Exam 1 Flashcards
What are the two approaches to literature?
Literary Criticism and Literary History
What is the difference between literary criticism and literary history?
Literary criticism: what does this story mean to us now?
Literary history: what did this story mean to its original audience?
What are art’s three questions?
What is the “self” and what should it be?
How should human beings relate to each other?
How should human beings relate to God or the Gods, provided that God or the Gods exist?
What are Harold Bloom’s ages of literature?
Theocratic – Focus on the Gods.
Aristocratic – Focus on mortal rulers.
Democratic – Focus on individual insight.
Chaotic – There is no clear focus.
Bloom’s ages of literature:
Theocratic
Focus on the Gods
Bloom’s ages of literature:
Aristocratic
Focus on mortal rules
Bloom’s ages of literature:
Democratic
Focus on individual insight
Bloom’s ages of literature:
Chaotic
There is no clear focus
Polythiesm
The belief of many gods
Monothiesm
The belief of one god
Anthropomorphic Gods
Deities that look and act like people
The Epic of Giglamesh
Like most stories, began as oral tradition, or stories told by speaking or singing.
Is an epic poem, which tells the story of the heroes and their adventures.
The version in our book is from c.1200 BC, and was written down in Akkadian by Sin-lique-unninni.
The Code of Hammurabi
often called the earliest known written code of laws. From ancient Sumer, just like Gilgamesh.
Bildungsroman
a story in which the young hero grows and develops by facing challenges that test him and form his character.
Quest Narrative
story about a likable, flawed hero seeking a worthy goal and struggling against obstacles in his way.
Didactic Literature
literature meant to instruct, inform, or to teach a lesson
Archetype
a plot pattern or character type that shows up over and over again in literature.
The Seductress or Wandering Womanizer
The Wise Old Man or The Cunning Trickster
The Ultimate Warrior, etc.
Motif
a symbol or pattern that recurs over and over again within a story.
Mythos
Greek word for myth. Stories about gods and heroes that explain how the universe works.
Mysogyny
characterized by an extremely negative portrayal of women, showing female sexuality as a destructive force that leads the male to his doom.
The Homeric Question: Who was Homer and did he really write the Odyssey and the Iliad? And if so, how?
still a puzzle.
The Parts of the Odyssey:
Books 1-4
The Telemachy (Literally the story of Telemachus).
The Parts of the Odyssey:
Books 5-8
Odysseus with Calypso, Ino, and Nausicaa (all happening during Telemachus’ journeys).
The Parts of the Odyssey:
Books 9-12
Odysseus tells his story to the Phaeacians (also while Telemachus is abroad).
