Literary Terms Lecture-1 Notes PDF

LITERARY TERMS LECTURE-1 Presentation by Priya Ma’am FOUNDATION BATCH FOR CUET PG 2025 EDUCATION PILL  Literary Terms Definition: Techniques, styles, and formats used by writers and speakers to enhance their composit...

LITERARY TERMS LECTURE-1 Presentation by Priya Ma’am FOUNDATION BATCH FOR CUET PG 2025 EDUCATION PILL  Literary Terms Definition: Techniques, styles, and formats used by writers and speakers to enhance their compositions. Allegory Definition: A narrative or visual representation where characters, places, or events symbolize deeper meanings with moral, political, or philosophical significance. Purpose: To illustrate or convey complex ideas in an accessible or impactful manner. To present abstract concepts through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or events.  Famous Examples - Edmund Spenser – The Faerie Queene: The several knights in the poem actually stand for several virtues. John Bunyan – The Pilgrim's Progress: The journey of the protagonists Christian and Evangelist symbolizes the ascension of the soul from earth to Heaven. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter: The letter represents self-reliance from America's Puritan and conformity. George Orwell – Animal Farm: The pigs stand for political figures of the Russian Revolution. C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia: Often read as allegory for Christian themes.  Ballad Definition: A verse form often set to music, originating from medieval French dance songs called chanson balladée or ballade. Structure: No fixed structure; varies in line and stanza count. Commonly uses quatrains with ABCB or ABAB rhyme schemes, featuring rhymed second and fourth lines. Uses: Historically, written and sold as single-sheet broadsides. Evolved in the 18th century to include lyrical ballads.  Famous Examples 1. “La Belle Dame Sans Merci “I met a lady in the meads Full beautiful, a faery’s child; Her hair was long, her foot was light, And her eyes were wild.” ­–John Keats This poem is one of the most famous ballad poems written in Keats’s interpretation of a medieval romance. This ballad tells the tale of a knight who falls in love with a lovely fairy lady and the rhyming scheme used in this poem is abcb.  2. “The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” “Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” –Samuel Taylor Coleridge This ballad is one of the most famous ballads written. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a man traveling by ship makes a rash and horrible decision that alters the course of both his life and his death. The Mariner must comprehend his acts and carry out his punishment because he is struggling inside over the crime he committed. With more than 600 lines, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s longest poem. This poem is an example of epic poetry because of its length, and the stanza mentioned above is one of its most well-known stanzas.  03. “Annabel Lee” “It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee;” –Edgar Allan Poe One of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous ballads, his signature style has been seen in the way he writes about Annabel Lee. The poem starts off sounding like a fairy tale and offers the reader a sense of everything positive and joyful. Poe utilizes specific words and phrases to create the frightening impression that lies behind this happy tone. The poem’s readers realize that this is not your typical fairy tale about halfway through. Instead, this is a dark and scary tale.  04. “A Red, Red Rose” “O my Luve is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune” –Robert Burns Another famous ballad poem was written by Robert Burns. This beautiful poem was written by Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. This poem was initially printed in the year 1794 in a book of musically arranged traditional Scottish ballads. The poem has a balladic structure and is meant to be sung aloud. It conveys the speaker’s passionate love for their spouse and promises that their relationship will last for eternity, outshining all human existence in addition to the universe altogether. 5. “The Solitary Reaper” By William Wordsworth“ “Will no one tell me what she sings?— Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago:” –William Wordsworth William Wordsworth recalls an intense emotional experience in this poem. It speaks about a Solitary Reaper’s song. Without regard for other people, “The Solitary Reaper” was singing and working. The poet, though, was watching her while enthralled by the melody. He claims that her singing is the best even if he compares it to that of the nightingale and the cuckoo bird. The poet cannot understand the song’s meaning, but he knows that it is a song of melancholy. The melody never left the poet as he listened impassively until he departed the scene. He claims that even after leaving that location for a while, he could still listen. The music continued to play in his heart long after it could no longer be heard. The beautiful encounter, which also gave him immense pleasure, had a profound effect on him.  Blank Verse : Unrhymed poetry with regular metrical lines, usually in iambic pentameter. Described as one of the most common and influential forms of English poetry since the 16th century. Historical Background: First used in English by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in his translation of The Aeneid (around 1540, published posthumously 1554–1557).  Romantic and Victorian Poets: William Wordsworth: Used blank verse in Lyrical Ballads, The Prelude, and The Excursion. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Known for conversation poems like The Eolian Harp and Frost at Midnight in blank verse. John Keats: Modeled blank verse in Hyperion on Milton’s style. Percy Bysshe Shelley: Used blank verse in The Cenci and Prometheus Unbound, close to Elizabethan form. Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Devoted to blank verse, used it in The Princess and Ulysses. Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: Ben Jonson: Opted for a tighter blank verse with less enjambment in plays like Volpone.  Milton’s Blank Verse: Paradise Lost: Notable for syntactic complexity and metrical looseness, with a focus on philosophical and epic themes. Other works: Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes in blank verse. 18th Century and Later: John Dryden: Wrote blank verse in his tragedy All for Love. James Thomson: Used it in The Seasons. William Cowper: Revived blank verse with The Task. W. B. Yeats: The Second Coming in blank verse. W. H. Auden: Used blank verse in The Watershed.  Comedy: Genre intended to amuse and induce laughter through various mediums (theater, film, stand-up, etc.). Origin: Ancient Greece; influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. Greek Comedy: Dramatic performance with conflicts between opposing groups (e.g., youth vs. old). Often features a relatively powerless protagonist overcoming societal obstacles through clever means, creating dramatic irony and humor. Satire: Uses humor to criticize people or institutions, highlighting their flaws. Parody: Mocks popular genres or forms without condemning them.  Types of Comedy Romantic comedy deals with themes of love. Relationships are portrayed with their fair share of ups and downs, but true love overcomes obstacles and the ending sees a happy union (or reunion) of the couple. Shakespeare’s As You Like It Comedy of manners confronts the intrigue of elevated ladies and gentlemen of society. This form of comedy relies on high comedy full of witty dialogue. Usually, complicating characters consist of jealous husbands, witches, cunning wives, and fools. Comedy of Manners is largely satirical. Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan Sentimental comedy sees middle class characters triumphing over moral indecencies and deal heavily with themes of virtue and overcoming bad influences. Unlike other forms of comedy, sentimental comedy aims to provoke tears more than laughter. Sir Richard Steele’s The Conscious Lovers Tragicomedy contains elements of both tragedy and comedy. Generally, a tragicomedy is a serious play that has a happy ending. Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard Comedy Examples in Literature Comedy has been used well in literature, particularly dramatic literature, for centuries. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare explores the complications of love which arise from concealment and confusions around identity. Also, this play explores the thin line between love and madness and how carelessly pursuing someone in the name of love can lead to negative outcomes. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest presents comedy using elements of romance, situational comedy, and farce (exaggeration and over-the-top). The play experiments with confused identities and ultimately everything works out in the best possible way.  Dissociation of Sensibility: A literary concept introduced by T.S. Eliot in his essay The Metaphysical Poets, referring to the separation of intellectual thought from emotional experience in poetry, beginning in the 17th century. Eliot's Theory: Before the 17th century, poets like John Donne unified thought and feeling, expressing both through their poetry. Later poets, influenced by Milton and Dryden, separated intellectual thought from emotions, creating a "dissociation of sensibility." Impact on Poetry: Earlier poets "amalgamated disparate experience" by combining intellect with emotion. Post-17th-century poets, however, reflected and thought separately from feeling, leading to a change in poetic method and style.  Donne as a Model: Eliot praises John Donne for treating thought as an experience that affected his sensibility, showcasing the unity of thought and emotion. Eliot's View on Progress: Despite the refinement in language, Eliot saw the dissociation of sensibility as a negative shift, marking a decline in poetry's ability to integrate thought and emotion.  Dramatic Monologue Definition: A type of poetry where a single character speaks, revealing their personality, thoughts, and situation. M.H. Abrams' Features: A single speaker, distinct from the poet, delivers the entire poem. The speaker interacts with others, but their presence is only inferred through the speaker's words. The speaker's speech reveals their temperament and character to the reader. Dramatic monologues are used to express a character's views and provide deeper insight into their emotions. Examples in novels include Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), The Fall (Albert Camus), and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Mohsin Hamid).  Victorian Examples: Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Ulysses (first true dramatic monologue), Tithonus, The Lotos-Eaters. Matthew Arnold: Dover Beach Robert Browning: Dominated by dramatic monologues (My Last Duchess, Porphyria’s Lover, The Ring and the Book, Fra Lippo Lippi). Other Victorian Poets: Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Jenny and The Blessed Damozel. Algernon Charles Swinburne: Hymn to Proserpine.  Post-Victorian Examples: W.B. Yeats: The Gift of Harun al-Rashid. Elizabeth Bishop: Crusoe in England. T.S. Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock American Example: Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven.  Elegy Definition: An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, often a lament for the dead. However, its definition can vary, sometimes referring to any somber or reflective text, a work commemorating a person, or specifically a lament for death. History: Greek Origin: The term "elegy" comes from the Greek word elegeíā, meaning ‘lament’. Initially, it referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets on topics such as love, war, and death. Latin Elegy: Roman poets often used elegies for erotic or mythological subjects, but they could also be satirical or humorous. Example of Ancient Elegies: Ovid: Elegies about his exile, which he likened to a kind of death. English Literature: Broader Meaning: Before the 16th century, elegies in English included meditative and mournful poems, as seen in Old English texts like The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Wife’s Lament. Modern Definition: By the 16th century, elegy began to refer specifically to laments for the dead or tragic events. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Definition: By Coleridge's time, elegy referred to any reflective, serious poem that often expressed sorrow, love, or longing. Famous Example: Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1750).  Famous Examples of Elegy in English Literature: "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray (1750) Description: One of the most famous elegies, Gray's poem reflects on death, rural life, and the inevitability of human mortality. Set in a quiet churchyard, it meditates on the unfulfilled potential of those buried there, focusing on the common folk who lived and died without recognition but with dignity. This elegy is a profound reflection on the fleeting nature of life and the equality of all in death.  "Lycidas" by John Milton (1637) Description: Written in memory of Milton's college friend, Edward King, who drowned at sea, Lycidas is both a personal lament and a reflection on the brevity of life. "In Memoriam A.H.H." by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1850) Description: Tennyson’s lengthy elegy was written to mourn the death of his close friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. The poem grapples with questions of mortality, religion, and evolution in the face of deep personal grief.  "Adonais" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1821) Description: Adonais is Shelley's elegy for the poet John Keats, who died of tuberculosis at a young age. The poem mourns Keats's early death but also celebrates his enduring legacy. It reflects on death as a transition to immortality, with Keats's spirit living on through his poetry. "Thyrsis" by Matthew Arnold (1866) Description: Arnold’s pastoral elegy laments the death of his friend and fellow poet, Arthur Hugh Clough. The poem draws on classical themes of shepherds and rural life while exploring the deep personal loss Arnold feels. "Break, Break, Break" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1842) Description: This shorter elegy reflects Tennyson’s grief over the death of his friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. The elegiac tone arises from the sense of isolation and the harsh reality of life continuing even after a personal loss. "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman (1896) Description: In this elegy, Housman reflects on the death of a young, successful athlete. The poem explores the fleeting nature of fame and the ironic notion that the athlete is fortunate to die young, while still in the prime of life, before his fame fades. It is both a tribute to youthful achievement and a lament for the premature end of life. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" by Walt Whitman (1865) Description: Whitman’s elegy for Abraham Lincoln, written after the president’s assassination, mourns not just Lincoln but also reflects on the suffering caused by the American Civil War. O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Together with "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day", and "This Dust Was Once the Man", it is one of four poems written by Whitman about the death of Lincoln.