Download Literary Terms and Poetic Schools

Ms. Snider
Art, Cultures, and Literature
Spring 2008
Study Guide: Final Exam, Spring Semester
You should be able to answer questions related to each item on this study guide. Before you begin
studying, make sure that all of your notes, handouts, and assignments are well organized. When studying,
consult your notes and handouts as well as your books and margin notes.
Literary Terms and Poetic Schools:
You should be able to define and apply the following literary terms and answer questions about various
elements of epic, troubadour, Sicilian, and dolce stil novo poetry.
1. Climax
2. Conflict
3. Foreshadowing
4. Motif
5. Theme
6. Allegory
7. Epithet
8. In media res
9. Invocation of a muse
10. Simile
11. Metaphor
12. Allusion
13. Anagnorisis
14. Tragic hero
15. Tragic flaw
16. Catharsis
17. Oracle
18. Verse
19. Prose
20. Omen
21. Superstition
22. Tone
23. Symbol
24. Irony
25. Dramatic irony
26. Terza rima
27. Characteristics of an epic hero
28. Characteristics of troubadour poetry
29. Characteristics of Sicilian Court poetry
30. Characteristics of the dolce stil novo and important poems written in this style
31. Myth
32. Contrapasso
Vocabulary:
You should be able to define and apply the following words that you learned during the semester:
1. Notwithstanding
2. Amid
3. Beset
4. Belabor
5.
6.
7.
8.
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Enplane
Encumber
Enfeeble
Bedazzle
Askew
Pact
Pacify
Appease
Amicable
Inimical
Prodigal
Avaricious
Antebellum
Enamored
Pacifist
Paramour
Bellicose
Belligerent
Greek Theater and Oedipus Rex:
You should be able to answer questions about the following items:
1.
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The approximate dates of Sophocles’ birth and death
The types of these Sophocles wrote and the offices he held during his lifetime
The strong connection Greek philosophers believed existed between knowledge and virtue
The Greeks’ belief that it is always better to suffer evil than to commit evil
The Greek definition of virtue as a mean
The purpose of Greek art and the way in which Greek art satisfies our desire for knowledge
The type of action that Greek tragedy imitates
The characteristics of Greek actors
The location of Greek theater performances
Apollo, his attributes, and commonly held beliefs about him
Dionysus, his attributes, commonly held beliefs about him, and the role he played in Greek
theater
The reason Oedipus initially fled Corinth
The manner in which Oedipus became king of Thebes
The reason Oedipus believes he might not have killed Laius
The point at which Oedipus believes he might have killed Laius
The reason Oedipus believes Jocasta wants him to stop asking questions about his birth
The person from whom Oedipus learns his true parentage
The reason the Corinthian messenger believes Oedipus can return to Corinth without fear of
fulfilling the prophecy
The reason the shepherd didn’t kill Oedipus as Laius ordered him to do
The reason Creon believes Oedipus should be taken inside the palace at the end of the play
The reason Oedipus is more concerned about his daughters’ welfare than his sons
The meaning of Oedipus’ name
The god Oedipus believes is responsible for his fate
The moral lesson the chorus teaches us in the play’s final lines
The Trojan War and Greek Myths:
You should be able to answer questions related to the following topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
The purpose of Greek and Roman myths
The groups of people who fought the Trojan War
The people who won the Trojan War
The three jealous goddesses involved in the dispute that caused the Trojan War
The Judgment of Paris
The goddess who threw an apple marked “For the fairest” into the banqueting hall at Olympus
The woman who was considered the most beautiful woman in the world
The reason the Greeks helped attack Troy
The sacred bond that Paris broke
The manner in which the Greeks entered Troy
The roles Hera, Athena and Aphrodite played during the battles
Identify the following people and deities:
a. Helen
b. Priam
c. Achilles
d. Hector
e. Agamemnon
f. Menelaus
g. Aeneas
h. Paris
i. Athena
j. Aphrodite
k. Hera
l. Zeus
m. Artemis
n. Narcissus
o. Echo
Dante’s Divine Comedy: The Inferno:
1. Be able to identify each of the sins and corresponding punishments found in The Inferno
a. Apathy and Cowardice
b. Lust
c. Gluttony
d. Avarice and Prodigality
e. Anger and Sullenness
f. Heresy
g. Violence: Murder and Physical Violence, Suicide, Blasphemy, Sodomy, Usury
h. Schism/Discord
i. Simple fraud: Pimps/Panders and Seducers, Flatterers, Simonists, Soothsayers,
Hypocrites, Thieves, Counselors of fraud
j. Treacherous fraud
2. Identify the language in which Dante wrote the Divine Comedy
3. Explain the way in which the sins change as Dante descends into lower circles of hell
4. Explain the structure of hell
5. Identify the setting at the beginning of the Inferno
6. Be able to identify the following characters and explain their significance in the Inferno:
a. Beatrice
b. Virgil
c. Mary
d. Lucia
e. Charon
f. Chiron
g. Phlegyus
h. Plutus
i. Cerberus
j. Minos
k. The Minotaur
l. The centaurs
m. The Harpies
n. Francesca and Paolo
o. Brunetto Latini
p. Geryon
q. The three animals that block Dante’s path at the beginning of the Inferno
r. Lucifer
s. Brutus
t. Cassius
u. Judas
7. Be able to identify the following rivers and their locations in the Inferno:
a. The Styx
b. The Cocytus
c. The Acheron
d. The Phlegython
e. Lethe
8. Be able to define contrapasso and explain how each punishment is a form of contrapasso