1. Why Do I Have to Study Literature?

2. Literature:
• is a composition that tells a story, dramatizes a
situation;
• expresses emotions, analyzes and advocates
ideas
• helps us grow personally and intellectually
• Is a resource for knowledge and understanding of
the human condition
• shapes our goals and values by clarifying our own
• is a primary characteristic of being human

3. Great literature influenced the
development of the English language
1. The English language is deep-rooted in
literature
2. The writings of great writers contributed to the
development of the English language
(Shakespeare)
3. Literature shows the history of the English
language (Beowulf -> Chaucer -> Shakespeare -
> Modern)

4. Literature shows the development of the
English Language
The Great Vowel Shift
Modern Chaucer Shakespeare
five /fi:f/ /faiv/
meed /meidə/ /mi:d/
clean /klε: n/ /klein/ (now /kli:n/)
name /na:mə/ /neim/
goat /gɔ:tə/ /go:t/
root /ro:tə / /ru:t/
down /du:n/ /daun/

5. The Great Vowel Shift
• The systematic change of
some vowel sounds in the
period from Chaucer’s time
to Shakespeare’s time
• The elevation of the tongue position and the narrowing
of the opening of the mouth in pronouncing these
vowels.
• Where the tongue’s position was the highest and the
mouth opening was the closest, the vowel sounds
became diphthongs as in case of /i:/ and /u:/.

6. 1. Middle Ages (5th century-1485)
2. The Renaissance (late 15th c. -early 17th c.)
3. The 17th Century
4. The Enlightenment (late 17th c. –middle 18th c.)
5. Romanticism (1798-1832)
6. Realism (1830s-1918)
7. Modernism (1918-1945)
8. The Contemporary Period (1945-Present)

7. Prose fiction
 Myths, parables, romances, novels, short stories
Poetry
• Open form and closed form
 Relies on imagery, figurative language, sound
Drama
• Made up of dialogue and set direction
 Designed to be performed
Nonfiction prose
• News reports, feature articles, essays, editorials,
textbooks, historical and biographical works

8. DramaFiction PoetryNonfiction
Tragedy
ComedyRealistic
Fiction
Historical
Fiction
Fantasy
Science
Fiction Biography
Autobiography
Persuasive
Writing
Informational
Writing
Fable Myth Tall Tale Legend Fairy Tale
Folklore
Epic
Ballad
Sonnet
Villanelle
Lyric

9.  Historical Fiction: set in the past and based on real
people and/or events
 Science Fiction: has aliens, robots, futuristic
technology and/or space ships
 Realistic Fiction: has no elements of fantasy; could
be true but isn’t
 Fantasy: has monsters, magic, or characters with
superpowers
 Folklore: usually has an “unknown” author or will
be “retold” or “adapted” by the author.

10.  Fable: short story with personified animals and a
moral
• Personified: given the traits of people
• Moral: lesson or message of a fable
 Myth: has gods/goddesses and usually accounts
for the creation of something
 Tall Tale: Set in the Wild West or the American
frontier,
• main character’s skills/size/strength is greatly exaggerated;
• exaggeration is humorous

11.  Legend: based on a real person or place
• Facts are stretched beyond nonfiction
• Exaggerated in a serious way
 Fairytale: has magic and/or talking animals.
• Often starts with “Once upon a time…”
• Like fantasy but much older
• Often has a human main character
• Fables also have talking animals, but fables are
VERY short

12. Essence of fiction = narration (the telling)
Elements of fiction
• Verisimilitude = realism
 Must be compelling enough that the reader can “suspend
disbelief”
• Donnee = premise
 • Something given by which you can judge the realism =
ground rules
Sources of elements
• Character, plot, structure, theme, symbolism,
style, point of view, tone, irony

13.  I. Plot
 A. Dramatic structure
 B. Exposition
 C. Complication
 1. Rising action
 2. Conflict
 3. Moments of crisis
 D. Climax
 E. Resolution/Denoument

14.  Plot = reflection of motivation and causation
• No plot = The king died and then the queen died.
• Plot = The king died, and then the queen died of grief.
 Conflict = controlling impulse in a connected pattern of
causes and effects
• Opposition of two or more people (e.g., hatred, envy, anger,
argument, avoidance, gossip, lies, fighting, etc.)
 Dilemma = Conflict within or for one person
• Conflict is a major element of plot because it arouses curiosity,
causes doubt, creates tension, produces interest
• No tension = no interest

16.  A. Protagonist: main person in the story
 B. Antagonist: opposition to the protagonist; person
who causes conflict & creates obstacles
 C. Character Description
Foil: character who is opposite in nature to the
protagonist and highlights his characteristics
Rounded: life-like, dynamic, realistic and predictable
Flat: static, no-growth
Stock = representative of a group or class
 D. Motivation
 E. Development

17. Characters are disclosed through:
• Actions
• Descriptions, both personal and environmental
• Dramatic statements and thoughts
• Statements by other characters
• Statements by the author speaking as storyteller,
or observer
• Characters need to have verisimilitude, be
probable or plausible

18.  III. Point of view
 A. First-person narration
 1. The narrator is a participant in the story
 2. The narrator must be present at all times
 B. Third-person narration
 1. employs a non-participant narrator
 2. Narrator is capable of moving from place to place in
the story and never reveals its source

19.  C. Omniscience
1. Total omniscience is where the narrator knows
everything
2. Editorial point of view goes even further, allowing
the godlike author to comment directly on the action
3. Limited omniscience is where the storyteller limits
himself to the thoughts of a single character
4. Dramatic (or objective) point of view is where the
narrator simply reports dialogue and action with
minimal interpretation and does not delve into
characters’ minds

20.  IV. Theme
 A story’s “theme” is the overall meaning the reader
derives from it. There’s no one “correct” theme,
but some are more likely than others.
 Common Themes:
 Man vs. Nature
 Man vs. Society
 Man vs. Himself
 Predestination vs. Free Will
 Good vs. Evil
 Suffering & Redemption
 Glory of battle/
horror of war
 Deals with the devil

21.  V. Setting
 The time and place of a story.
Locale
Historical fiction
Regionalism
Magical realism

22. VI. Style, Tone, and Symbolism
• Style = a writer’s characteristics of language
 Diction: word choice
 Syntax: sentence structure (grammar, punctuation,
sentence construction)
 Figurative language (metaphors, similes,
personification, allusion, etc).

23. VI. Style, Tone, and Symbolism
• Tone = The tone of the story is what we can indirectly
determine about the author’s own feelings about its
events from his choice of words
• Symbolism = When actions take on a larger meaning
in the context outside the story

24. Multiple Perspectives

25. Literatur
e
Genre
Author
History
Ideology
Literary
Worldview
Reader

26.  Fiction
• Plot
• Character
• Setting
• Ideas
• Point of View
• Symbols
• Mood
• Objects
• Allusion
• Theme
• Style
 Poetry
• Events
• Structure
• Character
• Setting
• Ideas
• Point of View
• Mood
• Objects
• Allusion
• Style
• Meter
• Sound

27.  Family
 Birth
 Education
 Personality
 Occupations
 Dreams
 Accomplishments
 Disappointments
 Reputation
 Lifestyle
 Beliefs
 Death

28. Setting of the work
• Year
• Political events
• Religious events
• City and Country
Setting of the author
• Year
• Political and Religious events
• City, Country

29. Religious
Political
Social
Cultural
Racial
Economic
Gender

30. Personal application
View of the author
Personal reaction
Misunderstandings
Recommendations
Mood
Reading Background

31. Reality
Universe
Humanity
Death
Morality
Knowledge
History

32. Monomyth: One Story
Motifs
Archetypal Images
Literary Borrowing

33.  The Quest
 The Initiation
 The Tragedy
 The Comedy
 The Temptation
 The Rescue
 The Cinderella
 The Scapegoat
 The Journey
 The Death/Rebirth

34.  Supernatural
 Human Characters
 Relationships
 Clothing
 Human Body
 Foods
 Sounds
 Movement
 Animals
 Landscape
 Plants
 Buildings
 Inorganic
 Water
 Nature
 Direction

35.  God
 Angels
 Heaven
 Satan
 Demons
 Evil spirits
 Evil beasts
 Witch
 Hell
“Good” Archetypes “Bad” Archetypes

36.  Hero
 Virtuous wife,
husband
 Innocent child
 Friend
 Servant
 Wise man
 Good farmer
 Just judge
 Villain
 Harlot
 Tyrant
 Wanderer
 Traitor
 Sluggard
 Fool
 Drunkard
 thief

37.  Wedding clothes
 White colored clothes
 Armor
 Stately garment
 Sackcloth
 Dark clothes
 Lack of clothing
 Dirty clothes

38.  Bread
 Milk
 Meat
 Manna
 Oil
 Wine
 Olives
 Grapes
 Hunger
 Drought
 Famine
 Starvation
 Poison
 Drunkenness
Food Objects Actions

39.  Sheep
 Lamb
 Dove
 Gentle birds
 Singing birds
 Lion
 Eagle
 Owl (wisdom)
 Monsters
 Wolf
 Tiger
 Dragon
 Vulture
 Owl (death)
 Snake
 Goat
 Wild dogs
“Good” Omens/Symbols
“Bad” Omens/Symbols

40.  Garden
 Park
 Mountaintop
 Fertile plain
 Rock
 Safe pathway
 Dark forest
 Wilderness
 Dark valley
 Tomb
 Cave
 Pit
Order/Light Disorder/Darkness

41.  Green grass
 Rose
 Vineyard
 Lily
 Evergreen
 Plants of healing
 Thorn
 Weeds
 Dead plants
 Willow tree
 Pruning of branches
Order/Light Disorder/Darkness

42.  River
 Stream
 Pool
 Spring
 Fountain
 Showers of rain
 Flowing water
 Sea
 Stagnant pools
 Floods
Growth/Light Chaos/Darkness

43.  Breeze
 Summer seasons
 Calm after storm
 Sun
 Stars
 Sunrise
 Day
 Rainbow
 Storms
 Autumn
 Winter
 Sunset
 Darkness
 Lightning
 Whirlwind
Order/Light Disorder/Darkness

44.  Rising
 Height
 West
 North
 Right
 Straight
 Descent
 Lowness
 East
 South
 Left
 Crooked
Order/Light Disorder/Darkness

45. Bible
Shakespeare
Greeks/Romans
Fairytales
LITERATURE