Lit Terms 1- 135

1. Allegory: a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point

2. Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words

3. Allusion: a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize

4. Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation

5. Anachronism: something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time

6. Analogy- comparison between two things to show the similarities between them.

7. Analysis- method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts; and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny.

8. Anaphora- a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

9. Anecdote- short story to illustrate a point

10. Antagonist- person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

11. Antithesis- balancing of one term against another for emphasis stylistic effectiveness

12. Aphorism- a terse, point statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life.

13. Apologia- a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing cause, or action, also apology

14. Apostrophe- figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

15. Argument(ation) -  the process of convincing a reader by providing either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also the thesis or proposition itself.

16. Assumption - the act of supposing or taking for granted that a thing is true.

17. Audience - the intended listener or listener.

18. Characterization - the means by which a writer reveals the character's personality

19. Chiasmus - a reversal in the words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted order

20. Circumlocution - a roundabout or evasive speech or writing in which many words are used but a few would have served.

21. Classicism - art, literature, music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome tradition, reason, clarity, order and and balance.

22. Cliche - phrase or situation overused within society

23. Climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of the greatest intensity or interest at which plot question or answer is resolved

24. Colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation

25. Comedy- originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

26. Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension

27. Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

28. Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

29. Denotation: plain dictionary definition

30. Denouement (pronounced day-new-mahn): loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

31. Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others.

32. Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.

33. Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things.

34. Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice words

35. Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education.

36. Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles

37. Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting.

38. Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution).

39. Epigram: witty aphorism.

40. Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.

41. Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality.

42. Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.

43. Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).

44. Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.

45. Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.

46. Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.

47. Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.

48. Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile).

49. Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events

50.  Foil: a person or thing that contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent

51. Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth

52. Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the outcome of the action; "planning" to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.

53. Free verse: verse with out metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme

54. Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique or content

55.Gothic Tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence

56. Hyperbole: a exaggerated statement often used as a figurative speech, or to prove a point

57. Imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses

58. Implications: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully explicitly stated by the author

59. Incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to others

60.  Inference: Judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion in which possesses probability according to facts already available

61. Irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening.

62. Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.

63. Inversion: words out of order for emphasis.

Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.

64. Lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

65. Magic(al) Realism: a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical.

66. Metaphor(extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compare two differentthings imaginatively.

67. Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writerwants to take it.

68. Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work.

69. Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

70. Metonymy: literally “name changing” a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.

71. Mode of Discourse: argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition.

72. Modernism: literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology

73. Monologue: an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem.

74. Mood: the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.

75. Motif: a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.

76. Myth: a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.

77. Narrative: a story or description of events.

78. Narrator: one who narrates, or tells, a story.

79. Naturalism: extreme form of realism.

80. Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

81. Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person.

82. Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests itsmeaning.

83. Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.

84. Pacing: rate of movement; tempo.

85. Parable: a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

86. Paradox: a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

87.Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form.

89. Parody: an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.

90. Pathos: the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.

91. Pedantry: a display of learning for its own sake.

92. Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.

93. Plot: a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.

94. Poignant: eliciting sorrow or sentiment.

95. Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.

96. Postmodernism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary.

97. Prose: the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.

98. Protagonist: the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist.

99. Pun: play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications.

100. Purpose: the intended result wished by an author

101. Realism: writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightfoward manner to reflect life as it actually is.

102. Refrain: a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in

103. Romanticism: movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.

104. Requiem: any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.

105. Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.

106. Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.

107. Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.

108. Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion

108. Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.

109. Romanticism: movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.

110. Satire: ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.

111. Scansion: the analysis of verse in terms of meter.

112. Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

113. Simile: a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.

114. Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.

115. Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.

116. Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.

117. Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.

118. Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.

119. Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.

120. Style: the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.

121. Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important structures of language.

122. Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.

123. Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.

124. Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.

125. Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.

126. Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.

127. Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.

128. Theme: main idea of the story; its message(s).

129. Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and provedor disproved; the main idea.

130. Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the author’s perceived point of view.

131. Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor
in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”

132. Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed

133. Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis

134. Vernacular: everyday speech

135.Voice: The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s persona.

136. Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

Spring Semester Plan 1

I am always setting goals for myself in order to enhance my knowledge to a higher level. I have mini goals which are the main goals most people have for themselves, good grades (straight A's in some sense), graduate high school for other kids, good GPA's, and get a job. Well outside of all that I love to learn and help others. It makes me extremely proud knowing my name 'Socorro' means help in Spanish. I have taken on the task to go out and help others in any way possible. I am a strong believer in helping one another out and collaborating together in order to fulfill a higher level of learning. Working together brings more brain power into one project. With more brain power there is more of a chance to fulfill a positive outcome. I want to teach others that working together is a beautiful thing in life.

AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

1. Why does he fear that he will not find it in prescribed religious teachings?

- Siddhartha feels that he has already been offered everything possible within his religion.He is seeking self-happiness, which his religion does not offer that. 

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Siddhartha-Reading-Questions-641015.html

2. What is Siddhartha missing in his life?

 - He is missing self-happiness, and can not find it in his religion.

http://www.elmhurst.edu/library/courses/forlang/SID.html

3. What does Govinda do? 

 - Govinda decides to join the monks. "Govinda had become a monk and thousands of monks were his brothers, wore the same gown, shared his beliefs and spoke his language."

http://sbmsworldhistory.wetpaint.com/page/Siddhartha+-+Chapter+Reading+Questions

4. How did Siddhartha convince his father? Why didn’t he just go?

 -  Siddhartha expressed his choice of leaving home and follow the ascetics. His father did not seem to to support Siddhartha's choice, but he could see it in Siddhartha's eyes how determined he was to follow the ascetics. For Siddhartha he felt like he didn't have his fathers consent, he did not want to just go ahead and leave since he was such an obedient son

http://siddhartha302.blogspot.com/2010/09/siddhartha-study-questions.html

5. Describe the life of a Samana.  Why do they choose this kind of lifestyle?  Explain the goal of their 

lifestyle and practices.

 - I do not know the answer to this question because there was not a sufficient amount of information from the passage given to us from Siddhartha. But In order to find out the answer, I would need to either A) read the book itself, B) or keep looking up notes until my question has been answered.

http://www.camillasenglishpage.org/wp-content/uploads/literature/novels-and-novellas/Siddhartha-Study-Questions.pdf

These question help me think more in deft about Siddhartha's thoughts and the world he is living in. By answering them I am becoming more fluent with the story and its meaning. In order to master this book so I can be prepared for the AP Exam, I will need to read the novel completely and analyze it in order to understand the deeper meaning of Siddhartha's thoughts. 

Lit Terms 1-5

Allegory- The term loosely describes any writing in verse or prose that has double meaning. This narrative acts as an extended metaphor in which persons, abstract ideas, events represent not only themselves on the literal level, but they also stand for something else in the symbolic level. 

Elegy-  Refers to any poem written in elegiac (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines)

Ellipsis- Ellipsis refers to the artful omission of a word implied by a previous clause.

       EX; "The America solders killed eight civilians, and the French eight." The writer of the sentence has left out the word soldiers after French, and the word civilians after eight. However, both words are implied by the previous clause, so a reader has no trouble following the author's thought.

Surrealism- An artistic movement doing away with the restrictions of realism and verisimilitude that might be imposed on an artist. In this movement, the artist sought to do away with conscious control and instead respond to the irrational urges of the subconscious mind. From this results the hallucinatory, bizarre often nightmarish quality of surrealistic paintings and writing. 

Meter- A recognized though varying pattern of stressed syllables alternating with syllables of less stress. Compositions written in meter are said to be in verse.

Whats In It For Me?

I have always enjoyed learning about all the different literature that has been out there for us. I found analyzing to be fun. In finding the deep meaning of a characters thoughts. So I like to challenge myself in improving my reading and writing skills. Writing has always seemed to be more difficult for me. So my biggest goal, aside from passing th AP Exam, is to improve my writing by as much as I possibly can. I already know I am capable of learning something new and putting it to good use, now it is only with time that I will slowly improve.

Fall Semester Reflection

1. Do you read your colleagues’ work online? How often? What is it like to read their work?

 How does being able to see everyone’s work online at any given time change the way you do your work?

- I often would read other's work because I was curious of their opinions and sometimes I would be a little confused on a piece of literature and reading other's explanations would help me a lot. We are at an advantage by allowing our work to be viewed public because we are not only helping one another, but what if one day someone stumbles upon our blog and were looking for some information and we happen to have then well we have became a positive resource to that individual. Which I find to be amazing. 

2. How has the publicly and always visible course blog made this course different from one without a blog? How would the course change if the course blog disappeared tomorrow?

-If we didn't have our blogs then it would very different. The class revolves a lot around posting our work on the blog. By providing the knowledge others seek just like we were in their position. Being apart of this class is special and it is very unique compared to the rest of my classes. The blog has allowed us more freedom but yet it still has the feel of a college class. I would be sad if the class blog had disappeared. 

3. Has publishing your work for the public to see changed your approach to completing an assignment? How so? How would your feelings about the course change if you couldn’t publish your work that way?

-I feel like it adds a bit of pressure, because there are going to be people who will judge our work. That'd why I try to complete the assignment, and I always tend to complete one so I have no worries. My feelings wouldn't change much, just that it wouldn't be as unique and different compared to other AP classes. It'd just be like how it was back in 10th grade. Haha 

4. Has your experience of the physical classroom changed because of the open & online aspects? Where does your learning actually happen? 

- I am a strong believer in open source learning and find it working very well for me. I like how we are aloud more freedom. It takes away the feel of being locked up in school with so many restrictions and having the adults be pointing fingers at us for doing the wrong thing. My learning happens well in everyday living, I learn inside the classroom as well as outside. I learn something new anywhere I go. I never "shut my brain down", I guess you can say depending where I am at. 

 
5. You were described in the Macarthur Foundation/DML interview as “a pioneer”-- how do you describe the experience on the edge to people who haven’t been there (friends and family)?
- I would say that it is a whole new style to learning that makes learning fun and takes away the typical teacher/student relationship. You actually build a bond with your teacher as well as our colleagues. I remember being hesitant when I requested to take AP English. I felt like it would be plenty and plenty of work. Well turns out it is work, but if we are smart about then it wont feel like such a heavy load. I have no regrets in the decision I made when signing up for AP English. I am more than happy that I did. 

6.How do they respond when you describe the brave new world in which you’re working?
-Well it is something new and it is a change that will take getting use too. I am the type of person who enjoys change and trying new things. This is change we have signed up for will only push us to excel more.

7. What do their responses mean to you? What effect(s) (if any) do they have on you?
- I value everything I have learned this whole semester. I have learned so much and I enjoy pushing myself to do better. I came in with the mentality to push myself till I cant go no further. Till I receive the grades I aimed to get and to push myself into enjoying school. Having a more positive outlook about it all. All I have is nothing but happy feelings for ending this semester strong. 

Allegory in the Cave by Plato
Lit Anal

GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
-This story is about some men who live in a cave since they were born and have been living there life  chained with shackles and being powerless, unable to see what the world is like outside the cave. The men are facing a wall with a fire behind and there is a bridge which allows people to cross and with this, the shadows of whoever dares to cross are being left on the empty wall of the cave and these are the only live images of the outside world that these men are allowed to look at. They have no knowledge of life and how it works, until one day. One man breaks free and was lead into the light to learn and seek the knowledge of how life works outside the cave. It was a challenge for the man but he was willing to push through it in order to be enlightened. Once enlightened he came back to the cave to help the others so they as well can see the light and become knowledgeable of the outside world.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
- I will quote my sonnet off of Allegory in the Cave.
 "Great change will occur when he who is enlightened

But it is up to us whether we see the knowledge or choose to be frightened". 

In my opinion this is what sums up the theme of Allegory in the Cave. Plainly said.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
"And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities." This quote explains a tone towards the character of disbelief. It is one tone where the author expressed some emotion of how there wasn't any belief in the prisoner who was freed to see the reality of being outside the cave. Believed that the freed prisoner wouldn't be able to handle the change, and would choose to go back down into the familiar.

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

Imagery- " He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?"

Simile- "But then, if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes. "


Rhetorical Question- "And if there were a contest, and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den, while his sight was still weak, and before his eyes had become steady (and the time which would be needed to acquire this new habit of sight might be very considerable) would he not be ridiculous? "

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
- 

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
- The freed prisoner expresses round and static characteristics in the story. He shows these qualities because he expressed a since of decision making like a human would. Being able to make a life changing decision is a big step, and the freed prisoner demonstrated it well. He also showed a static characteristic. The freed prisoner went from a cave prisoner, along with the others, and let himself become enlightened which proved him to grow as a person.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
- After reading this story I felt it was so real. I connected it to my daily life and it relates to it so much, which caught my attention.  I also started connecting to other things in life as well, and it appeared that it can be compared and have the same meaning behind it all. By far I'd have to say that this story and the play, No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre would have to my favorite literature of first semester.