English Flashcards
(34 cards)
Symbolism
Definition : A literary device in which a writer uses symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
- The Catcher in the Rye: The “red hunting hat” symbolizes Holden’s desire for uniqueness and his protective shell, shielding him from the world.
- Museum of natural history:
Holden’s longing for stability and unchanging innocence. - The Crucible: The “witch trials” symbolize the dangers of mass hysteria, religious extremism, and the consequences of scapegoating.
- The poppet: The poppet represents manipulation and false evidence.
- Hamlet: The “skull” (in the famous “Alas, poor Yorick” scene) symbolizes death, the inevitability of mortality, and the passage of time.
- The ghost: Represents unresolved justice and the lingering effects of corruption.
Imagery
Definition : Vivid descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating mental images for the reader.
- The Catcher in the Rye: Holden describes his little brother Allie’s red hair and his baseball mitt with poems written on it. This creates vivid imagery of his brother’s memory and the loss Holden feels.
- The Crucible: Arthur Miller uses vivid imagery when describing the forest scene, where the girls dance and conjure spirits, evoking the idea of the unknown and the sinister.
- Hamlet: In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet’s description of the ghost’s appearance as “all is not well in Denmark” creates a chilling visual image of his dead father’s spirit.
Metre
Definition : The structured pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
Rhyme
Definition : The repetition of similar sounds in the final syllables of words, often at the ends of lines in poetry.
Tone
Definition : What is being conveyed by the author - what is implied
- The Catcher in the Rye: The tone is often cynical, detached, and melancholic as Holden Caulfield navigates his teenage angst and the complexities of the adult world.
- The Crucible: The tone is tense, urgent, and accusatory, reflecting the witch trials’ hysteria and the fear of the unknown.
- Hamlet: The tone is tragic, contemplative, and often dark, reflecting Hamlet’s deep philosophical inquiries and despair over life and death.
Diction
Definition :
The way a text is written/spoken
- Choice of words
- What am I actually trying to say?
- The Catcher in the Rye: Holden’s diction is informal, colloquial, and often laced with slang, reflecting his rebellious, teenage voice (e.g., “phony,” “goddamn”).
- The Crucible: The diction is formal, archaic, and reflective of the Puritan society, using terms like “whore,” “witchcraft,” “devil’s work,” etc.
- Hamlet: Shakespeare’s diction is elevated and poetic, full of complex metaphors, allusions, and archaic terms, e.g., “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”
Verse and Stanza
Verse = lines
Stanza = paragraphe
The crucible : Plot
The Crucible, a play written in 1953, by Arthur Miller, details the Salem witch trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail, the main character in the play, manipulates the Puritan town’s anti-witch fervor to destroy John Proctor, her former employer who once had an affair with her.
The Crucible Act 1
In Act 1, a minister named Parris catches his daughter Betty and his niece Abigail dancing in the forest. Other girls participate as well, along with an enslaved woman from the Barbados named Tituba. After he accuses them of witchcraft, Betty takes to her bed and appears to be unconscious. She is sick, but no one can figure out why. Rumors spread around town that she’s been bewitched. Betty’s dad is Reverend Parris, the new-ish church leader in Salem, who is paranoid about his reputation amongst the townspeople.
The Crucible Act 2
Act 2 of The Crucible highlights the fragile relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor, who is still scarred by John’s past affair with Abigail. Elizabeth grows suspicious when John comes home late. John’s discomfort at her lingering distrust leads to a tense discussion.
The Proctors’ maid, Mary, makes a poppet in court. Later at home, Abigail pretends to have been stabbed in the stomach with a needle. When the court clerk finds Elizabeth Proctor with Mary’s poppet, he accuses her of harming Abigail by using the poppet for witchcraft.
The Crucible Act 3
In Act 3 of The Crucible, John Proctor goes to court to try to exonerate his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Although he gets Mary Warren to confess that she and the other girls have made up seeing the spirits, the judge refuses to believe that the girls are lying.
We meet the judges who have been conducting the witch trials. John Proctor and Mary Warren finally confront the court with the truth, but, as you’ll see, the truth has limited currency when it doesn’t align with what people have already chosen to believe.
The Crucible Act 4
In Act 4 of “The Crucible” Parris wants to postpone the hanging to save him from the angry citizens of Salem. Hale returns and tells the court that all the witchcraft hysteria was all a lie. The court refuses to listen to Parris or Hale, and wants a confession out of John Proctor.
Judge Danforth, Mr. Parris, and Mr. Hale all try to get John Proctor to confess so that he can be spared the death penalty. Although he initially consents to confessing, John Proctor ends up tearing up his confession.
Hamlet Act 1
Act 1: The play opens with a cold night watch at the Danish palace. Guards Bernardo and Marcellus, joined by Horatio, witness the ghost of King Hamlet. They inform Prince Hamlet, who learns from the ghost that his uncle Claudius murdered him to seize the throne. Hamlet vows revenge, swearing his friends to secrecy.
Hamlet Act 2
Polonius sends a spy, Reynaldo, to Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on his son, Laertes, in Paris. Ophelia reports Hamlet’s strange behavior, which Polonius believes is due to her rejection of him. Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet mocks them but reveals his frustration. He plans a play to expose Claudius’s guilt by reenacting his father’s murder.
King Claudius addresses the court and talks about the sad death of his brother, Old Hamlet. He then toasts his marriage to his brother’s wife, Gertrude, saying ‘With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, / In equal scale weighing delight and dole’ he has ‘Taken to wife’ his ‘sometime sister’.
Hamlet Act 3
In Act 3 of Hamlet, Hamlet delivers his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy and confronts Ophelia, harshly rejecting her. The court watches a play that mirrors King Hamlet’s murder, causing Claudius to react guiltily. Hamlet plans to confront his mother, but accidentally kills Polonius, hiding behind a curtain. Claudius struggles with guilt, while Hamlet prepares to leave for England.
Hamlet Act 4
In Act 4 of Hamlet, Hamlet’s accidental killing of Polonius leads to chaos. Claudius sends Hamlet to England with orders for his execution. Meanwhile, Ophelia descends into madness over her father’s death, and Laertes returns, seeking revenge. Claudius and Laertes plot to kill Hamlet through a poisoned duel, while Gertrude reports Ophelia’s tragic drowning.
Hamlet Act 5
In Act 5 of Hamlet, Hamlet and Horatio encounter Ophelia’s grave, where Hamlet mourns her death and confronts Laertes. Hamlet reveals his suspicions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s betrayal and orchestrates their deaths. He then faces Laertes in a poisoned duel, where both are fatally wounded. Gertrude dies from poisoned wine, and Claudius is killed. Hamlet names Fortinbras as Denmark’s new king before dying. Fortinbras arrives, orders Hamlet a soldier’s burial, and listens to Horatio recount the tragic events.
The catcher in the Rye: resume
The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old who’s been kicked out of Pencey Prep. The book begins with him getting expelled for failing his classes. After the expulsion, Holden leaves school early, planning to return home but decides to spend a few days in New York City first.
He stays at hotels, visits clubs, and tries to connect with people, including a former girlfriend, Sally, and a prostitute named Sunny. Throughout his adventures, Holden struggles with depression and confusion, often criticizing the “phoniness” of the world around him.
He frequently mentions his younger brother, Allie, who passed away from leukemia, which deeply affects him. Holden’s mental state deteriorates, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of protecting children from the harsh realities of adulthood, imagining himself as the “catcher in the rye” who saves them from falling into corruption.
Holden’s breakdown culminates when he has a mental collapse and is found wandering the streets. He has a nervous breakdown and is eventually taken to a psychiatric facility. The book ends with him in recovery, hinting he may return home and try to get his life together, though his future is left uncertain.
The crucible characters (9) :
John Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
Abigail Williams
Reverend John Hale
Reverend Parris
Mary Warren
Judge Danforth
Giles Corey
Thomas Putnam
John Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
John Proctor – He challenges the witch trials and refuses to falsely confess, ultimately dying to preserve his integrity.
- Honest
- Guilt-ridden
- Principled
- His name is his honour
- Outspoken
Elizabeth Proctor – Her accusation of witchcraft forces John to confront his past mistakes, and her eventual forgiveness helps him achieve redemption.
- Forgiving
- Virtuous
- Loyal
- Resilient
Abigail Williams
Mary Warren
Abigail Williams – She starts the witch trials by falsely accusing others to eliminate Elizabeth Proctor and gain power.
- Manipulative
- Vengeful
- Obsessed with John Proctor
- Deceitful
- Selfish
Mary Warren – She is a servant who initially tries to tell the truth but succumbs to pressure and accuses Proctor to save herself.
- Timid
- Easily influenced
- Fearful
- Weak-willed
Reverend John Hale
Reverend Parris
Reverend John Hale – Initially a witch trial expert, he becomes disillusioned with the court and tries to stop the trials as he sees the injustice.
- Scholarly
- Idealistic
- Conscientious
- Regretful
- Transformative
Reverend Parris – He is the paranoid and self-interested minister whose focus on reputation fuels much of the hysteria in Salem.
- Paranoid
- Self-absorbed
- Power-hungry
- Defensive
- Insecure
Thomas Putnam
Judge Danforth
Giles Corey
Thomas Putnam – He manipulates the witch trials to accuse people whose land he covets, using the chaos for personal gain.
- Greedy
- Vindictive
- Manipulative
- Entitled
Judge Danforth – He presides over the trials with an iron fist, refusing to halt the proceedings even when evidence of injustice arises.
- Stern
- Judgmental
- Pompous
- Rigid
Giles Corey – He refuses to give up the name of his informant and is pressed to death, becoming a martyr for justice.
- Stubborn
- Courageous
- Loyal
- Outspoken
Hamlet characters (9) :
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Horatio
Ophelia
Polonius
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Fortinbras
