Final Exam Study Guide For English I

The person telling the story.  

• Narrator

• Author

• Writer

The emotions that you feel while you are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad, others joyful, still others, angry.

• Apprehensive

• Impressiveness

• Mood

The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people.

• Man vs. Circumstances

• Man vs. Man

• Man vs. Himself/Herself

• Man vs. Society

Are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. are a way to describe something. Authors use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining.Unlike similes that use the words “as” or “like” to make a comparison

• Mythology

• Mood

• Metaphor

Making a comparison between unlike things, using "like" or "as".

• Simile

• Metaphor

Represent moral standards, beliefs or patriotic themes for a culture or country. Here are some cultural symbols you might see: ·         American cultural symbols: Red, white and blue colors; Bald Eagle; coin with “In God We Trust” ·         Indian cultural symbols: yogi, banyan tree, image of Indian god or goddess   ·         Chinese cultural symbols: Bamboo tree, bonsai tree, yin/yang symbol

• Common Cultural Symbols

• Common Plots

A struggle with a force outside one's self.

• Internal conflict

• External conflict

Story handed down through history, often through oral tradition, that explains or gives value to the unknown

• Comedy

• Myth

• Drama

Is a literary term referring to the sequence of events in a story. It is the structure of the story.

• Phrase

• Plot line

• Tenses

The place or location of the action, the setting provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state of characters.

• Plot

• Setting

• Exposition

This is a word that causes most of us a great degree of discomfort, anger, frustration, sadness, and pain. 

• Medias res

• Dominant

• Conflict

A major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it. They tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. This is a good sign that they are round characters. A writer employs a number of tools or elements to develop a character, making him or her round, including descriptions and dialogue. A character's responses to conflict and his or her thoughts are also revelatory

• Flat Character

• Round Character

• Static Character

[Greek,=the telling of stories], the entire body of myths in a given tradition, and the study of myths. Students of anthropology, folklore, and religion study myths in different ways, distinguishing them from various other forms of popular, often orally transmitted, literature. Much of that literature is classified according to its presumed function: fables, which instruct; etiological tales, which explain; and folktales, which entertain.

• Mythology

• Narrator

• Participle

Is a word that means the opposite of another. eg: 'fat' is 'thin'

• Antonym

• Synonym

• Homonym

Is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.

• Irony of situation

• Dramatic irony

• Verbal irony

The act of alluding; indirect reference: Without naming names, the candidate criticized the national leaders by allusion.

• Abbreviation

• Allusion

• Appositive

Is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contra factual events (events that are not true at the time of writing).

• Epic simile

• Fiction

• Homeric simile

Don't end their past and perfect forms with '~ed'. They change quite differently e.g. speak/spoke/spoken, sing/sang/sung.

• Regular verbs

• Irregular verbs

A noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it It can be a short or long combination of words. Look at these examples: The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.

• Appositive

• Character

• Conflict

1.  Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities. 2.  Developing - dynamic,  many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story. 3.  Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc. A  person in a story. The person in a work of fiction.

• Epic

• External

• Characters

The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.

• Epithet

• Man vs. Himself/Herself

• Epic

How long is it typically?

• Its length usually falls between 21,000 and 100,000 words.

• Its length usually falls between 2,000 and 10,000 words.

A person, or a group of people who oppose the main character, or the main characters.'^[2] In the classic style of story wherein the action consists of a hero fighting a villain,

• Protagonist

• Antagonist

• Appositive

Is when an author says one thing and means something else.

• Verbal irony

• Dramatic irony

• Irony of situation

Can sometimes indirectly establish the author's intentions.

• Point of View

• Simile

• Setting

A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing

• Protagonist

• Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of View

• Setting

Writers insert symbols into their writing to allude to a feeling, mood or attitude without directly stating the perspective or mood intended. Symbolism is supplemental to the story. Encourage your students to try using symbolism to supplement their work as they write short stories or poetry. Help them weave the symbols into the stories so that the symbols support the story line and mood, rather than sticking out like an obvious literary device.

• Writers Use Symbolism

• Writers Use Theme

Are minor characters who do not ...   as it applies to short story writers and novelists.

• Flat Character

• Static Character

• Dynamic Character

Are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters" or "flat characters," they play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be round, or complex. Though we don't generally strive to write static characters, they are often necessary in a story, along with round characters. Take, for example, Mr. Collins in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. He serves a vital role in the story of how Elizabeth and Darcy get together, and he provides comedy, but his character stays essentially unchanged. (In fact, that’s part of what makes him funny.)

• Static Character

• Dynamic Character

• Stereotype Character

Is a character, with generalized traits (characteristics that make the character a group representative rather than an individual).

• Stereotype Character

• Epithet

• Figurative language

The narrator does participate in the action of the story. realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

• First Person Point of View

• Short story

• Simile

The _____________ occurs as a result of the climax or crisis.

• Falling action

• Resolution

• Rising action

• Plot line

The following are common symbols used in literary works: ·         Symbols referring to damnation: Fire, flames, heat, hot temperatures ·         Symbols referring to salvation: Crosses, angels, haloes, clouds, churches ·         Symbols referring to reincarnation or reinvention: Phoenix rising from flames, crosses, rainbows, passing storms, dawn, sunrise, broken chains ·         Symbols referring to death or endings: Gravestones, cemeteries, Grim Reaper, Day of the Dead, skulls, candle blowing out, coffin, ringing of bell

• Some Examples o fPlot

• Some Examples of Symbolism

Character is a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction, they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life. A number of elements in fiction reveal character including descriptions of a character, the character's dialogue, a character's responses to the conflicts that arise in the plot, and a character's thoughts.

• Conflict

• Static Character

• Dynamic Character

It is essential to plot.  It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move.  Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments; rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor ones.

• Calm

• Resolution

• CONFLICT

Or crisis is often short, but it is the most exciting part. The main character’s struggles come to a head.

• Exposition

• Climax

• Point of View

• Falling action

According to Greek mythology, Greek attacked the city of Troy, as a retaliation for Paris of Troy stealing the wife of the Greek king, Helen. Troy fought well, and the Greeks were about to surrender to Troy’s immense walls, however the Greeks created a wooden horse that the people of Troy thought to be a gift to the gods. According to ancient beliefs, gifts to gods must be respected by all, and as such they took in the horse. At night, soldiers crept out of the horse, assassinated some guards and opened the gates. Greek soldiers then attacked the city again, this time with great odds as they outnumbered the Troy army greatly. The king of Troy then woke up to see his city burning. The war ended with a destruction of Troy and the empire hereof. This event is made into a film called: Troy, and a wiki article can be found here: 37. Verbs describe (i) an action, (ii) a state or (iii) an occurrence:-

1. As an action word, it is something that you do, like walk or play or eat.
2. As a state of being: "My name is John. I am 20 years old. I am Caucasian and my girlfriend looks gorgeous! And she has a heart of gold!"

Are something that someone or something is doing, such as run, talk, play, go, cook, speak, etc. For example, in the phrase: "He is running", the two words 'is running' is the present continuous form of the verb 'to run'. Here are a few more examples:

• They slept late that day.
• It slid off the shelf.
• Safa played with her toys.
• She screamed as loudly as she could.

A professional poet, paid by a monarch to praise the sovereign's activities. one who who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events. created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty and high society. As the courts became more sophisticated, minstrels were eventually replaced at court by the troubadours, and many became wandering minstrels, performing in the streets and became well liked until the middle of the Renaissance, despite a decline beginning in the late 15th century.

• "musician" or musical proformer

• "bard” or minstrel

• Homeric simile

What criteria exist for  a short story ?

• A short story is a work of non-fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format.

• A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format.

It describes the qualitycan come before nouns: a new car state or action that a noun refers to.can come after verbs such as be, become, seem, look, etc.: that car looks fastcan come after verbs such as be, become, seem, look, etc.: that car looks fast can be modified by adverbs: a very expensive car They can be used as complements to a noun: the extras make the car expensive

• Verbs

• Adverbs

• Adjective

Short stories use few characters.  One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character.The opposer of the main character i

• Persons in a work of fiction - Static Character and Dynamic Character

• Persons in a work of fiction - Round Character and Flat Character

• Persons in a work of fiction - Antagonist and Protagonist

Major character at the center of the story.

• Symbolism

• Protagonist

• Subject

The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.

• Man vs. Circumstances

• Man vs. Society

• Man vs. Himself/Herself

• Man vs. Man

Is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.

• Verbal irony

• Irony of situation

• Dramatic irony

The _________. This part of the story often shows the main character involved in a struggle of some sort. He or she experiences problems and complications.

• Exposition

• climax

• Falling action

• Rising action

The ___________ gives the reader background information about the story, such as the setting and the main characters. It sets the tone, and lets the reader know what type of story to expect.  The reader can generally tell whether this is going to be a funny story, a historical story, a Western, a fantasy story, or another type.

• Climax

• Falling action

• Resolution

• Exposition

Denouement is the conclusion of the story. It is most simple to learn about plot lines right after reading an exciting short story. A story that can be read in one sitting is ideal because the five elements can be identified right after reading the story. Practice makes identifying the elements easier.

• Objective Point of View

• Resolution

• climax

• Exposition