Download Plot - Marissa Junior/Senior High School

1
Plot
Plot is the sequence of related events in a work of literature. It may be simple or complex, and it includes what characters do,
think, and say. The word first used by Aristotle for plot in Poetics was mythos (origin of the word myth). According to
Aristotle, plot was the "soul of tragedy": its "first principle." The general structure of plot is as follows:


Exposition: gives information about settings and characters
Conflict: struggle between characters or forces (ideas, actions, desires, wills, goals, etc.) that brings about action
internal conflict: occurs within an individual
external conflict: when an individual struggles against an outside force (an animal, a force of nature,
another character, etc.)


Complications: new conflicts or setbacks for the main character
Climax: decisive turning point in a narrative; the "high point," or moment of greatest intensity
rising action leads up to the climax
falling action occurs after the climax (between the climax and resolution)

Denouement: the resolution; the aftermath or outcome of the plot; how things are settled in the end
Suspense: curiosity about the plot's outcome; makes us want to know what happens next
Foreshadowing: technique in which an author plants clues about what will happen next
Detective story: story in which the plot consists of solving a mystery; Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is
recognized as the first American detective story
Flashback: a scene that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier
Epiphany: a moment of understanding, insight, or revelation experienced by a character concerning what is happening to him or
her
Tall Tale: story in which the plot contains wild exaggerations, vivid settings, the use of dialect, and a "hero" with superhuman
characteristics
Plot manipulation: occurs when an author overuses chance or coincidence; in other words, the outcome of the plot is not
justified by the situations or characters involved in the story (the author is "manipulating" the events); one method of plot
manipulation is deus ex machina (literally "god from the machine"), a technique by which Greek dramatists would have a god or
goddess descend from heaven at the last possible moment to rescue the main character from an impossible situation (This was
accomplished in Greek theater by use of a stage machine)
Chronological order: the narration of events in the order they occur in time
Stream of consciousness: a writing style that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character's thoughts, feelings,
memories, and mental images as the character experiences them; the term was first applied to the human mind by William
James in Principles of Psychology; James Joyce, Katherine Anne Porter, and William Faulkner are among the authors most
closely associated with this technique
Tragicomedy: A merging of the tragic and the darkle comic
Grotesque: Describes special types of characters characterized by distortions of the natural; the purpose can be humorous
2
moral seriousness, or social commentary. In a modern fiction, whenever characters appear who are either physically or
spiritually deformed and perform actions that are clearly abnormal, the work can be called grotesque.
Character
A character is a person (or animal or natural force presented as a person) in a work of literature. Characterization is the way
an author presents a character. An author using direct characterization makes statements about the characters and tells us
what characters are like. In indirect characterization, the author lets us draw our own conclusions about a character based on
what the character says or does, how he or she is dressed, or what other characters think about him or her. When characters
speak directly to one another, they engage in dialogue. To be convincing, characters should be consistent in behavior, clearly
motivated (we must understand the reasons characters talk and act as they do), and believable in their actions. Below are some
character types.
Protagonist: the main character in a work of literature
Antagonist: a character or force opposing the protagonist; not necessarily a villain or "bad guy"
Foil: a type of antagonist that offsets the protagonist or other characters by comparison or by stopping a plan
Static Character: a character who does not change
Dynamic Character: a character who changes in an important way
Flat Character: a "one-sided" character; displays only one or two distinguishing traits; usually can be summed up in one
sentence
Round Character: a character presented in-depth from many angles; may be complex and many-sided
Stock Character: a familiar character type requiring little or no imagination on the part of the author (mad scientist, silent
sheriff, cruel stepmother, eccentric detective)
Stereotype: a conventional, oversimplified opinion or image of a person or group of people; related to stock character
Archetype: a prototype, model, or "perfect example"; i.e., Daniel Boone as an archetype of the American frontiersman
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Tips for Understanding Character
Recognize and consider physical characteristics and behavior.
How do characters change during the course of the story?
What causes characters to change?
How are changes demonstrated in what characters do and say?
Are there any similarities between or among the characters?
What are the differences between or among characters?
Irony
Irony is a general term for the contrast between appearance and reality; a contrast between what appears to be true and what
is true.
Verbal Irony: occurs when a character says one thing and means something else
Dramatic Irony: occurs when the reader knows something a character does not know; the character is
unaware of how things he or she does and says contrast with the truth
Irony of Situation (Situational Irony): occurs when a character's actions bring unexpected results; events
3
turn out opposite of what is expected or what should be
Point of View
A story's point of view is the angle or position from which a narrative is told.
First-person point of view: the narrator is one of the characters and tells the story in his or her own
words; uses the words I, me, we, and us; the reader only knows what the narrator knows and observes
Third-person point of view: the narrator is not one of the characters (an outside observer) and uses the
words he, she, it, they, and them; the two types of third-person point of view are limited and omniscient;
third-person limited focuses on the feelings and thoughts of one character; third-person omniscient has an
"all-knowing" narrator who can describe the thoughts and feelings of all characters (omni- means "all")
Objective/Dramatic point of view: the narrator does not reveal the feelings and thoughts of any
character; the narrator only records what is seen and heard; the reader, like a spectator at a movie or play,
can only infer what characters feel
Setting
The setting is the time and place in which events of a literary work take place (geographical location, weather conditions,
historical context, time, psychological state of characters, way of life of characters, etc.); not just where events take place;
settings may be symbolic, representing ideas larger and more significant than the literal time and place.
Verisimilitude: the appearance of reality (time and place) in fiction
Local color writing: general name for a writing style that uses details associated with a particular setting; therefore, readers
get ideas about the dress, speech, customs, and scenery of a location; Mark Twain was the "pioneer" of local color writing in
American literature
Vernacular Style: writing style that imitates or suggests the everyday spoken language of people in a particular locality; would
be used by someone writing local color fiction
Dialect: the characteristic speech of a particular time, region, or social group; "the way people talk"
Voice: the language style adopted by an author to create the effect of particular speaker
Theme
A work's theme is its main, controlling idea: its central insight or understanding about life. The theme of a literary work my be
implied or stated.
Didactic literature: literature that is designed to teach a moral lesson; didactic comes from the Greek word for "teaching";
the Bible is an example of didactic literature
Moral: a practical lesson about right or wrong conduct or a rule for living in general
Idiom is a figure of speech that does not make sense if you take each individual element literally. For example, “It’s raining
cats and dogs.” Most people would understand that it is raining heavily; they would not expect to see animals falling from the
sky. Some become so common that they lose their effectiveness that they become a cliché.
Cliché: a familiar, overused expression; begin as fresh, powerful expression but lose their impact over time; many rely on
figurative language; some common clichés are as follows:
4
quiet as a mouse
as cold as ice
out of the blue
at a loss for words
bored to death
You can't judge a book by its cover.
busy as a bee
needless to say
get the lead out
easier said than done
time is money
deep, dark secret
crack of dawn
after all is said and done
light as a feather
raining cats and dogs
Sentimentality: when an author makes an insincere appeal to the reader's emotions using faked tender feeling,
oversimplification, emotion, or exaggeration; a type of plot manipulation
Pathos: refers to qualities designed to arouse pity or sorrow in the reader (hint: think of the word pathetic)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tips for Stating the Theme of a Literary Work
Express the theme as a complete statement, not a word or
phrase.
The theme should be a generalization, but not too broad or
specific. Be sure your statement is supported by setting, tone,
plot, and symbolism.
Avoid words like always, never, all, or none.
Do not express the theme as a cliché or moral, unless the story
is designed to be instructive.
Tone and Style
Tone is the general attitude a writer takes toward the subject. Style is the author's way of writing. An author may use a
variety of words and sentence structures. Sentence length (short or long), the amount of action versus the amount of
description, and the amount of dialogue used to tell the story are among the elements of a writer's style. Whereas a plain style
contains simple words in clear order, an ornate style consists of learned references, odd sentence structures, and/or
parallelisms (think: ornaments are decorations, so an ornate style is "decorated").
Diction: word choice in speech or writing; may be formal or informal; may be elementary or "elevated," depending on the
audience
Colloquial language: informal language; language that is "conversational"
Oxymoron: the use of two opposite or contradictory ideas; the plural is oxymora; some examples are as follows:
plastic glasses
military intelligence
sanitary landfill
gentle giant
resident alien
diet ice cream
white grapes
small crowd
good grief
peace force
act naturally
definite maybe
clearly misunderstood
jumbo shrimp
found missing
pretty ugly
friendly fire
terribly pleased
sweet sorrow
honest thief
night light
tight slacks
government organization
small fortune
soft rock
same difference
student teacher
Denotation: the literal or "dictionary" meaning of a word
Connotation: the unspoken or unwritten meanings associated with a word beyond the "dictionary" definition
Syntax: the way phrases and clauses are structured in writing; a writer should vary sentence structure as much as possible
Parallelism: the repetition of phrases and sentences that are similar in structure or meaning; most frequently used in
persuasive writing; for example, each of the Ten Commandments begins with "Thou shalt. . . ." or "Thou shalt not. . . ."
Rhetorical Question: a question to which the answer is obvious; the person asking the question knows the answer; frequently
used in persuasive writing
Euphemism: an expression or "phrase" that is "prettier" or less harsh than the word or word it represents; often used in place
of words considered unpleasant, painful, or offensive; when courtesy and tact are required, euphemisms are properly used; if
the euphemism is misleading or being used to cover up the truth, however, you should use the more precise, original term; the
adverb form of the word is euphemistically, and the adjective form is euphemistic; some examples are as follows:
Unpleasant Term
die
false teeth
to arrest
to spy
propaganda
retreat
garbage collector
old age
poor
sneak attack
lay off workers
garbage dump
public toilet
prison
library
short
Euphemism
pass away
dentures
to detain
to do intelligence work
information
strategic withdrawal to the rear
sanitation engineer
golden years
economically disadvantaged
preemptive strike
restructure/downsize
landfill
comfort station
correctional facility
learning resource center
vertically challenged
Sarcasm: language that expresses an idea by saying the opposite
Archaic words: words that are no longer in actual use (thou for you, shalt for shall, etc.)
Jargon: specialized vocabulary for technical or professional fields; may be unfamiliar or confusing to "outsiders"; frequently
found in magazines and newspaper articles; avoid using jargon that is unfamiliar to your audience.
Sports
Arts
Science
Business
bullpen
harmony
black hole
capital
gridiron
choreography
nova
debit
line drive
abstract
biosphere
commodity
rebound
epic
enzyme
monopoly
squeeze play
ballad
quasar
prime rate
blitz
cast
quantum
recession
safety
melodrama
fission
overhead
face-off
merger
Gobbledygook: difficult words or complicated sentences (unintelligible, nonsensical language); often used to sound wellinformed and impressive; found frequently in professional, public, and private statements (officialese)
This policy is issued in consideration of the application therefore, a copy of which application is attached
hereto and made part hereof. Payment for said insurance is on file of the above-named issued. The previous
statement's meaning is as follows: Here is your insurance policy, and our record shows that you have paid
for it.
Redundant Expressions: express the same meaning twice
advance warning
join together
new innovation
close scrutiny
proceed forward
same identical
Jewish rabbi
advance planning
leave from
completely unanimous
return back
sudden impulse
5
6
end result
share together
tuna fish
new baby
exact same
unexpected surprise
young child
Wordiness and "Padded Language": the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; unnatural, imprecise
Her olfactory system was suffering from a temporary inconvenience means the same as Her nose was
blocked.
Below are some examples of wordy, "padded" expressions:
at the end of = after
at the present moment/at this moment in time = now
because of the fact that = because, since
what I want is = I want
with the exception of = except
by means of = by
in view of the fact that = because
is located in = is in
rarely ever = rarely
which was when = when
due to the fact that = because
for the reason that = because
"Padded": Pat hasn't been to school due to the fact that he is sick.
Revised: Pat hasn't been to school because he is sick.
"Padded": The statue that is in the plaza towers over the capital.
Revised: The statue in the plaza towers over the capital.
Additional Literary Terms for Tone and Style
Epigraph: a brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a literary work
Analogy: a comparison between two things similar in a number of ways; a way to explain unfamiliar things by using familiar
things (heart's structure to a pump, a camera to the human eye, etc.); in argument by analogy, a writer compares two similar
situations, implying that the outcome of one will resemble the outcome of another; an analogue is a piece of writing that is
similar in some way to another
Paradox: a statement that seems to contradict itself, yet makes sense when considered thoughtfully (A tiger is a beautiful,
dangerous creature.); the adjective form is paradoxical, and the adverb form is paradoxically
Anecdote: an interesting story told to make a point; may be humorous or serious; often a biographical incident
Juxtaposition: the act of placing two items side-by-side, often for contrast; often done with characters; the verb is juxtapose
Inference: a conclusion based on the evidence available; figuring out something by using what you already know; infer is the
verb (past tense is inferred)
Aphorism, or Proverb: a brief statement, usually one sentence in length, that expresses some truth about life in short, easily
remembered form
Parody: humorous, exaggerated imitation of another work; written merely to amuse the reader
Satire: a work that uses mockery, irony, and wit to make fun of something (habit, idea, custom) or someone; written to arouse
contempt (make someone angry) or lead to a change
7
Imagery: the use of vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell); produces mental images
(lively sensory impressions); authors enhance the imagery of writing through the use of sound devices and figurative language.
Abstract Imagery
Onomatopoeia: the use of a word that suggests the sound it makes; creates clear sound images and helps a writer draw
attention to certain words; examples include buzz, pop, hiss, moo, hum, murmur, crackle, crunch, and gurgle
Alliteration: the repetition of initial (first) consonant letters or sounds in word groups; term comes from the Latin word
allitera, meaning "adding letters"; examples include wild and wooly, sweet sixteen, through thick and thin, dime a dozen, and big
blue balloon; recognized by sound, not by spelling (know and nail alliterate, and know and key do not)
Assonance (partial rhyme, near rhyme): the similarity or repetition of similar vowel sounds in word groups; examples include
right-hive and pane-make; lake and stake rhyme, while lake and fate contain assonance
Consonance: the repetition of inner or end consonant sounds in word groups, without a similar correspondence of vowel sounds;
similar to alliteration, except consonance does not limit the repeated sound to the first syllable (Margaret got a velvet hat)
Euphony: pleasant combination of sounds; smooth-flowing meter and sentence rhythm give lines euphony; generally, lines with a
high percentage of vowel sounds in proportion to consonant sounds tend to be more melodious, or "euphonic"
Cacophony: "bad-sounding"; refers to the unpleasant discordant (cacophonous) effect of sounds or words; sometimes used by
writers to give their writing a special effect; dissonance is the arrangement of cacophonous sounds in words or rhythmical
patterns
Literal language, straightforward and matter-of-fact, means exactly what it says. A writer using literal language states an idea
directly. Figurative language, on the other hand, uses figures of speech to go beyond literal meanings. Authors using figurative
language make comparisons and indirect statements to help us see things in vivid, imaginative ways. A figure of speech is any
way of saying something other than the literal, ordinary way. Some commonly-used figures of speech are given below.
Metaphor: a figure of speech comparing things that are basically unalike to make the reader see them as similar in some way;
metaphor is Greek for "transfer" (meta means "across," and phor/pher means "carry")
stated (direct) metaphor: stated directly (The thief was a fox. She is a doll.); metaphors may follow linking
verbs such as become or remain (The boy remained a rock for his family during the tragedy. The offensive
line became an effective wall to run behind during the game.)
implied metaphor: the connection between two things is suggested rather than stated (He strutted across
the room.)
extended metaphor: a comparison developed in detail, i.e., throughout an entire poem
Simile: a comparison of things that are basically unalike by using the words like, as, as if, than, such as, or resembles;
technically, a simile is a type of stated metaphor; most similes begin with like or as
The unkind words struck like a knife in the girl's heart.
His hands are like leather.
She eats like a bird.
He is skinny as a rail.
The cave was as dark as a tomb.
It is important to know that not all phrases beginning with like or as are similes. Look at the following
sentence and notice that two unalike items are not compared: He got some shoes like Bill's. In that
sentence, the author is speaking literally, not figuratively.
8
Symbol: a person, place, thing, or event that means more than it is; a dove is a symbol of peace, a heart is a symbol of love, an
eagle is a symbol of the United States, a skull and crossbones is a symbol of poison, etc.; symbolism is the use of something to
stand for more than it is; a work of literature may have a symbolic meaning
parable: a short narrative that illustrates a moral or religious lesson; uses everyday situations
fable: a story (with animals as characters) that illustrates a moral (usually a short, simple lesson); for
example, "slow and steady wins the race" in "The Tortoise and the Hare"
allegory: a narrative or description that serves as an extended metaphor (has a symbolic meaning beneath
the surface); contains characters, actions, or settings representing ideas abstract qualities or ideas; stories
are usually long and complex; meant to explain or teach a moral idea or lesson; may be written as fables,
parables, poems, stories, and almost any other style or genre; John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1678) and
Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen are the most famous allegories in English literature, and the American
author most closely associated with allegory is Nathaniel Hawthorne
Personification: technique in which an author gives human characteristics to nonhuman things (animals, natural forces, objects,
ideas, etc.); examples are Jack Frost, Old Man Winter, Mother Nature, etc.; sentences with personification are as follows:
The angry sky thundered overhead.
The land was glad rain finally came.
The waves danced upon the beach.
The tree stood tall like an old warrior.
Pun: a figure of speech involving a play on words; a word used to express two meanings at the same time; a joke based on words
with several meanings or words that sound the same but have different meanings.
The gorilla went ape when he saw the bananas.
On the side of the diaper delivery truck was written "Rock a Dry Baby."
A plumber's advertisement said, "A flush is better than a full house."
Synecdoche: the use of part of a thing to stand for the whole, or vice-versa
Give me a hand with this, please.
I got pulled over by the law.
Metonymy: when an author substitutes the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it
The White House decided. . . . (meaning The President decided. . . .)
Lands belonging to the crown. . . . (meaning Lands belonging to the king. . . .)
Hyperbole: overstatement; a deliberate exaggeration used for an ironic or humorous effect to emphasize a point; from the
Greek word for "overcasting"
I'm starved.
I'll die if I don't pass English.
He calls a million times a day.
He's older than dirt.
Conceit: a type of hyperbole; an extended comparison or metaphor between two startlingly different things;
examples include the works by the English metaphysical poets, as well as Edward Taylor's "Huswifery"
Understatement (litotes): when a serious matter is treated as a small one for an ironic or humorous effect (a statement which
lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant); used frequently in everyday speech; usually has a negative assertion and
ironic intentions; examples would be calling a slow person "speedy," calling a fat boy "Skinny," etc.
Antithesis: the balancing or contrasting of one term against another; an example is found in Shakespeare's words, "Fair is foul,
and foul is fair." Apostrophe: device in which the narrator addresses a personified abstraction (an absent or imaginary person,
quality, or something intangible), as if the thing was present and could reply; in "The Rhodora," for example, Ralph Waldo
Emerson addresses a flower as if the flower were a person; at Christmas, many people sing "O, Christmas Tree" (they are
singing to a tree); children may say "Rain, Rain, Go Away!" (they are talking to rain)
9
Basic Elements of Poetry: Rhyme, Rhythm, and Meter
Poetry as a literary form may be defined simply as a patterned expression of ideas in concentrated or imaginative terms, usually
(but not necessarily) containing rhyme, and a specific meter.
Form: a poem's design as a whole; its shape or structure


closed form: the poet follows some sort of pattern
open form: the poet does not follow a pattern; instead, the poem is shaped as is moves along, often adding emphasis as
it goes
Subject: the central topic of a poem
Speaker: the voice telling the poem; a poem may have more than one speaker; the speaker and the poet are not necessarily the
same
Persona: a "mask" the poet creates to provide the speaker of a poem; when analyzing poetry, be sure to distinguish between the
poet and the speaker (if there is a difference)
Satiric Poetry: poetry that makes fun of human corruption, wickedness, or foolishness
Repetition: the recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, or lines in poetry
Rhyme: the similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words; the repetition of sounds that are similar or identical;
expresses strong feelings and enhances the meaning and impact of poetry







masculine rhyme: the rhyme of one-syllable words or words with a final stressed syllable (light/sight, defeat/retreat)
feminine rhyme: occurs in words of two or more syllables; stress is placed on a syllable other than the last
(better/setter, Cindy/windy)
internal rhyme: the repetition of similar sounds within lines
end rhyme: the repetition of similar sounds at the end of lines
perfect/exact/true rhyme: different initial consonant sounds are followed by similar vowel sounds (tie/lie, meet/feet)
approximate/slant/off rhyme: only the final consonant sounds are identical (comb/tomb, cat/cot, hope/cup); see
consonance
rhyme scheme: the pattern of rhymes formed by the end rhyme in a poem; first sound is a, second sound is b, third
sound is c, etc.
Rhythm: the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables (beats) we hear in poetry; stress is simply the greater
amount of emphasis we give to a syllable in speaking; stressed syllable is accented (long); unstressed syllable is unaccented
(short)
Meter: the pattern of rhythm in a line of poetry; from the Greek word meaning "measure"; the type of meter depends upon the
placement of stress within each poetical foot (see chart below)
Poetical foot: unit used to measure rhythm in a line of poetry; consists of two or three syllables; lines of poetry consist of a
series of feet; poetic lines are classified according to the number of feet per line (clues in prefixes)
monometer: 1 foot
trimeter: 3 feet
pentameter: 5 feet
heptameter: 7 feet
dimeter: 2 feet
tetrameter: 4 feet
hexameter: 6 feet
octameter: 8 feet
Scansion: the process of analyzing rhythm in a poem and marking poetical meter and feet as stressed ( ¯ or ’ ) and unstressed (
u
)
10
Types of Meter
Foot
iamb (iambic meter)
trochée (trochaic meter)
anapest (anapestic meter)
dactyl (dactylic meter)
spondée (spondaic meter)
pyhhric
Description
2 syllables: unstressed - stressed
"rising meter" (pro-CEED, be-LOW)
the most common foot in English
2 syllables: stressed - unstressed
"falling meter" (FIF-ty, NEV-er)
Example
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, "Nature"
Edgar Allan Poe, "The
Raven"
James Russell Lowell,
A Fable for Critics
3 syllables: 2 unstressed - 1 stressed
Byron, "The
"rising meter" (o-ver-COME)
Destruction of
Sennecherib"
Henry Wadsworth
3 syllables: 1 stressed - 2 unstressed
Longfellow,
"falling meter" (PAR-a-graph)
"Evangeline"
usually compound
2 stressed syllables; often used to slow rhythm of line; two spondées
words (FOOT-BALL,
combined into one unit is a dispondée
CHILD-HOOD)
usually found
2 unstressed syllables; also called a dibrach, the shortest metrical foot
interspersed with other
in Classical verse
poetical feet
Meter can be "mixed" within lines of a poem. For example, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
contains two trochées and two iambs per line. Iambic pentameter, the basis of English verse, is a line with five poetic feet (10
syllables).
Caesura : a deliberate pause within a line designed to help express meaning; plural caesurae; means "a cutting" in Latin; may be
created by punctuation, but may also result from the meanings of words or the natural rhythms of language; line may or may not
have caesura; can be initial (at the beginning), medial (near the middle), or terminal (near the end) of a line; accented (masculine)
caesura follows an accented syllable and unaccented (feminine) caesura follows an unaccented syllable
Verse Forms Based on Meter and Rhyme
1. Rhymed Verse: contains end rhyme and usually has a regular meter and rhyme scheme; rhyming couplets means
that every two lines rhyme; an example of "closed form"
2. Blank Verse: contains a fixed rhythm and regular line length - unrhymed iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line
and no rhyme); an example of "closed form"; often found in poetry dealing with complex subjects; commonly used in
narrative and dramatic poetry; because of its regular rhythm, it may become monotonous and "sing-songy" (many poets
vary the rhythm to add emphasis and avoid monotony); originated in England with Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; other
examples are Shakespeare's dramatic poetry (plays), John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667), William Cullen Bryant's
"Thanatopsis," and Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses"
3. Free Verse: poetry free of traditional metrical and stanzaic patterns; no fixed rhythm or rhyme scheme; uses everyday (colloquial)
language, natural speech rhythms, and differing line lengths; key feature is its departure from traditional meters; an example of "open
form"; examples are Psalms and Song of Solomon in the King James Bible, John Milton's Samson Agonistes and Lycidas, the poetry of
Walt Whitman, and the work of the nineteenth century French symbolists; other poets using free verse include Stephen Crane, Carl
Sandburg, Edgar Lee Masters, Ezra Pound, and e.e. cummings
Stanza Forms
A stanza (Italian for "station," "stopping place," or "room") is a unit of poetry longer than a line; it is a way of arranging lines of
poetry in a pattern based on thought or form, usually according to rhyme and meter. A stanza serves the same function as a
paragraph in prose: it allows the poet to organize his or her thoughts into a unit. A refrain is a group of words, phrases, or
lines repeated at regular intervals in a poem. Types are as follows:
terminal refrain: the most common; occurs at the end of a stanza
11
incremental refrain: the words change slightly with each recurrence
internal refrain: appears within a stanza, usually in a position that stays fixed
within the poem
couplet: 2-line stanza; 2 successive lines that rhyme (a-a)
triplet (tercet): 3-line stanza (usually a-b-a or a-a-a)
quatrain: 4-line stanza; most common form in English (a-a-a-a; a-b-a-b; a-b-b-a; a-a-b-b; a-b-a-c)
quintet: 5-line stanza (may be one of a number of rhyme schemes)
sestet: 6-line stanza (sometimes used to refer to last 6 lines of sonnet)
septet: 7-line stanza
octave: 8-line stanza (often used to refer to first 8 lines of sonnet)
Heroic Couplet ("closed couplet"): two successive rhyming verses that contain a complete thought within the two lines; usually
iambic pentameter (poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Dryden and Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House")
Terza Rima: 3-line stanzas (tercets) with interlaced or interwoven rhyme scheme (a-b-a, b-c-b, c-d-c, d-e-d, etc.); usually
iambic pentameter (Dante's Divine Comedy, Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind")
Villanelle: French verse form; 19 lines; 5 tercets (all a-b-a) and one quatrain (a-b-a-a); entire first and third lines are repeated
alternately as final lines of tercets 2, 3, 4, and 5 and together to conclude the quatrain (Edwin Arlington Robinson's "The House
on the Hill," Theodore Roethke's "The Waking," Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night")
Rime Royal: 7-line stanza in iambic pentameter rhyming a-b-a-b-b-c-c (so named because it was used by King James I)
Ottava Rima: 8 iambic pentameter lines with rhyme scheme a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c; borrowed from the Italians (used by Lord Byron in
Don Juan)
Spenserian Stanza: 9-line stanza; 8 lines of iambic pentameter and one line of iambic hexameter (the alexandrine); rhyme
scheme of a-b-a-b-b-c-b-c-c (gets name from Edmund Spenser, who started the form in The Faerie Queen)
Limerick: 5-line nonsense poem with anapestic meter; rhyme scheme usually a-a-b-b-a; first, second, and fifth lines contain
three stresses; third and fourth lines contain two stresses; made popular by British painter and author Edward Lear (1812-88)
Ballad Stanza: four lines with rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b; first and third lines in tetrameter; second and fourth lines in trimeter
Haiku: about 17 syllables; usually three lines (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables); means "beginning verse"; mostly rhyme less
imagery; originated in the sixteenth century in Japan
Tanka: 5 lines of 31 syllables (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)
Concrete Poetry: poem visibly resembling the object, which it describes; key is the arrangement of words
Acrostic: initial letter of each line, read downward, spells out word or words
Types of Poetry
1. Lyric Poetry: expresses the personal thoughts and feelings of a single speaker (a single emotional event); may or
may not contain definite stanza forms and patterns of rhyme and rhythm; may be "open" or "closed" form (rhymed
verse, blank verse, or free verse); may tell a story, but shorter than a narrative or dramatic poem; generally between
12 and 30 lines, and rarely over 60 lines; emphasizes sound and imagery over dramatic and narrative content; often rich
in musical devices; once had a narrow meaning: it was "musical" poetry (name comes from the Greeks, who sang the
poems to the music of the lyre; some notable Greek lyric poets were Anacreon, Sappho, and Archiolochus
Sonnet: 14-line stanza, usually in iambic pentameter, following a specific rhyme scheme

Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet: contains eight lines (octave) following the rhyme scheme a-b-b-a a-b-b-a, followed by six
lines (sestet) with a varying rhyme scheme (c-d-e-c-d-e or c-d-c-d-c-d); turn between the octave and the sestet is the
12
volta; usually divided into comparison/contrast or question/resolution according to the divisions of the octave and
sestet; used in American literature by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Shakespearean (English) Sonnet: contains three quatrains and one couplet following the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b-c-d-cd-e-f-e-f-g-g; each quatrain is usually a variation of the basic theme of the poem, and the couplet is usually a conclusion
Note: while both types follow a rhyme scheme and (usually) are written in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare ended his
sonnets with a couplet
A sonnet cannot be written in blank verse because a sonnet rhymes and blank verse does not.
Ode: long lyric poem in stanzas of varied metrical patterns; often a serious poem on a dignified theme; formal, lofty
language and admiration for the subject; generally celebrates a subject of public interest and involves the performance of a
group of people; sung in honor of gods or heroes in Greek and Roman literature
Elegy: sadly meditative poem dealing with the subject of death, often telling what a deceased person was like, expressing
sorrow for the loss, and offering consolation; in the past, an elegy (from the Greek word elegus meaning "a song of mourning
or lamentation") was any meditative poem dealing with a serious theme; the most famous examples are Thomas Gray's
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" and Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
2. Narrative Poetry: tells a story; often has a strong dramatic element
Epic Poem: most famous type of narrative poem; a long narrative poem about a national or legendary hero; examples are the
Iliad, Odyssey, Aenead, Columbiad, Beowulf, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Milton's Paradise Lost; a Homeric Simile, common
in epic poetry, is an extended comparison of two actions or objects that develops mounting excitement and usually ends in a
climax; a canto is a subdivision of an epic poem
Ballad: a narrative poem in short stanzas (often rhymed and in quatrains) sometimes set to music; among the most common
subjects are love, jealousy, revenge, death, adventure, mystery, and war; frequently focuses on a dramatic or tragic
incident and contains dialogue of characters; often involves historical or legendary figures; commonly uses a refrain to add
emphasis or suspense; the French word for ballad once meant "to dance"; Bishop Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English
Poetry (1765) increased popular interest



Folk ("popular") Ballads: composed to be sung; arose from anonymous folk origins; strong and simple rhythms;
passed down orally for generations before ever written down (because of widespread illiteracy); storytellers told
different versions of these ballads (ninety-two variations of "Bonny Barbara Allan" are part of Virginia folklore)
Broadside Ballads: printed on one sheet of paper; often set to traditional tunes (Lord Byron, Andrew Marvell,
Jonathan Swift)
Literary Ballads: unlike folk ballads, have known authors; not meant for singing; written by sophisticated poets for
book-educated readers (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and John Keats's "La Belle Dame
Sans Merci")
3. Dramatic Monologue: a poem written as a speech made at some decisive or revealing moment; usually addressed by the
speaker to someone else; first developed by Robert Browning in "My Last Duchess"; also used by T. S. Eliot, Carl
Sandburg, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Frost, and Allen Tate
13
Basic Elements of Drama
Narrator: a character in some plays who speaks directly to the audience, introducing the action and providing commentary
between scenes; may or may not be a character in the action
Dramatic Convention: any dramatic device which is accepted by the author and audience as a means of representing reality
Monologue: a long speech by a character; allows characters to express complicated thoughts or develop extensive arguments; in
fiction, one person speaks in a monologue
Soliloquy: a type of monologue in which a character, alone on stage, addresses himself; "thinking out loud"
lets the audience know a character's true thoughts and feelings
Aside: a brief remark or speech; when a character on stage turns from the person he is addressing to speak
directly to the audience; audience alone hears his thoughts (rest of characters cannot); lets the audience
know what the character is really thinking and feeling, as opposed to what he or she pretends; two
characters addressing one another may speak in asides to the audience
Chorus: a group of actors speaking or chanting in unison, often while going through steps of elaborate, formalized dance; usually
used to express views and emotions of the public; sometimes pose questions to characters or audience; sometimes used as a
narrator; a characteristic device of Greek drama for conveying communal or group emotion
Realistic Drama: attempts, in context and presentation, to preserve the illusion of actual, everyday life; characters are not
"superhuman"; situations or plots are usually believable
Nonrealistic Drama: departs from presenting the outward, visible appearance of life; characters sometimes have "superhuman
qualities"; plots sometimes border on the absurd; good parallel is a soap opera
Tragedy: a type of drama in which the protagonist (someone of unusual moral or intellectual stature or ability) suffers a fall in
fortune because of some error of judgment, excessive virtue, or flaw in his nature (tragic flaw); sometimes warns of excess in
any one personality trait; most of the time, a reconciliation takes place in the end
1.
2.
3.
4.
Aristotle's Guidelines for Tragedy (in Poetics)
tragic hero: someone of high standing, but not perfect
flaw (i.e., hubris [excessive pride]) or weakness in hero that
leads to downfall
recognition scene: hero realizes what he has done
catastrophe: sudden, inevitable disaster; protagonist's death
or moral destruction
Catharsis: a term (first used by Aristotle) that describes some sort of emotional release experienced by
the audience at the end of a successful tragedy; "wisdom gained from tragedy" (waste of human life, waste
of human greatness, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Traits of Shakespearean Tragedy
tragic hero: main character; his tragic character flaw leads to
a fatal mistake; flaw: hamartia ("act of injustice") in Greek
drama; makes character vulnerable to fate; done through
ignorance or to accomplish the greater good (benefits outweigh
expense); punishment for hero usually exceeds the degree of
flaw
conflict: internal or external
humor: used to relieve somber mood of tragedy
supernatural event: ghost, witch, storm, etc.
revenge: often serves as motivation for characters
14
6.
chance happening: leads to an end
Melodrama: (related to tragedy); contains sensational incidents and emphasizes plot over characters;
conflicts are often "crude (virtuous protagonist versus villainous antagonist); resolutions are emotionally
satisfying and "happy" (good winning out over evil); issues are oversimplified; adjective form is
"melodramatic"
Comedy: a type of drama (opposed to tragedy) normally having a happy ending and emphasizing human limitation, rather than
human greatness; the main purpose of a scornful comedy is to expose and ridicule human corruption, folly, vanity, and hypocrisy;
in a romantic comedy, a likeable and sensible main character is placed in difficult circumstances from which he or she is rescued
at the end, either attaining his or her goals or having fortunes reversed
Drama of the Absurd: closely related to comedy; radically non-realistic in content and presentation;
emphasizes the absurdity, emptiness, or meaninglessness of life
Farce: related to comedy; improbable situations, violent conflicts, physical action, and coarse wit; the
situation (rather than the plot or characters) provide humor
15
Non-Fiction Literature
Non-fiction literature is a type of prose literature dealing with real people and real life situations. This is not to say,
however, that non-fiction literature is necessarily "fact" or "truth." Among the varieties of non-fiction literature are
biographies, autobiographies, speeches, histories, essays, diaries, journals, newspapers, and even cookbooks or car repair
manuals. An author's purpose may be to entertain, inform, persuade, or explain. The chief uses of non-fiction literature
are as follows:
Descriptive Literature (description): uses imagery to give us a picture about the subject
Narrative Literature (narration): tells about a series of events
Expository Literature (exposition): presents information or explains a subject
Persuasive Literature (persuasion): designed to change people's ideas or actions
Major Forms of Non-Fiction Literature
Essays. An essay is a piece of prose of various length dealing with a subject briefly and from a
personal point of view. An essay attempts to say something, but not everything, about a subject. The
author of an essay should have evidence for his or her ideas. A critical essay deals with a topic of
literature or any of the arts. The major styles of essays are formal and informal.
Formal Essay: serious in tone, tightly-organized, generally objective; frequently
designed to instruct (didactic); major parts (introduction, body, conclusion) work
together to make up a complete idea or thing; develops theme according to principles of
unity, coherence, and emphasis
Informal Essay: may be relaxed, serious, or humorous; conversational style (colloquial),
digressions, humorous anecdotes; writer's personality and point of view are as important
as the subject; E. B. White and James Thurber are among the American "masters" of the
informal essay
Speeches. Speeches are mostly intended for oral presentation, but some are meant to be read silently. In
either case, the key element is the author's ability to be persuasive (often use rhetorical questions and
parallelisms)
Biographies (including Autobiographies). The subject of a biography is someone's life. A biographer may
use a variety of source materials: diaries, letters, archives, memoirs, personal knowledge, books, etc. For
the distinction between primary and secondary source materials, see below.
Types of Source Materials
The two major categories of source materials are primary sources and secondary sources.
Primary Sources: original documents written by someone who participates in or has direct knowledge of
something. Examples include speeches, diaries, letters, novels, legislative bills, laboratory studies, field
research reports, eyewitness reports, or newspaper articles.
Secondary Sources: commentaries on primary sources, often written by a non-participant in an event or
after the fact about someone or something else
For example, if you were writing a research paper about the assassination of President Kennedy, you might
examine both primary and secondary sources (a report on the assassination and a biography published in
1980, for example); your paper would be a type of secondary source. Although a primary source is not
16
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
necessarily more reliable than a secondary source, it has the advantage of being a "firsthand account."
Naturally, you can better evaluate what a secondary source says if you have first read and are familiar with
the primary source.
Tips for Reading and Analyzing Non-Fiction
Ask yourself, "What is the author's purpose?" Is the writer trying to entertain, to inform, to persuade, or to explain
something? Does it seem to be more than one of these purposes?
Is the tone formal or informal? Is it some of both? How do you know?
What impressions do you form of the writer and his or her personality? Why do you feel this way?
Examine what the author does with language. How does the language affect you as a reader? Explain.
In your own words, what is the main idea that the author is trying to express?
How do elements of style (imagery, figurative language, irony, etc.) help express the author's attitude toward the
subject, as well as your response?
Read the work more than once. On the first reading, think about the main point (thesis) of the essay and whether or
not the author uses sufficient evidence to support his or her ideas. How does the author support his or her claims? Is
it with relevant and sufficient evidence or with just a few anecdotes or emotional examples? Are any of the author's
assumptions questionable? Does the author consider opposing arguments and refute them persuasively? Are there any
reasons to be suspicious of the author's motives or to question his or her objectivity? As you read, also think about
the author's style and your personal response to the writing.
Be aware of what types of source materials (primary and/or secondary) provide the bases of the author's arguments