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WGU LCC1
Survey of Literature
395
Literature
Undergraduate 2
06/17/2013

Additional Literature Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Plot
Definition
action, represents the framework that the other elements flesh out to create the story
Term
Story
Definition
the big picture
Term
Exposition
Definition
opening of the story
Term
Rising action
Definition
building up to events
Term
Climax
Definition
where the story is raising to its peak actions
Term
Falling action
Definition
action that follows the climax toward the conclusion
Term
Denouement
Definition
final outcome the gives the story closure
Term
Subplots
Definition
secondary plot
Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
plot device where events to com later in the story are hinted to build tension
Term
Conflict
Definition
struggle between forces
Term
Dramatic situation
Definition

 

situation where characters involved in a conflict engage an audiences

 

attention and emotions

 

Term
Complication
Definition
denote the development of conflict comprising the raising action
Term
Suspense
Definition
feeling of anxiety excitement, intrigue, and anticipation that keeps the audiences or reader engaged
Term
Crisis
Definition
closely connected to some kind of turning point of the story
Term
Recognition
Definition
character advances from not knowing to knowing something previously not know
Term
Literature
Definition
is the writing that gives order to human experience
Term
Fiction
Definition
based on imaginary events
Term
Nonfiction
Definition

real life factual events

 

Novels

Short stories

Essays

Memories

Biographies 

Term
Apprenticeship Novel
Definition
BILDUNGSROMAN tells a story of a young character advancing from a stage of innocence to young adulthood
Term
Epic Novel
Definition

major events and heroic Characters

largeness of subject matter i.e. wars, heros, nation-building)

Term
Epistolary Novel
Definition
told through letters written between one on more characters
Term
Picaresque Novel
Definition

concerns the experiences of a traveler, or picaro, who much progress through a series of struggles and conflicts and rely on wits in order to survive

"early form" of novel

Term
Nonfiction Novel
Definition
 historical event is conveyed in a novel form and with use of conventions commonly associated with novel genre.
Term
Novella Novel (short novel)
Definition

a work that is linger than a shot story but contains characters of a novel

shorter than a novel but still long

Term
Theme
Definition

reflects ideas and beliefs that have surfaces in our human consciousness

is the substance that allows us to connect with or relate to

Common themes: Coming of age

 Isolation

 Identity

 Faith

 Love

 Trust

 Hate

Term
Tone
Definition

 

refers to the authors attitude towards the subject

 

 

 

Common tones - somber

 

        romantic

 

        sinister

 

        dark

 

Term
Mood
Definition

attitude created by the author towards the subject or the prevailing emotions of work reveled through setting, imaginary characters events or other elements

 

 

Atmosphere: gloomy

 

  happy

 

  fearful

 

Term
Characterization
Definition
variety of techniques and stategies used to create characters of various types
Term
Character
Definition
a imaginary person of literature work
Term
Protagonist
Definition
main character of the story
Term
Antagonist
Definition

 

person who opposes the man character of the story

 

 

 

Term
Hero
Definition
central character, strong moral character
Term
Antihero
Definition
lacks traits of a hero
Term
Foil
Definition

 

character used to highlight elements of more central characters through contrast

 

 

 

Term
Stock character
Definition

 

is common type that appears frequently in stories

 

 

 

Term
Flat character
Definition
only has one trait and does not have the capacity to change throughout the story
Term
Round character
Definition
given great amount of detail about a characters perspective on their situation
Term
Archetype
Definition
character, image, detail, motif, or any other element that constantly surfaces over time and represents a pattern of in human experiences and beliefs
Term
Persona
Definition
voice of a literary work
Term
Epiphany
Definition
moment in a narrative when a character has a strong realization or understanding it makes a crucial turning point
Term
Motivation
Definition
factor or factors that cause characters to do the things they do
Term
Monologue
Definition
speech delivered by one character on stage during a play
Term
Point of view
Definition
 perspective in which the story is told
Term
Participant
Definition
narrated in first person
Term
Nonparticipant
Definition
narrated in third person or any other form
Term
First person
Definition

 

I, me, my…..direct account from the characters perspective

 


 

Term
First person plural
Definition
we, us, ours
Term
Second person
Definition
you, your…..used more in poetry
Term
Third person
Definition
he, she, they….outside perspective
Term
Third person objective
Definition
narrator focuses on just the external events and does not convey information related to thoughts, desires and motives of characters
Term
Third person limited
Definition
get up close with a certain character
Term
Third person omniscient
Definition
narrative presence that is all knowing to all the characters
Term
Unreliable narrator
Definition
narrator who comes across as deceptive inconsistent, or delusional in some way
Term
Irony
Definition
discrepancy between literal and the actual
Term
Verbal irony
Definition
statement means the opposite of its literal meanings
Term
Situation irony
Definition
expected situation ends up being different from the actual situation
Term
Irony of fate (cosmic irony)
Definition
when actions contradicts results
Term
Dramatic irony
Definition
when the audience knows more than characters
Term
Allegory
Definition
a story that contains a literal meaning and symbolic meaning
Term
Allusion
Definition
reference to some meaning that exists outside of a text.
Term
Aside
Definition
 in drama, a brief passage spoken only so the audience can hear it
Term
Deus ex manchina
Definition
phrase used to describe a situation where an outside force intervenes to resolve a human conflict
Term
Flashback
Definition
reveling of a scene through a character's perspective
Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
occurs when later events of plot are hinted at earlier on in a narrative
Term
In media res
Definition
a narrative where the story starts in the middle of things
Term
Satire
Definition
genre based on using humor to reveal human inconsistencies, weaknesses, and contradictions
Term
Soliloquy
Definition

 

a speech delivered by a character alone on stage

 

 

 

Term
Sonnet
Definition

fixed poetic form consisting of fourteen lines

 

popularity in the 14th-17th centuries

Term
Truism
Definition
saying that expresses a self-evident or obvious truth
Term
Connotation
Definition
refers to the meanings that extend beyond the dictionary
Term
Denotation
Definition
refers to the dictionary definition of a term
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
can be used as a literary device to create some kind of rhetorical effect - to use sounds that convey meanings and images, ex. Sizzle, ooze, murmur
Term
Alliteration
Definition
refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in literary work, ex.. Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers
Term
Assonance
Definition
refers to repetition of vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, regardless of the surrounding consonants, ex. The rain in Spain or over the old open plain
Term
Dialogue
Definition
Lines that directly represent spoken conversation
Term
Diction
Definition
The word choice an author uses to convey certain characteristics related to accents, intonations, inflections, and other speech related qualities
Term
Dialect
Definition
A style of speech associated with a certain region, group, or culture
Term
Figurative language
Definition
loose term that refers to the use of indirect language or comparisons to describe something.
Term
Metaphor
Definition
a direct comparison
Term
Simile
Definition
is a comparison using like or as
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
direct address to a person or abstraction that is not present
Term
Conceit
Definition
particularly and/or unexpected comparison
Term
Hyperbole (overstatement)
Definition
use of exaggeration
Term
Imagery
Definition
way in which an author utilizes the senses, not just sight, but any of the senses, to create a realistic moment for the reader
Term
Metonymy
Definition
 reference to something related to a concept to represent the entire concept
Term
Symbolism
Definition
Using objects or ideas to convey a meaning beyond the literal meaning
Term
Synecdoche
Definition
reference to one small part of something to represent the whole of the something
Term
Paradox
Definition
statement the seems like a contradiction but holds truth
Term
Personification
Definition
technique of ascribing human characteristics to a non-human entity, ex. The sun smiled down
Term
Transferred epithet (hypallage)
Definition
transferred epithet is when an adjective or adverb that desricbes on term or person is transferred to another, ex. I had a lazy day playing video games. The day is not lazy
Term
Understatement
Definition
contrast to Hyperbole an ironic expression that reveals less than what is expected, ex. A blizzard drops 10 feet of snow last night and you say "We got a little snow last night."
Term
Novels
Definition

do not have a set length, but are the longest form and issued in single volumes

 Engage in significant plot, theme and, character development

 

Term
Realism
Definition
a literary technique in which the author attempts to represent, in language, real life as it is experienced by plausible characters - characters who are often grappling with the conflicts and concerns of ordinary existence
Term
Epistolary Novel
Definition
story of the novel is told through letters written by one or more characters
Term
Bildungsroman (Apprenticeship Novel)
Definition
where the theme concerns a character's transition from a state of innocence to a state of experience
Term
Short Stories
Definition
relatively short work of fiction
Term
Allegories
Definition
A narrative in which characters, setting, and plot all have symbolic meanings.
Term
Fables
Definition
Brief stories conveying moral lessons or truths and featuring animals, plants, and other non- human entities that are granted human qualities
Term
Tales
Definition

Brief stories containing fantastical characters and events

 

 

 

Folktales

 

Fairy tales

 

Term
Parables
Definition
Brief stories conveying morals or life lessons through believed plots, human characters, and use of metaphor.
Term
Setting
Definition
elements that influence your mood, feelings, and thought
Term
Atmosphere
Definition
details related to time and to place in works of fiction to evoke moods and   emotions
Term
Regionalism
Definition

 

refers to the setting of stories in a particular region

 

    characters

 

    dialect

 

    traditions

 

    history

 

    geography

 

    environment

 

    culture

 

Term
Locale
Definition
where the story takes place
Term
Symbol
Definition
Any object that contains a meaning beyond its literal meaning
Term
Plot devices or plot elements
Definition
give the story depth and sophistication
Term
Conflict
Definition
problems with the character
Term
Complications
Definition
obstacles of a character
Term
Essay
Definition
common nonfiction genres in our contemporary world, a relatively brief form of nonfiction prose aimed at presenting a writers perspective
Term
Personal Essay
Definition
essay aimed at conveying subject matter of a personal nature with the purpose of entertaining, informing, and enlightening readers.
Term
Expository Essay
Definition
essay aimed at explaining a concept, idea, situation, experience, event, or occurrence with purpose of informing
Term
Argumentative Essay
Definition
essay aimed at persuading readers to adopt the writers view on a specific topic
Term
Travelogue Essay
Definition
a lecture, slide show, or motion picture describing travels.
Term
Autobiography Essay
Definition
nonfiction work in which a writer describes, narrates, and reflects on his or her own life.
Term
Biography Essay
Definition
nonfictional account of a specific person's life
Term
Memoir Essay
Definition
nonfictional first-person account based on memories of experiences, people, and events and usually more focused than an autobiography
Term
Journal Essay
Definition
nonfictional account of daily occurrences usually geared toward recording personal events and observations
Term
Persona
Definition
 is a mask or voice through which an author or narrator speaks
Term
Voice
Definition
refers to the qualities, including syntax, style, tone, and diction, that allow the personality and character of the persona to come through.
Term
Subjectivity
Definition
inclusive of opinion
Term
Objective
Definition
devoid of opinion
Term
Othering
Definition
concerns the influence of individual beliefs and opinions - is a process, as signified by the "ing"
Term
Close Form Poetry
Definition
forms that follow specified rules and structures
Term
Open Form Poetry
Definition
forms that don not adhere to pre-established rules and structures
Term
Epics Poems
Definition
based on legendary and historic events and not events developed in the imaginations of authors. Large, grand in breath, length, and subject matter.
Term
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Definition
earliest know epics - earliest know pieces of literature - legendary king of the ancient city of Uruk who strives to defend his people. 27th century BCE
Term
The Iliad and the Odyssey
Definition
8th century BCE - Greek poet Homer - Iliad is set durning the final phases of the Trojan war, revolves around the Schilles and Agamemnon, Odyssey set after the Trojan war and concerns the adventures of Odysseus, a Greek hero as he journeys home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy
Term
Metamorphoses
Definition
works date back to 1st century AD attributed to the Latin poet Ovid. Doesn't focus on one main hero; instead, the poem details the history of the world and is comprised of a dense intricate assemblage of Greek myths.
Term
Beowulf
Definition
Story set in Scandinavia, 8th century AD. Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poet.  Beowulf, a citizen, a hero, and king of Geatland, battles Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon
Term
The Faerie Queene
Definition
poem by Edmund Spenser dates back to 1590, is allegorical in nature (serving to praise Queen Elizabeth 1), and concerns the plights of various knoights who symbolize virtues that include holiness, temperance, chastity, friendship, justice, and courtesy.  The author is the central knight and embodies "perfection" in all virtues.
Term
Paradise Lost
Definition
published in 1667 by Milton, poem narrates in ten books and blank verse. Satan's attempt to take over the Heaven, the testament story of Adam and Eve. Narrative concern complex, pholosophcal questions related to predestination, fate, and innocence lost. Issues related to politics, Christianity and paganism also emerge.
Term
Sonnets
Definition

 

smaller and address less magnificent pursuits and exploits. Standard

 

length of 14 lines and the use of a set rhyme scheme and structure.

 

Term
Haiku
Definition
Japanese poetic form consisting of three unrhymed lines. There are seventeen on pattered as follows: 5-7-5
Term
Limerick
Definition
5 line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme that is usaually humorous or nonsensical in nature
Term
Ballad
Definition
verse often set to music
Term
Ode
Definition
verse form with lyric language praising an inspirational person or object
Term
Lyric
Definition
A brief, imaginative, and melodic poem conveying one main idea or impression
Term
Triolet
Definition
A poem consisting of 8 rhymed lines
Term
Villanelle
Definition
A poem containing 5 tercets and closing with a quatrain; the first and third lines of a villanelle are repeated in a set patter thought-out the poem
Term
Sestina
Definition
poem containing 6 6-line stanzas and closing with a tercet: the last words in each of the first 6 lines are repeated in the following sestets in a set pattern
Term
Prose Poetry
Definition
form of poetry that relies on the language of prose and is read like poetry
Term
Visual Poetry
Definition
form of poetry where words are arranged to create a visual and artful effect
Term
Found Poetry
Definition
form of poetry where text of an original found source is rearranged to create a poetic effect
Term
Narrative Poetry
Definition
framed around a narrative and containing fictional elements like characterization and plot
Term
Dramatic Poetry
Definition
Poetic verse delivered without authorial narration, by character on stage to an audience
Term
Blank Verse
Definition
form of poetry consisting of unrhymed iambic pentameter
Term
Enjambment
Definition
poetic technique of placing a line break in the middle of a sentence, clause, or phrase
Term
Lines without enjambment
Definition

 

Work-weary, they stumble to their seats.

 

Happily, she fills their cups.

 

Term
Lines with enjambment
Definition

 

Work-weary, they stumble

 

To their seats.

 

Happily, she

 

Fills their cups.

 

Term
Stanza
Definition

 

denotes a grouping of lines within a poem

 

 

 

Couplet - two line stanza

 

Tercet - three line stanza

 

Quatrain - four line stanza

 

Sestet - six line stanza

 

Octave - eight line stanza

 

Term
Rhythm
Definition
relates to the pattern of sounds - the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
Term
Scansion
Definition
 the act of dividing a line of a poem into rhythmic units
Term
Foot
Definition
is one unit in the pattern of rhythm with specific combination of stressed and unstressed syllables
Term
6 different feet
Definition

 

common in English poetry

 

 

 

Lambic: un + st (u /)

 

Trochaic: st + un (/u)

 

Anapestic: un + un +st (u u /)

 

Dactylic: st + un + un (/u u)

 

Pyrrhic: un + un (u u)

 

Spondaic: st + st (//)

 

Term
Meter
Definition

 

describe poems by the number of feet in the line

 

 

 

Monometer - 1

 

Dimeter - 2

 

Trimeter - 3

 

Tetrameter - 4

 

Pentameter - 5

 

Hexameter - 6

 

Heptameter - 7

 

Octameter - 8

 

Nonameter - 9

 

Decameter - 10

 

Term
Rhyme Scheme
Definition
specific pattern of rhyming sounds in a poetic work
Term
End Rhyme
Definition
rhyme pattern of similar sounds at the end of each line
Term
Internal Rhyme
Definition
contain like-sounding sounds within a single line of a poem
Term
Exact Rhyme Type
Definition
 type of rhyme that occurs when the final vowel and consonant sound the same
Term
Slant Rhyme Type
Definition
type of ryhme that occurs when the final consonants sound the same, but the vowel sounds are different
Term
End Rhyme Type
Definition
Type of rhyme that occurs when the end (the last syllable or syllables) of different lines of poetry rhyme
Term
Eye Rhyme Type
Definition
A type of rhyme where the rhyming words share similarities in spelling but have slight differences in pronunciation, leaving the sounds close but not exact
Term
Explication
Definition

typically done with shorter poems or specific passages and concern analyzing the carious language-levels elements at an up-close and in-depth level in order to understand how the parts come together to reveal meaningful themes. Slow reflective walk through a poem

 

 

May Address:

 

Theme

 

Form

 

Voice/Speaker

 

Rhyme, Rhythm, and Meter

 

Figurative Language

 

Symbolism

 

Imagery

 

Word Choice

 

Term
Analysis
Definition
consists of determining how the form, content, and contextual elements of a poem combine to convey a specific meaning. Often consists of identifying questions that a poem evokes and the striving to respond to those questions
Term
Italian (Petrarchan)
Definition

A sonnet consisting of an octave (an eight-line verse) and sestet (a six-line verse). Its  rhyme scheme is abba abba cde cde (the rhyme scheme of the sestet may vary)

 

Attributed to the 14th century Italian poet by the name of Petrarch….dealt with love

Term
English (Shakespearean)
Definition

A sonnet consisting of three quatrains (four-line verses) and a couplet (a two-line verses). Its rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg

 

Because Shakespeare used it so heavily during the 16th and 17th centuries

Term
Spenserian
Definition

A form of English sonnet with quatrains following a linked rhyme scheme. Abab bcbc cdcd ee.

16th century English poet Edmund Spenser

 

Term
Drama - Classical Tragedy
Definition
life and death - Greek reagedy is the sense that humans are ultimately doomed
Term
Drama - Classical Comedy
Definition
a drama that is funny
Term
Golden Age of Greek Drama
Definition
480 BCE to 400 BCE - Theater of Dionysus and outdoor amphitheatre, could hold 12000 people
Term
Orchestra
Definition
a circular space in the center of the amphitheatre
Term
Theatron
Definition
where the audience sat in tiers surrounding the orchestra
Term
Skene
Definition
a "backstage" building for storing and changing costumes.
Term
Poetics
Definition
a written record of dramatic and poetic principles - founded by Aristotle
Term
Shakespearian Tragedy
Definition
A subgenre of tragedy containing elements of Aristotelian tragedy and featuring tragic characters, sensationalistic violence, and the language of blank verse
Term
Modern Tragedy
Definition
A subgenre of tragedy that emerged in the modern period to portray ordinary people struggling with everyday issues. Modern tragedies can be realistic or involve experimentation with dramatic form and convention
Term
Tragicomedy
Definition
A dramatic genre containing elements of both tragedy and comedy, featurung conflicts that nearly end tragically but finally lead to happy resolutions
Term
Melodrama
Definition
A dramatic genre featuring music and tending to focus on action, adventure, passion, and suspense over character depth
Term
Low Comedy
Definition
A subgrenre of comedy where the humor derives from jokes, and phisical actions that engage audiences on an elemental level. Low comedy makes us laugh but rarely makes us think
Term
High Comedy
Definition
A sungenre of comedy that engages audiences on an intellectual level and where the humor derices from situations that reveal inconsistencies in human behavior. High comedy can make us think, "its funny because it's true"
Term
Burlesque
Definition
low comedy characterized by extreme caricature, distortion of situations, and exaggeration to the point of absurdity
Term
Comedy of Manners
Definition
high comedy that portrays relationships and love affairs, often in the upper-class society, and satirizes conventional social codes of behavior
Term
Commedia dell'arte
Definition
low comdey that emerged in Italy in the 16th century and involves stock characters improvising on a given scenario
Term
Farce
Definition
low comedy in which the humor derives from crass jokes, absurd situations, and ridiculous actions
Term
Satire
Definition
subgenre of comedy in which irony, sarcasm and ridicule are used to point out flaws in people or social institutions in order to encourage positive social change
Term
Romantic Comedy
Definition
high comedy that features young couples encountering obstacles on their paths toward love and usually finding happy endings
Term
Slapstick
Definition
low comedy that involves practical jokes, humiliating blunders, horseplay, and violence. Slapstick is oftern an element of farce
Term
Medieval Period
Definition

Western Roman Empire 476 BCE

 

Term
Mystery Plays
Definition
Dramatic works based on biblical stories. were staged on pagent wagons, decorated wooden stages on wheels, stationed at public places all over town. Used flat characters
Term
Miracle Plays
Definition
Dramatic works based o legendary miracles performed by saints or sacred objects. Used flat characters
Term
Morality Plays
Definition
Dramatic works that personify virtures and vices to convey allegorical themes. Use Flat characters
Term
Renaissance Period
Definition
England 16th and 17th centries. Period of great artistic and technologial creativity. Adopted genres of tragedy and comedy. Sometimes called the Elizabethen drama because most of it wa written during the reign Queen Elizabeth.
Term
Thrust Stage
Definition
rectangular stage extended from the inner wall into the center of the builing. could hold up to 3000 people
Term
Chronicle Plays
Definition
Dramatic works based on histooric events and often with purpose of promoting patriotism. Chronicle plays tended to feature noble or royal characters, a great many performers, and spectacular pageantry
Term
Court Comedies
Definition
Comedic works, often consisting improbable plots, elaborate costumes and sets, and music, meant to be performed in a royal court
Term
Pastoral Drama
Definition
Dramatic works set in rural settings that idealize the life of shepherds and othe country people
Term
Tragicomedy
Definition
A dramatic genre containing elements of tragedy and comedy and often featuring conflicts that nearly end tragically for characters but instead lead to happy resolutions. Concerned characters of a higher class and intricate, unrealistic plots in which aspects of villainy and virtue were contrasted.
Term
Modern Period
Definition
began in the late 19th century.
Term
Realism
Definition
effort to potray as it is
Term
Picture - Frame (proscenium arch)
Definition
an indoor auditorium with rows and seats
Term
Fourth Wall
Definition
there is an imaginary barrier - of the room on stage, between the stage and audience
Term
Stage direction
Definition
focus on realism and the increasing technical ability to potray realistic settings
Term
Symbolist movement
Definition
rather than portray everyday situations, playwrights used imaginary setting and symbolic characters and actions to explore spiritual and psychological truths
Term
Expressionism
Definition
Playwrights aimed to portray states of intense emotion (sometime to the point of psychological disturbance through very exaggerated costumes, make up, and actions
Term
Theater of the Absurd
Definition
in reaction to upheaval and horrors of World War 2, play wrights began to explore the possibility the human life lacks any ultimate; these plays put characters in absurd situations where effective action and genuine communication are impossible
Term
Sophocles
Definition
Oedipus the King
Term
William Shakespeare
Definition
Hamlet
Term
Arthur Miller
Definition
Death of a Salesman
Term
Sophocles
Definition
Antigone
Term
William Shakespeare
Definition
Hamlet Prince of Denmark
Term
Suspension of disbelief
Definition
English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined what happens when an audience becomes so involved that they repond emotionally to events on stage
Term
Suspense
Definition
is the feeling anxiety, excitement, and anticipation that keeps audiences and readers engaged and interested in performance or literary work
Term
Character vs. Character
Definition
conflict between individuals, usually the protagonist and antagonist
Term
Character vs. Nature
Definition
conflict with natural elements, Time, death
Term
Character vs. Society
Definition
conflict with social rules, expectations
Term
Character vs. Self
Definition
internal conflict within a character
Term
Direct description
Definition
Especially in modern drama, a dramatist will often use direct use direct description in stage directions to convey character details
Term
Self - revelation
Definition
Characters may also reveal information about themselves directly
Term
Information provided by other characters
Definition
What one character says about another is a frequant method of characterization in drama
Term
Contrast with others
Definition
Showing how characters with other characters is another technique dramatists use, often creating one character as a foil to another
Term
Act
Definition
One main organizational section of a drama
Term
Pantomime
Definition
A form of acting that relies on facial expressions and gestures, rather than speech, to convey meaning
Term
Blocking
Definition
the process of determining the placement and movement of characters on a stage
Term
Scene
Definition
One section within an act in a play
Term
Sophocles
Definition
Antigone
Term
William Shakespeare
Definition
A Midsummer Night's
Term
Susan Glaspell
Definition
Trifles
Term
William Shakespeare
Definition
Othello
Term
Susan Glaspell's
Definition
Trifles
Term
Samual Beckett's
Definition
Krapp's Last Tape
Term
Pantomine
Definition
Silent action during which a character moves around on stage
Term
Lorraine Hansberry
Definition
A Raisin in the Sun
Term
Henrik Ibsen
Definition
A Doll's House
Term
August Wilson
Definition
Fences
Term
Aeschylus - Greek
Definition
  • The Orestia
Term
Aristotle - Greek
Definition
  • Poetics
Term
Euripides - Greek
Definition
  • Medea
  • The Trojan Women
Term
Homer - Greek
Definition
  • Odyssey
  • Illiad
Term
Plato - Greek
Definition
  • The Republic
Term
Sappho - Greek
Definition
  • “Hymn to Aphrodite”
Term
Sophocles- Greek
Definition
  • Antigone
  • Oedipus Rex
Term
Horace - Roman
Definition
  • The Odes
Term
Juvenal - Roman
Definition
  • Satires
Term
Ovid - Roman
Definition
  • Metamorphoses
Term
Virgil - Roman
Definition
  • The Aeneid
Term
The Venerable Bede - Classical
Definition
  • Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (aka Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation)
Term
Caedmon - Classical
Definition
  • Hymn
Term
Geoffrey Chaucer - Classical
Definition
  • The Canterbury Tales
  • Troilus and Criseyde
  • The Legend of Good Women
  • Parlement of Fowles
Term
Christine de Pizan - Classical
Definition
  • The Book of the City of Ladies
  • The Book of Three Virtues
Term
Chrétien de Troyes - Classical
Definition
  • Yvain, The Knight of the Lion
  • Perceval, The Story of the Grail
  • Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart
Term
Geoffrey of Monmouth - Classical
Definition
  • Historia Regum Britanniae (aka The History of the Kings of Britain)
Term
John Gower - Classical
Definition
  • Confessio Amantis
  • The Tale of Apollonius of Tyre
  • Vox Clamantis
Term
Julian of Norwich - Classical
Definition
  • Revelations of Divine Love
Term
William Langland - Classical
Definition
  • Piers Plowman
Term
John Lydgate - Classical
Definition
  • The Life of our Lady
  • The Fall of Princes
  • The Troy Book
Term
Sir Thomas Malory - Classical
Definition
  • Le Morte D’Arthur
Term
Marie de France - Classical
Definition
  • The Ysopet Fables
  • The Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick
Term
Samuel Daniel - Renaissance
Definition
  • Delia
Term
Michael Drayton - Renaissance
Definition
  • Idea
Term
Elizabeth I - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Doubt of Future Foes
  • “On Monsieur’s Departure”
Term
Mary Sidney Herbert  - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Tragedie of Antonie
  • “A Dialogue between two shepherds, Thenot and Piers”
Term
John Heywood - Renaissance
Definition
  • “Of Books and Cheese”
Term
Ben Jonson - Renaissance
Definition
  • “To Celia”
Term
Thomas Kyd - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Spanish Tragedy
Term
John Lyly - Renaissance
Definition
  • Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit
Term
Christopher Marlowe - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Jew of Malta
  • Hero and Leander
  • “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
  • The Tragical History of doctor Faustus
Term
Sir Thomas More - Renaissance
Definition
  • Utopia
  • The History of King Richard the Third
Term
Thomas Nashe - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Unfortunate Traveller
  • Summer’s Last Will and Testament
Term
Sir Walter Ralegh - Renaissance
Definition
  • “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”
Term
William Shakespeare - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Merchant of Venice
  • Othello
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • “Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds”
Term
Sir Philip Sidney - Renaissance
Definition
  • Arcadia
  • Astrophil and Stella
  • The Defense of Poesy
Term
Edmund Spenser - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Faerie Queene
  • Amoretti and Epithalamion
  • The Shepheardes Calendar
Term
Lady Mary Wroth - Renaissance
Definition
  • The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania
Term
Aphra Behn - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • Oroonoko
Term
William Congreve - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • The Way of the World
Term
Daniel Defoe - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
Robinson Crusoe
Term
John Dryden - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • Absalom and Achitophel
  • Annus Mirabilis
  • All for Love
Term
Anne Finch - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • “The Apology”
Term
Oliver Goldsmith - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • She Stoops to Conquer
  • The Vicar of Wakefield
Term
Thomas Gray - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”
Term
Samuel Johnson - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • The Rambler
  • The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
  • A Dictionary of the English Language
Term
Samuel Pepys - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • The Diary
Term
Alexander Pope - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • Rape of the Lock
  • An Essay on Man
Term
Christopher Smart - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry”
Term
Jonathan Swift - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • A Modest Proposal
  • Gulliver’s Travels
Term
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester - Restoration and Neoclassical
Definition
  • “The Imperfect Enjoyment”
Term
Anne Bradstreet  - Colonial
Definition
  • “Upon the Burning of Our House”
  • “The Tenth Muse”
Term
William Bradford - Colonial
Definition
  • Of Plymouth Plantation
Term
J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur - Colonial
Definition
  • Letters from an American Farmer
Term
Jonathan Edwards - Colonial
Definition
  • Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Term
Olaudah Equiano - Colonial
Definition
  • The Interesting Narrative
Term
Benjamin Franklin - Colonial
Definition
  • Poor Richard’s Almanac
Term
Thomas Harriot - Colonial
Definition
  • Brief and True Report
Term
Thomas Jefferson - Colonial
Definition
  • Notes on the State of Virginia
  • The Declaration of Independence
Term
Cotton Mather - Colonial
Definition
  • Pillars of Salt
  • The Wonders of the Invisible World
Term
Samson Occum - Colonial
Definition
  • “A Short Narrative of My Life”
Term
Thomas Paine - Colonial
Definition
  • Common Sense
Term
John Smith - Colonial
Definition
  • The General History of Virginia
Term
Phillis Wheatley - Colonial
Definition
  • “On Being Brought from Africa to America”

  • Poems on Various Subjects

Term
Michael Wigglesworth - Colonial
Definition
  • “The Day of Doom”
Term
John Winthrop - Colonial
Definition
  • A Model of Christian Charity
Term
Charles Brockden Brown - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Wieland
Term
William Hill Brown - Revolutionary
Definition
  • The Power of Sympathy
Term
James Fenimore Cooper - Revolutionary
Definition
  • The Spy
Term
Benjamin Franklin - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Poor Richard’s Almanac
  • The Autobiography
Term
Washington Irving - Revolutionary
Definition
  • The Sketch Book
Term
Thomas Jefferson - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Notes on the State of Virginia
Term
Thomas Paine - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Common Sense
  • The American Crisis
Term
Susannah Rowson - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Charlotte Temple
Term
J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur - Revolutionary
Definition
  • Letters from an American Farmer
Term
Royall Tyler - Revolutionary
Definition
  • The Contrast
Term
Phyllis Wheatley - Revolutionary
Definition
  • “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”
  • Poems on Various Subjects
  • “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
Term
Jane Austen - Romantic
Definition
  • Northanger Abbey
Term
William Beckford - Romantic
Definition
  • Vathek
Term
William Blake - Romantic
Definition
  • “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”
  • “The Tyger”
Term
Lord Byron - Romantic
Definition
  • “Lara”
  • “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”
  • “Don Juan”
  • “The Giaour: A Fragment of a Turkish Tale”
Term
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Romantic
Definition
  • “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
  • “Frost at Midnight”
  • “Religious Musings
Term
William Gilpin - Romantic
Definition
  • Observations on the River Wye
Term
Thomas Gray - Romantic
Definition
  • Journal in the Lakes
Term
John Keats - Romantic
Definition
  • “To Autumn”
Term
Lady Caroline Lamb - Romantic
Definition
  • Glenarvon
Term
Matthew Gregory Lewis - Romantic
Definition
  • The Monk
Term
Ann Radcliffe - Romantic
Definition
  • The Mysteries of Udolpho
  • The Romance of the Forest
  • The Italian: or The Confessional of the Black Penitents
Term
Mary Shelley - Romantic
Definition
  • Frankenstein
Term
Percy Bysshe Shelley - Romantic
Definition
  • “Mont Blanc”
  • “Alastor”
  • “Prometheus Unbound”
  • “Queen Mab”
Term
Frances Sheridan - Romantic
Definition
  • The History of Nourjahad
Term
Horace Walpole - Romantic
Definition
  • Castle of Otranto
Term
William Wordsworth - Romantic
Definition
  • “Tintern Abbey”
  • The Prelude
  • Guide to the Lakes
Term
Mary Austin - Realist
Definition
  • The Land of Little Rain
Term
Ambrose Bierce - Realist
Definition
  • “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Term
William Booth - Realist
Definition
  • In Darkest England and The Way Out
Term
Charlotte Bronte - Realist
Definition
  • Jane Eyre
Term
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Realist
Definition
  • “Cry of the Children”
Term
Josephine Butler - Realist
Definition
  • “Our Indian Fellow Subjects”
Term
Charles Chesnutt - Realist
Definition
  • “The Wife of His Youth”
Term
Kate Chopin - Realist
Definition
The Awakening
Term
Charles Dickens - Realist
Definition
  • David Copperfield
  • Great Expectations
Term
W.E.B. DuBois - Realist
Definition
  • Souls of Black Folk
Term
Elizabeth Eastlake - Realist
Definition
  • “Lady Travellers”
Term
Elizabeth Gaskell - Realist
Definition
Mary Barton
Term
Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Realist
Definition
  • “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Term
George Gissing - Realist
Definition
  • The Odd Women
Term
Sarah Orne Jewett - Realist
Definition
  • “A White Heron”
Term
Rudyard Kipling - Realist
Definition
  • “The White Man’s Burden”
Term
Anna Leonowens - Realist
Definition
  • The English Governess at the Siamese Court
Term
Thomas Babington Macaulay - Realist
Definition
  • “Minute on Indian Education”
Term
Henry Mayhew - Realist
Definition
  • London Labour and the London Poor
Term
Christina Rossetti - Realist
Definition
  • “Goblin Market”
Term
Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton - Realist
Definition
  • Who Would Have Thought It?
Term
John Ruskin - Realist
Definition
  • “Of Queen’s Gardens”
Term
Mark Twain - Realist
Definition
  • Life on the Mississippi
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Term
Booker T. Washington - Realist
Definition
  • Up From Slavery
Term
Constance Fenimore Woolson- Realist
Definition
  • “Miss Grief”
Term
Willa Cather - Modern
Definition
  • My Antonia
  • “Paul’s Case”
Term
Hart Crane - Modern
Definition
  • “The Bridge”
Term
H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) - Modern
Definition
  • “The Walls Do Not Fall”
Term
W. E. B. DuBois - Modern
Definition
  • The Souls of Black Folk
Term
T.S. Eliot - Modern
Definition
  • “The Hollow Men”
  • The Waste Land
  • “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
Term
William Faulkner - Modern
Definition
  • The Sound and the Fury
  • “Barn Burning”
Term
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Modern
Definition
  • The Great Gatsby
Term
Susan Glaspell - Modern
Definition
  • Trifles
Term
Ernest Hemingway - Modern
Definition
  • A Farewell to Arms
  • “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
Term
Langston Hughes - Modern
Definition
  • “The Weary Blues”
Term
Zora Neale Hurston - Modern
Definition
  • “The Gilded Six-Bits”
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God
Term
James Joyce - Modern
Definition
  • Ulysses
  • “Araby”
Term
Nella Larsen - Modern
Definition
  • Quicksand
Term
Katherine Anne Porter - Modern
Definition
  • “Flowering Judas”
Term
Ezra Pound - Modern
Definition
  • “In a Station of the Metro”
Term
John Steinbeck- Modern
Definition
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • “The Chrysanthemums”
Term
Jean Toomer - Modern
Definition
  • “Reapers”
Term
William Carlos Williams - Modern
Definition
  • “The Red Wheelbarrow”
Term
Virginia Woolf - Modern
Definition
  • To the Lighthouse
  • Mrs. Dalloway
Term
R. Ammons - Postmodern
Definition
  • R. Ammons
Term
Gloria Anzaldúa - Postmodern
Definition
  • Borderlands/La Frontera
Term
John Ashbery - Postmodern
Definition
  • “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror”
Term
James Baldwin - Postmodern
Definition
  • Going to Meet the Man
  • Go Tell it on the Mountain
Term
Donald Barthelme - Postmodern
Definition
  • Snow White
  • The Dead Father
Term
Raymond Carver - Postmodern
Definition
  • Cathedral
Term
Annie Dillard - Postmodern
Definition
  • Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Term
Ralph Ellison - Postmodern
Definition
  • Invisible Man
Term
Allen Ginsberg - Postmodern
Definition
  • Reality Sandwiches
  • Howl and Other Poems
Term
Joy Harjo - Postmodern
Definition
  • The Woman Who Fell from the Sky
Term
Jack Kerouac- Postmodern
Definition
  • On the Road
  • The Dharma Bums
Term
Maxine Hong Kingston - Postmodern
Definition
  • The Woman Warrior
Term
Toni Morrison - Postmodern
Definition
  • Sula
  • The Bluest Eye
Term
Flannery O’Connor - Postmodern
Definition
  • A Good Man is Hard to Find
  • Wise Blood
Term
Sylvia Plath - Postmodern
Definition
  • “Ariel”
  • The Bell Jar
Term
Thomas Pynchon - Postmodern
Definition
  • Gravity’s Rainbow
Term
Anne Sexton - Postmodern
Definition
  • The Death Notebooks
Term
Leslie Marmon Silko -Postmodern
Definition
  • Ceremony
Term
Gary Snyder - Postmodern
Definition
  • Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems
Term
Adrienne Rich - Postmodern
Definition
  • “Diving into the Wreck”
Term
John Updike - Postmodern
Definition
  • Rabbit, Run
  • The Witches of Eastwick
Term
Alice Walker - Postmodern
Definition
  • The Color Purple
Term
Tennessee Williams - Postmodern
Definition
  • A Streetcar Named Desire
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