Ela Flashcards
Which genres is Shakespeare known for writing?
Dramas- Comedies, Tragedies, Histories & Poetry-Sonnets
What is Macbeth’s tragic flaw?
His unhinged ambition
What is the structure, meter, & rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean (English) Sonnet?
Structure: 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.
Meter: Iambic pentameter- 5 iambs in each line (unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable). Rhyme scheme: Abab cdcd efef gg
Immediately after murdering Duncan what does Macbeth being to feel?
Fear and regret
What does blood most likely symbolize in Macbeth?
Sin and guilt
Where does Macbeth take place?
Scotland
What happens to Macbeth & Lady Macbeth at the end of the play?
Macbeth loses his sense of right and wrong and gets super power hungry before he dies. Lady Macbeth goes crazy with guilt and thinks that she needs to wash her hands of blood even though there is nothing there. Then she dies (we don’t know how for sure… either suicide or natural causes)
Who was the ruler of England during much of the English Renaissance period?
Queen Elizabeth 1st
A tragic flaw is a convention in which genre?
A tragedy
In which theater building is Shakespeare most well-known for working?
The Globe
Why is Shakespeare so important to British Literature?
Because he invented so many words, his plays and poems were so complex and well written and his characters were so multidimensional, timelessly relatable and realistic
Iambic pentameter with no rhyme is also known as what?
Blank verse
Practice scanning sonnets on the Shakespearean sonnet of your choice
(Scanning or Scansion means marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem to identify the iambic feet of the iambic pentameter pattern.)
Define Neoclassicism.
“New Classics” a return to the reason and structural conventions of the ancient Greeks and Romans literature
What are the other names for the Neoclassical period?
Enlightenment, Age of Reason, Age of Satire, Augustan Age
How did England’s industry, culture and society change as it moved into the Neoclassical Period?
Colonialism was growing. Culture became more oriented towards science, reason and exploration, and Society moved away from Monarchy towards Democracy & move toward abolishing the slave trade
Define Enjambment:
A line of verse (poetry) that runs into the next line or lines without pause.
Define Metaphysical Conceit:
A poem made of an extended, ridiculous metaphor
“The Flea” by John Donne is an example of which literary form?
Metaphysical Conceit
What is the main theme in Gulliver’s Travels?
Don’t be so focused on intellectual stuff or personal stuff that you miss the world around you.
What are the two most popular literary forms of the Neoclassical Period?
Metaphysical conceit, travel journal
What is the value of satire as a genre?
It calls out society’s flaws ironically to cause societal changes in the future
What historical events or trends fueled the development of Romanticism?
American & French revolutions led to the development of literature that focused on the individual, just as democracy did.
What are the main traits (structure, content, & theme) of literature of the Romantic period?
Poetry of this period still had formal structure, but some of it began to be free verse. Content: emotional or imaginative experience of nature as seen by the author, Theme: Nature is beautiful and precious. Plants and animals should be respected.
How are the beliefs of the romantics demonstrated in the works of the period?
The Lit of the period focused on the experiences of the individual, just as the Revolutions to form democracies did.
Who did Wordsworth pair up with to write Lyrical Ballads?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
What is the significance of the publication of this collection of poems?
It marks the beginning of the Romantic period.
Who is the author of “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”?
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
How is the author’s philosophy reflected in “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”?
Nature exerts a profound aesthetic influence on human thought and feeling.
What is the main theme in “Lines Written in Early Spring” pp.390-391?
It is lyrical poem about how birds and trees appreciate the beauty of nature but man, with his aspiration for control and power has lost the ability to appreciate the glories of the natural world. Wordsworth bemoans that man chooses to be cruel and inconsiderate, rather than derive pleasure from living in our beautiful world.
Who wrote lines in a early spring
William Wordsworth
What is the literary device used in the poem“A Poison Tree’” ?
Extended metaphor
What does the tree symbolize in “ A Poison Tree”?
Anger/hatred
What is an apostrophe?
Literary device where the speaker(poet) is addressing or speaking to someone who is not present or a personified object
Who wrote “Apostrophe to the Ocean?”
Lord Byron
What is the theme of “Apostrophe to the Ocean?”
The ocean’s strength and timelessness. It is something that humankind will never conquer.
How is Man portrayed in this poem?
Man is a destructive force on land but is a poor competitor for control of the ocean. Man cannot subdue or tame the power of the ocean.
What novel, an excerpt of which we read, did Jane Austen write? Pp 431-437
Sense and Sensibility
What traits does literature of this period tend to have?
Literature had serious themes, often fairy tales or looking nostalgically towards the past, idealizing it. Lit also reflected a desire to stay the same, fearing change as something bad.
What did Alfred, Lord Tennyson write?
Idylls of the King (“The passing of Arthur”) & “Crossing of the Bar”
On what medieval work by which medieval author did Tennyson base Idylls of the King?
Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
What themes are common to literature of the Victorian period?
Changing from one time of life into another. Good wins over evil.
What is a “rite of passage”?
The moving from one time of life into another.
