Term
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Definition
| TWO BASIC MEANINGS TO BE DISTINGUISHED: (A) THE MAIN STORY OF A PLAY, NOVEL, SHORT STORY, NARRATIVE POEM, ETC. (B) THE MAIN SERIES OF EVENTS THAT TOGETHER CONSTITUTE THE PLOT. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE TERM IMPLIES A PSYCHOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE READER (OR VIEWER) AND A WORK OF ART. IT DESCRIBES THE ATTITUDE OR PERSPECTIVE OF A PERSON IN RELATION TO A WORK, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER IT IS INTERESTING TO THAT PERSON. A PERSON MAY DISLIKE A POEM, FOR INSTANCE, FOR SUBJECTIVE REASONS BUT THIS SHOULD NOT VITIATE HIS OBJECTIVE REACTION. THE READER OR CRITIC HAS AT ONCE TO BE INVOLVED WITH - AND DETACHED FROM - WHAT HE IS CONCENTRATING ON. |
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Term
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Definition
| A CONFUSION BETWEEN THE POEM AND ITS RESULTS (WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES). IT IS SAID TO BE A CRITICAL ERROR OF EVALUATING A WORK OF ART IN LIGHT OF IT'S RESULTS IN THE MIND OF THE AUDIENCE. IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE, THEREFORE, FOR A READER TO CONCLUDE THAT SPENCER'S POEM, THE FAERIE QUEENE WAS A BAD POEM BECAUSE IT INSPIRED IN HIM A REPUGNANCE TO PROTESTANTISM. |
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Term
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Definition
| AS FAR AS POETRY IS CONCERNED, THE EQUIVALENT OF INSPIRATION. THE IMPLICATIONS ARE THAT A WRITER'S INSPIRATION IS VOUCHSAFED TO HIM BY SOME SUPRANORMAL OR SUPERNATURAL POWER, LIKE A MUSE OR THE GODS. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN GREEK DRAMA, A VERBAL CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS, EACH ONE AIDED BY HALF THE CHORUS. |
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Term
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Definition
| USUALLY AN IMPLICIT REFERENCE, PERHAPS TO ANOTHER WORK OF LITERATURE OR ART, TO A PERSON OR AN EVENT. IT IS OFTEN A KIND OF APPEAL TO THE READER TO SHARE SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE WRITER. IT IS USED TO ENRICH THE WORK BY ASSOCIATION AND GIVE IT DEPTH. WHEN USING THIS TECHNIQUE A WRITER TENDS TO ASSUME AN ESTABLISHED LITERARY TRADITION, A BODY OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE WITH AN AUDIENCE SHARING THAT TRADITION AND AN ABILITY ON THE PART OF THE AUDIENCE TO PICK UP ON THE REFERENCE. |
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Term
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Definition
| A ROMAN LEGAL TERM SIGNIFYING RAPID CROSS QUESTIONINGS AND REPLIES. APPLIED TO LITERATURE, IT REFERS TO A SHORT SERIES OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. COMMON IN DIALOGUE, DRAMA, AND DEBATE. SEE STICHOMYTHIA. |
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Term
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Definition
| EMPSON'S THEORY WAS THAT THINGS ARE OFTEN NOT WHAT THEY SEEM, THAT WORDS CONNOTE AT LEAST AS MUCH AS THEY DENOTE-AND VERY OFTEN MORE. IT IS ANY VERBAL NUANCE, HOWEVER SLIGHT, WHICH GIVES ROOM FOR ALTERNATIVE REACTIONS TO THE SAME PIECE OF LANGUAGE. |
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Term
| EMPSON'S SEVEN MAIN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY |
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Definition
| MAIN POINTS: 1, WHEN A DETAIL IS EFFECTIVE IN SEVERAL WAYS SIMULTANEOUSLY; 2, WHEN TWO OR MORE ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS ARE RESOLVED INTO ONE; 3, WHEN TWO SEEMINGLY UNCONNECTED MEANINGS ARE GIVEN SIMULTANEOUSLY; 4, WHEN ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS COMBINE TO MAKE CLEAR A COMPLICATED STATE OF MIND IN THE AUTHOR; 5, A KIND OF CONFUSION WHEN A WRITER DISCOVERS HIS IDEA WHILE ACTUALLY WRITING. IN OTHER WORDS, HE HAS NOT APPARENTLY PRECONCEIVED THE IDEA BUT HAS COME UPON IT WHILE IN THE ACT OF CREATION; 6, WHERE SOMETHING APPEARS TO CONTAIN A CONTRADICTION AND THE READER HAS TO FIND INTERPRETATIONS; 7, A COMPLETE CONTRADICTION, WHICH SHOWS THAT THE AUTHOR WAS UNCLEAR AS TO WHAT HE WAS SAYING. |
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Term
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Definition
| MAY BE USED DELIBERATELY TO DISTANCE EVENTS AND TO UNDERLINE A UNIVERSAL VERISIMILITUDE AND TIMELESSNESS - TO PREVENT SOMETHING FROM BEING "DATED." |
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Term
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Definition
THE REPETITION OF THE LAST WORD OF ONE CLAUSE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE TO GAIN A SPECIAL EFFECT. EX: MILTON'S SAMSON AGONISTES:
I seek/This unfrequented place to find some ease/Ease to the body some, none to the mind/From restless thoughts. |
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Term
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Definition
| A DETAILED SPLITTING UP AND EXAMINATION OF A WORK OF LITERATURE. A CLOSE STUDY OF THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM. |
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Term
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Definition
| A METRICAL FOOT COMPRISING OF TWO UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES FOLLOWED BY ONE STRESSED SYLLABLE. UU/, ILLINOIS. |
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Term
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Definition
| A RHETORICAL DEVICE INVOLVING THE REPETITION OF A WORD OR A GROUP OF WORDS IN SUCCESSIVE CLAUSES. EX. HERMIA IN SHAKESPEARE'S MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: My good Lysander!/I swear to thee, BY Cupid's strongest bow/BY his best arrow with the golden head/BY the simplicity of Venus' doves/BY that which knitteth souls and prospers loves/And BY that fire which burned the Carthage queen/When the false trojan under sail was seen/BY all the vows that ever men have broke (1.1:168-175) |
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Term
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Definition
| IN DRAMA OR IN FICTION, IT OPPOSES THE HERO, OR MAIN CHARACTER. |
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Term
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Definition
| A COMPLEX LITERARY DEVICE IN WHICH AN ORDER OR PRECEPT IS GIVEN AND A REWARD OFFERED IF IT IS OBEY, AND A PUNISHMENT THREATENED IF IT IS IGNORED. |
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Term
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Definition
| CONCEPT IN WHICH THERE THE OEDIPAL RELATION OF INDIVIDUAL POETS TO THEIR LITERARY PRECURSORS WHO FULFILL THE FUNCTION OF THE FATHER IN THE FREUDIAN FAMILY DRAMA. SOME EXAMPLES ARE WORDSWORTH WITH MILTON, SHELLY WITH WORDSWORTH, AND WALLACE STEVENS WITH WHITMAN. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERSE STATEMENT OF A TRUTH OR DOGMA; A PITHY GENERALIZATION, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE WITTY |
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Term
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Definition
| AFFIRMING THROUGH APPARENT DENIAL, A STRESSING THROUGH NEGATION |
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Term
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Definition
| A FIGURE OF SPEECH WHERE A THING, PLACE, AN ABSTRACT QUALITY, AN IDEA, OR A DEAD OR ABSENT PERSON IS ADDRESSED AS IF PRESENT AND CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING. |
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Term
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Definition
| A FEATURE OF EDITIONS OF LITERARY WORKS, HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, ETC. IT INCLUDES TEXTUAL FOOTNOTES, EMENDATIONS, VARIANT READINGS, MARGINALIA, APPENDICES, GLOSSARIES, AND SO FORTH. |
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Term
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Definition
| A NAME THAT FITS THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF A PERSON AND/OR THEIR OCCUPATION. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF ARCHETYPAL AND MYTHICAL NARRATIVE PATTERNS, CHARACTER TYPES, THEMES AND MOTIFS IN LITERATURE AND THEIR RECURRENCE IN LITERATURE. |
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Term
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Definition
| A BASIC MODEL FROM WHICH COPIES ARE MADE, THEREFORE A PROTOTYPE. THE FUNDAMENTAL FACTS OF LIFE ARE THIS: BIRTH, DEATH, LOVE, FAMILY LIFE, ETC. CERTAIN CHARACTER OR PERSONALITY TYPES HAVE BECOME ESTABLISHED AS THIS AS WELL. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN DRAMA, A FEW WORDS OR A SHORT PASSAGE THAT IS SPOKEN IN AN UNDERTONE OR TO THE AUDIENCE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE REPETITION OF SIMILAR VOWEL SOUNDS, USUALLY CLOSE TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR EFFECT OF EUPHONY. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE MOOD AND FEELING, THE INTANGIBLE QUALITY WHICH APPEALS TO EXTRA-SENSORY AS WELL AS SENSORY PERCEPTION, EVOKED BY A WORK OF ART. |
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Term
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Definition
| CONCEPT IN WHICH THE AUTHOR IS NO LONGER REGARDED AS THE OMNISCIENT AND ALL-PERVADING INFLUENCE IN A WORK OF LITERATURE, BUT THAT THE READER TAKES OVER AS THE PRIME SOURCE OF POWER IN THE TEXT. |
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Term
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Definition
| A RHETORICAL DEVICE WHERE AN IDEA OR THOUGHT IS INTRODUCED NEGATIVELY IN ORDER TO CALL ATTENTION TO IT AND AROUSE CURIOSITY. |
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Term
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Definition
| LITERALLY, AND EDUCATION OR UPBRINGING NOVEL. USED BY GERMAN CRITICS, IT IS A NOVEL WHICH IS AN ACCOUNT OF THE YOUTHFUL DEVELOPMENT OF A HERO OR HEROINE. IT DESCRIBES THE PROCESSES BY WHICH MATURITY IS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE VARIOUS UPS AND DOWNS IN LIFE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN PARTICULAR, IT REFERS TO THE MELODIC PATTERNS PRECEDING THE END OF THE SENTENCE |
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Term
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Definition
| VERSES THAT READ BOTH WAYS, AND WHICH THUS FORM A PALINDROME |
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Term
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Definition
| A BODY OF WRITINGS ESTABLISHED AS AUTHENTIC. IT CAN ALSO REFER TO AN AUTHOR'S WORKS WHICH ARE CONSIDERED AS GENUINE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN LITERATURE, A PORTRAIT WHICH RIDICULES A PERSON BY EXAGGERATION AND DISTORTING HIS MOST PROMINENT FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS. |
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Term
| CARNIVALIZATION/CARNIVALESQUE |
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Definition
| SYMBOLIC OF DISRUPTION, AND SUBVERSION OF AUTHORITY, A TURNING UPSIDE DOWN OF THE HIERARCHICAL SCALE. IT CAN ALSO BE SEEN AS GIVING LIBERATION TO THE CHARACTERS RATHER THAN USING THEM TO EXPRESS SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE OMISSION OF THE LAST SYLLABLE OR SYLLABLES IN A REGULAR METRICAL LINE. OFTEN DONE IN TROCHAIC AND DACTYLIC VERSE TO AVOID MONOTONY. |
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Term
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Definition
| A WORD OR PHRASE USED BY POETS TO SECURE THE NECESSARY NUMBER OF SYLLABLES IN A LINE OF VERSE SO IT SCANS PROPERLY. |
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Term
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Definition
| A REVERSAL OF GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES IN SUCCESSIVE PHRASES OR CLAUSES. EX: BY THE DAY THE FROLIC, AND THE DANCE BY NIGHT. |
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Term
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Definition
| USUALLY IN A PLAY, THE CHORIC CHARACTER OR "PRESENTER" COMMENTS ON THE ACTION, AND PERHAPS ALSO INTRODUCES IT. THIS CHARACTER IS RELATED TO THE CHORUS IN GREEK DRAMA. THE CHORIC CHARACTER MAY NOT TAKE MUCH PART IN THE ACTION, AND THE COMMENTARY IS LIKELY TO BE OMNISCIENT OR IRONICAL. |
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Term
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Definition
| A NUMBER OF MEANINGS, BUT PRINCIPALLY: A, OF THE FIRST RANK OF AUTHORITY; B, BELONGING TO THE LITERATURE OR ART OF GREECE AND ROME; C, A WRITER OR WORK OF THE FIRST RANK, AND OF GENERALLY ACKNOWLEDGE EXCELLENCE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN POETICS, ARISTOTLE DISTINGUISHES THIS FROM TRAGEDY BY SAYING IT DEALS IN AN AMUSING WAY WITH ORDINARY CHARACTERS IN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS. |
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Term
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Definition
| USED IN SHORT INTERLUDES OR EPISODES, ESPECIALLY IN TRAGEDY, IN ORDER TO RELIEVE THE TENSION |
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Term
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Definition
| THE TENSION IN A SITUATION BETWEEN CHARACTERS OR THE ACTUAL OPPOSITION OF CHARACTERS |
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Term
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Definition
| THE SUGGESTION OR IMPLICATION EVOKED BY A WORD OR A PHRASE, OR EVEN QUITE A LONG STATEMENT OF ANY KIND, OVER AND ABOVE WHAT THEY MEAN OR ACTUALLY DENOTE |
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Term
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Definition
| IN THE STRUCTURE, STYLE AND TONE OF A LITERARY WORK, IT IMPLIES AN ESSENTIAL COHERENCE AND BALANCE. |
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Term
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Definition
| A MODE OF CRITICAL ANALYSIS OR A LITERARY TEXT CHARACTERISTIC OF THE NEW CRITICISM. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM USED IN NEW CRITICISM WHICH DENOTES A PARTICULAR KIND OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE OF (AND RESPONSE TO) A WORK OF LITERATURE. THE WORK IS EXPERIENCED AS A SELF-CONTAINED ARTIFACT AND POSSESSED OF "MUTALLY OPPOSING ENERGIES OF A TENSION FILLED OBJECT THAT BLOCKS OUR ESCAPE FROM ITS CONTEXT AND THUS FROM ITS WORLD." |
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Term
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Definition
| IN LITERATURE, A DEVICE, PRINCIPLE, PROCEDURE OR FORM WHICH IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED AND THROUGH WHICH THERE IS AN AGREEMENT WITH THE WRITER AND HIS OR HER READERS (OR AUDIENCE) WHICH ALLOWS VARIOUS FREEDOMS AND RESTRICTIONS. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM USED TO DENOTE THE BODY OF A WRITER'S WORK. IT MAY ALSO DENOTE A PARTICULAR COLLECTION OF TEXTS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE ART OR SCIENCE THAT IS DEVOTED TO COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS, TO THE INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION OF WORKS OF LITERATURE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE ART OR SCIENCE THAT IS DEVOTED TO COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS, TO THE INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION OF WORKS OF LITERATURE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IT IS THE PRACTICE IN WHICH THE WORK OF ART ATTEMPTS TO MAKE STRANGE, FRESH, NEW, DIFFERENT WHAT IS ALREADY FAMILIAR TO THE READER. WHAT THE READER NOTICES IS NOT THE PICTURE OF REALITY THAT IS BEING PRESENTED BUT THE PECULIARITIES OF THE WRITING ITSELF. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE MOST LITERAL AND LIMITED MEANING OF THE WORD, REGARDLESS OF WHAT ONE MAY FEEL ABOUT IT OR THE SUGGESTION AND IDEAS IT CONNOTES |
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Term
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Definition
| IN BAKHTIN'S WORDS, CHARACTERS ARE LIBERATED TO SPEAK 'A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENT AND UNMERGED VOICES...' WHICH ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE AUTHORITATIVE CONTROL OF THE AUTHOR. |
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Term
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Definition
| ACCORDING TO BAKHTIN, CHARACTER'S VOICES ARE SUBJECTIVE TO AUTHORITATIVE CONTROL BY THE AUTHOR. |
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Term
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Definition
| TWO BASIC MEANINGS: A) THE SPEECH OF CHARACTERS IN ANY KIND OF NARRATIVE, STORY OR PLAY; B) A LITERARY GENRE IN WHICH 'CHARACTERS' DISCUSS A SUBJECT AT LENGTH. |
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Term
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Definition
| A NARRATIVE ACCOUNT. IN FILM AND IN PLAYS, IT CAN TAKE THE FORM OF A VOICE-OVER, CHORIC INTERVENTION, AND ON-STAGE DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION TAKING PLACE ON STAGE. OFTEN IS USED TO GIVE A POINT OF VIEW OTHER THAN THE CHARACTERS ON STAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| AN EXPRESSION OF STATEMENT THAT WITH A DOUBLE MEANING. |
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Term
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Definition
| A FIGURE OF SPEECH IN WHICH THERE IS A KIND OF DISCREPANCY OR CONJUNCTIVE DISCORD BETWEEN TENOR AND VEHICLE. IT OCCURS WHEN A THOUGHT AND THE IMAGE WHICH EMBODIES IT ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE NOT WHOLLY CONGRUOUS. THE RESULT IS OFTEN WITTY, ARRESTING, AND INTELLECTUALLY STIMULATING. |
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Term
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Definition
| USUALLY A LEARNED DISCUSSION, SPOKEN OR WRITTEN, ON A PHILOSOPHICAL, POETICAL, LITERARY, OR RELIGIOUS TOPIC. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE ARRANGEMENT OF CACOPHONOUS SOUNDS IN WORDS, OR IN RHYTHMICAL PATTERNS, FOR A PARTICULAR EFFECT. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE FOCUSING COMPONENT OF A WORK OF ART: IT RULES, DETERMINES, AND TRANSFORMS THE REMAINING COMPONENTS. IT GIVES A WORK ITS 'GESTALT,' ITS ORGANIC UNITY; THUS BRINGING THE UNIFIED WHOLE OF A WORK. |
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Term
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Definition
| WHEN THE AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDS THE IMPLICATION AND MEANING OF A SITUATION ON STAGE, OR WHAT IS BEING SAID, BUT THE CHARACTERS DO NOT. EX, OEDIPUS THE KING |
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Term
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Definition
| A POEM IN WHICH THERE IS ONE IMAGINARY SPEAKER ADDRESSING AN IMAGINARY AUDIENCE. THE CREATED PERSONA OF THE SPEAKER WILL NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THE POET. EX, CALIBAN UPON SETEBOS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE OMISSION OR SLURRING OF A SYLLABLE. OFTEN PRACTICED IN ORDER TO SECURE A LEVEL LINE IN A POEM. |
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Term
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Definition
| TWO MEANINGS: A) AN EVENT OR INCIDENT WITHIN A LONGER NARRATIVE; A DIGRESSION; B) A SECTION INTO WHICH A SERIALIZED WORK IS DIVIDED. |
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Term
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Definition
| A FORMAL AND CLOSE ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT: ITS STRUCTURE, STYLE, CONTENT, IMAGERY. |
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Term
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Definition
| AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PLAY THE DRAMATIST IS OFTEN COMMITTED TO GIVING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ESSENTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLOT AND THE EVENTS WHICH ARE TO COME. HE MAY ALSO HAVE TO GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT HAS 'ALREADY HAPPENED.' SHOULD BE DONE WITHOUT HOLDING UP THE ACTION OF THE PLAY. |
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Term
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Definition
| A DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT IN CRITICAL THEORY AND IN THE EVALUATION OF LITERATURE WHICH WAS WELL UNDER WAY BY THE LATE 1960S AND WHICH HAS BURGEONED STEADILY SINCE. IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE AND INTERPRET (AND REINTERPRET) WOMEN'S EXPERIENCE AS DEPICTED IN VARIOUS KINDS OF LITERATURE - ESPECIALLY THE NOVEL; AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, POETRY AND DRAMA. |
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Term
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Definition
| A VAGUE AND GENERAL TERM FOR AN IMAGINATIVE WORK, USUALLY IN PROSE. |
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Term
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Definition
| LANGUAGE WHICH USES FIGURES OF SPEECH; FOR EXAMPLE, METAPHOR, SIMILE, ALLITERATION. IT MUST BE DISTINGUISHED FROM LITERAL LANGUAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM WHICH PROBABLY DERIVES FROM THE CINEMA, AND WHICH IS NOW ALSO USED TO DESCRIBE ANY SCENE OR EPISODE IN A PLAY, NOVEL, STORY, OR POEM WHICH IS INSERTED TO SHOW EVENTS THAT HAPPENED AT AN EARLIER TIME. |
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Term
| FLAT AND ROUND CHARACTERS |
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Definition
| USED TO DESCRIBE TWO BASICALLY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHARACTERS-AND CHARACTERIZATION. A 'FLAT' CHARACTER DOES NOT CHANGE IN THE COURSE OF A STORY OR PLAY; A 'ROUND' ONE DEVELOPS AND THUS ALTERS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE TERM DENOTES THE USE OF DEVICES AND TECHNIQUES WHICH 'PUSH' THE ACT OF EXPRESSION INTO THE FOREGROUND SO THAT LANGUAGE DRAWS ATTENTION TO ITSELF. IN A SENSE, IT IS OFTEN CONSIDERED THE ART WHICH REVEALS THE ART OF LANGUAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE TECHNIQUE OF ARRANGING EVENTS AND INFORMATION IN A NARRATIVE IN SUCH A WAY THAT LATER EVENTS ARE PREPARED FOR OR SHADOWED FORTH BEFOREHAND. A WELL-CONSTRUCTED NOVEL WILL SUGGEST AT THE VERY BEGINNING WHAT THE OUTCOME MAY BE; THE END IS CONTAINED IN THE BEGINNING AND THIS GIVES STRUCTURAL AND THEMATIC UNITY. |
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Term
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Definition
| A LITERARY THEORY. THEY WERE PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN THE WAY THAT LITERARY TEXTS ACHIEVE THEIR EFFECTS AND IN ESTABLISHING A SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE. IN THEIR EARLY WORKS, HUMAN CONTENT IN LITERATURE (EX, EMOTIONS, IDEAS, ACTIONS, 'REALITY' IN GENERAL) DID NOT POSSESS, FOR THEM, ANY SIGNIFICANCE IN DEFINING WHAT WAS SPECIFICALLY 'LITERARY' ABOUT A TEXT. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS IS CONCERNED WITH THE QUEST FOR AND DISCOVERY OF (AND THE SUBSEQUENT ANALYSIS OF) CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE ARTISTS (CREATORS, ARTIFICERS) THEMSELVES AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY CREATE (NOVELS, POEMS, PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, BUILDINGS, MUSIC, ETC.). AS FAR AS LITERATURE IS CONCERNED IT ANALYZES CHARACTERS 'INVENTED' BY AUTHORS, THE LANGUAGE THEY USE. IN THIS THEORY, THE CHARACTER IS TREATED AS IF A LIVING HUMAN BEING. |
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Term
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Definition
| A FRENCH TERM FOR A KIND, A LITERARY TYPE OR CLASS. THE MAJOR CLASSICAL ONES WERE: EPIC, TRAGEDY, LYRIC, COMEDY AND SATIRE, AND TO WHICH WOULD NOW BE ADDED NOVEL AND SHORT STORY. |
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Term
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Definition
| AFTER THE 18TH CENT. THIS TERM IS EMPLOYED TO DENOTE THE RIDICULOUS, BIZARRE, EXTRAVAGANT, FREAKISH AND UNNATURAL; IN SHORT, ABERRATIONS FROM THE DESIRABLE NORMS OF HARMONY, BALANCE AND PROPORTION. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY, IT IS THE FINDING AND INTERPRETATION OF THE SPIRITUAL TRUTH IN THE BIBLE. IN MORE GENERAL TERMS, MORE RECENTLY, IT HAS BEEN CONCERNED WITH THE INTERPRETATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN ACITON (THIS INCLUDES WHAT PEOPLE DO, SAY AND CREATE) AND, PARTICULARLY, WITH HUMAN ACTION THROUGH WHAT SOCIOLOGISTS REFER TO, IN PARTICULAR SENSES, AS INSTITUTIONS (IE, POLITICAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, AND KINSHIP INSTITUTIONS). IN LITERATURE, IT IS CONCERNED WITH THE WAY TEXTUAL MEANING IS COMMUNICATED. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM TO DENOTE THE CRITERIA WHICH READERS USE TO JUDGE LITERARY TEXTS IN ANY GIVEN PERIOD. IT ALSO DESIGNATES THE SHARED SET OF ASSUMPTIONS WHICH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO ANY GIVEN GENERATION OF READERS. THE CRITERIA HELP CONSTITUTE READERS' JUDGMENTS OF, SAY, A POEM IN A TRANS-SUBJECTIVE WAY. HOWEVER, THIS CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT CHANGES. NEITHER MEANING NOR VALUE IS PERMANENTLY FIXED. |
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Term
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Definition
| AS A GENERAL TERM, IT COVERS THE USE OF LANGUAGE TO REPRESENT OBJECTS, ACTIONS, FEELINGS, THOUGHTS, IDEAS, STATES OF MIND AND ANY SENSORY OR EXTRA-SENSORY EXPERIENCE. THIS TERM CAN BE CONVEYED THROUGH FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, SUCH AS METAPHOR, SIMILE, SYNECDOCHE, ONOMATOPOEIA, AND METONYMY. IT MAY BE APPLIED TO ANY OF THE FIVE SENSES IN WRITING, AS WELL AS IN ABSTRACT AND KINAESTHETIC (WHICH RELATE TO THE INTELLECT AND THE THE SENSE OF MOVEMENT AND BODILY EFFECT, RESPECTIVELY). |
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Term
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Definition
| THREE BASIC MEANINGS: A) COPYING OR PLAGIARISM; B) THE ADOPTION OF THE TONE, STYLE AND ATTITUDE OF ANOTHER WRITER; A RE-CREATION; C) A REPRESENTATION. |
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Term
| IMPLIED READER/ACTUAL READER |
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Definition
| THE 'IMPLIED READER' IS A 'MODEL' OR 'ROLE.' SUCH A READER IS ACTIVE AS WELL AS PASSIVE; THE TEXT STRUCTURES HIS OR HER RESPONSE, BUT HE OR SHE ALSO PRODUCES MEANING AND HAS THE TASK OF 'CONSISTENCY BUILDING.' THE 'ACTUAL READER' BY CONTRAST, RECEIVES MENTAL IMAGES WHILE READING; BUT THESE IMAGES ARE, INEVITABLY PERHAPS, MODIFIED BY THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE (AND THUS OTHER IMAGES) WHICH THE READER BRINGS TO THE TEXT. THESE TWO READERS CO-EXIST, AND ARE ONE AND THE SAME PERSON RESPONDING TO A TEXT IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS. |
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Term
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Definition
| TERM USED TO DENOTE THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF LITERARY TEXTS, THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF ANY ONE LITERARY TEXT WITH ALL THOSE THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE IT. JULIA KRISTEVA'S CONTENTION WAS THAT A LITERARY TEXT IS NOT AN ISOLATED PHENOMENON BUT IS MADE UP OF A MOSAIC OF QUOTATIONS, AND THAT ANY TEXT IS THE 'ABSORPTION AND TRANSFORMATION OF ANOTHER.' |
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Term
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Definition
| MOST FORMS OF THIS INVOLVE THE PERCEPTION OR AWARENESS OF A DISCREPANCY OR INCONGRUITY BETWEEN WORDS AND THEIR MEANINGS, OR BETWEEN ACTIONS AND THEIR RESULTS, OR BETWEEN APPEARANCE AND REALITY. IN ALL CASES THERE MAY BE AN ELEMENT OF THE ABSURD AND THE PARADOXICAL. THE TWO BASIC KINDS OF THIS ARE VERBAL AND --- OF SITUATION. THE VERBAL SORT, AT ITS SIMPLEST, INVOLVES SAYING WHAT ONE DOES NOT MEAN. SITUATIONAL --- OCCURS WHEN, FOR INSTANCE, A MAN IS LAUGHING UPROARIOUSLY AT THE MISFORTUNE OF ANOTHER EVEN WHILE THE SAME MISFORTUNE, UNBEKNOWNST, IS HAPPENING TO HIM. |
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Term
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Definition
| A VAGUE TERM WHICH USUALLY DENOTES WORKS WHICH BELONG TO THE MAJOR GENRES: EPIC, DRAMA, LYRIC, NOVEL, SHORT STORY, ODE. IF WE DESCRIBE SOMETHING AS THIS, AS OPPOSED TO ANYTHING ELSE, THE TERM CARRIES WITH IT QUALITATIVE CONNOTATIONS WHICH IMPLY THAT THE WORK IN QUESTION HAS SUPERIOR QUALITIES; THAT IT IS WELL ABOVE THE ORDINARY RUN OF WRITTEN WORKS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS PARTICULAR FORM OF CRITICISM IS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF HISTORY IN WHICH THE CLASS STRUGGLE IS FUNDAMENTAL, OR IN TERMS OF SOCIO-HISTORICAL FACTORS. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM USED IN A NUMBER OF SENSES, WITH THE BASIC MEANING OF A SINGLE PERSON SPEAKING ALONE - WITH OR WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE. FOR MAIN KINDS CAN BE DISTINGUISHED: A) MONODRAMA B) SOLILOQUY C) SOLO ADDRESSES TO AN AUDIENCE IN A PLAY D) DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IN CURRENT LANGUAGE, THIS TERM TENDS TO SIGNIFY A FICTION, BUT A FICTION WHICH CONVEYS A PSYCOLOGICAL TRUTH. AS A RULE, IT MUST INVOLVE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS OR SUPRA-HUMAN BEINGS AND IT IS ALWAYS CONCERNED WITH CREATION. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM TO DENOTE THE PERSON TO WHOM A NARRATOR ADDRESSES HIS DISCOURSE. THIS PERSON IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE READER. |
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Term
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Definition
| A POEM THAT TELLS A STORY. THE THREE MAIN KINDS ARE EPIC, METRICAL ROMANCE AND BALLAD. |
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Term
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Definition
| THEORY, DISCOURSE OR CRITIQUE OF NARRATIVE/NARRATION. IT BREAKS DOWN COMMON NARRATIVES IN ORDER TO ANALYZE THE STRUCTURE. |
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Term
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Definition
| PLATO AND ARISTOTLE DISTINGUISH THREE BASIC KINDS: A) THE SPEAKER OR THE POET WHO USES HIS OWN VOICE; B) ONE WHOM ASSUMES THE VOICE OF ANOTHER PERSON OR PERSONS AND SPEAKS IN A VOICE NOT HIS OWN; C) ONE WHO USES A MIXTURE OF HIS OWN VOICE AND THAT OF OTHERS. |
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Term
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Definition
| A TERM WHICH ADVOCATED 'CLOSE READING' AND DETAILED TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF POETRY RATHER THAN AN INTEREST IN THE MIND AND PERSONALITY OF THE POET, SOURCES, THE HISTORY OF IDEAS AND POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS. THE APPLICATION OF SEMANTICS TO THIS CRITICISM WAS ALSO IMPORTANT. |
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Term
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Definition
| AT ITS SIMPLEST, THIS PRACTICE IS INTEREST NOT IN ASSERTING THE TRANSCENDENT OR AUTONOMOUS AESTHETIC VALUE OF LITERARY TEXTS BUT, TO USE MARXIST TERMINOLOGY, IN RESEARCHING THE CONTEXTS OF THEIR PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION AND STATUS. |
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Term
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Definition
| APPLIED TO A WIDE VARIETY OF WRITINGS WHOSE ONLY COMMON ATTRIBUTE IS THAT THEY ARE EXTENDED PIECES OF PROSE FICTION. |
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Term
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Definition
| ORIGINALLY IT WAS MERELY A VIEW WHICH CONTRADICTED ACCEPTED OPINION. BUT SINCE THE 16TH CENT. IT HAS ACQUIRED THE COMMONLY ACCEPTED MEANING IT NOW HAS: AN APPARENTLY SELF-CONTRADICTORY (EVEN ABSURD) STATEMENT WHICH, ON CLOSER INSPECTION, IS FOUND TO CONTAIN A TRUTH RECONCILING THE CONFLICTING OPPOSITES. TWO KINDS MAY BE DISTINGUISHED: A) PARTICULAR OR 'LOCAL', EX, HAMLET'S LINE 'I MUST BE CRUEL ONLY TO BE KIND;' B) GENERAL OR 'STRUCTURAL,' WHICH IS MORE COMPLEX. OFTEN IT IS BOUND IN AN IDEA. EX, AT THE HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: THAT THE WORLD WILL BE SAVED BY FAILURE. |
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Term
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Definition
| ORIGINALLY A MASK OR FALSE FACE OF CLAY OR BARK WORN BY ACTORS. IN LITERARY AND CRITICAL JARGON IT HAS COME TO DENOTE THE 'PERSON' (THE 'I' OF AN 'ALTER EGO') WHO SPEAKS IN A POEM OR NOVEL OR OTHER FORM OF LITERATURE. FOR INSTANCE, THE NARRATOR OF CHAUCER'S CANTERBURY TALES. |
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Term
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Definition
| C.S. LEWIS EXPRESSED DISQUIET AT AND DISAPPROVAL OF THE THEN FAIRLY WIDELY HELD BELIEF THAT POETRY IS OR SHOULD BE THE EXPRESSION OF A POET'S PERSONALITY. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE IMPERSONATION OR EMBODIMENT OF SOME QUALITY OR ABSTRACTION; THE ATTRIBUTION OF HUMAN QUALITIES TO INANIMATE OBJECTS OR ANIMALS. |
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Term
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Definition
| PLAT SAW THE WORLD AS AN IMPERFECT IMITATION OF A DIVINE IDEAL, A SHADOWY AND EVEN DISTORTED SIMULACRUM OF A HEAVENLY PROTOTYPE. IT FOLLOWED THAT THE POET IMITATED THIS (BECAUSE HE IMITATED NATURE) AND THUS HIS WORK WAS MERELY AN IMITATION OF AN IMITATION. AS SUCH, IN THIS VIEW, POETRY COULD NOT ARRIVE AT THE TRUTH. ARISTOTLE ATTEMPTED TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM IN POETICS AND ADVANCED THE THEORY TAHT POETRY DID INDEED CONVEY THE TRUTH BY A FORM OF ACCEPTABLE IMITATION OR FEIGNING. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE PLAN, DESIGN, SCHEME OR PATTERN OF EVENTS IN A PLAY, POEM, OR WORK OF FICTION; AND, FURTHER, THE ORGANIZATION OF INCIDENT AND CHARACTER IN SUCH A WAY AS TO INDUCE CURIOSITY AND SUSPENSE IN THE SPECTATOR OR READER. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS ENTAILS A CRITICAL APPROACH TO LITERATURE BY WHICH A TEXT IS STUDIED WITH AN OPEN MIND AND THUS WITHOUT ANY NECESSARY OR APPARENT COMMITMENT TO AN IDEOLOGICAL POSITION OR STANCE. MOST IMPORTANTLY IT EXPRESSES THE WILLINGNESS TO HOLD MORE THAN ONE POSITION. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM DENOTES A WORK OF FICTION IN WHICH THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE EMPHASIS ON SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND WHICH IS, AS A RULE, WRITTEN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO AROUSE SEXUAL EXCITEMENT. IT MAY BE FUNNY, SERIOUS, BIZARRE OR HORRIFIC, AND, LIKE ANY OTHER KIND OF FICTION, IT MAY BE WELL OR BADLY WRITTEN. |
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Term
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Definition
| A GENERAL TERM USED TO REFER TO CHANGES, DEVELOPMENTS AND TENDENCIES WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE (AND ARE TAKING PLACE) IN LITERATURE, ART, MUSIC, ARCHITECTURE, PHILOSOPHY ETC, SINCE THE 1940S OR 1950S. IT IS DIFFERENT FROM MODERNISM, EVEN A REACTION AGAINST IT. CERTAIN FEATURES OF IT (NOT NECESSARILY PERMANENT FEATURES, BUT THE MOST COMMON) ARE: LITERATURE WHICH TENDS TO BE NON-TRADITIONAL AND AGAINST AUTHORITY AND SIGNIFICATION. HERE ONE MAY CITE EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES. IN FICTION AS DISPLAYED IN THE NOUVEAU ROMAN AND THE ANTI-NOVEL. IN DRAMA ONE MIGHT CITE EXPERIMENT WITH FORM, CONTENT AND PRESENTATION IN SUCH DEVELOPMENTS AS THE THEATER OF THE ABSURD, TOTAL THEATER, THE 'HAPPENING' AND LATTERLY, THEATRE DE COMPLICITE. OTHER DISCERNIBLE FEATURES OF POST-MODERNISM ARE AN ECLECTIC APPROACH, ALEATORY WRITING, PARODY, PASTICHE, AND MAGIC REALISM IN FICTION. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS CRITICISM DOUBTS THE ADEQUACY OF STRUCTURALISM AND, AS FAR AS LITERATURE IS CONCERNED, TENDS TO REVEAL THAT THE MEANING OF ANY TEXT IS, OF ITS NATURE, UNSTABLE. IT REVEALS THAT SIGNIFICATION IS, OF ITS NATURE, UNSTABLE. SAUSSURE'S FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN SIGNIFIER AND SIGNIFIED IS AT THE HEART OF THE INSTABILITY. |
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Term
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Definition
| CRITICISM BASED ON CLOSE ANALYSIS OF A TEXT IN ISOLATION. IT HAD MUCH INFLUENCE ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF MODERNISM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED THE NEW CRITICISM. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM IS APPLIED TO THE WORK OF MANY ARTISTS BELONGING TO MANY PERIODS AND /MILIEUX/ WHICH DISPLAYS A NAIVE VISION, A TECHNICALLY 'SIMPLE' CONCEPTION AND PRESENTATION OF REALITY, EVEN A CERTAIN CRUDENESS OF STYLE. PERHAPS A KIND OF UNTUTORED ART. IN LITERATURE, IT HAS DIFFERENT CONNOTATIONS. IT EXPRESSES A FORM OF NOSTALGIA FOR A PRIMITIVE WAY OF LIFE. THERE ARE SOME DEEPLY ROOTED AWARENESSES AND CONVICTIONS IN MANKIND THAT ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A PARADISAL ERA A 'GOLDEN AGE' TO WHCIH THERE ARE PLENTIFUL ALLUSIONS IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE. THE KIND OF ATAVISTIC NOSTALGIA HAS IMPELLED MAN TO LOOK FOR HIS ORIGINS, FOR THAT LOST INNOCENCE, FOR THE 'GOOD OLD DAYS.' IT IS VERY COMMON. |
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Term
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Definition
| THEORY CONCERNED WITH THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEXT AND READER AND READER AND TEXT, WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH A READER PARTICIPATES IN THE COURSE OF READING A TEXT AND THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES WHICH ARISE IN THE RELATIONSHIP. THUS, THIS THEORY IS CONCERNED WITH THE READER'S CONTRIBUTION TO A TEXT, AND IT CHALLENGES, WITH VARYING DEGREES OF PLAUSIBILITY AND CONVICTION, THE TEXT ORIENTED THEORIES OF FORMALISM AND THE NEW CRITICISM, WHICH HAVE TENDED TO IGNORE OR UNDERESTIMATE THE READER'S ROLE. FUNDAMENTALLY, A TEXT, WHATEVER IT BE, HAS NO REAL EXISTENCE UNTIL IT IS READ. |
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Term
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Definition
| PHILOSOPHY DISTINGUISHES TWO BASIC CONCEPTS CONCERNING REALITY: CORRESPONDENCE AND COHERENCE. THE CORRESPONDEnCE THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE EXTERNAL WORLD IS KNOWABLE BY SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY, BY THE ACCUMULATION OF DATA, BY DOCUMENTATION, BY DEFINITION. THE COHERENCE THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE EXTERNAL WORLD IS KNOWABLE (OR PERHAPS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD) BY INTUITIVE PERCEPTION, BY INSIGHT. THUS CORRESPONDENCE WILL REQUIRE REFERENTIAL LANGUAGE; COHERENCE, EMOTIVE LANGUAGE. THE FORMER WILL IMPLY AN OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW; THE LATTER A SUBJECTIVE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS THEORY IS CONCERNED WITH THE GENERAL RESPONSE TO LITERATURE IN TERMS OF RECEPTION-AESTHETICS RATHER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL'S RESPONSE, AND HE SUGGESTS THAT LITERARY WORK SHOULD BE STUDIED IN TERMS OF THE IMPRESSION OR IMPACT IT MAKES ON ITS CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE, AND THAT LITERARY VALUE IS JUDGED ACCORDING TO HOW MUCH THE VIEW OF A TEXT ALTERS OVER TIME. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM IS RATHER AMBIGUOUS. THERE ARE MANY MEANINGS, RANGING FROM FEELINGS TO CLASSICAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR FORMS. MOST NOTABLY, IN THE 18TH CENT, IT HAS BEEN DEFINED BY THESE ASPECTS: A) AN INCREASING INTERST IN NATURE, AND IN THE NATURAL, PRIMITIVE AND UNCIVILIZED WAY OF LIFE; B) A GROWING INTEREST IN SCENERY, ESPECIALLY ITS MORE UNTAMED AND DISORDERLY MANIFESTATIONS; C) AN ASSOCIATION OF HUMAN MOODS WITH 'MOODS' OF NATURE-AND THUS A SUBJECTIVE FEELING FOR IT AND INTERPRETATION OF IT; D) A CONSIDERABLE EMPHASIS ON NATURAL RELIGION; E) EMPHASIS ON THE NEED FOR SPONTANEITY IN THOUGHT AND ACTION AND IN THE EXPRESSION OF THOUGHT; F) INCREASING IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NATURAL GENIUS AND THE POWER OF THE IMAGINATION; G) A TENDENCY TO EXALT THE INDIVIDUAL AND HIS NEEDS AND EMPHASIS ON THE NEED FOR A FREER AND MORE PERSONAL EXPRESSION; H) THE CULT OF THE NOBLE SAVAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE SCIENCE OF SIGNS AND SIGNALS. CONCERNED WITH THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AS CONVENTIONS, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON LANGUAGE. TWO MAIN ASPECTS TO THIS THEORY: A) A SING CAN NEVER POSSESS OR ARRIVE AT A DEFINITE MEANING; DEFINITION HAS ALWAYS TO BE QUALIFIED; B) A DISTINCTION BETWEEN VARIOUS TYPES OF SIGN; FOR EXAMPLE, AS SUMMARIZED BY RAMAN SELDEN, i) THE 'ICONIC'- A SIGN WHICH RESEMBLES ITS REFERENT AS IN A ROAD SIGN FOR A DOUBLE BEND; ii) THE 'INDEXICAL' - WHEN THE SIGN IS ASSOCIATED WITH ITS REFERENT: FOR INSTANCE, SMOKE=FIRE; iii) THE 'SYMBOLIC' - WHEN SIGN AND REFERENT HAVE AN ARBITRARY RELATIONSHIP. |
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Term
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Definition
| A FIGURE OF SPEECH IN WHICH ONE THING IS LIKENED TO ANOTHER, IN SUCH A WAY AS TO CLARIFY AND ENHANCE AN IMAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| BROADLY SPEAKING IT IS CONCERNED WITH 'LANGUAGE' IN A MOST GENERAL SENSE: NOT JUST THE LANGUAGE OF UTTERANCE IN SPEECH AND WRITING. IT IS CONCERNED WITH SIGNS AND THUS WITH SIGNIFICATION. THIS THEORY CONSIDERES ALL CONVENTIONS AND CODES OF COMMUNICATION; FOR EXAMPLE, ALL FORMS OF SIGNAL (SMOKE, FIRE, TRAFFIC LIGHTS, MORSE, FLAGS, GESTURES), BODY LANGUAGE, CLOTHES, ARTEFATS, STATUS SYMBOLS AND SO ON. IN THEORY, IT IS TO DO WITH ANY OR ALL OF THE MEANS BY WHICH HUMAN BEINGS CONVEY INFORMATION TO EACH OTHER: FROM A RAILWAY TIMETABLE TO A THUMBS-UP SIGNS; FROM A PR BROCHURE TO A SIREN. EVERYTHING, IN THIS THEORY, IS THE PRODUCT OF A SYSTEM OF SIGNIFICATION OR CODE. THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS OF THE CODE GIVE IT SIGNIFICATION. IN LITERATURE, THIS THEORY CHALLENGES THE LONG STANDING BELIEF THAT A WORK OR LITERATURE (OR ANY KIND OF LITERARY TEXT) REFLECTS A GIVEN REALITY; A LITERARY TEXT IS, RATHER, CONSTITUTED OF OTHER CONVENTIONS AND TEXTS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE SUM OF THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PARTS TO EACH OTHER; THUS, THE WHOLE. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE CHARACTERISTIC MANNER OF EXPRESSION IN PROSE OR VERSE; HOW A PARTICULAR WRITER SAYS THINGS. THE ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THIS TERM INVOLVES EXAMINATION OF A WRITER'S CHOICE OF WORDS, HIS FIGURES OF SPEECH THE DEVICES (RHETORICAL OR OTHERWISE), THE SHAPE OF HIS SENTENCES (WHETHER THEY BY LOOSE OR PERIODIC), THE SHAPE OF HIS PARAGRAPHS, AND INDEED, EVERY ASPECT OF HIS LANGUAGE AND THE WAY IN WHICH HE USES IT. |
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Term
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Definition
| ALL SOCIETIES ARE DIVERSE IN THAT NONE HAS A COMMON OR UNIFORM SYSTEM OF VALUES, CODES, RITUALS, CONVENTIONS, TABOOS, ETHICS, BEHAVIOUR, DRESS, FOOD, IDEOLOGIES, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, WORSHIP, RECREATIONS, CREATIVE ACTIVITIES, ARTEFACTS, ETC. THERE IS A CONNOTATION WITH THIS WORD OF IT BEING DIFFERENT FROM, APART FROM, THAT OTHER AND PREVALENT FORM. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM, WHEN APPLIED TO WRITING, SUGGESTS THAT THE WRITER IS PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH CONVEYING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND FEELING - AS IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR IN FICTION WHICH IS THINLY CONCEALED AUTOBIOGRAPHY. |
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Term
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Definition
| WHEN APPLIED TO WRITING, THIS TERM SUGGESTS THAT THE WRITER IS 'OUTSIDE' OF AND DETACHED FROM WHAT HE IS WRITING ABOUT, HAS EXPELLED HIMSELF FROM IT, IS WRITING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE RATHER THAN ABOUT HIMSELF, AND BY DOING SO IS EXERCISING WHAT IS CALLED 'AESTHETIC DISTANCE'. |
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Term
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Definition
| A SUBSIDIARY ACTION IN A PLAY OR STORY WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE MAIN ACTION. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE 'UNDER' OR 'BELOW' TEXT; WHAT IS NOT SAID OR DONE. A READER TENDS TO CONSTRUCT THIS TERM FOR HER/HIMSELF, IMAGINING OR INTERPRETING WHAT IS /NOT/ SAID OR /NOT/ DONE (AND /HOW/ IT IS NOT SAID OR DONE), WHAT MAY BE IMPLIED, SUGGESTED OR HINTED, WHAT IS AMBIGUOUS, MARGINAL, AMBIVALENT, EVASIVE, EMPHASIZED OR NOT EMPHASIZED. |
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Term
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Definition
| A STATE OF UNCERTAINTY, ANTICIPATION, AND CURIOSITY AS TO THE OUTCOME OF A STORY OR A PLAY, OR ANY KIND OF NARRATIVE IN VERSE OR PROSE. |
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Term
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Definition
| IT IS AN OBJECT, ANIMATE OR INANIMATE, WHICH REPRESENTS OR 'STANDS FOR' SOMETHING ELSE. THIS TERM DIFFERS FROM AN ALLEGORICAL SIGN IN THAT IT HAS A /REAL/ EXISTENCE OPPOSED TO AN ARBITRARY EXISTENCE. EX, DOVE=PEACE, LION=STRENGTH AND COURAGE. |
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Term
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Definition
| A STORY WHICH IS EXTRAVAGANT, OUTLANDISH OR HIGHLY IMPROBABLE. USUALLY REGARDED AS FALSE, HOWEVER GOOD IT MAY BE. |
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Term
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Definition
| TWO TERMS THAT WORK TOGETHER. BY THE FIRST, THE PURPORT OR GENERAL DRIFT OF THOUGHT REGARDING THE SUBJECT OF A METAPHOR; BY THE SECOND, THE IMAGE WHICH EMBODIES THE FIRST. EX. BY R.S. THOMAS'S /A BLACKBIRD SINGING/: IT SEEMS WRONG THAT OUT OF THIS BIRD/BLACK, BOLD, A SUGGESTION OF DARK/PLACES ABOUT IT, THERE YET SHOULD COME/SUCH RICH MUSIC/AS THOUGHT THE NOTES'/ORE WERE CHANGED TO A RARE METAL/AT ONE TOUCH OF THAT BRIGHT BILL. THE FIRST TERM IS THE BIRD'S SONG, ITS TUNE; THE SECOND TERM IS THE FINE SMELTING IMAGE IN THE FIFTH AND SIXTH LINES. |
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Term
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Definition
| A BRANCH OF SCHOLARSHIP WHICH IS DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF EXTANT TEXT IN ORDER TO DETERMINE AUTHORSHIP AND AUTHENTICITY AND, WHERE THERE IS A MULTIPLICITY OF TEXTS OF ONE WORK, TO DETERMINE WHICH ONE IS THE 'BEST' OR THE 'ORIGINAL.' |
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Term
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Definition
| THE REFLECTION OF A WRITER'S ATTITUDE (ESPECIALLY TOWARDS HIS READERS), MANNER, MOOD, AND MORAL OUTLOOK IN HIS WORK; EVEN, PERHAPS, THE WAY HIS PERSONALITY PERVADES THE WORK. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS DENOTES THE INHERITED PAST WHIH IS AVAILABLE FOR THE WRITER TO STUDY AND LEARN FROM. THUS THE WRITER'S NATIVE LANGUAGE, LITERARY FORMS , CODES, DEVICES, CONVENTIONS, AND VARIOUS CULTURES FROM THE PAST. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM HAS TENDED TO BE A FORM OF DRAMA CONCERNED WITH THE FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, AND, ULTIMATELY, THE DISASTERS, THAT BEFALL HUMAN BEINGS OF TITLE, POWER AND POSITION. THER OVERWHELMING PART ABOUT THIS FORM OF DRAMA IS THE ELEMENT OF HOPELESSNESS, OF INEVITABILITY. |
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Term
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Definition
| THREE BASIC KINDS OF THIS TERM MAY BE DISTINGUISHED: A) A MORE OR LESS LITERALLY EXACT RENDERING OF THE ORIGINAL MEANING AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SYNTAX, GRAMMAR, COLLOQUIALISM AND IDIOM OF THE LANGUAGE INTO WHICH IT IS PUT; B) AN ATTEMPT TO CONVEY THE SPSIRT, SENSE, AND STYLE OF THE ORIGINAL BY FINDING EQUIVALENTS IN SYNTAX, GRAMMAR AND IDIOM; C) A FAIRLY FREE ADAPTATION WHICH RETAINS THE ORIGINAL SPIRIT BUT MAY CONSIDERALBY ALTER STYLE, STRUCTURE, GRAMMAR AND IDIOM. |
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Term
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Definition
| LIKENESS TO THE TRUTH, AND THEREFORE THE APPEARANCE OF BEING TRUE OR REAL EVEN WHEN FANTASTIC. BUT THEN FANTASY IS, OR SHOULD BE, ROOTED IN REALITY. WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED THE INHERENT AUTHENTICITY OF A WORK (AS WELL AS ITS INTRINSIC PROBABILITY), HAVING MADE ALLOWANCES FOR PREMISES, CONVENTIONS AND CODES, WILL BE THE CRITERION BY WHICH ITS 'TRUTH' CAN BE ASSESSED. IF THE WRITER HAS DONE HIS WORK WELL, THEN THE READER WILL FIND THE RESULT AN ACCEPTABLE PRESENTATION OF REALITY. THUS WORKS WHICH MAY STRAIN ORDINARY CREDULITY WILL BE AS CREDIBLE AS THOSE WHICH PURPORT TO BE MUNDANELY REALISTIC. IN THE END THIS TERM WILL DEPEND AS MUCH ON THE READER'S KNOWLEDGE, INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE (AND HIS CAPACITY FOR MAKE-BELIEVE) AS UPON THE WRITER'S USE OF THOSE SAME RESOURCES. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE POSITION OF THE NARRATOR IN RELATION TO HIS STORY; THUS THE OUTLOOK FROM WHICH THE EVENTS ARE RELATED. THERE ARE MANY VARIATIONS AND COMBINATIONS, BUT THREE MAIN ONES ARE DISTINGUISHED: THE OMNISCIENT-THE AUTHOR MOVES FROM CHARACTER TO CHARACTER, PLACE TO PLACE AND EPISODE TO EPISDOE WITH COMPLETE FREEDOM, GIVING ACCESS TO HIS CHARACTERS' THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS WHENEVER HE CHOOSES AND PROVIDING INFORMATION WHENEVER HE WISHES. SECOND, THE THIRD PERSON-THE AUTHOR CHOOSES A CHARACTER AND THE STORY IS RELATED INT ERMS OF THAT CHARACTER IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE FIELD OF VISION IS CONFINED TO HIM OR HER ALONE. THIRD, FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE-HERE THE STORY IS TOLD IN THE FIRST PERSON BY ONE OF THE CHARACTERS. |
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Term
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Definition
| THE WICKED CHARACTER IN THE STORY, AND, IN AN IMPORTANT AND SPECIAL SENSE, THE EVIL MACHINATOR OR PLOTTER IN A PLAY. NOT IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE. DEVELOPED IN THE 16TH CENT. |
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Term
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Definition
| THIS TERM USUALLY OCCURS IN LITERATURE WHEN A WRITER STRAINS HISELF AND PROTESTS TOO MUCH. HE THEN BECOMES BOORISH, ILLBRED, BULLYING, CRUDE, CONCEIVABLY TAWDRY, OR JUST PLAIN SILLY OR ABSURD. THUS THIS TERM OCCURS WHERE THERE IS INCONGRUITY; WHERE THE FEELINGS AR CONTRIVED OR FORCED; WHERE LANGUAGE IS NOT APT FOR THE EMOTIONAL CONTENT; WHERE THERE IS A PRETENSION OR SELF-INDULGENCE IN THE SHAPE OF MERETRICIOUS ORNAMENT, EFFECT FOR THE SAKE OF EFFECT AND 'DISPLAY' OF EMOTIONS WHICH ARE NOT REALLY FELT. |
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Term
| WILLING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF |
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Definition
| THE READER MUST 'GRANT' THAT THE OR SHE IS ABOUT TO READ A STORY' A PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE IS 'ASKED' TO ACCEPT THE DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS OF THE THEATER AND STAGE. |
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