going to go anywhere.' 'Who are you talking to?' acce...

1 MTTC (English 002) Phonemes Morphemes Descriptive Grammar Examples Relevant examples of descriptive grammar in English include: 'I ain't going nowhere,' accepted to mean, 'I am not going to go anywhere.' 'Who are you talking to?' accepted to mean 'to whom are you speaking?' 'I am faster than her' accepted to mean, 'I am faster than she.' 'You graduated the training program' accepted to mean, 'you graduated from the training program.' 'I asked him what he thought, and he goes, 'I don't care.,' accepted to mean, 'I asked him what he thought, and he said, 'I don't care. 'We're pretty good,' accepted to mean, 'we are doing well.' 'How'd you like those snacks?' accepted to mean, 'what did you think about the snacks?' Prescriptive Grammar The role of a prescriptive grammar, both as a view and as a series of grammatical constructions in language, is to codify what is 'proper' in both written and spoken versions of the language. Prescriptive grammar is didactic in its approach, prescribing a singular set of standards by which a language 'should' be used, a grammar 'should' be structured, and a speaker 'should' speak. Prescriptive grammar is generally considered the "educated" approach, aimed at correctness in a way that empowers certain dialects and styles of speaking over others. Class and race play a significant role in the organization of these power structures, the grammar more historically used by the wealthy, white upper classes taking precedence incorrectness over those used by lower classes and different racialized groups. Prescriptive grammar adhere to strict rules of sentence organization, ordering parts of speech consistently in accordance with rigid standards (i.e. do not split infinitives, do not use the passive voice, do not use phrasal verbs, do end sentences with prepositions). What Is Language Acquisition?  2 Language acquisition is how humans learn a language. One of the earliest researchers in language acquisition was B.F. Skinner (1957), a behaviorist. Skinner was interested in how humans change their behavior regarding language acquisition. Accommodation is changing the mental schema to reflect a new schema. Assimilation is using existing schemas and adapting new schemas to fit alongside existing schemas. nativist, which proposes children are born with innate language ability (Chomsky) interactionist, which proposes language is learned and developed through social interactions. (Vygotsky) Linguistics, the scientific study of human language, is an important component of educational psychology. Phonology involves the rules about the structure and sequence of speech sounds. Semantics consists of vocabulary and how concepts are expressed through words. Grammatical development is the third component of language and involves two parts. The first is syntax. These are the rules by which words are arranged into sentences. The second is morphology. Morphology is the use of grammatical markers to indicate tense, active or passive voice, etc. Pragmatics involves the rules for appropriate and effective communication including turn taking. Syntax: the order of words in a sentence The term "colloquialism" describes sayings and regional dialects used within certain time periods. Slang and jargon are similar terms, but slang refers to words used by smaller groups while jargon refers to technical terms that are only used in specific groups. Chomsky's theory is that this language acquisition device is like an innate tool everyone is born with that helps them unlock language patterns. Chomsky's theory has support as it has been shown that the areas responsible in the brain for language are Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Broca's area handles the creation of speech and production of speech. Wernicke's area is responsible for the understanding or comprehension of language. Stages of Language Acquisition Pretalking 0-6 Cooing or making sounds to communicate with adults Stage months Sounds are more articulate and refined but cannot be recognized as 6-8 Babbling Stage words can have repetitive or alternating syllables; a baby's first months speech-like sounds Holophrastic Words or phrases that have meaning but not complete sentences, 9 -18 Stage babies can understand a few words and produce additional words months  3 The Two Word Noun-noun and noun-verb phrases, short but not complete 18 - 24 Stage sentences, usually two words are the entire sentences months The Sentences follow syntax and grammatical rules much more 24 - 30 Telegraphic accurately, but there are still some mistakes months Stage The child has now learned most of the syntax and grammar rules and Later multi- speaks similarly to an adult. This stage is last and continues for the 30+ word Stage individual's entire life, but the person may use slang and not speak months grammatically correct at all times. The Interactionist Perspective Now that you know a little about the behaviorist perspective, let's look at language development through the interactionist perspective. This point of view emphasizes the interactions between innate ability and environmental influences. Two main subgroups exist within the interactionist perspective: the information-processing perspective of language development and the social interaction perspective of language development. Language Styles Another interesting fact is that young children learn language development in two distinct styles: referential style and expressive style. In referential style language learning, vocabularies consist mainly of words that name objects. Expressive style language learning produces many more social formalities and pronouns (Asian cultures). The first few years of life are an important period for language development. Young children learn both expressive language and receptive language. Expressive language refers to the ability to communicate through speech, while receptive language refers to the ability to understand oral communication. Children progress through several stages as they learn syntax or word order by first learning to understand language and speech. Pre-linguistic speech is the first stage of language development. It involves cooing, vegetative sounds, and babbling. All of these sounds represent expressive language development. At this stage, babies experiment with creating various sounds. When children reach the babbling stage, they try out different syllables and repeat syllable cycles while practicing their newfound skills. When children enter the first words stage, they begin to attach meaning to words. Between 20 and 30 months of age, children typically enter the two-word phase of language development. Children discover syntax in this stage. The final stage is called the telegraphic stage because of the concise language that typifies this stage. Throughout childhood, children's vocabularies grow and they learn about the nuances of language. There are many activities to aid children with language development, one of the most important skills learned in childhood.  4 All normal children acquire at least one language as they grow up i.e., each child acquires a language that is most spoken in their environment. This is referred to as the first language acquisition. However, if a child or an adult makes a conscious effort to acquire a language, then they are trying to acquire a second language. Second language acquisition is the process of acquiring a second language after a person has already established a first language. First language – begins with telegraphic speech, doesn’t require instruction Second language – begins with full sentences, requires instruction Similarities – learning stages are predictable, mistakes are part of the process, use of cues and context, interaction is basic, speaking is more challenging than understanding, proficiency develops with instruction, prior knowledge helps Native language – the language a student grew up speaking Proponents – students gain a quicker ability to read and write in their second language when they’re taught in their native language (able to use grammar) immersion systems which, as the name suggests, teach a second language through forcing students to read, learn, and speak in their second language only - Contrary to claims made by those who encourage the use of native language, proponents of limiting native language use claim students learn to read and write quicker when not allowed to use their native language. This is because forcing a student to do all their work in their second language naturally makes them learn and understand how the new language works in order to complete their work. - Partial immersion is when approximately 50% of the class time is spent learning subject matter in the foreign language. - Content-based foreign languages is when about 15-50% of the class time is spent in the foreign language. - foreign language experience is when around 1-5% of the class time is spent in the foreign language Language education is defined as the instruction and learning of a second or foreign language. Bilingual education is the approach to second-language instruction in which students are instructed for academic subject areas in their native language while simultaneously being taught to speak and write in the second language. Multicultural education is the approach to instruction that integrates perspectives and experiences of numerous cultural groups throughout the curriculum. Multicultural education uses a set of strategies to ensure all students, no matter what background or native language, have access to knowledge and instruction which will promote high levels of academic achievement. Cultural competency is the ability to understand, interact, and communicate with people of a different cultural background  5 - You need to be aware of your own cultural worldview. So admit the fact that pretty much everything you know is rooted in your own culture. - Accept that other cultures exist, that their worldviews are different than yours, and that your worldview is not inherently better than theirs. All cultures are created, so no one culture is superior, and this is important to remember for achieving healthy communication. - Develop a knowledge of different cultural practices. Now that you recognize another culture, it's time to brush up on the relevant aspects of that culture. And this brings us to number… - Develop cross-cultural communication skills. You've learned about another culture and now you get to practice communicating with them, trying to use your knowledge to see things from their perspectives. This takes time and patience and very often, a professional expert who is fully functional in both cultures. But once you've gotten this down, you can claim cultural competency. Censorship censorship definition involves the suppression of information. - Banning books: There have been many instances of certain books being banned. Groups that think the books are immoral try to convince others, especially political groups, that the books should be banned, and they are sometimes successful. This results in the books being removed from libraries and becoming inaccessible to many people. - Social media restrictions: Facebook and other social media sites restrict accounts for certain types of content that go against their standards. These posts can be things that are considered hate speech, nudity, or other things that are not allowed. They also have a feature that allows other people with accounts to report posts that they find offensive. The social media team will then review the post and make a decision. If someone has an account that is reported too many times, their account can be restricted for a number of days and can eventually be removed from the site. - Corporate network blocking: Some individuals can not access many internet sites while at work due to corporate network blocking. For example, many schools block various websites in order to prevent distractions from academic work. However, this sometimes causes teachers to be unable to find some resources that they need because their district blocks the relevant websites. - Sites that promote criminal activity: Websites that encourage criminal activity are often shut down. This could be sites that sell things that are illegal like drugs or counterfeit goods, sites that promote online gambling, or sites that incite violence or destruction. What Are the Types of Censorship? There are several important types of suppression of information that have occurred throughout the history of censorship. Some censorship examples are: Withholding: This type of censorship occurs when someone decides not to share information that they know. For example, this can occur in media censorship when a celebrity is asked who their best celebrity friend is dating and they choose to withhold the information.  6 Destroying: Destroying occurs when someone eliminates known information. For example, if a store owner had a surveillance video of someone stealing, but finds out it is his nephew, he might suppress the information by destroying the video footage. Altering: This type of censorship involves changing known information. For example, this often occurs in areas where a government controls what their citizens know — they change the information that exists to fit their needs. They alter key facts so that people believe what those in power want them to believe. (Stalin) Selecting: Selecting involves only sharing some of the known information. For example, when someone tells a friend a personal story but they choose to leave out parts of the story that make them look bad, they are selecting only the positive parts of the story and leaving the rest out. Self-censorship: This type of censorship occurs when a person decides to censor themselves by not sharing information that is only known by a few individuals. For example, someone who chooses to not reveal the whole truth about a situation because they are afraid of losing their job. What causes censorship? - Political - Religious (I am Malala) Listening Process: Through listening, people perceive words and sounds, understand and interpret them, and respond. Listening requires much more focus, concentration, and engagement than hearing, which is simply the perception of words or sounds. Through listening, people learn information, develop relationships, communicate ideas, and experience enjoyment, among other outcomes. Active listening happens when the person is engaged, concentrated, and focused on receiving the entire depth of the message communicated. Active listening can include giving appropriate nonverbal cues, like nodding, as well as avoiding interrupting the speaker and summarizing the message back to the speaker to communicate understanding. There are many potential impediments to active listening, like a lack of concentration and prioritization and assuming the content of the message is based on the style of delivery instead of the actual content. There are five distinct stages of the listening process. The steps of the listening process often begin with the listening stage of attending or receiving, where the sounds are perceived through hearing, and the listener identifies the sounds as words. The understanding stage involves comprehension of the words. The interpreting stage generally occurs once the listener grasps the meaning of the message and involves the formation of judgments and opinions about the speaker's message. The responding stage of listening describes the verbal and nonverbal feedback that the listener provides to the speaker. Responding can involve asking questions for clarification or summarizing the point(s) that the speaker made to communicate understanding. The remembering stage involves storing the message in memory so that the information can be recalled. There are several tips and tricks that may help a listener remember a message, including linking the information to  7 prior knowledge, mnemonics, and acronyms. The stages of the listening process do not necessarily occur in order, and stages can happen simultaneously or overlap in time. An effective listening definition is when a person can attend to a speaker, process what the speaker is saying, and respond appropriately Non-verbal behavior may also be referred to as body language. Probing in effective listening means asking questions to clarify and garner necessary information. Summarizing in effective listening involves paraphrasing or summarizing what the speaker just said. What is critical listening? The definition of critical listening is actively listening to what the speaker is saying, while analyzing, judging, and forming an individual opinion on the information that is being presented. Second-hand observations are those that the person did not personally observe through their senses. Feedback loop – sender, channel, receiver Oral communication is a specific form of information exchange relating to the transmission of ideas verbally from one person or group to another. Oral communication can be formal and they are used most often in this manner during business meetings, classroom lectures, or political speeches. They may also occur informally, such as during face-to-face conversations, discussions at business meetings, and telephone conversations. Parts of an Argumentative Essay Claims - is an argument in statement form. The central or overall claim of an argumentative essay is also known as the thesis. A counterclaim is the argument opposing the author's claim. The reasons of an argument are the reasoning or logical proof provided to prove the argument. The reasons can also be thought of as the "why" behind a claim. Evidence provides factual proof for the reasons in an argument and can consist of facts, data, statistics, published study results, and quoted experts. In order for evidence to be reliable, it must come from a credible source that is current, nonbiased, provides researched sources, and (preferably) peer-reviewed. Counterclaim: The United States should not ban capital punishment. Reason: Capital punishment provides a sense of justice for the victim's family. Evidence: "Justice requires that society impose on criminals losses equal to those they imposed on innocent persons. By inflicting death on those who deliberately inflict death on others, the death penalty ensures justice for all" (Andre and Velasquez). Rebuttal: While capital punishment can provide a sense of justice, it has been the case that innocent people have been executed through capital punishment, denying both the family of the victim true justice as well as creating a new victim through the court's faulty ruling; therefore, capital punishment actually adds to the injustice of the original crime. Evidence: "Since 1973, 186 former death-row prisoners have been exonerated of all charges related to the wrongful convictions that had put them on death row" ("Innocence").  8 Speech an informative speech is meant to inform or educate the audience about a particular topic The thesis statement is the main idea or focus of the speech. Speech organizational patterns, or methods of organization, refers to the way the information is arranged within the speech. That is to say, the writer chooses which main point to discuss first, second, third, and so on. Organizational patterns for informative speeches include chronological, spatial, cause and effect, problem-solution, and topical. A chronological speech pattern arranges information according to the order in which it occurred in time A spatial speech pattern arranges information according to its physical location or relationship. A cause and effect, or causal, organizational pattern first explains the cause of a problem and then the effect, or result, of the problem. A topical speech pattern divides the speech's main topic into smaller, related subtopics. A Problem-solution persuasive speech outline is commonly used when a problem has a known solution. The speech begins by identifying the issue at hand, what is affected, and the possible risk if the issue remains unattended. Monroe's motivated sequence of persuasive speeches uses five steps to persuade the audience into taking action, as suggested by the speaker. The five steps include attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. The visualization stage involves elaborating the outcomes of implementing the solution. The intent is to have the audience picture themselves enjoying the benefits and, therefore, more likely to accept the proposal. In the call to action, the speaker can ask the audience to support the proposal through an action like signing a petition. An audience-centered approach encompasses the way a speaker views the audience. Some features and characteristics of this type of approach include gaining an understanding of one's audience, finding the speech's purpose, communicating with the audience, and getting feedback from the audience. Specifically, the public speaker should assess the demographics (age, gender, and income) and the psychographics (values and beliefs) of the audience. DICTION diction, or word choice Context is part or all of a phrase that comes before or after a term that influences its meaning A denotation is the dictionary meaning or literal meaning, while connotation is the implied meaning. Specific diction is used when the writer wants to use language that can be visualized. It's a matter of perception. 'The apple tree's limbs hung heavy with sweet fruits ripe for the picking.' general diction is used for broad phenomenon, persons, and places. 'Global cuisine offers infinite possibilities.' The writer will use this type of diction to give the audience a sense of how many things there are to eat on the planet. concrete diction to state a tangible fact. 'Christmas Day always falls on December 25th.' abstract diction is nonrepresentational or intangible. 'The eternal light of day gives us hope for tomorrow.'  9 Adapting to Your Audience During and After Your Speech Body language Lesson Summary Body language, the gestures, facial expressions, and positions that we use to communicate with others, can be one of the best ways to emphasize verbal communication - but only if you know how to use it effectively. Eye contact, for instance, can reflect emotions while also indicating confidence. Sometimes a gesture can draw attention to something or underscore your point, but our movements also affect our vocal expression, even changing the tone or range. Body language can be particularly effective when our movements match our verbal content and intent. Shielding, for example, shows someone that we're uncomfortable, while keeping the hands open suggests that we're comfortable. And then there are those gestures, like pointing your finger at someone, which can convey anger or accusation. Augmentative and Alternative Communication Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) includes all forms of communication except oral speech. Facial expressions, gestures, writing, and pictures are all types of nonverbal communication that are considered AAC. The use of AAC is necessary for individuals who have severe speech and language problems. They rely on other forms of communication, such as hand gestures, electronic devices, or pictures, to express their thoughts and needs. Let's look at a few different types of AAC that benefit individuals with communication problems. Types of Communication Content meaning — The literal meaning of the communication. For example, a teacher communicates to a student to begin reading. The teacher means exactly what they say. Relationship meaning — The context and status of the people involved will influence the kind of communication that occurs. For example, the relationship between an employee and their boss will result in a professional communication. Transactional process — Interpersonal communication happens in a dynamic system of meaning. It involves more than one person and unfolds into a system of meaning. For example, two friends are actively engaged in a conversation about their vacation plans. Ambiguous — The meaning behind communication can be difficult to understand at times, or something may have many potential meanings. For example, two friends are having a conversation about the upcoming school year and their goals. Afterwards, one of the friends is not quite sure what the other meant when referring to one goal. Purposeful — How people communicate and what they say depends on the message they are trying to send, as well as what they want to get out of the interaction. For example, a mother is trying to comfort her daughter, so she speaks in a soft tone and uses uplifting words. Communication is irreversible — Once something is said, it cannot be taken back. For example, a person who says something rude to another person may be able to apologize for their words; however, they cannot take back what they said.  10 Communication is inevitable — Communication cannot be avoided. For example, a person may avoid communicating verbally; however, they are still communicating nonverbally through their facial expressions and body language. Communication is unrepeatable — Interpersonal communication can never be recreated in the exact context or situation it was originally said. For example, a person will not be able to repeat a comment made to them in the same tone or exact situation. Non Verbal Communication Lesson Summary Nonverbal communication is expressed through non-language means and depends upon facial expressions, eye movement, gestures, vocal inflections and space/distance cues. The five functions of nonverbal communication are: Contradicting creates a double-meaning when words say one thing and nonverbal cues say another. Complementing is when nonverbal cues are used to help support an attitude. Emphasizing means increasing the verbal message's impact by using nonverbal cues to accentuate the speaker's words. Substituting is when nonverbal cues take the place of verbal cues completely. Regulating means controlling by using nonverbal cues to establish rules of communication. What does colloquialism mean? Merriam-Webster defines colloquialism as "a local or regional dialect expression", meaning words or expressions that are unique to different regions. idiom as "an expression that cannot be understood from the meaning of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own." A very common idiom used today is "raining cats and dogs." Jargon: Merriam-Webster defines jargon as "the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group". For example, someone could say "The letter was full of legal jargon" Eastern New England The first cultural region we'll look at is the Eastern New England area. This area extends from New York City, up through Boston and north to Maine. The culture of this region is one of the oldest in our country. Immigrants from England and other European countries were some of the first ones to arrive in the New World. Because of this European influence, the language has developed a different accent than the rest of the country. One of the main variations from Standard English includes the loss of the pronunciation of the letter 'r' before a consonant. In words like 'cart,' 'dark,' and 'fort,' the 'r' sound will be hard for a listener to hear or possibly even nonexistent. In addition, some speakers in this region might not differentiate between certain vowel sounds. For example, some people would pronounce the words 'tot' and 'taught' in exactly the same manner. This is generally understood not to be indicative of Standard English.  11 Inland North A second region is the Inland North, which extends all the way from the state of New York across the northern part of the country to North and South Dakota. This is a wide range, but overall most speakers follow the same general policies. For example, in this region most vowels are spoken with short sounds and are not elongated or emphasized. No distinction is made between the vowel sounds in words like 'merry,' 'marry,' and 'Mary.' All three have the same short 'e' sound. This is the region that is generally understood to speak the standard language for American English. Through westward expansion, people moved from the New England area to these parts of the country. Being in the midland, this culture was generally away from a European influence that would have changed the accent of the language. South A third region in the United States is the South dialect, which encompasses Louisiana across to the Carolinas. Again, there are some differences even between speakers within those states, but many of their mannerisms are similar. For instance, a common trait is for the speakers to glide the vowels in words. In other words, the vowel sounds are drawn out adding a sort of twang to the words. In addition, some short vowel sounds are simplified or combined with others. So that words like 'pin' and 'pen' actually sound exactly same. This is greatly different from the Inland dialect, which has a distinct sound for the 'e' and 'i' sounds. These aspects of the Southern dialect allow for a more melodic spoken language. This follows with the principles of the culture, which have long been known for a more relaxed and laid-back attitude. The rush and brashness of the dog-eat-dog business world was not cultivated in the Old South. The people from that time valued manners and hospitality. This is reflected in the language through making sounds longer, more melodic and even more soothing. Variations Overall These are just three of the different cultural regions in the United States. There are many more regions and also many more variations between the speakers than listed here, but you should now understand how the culture of a group of people can influence their language. Language is a fluctuating tool with the same purpose in all societies: communication. However, how that communication takes place can change based on the morals and habits of that culture. Besides these phonological differences, many differences also occur in lexicon, or the vocabulary particular to a language. For example, 'elevator' in the USA is known as a 'lift' in England. However, vocabulary differences have become less of an issue overall, since mass production, global economy, and worldwide informational distribution have greatly expanded communication for all society. Nonetheless, it is important to note that different cultures can have different vocabulary in addition to different sounds. Lesson Summary  12 To review, language is an important tool for communication. It must be able to evolve in order to adapt to the ever-changing needs of its speakers. Because of this, different cultures have different effects on language. As such, there could be many different variations of language all in one country. The standard language is the version deemed most acceptable and proper for any specific language. Dialect refers to a variety of one language that has different pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. An accent refers to speakers who sound differently from other speakers of the same language. And lexicon is the vocabulary in a specific language. One of the cultural areas in the United States that speaks with variation is the Eastern New England region. One difference in sound in this area is that speakers often drop the 'r' sound before consonants. A second region is the Inland North, which can often be referred to as the standard example of American English. A final region is the South, which has a definite variation from Inland North. This region elongates the vowel sounds and strives to create a more relaxed and melodic language to reflect their moral views on life. All in all, language must be adaptable in order to remain relevant. Deductive reasoning: begins broadly, ends with a narrow conclusion Inductive: begins with something specific, ends with a broad conclusion Impersonal elegies are written to mourn the loss of an idea, concept, or overarching period. The informal style of writing uses slang, abbreviations, and contractions and gives the feel of having a conversation with your reader. Scanning is most useful when looking for specific vocabulary or key details in the text. Scanning allows a reader to quickly find what they are looking for. Narrative Learning Theory emphasizes that students learn when evaluating stories based on their own experiences and knowledge. Thus, the baseline is previous experiences or knowledge (schema) which students then use to compare that which they read to. Genre Definition, Importance and Types - Genre is a structure used to classify all forms of art including music, film, and literature. Romance: Stories that focus primarily on the romantic relationship between characters. Famous romance novels include Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and Maurice by E.M. Forster.  13 Science fiction: Speculative stories about futuristic technology and encounters with extra-terrestrials are hallmarks of the science fiction genre. Examples include Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Fantasy: Stories about magical creatures and far-off kingdoms are often the purview of fantasy. Famous novels include The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Mystery: Mystery novels often involve a murder, a detective, and a set of clues. They usually get resolved, but sometimes leave readers guessing. Famous mystery novels include Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Horror: Horror stories are all about inspiring fear in readers, often using supernatural elements. Horror novels include Dracula by Bram Stoker, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Historical fiction: If a novel is written in the 21st century but set in the 19th, it is a work of historical fiction, weaving real information about the past in with fictional elements. Examples include The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Magical realism: Magical realism, or magic realism, combines dream-like or magical elements to otherwise realistic stories. It is associated with Latin American literature. Magic realism books include One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. Thriller: A thriller is a story that is fast-paced and involves danger for the characters. There is overlap between thriller and mystery. Notable thrillers include Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Literary fiction: Books that have no fantasy, romance, horror, or science fiction elements that are set in the same time period in which they are written are generally called literary fiction. Examples of literary fiction include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Spy fiction: Although it has some overlap with mystery and thriller, spy fiction is its own genre with its own conventions, featuring daring spies who conduct secret missions. Famous spy novels include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré, Goldfinger by Ian Fleming, and The Hunt Prose Prose Poetry Constructed in imitation of natural Constructed in an artful, yet often unnatural way language Arranged in metered form, e.g., iambic pentameter, Unmetered hexameter, etc.  14 No intentional rhyme scheme Often includes rhyming lines Arranged in sentences and Arranged in lines and stanzas paragraphs - Prose poem: A poem not written in line/stanza form. It can read like prose but often maintains poetic elements, such as metaphor, meter, and rhyme. - Prosimetrum: A work combining verse and prose. Normally, the two do not intermingle freely, but rather have specific verse segments and specific prose segments. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a good example of this, with some tales written in verse and others in prose. - Haikai prose: A type of Japanese poem split into three lines with syllabic restrictions. Despite the structural restrictions, the poem is generally composed of simple, natural sentences. - Purple prose: Not a literary form or device at all, but a descriptor for a writing style that is overly elaborate or embellished. Nonfiction Definition - Nonfiction (spelled non-fiction in British English) is a genre of literature based on facts, actual events, or real people. It is generally contrasted with fiction, a genre of literature that describes imaginary settings, events, and characters. o Literary nonfiction, or creative nonfiction, is a sub-genre of nonfiction where the author uses storytelling to inform, educate, and entertain the reader. Although, like with all nonfiction, the people, places, and events must be factual and verifiable, literary nonfiction is often considered more engaging than informative nonfiction because the author uses fewer technical words, inserts their point of view, or includes personal account o Informative nonfiction presents facts in a simple straightforward manner in order to inform a reader or explain a concept. The author of an informative nonfiction text takes an objective, unbiased view when writing on the topic. Informative nonfiction can still be written to entertain, but its primary purpose is to teach or inform. Typically, an informative nonfiction text is organized by chapter and broken into subtopics. A reader can use the table of contents to locate the subtopic they are interested in and read the text in any order. § Interviews and articles are the most common forms Types of Fiction - Fiction refers to literary works sourced from imagination as opposed to real-world accounts. o Short stories are short works of narrative prose. Because of their length, short stories generally focus less on plot or significant character development and more on generating a certain atmosphere or mood.  15 o Novellas bridge the space between short stories and novels. The word "novella" comes from the Italian word novella, which translates as "new." Novellas still lack the space for extensive plot and character development, but the extra length gives them enough time to explore a concept as opposed to establishing a specific mood. o Novels are the most common type of prose fiction in the modern day. Novella Novel 15,000-40,000 words in length 40,000+ words Few complex characters Many complex characters Direct, utilitarian plot Many side plots and complications Typically a single, focused theme Many intertwining themes Glossary of Literary Terms Poems are divided into verses. That's similar to music, little bits of chunks of words. Some poems might just have one verse, some might have just one line and some might have multiple verses. When they're arranged rhythmically, they're called stanzas. You often hear that in poetry: first stanza, second stanza. Depending on how the stanzas are divided, there are different terms you can use to refer to them. Popular types are: - Couplet: a two-line stanza that often rhymes (typically using end rhymes) but doesn't have to. - Triplet: a three-line stanza. - Quatrain: a four-line stanza. - Sonnet: a 14-line stanza that can be a single poem, or you can have a larger poem that has a bunch of sonnets as its stanzas, so you can get a little creative. - The pattern of poetic stresses is called meter, and, much like in music, the sound patterns that result can be referred to as rhythm. - feet, which are not like my feet but are the basic unit of measurement in poetry - Apostrophe: addressing a gone, dead or inhuman thing as alive and present (an ode by John Keats would do this). If I were to address a poem to Chipotle or Heath Ledger, that would also fall under the category of apostrophe because neither of those things are alive, sadly. - Pathetic fallacy: when a narrator of a poem believes that the outside world, especially nature, is mimicking his internal state. If you're really sad, and it's raining outside, that would be the pathetic fallacy. - Synecdoche (the title of a movie): using a part of something to refer to the whole. The best way to illustrate this would be with an example. If you're saying, 'all hands on deck,' you mean that all the sailors should come up and help out. Obviously, the sailors have  16 to bring themselves in addition to their hands. The hands are synecdoche - they're standing in for the whole sailor. - Ballad: a lot like '80s hair bands, poets like to write ballads. They're typically short, kind of song-like poems and they focus on a single subject, like 'The Ballad of Davy Crockett' or 'The Ballad of John and Yoko.' They come in ballad meter, which goes a little something like this (from Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'): - Bucolic/pastoral: popular in the Middle Ages, it focuses on pastoral life, lots of shepherds and sheep and stuff like that. - Doggerel: a light, humorous, usually bawdy (having to do with sex) and short poem, kind of like an episode of South Park in stanzas. - Elegy: a poem in dedication to something that has passed. It might be a dead person, or it might be a bygone era. - Epic poetry: epic, gigantic, world-spanning action. The Greeks were really into this; the Middle Ages were into it too. Beowulf is certainly an epic. - Narrative poem: tell a story. Some poems don't tell stories, and those are the ones that make the least sense, usually. - Sonnet: one of the most popular types of poetry. Shakespeare wrote a ton of them, but Petrarch was into them too. Shakespeare has his own form of sonnet; Petrarch has another. They tend to be about love, and they're typically 14 lines long. They have a couple of different rhyme structures depending on what you're doing. - Shakespeare – known for writing iambic pentameter - Scansion – looking at a poem for its rhythm and meter Fables, Folktales, Myths and Legends - These stories often come in the form of fables, folktales, myths, and legends. Such stories have roots in oral storytelling, which are written down or captured on paper long after their genesis. - Fables, which usually feature animals with human characteristics, contain a moral lesson. Such tales were often used to explore man's follies or weaknesses in order to instill valuable ethical and moral lessons in their listeners or readers. - Like fables, folktales usually have their beginnings in purely oral tales that change throughout time. They can be long or short, simple, or complex. The stories usually involve people, but can also involve animals as characters who interact with the humans. As they evolve, the tales are often in flux, changing to reflect the perspective and preferences of the person or culture telling them. o Fantastical elements are often present. These include mythical creatures (fairies, unicorns, dragons), supernatural elements, magic, witches, and tricksters. - myths are usually rooted in a single belief system, involving characters and concerns particular to that system. Often myths are offered as an explanation for certain things that were otherwise unexplained  17 - legends are usually rooted in a very specific locale and time, which makes them different from fables, folktales, and myths. Legends will usually take a place or person that actually existed and build stories around them Epistolary Writing - Epistolary writing is a form of writing which includes first-hand accounts of an event. - Epistles – instructive letters, formal in tone and found (ex. bible) - A monologic epistolary novel is told by a single character; only their letters or diary entries are shown, without any replies or contributions by other characters. Works written in the form of a diary are typically monologic epistolary novels. - a dialogic epistolary novel shows an ongoing conversation between two characters responding to each other's letters. - A polylogic epistolary novel shows three or more perspectives. One famous example of a polylogic novel is Dracula, by Bram Stoker, which is told through many characters' letters and diaries, as well as other formats such as newspaper articles. - Letters are one of the most common forms of epistolary writing. In addition to the letters sent between real individuals or groups, many works of fiction incorporate letters and may even be entirely made up of letters. - Diaries are another popular form of epistolary writing. Authors may choose to have their characters write in diary format in order to provide a close first-person perspective on the events, allowing the reader to see what happens through the character's eyes. Satire, Parody, & Spoofs - The satirical comedy definition is a type of humor that pokes fun or sheds light on a person or society's cultural, moral, or political beliefs and social mores. This type of humor does not imitate a work but rather comments on an aspect of people or society. Satire is the subtlest form of humor out of the three types and can often be mistaken for something genuine. (ex. Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest” or The Daily Show) - Parody is a form of comedy that mocks a specific work, such as songs, films, commercials, books, and many more. When thinking about how to write a parody, the most important thing to consider is the work that will be imitated. For a parody to be successful, the audience must know the original work to understand better the humor, so popular works are often targeted (ex. SNL, Weird Al) - Spoofs mock an entire genre. Spoofs use humor to imitate a particular genre, such as horror films or romance novels. The audience does not have to be familiar with specific work to understand and enjoy a spoof but rather have to be aware of the typical conventions and characteristics of a genre (ex. Scary Movie) Drama  18 - Drama is defined as a form of performance that involves conflicts, emotions, and the portrayal of human experiences through dialogue and action - Shakespeare – used prose in his plays to illustrate low social class or mental illness, used verse to show deep emotion or wisdom o Comedy dramas - William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream - Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest - William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing o Tragedy dramas - Shakespeare's Macbeth - Sophocles' Oedipus Rex - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet o Classical dramas - Defined by the Greeks and Romans, high symbolic Criteria for Evaluating Children’s Literature - Selecting children's literature for a reading program involves analyzing the content for quality, as well as choosing the right text to meet the individual needs of each student. - Readability formulas provide a statistical analysis that measures the syllables, words, and sentences in a sample of a text to determine its difficulty. - Characters need to be relatable and diverse enough that students can learn from the character. - Running records are a way to assess student reading levels. Flesch-Kincaid, Fry, and Lexile are readability scales that measure the difficulty level of a text. Plot - The plot of any literary text is essentially just what happens. It is the action, the conflict, the events that take place. - Types of plot - Coming of age (Stand By Me, The Breakfast Club, Dead Poets Society, etc.) - Quest (The Hobbit, The Wizard of Oz, National Treasure, etc.) - Comedy (Dumb and Dumber, anything by David Sedaris, etc.) - Tragedy (Antigone, Romeo and Juliet, Anna Karanina, etc.) - Exposition is the introduction to a story; characters and set are introduced, and the stage is set. - Rising action includes all the events between the onset of the confict and the climax of the story; rising action is typically the lengthiest part of the story. - The climax is the point at which the tension breaks; it is the part of the story where the reader finds themselves holding their breath.  19 - The falling action is the events that take place after the climax. The falling action is typically very short. - The resolution/denouement is how the primary conflict(s) in a text are resolved. Drama - Elements of drama (Aristotle) o Plot § The plot of a play consists of an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. A plot must include the conflict, but the structure does not have the cast of characters. o Characters o Diction § Diction, or dialogue, provides the most detail of the characters to an audience. Conversation on stage helps depict details of a character's personalities, feelings, and emotions. Diction often uses soliloquies and asides to convey a character's thoughts to the audience. A soliloquy involves a character addressing the audience while alone on stage. With an aside, there is more than one character on stage, but one character directly addresses the audience; only the audience is aware of the character's thoughts, not the other characters on stage. o Thought o Music o Spectacle o Stage directions are crucial for guiding the actor through a scene. Stage directions tell the actors where to move during a scene, direct the actors on how to speak, and provide instructions on the setting for the director. Symbols are another element to help communicate a message to the audience. Symbols are often characters or props used to represent something else. These aspects of a drama help move the plot forward and communicate the story's theme to the audience. o How do a soliloquy and an aside differ? § An aside reveals the character's thoughts to the audience when other characters are on stage, while a soliloquy reveals the character's thoughts to the audience when the character is alone on stage. Setting in Literature - Establish mood - Helps define characters  20 - Develops/enhances conflict - Types of setting o Place – where does the story take place? o Time – when does the story take place? o Environment – whereas the place within the setting refers to the physical location, the environment focuses more on the social, cultural, and historical aspects of the story Form and Meaning in Poetry - content of a poem refers to its language It, too, makes use of numerous elements, including the poem's topic, subject matter, theme, tone, word choices, word order, figurative language, and imagery. - Poetic form refers to a poem's physical structure; basically, what the poem looks like and how it sounds. Elements like the poem's type, stanza structure, line lengths, rhyme scheme, and rhythm express its form. - Together, content and form make meaning, which is the message the poet gives to the reader. Themes in Literature - theme, or important lesson about life, that he's trying to say is 'be thankful for what you have - Themes in literature are simply the lessons about life that we can learn from stories, poems, plays, and novels. Many works have more than one theme. In the story The Monkey's Paw, the theme is 'Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.' In the classic story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the theme is 'don't back down,' and in Flowers for Algernon, you learn a lesson about life, that 'people shouldn't play God.' External Conflict - An external conflict definition is fairly simple to remember: the conflict comes from an external source. External conflicts can happen between the protagonist and other characters, between the protagonist and the environment, between the protagonist and a monster, or any number of other scenarios. - Character vs character o Hamlet by William Shakespeare includes both internal and external conflict. Hamlet deals with internal conflict over whether or not to kill his uncle. He also has character vs character conflict with his uncle as the two of them have different standards of morality and different goals. o Beowulf, the oldest known work of English literature, is primarily about the character vs character conflicts between Beowulf and several different monsters. His first conflict is against the creature Grendel. He then fights Grendel's mother and finally a dragon.  21 o Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a contemporary example of character vs character conflict in literature. The protagonist, Amy Dunne, has a conflict with her husband Nick that drives the plot forward. - Character vs nature o Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is a survival story in which all of humanity has to deal with the imminent destruction of the Earth, attempting to survive in the hostile environment of outer space for thousands of years. o Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell tells the story of a young woman who lives alone on an island for many years. In addition to her environmental conflicts, she has internal conflicts about how she ought to act during her isolation. o The Martian by Andy Weir is about a man who is trapped on Mars and has to survive for a long time before a mission can be sent to save him. He has to fight against many elements of the environment that put him in huge amounts of danger. - Character vs society o The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about Katniss Everdeen, who is struggling against her oppressive society that forces her to participate in the Hunger Games. Katniss also has character vs character conflicts when she fights others to the death and tries to fight against President Snow. o Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is about two characters who fall in love but are not able to be together because of the feuds between their families. The societal obligations on both of them are the primary forces that they are in conflict with throughout the story. o 1984 by George Orwell is about a man named Winston Smith who lives in a totalitarian society. He attempts to struggle against the society, and ultimately ends up struggling against his own mind when he is brainwashed by members of the government. - Internal conflict, on the other hand, comes from uncertainty or struggles within the self. A character who is having an identity crisis, who is trying to make a difficult decision, or who is battling an illness may be said to be experiencing an internal conflict. How Fiction Draws on Themes from Other Works - The most universal themes are broad themes - ones that can be experienced by people regardless of their age, beliefs, or where they live.  22 - When authors recycle these stories, they tailor them for their target audiences. That's why Ella is quite different from Cinderella even though their stories have many similarities. She reflects our contemporary zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. Young women, and people in general, for that matter, nowadays are more likely to identify with the clever and independent Ella. Universal Theme in Literature - A universal theme is central to a story and revolves around a lesson, experience, or message that the author is trying to convey. The universal theme definition states that a universal theme is a concept understood by all readers. The universal ideas list includes a person's coming of age story, death and tragedy, and cause and effect of our actions. Examples of stories revolving around these aspects can be found from myths and folklore to modern movies. There is no finite number of universal themes, meaning that they will likely continue to be told throughout future human history. So what does universal theme mean? - A theme is a central idea of a story or passage, whereas a universal theme is a theme in storytelling understood by everyone. The question of what is a universal theme or what is a universal idea may best be answered with examples from a universal ideas list, such as growing up and leaving childhood, or coming of age. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a coming-of-age story, the universal theme of transitioning from childhood to adulthood is explored. The theme of loss of innocence is found in the example The Lord of the Flies, wherein children who lose their way are forced to argue and form pacts against one another. Courage and honor inspire questions about dedication to one's principles and ideals, such as in The Red Badge of Courage. The universal themes of love and desire can often be found in poetry. The cause and effect of rebellious behavior is a universal theme present in the popular Star Wars series, with the rebellion attempting to defeat the galactic empire. Epic Poetry - Epic poetry is the term used to define poems that are lengthy, written in narrative form, and typically chronicle the extraordinary feats and adventures of characters Some of these common characteristics include: - A third-person narration - An omniscient narrator - Opening in "medias res" or "in the midst of things" - The narrator citing divine inspiration - Taking place in the far off past - Following a strong/well-renowned hero (usually male) - The hero going on a journey across various locations - Divine figures or supernatural deities having a major role  23 - Famous epic poems can also be found in both Europe and Asia, for example, Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, Virgil's The Aeneid and the Indian Mahabharata, among many others. Epic poetry eventually became less common following the first century CE, although several well-known stories emerged, including Dante's The Divine Comedy in 1320 and John Milton's Paradise Lost in 1667. While the writing of epic poetry has become less popular, it continues to impact the modern day and gives a glimpse into the cultures of those who wrote them. - Homer wrote the lliad and the odyssey - The Lliad – tells the story of the Trojan War - Gilgamesh – tells the story of a young ruler’s growth into a wise king Narrative Poem Definition - It is a type of poetry that tells a story. What is the narrative poem meaning? A simple narrative poem definition is a type of poetry that uses poetic elements and storytelling techniques. - Types of Narrative poems o Idylls are narrative poems that focus on the pastoral theme of country life. During the Renaissance, the theme of an idyll was typically that of the countryside scenery, the shepherd, or other benefits of living away from a city and in the countryside. o epic poetry. Epic poetry is usually quite long as it tells of heroic events and features protagonists such as kings and warriors and antagonists such as magical creatures o Lays (sometimes spelled lais) originated in France in the 1100s A.D. These poems were romantic. As lay poetry evolved and adapted, it became known as the Breton lay. By the 1300s A.D., the Breton lay came to include romantic themes and some instances of the supernatural and chivalry. o Yet another form of narrative poetry is the ballad. The ballad originated in the late Middle Ages. A ballad is unique in that it is meant to be sung. - Poets invoke the muses to get inspiration to create a worthwhile poem. - Wine-dark sea is an example of an epithet, which describes a person, place, or thing in a way to bring out characteristics in the object being described. Sonnets - The definition of a sonnet is a type of poem, which contains fourteen lines and is usually written in iambic pentameter. - The sonnet is believed to have been invented in the 13th century CE by an Italian court poet named Giacomo da Lentini, who belonged to the Sicilian school of poets.  24 - The style of sonnet that Petrarch wrote is known as an Italian sonnet; due to the popularity of Il Canzoniere, it also became known as a Petrarchan sonnet. In the sixteenth century, sonnets became a popular form of poetry in England due to the translation of Il Canzoniere into English. Many English poets including William Shakespeare started writing a style of sonnet known as the English sonnet, which also became known as the Shakespearean sonnet due to the popularity of Shakespeare's poetry. Shakespeare wrote his sonnets about the theme of love, including famously in Sonnet 18 (''Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?/Thou art more lovely and more temperate''.) Slightly before Shakespeare published his sonnets, Edmund Spenser published a collection of sonnets which combined elements of the Italian and English sonnet in a style that became known as the Spenserian Sonnet. - Both Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets have fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter, and use a specific rhyme scheme. However, they differ in number of stanzas and rhyme scheme. Petrarchan sonnets consist of two stanzas (an octave followed by a sestet) while Shakespearean sonnets consist of three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. The Spenserian sonnet incorporates elements of both the Italian/Petrarchan sonnet and the English/Shakespearean sonnet. As time went on, poets developed several additional styles of sonnet. - To whom was Petrarch referring when he worte, “she ruled in beauty o’er this heart of mine” – women he was in love with, Laura Villanelle Poems - A villanelle is a type of poem with a particular repetition and rhyme scheme - The poems are made up of five tercets, or groups of three lines, ending with a quatrain, which is a four-line stanza - ''Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night'' by Dylan Thomas - Examples of villanelles include ''If I Could Tell You'' by W.H. Auden, ''One Art'' by Elizabeth Bishop, ''Mad Girl's Love Song'' by Sylvia Plath, and many more. - It follows an ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA rhyme scheme and are 19 lines total. Open and Closed Form Poetry - In short, form refers to the structure of a poem. Form is primarily created and defined by line lengths, rhythm, and rhyme scheme. Open form poetry is poetry that does not follow any specific rules as to form. The poet is free to create his or her own rhyme scheme, line length, and rhythm. They may borrow from some of the traditional, closed forms of poetry, but they are not bound to them. - Langston Hughes’s poem, ''Harlem.'' - In contrast to open form poetry, closed form poetry does have constructs that the poet needs to follow. These constructs involve rhyme scheme, rhythm, and line length. Closed form poetry is also sometimes called fixed form.  25 o Sonnets (14 lines) o Villanelle (19 lines) o Limerick (one stanza, five lines) o Haiku (three line poem, no rhyme scheme) Elegy An elegy, defined most broadly, is a work of literature or music written to mourn a loss. Elegies are most common in poetry and music. Famous examples in poems include - "O Captain, My Captain" by Walt Whitman - "Stop All the Clocks" and "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" by W.H. Auden - E.E. Cummings' "my father moved through dooms of love." Eulogies are more celebratory and respectful, looking back to the past to show the subject's greatness, contributions, or deeds. Eulogies can be written in any genre but are most often prose. Elegies are more downcast, mourning, and regretful, looking to the present and future without the subject. The writer may cover the subject's life and deeds but puts them in context of the loss of the subject, rather than leaving them in the past. Elegies can also be written in any genre, but traditionally an elegy is a poem. - Traditional elegies were poems that followed a set structure, the elegiac meter. These were often, but not always, written to express mourning for a loss. - Modern elegies are associated with the mourning theme: They're written after a loss to express sadness. - In English literature, the pastoral elegy was a specific type of elegy that placed its subject as a shepherd in a heaven-like nature setting; these had a strict thematic structure moving from sadness to acceptance. - The allegorical elegy or impersonal elegy is a more recent development (within the last few hundred years, as opposed to hailing from ancient times). These elegies are written to mourn a concept, abstraction, or unknown person or population rather than a specific individual. Quatrain - A quatrain is a stanza consisting of four lines. To better understand the definition of a quatrain, we must also understand the meaning of the stanza. A stanza is a group of lines in a poem or a song that is separate from other groups of lines. - There are five main types of quatrains that are commonly used in poetry. Elegiac stanza is a quatrain with an ABAB or AABB rhyme scheme and five iambs per line, or, iambic pentameter. Another name for elegiac stanza is heroic stanza. In  26 Memoriam stanza is named after a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson of the same name. In Memoriam stanza is a quatrain with ABBA rhyme scheme that uses iambic tetrameter, or, four iambs per line. Envelope stanza is a quatrain that also has an ABBA rhyme scheme, but does not necessarily use a specific meter. In ballad stanza, the final syllable of the first line does not rhyme with the final syllable of the third line. That is, the rhyme scheme is ABXB, and the meter of the lines alternates from iambic tetrameter to iambic trimeter, or, three iambs per line. As a helpful tool, ballad stanza can be sung to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song. The famous 19th–century poet Emily Dickinson is known for her use of ballad stanza in many of her poems. The fifth most common type of quatrain is hymnal stanza, which is similar to ballad stanza with its alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, but has a distinct rhyme scheme of ABAB. Many other types of quatrains exist, showing the versatility of the quatrain in poetry. Iambic Pentameter - Iambic Pentameter is a term used to describe poetry that is written in lines of five iambs each. An iamb is a type of metrical foot, or grouping of stressed and unstressed syllables, which consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The word comPLETE, in which the second syllable is pronounced with more stress (longer and louder), is an example of an iamb. - The meter of a poem is used to describe how many feet are in a given line. Pentameter indicates that there are five feet in a line. Therefore, iambic pentameter describes poetry written in lines of five iambs. Free Verse Poem - Free verse is a poetic style that does not feature a set meter or rhyme scheme. Parallelism, or repeated grammatical structures, is a common feature of free verse poems, as are creative line breaks. Free verse is not to be confused with blank verse, a poem with no rhyme scheme but a set meter. - Walt Whitman made free verse popular among American poets Alliteration - Alliteration is a common literary device most often found in creative writing, though it is not limited to that genre. Alliteration can be defined as the repetition of a sound at the beginning of a group of words in close proximity to each other. - The words of the phrase do not need to begin with the same letter so long as they have the same sound. - Words that begin with the same letter do not always have the same sound when applied in specific settings. - This device has been used for centuries in writing, all the way back to Ancient Greece.  27 - Alliterations can be found across many genres, but are most often seen in poetry, prose, and even in drama and children's stories. Alliteration also appears in everyday society and popular culture. - Alliteration is an important aspect to adding tone and emotion to a piece of literature. Assonance, Consonance, Repetition - Two types of repetition of sounds are assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds, and consonance, the repetition of consonant sounds. - Repetition is a literary device used to draw the reader's attention. It can come in the form of a repeated word, an entire phrase, or just a sound. Poetic devices - Iamb: contains one unstressed and one stressed syllable. - Trochee: contains one stressed and one unstressed syllable. - Spondee: contains two stressed syllables. - Anapest: consists of three beats, two unstressed and one stressed. - Dactyl: consists of three beats, one stressed and two unstressed - Amphibrach: consists of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable and ending with another stressed syllable. - Pyrrhic: consists of two unstressed syllables. Lines of poetry like iambic pentameter, which William Shakespeare often used, have a certain number of metrical feet. Here are some examples: Trimeter: three beats per line Tetrameter: four beats per line Pentameter: five beats per line (one of the most popular in the English language) Other poetic devices that contribute to the rhythm and meaning of a poem include: Couplet: Two lines of poetic verse that form a unit, usually with the same meter and rhyme. Internal Rhyme: The use of a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another either at the end of that line or in the middle of the next line. Rhyme (also called End Rhyme): The same sound appearing at the end of two or more words. Repetition: The use of a word or phrase more than once in order to emphasize meaning. Literary Nonfiction  28 Literary nonfiction, also called creative nonfiction, is writing rooted in fact but adopting writing tactics commonly associated with fiction such as plot, setting, characters, descriptive imagery, figurative language, and tone. Types of literary nonfiction include: Nonfiction essays: includes expository (explaining a topic), personal (sharing experiences or feelings), and persuasive (convincing the reader of a point); usually a brief text addressing a single topic Personal narrative nonfiction: written about an author's experiences; includes autobiographies (the author's life story), memoirs (highlights one theme/era/experience), diaries (daily record of personal thoughts/feelings not intended for publication), journals (daily record of experiences), letters (messages to a specific person), biographies (the only personal narrative written by a third party) Science writing: conveying scientific facts and principles through creative narrative writing Narrative journalism: factual data on current events, travel, sports, or food written using informal tone and narrative techniques Narrative history: factual historical events presented in story-telling style. Famous Historical Documents - The Mayflower Compact was drafted by the Pilgrims on November 11th, 1620 while on-board the Mayflower. Its purpose was to establish a legal form of self-government and a system of law and order. Social contract theory, or the social contract, was developed by John Locke and argued that government itself is a contract between the masses (or the people) and their leaders. Social contract theory provided the theoretical basis for the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was signed July 2, 1776. It declared the creation of new American Republic free from British authority. - Created in 1777, the Articles of Confederation was America's first constitution and outlined the relationship between the states and the central government. The Articles of Confederation proved to be an insufficient, and the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788. The document outlines the powers of government. Its first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The Gettysburg Address is possibly the most famous speech in American history. It was given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, when he visited the Battle of Gettysburg battlefield. Issued January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, granted freedom to slaves living in Confederate states. Using Literature to Appreciate Diversity - Narrative learning theory, or NLT, refers to the processing of knowledge through a narrative lens. Essentially, when a story is told, the recipient uses an internal schema, or cognitive framework of their own memories and experiences, in order to relate to the story's concepts.  29 World Literature - To see the importance of turmoil as fodder for the creative juices, we look to the great Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities. In it, Dickens highlights the differences between the rich and poor through two very different lenses: London and Paris. - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Written as a criticism on slavery, it opened the eyes of many to the evils of the institution. - Likewise, The Jungle showed the horrid conditions of the meatpacking business, both for workers and for consumers. – began massive social uproar - Vedic Peotry – religious texts and classic literature - The scarlet letter – 17th century new England Renaissance Humanism - At its heart, renaissance humanism is based on the idea that individual humans have beauty, worth, virtue and dignity. This idea was able to take hold from the 14th to 16th centuries mainly due to the decline of the Catholic Church. As its power weakened, its stronghold on culture and education, did as well. Italian writers and scholars Petrarch, Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio are known as the fathers of renaissance humanism, because of their contributions to the movement's inception. Petrarch revived interests in the classics via ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. Dante wrote ''The Divine Comedy,'' which was humanist in its framing: rather than centering God. ''The Divine Comedy,'' told of a personal journey to salvation. Boccaccio's ''Decameron'is humanist because it teaches that life is to be enjoyed, rather than spent toiling. Desiderius Erasmus is a later renaissance humanist who translated, The New Testament. The renaissance humanist movement has had a long and lasting legacy in arts, politics, education, and religion. It was the precursor to the scientific revolution and the enlightenment. - Man became more independent from the Church - Development of humanism was the decline of the power of the Church - Divine comedy – personal journey to God Expressing Diversity in World Literature - Literature has the capacity to capture the different realities that define various communities. Linguistic diversity can be captured using phenomena such as code- switching to express ideas using two languages at once. Cultural norms can change over time, and looking at literary history can tell us about how people lived in the past. Also, literature can capture the particular features of a subculture or marginalized community by comparing and contrasting it with the dominant culture. Poetry is one  30 of the ways marginalized communities have expressed their relationship with the dominant culture, by voicing their values and frustrations, which makes the community more visible within the dominant culture. Social Issues - There are lots of examples of social issues, or problems that affect certain groups of people in negative ways, explored in literature. Literature about age ranges from the adolescent coming of age novel, like the Bildungsroman (or the novel of education) to depictions of the mental and physical limitations of old age. Gender equality was a focus of the 1960's feminist movement, which focused on gaining women's rights within a patriarchal society, a society based on the perceived dominance of males, continue to develop as themes in women's literature. The politics of ethnicity and identity frequently confront the disenfranchisement (lack of political power) of marginalized communities, which can be political, ethnic, and/or linguistic. Human rights literature has increased in visibility as more people have chosen, sometimes at great risk, to speak out about the abuses of colonialism, genocide, and racial injustice, among others. - The German Bildungsroman is the predecessor of the contemporary coming-of-age novel because they both deal with the education and maturation of the protagonist. Myths, Legends, Folklore Folklore is the lore (stories, customs, beliefs) of a group of people that is passed down generationally. Folklore is primarily learned through oral stories, performance, or craft Folklore is used to pass on and preserve cultural the customs and beliefs of a group of people BrerRabbit Myths are a type of lore that explores the origins of a particular culture group's worldview. A myth may discuss how humans came to be, how the world was formed, or explain a particular phenomenon or (religious) belief. Myths often describe events that occur outside of the human experience and centralize non-human characters. Pandora pantheon, or family of gods, that ruled over specific areas and people Within the category of mythology, there are various types of myths, including: Creation Hero's journey Nature Historical Psychological  31 Legends are lore about a person or a place that is steeped in historical truth. Native American and Colonial Literature - The Puritans were a group of English Protestants who were discriminated against in England. - The last of the Mohicans – influenced by native American culture - Iroquis story of the owl – super natural forces Early American Writers (influenced political and literary theory) - John Smith - A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Happened in Virginia and The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles. - John Winthrop - A Modell of Christian Charity, which laid out plans for how the Puritans would live and conduct their faith once they arrived in America The History of New England. The diary describes the day-to-day and political life of Winthrop and the people of the Massachusetts Bay colony - Roger Williams - His book The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience is his most famous work. The book is written as a conversation between truth and peace, and in it, he makes an argument for states to uphold the freedom of people to follow their conscience, an argument close to his heart in personal and political arenas. Victoria era The Victorian era consisted of the years between 1837 and 1901 when Queen Victoria was the reigning monarch of Great Britain. This was an era of great change brought on by advancements in science and technology. This altered the way people interacted with the world Some of these advancements were the printing press, the railroad, and the mechanization of farm work. It also saw the increase of urban dwelling. The Romantic Movement occurred during this time, and it strongly prized the emotional experience, and it occurred as a response to classicism and the Enlightenment. The Victorian era also saw an interest in realism which attempted to portray the real world as closely  32 as possible. Charles Dickens was one of the premier writers of prose in this age. He often wrote about good people coping with bad circumstances. George Eliot was another classic writer of the time. She wrote under a pseudonym because she didn't think her writing would be taken seriously if readers knew she was a woman. Poetry sometimes felt more emotional than prose did. One theme that was prevalent in poetry and not in prose was that of a strong desire to connect with the past. The lyric poem, narrative poem, and dramatic monologue were popular forms of poetry at the time. Gothic writing was also appreciated at this time and often dealt with the grotesque and eerie - Charles Dickens - Noted British writer Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and died in 1870. His own life experiences influenced his work, and he was especially drawn to commentary on social issues related to class and poverty after his father was sent to debtors' prison. The family's financial reversals as a result of his father's incarceration required Dickens to interrupt his education and seek work in a factory. Upon his father's release, Dickens returned to school. Dickens drew on these experiences and his work experience in the legal system as a young adult to comment on societal issues, such as class stratification and poverty. Through the use of satire, or the use of humor to comment on serious issues, Dickens addressed many of these social concerns in his works. - Beginning with his first book, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, most of Dickens' novels were first published as serials or installments in magazines. A common practice during the Victorian era, this type of publishing is referred to as serialization. Dickens' David Copperfield is his most autobiographical novel, but his novella A Christmas Carol is probably his best-known work. Some critics rank the work of Charles Dickens as second only to that of William Shakespeare. - George eliot - Mary Ann Evans, under the pen name George Eliot, penned some of the most important novels of the 19th Century. Focused on Realism and rural life, and heroes drawn from lower and rural class England, Eliot's novels include the epic eight-book novel Middlemarch. Often featuring a web of interconnecting characters and intersecting storylines, George Eliot's novels often probe interesting questions on society and religion. Her novel, Silas Marner, depicts a man who rejects traditional Calvinist religion in favor of living an ethical life in the countryside outside of the church. - George Eliot, criticized for her scandalous relationship with the married George Lewes (who was in an open marriage), often found herself at the center of controversy despite her hope to hide behind a pen name. Despite the scandal and its negative attention, she wrote a large number of lengthy books in under 20 years, many of which are considered literary classics. Robert Browning - Browning was kind of a cool guy, kind of a weird guy. He liked to do things differently, whether that's living with your parents until you're 34 or writing poems in which we have to sympathize with people who kill their wives, like in 'Porphyria' and also - spoiler alert! - maybe in 'My Last Duchess.' He didn't have such good success early on with poetry writing. Fortunately, later in life, he got a lot more successful. He wrote The Ring and the Book,  33 which was pretty popular. Then we look back at some of his more overlooked poems, like 'Porphyria's Lover,' 'My Last Duchess' and 'Sordello' that are also great. His wife was famous too - Elizabeth Barrett was always well-known as a good poet. So that's Robert Browning. - Modern Victorian Man - Dramatic monologues o Browning's dramatic monologues are purposefully weird and challenging. It's presenting you a puzzle to solve. You want to pick apart what's real, what's not, what's in the character's head and what's outside. - Fascination with abnormal psychology Alfred, Lord Tennyson - Alfred, Lord Tennyson was one of the most celebrate poets of Victorian England. Born in 1809, he suffered various tragedies and the deaths of family and friends. These events pushed him to become a writer, and despite early praise, he spent years writing, but not publishing. His poems discussed isolation and mythology and were written in various styles. - Eventually, his years of work lead to the publication of his poems and he became a national best-seller and highly respected poet. Many of his works have been heavily quoted and alluded to in other works. "In memoriam A.H.H." coined the term "Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" included the now-famous line "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do or die." His poems helped Queen Victoria with her own grief and eventually led to his position as England's Poet Laureate. Gerard Manley Hopkins - Gerard Manley Hopkins (focuses on strange descriptions) was a poet and a Jesuit. He didn't really publish in his lifetime, but he had a collection that was published in 1918 that was associated with the Modernist movement of the time. - Poetic meter - He invented sprung rhythm (primary concern is accents), which was a method of composing poetry that requires you to have the same number of stresses in your lines, but doesn't care about number of syllables - in contrast to something like iambic pentameter, where you count accents and syllables. - He glorifies God by capturing the natural world in striking linguistic detail. The 'pied beauty' (a series of natural images) of the world is an extension of God, who nevertheless has a 'constant beauty' that transcends it. He also expresses these weird homoerotic tendencies in his descriptions of Jesus. He glorifies the body of Christ in a somewhat sexual way. We saw that in 'Hurrahing in Harvest' and 'Harry Ploughman.'  34 - What he's really trying to do is to get representation and the real world to mesh. We see this with the nun's quote in 'Wreck of the Deutschland' (‘o Christ, Christ, come quickly) and how it sounds so similar to his poetry. So that's Gerard Manley Hopkins. - Homosexuality and Catholicism Joseph Conrad - Born in what is now Ukraine to Polish parents, Joseph Conrad, who later earned British citizenship, is considered one of the greatest English novelists of the early 20th Century. A world traveler who worked as a merchant sailor much of his life, Conrad spoke three languages, Polish, French, and English. His experiences in what the English thought of as "exotic" locales (Asia, Africa, the West Indies) made his novels popular among audiences, who often appreciated the books for their adventure stories, but less for their literary themes and social critique prized by today's scholars. The characters of Joseph Conrad's work often struggle with good vs. evil, disillusionment, and despair - the great majority meeting death by their own hand or those of others. - With his themes of individualism, dark psychological subject matter, and a strong critique of colonialism and capitalism, Conrad is often seen as a bridge between the Edwardian era and Modernism, which dealt with similar concerns and subject matter in the years surrounding WWI. Considered his greatest work, Heart of Darkness is a strong critique of Belgian Colonialism in the African Congo (shows how Belgians treated native Africans), as well as a dark psychological inquiry into the nature of good and evil. Through the character of Kurtz, who exploits the African population he encounters, Conrad explores the abuses of power and position committed by settlers in Africa. (many main characters who die) - Polish-born English novelist; "Almayer's Folly", "Lord Jim", "Typhoon" - Adventure novels of the sea; "Heart of Darkness", "The Secret Agent" - Psychological thrillers; Noted for his treatment of moral questions and his adriot use of language in his work William Butler - William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet whose work is often considered a precursor to Modernism (post-modern interest). His Modernist sensibilities are clearest in the poetry that he published in the middle period of his life, when he pulled back from his mysticism and his interest in folklore to write works in a more sparse, realistic voice. In addition to his poetry, Yeats was politically active in Ireland for several years. He worked as a member of the Senate in the new Irish Free State that was created in 1922. He had a strong sense of Irish national pride that informed his politics and his poetry throughout his life. - Yeats' most famous poem by far is ''The Second Coming,'' originally written in 1919. The work describes the state of Europe after the First World War, which had left many Europeans questioning what they had once known about the world. The poem is also a metaphysical treatise on the nature of reality, exploring Yeats' idea of cyclical history. He believed that life would always eventually cycle back on itself and he explored the  35 implications of this belief in the poem. ''The Second Coming'' describes the arrival of a kind of antichrist whose arrival is heralded by the world's chaos. In 1923, partly because of the success of the poem along with his other works, Yeats became the first Irish person to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. - Founder of Abbey theatre E.M. Forster - English novelist, essayist and critic; "A Room With a View", "Howard's End", "The Longest Journey" and "Where Angels Fear To Tread" - Addressed subjects such as social justice, materialism and spirituality and dissolution of the English upper classes; His masterpiece "A Passage to India" was inspired by several visits to India and Fosters service in Egypt in WWI - Both A Room with a View and Where Angels Fear to Tread focus on the experiences of Englishwomen traveling in Italy, who fall in love with men from outside their social class. - Forster's Maurice was not published until 1971, after his death. This is because of the fact that the book prominently featured a homos