Set 6 Flashcards
(34 cards)
Setting example
the general setting of Joyce’s “The Dead,” is a quay named Usher’s Island, west of central Dublin in the early 1900s, and the initial setting is the second floor apartment of the Misses Morkan.
Setting
The general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which the action of a fictional or dramatic work occurs;
Simile
An analogy or comparison implied by using an adverb such as like or as, in contrast with a metaphor which figuratively makes the comparison by stating outright that one thing is another thing.
Simile ex
Anon out of the earth a Fabrick huge
Rose like an Exhalation, with the sound
Of Dulcet Symphony and voices sweet. (I. 710-12)
Soliloquy
A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone. The technique frequently reveals a character’s innermost thoughts, including his feelings, state of mind, motives or intentions. The soliloquy often provides necessary but otherwise inaccessible information to the audience
Soliloquy ex
Hamlet to be or not to be speech
Speaker
The narrative or elegiac voice in a poem (such as a sonnet, ode, or lyric) that speaks of his or her situation or feelings. It is a convention in poetry that the speaker is not the same individual as the historical author of the poem.
Speaker ex
poet Lord Byron’s mock epic Don Juan. Lord Byron wrote the poem as a young man in his late twenties. However, the speaker of the poem depicts himself as being an elderly man looking back cynically on the days of youth.
Stage directions
Words written for what actor(ess) must do
Static character
a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative
Static character ex
Horatio, Claudius
Structure
approach is to describe how language is actually used rather than prescribing a “correct” version for students to learn.
Structure ex
some of the most famous literary minds out there—Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Roland Barthes
Style
The author’s words and the characteristic way that writer uses language to achieve certain effects.
Style ex
“Hemingway style” or “Dickensian style.”
Subject
A person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with:
Subject ex
Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Beatrice, Kate, Viola
Subplot
A minor or subordinate secondary plot, often involving a deuteragonist’s struggles, which takes place simultaneously with a larger plot, usually involving the protagonist.
Subplot ex
He allows the audience to get comfortable in his subplots and controlling plot; we are on the inside of many of the jokes, all of them, in fact, except for one.
Subtext
An underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation.
Syllogism
: a formal argument in logic that is formed by two statements and a conclusion which must be true if the two statements are true
Syllogism example
every virtue is laudable; kindness is a virtue; therefore kindness is laudable
Symbol
: a letter, group of letters, character, or picture that is used instead of a word or group of words
Symbol example
the lion is a symbol of courage
