Literary Terms and Background Information

  Literary Terms and Background Information

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Religious Sects in England/Great Britain: (denominational concepts important in English literature.)

Catholics: rooted in Ireland, Catholics were an object of persecution in England from the Reformation through the 19th Century

Anglicans: Official church since the 16th century; it has a creed of 39 articles; the classes are the high church, broad church or Latitudinarian, and low church.

Presbyterians: John Calvin in Swiss Geneva; the religion was big in Scotland and gave birth to Quakers, Baptists, etc.

Methodists: John and Charles Wesley; the religion was big in Wales

Hermetic Protestantism: contained a belief in occult powers, magic, and the mystic (William Blake, Yeats, etc.)

The Universe According to Ptolmey: (how he and many writers saw it)

Ptolemy: was a Roman astronomer in the 2nd century A.D., and for nearly 1500 years his account of the universe was accepted. Earth was the center of the universe, orbited by the sun, stars, and planets. Hell was at the center of the globe, Heaven in the outermost circle, the Empyrean. However, in 1543 Copernicus showed that the earth orbits the sun. Milton uses the Ptolemaic cosmos in his work.

Rhetorical Terms (anaphora, epanalepsis, apostrophe, etc.)

It is unlikely that many of these more obscure terms will appear on the literature GRE. However, this list will prove a handy reference for the student of literature, and I have highlighted in blue those terms I believe may appear. (Examples without citations have been invented by the webmaster.)

Antanaclasis: Repeating a word, but in a different sense: "And thrice threefold the gates; three folds were brass." (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Anadiplosis: Beginning a phrase with the ending of a previous phrase: "Forthwith his former state and being forgets, / Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain." (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Parison: Repeating words in grammatically parallel phrases: "Thou art my father, thou my author, thou..." (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Ploce: Repeating a word within a line: "The truth I know, know it as I know myself.”

Polyptoton: Repeating words from the same root: ". . . Which tempted our attempt, and wrought our fall. . . " (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Isocolon: Repeating words and sounds in phrases the same length: "Under so many frigid, so many frozen seas…”

Anaphora: Beginning two or more lines the same way: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)

Epizeuxis: Repeating a word with no words in between: "Never, never will I relent."

Epanalepsis: Beginning and ending a line with the same word: “Cry, and all the world will cry.”

Anadiplosis: Beginning a phrase with the ending of the prior phrase: “As if the truth were fickle / Fickle men prevail.”

Antimetabole: Repeating a phrase in the opposite order: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Jesus Christ)

Epistrophe: Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of two or more clauses or lines

Anastrophe: Turning natural word order around: “To her I gave it.”

Litotes: Understatement: “Hitler didn’t love the Jewish people.”

Oxymoron: Two words juxtaposed that are opposite: "kind tyrants"

Tautology: Saying the same thing again but in different words

Apostrophe: Speaking to someone or something not present

Antonomasia: Using a proper name in place of a general idea: "My lover is Adonis"

Zeugma: In zeugma, two parallel clauses share the same verb but take a different object, creating a noticeable contrast. Alexander Pope is famous for pairing the serious with the trivial to create a comic effect, as here, in this excerpt from “The Rape of the Lock”: "Whether the nymph shall break Diana's law, / Or some frail china jar receive a flaw; / Or stain her honour, or her new brocade,/ Forget her pray'rs, or miss a masquerade / Or lose her heart, or necklace, at a ball . . . "

Ellipsis: obviously leaving out a word

Stichomythic: When speakers alternate lines and repeat words or ideas that they pick up from each other:

“I never would have gone had-”
“Had you not wanted to, I’m sure.”
“Sure I wanted to, but that is not –“
“Not why you went? Why then go?”
“Go I must, for I was called.”
“Called on an errand pleasurable to you!”

Synesthesia: Using one sense to evoke another -- "blind mouths" (Milton)

Periphrasis: Wordily going around a subject:

Malapropism: Mistakenly replacing one word with another that sounds similar but means something different. It was named for Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's The Rivals and used by Dogberry in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Example:

Then, sir, she should have a supercilious knowledge in accounts; and as she grew up, I would have her instructed in geometry, that she might know something of the contagious countries. . . and likewise that she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying....

Paradox: A seeming contradiction that is really true; For instance, John Donne writes in one of his holy sonnets: "Take me to you, imprison me, for I, / Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, / Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me."

Figurative Language (metonymy, synecdoche, metaphor, etc.)

Epic simile: A long simile beginning with like or as and ending with so or such:

Thus Satan . . . Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge
As whom the fables name of monstrous size,
Titanian, or Earth-born, that warred on Jove,
Briareos or Typhon, whom the den
By ancient Tarsus held, or the sea-beast
Leviathan, which God of all his works
Created hugest that swim the ocean stream:
Him haply slumbering on the Norway foam
The pilot of some small night-foundered skiff,
Deeming some island, often, as seamen tell,
With fixed anchor in his scaly rind
Moors by his side under the lee, while night
Invests the sea, and wished morn delays
So stretched out in length the arch-fiend lay
Chained on the burning lake... (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Type: A historical figure who in some way prefigures (or is the pattern for) another figure (Melchezideck, Joseph, and David are all types of Christ)

metaphor: A comparison not using like or as

Simile: a comparison using like or as

tenor and vehicle - the two parts of a metaphor; the tenor is the idea being represented by the vehicle, or the image used

Synecdoche - using the part for the whole, as in "lend a hand"

Metonymy - substituting one term for another with closely associated with it, as in "from the White House" for "from the President"

Conceit - a far-fetched comparison

Metaphysical conceits - these are even more intellectualized and far fetched than regular conceits, as John Donne's compass in "Valediction Forbidding Mourning" or the pulley in Herbert's poem

Emblem - a symbol in which the connection between meaning and image is purely arbitrary (dove = peace)

Epithet - an adjective or phrase that is used to express the characteristic of a person or thing; as in "Fallen cherub" or "myriads of immortal spirits" (Milton, Paradise Lost)

Classical epithet - an epithet referring to classical mythology, such as "Cleaning the Augean Stables"

Literary Genres, Periods, and Terms (masque, parody, etc.)

Fable - a tale in which beasts behave like humans; it usually communicates a moral

Commedia dell' arte - a series of short scenarios performed by travelling players who used stereotypical costumes and mask.

Exemplum - told to illustrate the point of a sermon

Baroque - heavily ornamented, with dynamic tension (Michelangelo, Milton)

Mannerist - distorted figures (El Greco, Donne)

Mock heroic - makes a subject ludicrous by inflating it, as in Dryden's poem "Mac Flecknoe"

Tragedy - a drama with a serious and dignified character in which the protagonist has a tragic flaw

Closet drama - a drama suited primarily for reading rather than for production

Masque - an elaborate form of court entertainment, the masque combined poetic drama, music, song, dance, elaborate costuming, and stage spectacle

Afterpiece - an extra entertainment presented after full-length plays in 18th century England. They were usually short comedies, farce, or pantomime. The purpose was to lighten the solemnity of drama. (Example--Tom Thumb)

Parody - A literary work in which the style of an author (or genre) is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule; it differs from burlesque in its depth and technique. (Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, for example, is a parody of the gothic romance genre.)

Farce - A light dramatic work employing unlikely situations, broad stereotypes, exaggeration, and violence. It is generally considered inferior to comedy because of its crude characterizations and unlikely plots.

Satire - a work ridiculing human vices, folly, abuses, and failings, sometimes with the intent to bring about improvement

Ballad opera - plays (written in England in reaction to the popularity of Italian operas) that supply new words to old tunes, creating a satirical contrast. The Ballad Opera pokes fun at its characters by using unlikely situations and stereotypes; but it is also a satire, aimed at social reform. In Beggar's Opera, John Gay makes the ruffians of Newgate a type for the kind of men who were running the government. He revealed political, social, and economical ills. The play's moral is that corruption at high levels leads to corruption throughout society.

Burlesque - A comic imitation of a serious literary form, burlesque relies on a sharp contrast between the subject itself and the way it is treated. In Tom Thumb, we see Fielding mocking heroic drama. The intent of such a play is to make fun of a certain genre or of certain writers. Burlesque is less socially conscious than other comedies, and it is less sophisticated than parody.

Sentimental comedy - These plays, in which the protagonists overcome a series of moral trials, do not so much evoke our emotions as tell us how to feel. The sentimental comedy portrays man as good but capable of being led astray. It shows that people can be reformed by appealing to their best sentiments. These plays contain unbelievably virtuous characters whose problems are too easily resolved. It tends to mix the qualities of tragedy and comedy. Oliver Goldsmith called it "bastard tragedy" and said that if the characters "happen to have faults or foibles, the spectator is taught, not only to pardon, but to applaud them, in consideration of the goodness of their hearts; so that folly, instead of being ridiculed, is commended, and the comedy aims at touching our passions without the power of being truly pathetic." Example: The West Indian

Laughing comedy - A term invented by Oliver Goldsmith to describe comedy aimed at amusing an audience rather than telling it how to feel; it portrays man's follies rather than his trials. Most of all, it is FUNNY. Laughing comedies often include satirical treatments of sentimentalism. Example: She Stoops to Conquer, The Rivals, The School for Scandal.

Comedy of manners - Witty, intelligent form of drama satirizing the manners and fashions of a particular social class; it is concerned with social manners and things morally trivial; plays often have allegorical names. Example: Man of Mode

Allegory - a more or less symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a second meaning not explicit in the narrative, where characters and events have a one to one correlation to the thing being allegorized and often bear descriptive names, such as "Christian" or "Faith."

Gothic novel - originally referred to literature set in medieval times (i.e. the time of the Goths) with castles, knights, etc., but it was broadened to include romantic fiction having an atmosphere of intrigue and horror; it is usually dark, stormy, and full of supernatural events. It often emphasized madness and revenge. Examples include Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

Myth - myths tell the deeds of extraordinary beings while at the same time relating universal truths; myth critics usually focus on stages of a hero: miraculous brith, initiation, quest, death, and resurrection.

Neoclassicism - adherence to classical virtues like elegance, correctness, simplicity, dignity, restraint, order, and proportion; neoclassicism sometimes modifies a classic in order to comment on modern times.

Augustan - literature which was written during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714)

Elizabethan - Work written during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603): Sidney, Spenser, Hooker, Marlow, Shakespeare, etc.

Jacobean - English literature during the reign of James I (1603-25)

Caroline - English literature written during the reign of Charles I and II (1625-1685)

Naturalism - emphasizes the instinctual nature of humans (Zola; "slice of life")

Realism - attempts to give the illusion of ordinary life

Surrealism - 1924 under Andre Breton - expresses thought uncontrolled by reason and aesthetic and moral concepts

Existentialism - Kierkegaard (1813-1855), popularized by Sartre - emphasizes freedom, personality, and the importance of individual "existence;" expresses scepticism toward idealism; maintains that man determines his own destiny by the choices he makes

Often Used Terms: (humour, Felix culpa, etc.)

Humour - The four main fluids present in the human body (according to the theory of physiology during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance).

Sanguine: blood is dominant; happy, ruddy

Phlegmatic: phlegm is dominant, colorless, lethargic, without energy

Choleric: yellow bile is dominant, angry

Splenetic: black bile is dominant, melancholic (though sometimes associated with anger)

Felix culpa - the idea that the Fall of man was fortunate because it brought us well (in some views, knowledge; in others, redemption through Christ), so that our end was better than our beginning

Narrative method - telling (usually dominant in a novel)

Dramatic method - showing (usually dominant in a play)

Catharsis - the purging of emotions of "pity and terror" aroused by a tragedy (Aristotle)

Manet - he (she) remains on stage

Exeunt - they all exit

Argument - theme

The unities - based on Renaissance misconceptions of passages in Aristotle's Poetics, it was said dramas should have unity of action, time, and place; that is, they should take place in one day, in one sitting, with one plot

Hubris - excessive pride; arrogance

Protagonist - the leading character in a Greek drama (or another form)

Antagonist - a character who opposes or competes with the protagonist

Freytag pyramid - a device created by the German writer and critic Gustav Freytag to illustrate the structure of a typical five-act play:

Exposition -- introduction, background information

Rising action -- the events leading up to the climax

Climax - the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action; the point of no return

Falling action -- action after the climax leading to the denouement

Denouement or catastrophe--the final action that completes the unravelling of the plot (catastrophe)

Chorus -- a group of actors who, in classical Greek drama, commented on the action of the play using song, dance, and recitation.

Frame -- a literary device used to "set-up" a story by providing a reason for telling it; the frame is not essential to the story itself; for example, the storytelling/manuscript frame that opens The Turn of the Screw.

Distancing - - using techniques such as mockery, ridicule, direct address of the audience, asides, and so forth in order to distance the audience from the work and remind it that it is reading a novel; this keeps the reader from sympathizing with the characters and allows him to ridicule them

Narration -- narration may be limited, and told from the point of view of one character in either third person or in first person; or it may be omniscient, in which the narrator knows everything, and is generally the author or a persona for the author.

Point of view -- from whose perspective the story is being told--such as a character within the story or an omniscient narrator--and what their vantage point is (i.e. how well can s/he see, how many years after the fact, where did s/he get his info.)

Reliable narrator -- a narrator who can be trusted to be telling the truth about the characters and events, such as Jane in Jane Eyre

Unreliable narrator -- a narrator who can not necessarily be trusted to present the story accurately because of certain prejudices, perspectives, or limited information he or she might have; such as Nelly in Wuthering Heights

Flat character -- a one-dimensional, stereotypical character

Static character -- a character who does not change throughout the novel

Round character -- a developed character whose many sides are shown

Dynamic character -- a character who grows and changes throughout the novel

Foreshadowing -- a hint that prepares readers for what occurs later in the work

In medias res -- "in the middle of things"; how epics begin

Catharsis - purging that Aristotle thought the special effect of tragedy

Dramatic irony - has one meaning for the character, another for the audience

Epigraph - an inscription; an apposite quotation at the beginning of a book

Pathos - the feeling of sympathy aroused by literature

Bathos - when an author striving for elevation fails

Sensibility - the thoughts, feelings, and assumptions characteristic of an age

Encomium - warm or glorious praise

Set speech: A long speech in which only one person is speaking, as in the devil's speeches in the council in hell in Milton's Paradise Lost.

Didactic: Intended to convey moral instruction and/or information

Soliloquy: A monologue (usually a series of reflections), in which the actor directly addresses the audience or speaks thoughts aloud while alone upon the stage (Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech, for example.)

Sources: http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-v/english-literature/299-literary-terms-background-information.html