English Flashcards
is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England, the
English people, or the English language. It is used somewhat
loosely to refer to people of British Isles descent in the Americas,
New Zealand, and Australia.
anglo
It encompasses works written during the 600-year
Anglo-Saxon period of Britain, from the mid-5th century to the
Norman Conquest of 1066.
Anglo-American Literature stems from Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
Literature.
include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others.
Old English literature
- reverence to knighthood/heroism
-value of courage, strength, and power
-Christianity - Battle of Good vs Evil
-war - Beowulf - by an anonymous Author
Old English literature
(dubbed the Father of English Literature; of
English poetry) composed “The Canterbury Tales”, a collection of
over 20 stories told in the voices of 31 pilgrims whose stories of
knights, fairies, preachers, and others presented moral lessons on
love and life.
Geoffrey Chaucer
morality (generosity vs greed; loyalty us deception
-faith and religion
-civilization vs nature
- The canterbury tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Middle English literature (1400-1500)
is characterized by the adoption of
humanist philosophy, influenced by European cultural, artistic, political, and economic “rebirth” from the Middle Ages, as well as
“self-actualization” and interest in beauty, wit, and truth.
The works of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe were
developed during the blank
English Renaissance (1500 - 1660) (Elizabethan and Jacobean
Period; Late Renaissance)
This period is characterized by order, accuracy, and structure. writers portrayed man as inherently flawed and
emphasized restraint, self-control, and common sense. Conservatism flourished in both politics and literature.
Neo-classical Period (Restoration Age, 1660 - 1700; Augustan
Literature, 1700s; Age of Sensibility, 1970s - 1800)
Literature of this period is concerned with political and social
affairs, covering realistic topics based on folktales, ballads, and
emotions. Themes of individual freedom, nationalism, and simple
aesthetics are also introduced.
Romanticism (1800 - 1860)
Even more faithful/objective representation of life is observed in
the literature of this period, such as Mark Twain’s works, which
concentrate on the middle and lower class groups, scenes of
humble backgrounds, and criticism of social conditions.
realism (1855-1900)
In this period, the “stream of consciousness,” interior monologue
style of narration, trended. Most recognized authors include
novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald and poets T.S. Eliot and E. E. Cummings.
Modernism (1900-1950)
Topics of texts discuss and embody the complexities of
contemporary life: moral relativism, loss of faith in moral authorities, and alienation. Employing dark humor, parodies, and
absurdity, writers of this period criticized perceptions of “classical”
and “low vs. high” literature.
Postmodernism (1950 to present)
● Self-actualization
● Magic vs. religion
● Gender and
sexuality
● Rise of the merchant
class
● Love and romance
● Value of aesthetics
English Renaissance
● Flaws of man
● Restraint/self-control
● Use of science,
mathematics, and
natural laws
● Conservatism in
politics and literature
Neo-classical Period
● Celebration of
nature
● Individuality and
spirituality
● The life of the
common man
● Idealization of
women
● The social class
Romanticism
Appearance of
what is real and true
● Life of the middle
and lower class
● Criticism of social
conditions
● Depicting events of
everyday life
Realism
● Loss and exile
● Rejecting
conventional
“truths”
● Rejecting authority
● Man’s sense of self
(man’s
self-consciousness)
● Experimentation in
artistic/literary
techniques
● Absurdity of life
Modernism
● Rejecting the notion
of “absolute
meaning”
● Anti-authoritarianis
● Value of concrete
experience over
abstract principles
● Notion that ideas
and experiences are
NOT universal
Postmodernism
is the oldest and first epic poem in the
English language. It is written more than a
thousand years ago, narrating the story of a legendary hero who wins fame by fighting three supernatural monsters.
Beowulf
- It is the oldest surviving epic poem in English.
- It is a very important piece of English literature, giving
information about the past. - It is a pagan story told by a Christian poet.
- It exists in only one manuscript.
- The sole manuscript was nearly destroyed in a fire in the 18th
century
Beowulf
He is a mighty warrior and noble individual, the
poem’s hero, who comes to the aid of Hrothgar’s Danes.
Later on, he became the king of the Geats.
beowulf
He is a descendant of the biblical Cain. The
enormous ogre who despises mankind’s joy. He menaces Hrothgar and the Danes for 12 years before facing Beowulf
in battle.
Grendel
She is another formidable foe. She and
her son live in a cave beneath a swampy lake where she
battles Beowulf.
Grendel’s mother
He is the aging king of the Danes. His great
mead-hall, Heorot, symbolizes the kingdom’s success,
civilization, and joy.
Hrothgar
she is Hrothgar’s queen, the embodiment of
charm and hospitality.
Wealhtheow
He is the King of the Geats and uncle to Beowulf.
Hygelac
a member of Hrothgar’s banquet who questions
beowulf’s ability to win against grendel
Unferth
The only thane to stand with Beowulf against the
dragon, he is the Geats’ future king and a symbol of loyalty
within the social/political structure of the comitatus.
Wiglaf
He is Hrothgar’s trusted adviser.
Aescheres
Guarding a treasure-trove in Geatland, he is
angered when a fugitive steals a single gold-plated flagon.
Dragon
It is the kingdom of Hrothgar whose celebration
was attacked by Grendel.
Heorot
It is the homeland of Beowulf which he ruled
after returning from the battles in Heorot.
Geatland
It is the home of Grendel and Grendel’s
mother.
The Swamp
It is an isolated area containing gold and
other treasures, guarded by a dragon.
Dragon’s cave
Themes of Beowulf
● Establishing one’s own identity
● Good vs. evil
● Being a good warrior vs. being a good king
● Heroic code vs. Christianity.
is a form of narrative verse distinguished by a long account of a hero’s deeds and adventures
Epic poetry
The protagonist should
manifest the ideal hero that has great physical strength and the
determination to face great danger.
Superhuman strength and valor
The epic hero can be a divine being a
god/goddess or protected by a heavenly creature. He/She is
always successful in facing difficult challenges everyone
attempts to overcome.
Legendary hero
The epic by the interventions
by otherworldly forces such as gods/godnesses, demons,
angels, nature, etc.
involvement of the supernatural.
The style is overly formal, lyrical, poetic,
and sophisticated
Epic Style of Writing
words which are no longer in everyday use
but sometimes are still used by some modern writers for
specific effects.
Archaic words
combinations of often hyphenated words, to
form a poetic expression used in place of a more familiar
word.
Kennings
is a term for all the techniques, styles, and
strategies an author uses to enhance their writing. These allow a
writer to convey a deeper meaning beyond what’s on the page.
Literary Devices
in poetry, is a figure of speech in which a
character or speaker addresses someone who is not
present or to a personified object.
Apostrophe
is a literary device that uses that embodies and
evokes a range of profound meaning and or represent an
abstract concept. It contains several layers of meaning
and may be represented by an object, a character, or
elements in a prose or poem.
Symbolism
is a literary device where a word for a small
component of something can stand in rhetorically for the
larger whole, or vice versa.
Synecdoche
is a type of figurative language in which an
object or concept is referred to not by its own name, but
instead by the name of something closely associated with
it.
Metonymy
It is a literary device in which there are two contradicting
meanings of the same situation, event, image, sentence,
phrase, or story. In many cases, this refers to the difference
between expectations and reality.
Irony
This is a statement in which the speaker means something
very different from what he or she is saying.
Verbal Irony
combines two contrasting words to give them
a deeper and more poetic meaning. It helps create an
impression, enhance a concept, and even entertain the
reader.
Oxymoron
is the repetition of an initial consonant sound in words that are in close proximity to each other for a poetic or whimsical effect. Writers use blank to set a mood,
emphasize a subject, or create a memorable image.
Alliteration
is a literary device in which the repetition of
similar vowel sounds takes place in two or more words in
proximity to each other within a line of poetry or prose.
Assonance most often refers to the repetition of internal
vowel sounds in words that do not end the same to create
rhythm and tempo.
Assonance
is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a
scene, or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of
words.
poetry
is a collection of metrical lines of poetry. It is used
to define the difference of poetry and prose. It contains
rhythm and pattern and more often than not, rhyme.
verse
It contains both rhyme and meter.
Traditional Form
It does not have any repeating patterns or rhymes.
Free Verse
It refers to a poem with a meter but without rhyme.
Blank Verse
It refers to the same syllable or word sounds in a poem. It is the repetition of similar sounds.
rhyme
Rhymes can be repeated at the end of a line or stanza or
can continue throughout a poem
rhyme scheme
It is a unit of poetry composed of lines that relate to a
similar thought or topic. In prose, it is like a paragraph, and
in a song, it is like a verse.
Stanza
It is a stanza with two lines that rhyme.
couplet
It is a stanza with three lines.
Tercet
It is a stanza with four lines with the second and
fourth lines rhyming.
Quatrain
a five line stanza
Quintet
a six line stanza
sestet (sextet)
a seven line stanza
septet
an eight line stanza
octave
It is the dominant unifying idea or central idea of what the poem
is all about.
theme
common themes:
- Good vs. Evil
- Love
- Redemption
- Courage and Perseverance
- Coming of Age
- Revenge
It is a literary device that uses symbols, be they words, people, marks, locations, or abstract ideas to represent something beyond the literal meaning.
symbolism
It typically refers to either the mood implied by an author’s language and word choice, or to the way that the text can
make a reader feel.
tone
common tones in literary pieces
- Cheerful
- Regretful
- Assertive
- Puckish
- Lighthearted
- Pessimistic
- Nostalgic
- Persuasive
- Uneasy
- Inspirational
It is the rhythmic structure within a poem and is dictated by the
number of syllables and the pattern in which these syllables are
emphasized.
meter
In a line of poetry, an ‘iamb’ is a foot or beat consisting of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
type of meter
is a type of poem that stems from the Italian word
“sonetto,” which itself derives from “suono” (meaning “a sound”).
Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteen-line poem developed by the
Italian poet Giacomo da Lentini in the early thirteenth century.
sonnet
are used to express strong emotions or reactions.
They are often found at the beginning or end of a sentence but
can also be used in the middle to add emphasis or convey
surprise, delight, anger, or other feelings. These can be used in
writing a poem to express strong emotions.
interjections
It refers to the order in which words are arranged. In writing a
poem, poetic inversion can be utilized to maintain a rhythm or
find a rhyme. It can also create a sense of abstraction.
word order
