Terms and Definitions Flashcards
Sentimentalism
A mode of literature that has characters/plots solely driven by emotion, not logic; it is commonly used to elicit an emotional reaction from the reader; William Dean Howell’s character, Editha(“Editha”), displays sentimentalist ideals.
Regionalism/ local color
*Local color is fiction that emphasizes and describes the unique characteristics of a certain region- customs, manners, speech, folklore, etc.; authors that use local color are Mark Twain (“Jumping Frog”), Joel Chandler Harris (“Uncle Remus”), Kate Chopin (Desiree’s Baby), and Sarah Orne Jewett (“A White Herron”)
*Regionalism is like local color, except it isn’t mythmaking, nor does it rely on presenting stereotypes; instead of being static/nostalgic, it presents a more realistic/dynamic vision of a setting and provides social commentary (more realistic style)
Dialect/eye dialect
- Dialect is a variation of a language spoken by a specific group of people; it has its own distinct grammar, pronunciation, spelling, etc.
*Eye dialect is dialect that is written how its pronounced; ex. Enough=enuff; (examples of (eye) dialect are found in “The Wonderful Tar Baby Story” and “How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox” (Uncle Remus Stories) by Joel Chandler Harris; “The Goophered Graprevine” by Charles Chesnutt; “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright.)
Frame narrative
A frame narrative is a story that is told within another story; ex. “The Goophered Grapevine,” “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” and maybe “Uncle Remus Stories”
Realism
A mode of writing that gives the impression of recording or ‘reflecting’ faithfully an actual way of life; ex. “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton; “Desiree’s Baby” and “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin; “Editha” by William Dean Howells; “Mrs. Spring Fragrance” by Sui Sin Far.
Naturalism
A kind of realism that involves stronger forces/systems at play, which control the actions of the characters, often overpowering them; ex. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane; “Under the Lion’s Paw” by Hamlin Garland
Double-conciousness
A term created by W.E.B. Dubois in “The Souls of Black Folk”; it refers to the idea that black people’s social identity is split into two parts;
*“the Negro is … gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro”
Yellow press
The yellow press is a sensationalist form of journalism that exaggerates facts and events in order to create a commotion, and steer public opinion; usually its done with a certain intent in mind, such as for political reasons; ex. “Editha” by William Dean Howells.
modernism
The wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature (and other arts) of the early 20th century; writers strayed from conventional modes of literature, such as realism, and opted for more experimental/original styles; characteristics of modernism-stream of consciousness, free verse(poetry), non-chronological order, fragmentation, shifting/multiple perspectives, abstraction, psychology, etc.; (avant-gard writing); ex. “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost (anti-modern modernist); “The Red Wheelbarrow,” “This is Just to Say,” and “A Sort of a Song” by William Carlos William; “Indian Camp,” “Soldier’s Home,” and “Big Two Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway.
Harlem Renaissance
A notable phase of black American writing centered in Harlem (a predominantly black area of New York City) in the 1920s.; ex. “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes; “Yet I Do Marvel” by Countee Cullen; “The Lynching” by Claude McKay; “How it Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston.
Sonnet
A lyric poem comprising fourteen rhyming lines of equal length: iambic pentameters in English, alexandrines in French, hendecasyllables in Italian. The rhyme schemes of the sonnet follow two basic patterns.
* Italian sonnet: 8-line ‘octave’ of two quatrains, rhymed abbaabba, followed by a 6-line ‘sestet’ usually rhymed cdecde or cdcdcd.
* English sonnet: comprises three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming ababcdcdefefgg; or Spenserian sonnet: links the three quatrains by rhyme, in the sequence ababbabccdcdee
(Ex. “The Lynching” by Claude McKay; “Yet I Do Marvel” by Countee Cullen)
Beat writers
A group of U.S. writers in the late 1950s. They rejected conformity, materialism, and middle-class society and experimented with drugs, sexuality, etc.; They were influenced by jazz and Zen spirituality; They also had a strong influence on the ‘counter-culture’ of the 1960s; ex. “Howl,” “A Footnote to Howl,” and “A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg.
Magic Realism
Realistic stories which include elements that are fantastical/impossible; ex. “The Swimmer” by John Cheever is a great example of magic realism because it bends time.
postmodernism
A term used to describe literature that emerged during the 1960s; characteristics: beat writers, fragmentation, magic realism, pastiche, irony, dark humor, temporal distortion, etc.; ex. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, by Gloria Anzaldua; “The Swimmer,” by John Cheever; “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver (any influential works published during the second half of the twentieth century)(unit 3)
Pastiche
A novel, poem, painting, etc., incorporating several different styles, or made up of parts drawn from a variety of sources.;
ex. “How to Tame A Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua.
