Book Clubs Book Review Essay

Academic English I – Book Review/Book Report – Essay Prompt – 1st Tier

Directions: Write a 4-5 page,  5-paragraph (1000-1250+ word) book review (typed and double-spaced) on the novel you have selected to read for “book clubs” (independent reading unit). Please follow the format listed below. You will be graded according to the following categories: content (wealth of information provided), organization (faithfulness to the format outlined below), use of language (word choice/phrasing) and mechanics (grammar/spelling).

Introduction

Paragraph 1 should contain:

– some mention of the book’s title, author, genre and date of publication.

– a general overview of the book’s subject matter and storyline.

– a brief explanation of how or why you were drawn to this book.

– a thesis statement summarizing your conclusion as to whether and why the book succeeds or fails as a work of literature. [Note: You must give reasons explaining the basis for your decision.]

Body of Paper

Paragraph 2 should contain:

– some background information and commentary relating to the author’s life and career.

– interesting facts and/or commentary relating to how  or when the author came to write this book.

– interesting facts and/or commentary relating to other books the author is famous for having written.

Paragraph 3 should be sizeable and substantive in length and should contain:

specific exposition of the novel’s setting, plot, and character (s) including relevant quotations and analysis and commentary.

Paragraph 4 should contain:

– some additional commentary on the author’s narrative voice including point-of-view (POV) and writing style with relevant quotations (samplings of dialogue and description).

Conclusion

Paragraph 5  (your conclusion) should contain:

– an overview of the book’s major strengths and/or weaknesses.

– your final remarks explaining why this book succeeds or fails as a work of literature  or qualifies as sort of a “mixed bag” – and whether you would heartily recommend it to others.

– your concluding remarks on how this novel compares with other books you have read. Be sure to include titles and authors of other books you have read!

 

 

 

 

 

9th Grade Book Club Recommendations

Freshman English I – Book Club Recommendations –

Directions: Step 1 – Choose at least 10 books on this list to investigate on your own. Go to amazon.com or goodreads.com or a similar website (wikipedia.com) that has information about the book.  (Type in “books for 9th graders” to access the goodreads site.) Step 2– On a separate sheet of paper make a list of  5-7 book entries (also known as annotations). Each entry should contain: the title and author and date of publication of a particular book + a 3-sentence summary on what you have discovered about the book’s  genre, setting, plot and characters + a 1-2 sentence explanation of why you would be inclined or disinclined to read this book.

Older Classics

(1) Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe [short but challenging]

(2) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott [long, challenging, but highly readable]

(3) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte [long, but highly readable]

(4) Emma or (5) Persuasion or (6)  Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen [mid-length and somewhat challenging]

(7) The Count of Monte Cristo  by Alexandre Dumas [long but highly readable]

(8) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott [long but highly readable

(9) The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins [long but highly readable]

(10) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass [short, compelling and challenging]

(11) Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev [short]

(12) First Love by Ivan Turgenev [short]

(13) Billy Budd by Herman Melvillec [short and challenging]

(14) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins [long but compelling]

(15) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens [long and challenging]

(16) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

(17) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson [short]

(18) Dracula by Bram Stoker [long ,  highly readable gothic page-turner]

(19) The Death of Ivan Illych + The Kreutzer Sonata  by Leo Tolstoy [short but challenging]

(20) Youth + The Secret Sharer or  (21) The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad [short but challenging]

(22) The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka [short but challenging]

(23) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton [mid-length but challenging]

(24) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton [mid-length but challenging]

(25) The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain  [short]

(26) The Turn of the Screw and other Stories by Henry James [short but challenging short story collection]

(27) The Time Machine by H.G. Wells [short science fiction]

(28) The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy [relatively short]

(29) The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells [short science fiction]

(30)  The Jungle by Upton Sinclair [famous muckraking fiction]

(31) The Phantom of the Opera by Guston Leroux [famous horror story]

(32) The Hobbit by J. R.R. Tolkien [mid-length but highly readable]

(33) The Fellowship of  the Ring by J. R.R. Tolkien [somewhat long but highly readable]

(34) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison [long , compelling and somewhat challenging]

(35) The Once and Future King by T.H. White [long King Arthur saga]

(36) The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck [historical fiction]

(37) OtherVoices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote

(38) A Town like Alice by Nevil Shute

(39) East of Eden by John Steinbeck  [family drama]

(40) The Ox Bow Incident by Walter V. Clark

(41) The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett[detective/crime fiction]

(42) The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler [detective/crime fiction]

(43) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier [somewhat long but readable]

(44) The Natural by Bernard Malamud [relatively short]

(44) Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

(45) The Heart is a Lonely Hunter or (46) The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

(47) Fahrenheit 451  or (48) The Martian Chronicles by (1953)  Ray Bradbury [short]

(49) Watership Down (1974) by Richard Adams [long but readable]

(50) Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle [short to mid-length]

(51) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark [short]

(52) True Grit by Charles Portis [short western]

(53) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander  Solzhenitsyn

(54) A Separate Peace (1959) by John Knowles [short]

(55) The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1970) by Ernest Gaines

(56) Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro [short story collection]

(57) Blindness by Jose Saramago

(58) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

(59) Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison [challenging]

(60) A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley [long]

(61) A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton [long]

(62) The Remains of the Day  or (64Never Let You Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

More Recent Fiction –  YA High Interest

(63) After the First Death or (64) The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier [relatively short and readable]

(65) Fallen Angels or  (66) Monster or (67) The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers (1988)

(68) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)

(69) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (1989)

(70) Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

(71) A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines [mid-length]

(72) White Teeth (2000) by Zadie Smith

(73) The Book Thief (2006)  or  (74) I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

(75) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)

(76) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (2006)

(77) Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (1996)

(78) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (2006)

(79) Compound by S.A. Bodeen (2008)

(80) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (2003)

(81) Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (2005)

(82) Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer 

(83) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005)

(84) Feed by M.T. Anderson (2002)

(85) What is the What by Dave Eggers (2007)

(86) If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2009)

(87) A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (2007)

(88) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)

(89) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (2000)

(90) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (2006)

(91) Unwind by Neal Shusterman (2007)

(92) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)

(93) Where the Heart Is by Billie Betts (1995)

(94)  In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

(95) Delirium  or  (96) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

(97) Going Bovine by Libba Bray

(98) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

(99) Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

(100) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Topics

Freshman English I – To Kill a Mockingbird Essay –

Directions: Write a 4-6 page (1000-1500+ word) essay, typed and double-spaced, on one of the following topics dealing with Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Compose your essay in such a way as to edify and inform readers who are unfamiliar with this book. Follow the format outlined below. Your essay will be graded on the basis of the following categories: content (How informative is your essay?), organization (Does it follow my format with a definite underlying structure?), narrative voice (Does the narrative sound credible and coherent?) and clarity (Are the examples that are given in support of the thesis clearly presented and explained in depth?

Topic A –  Innocence and Experience – What are the major life-lessons that the younger characters in the novel (Scout, Jem and Dill) absorb as part of their coming-of-age in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s? You may pick one or more of these young people to write about and you may want to mention other kids in the story as well such as Walter Cunningham, Little Chuck Little, Burris Ewell, Cecil Jacobs and Francis Hancock.

Topic B –  Sources of Enmity – What are the significant sources of tension (i.e. suspicion, mistrust, class prejudice, racial prejudice,  snobbery, enmity, animosity, hatred) between various characters in the novel and what price is paid by certain characters for these antagonisms? For this topic, in addition to the younger characters mentioned above, you may want to concentrate on any of the following adult characters: Old Mr. Radley, Nathan Radley, Boo Radley, Miss Stephanie Crawford, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Atticus, Calpurnia, Lula, Zeebo,  Reverend Sykes, Aunt Alexandra,  Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Sheriff Heck Tate, Mr. Gilmer, Judge Taylor, Mr. Link Deas, Dolphus Raymond, Miss Merriweather, Mrs. Farrow, Mr. Underwood.

Topic C – Dimensions of Social Inequality – What does this novel have to teach us about the problem of human inequality and the divisions within human society? Write about specific dimensions of inequality in Maycomb, Alabama – i.e. the advantages and disadvantages that certain characters experience. Try to identify an underlying common lesson that unites each of these characters. Your paper may choose to focus on characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Burris Ewell, Mr. Cunningham, Walter Cunningham,  Dill Harris, Dolphus Raymond or any of the other characters mentioned above.

Introduction

Topic Sentence – Begin with a topic sentence that identifies the novel’s title and author

and makes some general comment about the overall significance of the novel.

General Exposition – Next provide a general overview of the novel’s plot and subject matter and the principal characters.

Narrow the Focus – Be sure to narrow the focus so as to establish the range and scope of your essay.

Thesis Statement – At the end of your first paragraph, include a thesis statement or statements that specifically outline and clarify the life-lessons or sources of tension  or dimensions of inequality that your paper will be analyzing.

Body of Paper

Be sure to include at least three (3) developmental paragraphs each one of which provides  evidence examples  – illustrations  (taken from various scenes in the novel) of the life-lessons or sources of tension or dimensions of inequality you have outlined in your thesis.  Each developmental paragraph must include at least one or two relevant quotations followed by commentary and analysis.

Remember to begin each developmental paragraph with A.) a topic sentence that identifies the example or evidence that is relevant to your thesis. Next, B.) set the scene sufficiently – i.e. explain  what is happening in the story and which characters are involved –  before introducing a particular quotation. Next, C.) quote in a concise manner any description and/or dialogue that you find especially important or illuminating.  For each quotation or paraphrase of a scene, D.) provide relevant  commentary and analysis – i.e. explain to your readers why each example or bit of evidence is significant.

Conclusion

Use your conclusion to make editorial comments (for or again)  the novel’s overall merits  and its depiction of the problems and issues mentioned in your essay. You may also use the conclusion to comment on how the lessons of the novel relate to your own personal experience of related subjects.

 

 Freshman English I – To Kill a Mockingbird Essay – Sample Thesis Statements

Topic A –  Innocence and Experience – Difficult Lessons of Youth

The three main children characters react in different ways to the trial of Tom Robinson – and take from it different lessons about the world; Dill who identifies strongly with Tom responds with panic and paranoia; Jem becomes cynical and disillusioned with the justice system, while Scout (perhaps like Harper Lee herself) remains accepting and hopeful about the possibilities of social change.

The children in the novel – Scout, Jem and Dill in particular – learn harsh lessons about the ways in which small towns and other close-knit communities can sometimes marginalize and de-value individuals who do not fit the mold.  These three see what the older folks in the story are oblivious to: the loneliness and isolation that certain social pariahs (Boo, Mayella, Dolphus and Tom) are forced to endure.

One of the big lessons that Scout learns in the story is how some children are branded from an early age as “acceptable” or “unacceptable” based on conditions and circumstances beyond their control. Aunt Alexandra’s judgments  – about the Radleys, the Cunninghams, the Ewells, Calpurnia, etc. –  serve as the perfect foil to Scout’s more mature insights.

Harper Lee identifies with the children in the novel more than the adults – with the possible exception of Atticus.  Like Scout, her sympathies lie with  good-natured kids such as Dill Harris, andWalter Cunningham, as well as the more problematic Cecil Jacobs and Mayella Ewell. From each of them, though in different respects, we learn about the need for maintaining “dignity in the midst of squalor” or as Hemingway would say “grace under pressure.”

Topic B –  Sources of Enmity (Ill-Will, Mistrust, Prejudice, Hatred, Animosity)

The novel deals most obviously with racial prejudice, but the greater lesson has to do with class differences and how a person’s inherited social status  – or what Aunt Alexandra calls “heredity” – unfairly determines how individuals are treated by others.

Perhaps the major underlying sources of friction within the community are the  economic hardships and uncertainties wrought by the Great Depression; the novel can be seen as a parable about how certain people react in extreme circumstances, some with fear, mistrust and suspicion, others with fair-play, generosity and good-will.

The real source of tension in Maycomb is the ongoing rift between the country folk – poor white farmers who have been “hit the hardest” by the economic catastrophe and the city folk – merchants and professionals who are desperate to avoid slipping into absolute poverty. Caught in the middle of all this are the innocent charactersBoo Radley, Tom Robinson and Dolphus Raymond – who are just trying to mind their own business.

Topic C – Dimensions of Social Inequality

Like other social protest novels, this novel makes a special case for the ideal of social equality – as a basic dignity that the law affords to all citizens, local or otherwise; the array of misfit characters including Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond,  Dill and even Mayella Ewell – each in their own way, show us the price that must be paid when the true meaning of democracy (“equal rights for all, special privileges for none”) is forgotten.

Maycomb, Alabama – although fictional – is a microcosm for all the petty snobberies and prejudgments that exist in small towns all over America; while Harper Lee goes to great lengths to show the “logic” behind the existing social order, she is also brutally honest in exposing its shortcomings. [We see this most specifically in the struggles of Mayella Ewell, Walter Cunningham and Dolphus Raymond.]

More than anything else, To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about the need for education, for literacy, and the advantages of literacy as the guarantor of equality and social mobility. The characters who value education (Scout, Atticus and Miss Maudie) are also the most generous and  magnanimous in their treatment of others; the characters who disparage learning (Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell and Aunt Alexandra) are more fearful and suspicious of others.

 

 

 

Short Story Essay Assignment

Freshman English I – Short Story Compare/Contrast Essay –Honors/Academic – 1st Tier

Write a 4-6 page (1000-2000 word) formal essay (typed and double-spaced) comparing two short stories from the list of stories we have read. See below. Note: If you would like to go outside of this list, you may choose one story of high literary merit to compare with one of the stories on the list. 

“Father and I” by Par Lagerkvist

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

“The Beginning of Grief” by Larry Woiwode

“The Storyteller” by H.H. Munro (Saki)

“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Bet” by Anton Chekhov

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

“The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield

“The Secret Lion” by Alberto Alvaro Rios

“Gryphon” by Charles Baxter

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

            Topic Sentence – Begin with a topic sentence that identifies the author and title of each story and finds some point of comparison between the two stories.

            General Exposition – Next, provide exposition by introducing each story in a general way with some brief mention of subject matter, story-line and historical background of the story or the author (optional).

             Narrow the Focus – Narrow the focus of your paper by mentioning either character conflicts, symbolism or subject matter and theme as the main element that you will be analyzing in your paper.

             Thesis Statement – Make an original assertion about the two stories with regard to characters-in-conflict, symbolism or subject matter / theme – preferably something beyond the level  of  “obvious truth,” and therefore, insightful, thought-provoking and open to debate.

*  BODY OF PAPER * 

Paragraphs 2-3 (Specific Exposition)

             Specific Exposition/Analysis of Story-Line –  Describe in detail the elements of each story with regard to: plot, setting, characters, conflicts and subject matter –with some mention of  story arc – i.e.  how each  story unfolds, builds suspense and reaches its conclusion. In these  paragraphs you are highly encouraged to mention such terms as: exposition, rising action/complication, conflict, suspense, foreshadowing,  climax, falling action and  resolution/denouement.

Paragraphs 3-4  or 3-4-5-6  (Specific Points of Comparison)

           Points of Comparison – In support of your thesis statement, use these paragraphs to analyze and investigate specific points of comparison (or contrast) regarding either: characters, conflicts, symbolism, subject matter or theme. As part of your analysis, please remember to provide relevant quotations as evidence supporting your claims and observations.

Paragraph 5 or 7 (Conclusion)

           Final Editorial Remarks – Finish your essay with some concluding remarks on the ultimate  meaning/life-lesson (s) associated with each story, making specific reference to subject matter, character conflicts,  symbolism  or theme and include final editorial remarks (your “verdict”) on  how effectively each story deals with these.

 

Short Story Unit Study Guide

Freshmen English I – Short Story Review Guide –

“Father and I” by Par Lagerkvist

Subject Matter: nature, nature walks, railroads/trains, childhood, innocence, fathers and sons,  night/darkness, fear of the unknown, anxiety, faith, growth, maturation,  identity

Setting: somewhere in Sweden – circa early 1900s

Characters in Conflict: father and narrator (son), narrator and nature

Rising Action/Plot Complications:  The story begins with a father and son (in Scandinavia) taking a nature walk by day to the father’s workplace and ancestral home; the father – on his familiar “home turf” – shows the son various locales, saluting train drivers as he goes and the son feels secure and happy; but then it turns dark and everything begins to look different. The boy inquires why everything looks so “creepy” but the father doesn’t understand his anxiety. The father mentions that “God” is out there – but this reassurance doesn’t help to calm the boy’s nerves.

Climax: A ghost train” goes by, but father doesn’t recognize the driver.

Falling Action or Resolution/Denouement: The father acknowledges that he didn’t recognize the ghost driver after which the narrator (son) realizes he is very different from his father.

Memorable Dialogue: “Why is it so creepy when it gets dark?” “…We know there’s a God, don’t we?” –

Symbolism: nature walk, flowers, trees, railroad tracks,  passing trains, daytime/nighttime, ghost driver

Themes:  Nature is two-sided – by turns providing security and evoking fear.  Ignorance and uncertainty are basic facts of life.  No two people are totally identical – and this can be a source of loneliness. You can never be a perfect clone of your parents or any other role model.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

Subject Matter:  wishes and desires, death, loss and grief, desperation, supernatural happenings, the role of chance or fate in human affairs,  the power of imagination

Setting: a country town in England circa 1902

Characters in Conflict: Mr. White vs. Sergeant Major Morris (regarding the monkey’s paw), Mr. White vs. Mrs. White (after Herbert’s death)

Rising Action/Plot Complications: The story begins with a game of chess – soon after which Sergeant Major Morris, arrives hesitantly proffering a monkey’s paw.  When the soldier leaves, Mr. White makes the first of his three wishes – wishing for a sum of money (200 pounds,) . Mr. White is somewhat alarmed when the paw turns in his hand; soon after this a mysterious stranger arrives from the firm of Maw and Meggins  to announce the death of Herbert White in a work-related accident. At the urging of his wife, Mr. White next wishes for Herbert to come back from the dead; in reality, however, he is worried that Herbert’s body is  irrevocably mangled and  decomposed.

Climax: Mr. White makes his third and final wish.

Falling Action or Resolution/Denouement: Mrs. White wails in agony, the opening of the front door reveals nothing but the wind

Memorable Dialogue: “If you must wish, wish for something sensible.” – “I wish for 200 pounds.” – “He was caught in the machinery.” – “I wish for my son alive again.” –

Symbolism: game of chess, monkey’s paw,  the fire, the discordant sounds of the piano, Herbert’s accident, 200 pounds, the sound of knocking

Themes: Be careful how you wish for things and not to wish for more than what is reasonable. It is easier to view life as governed by fate than by random chance. Much of what happens to us is a product either of “supernatural mysteries” or else the “power of imagination.”

“The Beginning of Grief” by Larry Woiwode

Subject Matter: family conflicts, father-son rivalries, sibling rivalries,  death, grief and mourning, intense feelings and the difficulties of communication

Setting: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota – circa 1970s

Characters in Conflict: Will Stanion and his son, Kevin,  Kevin and Jim, Kevin and Marvin, Will Stanion and his deceased wife

Rising Action/Plot Complications: Will Stanion – a recent widower – arrives home after a hard day’s work; now he must check-in with his children; Will feels the burdens of being a single parent only a year after his wife’s death; an awkward conversation at the dinner table escalates into an full-blown argument; Will accidently slaps his daughter and then kicks his middle son, Kevin in the rump; Kevin flees upstairs and begins sobbing uncontrollably on the bed; Kevin explains why he has impulsively shaved his head; Will starts to understand Kevin’s perspective.

Climax:  After Kevin explain about all the tension in his head,  a now-sympathetic Will takes his son’s hand and an “order” comes over the room that wasn’t there before.

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement: Will and Kevin agree to go downstairs to “do dishes.” They seem to have found a way to communicate and even identify with one another.

Memorable Dialogue: “Jim said you kicked him.” – “My head hurts. It feels like something wants to come out of it!” – “I didn’t mean to do it. He wasn’t playing right.” – “Will you come downstairs and help me do the dishes?”

Symbolism:  lime burns, dinner table, shaved head, spilled coffee and milk, hand-holding, doing dishes

Themes: Always remember: you’re not the only one who is suffering. Shared pain can be a source of connection. The most intense and intimate communication takes place indirectly.

“The Storyteller” by H.H. Munro (a.k.a. Saki)

Subject Matter: train rides, unruly children, authority figures, child-rearing, crowd control, obedience and goodness, false notions of perfection, literature and “character-building”

Setting: train ride near Templescombe, England circa 1910

Characters in Conflict: the aunt and her nieces/nephew, the bachelor and the aunt, Bertha and the wolf

Rising Action/Plot Complications: The aunt can’t control the children; they defy her by asking questions (Why? Why not?); the aunt tells them a tedious story about a good little girl who is rescued from a mad bull; the bachelor offers to tell a story to entertain the children; he tells them a parable about a girl named Bertha who is “horribly good”; Bertha is so proud of herself that she wears medals for goodness. She is allowed to play at the Prince’s park, but is upset to learn that pigs have gobbled up all the flowers there;  in reality Bertha is  fearful and insecure and proves unstable to withstand the advances of the big bad wolf.

Climax:  Bertha is gobbled up by the wolf when the wolf hears her medals clinking against one another.

Falling Action or Resolution/Denouement: The bachelor exits the train compartment.

Memorable Dialogue: “Not as pretty as any of you…but she was horribly good.” – “A most improper story to tell to young children! You have undermined the effect of years of careful teaching.” – “I kept them quiet for ten minutes which  was more than you were able to do.”

Symbolism: train compartment, cows and bullocks, aunt’s story, bachelor’s story, Bertha’s medals for goodness, the Prince’s park, pigs and flowers, the wolf, the myrtle bushes

Themes: Goodness and character cannot be reduced to mere “passive obedience.”

“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

Subject Matter: plagues, epidemics, calamities, suffering,  wealth, privileged people, enclaves, snobbery, callous/insensitive behavior, punishment/retribution/cosmic justice

Setting: middle ages in Europe – probably Italy – circa 1348

Characters in Conflict: Prince Prospero vs. the “uninvited guest” (the “Red Death”)

Rising Action / Plot Complications: After losing half of the population of his kingdom to the plague, Prince Prospero decides to seek shelter in a massive abbey where he and other lords and ladies celebrate their good fortune by holding a lavish masquerade ball. During the party, an uninvited guest is spotted wearing a costume of a blood-stained corpse, a “victim” of the plague. An outraged Prince Prospero demands that the intruder be “seized” and “arrested” – before being hung from the gallows. While the others find themselves paralyzed by fear, the Prince enters the ebony room with his dagger but soon falls dead – flat on the ground. The other revelers then seize the intruder and rip off his costume.

Climax: The revelers pull off the mask and the costume of the uninvited guest, but no one is there underneath. The  presence of the Red Death takes dominion over the gathering.

Falling Action or Resolution/Denouement: the revelers fall dead, one by one, the clock stops, the fires go out, the abbey is shrouded in total darkness and the Red Death holds dominion over all

Memorable Dialogue: “Who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery?” – “Seize him and unmask him – that we may know who we have to hang at sunrise…”

Symbolism: castellated abbey/fortress,  costumes, rooms of many colors: blue, green, purple, orange, white, violet and ebony/black, ebony room with blood-red windows, the clock, the tripods, the dagger, the costume

Themes: You cannot totally escape or detach yourself from the sufferings of the world.  Showing compassion and solidarity for others is a good insurance policy. You may not be interested in the plague, but the plague is interested in you. The spirit of retribution will  track down evildoers – slowly but effectively.

‘The Bet” by Anton Chekhov

Subject Matter: youth indiscretions, impulsive decision-making,  bets, commitments, capital punishment, life imprisonment, solitary confinement, education, self-improvement, money, happiness, regret

Setting: somewhere in Russia – November 14, 1870 – November 14, 1885

Characters in Conflict: the banker and the young lawyer (“prisoner”)

Rising Action / Plot Complications:  At a party on November 14, 1870, a wealthy banker and a young lawyer make a bet that the lawyer will not be able to last 15 whole years in voluntary solitary confinement. At first the lawyer seems to adjust to his circumstances by immersing himself in books and foreign languages, but at the end of 15 years he is “burnt out” after having lived several different lifetimes in the realm of his imagination; the banker, meanwhile has lost his fortune and plans to snuff out the prisoner with a pillow. Before going through with this act, however, he sees that the prisoner (now 40 years old) has aged greatly and has written a strange letter.

Climax:  The banker – worried about his present  financial predicament – prepares to kill the young lawyer/“prisoner” by “snuffing” him out with a pillow to end the bet, but before doing so he reads the disturbing letter that the prisoner has left and then changes his mind.

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement: The prisoner leaves the house before the 15 years has elapsed; the banker – full of regret and guilt – takes the prisoner’s letter and locks it up in a fireproof safe so that no one else will find it.

Memorable Dialogue: “In your books I have flung myself into the bottomless pit, performed miracles, slain, burned towns, preached new religions, conquered whole kingdoms….” – “And [yet] I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth…” – “I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as of paradise…”

Symbolism: the bet, the prison-house, piano, books , foreign  languages,  the kitchen, the greenhouse, the garden, the pillow on the bed, the prisoner’s letter, “frogs and lizards growing on apple and orange trees,” “roses smelling like sweating horses,” fireproof safe

Themes: Old age is spent regretting our youthful mistakes. People will make decisions and commitments when they are young that must of necessity change over time.  Education in the form of “book learning” improve us or isolate us. The power of imagination outweighs the power of mundane reality.

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Subject Matter: the future of America, equality/mediocrity/conformity/ being “average”, diversity, variety, excellence and individuality,  competition, the influence of television and modern media, government control and surveillance

Setting: America – circa 2081

Characters in Conflict: Harrison Bergeron and Diana Moon Glampers, George and Hazel

Rising Action / Plot Complications: In a futuristic America – circa 2081 – everybody is finally equal and this equality is regulated by government agents known as H-G men led by the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. People with too much talent, intelligence, strength or beauty are forced to wear handicaps to ensure that they have no unfair advantages over “average people.” Competition seems to have been outlawed.  The goal is cooperation and conformity even at the price of mediocrity. George and Hazel are watching a very mundane show on television with dancers and musicians  wearing handicaps. Their son, Harrison, a perfect human specimen, has been taken from them because of his superior mental and physical abilities. Harrison breaks into the television studio and announces that he is the new emperor. He challenges those around him to be like him and he selects an Emperess from among the dancers. A revolution of sorts is now underway.

Climax: Diana Moon Glampers  enters the television studio and soon afterwards executes Harrison and his new-found Emperess while a national audience looks on.

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement: Hazel and George try to figure out what just happened on their tv screen; Hazel cries while George’s goes to fetch a beer; she does not realize that she has just witnessed her son being executed on national television.

Memorable Dialogue:   “…pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else..The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do as I say at once!” – “Play your best…and I’ll make you barons and dukes and earls.”

Symbolism: forced handicaps: Handicapper General, weights, masks, headsets, television, announcer’s speech impediment, “I am the Emperor!”, dancers/musicians, the “much-improved music,” the dance (touching the ceiling)

Themes: Conformity and mediocrity are false forms of true equality. True equality should allow individuals to excel at their respective talents. Television exerts a form of “mind control” on public opinion. The government cannot enforce “total equality” of outcomes. Differences in talent and ability need not threaten social harmony.

“The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield

Subject Matter: children, popular kids, outcasts, snobbery, gossip, class differences, random acts of kindness and empathy

Setting: somewhere in England or New Zealand – early 1900s

Characters in Conflict: the Burnell children (Isabel, Lottie, Kezia) and the Kelveys (Lil and Else), Aunt Beryl and Mrs. Burnell vs. the Kelveys

Rising Action / Plot Complications: Dear old Mrs. Hay sends the Burnell children a huge doll house. The Burnell kids led by Isabel rush to school to tell all of the other children about it and invite two girls at a time to come view it. Kezia is excited by the lamp inside. The Kelvey kids (Lil and Else) outcasts in town  because of gossip against their family, are the only ones who aren’t invited to see the lamp. Some of the other girls, Emmie Cole and Isabel Burnell, tease them for being poor and celebrate their superiority by jumping rope together. Later that day, Kezia sees them walking down the road and invites them to see the doll house.

Climax: Just as Kezia is showing the little lamp to Liland Else, Aunt Beryl interrupts and sends them  home – chases them away as if they were chickens.

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement: Aunt Beryl feels better (“the ghastly pressure was gone”) after sending the Kelveys away. (It is hinted at that Aunt B seems to be fearful of some sort of financial problem that threatens her own status in town).  Else smiles with joy and says softly to her sister: “I seen the little lamp.”

Memorable Dialogue:    “Mother – can’t I ask the Kelvey’s just once?” – “Is it true you’re going to be a servant [like your mother] when you grow up, Lil Kelvey?” – “Yah – yer father’s in prison!” –  “Come on. Nobody’s looking.” “There’s the drawing-room and the dining-room and that’s the —“ – “Wicked, disobedient little girl!” – “I seen the little lamp.”

Symbolism: doll’s house, rooms, furniture, human figurines, the little lamp, a dress made of tablecloth and curtains, thick mutton sandwiches, slabs of Johnny cake, jam sandwiches wrapped in newspaper, threatening letter, sister’s quill

Themes: Snobbery is fueled by fear and insecurity. Children can be cruel – usually when acting like “grown-ups”.  The prejudices of the older generation is part of our inheritance.  Kindness is the light of life.  Class distinctions are  a persistent source of division.

“The Secret Lion” by Alberto Alvaro Rios

Subject Matter: childhood, adolescence, change, adventure, exploration, loss of one’s youth, altered perceptions, growing older, maturation, the gap between the old and young,  imagination and the nature of perfection

Setting: Arizona, 1970s

Characters in Conflict: narrator and Sergio at odds with teachers/adults,  narrator vs. mother

Rising Action / Plot Complications: The narrator and Sergio feel strange about how “everything changes” when you’re in middle school. They can’t talk to girls the same way they used to. Teachers get mad at them more and won’t give definite answers to their questions. Parents are there to say “no” to everything. The boys stake out an “arroyo” as their personal playground and get excited at the souvenirs they find their – especially the perfectly round grinding balls, which they decide to bury as their hidden treasure. Later they go swimming at the arroyo, even  on days when the water is polluted. Eventually they “find” a perfectly green place over the hills  and plan a picnic there. When they reach this “heaven” on early, their childlike perceptions are abruptly altered by an encounter.

Climax: the narrator and Sergio are kicked off the “green” by the two angry golfers. They suddenly discover that they  the place they had discovered for themselves is not “ heaven” but a golf course

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement: The boys return to the arroyo, but it’s no longer the same. They have grown older and they have older perceptions of things. What they used to value as “perfect” has suddenly been forgotten. Everything changes. The secret lion strikes again.

Memorable Dialogue:  “I was twelve and in junior high school and something happened that we didn’t have a name for, but it was there nonetheless like a lion and roaring… Every changed. Just that. “ – “We had this perception about nature, then that nature is imperfect and that round things are perfect.” –  “Nature’s gang was tough that way, teaching us stuff.” “Heaven was green like nothing else in Arizona.” –  “Something got taken away from us that moment. Heaven.” – “We buried it because it was perfect. We didn’t tell my mother, but together it was all we talked about, till we forgot.

Symbolism: forbidden words, teachers, girls,  reticent parents, the arroyo,  the grinding ball, round things, Nature, swimming in polluted waters, golf course (green “heaven”) ,  golfers

Themes: Everything changes.  Things get taken away. The “heaven” of youth turns into something less enchanting. Life keeps moving forward; there’s no going back. You can’t step into the same river twice. You can’t “go home” again.  Knowledge can spoil the magic of childlike perception. Life involves “letting go” of the past.

“Gryphon” by Charles Baxter

Subject Matter: school, education, teachers,  students, knowledge, intelligence, fact vs. fiction (myth and legend), lies, credulity,  change/metamorphosis/maturation, the process of thinking, “death” and personal transformation

Setting: Five Oaks, Michigan – sometime in the 1980s

Characters in Conflict: Miss Ferenczi and her students, Tommy and his mother, Tommy and the other students (Harold and Wayne)

Rising Action / Plot Complications: A substitute teacher, Miss Ferenczi comes to visit a 4th-grade classroom in small Midwestern town. She quickly departs from the normal curriculum and begins bending the normal rules regarding math (6X11-68?) and spelling (alternate spellings for balcony) besides spouting a series of outlandish somewhat dubious “facts” about the outside world. Miss Ferenczi captures the narrator’s attention and inspires him to learn more, while the other students begin to suspect her of being a habitual liar or at least a teller of tall-tales.

Climax: Miss Ferenzci predicts that Wayne Razmer will die soon and as a result is asked to leave the school immediately.

Falling Action  or Resolution/Denouement:  Angered over Miss Ferenzi’s departure and someone having “tattled” on her, Tommy picks a fight with Wayne Razmer; The class does a science unit on insect life in ditches and trenches – writing down lists of “facts” to memorize.

Memorable Dialogue:  “Mars.” –  “Do you think that anyone is going to get hurt by a substitute fact?” –  “She lies.” – “Pyramids were the repositories of special cosmic powers.” – “Diamonds are magic, she said, and this is why women wear them on their fingers, as a sign of the magic of womanhood.” -“Angels live under those clouds.” – “She said the most terrible angel had the shape of the Sphinx: ‘There is no running away from that one.’ ” – “There is no death…You must never be afraid. Never. That which is, cannot die.” – “I shall tell your fortunes as I have been taught to do.” – “This one means you will die soon, my dear…but do not fear…it’s not really death, so much as change.” –

Symbolism: Mr. Hibler’s cough, Heever the chameleon in the terrarium, large-leafy oak tree, chignon hairdo, Broad Horizons (textbook),  mathematics (6×11=68?),  proper spelling of “balcony”,  Distant Lands and Their People (geography textbook),  pyramids, planets, ancient Egyptians, George Washington, gryphon (half bird, half lion),  “humster,” National Enquirer, diamonds, Beethoven, Mozart, angels, the Sphinx who speaks in riddles, Venus fly trap,  tarot cards, insects in ditches and swamps

Themes: Education is more than just remembering “facts.”  To learn we must first be inspired. Enchantment is the mother of science. Fact and fiction are constant companions, each vying for supremacy A little bit of unexpected “magic” is necessary to spice up a dull routine. Preparing someone to face the unsolved “riddles” and uncertainties of life is the best form of  teaching.

 

 

 

 


Literary Terms / Poetic Devices

Literary Terms to Remember

Plot – the sequence of events; the action making up the story.

Setting – the specific time and place in which the story occurs

Characters – the person or people who are the main actors in the story; characters are by turns referred to as sympathetic or unsympathetic, dynamic or static, round or flat.

Protagonist – the main character in the story.

Antagonist (person, society, nature) – a person, presence or force acting against the wishes of the main character.

Foil – a character who is the opposite in personality or temperament from another character.

Subject Matter – the topics, issues, problems or general “subjects” that the story deals with (e.g. ghosts, crime, dinosaurs, skateboards, drugs, etc.)

Theme – the underlying message, moral or life-lesson that the story contains.

Motif – a “recurring element” or “common thread” within a story that has symbolic value or relevance to the overall theme.

Symbolism – a plot detail (person, place, thing, event) that stands for something beyond itself and elicits higher-level associations.

Point of View – the perspective from which the story is told (e.g. omniscient, limited omniscient, first person, objective)

Exposition – the information or relevant details that are provided at the beginning of the story.

Rising Action – the events leading up to the climax that build suspense and complicate the action of the story.

Conflict – disputes or disagreements that arise among the various characters or among opposing forces in a story.

Complication – the sequence by which conflicts in a story become intensified; this is what should happen as a result of the rising action.

Foreshadowing –  subtle hints about what will happen later on in the story.

Suspense – uncertainty or anxiety that is built up within a story about what the outcome of the story will be.

Irony – a contrast between what is said in the story and what actually happens or between what the characters expect will happen and what the audience knows will happen.

Climax – the turning point of the story – usually the scene with the most emotional intensity – after which nothing can ever be the same again.

Falling Action – the events that happen immediately after the climax and lead toward the end of the story.

Resolution / Denouement – something that happens at the very end of the story to provide “closure” – a tying up of loose ends – indicating that there is nothing more to say.

Poetic Devices to Remember

Alliteration – repetition of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words within a line of poetry

Allusion – a reference to something in literature, mythology or history.

Assonance – repetition of similar sounding vowel sounds within a line of poetry. Note: Assonant sounds are not the same as rhymes.

Caesura – a dramatic pause in the middle of a line of poetry usually marked off with punctuation  marks (period or semi-colon).

Closed form –  traditional poetry or verse that uses rhyme and strict meter.

Couplet – two (consecutive) lines of poetry that rhyme – i.e. share similar sounds at the end of each line.

Diction or Poetic Diction– unusual or exotic word choice within a poem of the type not found in ordinary conversation

Elision – words in which certain letters have been omitted and replaced by apostrophes (‘).

Enjambment – this occurs when one line of poetry continues on into the next line without punctuation.

Free verse or Open Form – modern or experimental poetry that does not abide by strict use of rhyme or meter.

Imagery or Figurative Language – language that appeals to the five senses, especially the sense of sight or words that suggest very specific objects or things in the material world (trees, flowers, rocks, oceans, mountains…)

Hyperbole – dramatic overstatement or exaggeration for effect –- the opposite of understatement.

Metaphor –a comparison between two seemingly unlike things.

Meter – the measured pattern of rhythmic accents within a poem.

Metonymy – a figure of speech in which a closely related term is substituted for an object or idea.

Metrical Foot (iamb, dactyl, anapest) – a metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Onomatopoeia – words that create sound effects.

Oxymoron or Paradox – an apparent absurdity or contradiction – usually the juxtaposition of two words that have opposite meanings.

Personification – assigning human characteristics to non-human entities.

Pun or “Word Play” – playful use of words that calls attention to how a word or phrase can have multiple meanings.

Quatrain – four-lines of poetry characterized by alternating rhymes and consistent meter.

Rhyme / Rhyme Scheme – the matching of vowel sounds or vowel-consonant sounds in two or more words; rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme that unfolds within a particular poem.

Rhythm –  the recurrence of accents or stressed syllables in lines of verse; musical or percussive effects created by the use of sound patterns.

Simile – a comparison using “like” or “as.”

Sonnet – a 14-line poem made up of three quatrains and a couplet at the end – usually written in iambic pentameter.

Stanza – a set of lines within a poem making up a single unit of text; a block or “paragraph” of poetry.

Synecdoche –the use of a part of something to stand for the whole entity.

Symbol –an object or element that stands for something beyond itself or has higher-level associations beyond its literal meaning.

Syntax or Poetic Syntax– the use of stylized  or exotic word order such as is typically not found in ordinary conversation.

 

 

 

100 Most Popular SAT Words

  1. abate
  2. abdicate
  3. aberration
  4. abstain
  5. adversity
  6. aesthetic
  7. amicable
  8. anachronistic
  9. arid
  10. asylum
  11. benevolent
  12. bias
  13. boisterous
  14. brazen
  15. brusque
  16. camaraderie
  17. canny
  18. capacious
  19. capitulate
  20. clairvoyant
  21. collaborate
  22. compassion
  23. compromise
  24. condescending
  25. conditional
  26. conformist
  27. convergence
  28. deleterious
  29. demagogue
  30. digression
  31. diligent
  32. discredit
  33. disdain
  34. divergent
  35. empathy
  36. emulate
  37. enervating
  38. ephemeral
  39. evanescent
  40. exemplary
  41. extenuating
  42. florid
  43. forbearance
  44. fortitude
  45. fortuitous
  46. foster
  47. fraught
  48. frugal
  49. hackneyed
  50. haughty
  51. hedonist
  52. hypothesis
  53. impetuous
  54. impute
  55. inconsequential
  56. inevitable
  57. intrepid
  58. intuitive
  59. jubilation
  60. lobbyist
  61. longevity
  62. mundane
  63. nonchalant
  64. opulent
  65. orator
  66. ostentatious
  67. parched
  68. perfidious
  69. pragmatic
  70. precocious
  71. pretentious
  72. procrastinate
  73. prosaic
  74. prosperity
  75. provocative
  76. prudent
  77. querulous
  78. rancorous
  79. reclusive
  80. reconciliation
  81. renovation
  82. restrained
  83. reverence
  84. sagacity
  85. scrutinize
  86. spontaneous
  87. spurious
  88. submissive
  89. substantiate
  90. subtle
  91. superficial
  92. superfluous
  93. surreptitious
  94. tactful
  95. tenacious
  96. transient
  97. venerable
  98. vindicate
  99. wary
See also vocabtest.com

Literary Terms and Poetic Devices

 

  Allegory –A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning. Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities. The most famous example in English is John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, in which the name of the central character, Pilgrim, epitomizes the book’s allegorical nature. Kay Boyle’s story “Astronomer’s Wife” and Christina Rossetti’s poem “Up-Hill” both contain allegorical elements.

 

Alliteration –The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. Example: “Fetched fresh, as I suppose, off some sweet wood.” Hopkins, “In the Valley of the Elwy.”

Allusion – A reference to some prior work of literature or a well-known person, event or place – often from history, mythology, literature, folk-lore or pop-culture.

Anachronism  An event or a detail that is chornologically out of its proper time in history. 

Anapest – Two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one, as in com-pre-HEND or in-ter-VENE. An anapestic meter rises to the accented beat as in Byron’s lines from “The Destruction of Sennacherib”: “And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, / When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.”

Antagonist – A character or force against which another character struggles. Creon is Antigone’s antagonist in Sophocles’ play Antigone; Teiresias is the antagonist of Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.

Assonance -The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry or prose, as in “I rose and told him of my woe.” Whitman’s “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” contains assonantal “I’s” in the following lines: “How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, / Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself.”

Aubade – A love lyric in which the speaker complains about the arrival of the dawn, when he must part from his lover. John Donne’s “The Sun Rising” exemplifies this poetic genre.

Ballad –narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style. The Anonymous medieval ballad, “Barbara Allan,” exemplifies the genre.

Blank verse- A line of poetry or prose in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare’s sonnets, Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, and Robert Frost’s meditative poems such as “Birches” include many lines of blank verse. Here are the opening blank verse lines of “Birches”: When I see birches bend to left and right / Across the lines of straighter darker trees, / I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.

Caesura –A strong pause within a line of verse. The following stanza from Hardy’s “The Man He Killed” contains caesuras in the middle two lines:

He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps,
Off-hand-like–just as I–
Was out of work-had sold his traps–
No other reason why.

Character –An imaginary person that inhabits a literary work. Literary characters may be major or minor, static (unchanging) or dynamic (capable of change). In Shakespeare’s Othello, Desdemona is a major character, but one who is static, like the minor character Bianca. Othello is a major character who is dynamic, exhibiting an ability to change.

Characterization –The means by which writers present and reveal character. Although techniques of characterization are complex, writers typically reveal characters through their speech, dress, manner, and actions. Readers come to understand the character Miss Emily in Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” through what she says, how she lives, and what she does.

Climax –The turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The climax represents the point of greatest tension in the work. The climax of John Updike’s “A&P,” for example, occurs when Sammy quits his job as a cashier.

Closed form –A type of form or structure in poetry characterized by regularity and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, and metrical pattern. Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” provides one of many examples. A single stanza illustrates some of the features of closed form:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Complication –An intensification of the conflict in a story or play. Complication builds up, accumulates, and develops the primary or central conflict in a literary work. Frank O’Connor’s story “Guests of the Nation” provides a striking example, as does Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal.”

Conflict –A struggle between opposing forces in a story or play, usually resolved by the end of the work. The conflict may occur within a character as well as between characters. Lady Gregory’s one-act play The Rising of the Moon exemplifies both types of conflict as the Policeman wrestles with his conscience in an inner conflict and confronts an antagonist in the person of the ballad singer.

Connotation –The associations called up by a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning. Poets, especially, tend to use words rich in connotation. Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” includes intensely connotative language, as in these lines: “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright / Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Convention
A customary feature of a literary work, such as the use of a chorus in Greek tragedy, the inclusion of an explicit moral in a fable, or the use of a particular rhyme scheme in a villanelle. Literary conventions are defining features of particular literary genres, such as novel, short story, ballad, sonnet, and play.

Couplet
A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem. Shakespeare’s sonnets end in rhymed couplets, as in “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings / That then I scorn to change my state with kings.”

Dactyl
A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones, as in FLUT-ter-ing or BLUE-ber-ry. The following playful lines illustrate double dactyls, two dactyls per line:

Higgledy, piggledy,
Emily Dickinson
Gibbering, jabbering.

Denotation
The dictionary meaning of a word. Writers typically play off a word’s denotative meaning against its connotations, or suggested and implied associational implications. In the following lines from Peter Meinke’s “Advice to My Son” the references to flowers and fruit, bread and wine denote specific things, but also suggest something beyond the literal, dictionary meanings of the words:

To be specific, between the peony and rose
Plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes;
Beauty is nectar and nectar, in a desert, saves–

and always serve bread with your wine.
But, son,
always serve wine.

Denouement
The resolution of the plot of a literary work. The denouement of Hamlet takes place after the catastrophe, with the stage littered with corpses. During the denouement Fortinbras makes an entrance and a speech, and Horatio speaks his sweet lines in praise of Hamlet.

Dialogue
The conversation of characters in a literary work. In fiction, dialogue is typically enclosed within quotation marks. In plays, characters’ speech is preceded by their names.

Diction
The selection of words in a literary work. A work’s diction forms one of its centrally important literary elements, as writers use words to convey action, reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and suggest values. We can speak of the diction particular to a character, as in Iago’s and Desdemona’s very different ways of speaking inOthello. We can also refer to a poet’s diction as represented over the body of his or her work, as in Donne’s or Hughes’s diction.

Elegy
lyric poem that laments the dead. Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” is elegiac in tone. A more explicitly identified elegy is W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of William Butler Yeats” and his “Funeral Blues.”

Elision
The omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable to preserve the meter of a line of poetry. Alexander uses elision in “Sound and Sense”: “Flies o’er th’ unbending corn….”

Enjambment
A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. An enjambed line differs from an end-stopped line in which the grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line. In the opening lines of Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” for example, the first line is end-stopped and the second enjambed:

That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now….

Epic
A long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero. Epics typically chronicle the origins of a civilization and embody its central values. Examples from western literature include Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Milton’s Paradise Lost.

Epigram
A brief witty poem, often satirical. Alexander Pope’s “Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog” exemplifies the genre:

I am his Highness’ dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

Exposition
The first stage of a fictional or dramatic plot, in which necessary background information is provided. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, for instance, begins with a conversation between the two central characters, a dialogue that fills the audience in on events that occurred before the action of the play begins, but which are important in the development of its plot.

Falling action
In the plot of a story or play, the action following the climax of the work that moves it towards its denouement or resolution. The falling action of Othello begins after Othello realizes that Iago is responsible for plotting against him by spurring him on to murder his wife, Desdemona.

Falling meter
Poetic meters such as trochaic and dactylic that move or fall from a stressed to an unstressed syllable. The nonsense line, “Higgledy, piggledy,” is dactylic, with the accent on the first syllable and the two syllables following falling off from that accent in each word. Trochaic meter is represented by this line: “Hip-hop, be-bop, treetop–freedom.”

Fiction
An imagined story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama. Ibsen’s Nora is fictional, a “make-believe” character in a play, as are Hamlet and Othello. Characters like Robert Browning’s Duke and Duchess from his poem “My Last Duchess” are fictional as well, though they may be based on actual historical individuals. And, of course, characters in stories and novels are fictional, though they, too, may be based, in some way, on real people. The important thing to remember is that writers embellish and embroider and alter actual life when they use real life as the basis for their work. They fictionalize facts, and deviate from real-life situations as they “make things up.”

Figurative language
A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words. Examples include hyperbole or exaggeration, litotes or understatement, simile and metaphor, which employ comparison, and synecdoche and metonymy, in which a part of a thing stands for the whole.

Flashback
An interruption of a work’s chronology to describe or present an incident that occurred prior to the main time frame of a work’s action. Writers use flashbacks to complicate the sense of chronology in the plot of their works and to convey the richness of the experience of human time. Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” includes flashbacks.

Foil
A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story. Laertes, in Hamlet, is a foil for the main character; in Othello, Emilia and Bianca are foils for Desdemona.

Foot
metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables. For example, an iamb or iambic foot is represented by ˘, that is, an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one. Frost’s line “Whose woods these are I think I know” contains four iambs, and is thus an iambic foot.

Foreshadowing
Hints of what is to come in the action of a play or a story. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House includes foreshadowing as does Synge’s Riders to the Sea. So, too, do Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” and Chopin’s “Story of an Hour.”

Free verse
Poetry without a regular pattern of meter or rhyme. The verse is “free” in not being bound by earlier poetic conventions requiring poems to adhere to an explicit and identifiable meter and rhyme scheme in a form such as the sonnet or ballad. Modern and contemporary poets of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries often employ free verse. Williams’s “This Is Just to Say” is one of many examples.

Hyperbole
A figure of speech involving exaggeration. John Donne uses hyperbole in his poem: “Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star.”

Iamb
An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, as in to-DAY. See Foot.

Image
A concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea. Imagery refers to the pattern of related details in a work. In some works one image predominates either by recurring throughout the work or by appearing at a critical point in the plot. Often writers use multiple images throughout a work to suggest states of feeling and to convey implications of thought and action. Some modern poets, such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, write poems that lack discursive explanation entirely and include only images. Among the most famous examples is Pound’s poem “In a Station of the Metro”:

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Imagery
The pattern of related comparative aspects of language, particularly of images, in a literary work. Imagery of light and darkness pervade James Joyce’s stories “Araby,” “The Boarding House,” and “The Dead.” So, too, does religious imagery.

Irony
A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen in life and in literature. In verbal irony, characters say the opposite of what they mean. In irony of circumstance or situation, the opposite of what is expected occurs. In dramatic irony, a character speaks in ignorance of a situation or event known to the audience or to the other characters. Flannery O’Connor’s short stories employ all these forms of irony, as does Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado.”

Literal language
A form of language in which writers and speakers mean exactly what their words denote. See Figurative languageDenotation, and Connotation.

Lyric poem
A type of poem characterized by brevity, compression, and the expression of feeling. Most of the poems in this book are lyrics. The anonymous “Western Wind” epitomizes the genre:

Western wind, when will thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?
Christ, if my love were in my arms
And I in my bed again!

Metaphor
A comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or as. An example is “My love is a red, red rose,”

From Burns’s “A Red, Red Rose.” Langston Hughes’s “Dream Deferred” is built entirely of metaphors. Metaphor is one of the most important of literary uses of language. Shakespeare employs a wide range of metaphor in his sonnets and his plays, often in such density and profusion that readers are kept busy analyzing and interpreting and unraveling them. Compare Simile.

Meter
The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in poems. See Foot and Iamb.

Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a closely related term is substituted for an object or idea. An example: “We have always remained loyal to the crown.” See Synecdoche.

Narrative poem
A poem that tells a story. See Ballad.

Narrator
The voice and implied speaker of a fictional work, to be distinguished from the actual living author. For example, the narrator of Joyce’s “Araby” is not James Joyce himself, but a literary fictional character created expressly to tell the story. Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” contains a communal narrator, identified only as “we.” See Point of view.

Octave
An eight-line unit, which may constitute a stanza; or a section of a poem, as in the octave of a sonnet.

Ode 
A long, stately poem in stanzas of varied length, meter, and form. Usually a serious poem on an exalted subject, such as Horace’s “Eheu fugaces,” but sometimes a more lighthearted work, such as Neruda’s “Ode to My Socks.”

Onomatopoeia
The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe. Words such as buzz and crack are onomatopoetic. The following line from Pope’s “Sound and Sense” onomatopoetically imitates in sound what it describes:

When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw,
The line too labors, and the words move slow.

Most often, however, onomatopoeia refers to words and groups of words, such as Tennyson’s description of the “murmur of innumerable bees,” which attempts to capture the sound of a swarm of bees buzzing.

Open form
A type of structure or form in poetry characterized by freedom from regularity and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, metrical pattern, and overall poetic structure. E.E. Cummings’s “[Buffalo Bill’s]” is one example. See also Free verse.

Parody
A humorous, mocking imitation of a literary work, sometimes sarcastic, but often playful and even respectful in its playful imitation. Examples include Bob McKenty’s parody of Frost’s “Dust of Snow” and Kenneth Koch’s parody of Williams’s “This is Just to Say.”

Personification
The endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities. An example: “The yellow leaves flaunted their color gaily in the breeze.” Wordsworth’s “I wandered lonely as a cloud” includes personification.

Plot
The unified structure of incidents in a literary work. See ConflictClimaxDenouement, andFlashback.

Point of view
The angle of vision from which a story is narrated. See Narrator. A work’s point of view can be: first person, in which the narrator is a character or an observer, respectively; objective, in which the narrator knows or appears to know no more than the reader; omniscient, in which the narrator knows everything about the characters; and limited omniscient, which allows the narrator to know some things about the characters but not everything.

Protagonist
The main character of a literary work–Hamlet and Othello in the plays named after them, Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Paul in Lawrence’s “Rocking-Horse Winner.”

Pyrrhic
A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables (“of the”).

Quatrain
A four-line stanza in a poem, the first four lines and the second four lines in a Petrachan sonnet. A Shakespearean sonnet contains three quatrains followed by a couplet.

Recognition
The point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is. Sophocles’ Oedipus comes to this point near the end of Oedipus the King; Othello comes to a similar understanding of his situation in Act V of Othello.

Resolution
The sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story. See Plot.

Reversal
The point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist. Oedipus’s and Othello’s recognitions are also reversals. They learn what they did not expect to learn. See Recognition and also Irony.

Rhyme
The matching of final vowel or consonant sounds in two or more words. The following stanza of “Richard Cory” employs alternate rhyme, with the third line rhyming with the first and the fourth with the second:

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown
Clean favored and imperially slim.

Rhythm
The recurrence of accent or stress in lines of verse. In the following lines from “Same in Blues” by Langston Hughes, the accented words and syllables are underlined:

said to my baby,
Baby take it slow….
Lulu said to Leonard
want a diamond ring

Rising action
A set of conflicts and crises that constitute the part of a play’s or story’s plot leading up to the climax. See ClimaxDenouement, and Plot.

Rising meter
Poetic meters such as iambic and anapestic that move or ascend from an unstressed to a stressed syllable. See AnapestIamb, and Falling meter.

Satire
A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies. Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a famous example. Chekhov’s Marriage Proposal and O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” have strong satirical elements.

Sestet
A six-line unit of verse constituting a stanza or section of a poem; the last six lines of an Italian sonnet. Examples: Petrarch’s “If it is not love, then what is it that I feel,” and Frost’s “Design.”

Sestina
A poem of thirty-nine lines and written in iambic pentameter. Its six-line stanza repeat in an intricate and prescribed order the final word in each of the first six lines. After the sixth stanza, there is a three-line envoi, which uses the six repeating words, two per line.

Setting
The time and place of a literary work that establish its context. The stories of Sandra Cisneros are set in the American southwest in the mid to late 20th century, those of James Joyce in Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century.

Simile
A figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using likeas, or as though. An example: “My love is like a red, red rose.”

Sonnet
A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter. The Shakespearean or English sonnet is arranged as three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet divides into two parts: an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet, rhyming abba abba cde cde or abba abba cd cd cd.

Spondee
metricalfoot represented by two stressed syllables, such as KNICK-KNACK.

Stanza
A division or unit of a poem that is repeated in the same form–either with similar or identical patterns or rhyme and meter, or with variations from one stanza to another. The stanzas of Gertrude Schnackenberg’s “Signs” are regular; those of Rita Dove’s “Canary” are irregular.

Style
The way an author chooses words, arranges them in sentences or in lines of dialogue or verse, and develops ideas and actions with description, imagery, and other literary techniques. See ConnotationDenotationDictionFigurative languageImageImageryIronyMetaphorNarratorPoint of viewSyntax, and Tone.

Subject
What a story or play is about; to be distinguished from plot and theme. Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is about the decline of a particular way of life endemic to the American south before the civil war. Its plot concerns how Faulkner describes and organizes the actions of the story’s characters. Its theme is the overall meaning Faulkner conveys.

Subplot
A subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story that coexists with the main plot. The story of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern forms a subplot with the overall plot of Hamlet.

Symbol
An object or action in a literary work that means more than itself, that stands for something beyond itself. The glass unicorn in The Glass Menagerie, the rocking horse in “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” the road in Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”–all are symbols in this sense.

Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole. An example: “Lend me a hand.” See Metonymy.

Syntax
The grammatical order of words in a sentence or line of verse or dialogue. The organization of words and phrases and clauses in sentences of prose, verse, and dialogue. In the following example, normal syntax (subject, verb, object order) is inverted:

“Whose woods these are I think I know.”

Tercet
A three-line stanza, as the stanzas in Frost’s “Acquainted With the Night” and Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind.” The three-line stanzas or sections that together constitute the sestet of a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet.

Theme
The idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character, and action, and cast in the form of a generalization. See discussion of Dickinson’s “Crumbling is not an instant’s Act.”

Tone
The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and characters of a work, as, for example, Flannery O’Connor’s ironic tone in her “Good Country People.” See Irony.

Trochee
An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, as in FOOT-ball.

Understatement
A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or she means; the opposite of exaggeration. The last line of Frost’s “Birches” illustrates this literary device: “One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”

Villanelle
A nineteen-line lyric poem that relies heavily on repetition. The first and third lines alternate throughout the poem, which is structured in six stanzas –five tercets and a concluding quatrain. Examples include Bishop’s “One Art,” Roethke’s “The Waking,” and Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

 

Romeo/Juliet Vocab

157 + Words – All Taken from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

abate * abhor * absolve * addle * adversity agile * amble * ambuscade * 
amorous * anon *  antics * apothecary * asunder * atomies * augment * 
baleful * bandy * bauble * bawdy * bedeck * beguile * behoove beshrew *
bier * bode * braggart brawls * budge *  cankered * carrion * chaste *
chide * choler/ic *churl * clout * conduit * conjure *consort * contagion * 
cot-quean *cull * dank * demesnes * descry * dexterity *direful * dirge * 
distill distraught * dissemblers * doff doleful * dote * dowdy *dram *
drivel * drowsy * ducats dun * effeminate * entreat * fain * felon * fester *
fickle * fleck * forfeit * forswear gadding * garish *giddy * gory * 
gossamer * grubs * headstrong * haughty* heretic * idolatry * importune * * impute* inauspicious * inexorable * jaunt * jocund * lineaments * livery *
loins * loll * loathsome *mammet * mandrakes *martial * matron * maw 
meddle * minions * minstrels * mire * morsel * musty * naught * nimble * nuptials *obsequies * paramour *passado* partisans * penury * pernicious * peppered *  pestilence * portly * poultice * presage * prate * presage * privy * prolix/ity * purge * quench * restorative *revels * rote * runagate sallow * saucy * scourge *scurvy * sententious * sepulcher *slander * sojourn * solace *
stint * stratagem * stealth * sunder * supple * tarry * tedious * tithe * thither
trencher * troth * trudge * unruly * unseemly *  unwieldy * vestal * vial * 
visage * waddle * wantons * wench * whit * wretch * wreak * zounds * [157+]


Julius Caesar Research/Writing

Academic English I – Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar – Research/Writing Project 

Directions: Using the research databases on the Brunswick High School library website, write a report examining two of the following historical figures. Your report must cover ALL of the following topics in sequence using the format listed below:

  • By way of introduction, identify each character in a general way, briefly explaining why they are memorable as characters and famous in actual history [Paragraph 1]
  • Describe each character in depth, summarizing their career highlights and accomplishments while itemizing their basic personality traits  [Paragraph 2]
  • Mention something that each character SAYS and DOES in Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar – then explain whether Shakespeare portrays them as a sympathetic or unsympathetic character. [Paragraph 3]
  • Evaluate each character’s basic strengths and weaknesses as a leader – mentioning their success and failures from actual history. [Paragraph 4]
  • By way of conclusion, decide which character would make the better ruler in Rome and explain why. [Paragraph 5]

CAESAR [described by others as : proud, confident, ambitious, vain, delusional (“thinks he’s a god…”), conceited, egotistical, generous, kind, sentimental, magnanimous, decisive, stubborn, unyielding, regal, supercilious, cultivated, refined, “comfortable wielding power,” a “natural born leader,” dangerous, unpredictable, potentially tyrannical]

BRUTUS [described by others as: noble, gentle, honest, thoughtful, idealistic, erudite, well-intentioned, naïve, impractical, detached, calm/stoical, absent-minded, gullible, somewhat of a bungler, moody, peevish, petulant on occasion, prone to major miscalculations, “head in the clouds,” “thinker” not a “doer,” not a “natural politician,” not a “man of the people]

CASSIUS [described by others as: lean, “hungry-looking,” candid, blunt, impatient, hot-tempered, envious, resentful, wildly ambitious, “chip on his shoulder,” calculating, conniving, practical, “street smart,” reckless, courageous, “risk-taker,” “instigator,” “behind the scenes manipulator” of events]

MARK ANTONY [described by others as: outwardly loyal, diplomatic, deferential yet ambitious, calculating, manipulative, ruthless, “party animal,” hedonist, deceitful, duplicitous (two-faced), a “loose canon,” “social climber,” “natural born politician,” “demagogue”/manipulator of the crowd]

OCTAVIUS a.k.a. AUGUSTUS CAESAR  [described by others as young, inexperienced, outwardly loyal, deferential yet ambitious, calculating yet subdued, “flies under the radar,” frequently underestimated, ruthless, secretive,  patient, calm, consistent, plans ahead, sees the big picture, destined for greatness, “natural born leader”]