Antagonist - noun
Function: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary
Example: The Joker is the antagonist of Batman
Analogy - noun ( pl. -gies)
Function: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification
Example: King Hrothgar could be a Robin Hood figure because of the way he treats the people under him
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Lit Terms
Allusion - noun
Function: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Example: The Simpsons television show constantly refers to (some may say, steals from) movies, music, literature etc. In a scene where Principal Skinner is in his office, he suddenly turns to his window and looks out at an old, spooky house while he talks about a tormented relationship with his mother. This is an allusion to the Norman Bates character in the movie Psycho.
Ambiguity - noun ( pl. -ties)
Function: uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language
Example: I can't tell you how excited I enjoyed meeting your dog
Function: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Example: The Simpsons television show constantly refers to (some may say, steals from) movies, music, literature etc. In a scene where Principal Skinner is in his office, he suddenly turns to his window and looks out at an old, spooky house while he talks about a tormented relationship with his mother. This is an allusion to the Norman Bates character in the movie Psycho.
Ambiguity - noun ( pl. -ties)
Function: uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language
Example: I can't tell you how excited I enjoyed meeting your dog
The Man He Killed
1)
a former British coin and monetary unit equal to two shillings and sixpence
2)
He says because twice to emphasize the clarity of his reason. He begins to say it with his own words, then stops and says it in the words he was trained to use. He repeats himself, saying his foe is indeed his foe, for his own sanity. He is making the distiction between the two that they are to not be friends and it is okay to kill him. When he ends the stanza with "although" it brings up a question. Ie. I really don't want to go to the snowball fight because I have homework, although... This could be ended with it would be really fun so I'm in. Although brings up a situation.
3)
Thomas Hardy's poem 'The Man He Killed' focusses on the senselessness and futility of war, where a man has killed another quite simply because they were fighting on opposing sides in a war.
Written in the first person from the standpoint of one of the soldiers, the first stanza expresses the idea that the two men who fought would, had they in other circumstances met each other outside a pub, have enjoyed a few drinks ('right many a nipperkin') together. Yet it becomes clear in the second stanza that they in fact met as foot soldiers on opposing sides in a battle, and being confronted with each other, one had to die. The two men shot at each other, and the narrator's shot fatally injured the other man.
a former British coin and monetary unit equal to two shillings and sixpence
2)
He says because twice to emphasize the clarity of his reason. He begins to say it with his own words, then stops and says it in the words he was trained to use. He repeats himself, saying his foe is indeed his foe, for his own sanity. He is making the distiction between the two that they are to not be friends and it is okay to kill him. When he ends the stanza with "although" it brings up a question. Ie. I really don't want to go to the snowball fight because I have homework, although... This could be ended with it would be really fun so I'm in. Although brings up a situation.
3)
Thomas Hardy's poem 'The Man He Killed' focusses on the senselessness and futility of war, where a man has killed another quite simply because they were fighting on opposing sides in a war.
Written in the first person from the standpoint of one of the soldiers, the first stanza expresses the idea that the two men who fought would, had they in other circumstances met each other outside a pub, have enjoyed a few drinks ('right many a nipperkin') together. Yet it becomes clear in the second stanza that they in fact met as foot soldiers on opposing sides in a battle, and being confronted with each other, one had to die. The two men shot at each other, and the narrator's shot fatally injured the other man.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
My Last Duchess
1)
favor- an attitude of approval or liking
officious- assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way
munificence- larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
2)
He is speaking to the people under his wife-to-be's Duke. They are at his his house on business to talk about the wedding. The remarks he makes tell that he killed his wife because she didn't show him more love than she did anyone else. It is hinted that he will do this to his next wife, if she acts the same.
3)
He is rich and self-centered. He feels that his wife's only purpose in life should be to please him and listen to him, not anybody else. This is a dramatic irony.
4)
The Duke is definitely full of himself and feels everyone else should be full of him too. He is, however, sexually jealous that his wife flirts with other men. She isn't flirting on purpose, it's just in her personality to be so kind and happy.
5)
The Duke doesn't think of art very sincerely. He looks at art and relates it to his own life; the painting to his ex-wife, Neptune to him, and the seahorses to her joyous outlook on life and to the beauty that art really is.
6)
She was killed. It isn't relevant how she was killed, but the fact that the Duke killed her, and is now planning another wedding, is important. By telling his new wife he killed his old wife because he didn't like her hints at his craziness.
favor- an attitude of approval or liking
officious- assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way
munificence- larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
2)
He is speaking to the people under his wife-to-be's Duke. They are at his his house on business to talk about the wedding. The remarks he makes tell that he killed his wife because she didn't show him more love than she did anyone else. It is hinted that he will do this to his next wife, if she acts the same.
3)
He is rich and self-centered. He feels that his wife's only purpose in life should be to please him and listen to him, not anybody else. This is a dramatic irony.
4)
The Duke is definitely full of himself and feels everyone else should be full of him too. He is, however, sexually jealous that his wife flirts with other men. She isn't flirting on purpose, it's just in her personality to be so kind and happy.
5)
The Duke doesn't think of art very sincerely. He looks at art and relates it to his own life; the painting to his ex-wife, Neptune to him, and the seahorses to her joyous outlook on life and to the beauty that art really is.
6)
She was killed. It isn't relevant how she was killed, but the fact that the Duke killed her, and is now planning another wedding, is important. By telling his new wife he killed his old wife because he didn't like her hints at his craziness.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Road Not Taken
1) The poem is about taking two different paths in life. One is nicer than the other, which means there is a rough path and a smooth path in life. He chooses the path less travelled, which is the good path. He sighs because he knows to be on the right path, you have to do the right things all the time, which isn't always as fun as being a little rebbelious sometimes. He doesn't regret taking this path, but regrets that he must follow the rules of the road rather than take the bad path and wear himself out just as the path is.
2) People are shaped by their surroundings. If there is a good path and a bad path, and he takes the good path, he could end up with a steady job, happy family and be respected. If he took the bad path he could've got cought up in drugs, gangs or gone banrupt and forced to live on the streets.
2) People are shaped by their surroundings. If there is a good path and a bad path, and he takes the good path, he could end up with a steady job, happy family and be respected. If he took the bad path he could've got cought up in drugs, gangs or gone banrupt and forced to live on the streets.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Lit Terms
Term: Allegory; (N) a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one
Example: AVATAR! There are obvious layers of allegory in the movie Avatar. The Pandora woods are a lot like the Amazon rain forest (the movie stops in its tracks for a heavy ecological speech or two), and the attempt to get the Na'vi to 'cooperate' carries overtones of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Function: An author would reach the reader on a personal level by using imagery to catch their attention, then with the use of allegory, relate the story to a larger idea. Allegory could be used to persuade and/or inform, through the use of entertainment.
Term:Alliteration; (N) the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Example: Jacob jumped jubilantly, justifying Jesse's job.
Function: Alliteration occurs when the initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are repeated in close succession. The function of alliteration, like rhyme, might be to accentuate the beauty of language in a given context, or to unite words or concepts through a kind of repetition. Alliteration, like rhyme, can follow specific patterns. Sometimes the consonants aren't always the initial ones, but they are generally the stressed syllables. Alliteration is less common than rhyme, but because it is less common, it can call our attention to a word or line in a poem that might not have the same emphasis otherwise.
Example: AVATAR! There are obvious layers of allegory in the movie Avatar. The Pandora woods are a lot like the Amazon rain forest (the movie stops in its tracks for a heavy ecological speech or two), and the attempt to get the Na'vi to 'cooperate' carries overtones of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Function: An author would reach the reader on a personal level by using imagery to catch their attention, then with the use of allegory, relate the story to a larger idea. Allegory could be used to persuade and/or inform, through the use of entertainment.
Term:Alliteration; (N) the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Example: Jacob jumped jubilantly, justifying Jesse's job.
Function: Alliteration occurs when the initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are repeated in close succession. The function of alliteration, like rhyme, might be to accentuate the beauty of language in a given context, or to unite words or concepts through a kind of repetition. Alliteration, like rhyme, can follow specific patterns. Sometimes the consonants aren't always the initial ones, but they are generally the stressed syllables. Alliteration is less common than rhyme, but because it is less common, it can call our attention to a word or line in a poem that might not have the same emphasis otherwise.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Lit Devices: Epigram/Sarcasm
Epigram: a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.
Example:
"I am unable, yonder beggar cries,
To stand, or move; if he say true, he lies."
A Lame Begger by John Donne
Sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey comtempt
Example:
"Well aren't you just one big ray of sunshine this morning!"
Example:
"I am unable, yonder beggar cries,
To stand, or move; if he say true, he lies."
A Lame Begger by John Donne
Sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey comtempt
Example:
"Well aren't you just one big ray of sunshine this morning!"
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