0304-Week2
- Plot
Plot is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence.
- Setting - time and place
In works of narrative (especially fictional), the literary element setting includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. - Allegory
As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. Allegories are typically used as literary devices or rhetorical devices that convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey. - Protagonist
The word "protagonist" is from Ancient Greek, meaning "player of the first part, chief actor". It is a narrative's central or primary personal figure, who comes into conflict with an opposing major character or force (called the antagonist). In fiction, the story of the protagonist can be told from the perspective of a different character (e.g. narrator). - Round vs. Flat character
E. M. Forster defined two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions, and importance for the development of the novel: flat characters and round characters. (1)Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, (2)round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics and undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader. - Antihero
An antihero or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality. For example, the protagonist, Holden, in The Catcher in the Rye. - Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A novella generally features fewer conflicts than a novel, yet more complicated ones than a short story. The conflicts also have more time to develop than in short stories. Unlike novels, they are usually not divided into chapters, and are often intended to be read at a single sitting, as the short story, although white space is often used to divide the sections. For example, The Great Gatsby. - Symbol
A symbol is an object that represents, stands for, or suggests an idea, visual image, belief, action, or material entity. Symbols take the form of words, sounds, gestures, or visual images and are used to convey ideas and beliefs. - Literary symbolism
A symbol usually conveys an abstraction or cluster of abstractions, from the ideal to the imperceptible or the irrational, in a more concrete form. A symbol in a work of literature compares or puts together two things that are in some ways dissimilar. But literary symbolism rarely comes down to a simple equation of one thing to another. It usually carries richer and more varied meanings, as does a flag or a religious image. A literary symbol may be understood as an extended figure of speech that rewards further interpretation. (Extracted from The Norton Introduction to Literature)
Example of Symbols: A rose for Emily
Syllables
- didactic
Meaning: (adj.) intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
Example: A didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice. - nov-→new
e.g. novel, renovate, innovate - anti-→against, opposite
e.g. antisocial, antithesis, antipathy - pro-→for, forward
e.g. propel - de-→down, away from
e.g. detach, decrease, degenerate - periodical
Meaning: (n.) a magazine or newspaper published at regular intervals.