Literary Exam Questions Flashcards
What are the OED Defintions of Literature?
- Knowing Letters or Books: Knowledge from reading and studying books, especially classical texts.
- Writing and Authorship: The act of writing, literary output, or the profession of an author or scholar.
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Literary Works:
* a) Written works collectively, often grouped by country, period, genre, or studied as a subject. * b) Works valued for superior or lasting artistic merit.
- Non-fictional Writings: focused on a specific subject.
- Printed Materials: Any printed matter, such as brochures or leaflets, often for advertising or informational purposes (even a shopping list).
What is the difference between broad and narrow definitons of literature?
Broad: All written works.
- excludes oral literature
Narrow: Focuses on poetic and imaginative texts.
- no consensus about the narrow definition
- Differentiated in normative (quality: high/low literature -> mostly avoided) and descriptive (fictionality)
What’s the difference between Mimesis and Poesis?
Mimesis:
- Literature as imitation of reality
Poesis:
- the creation of new realities.
But:
- No pure mimesis or poesis -> dynamic interplay of both
- E.g. Harry Potter
What is Polyvalence?
- polyvalence = ambiguity
- when literature texts allow interpretations (thanks to internal ambiguity)
- when polyvalency occurs it’s a sign of quality
What are the approaches to Literature?
Text-Oriented Approaches
- Focus: Thematic, formal, and linguistic characteristics of texts, often disregarding context.
- Example: Analyzing Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 for its metaphors and structure without considering the author’s intent or historical background.
Author-Oriented Approaches
- Focus: The author’s biography, psyche, and process of creation.
- Example: Studying Sylvia Plath’s Ariel in light of her life events and psychological struggles.
Reader-Oriented Approaches
- Focus: Reader’s role in meaning-making and the reception of texts.
- Example: Analyzing how Pride and Prejudice is understood differently by modern readers versus its original audience.
Intertextual and Intermedial Approaches
- Focus: Relationships between texts and across media.
- Example: Comparing The Great Gatsby novel with its film adaptations.
Context-Oriented Approaches
- Focus: Relationship between texts and historical or socio-political realities.
- Example: Exploring how Dickens’ Oliver Twist reflects Victorian social issues.
What are the Functions of Language (Roman Jakobson Communication Model)?
- Emotive function: Expresses the speaker’s feelings or attitudes.
- Conative function: Directs language towards influencing or commanding the receiver.
- Referential function: Focuses on conveying information about the context or subject.
- Phatic function: Aims to establish or maintain communication, often through small talk.
- Metalingual function: Refers to the use of language to discuss or clarify language itself.
- Poetic function: Emphasizes the aesthetic quality and form of language within the message.
What is the communication Modell for Poetry?
Extratextual:
- Real historical author
- Real reader
Intratextual
Lyric I: fictive speaker:
- explicit subjectivity: lyric persona clearly represented
- implicit subjectivity: subjectivity inferred, less visible
Subject Matter of Speech
Lyric thou: fictive addressee
- explicit: clearly addressed in second person
- implicit: indirectly hinted at through tone or text
Speech situation can change throughout poem
!!!Lyrical I and Lyrical thou are never the actual author or addressee!!!
What is a foot?
Structure
The smallest metrical unit, a foot is a combination of stressed (/) and unstressed (˘) syllables.
Types of Feet:
- Iamb: ˘ / (e.g., “to-DAY”)
- Trochee: / ˘ (e.g., “TA-ble”)
- Dactyl: / ˘ ˘ (e.g., “HAP-pi-ly”)
- Anapaest: ˘ ˘ / (e.g., “in the DARK”)
- Spondee: / / (e.g., “BREAK, BREAK”).
What is Metre and how number of feet?
Structure
Metre is the formal arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
Number of Feet
- Trimeter: Three feet (The kíng | sits in Dúm|ferline tówn).
- Tetrameter: Four feet (Behóld | the híp|popó|tamús!).
- Pentameter: Five feet (My míst|ress’ éyes| are nó|thing líke| the sún).
- Hexameter: Six feet (Ánd as | I líve | you wil | sée my | héxam|eters).
What is Rhythm, Enjambment, and Caesura?
Rhythm
- Definition: Rhythm arises from the interaction between metre and linguistic features like sentence structure, word length, and phonology.
Enjambment
- Definition: When a sentence or phrase extends beyond the line break.
- Example: “Policemen look suspicious to normal | Murderers.”
Caesura:
- Definiton: A pause within a line, often marked by punctuation, to emphasize thematic breaks.
- Example: “You máke | us shélls. || You lí|sten wíth | delíght.”
What Ryhme Schemes are there?
- Couplets: aa bb cc.
- Alternate rhyme: abab cdcd.
- Enclosed rhyme (embracing): abba cddc.
- Chain rhyme (interlocking): aba bcb cdc.
- Tail rhyme: aab ccb.
Stylistic Devices
Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
- Example: “When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush”
Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds.
- Example: “Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Anaphora: Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses or lines.
- Example: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this…”
Inversion: Reversal of normal word order.
- Example: “Here rests his head upon the lap of earth” (Gray).
What is a metaphor
Metaphor: Compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”
- Vehicle: The figurative image or word used (e.g., diamonds).
- Tenor: The subject being described (e.g., eyes).
- Shared Semantic Space: Shared qualities of a metaphor (e.g., sparkling or precious, but not hard and diamond shaped).
Other key semantic tropes:
- Simile: Explicit comparison using “like” or “as.
- Personification: Assigns human qualities to non-human elements.
- Symbol: material object stands for something else (scales = symbolds of justice)
- Allegory: multiple symbols (scales, blindfold, dagger)
What is a Sonnet?
Definition and Origin
- Italian poetry tradition brought to England during the Renaissance.
- Credited to Sir Thomas Wyatt.
Common Themes:
- Unfulfilled love, often addressing an unattainable mistress (apostrophe).
- Praise of physical features (blazon) with comparisons to nature.
Structure:
- 14 lines, iambic pentameter.
- Volta: A fundamental thematic shift, often marked by rhyme or structure changes.
What is an Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet?
Rhyme Scheme: abbaabba cdcdcd
- Octave (abbaabba): Introduces a problem or theme.
- Sestet (cdcdcd): Offers a resolution.
- Volta: Between octave and sestet.
Common Themes:
- Courtly love (Petrarch’s sonnets to Laura).
- Suffering in love, idealization of the beloved.
What is an English/Shakespearean Sonnet?
Rhyme Scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
- 3 quatrains (abab cdcd efef): Explore variations of a theme.
- Heroic couplet (gg): Offers the conclusion or central message.
Common Themes:
- Physical beauty, love, nature.
- Apostrophes and catalogues of beauty.
What is Narrativity, Story, Plot, Events, and Discourse?
Narrativity: Distinguishes narrative texts through features like storytelling, plot, and narrative mediation.
Story: Chronological sequence of events (“What is narrated?”).
Plot: A story with events linked causally
Events: Smallest plot units causing changes in the situation.
- Kernels/Cardinal Functions: Propel the plot and open narrative options.
- Catalysts/Satellites: Supplement the narrative but aren’t essential to its logic.
Discourse:
- How the story is narrated or mediated (“How is it narrated?”).
- Allows for the same story to be presented differently based on emphasis, perspective, and narrative techniques.
What Communication Modell is there for Narrative Stories?
Extratextual Level:
- Real Author: Addresser of the text.
- Real Reader: Addressee of the text.
Intratextual Level of Narrative Transmission:
- Fictive Narrator: Speaks within the narrative.
- Fictive Narratee: Implied audience within the narrative.
Intratextual Story Level:
- Includes characters’ dialogue and actions within the fictional story world.
- This differentiation separates the narrator from the historical author and the fictive narratee from the real reader.
What parts are there to Stanzas Modell?
Person: First Person vs. Third Person
Mode: narrator vs. reflector
Perspective: external vs internal
What types of Narrative Situations are there?
Authorial Narrative Situation:
- Characteristics: External perspective; narrator is omniscient and omnipresent. The narrator comments, generalizes, and addresses the reader directly.
-
Privileges:
* Psychological: Access to all characters' thoughts and feelings. * Spatial: Presence in all locations. * Temporal: Awareness of past, present, and future.
First-Person Narrative Situation:
- Characteristics: Narrator is part of the story, recounting events as a protagonist (I-as-protagonist) or witness (I-as-witness).
- Limitations: Cannot access other characters’ internal thoughts directly or observe events they are not present for.
Figural Narrative Situation:
- Characteristics: Narrator recedes; events are presented through the perspective of a character (the “reflector”). Focuses on sensory impressions and subjective experiences.
- Mode: Viewing frame rather than storytelling; immerses the reader in the character’s consciousness.
What types of Narrators are there and what involvment do they have? (Ge)
Types of Narrators:
- Extradiegetic: Narrators outside the story, responsible for narrative transmission.
- Intradiegetic: Characters within the story who narrate events to other characters.
Involvement in the Story:
- Heterodiegetic: Narrator is not part of the story world.
- Homodiegetic: Narrator is part of the story world.
- Autodiegetic: A homodiegetic narrator who is also the protagonist.
Narrator Presence:
- Overt: Narrator is clearly identifiable, provides commentary, and addresses the reader directly.
- Covert: Narrator is anonymous, offers minimal personal input, and focuses on transmitting information neutrally.
What types of focalization’s are there?
Types of Focalization:
- Zero focalisation: Narrator knows more than the characters
- Internal focalisation: Narator knows as much as the characters.
- External focalisation: Narator knows less than the characters
Internal focalisation:
- Fixed: Events are seen through one character’s perspective throughout the narrative.
- Variable: Perspective shifts among multiple characters.
- Multiperspectivity: Combines multiple viewpoints or narratives
What is Freytag’s Pyramid
Exposition
Initial Incident
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Denouement
What are the Markers of short stories?
1. Special beginnings (unvermittelbarer Einstieg)
- this genre is typical for special beginnings
- in medias res (lat. in the middle of things)
- in ultima res (lat. in the end of things)
- ab ovo (lat. from the very beginning)
2. Condensed narrative (Narrative Situation) → Discourse
3. Concentration on one scene or situation → Plot/Story
4. Omissions / lacuna(e)
- according to Poe there are no accidental gaps in the plot
- something is left out for a reason
- if there are gaps they are planned → intended gap(s) = lacuna(e)
5. Protagonist = outsider (ethnicity, class…)
6. Epiphany
7. “Open ending”
What types of short stories exist?
Initiation Story (Rite of Passage)
- Characters get to know something new
- at least one character needs to change positions → exchange one status
- they go through a development and gain a drastic new insight
Slice-of-Life-Story
- short window into their protagonists life
Plot-Story
- focused on the actual plot
- example: detective stories or horror stories
- initiation: beginning - middle - ending
What are key characterstics of Drama?
Script vs. Performance:
- Script: text for performance
- Performance: independent artistic work
- Variations in character presentation, gesture, and setting across performances highlight this independence.
- Performances are transient and cannot be exactly reproduced.
Multimedial Presentation:
- Theatre is a multimedial art form, combining acoustic (voices, music, sound effects) and visual (sets, costumes, lighting) elements.
What stage forms are there in theatre?
Ancient Greek Amphitheaters: Large open spaces with audiences seated in semicircles, minimal set design, and distance preventing realistic performances.
Shakespearean Theatre:
- Intimate proximity between actors and audience.
- Minimal sets, natural daylight, and imaginative audience participation.
Modern Proscenium Stage:
- Box-like structure with lighting and props, creating an aesthetic illusion of a “fourth wall” separating stage and audience.
Contemporary Experimentation: Challenges traditional forms, sometimes reviving older stage styles.
What is the communication Model for Drama and theater?
Internal Communication in Drama:
- Communication occurs primarily on the character level without an intermediary narrator.
- Absolute nature of dramatic texts: Unlike narrative texts, dramas generally lack a mediating communication level
Communication Model in Drama:
- Adresser: Author
- Message: Dramatic text
- Adressee: reader
Communication Model in Theatre:
- Addresser: theatre apparatus (director, actors, designers)
- Message: performance (dialogue most important medium for transmission)
- Addressee: audience
The dramatic text and performance mutually influence one another
What level of meanings are there in drama?
Dramatic level: Interaction between characters on stage.
Theatrical level: Communication between performers and the audience.
Everyday level: Audience interpretation and discussion of the play in relation to societal norms.
What are primary and secondary texts?
Primary Text: The dialogue spoken by characters.
Secondary Text: Stage directions, scene descriptions, character actions, and other non-spoken elements.
What is an Epic in Drama?
Epic: when performance resembles narrative form
- Characters Inside the Action: Narrators who are part of the play’s events, e.g., Salieri in Amadeus, narrating his rivalry with Mozart.
- Characters Outside the Action: Narrators who observe but do not participate, e.g., the Stage Manager in Our Town.
Epic Elements:
- Verbal Forms: Commentary in stage directions, banners, or projections.
- Non-Verbal Forms: Techniques such as breaking the fourth wall or stepping out of character, which challenge the theatrical illusion.
What are Verbal and Non-Verbal Theatrical Codes?
Acoustic signs: Durative
- Actor: voice quality
Acoustic signs: Non-durative
- Stage: music, short sounds, lighting, props
- Actor: pitch (child voice), utterances
Visual signs: durative
- Stage: stage-set
- Actor: costume, stature
Visual signs: Non-durative
- Stage: props, lighting
- Actor: body language
durative theatre codes: remain constant over an extended period of time
non-durative theatre codes: temporary codes
What is Dialogue and Monologue?
Dialogue:
- Exchange of remarks between two or more characters.
- Functions: Progresses action, reveals character, clarifies conflict, and communicates central themes.
Monologue: Spoken with others present.
Soliloquy: Spoken alone or ignoring others, revealing private thoughts.
- Provide exposition and transition.
- Reveal thoughts, plans, and internal conflicts.
- Establish character traits and elicit audience sympathy.
What is Aside and Dramatic Irony?
Aside
- Monological Aside: A private thought for the audience.
- Dialogical Aside: A conspiratorial exchange hidden from others.
- Aside ad Spectatores: Direct address to the audience.
- Function: Provides the audience with exclusive information, creating an advantage over characters.
Dramatic Irony and Discrepant Awareness
- Discrepant Awareness: When characters and audience have different levels of information.
- Dramatic Irony: Audience knows more than the character, leading to unintentional double meanings.
- Congruent Awareness: Audience and characters share the same level of information.
What is antique theater?
Aristotelian Drama
- Emphasizes unity of place, time, and action to create a linear and comprehensible plot (e.g., events often occur within 24 hours in a single setting).
Tragedy:
- Often shaped by external forces frustrating characters’ plans.
- 5 Act Structure:
* Introduction * Conflict development * Climax and tragic descent * Delay * Catastrophe/Dénouement
Comedy: Resolutions arise from chance events or opponents’ failed schemes.
What are Theatre of the Absurd and In Yer Face theatre and Verbatim theatre?
Theater of the Absurd
- Emerged in the 1950s, influenced by post-WWII existentialism, expressing despair and confusion.
- Rejects Aristotelian conventions: circular narratives, no clear action, time, or place (Waiting for Godot).
In-Yer-Face Theatre
- Provocative 1990s movement confronting taboos (rape, murder, incest) with explicit language and themes.
- Often performed on smaller stages for an intimate, uncomfortable experience.
Verbatim Theatre
- Documentary-style theater using real transcripts (e.g., interviews) performed word-for-word.
- Focuses on replicating accents and maintaining the original meaning for a sense of truth and reality.
What is Simulacrum Theater (Jean Baudrillard’s Theory)?
Mirrors reality: Simulacrum reflects something real (e.g., Titanic film mirrors historical Titanic).
Masks reality: Adds fictional elements, masking true events (e.g., Jack and Rose weren’t real).
Masks absence of reality: Represents something that never existed (e.g., Disneyland castle).
No reality, only simulacrum: Pure fiction treated as real (e.g., Edward Cullen’s fandom).
