ENG

• Epic


  A lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants
• Epic of Gilgamesh - an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia
• Flashback


  Dramatic presentation of an entire scene from an earlier time and action
• Foreshadowing


  A literary device in which the outcome of the conflict is anticipated
• Myths


  Traditional sacred stories which usually narrate the activities of Gods and heroes, and can explain natural phenomenon or cultural practice
• Characteristics of Myth


  • Setting
  • Characters
  • Plot
  • Theme
  • Metaphor
• Cupid and Psyche


  • A story originally from Metamorphoses written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius
• Legends


  Traditional stories that may or may not be true
• Folktales


  Stories passed down from one generation to another in a particular group of people, through word of mouth
• Drama


  A composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story, usually conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue typically designed for theatrical performance
• According to Aristotle, the 6 elements of drama are:


  • Plot
  • Theme
  • Characters
  • Dialogue
  • Music/rhyme
  • Spectacle
• Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex

  • An Athenian tragic play written by Sophocles in 430 BC
• Sophocles was one of the most famous and celebrated writers of tragedy plays in ancient Greece and his surviving works, written throughout the 5th century BCE, include classics such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Women of Trachis
• Allegory

  A representation of ideas, concept or subject through a symbolical narrative either in prose or poetry. A story within a story.
• Symbolism

  A representation of an idea or concept that has a different meaning across a literary text
• Symbolism in Inferno

  • Dark Forest or the Enchanted Forest - the soul entering the perils of the unknown, the realm of death, the secrets of nature, or the spiritual world which man must penetrate to find the meaning or something
• Types of Conflict


  • Man vs self
  • Man vs man
  • Man vs society
  • Man vs nature
  • Man vs Fate
• Everyman

  • A late 15th-century morality play by an anonymous English author, based on a sermon and homily
• Shih Ching or Book of Song


  • The oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. Confucius played a major role in the compilation of the Book of Song.
• The poem "Ripe plums are falling" describes a woman's journey of finding a suitable man for herself.
• Types of Imagery

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Tactile
  • Olfactory
  • Gustatory
• Rhyme scheme


  The pattern of end rhymes in a poem
• Mr. Brown the Circus Clown

  • Rhyme scheme: AABB
• My Penmanship is Pretty Bad

  • Rhyme scheme: ABAB
• All My Great Excuses

  • Rhyme scheme: AABB
• Autobiography


  A self-written story of one's life
• Biography


  An account of someone's life written by someone else
• Differences between autobiography and narratives (short story, novel, drama)

  • Real people vs fictional
  • Real place/time vs may be (un)real
  • Personal events vs fictional
  • Chronological vs may or can be re-arranged
  • First person vs 1st or 3rd person
  • To make sense of one's life vs To entertain, To teach experiences, To inspire
• Pastoral Poetry


  Poetry that expresses emotions set in an extremely happy setting or "pasture"
• The Passionate Shepherd to His Love


  • A pastoral poem written by Christopher Marlowe, featuring a shepherd asking his beloved to come live with him in an idyllic picture of country living
• Parody


  A literary text that imitates in an exaggerated manner, another writer, artist or piece of writing for comic purposes or humorous effects
• The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd

  • A parody of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", written by Walter Raleigh
• Satire


  A technique employed by writers to expose and criticize the foolishness and corruption on an individual, organization or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule
• Irony

  A literary technique that focuses on the discrepancies between what is said or seen and what is actually meant
• A Modest Proposal


  • An essay written by Jonathan Swift, an Irish clergyman famous for his satirical works addressing different causes or issues, including personal, behavioral, philosophical, political, religious and civic during the seventeenth century
• Epistle


  A type of writing in prose or poetry written in the form of a letter to a particular person or group, meant to instruct or guide them
• An Essay on Man


  • A poem written by Alexander Pope, composed of four epistles or formal letters addressed to Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke
• Sonnet

  A poem consisting of one stanza of 14 lines, with a definite rhyme scheme and usually written in iambic pentameter
• Sonnet 199

  • A sonnet written by Francesco Petrarch, an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy
• Elements of an Essay

  • Subject/topic/issue
  • Purpose
  • Thesis statement
  • Supporting details
  • Audience
  • Context
  • Tone
  • Pattern of development