Unit 1: An overview of literature

What is “literature”?
Broadly speaking, "literature" describes anything
from creative writing to technical or scientific
works, but the term commonly refers to works
of creative imagination, aesthetic, and/or
humanistic purposes such as poetry, drama,
fiction, and nonfiction (Terry Eagleton, 1996).
It may also contain political messages or beliefs.
 Elements of literature
• Theme
Theme is the main idea or message about
humans, society or life in a literary work. In
literature analysis, it should be stated in the
form of a message
 Elements of literature
Plot
Plot is a sequence of events that occurs to
characters from the beginning to the end of a story.
• Open Plot:
Open plot is one of those things where the author
never gives a definite ending, and is very vague
about what happens. You can use your imagination
for what happens to the characters.
• Closed Plot:
A restricted sequence of events in a play, novel, or
film.
Elements in a plot
 Elements in a plot
• Exposition/Introduction:
This is the beginning of the story, where
characters and settings are established to
explain or summarize background information.
• Rising action:
It occurs when a series of events begin to get
complicated. It is during this part of a story that
excitement, tension, or crisis is encountered.
 Elements in a plot
Conflict/ Complications
• Internal conflict:
It is a struggle which takes place in the
protagonist’s mind and through which the main
character reaches a new understanding or
dynamic change.
• External conflict:
It is a struggle between the protagonist and
another character against nature and some
outside force.
 Elements in a plot
• Climax:
This is the moment of highest interest and emotion,
leaving the reader wondering what is going to
happen next.
• Falling Action (or the winding up of the story):
This part occurs after the climax has been reached
and the conflict has been resolved.
 Elements in a plot
• Resolution:
This is the end of a story, which may occur with
either a happy or a tragic ending.
• Denouement:
A French word meaning "unknotting" or
"unwinding," denouement refers to the outcome
or result of a complex situation or sequence of
events, an aftermath or resolution that usually
occurs near the final stages of the plot.
 Characterisation
Characterisation refers to the way how an
author or poet uses his/her description,
dialogue, and action to create in the readers an
emotional or intellectual reaction to a character
or to make the character more vivid and
realistic.
 Types of characters
• Protagonist:
The main character on whom the author focuses
most of the narrative attention.
• Antagonist:
The character against whom the protagonist
struggles or contends.
 Types of characters
• Static Character/Flat Character:
A simplified character who does not change his
or her personality over the course of a narrative.
• Dynamic Character:
A character whose personality changes or
evolves over the course of a narrative or appears
to have the capacity for such change.
 Types of characters
• Round character:
a well-developed character who demonstrates
varied and sometimes contradictory traits.
• Foil:
A character that serves by contrast to highlight
opposing traits in another character.
• Confidant:
A character in a drama or fiction, such as a trusted
friend or servant, who serves as a device for
revealing the inner thoughts or intentions of a main
character.
 Types of characters
• Antihero: A protagonist who is a non-hero or the
antithesis of a traditional hero. While the traditional
hero may be dashing, strong, brave, resourceful, or
handsome, the antihero may be incompetent,
unlucky, clumsy, dumb, ugly, or clownish.
• Stereotype: A character who is so ordinary or
unoriginal that the character seems like an
oversimplified representation of a type, gender,
class, religious group, or occupation.
• Stock Character: A character type that appears
repeatedly in a particular literary genre, one which
has certain conventional attributes or attitudes.
 Setting
• Time: refers to day or night, summer or winter,
and the historical period. Period is the common
historical eras that scholars use to divide
literature into comprehensible sections. Dividing
literature into these arbitrary periods allows us to
better compare and contrast the works in
different ages, to more easily trace chains of
influence from one writer to another, and to
appreciate more readily the connection between
historical events and intellectual trends.
 Setting
• Place: implies the location of inside or outside, country
or city, specific town and country, Cultural milieu
(urban, rural, multicultural, ethnic, diverse), and real or
fictional areas,
• Social situation: implies the social status and situation
of not only the main characters but also the minor
characters who take little part in advancing the plot,
and even from those whose presence contributes to
the realism of the work.
• Mood and atmosphere: can be eerie, dangerous,
menacing, tense, threatening, relaxing, nostalgic,
happy, light-hearted, etc.
 Point of view
• It is the method of narration/ the voice that
determines the position from which the story
unfolds. It governs the reader's access to the
story. It includes:
– First-person Narrator
– Second-person Narrator
– Third-person Narrator
 Point of view
• First-person Narrator: A narrator that indicates the
speaker. It means we are seeing events through the
eyes of the character telling the story.
E.g.: “I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.”
(Daffodils by William Wordsworth)
• Second-person Narrator: A narrator that indicates
the person spoken to.
E.g.: “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a
place like this at this time of the morning. But here you
are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely
unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.” (Bright
Lights, Big City by Jay Mclnemey)
 Point of view
• Third-person Narrator: A kind of narrator very
commonly found in fictions written as
third‐person narratives.
E.g.: He entered, vociferating oaths dreadful to
hear; and caught me in the act of stowing his son
sway in the kitchen cupboard. Hareton was
impressed with a wholesome terror of
encountering either his wild beast’s fondness or his
madman’s rage … (Rip Van Winkle’s by Washington
Irving)
 Third-person point of view
There are three kinds of third-person point of view:
• Third-person objective narrative: The narrator is not one of the
characters in a story but he or she expresses only about all
actions done by the characters in the story and not their feelings
or thoughts.
• Third-person limited: The narrator is not one of the characters in
the story but he or she expresses about all actions done by
characters and she or he has a permission to express feelings and
thoughts of only one character in the story.
• Third - person omniscient narrative: A story is portrayed by a
narrator who is not one of the characters in the story but he or
she expresses every action done by the characters in the story as
well as all their feelings and thoughts. He knows everything about
all characters.
 Diction
Diction refers to the word choice and the language
used by the author to reveal the theme and purpose of
the novel. It includes:
• Tone: The means of creating a relationship or
conveying an attitude or mood. The tone might be
formal or informal, playful, ironic, optimistic,
pessimistic, or sensual.
• Style: The author's words and the characteristic way
that writer uses language to achieve certain effects.
An important part of interpreting and understanding
fiction is being attentive to the way the author uses
words.
 Monologue vs. Dialogue
• A monologue is a speech that one character delivers
aloud to express his or her inner thoughts.
• Stream of consciousness/Interior Monologue: It is
used to describe the narrative method where
novelists describe the unspoken thoughts and
feeling of their characters without resorting to
objective description or conventional dialogue.
• Soliloquy: A monologue spoken by an actor at a
point in the play when the character believes
himself to be alone.
• A dialogue is a conversation between two or more
people in novels, prose, some poetries, and plays.
Dialogue is a literary device that can be used for
narrative, philosophical, or didactic purposes.
 Common literary devices
• Simile • Hyperbole vs.
• Metaphor Understatement
• Personification • Symbolism
• Metonymy • Flashback
• Synecdoche • Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Paradox
• Oxymoron
 Simile
• Simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike
things are explicitly compared by using a
connective words such as “like” or “as”.
E.g.:
a. I wandered lonely as a cloud (Daffodils –
Wordsworth)
b. "… and her eyes sparkled as bright as diamonds"
(Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte)
c. “… But my body was like a harp and her words
and gestures were like fingers running upon the
wires” (Araby – James Joyce)
 Metaphor
• A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit,
implied, or hidden comparison between two things that
share some characteristics.
E.g.:
a. “…a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener
with constant use” (Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving)
b. The whole world is a stage, and all the men and women
merely actors. They have their exits and their entrances … (As
You Like It - Shakespeare)
c. "It was not the thorn bending to the honeysuckles, but the
honeysuckles embracing the thorn." Wuthering Heights,
Emily Bronte) => Catherine is being compared to thorns and
the Lintons are like the honeysuckles. We learn that
Catherine is stubborn and edgy, while the Lintons are sweet.
 Personification
• Personification is a figure of speech when the author
assigns the qualities of a person to something that isn't
human or, in some cases, to something that isn't even
alive.
E.g.:
a. "…her tongue was always going-singing, laughing, and
plaguing everybody who would not do the same."
(Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte) => Catherine's tongue is
singing, laughing, and plaguing people. We can infer that
Catherine was a happy, talkative, and lively spirit.
b. "…but the snow and wind whirled wildly through, even
reaching my station, and blowing out the light." => The
snow and wind blew out the light. This shows how powerful
the blizzard was.
 Metonymy
• Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or
concept is not called by its own name, but by the
name of something intimately associated with that
thing or concept.
E.g.:
a. The pen is mightier than the sword. => Pen refers to
written words, and sword to military force.
b. Maybe one of the guys would lay enough bread on
him for a meal or at least subway fare.(In another
country – Hemmingway) => Bread is metonymy and
stands for money
c. “The Silicon Valley” is a metonymy for the technology
sector.
 Metonymy
• Crown
• The White House
• The Pentagon
• Sword
• Hollywood
• Hand
 Synecdoche
• Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of
something is used to refer to the whole.
E.g.:
a. Four still faces passed her with their burden.
(In another country – Hemmingway).
=> faces stand for people.
b. The Eyes around-had wrung them dry-
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset-when the King
Be witnessed-in the Room
(I heard a Fly buzz when I died" by Emily Dickinson)
• => “Eyes" stand for people. Dickinson's use of synecdoche
emphasizes that the people in the room are watching the
speaker.
 Irony
• Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used
in such a way that their intended meaning is
different from the actual meaning of the words. It
may also be a situation that ends up in quite a
different way than what is generally anticipated.
In simple words, it is a difference between
appearance and reality.
• There are 3 types of irony:
– Verbal irony
– Dramatic irony
– Situational irony
 Verbal irony
• (also called sarcasm) occurs when a speaker makes a
statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply
from the meaning that the words ostensibly express.
E.g.:
a. “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” (Hamlet-
Shakespeare) => He is talking about his uncle, who is also
now his step father – a little more than kin. When he says
“less than kind,” it is ironic because his uncle is the one who
killed his father.
b. In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix, Harry says, "Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher.
There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord
Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head!"
 Dramatic irony
• occurs when the reader knows something about present
or future circumstances that the character does not know.
In that situation, the character acts in a way we recognize
to be grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances, or
the character expects the opposite of what the reader
knows that fate holds in store, or the character anticipates
a particular outcome that unfolds itself in an
unintentional way.
E.g.:
a. When Rose was leaning on the balcony right before the
ship hits the iceberg says, "It's so beautiful I could just die”
(Titanic) => Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows
something that the characters don't.
b. The apple that puts Snow White into a deep sleep is
dramatic irony, because the audience knows that the Wicked
Stepmother cursed the apple, but Snow White does not.
 Situational irony
• (also called cosmic irony) refers to a situation in which
accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as
the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket
picked. However, both the victim and the audience are
simultaneously aware of the situation in situational irony.
E.g.:
a. Posting on Facebook about what a waste of time social media
is.
b. A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for
unpaid parking tickets.
c. In the novel Dumb Luck of Vu Trong Phung, Red-haired Xuan's
luck and his knack for bullshitting helps him become a familiar
face in the Vietnamese bourgeoisie crowd as he continues to
dabble in medicine after unfortunately saving Van Minh's
grandpa, Hong. He eventually becomes the champion of science,
a professional tennis player, and a national hero although he is an
uneducated and unscrupulous vagrant.
 Paradox
• Paradox is a figure of speech in which two
events seem unlikely to coexist.
E.g.:
a. I must be cruel only to be kind. (Hamlet –
Shakespeare)
b. All animals are equal, but some are more
equal than others. (Animal’s Farm - George
Orwell)
Paradox
 Oxymoron
• Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite
ideas are joined to create an effect. The common
oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective
proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, such as
“cruel kindness,” or “living death”.
• E.g.:
a. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow. (Romeo and
Juliet – Shakespeare)
b. Paid volunteers were working for the company.
c. The CEO of a multinational company said, “We have been
awfully lucky to have survived the disastrous effects of the
recent economic recession.”
d. The program was not liked by the people, for a lot of
unpopular celebrities were invited.
 Hyperbole
• Hyperbole (exaggeration or overstatement) is a figure
of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis.
E.g.:
a. Tell them you’ve got a pal who’s got all the liquor in
the world. (Mr. Know-all - William Somerset Maugham)
b. I had to wait in the station for ten days - an eternity.
(Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad)
c. After killing King Duncan, Macbeth realizes there is no
way to absolve himself of his sin:
Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No. This my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
 Understatement
• Understatement is a figure of speech in which an
expression with less emphasis is used.
• E.g.:
a. The football team lost 10-0, they did not do too
well.
b. It isn’t too serious, I have a tiny tumour on my
brain. (The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger)
c. ‘Tis but a scratch! (The Black Knight – Monty
Python)
 Symbolism
• Symbolism means using objects with a certain meaning that is different
from their original meaning or function. It is used to give intangible
ideas and emotions a visibility and solidity that makes the readers
notice them, and represent these grander ideas or qualities.
• E.g.:
a. Ghosts symbolize lost souls, memory, and the past. In Wuthering
Heights, Brontë uses this symbol to support the themes of love and
obsession and good versus evil. Cathy's ghost lingers in Heathcliff's
memory, supporting love and obsession, and then it actively and
vengefully pursues Heathcliff in the end, supporting good versus evil..
b. The term “Roman Fever” refers to a particularly deadly strain of malaria.
Roman fever symbolizes strong emotions, and the 'disease' of jealousy.
Grace is afflicted with 'Roman fever' through her love of Delphin, who was
engaged to Alida.
c. Black is normally associated with the element of death. John Steinbeck
uses the black handle on the long blade, Pepe’s black hair, the black jerky
he chews on and Pepe’s father’s black coat to symbolise that the main
character is literally welcoming death in his future with the darkness.
 Flashback
• This is a method of narration in which present action is
temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past
events--usually in the form of a character's memories, dreams,
narration, or even authorial commentary.
E.g.: Emily Bronte’s famous novel Wuthering Heights starts off
with Cathy, one of the main characters, dead. Mr. Lockwood sees
Cathy’s name written all over the windowsill, and then has a
vexing dream about her. When he talks about the dream to
Heathcliff, Heathcliff becomes distressed, and Mr. Lockwood
wants to know why the mention of Cathy upsets him. The
flashbacks are means to bring Cathy back to life, so Mr. Lockwood
has a better perception of why Heathcliff was so upset. The
flashbacks show the development of the love that Heathcliff and
Cathy had for each other, and how their poor decisions separated
them. It would not have the same effect, if Ellen had only told Mr.
Lockwood that Cathy was a person that Heathcliff loved and that
she died.
 Foreshadowing
• Foreshadowing is used to provide hints about what will
happen next or later in a narrative.
E.g.:
a. “The leaves fell early that year. (Opening line of A Farewell
to Arms - Ernest Hemingway) => an early death.
b. In the fiction “Flight” of John Steinbeck, an example of
foreshadowing can be found when Pepé is returning home.
Pepé looks at his "weathered little shack" and notices the
shadow. The shadow is heading in the direction North East.
Even though the directions North and East are "good," the
fact that the shadow is there turns them "bad." This means
that evil is winning over goodness. => In whichever direction
Pepé turns, he will encounter evil, failure, or death.