Final Exam Review

Section IV on the Study Guide

Biography

 A writer tells the life story of another person.

Climax

 The "high point" of a story in which the major conflicts erupt in some kind of final showdown (fight, argument, violent or physical action, very tense emotional moment...); at the end of the climax, the "winner" will be clear (there is not always a winner!). This is the point in the story where there is no going back to the way things used to be. This is the point in the story where something CHANGES.

Conflict

   Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces.

Internal conflict occurs when a character has a mental fight inside his or her head. Internal conflict includes:  Human vs. Himself or Herself External conflict occurs when there is a struggle or conflict between a character and an outside or external source. External conflict can include:  Human vs. Human  Human vs. Society  Human vs. Technology  Human vs. Nature

Epic Poetry

      Begins in media res (in the middle of the story – not at the beginning) Tells the deeds of gods and heroes Supernatural forces intervene in the lives of human beings Have many different settings and episodes Have an epic hero – this time Odysseus, a mortal man who is King of Ithaca.

Contains the values and characteristics that are valued most by the culture of the writer



Epic Simile

An epic simile is an extended comparison between two unlike things using like or as. Epic similes, particularly Homeric similes, can explain the inexplicable by comparing them to the familiar, provide visual imagery to enrich the tale, and advance the plot of the adventure and connect it to previous adventure.   “A man surfcasting on a point of rock for bass or mackerel, whipping his long rod to drop the sinker and the bait far out, will hook a fish and rip it from the surface to dangle wriggling through the air: so these (men) were born aloft in spasms toward the cliff.”  Description of Scylla wrenching Odysseus’s men from the boats “Backward and down he went, letting the wine cup fall from his shocked hand. Like pipes his nostrils jetted

crimson runnels, a river of mortal red, and one last kick upset his table knocking the bread and meat to soak in dusty blood.”

 Description of the death of Antinous, the suitor

Epithet

  an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality or characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

“Now Zeus the lord of cloud roused in the north … ”  “Zeus, the son of crooked-minded Cronus …”   “The servants armed themselves and all three took their place beside the master of battle.” “Lily-livered coward”, “Rosy-fingered dawn” , “Swift footed Achilles” are also epithets commonly seen in the

Odyssey.

Exposition

  Information about the plot, events and characters that comes at the beginning of a literary work. The author introduces you to the story.

The first part of the narrative or story; the first line of the plot diagram.

Metaphor

   A metaphor makes a comparison without a linking word; instead of one thing being like another, one thing is another. An extended metaphor, also called a conceit, is a metaphor that is several lines long or extends through an entire stanza.

“He was a shaggy mountain of a man”

Mood

 A feeling or emotion created by the choice of words, the characters and their actions, and the setting. Imagery is often used to create this in a literary work.

  “By night our ship ran onward toward the Ocean’s bourne, the realm and region of the Men of Winter, hidden in mist and cloud. Never the flaming eye of Helios lights on those men at morning … ruinous night being rove over those wretches …” The mood in the above passage is frightening, ominous, and foreboding.

Novel

   a fictitious prose (writing that mimics conversational English) narrative or story of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.

Proper MLA format dictates that novels are italicized when typing and underlined when hand-writing a piece.

Some examples of novels are: Great Expectations,

Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones, Anthem, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Personification

   When a non-human thing is assigned human attributes Death came for the Archbishop Bliss picked the child up and held her in its arms

Play

   A work of literature meant to be performed by actors with dialogue on a stage in front of an audience Also called a drama Example: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Point of View – Be Ready to Classify as Singular or Plural

first person point of view second person point of view third person point of view The events are told by a character in the story using his or her own words. First-person stories have narrators who use I, me, and my throughout the story. This sentence is an example of first-person point of view: “I knew it was risky, but I was willing to take that chance.”

The narrator addresses the reader directly using the word you. This perspective is not as common as either the first- or third-person points of view. This sentence is an example of second-person point of view: “You knew it was risky, but you were willing to take that chance.” A speaker outside the action narrates the events using he, she, and they. The narrator may tell the events from the perspective of one character, focusing on this character’s thoughts and feelings, or the narrator may see and know everything, even the thoughts of all the characters. This sentence is an example of third-person point of view: “Carol knew it was risky, but she was willing to take the chance.”

point of view in general limited point of view omniscient point of view

Point of View is the perspective or vantage point from which a story is told. The point of view refers to the narrator of a story, poem, or sometimes a drama, and determines how much he or she knows.

Limited point of view is when the reader knows the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of a single or a few characters in a literary work.

Omniscient literally means all-knowing. Omniscient point of view occurs when the reader knows all of the characters thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Protagonist

 The main character in a literary work that the reader is intended to feel sympathize for or relate to.

Antagonist

 The villain or opposite force in the main conflict of a literary work.

Resolution

 The resolution is the final element of the plot diagram. The resolution gives the sense that the story is complete. It is the final action of the story. If the story is a comedy or a fairy tale, here is where the reader will find his or her happy ending.

Rising Action

 This is the second element in the plot diagram. The tension may build through a series of complications (incidents that either help or hinder the protagonist in finding a solution). This is the rising action.

Setting

 Setting is when and where a story takes place. You may be asked to determine why the setting is important or how the setting affects the interpretation. The setting can clarify conflict, be the catalyst for conflict, illuminate character, affect the mood (see literary term #9), and act as a symbol.

Short Story

  an invented prose narrative or story written in conversational English shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot.

In proper MLA format, the titles of short stories are put in quotation marks. IE: “The Most Dangerous Game” or “The Cask of Amontillado”

Suspense

  When the writer creates a feeling or sensation of nervousness in the reader; the reader is left wondering what will happen in a story.

Example: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” or Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”

Prose

 the ordinary language people use in speaking or writing

Nonfiction

 prose writing that presents and explains ideas or tells about real people

Author’s Tone

  Encompasses the author’s attitude toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. This may be formal, informal, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Each piece of literature has at least one theme, or central question about a topic, and how the author approaches this theme within the literary work is known as this literary device.

The author’s attitude toward the subject about which he/she is writing.