BRIT LIT CP4 HANDOUTS PAGE
BRIT LIT VOCABULARY SEMESTER ONE:
Characterization/ elements of:- The way a playwright/author defines an individual and sets them apart from other individuals in a story or play. Aspects of characterization include a character’s physicality, (what they look like; how old they are), social status, personality, thoughts, actions, others’ comments about them, their diction ( word choices/ accent) and their morality.
Flash Back: To return to an earlier time in the story before the present moment of action.
Exposition: Information that an audience receives at the beginning of play or story to let them know basically what is going on in the plot. Protagonist: The main character who drives the central action of a play or story .
Antagonist: The character/characters who somehow prevent the protagonist from getting what they want- they work against the main character.
Scop: A term for a Saxon poet who sang/recited his poems to an audience.
Alliteration: The repetition of consonants in poetry like “ Shield Sheafson raised his shield”
Caesura: A word that means “cut” ; it is a pause between half lines in Saxon poetry created by breaking up the way that a line of poetry is read.
Kennings: A compound word that replaces a common noun, proper noun, or pronoun—it comes from an old Norse word “to name or know.” Examples: Ring-Giver, Wind Rider, Spear Danes, Redman etc.
Comitatus: Part of the code of conduct of early societies in which a lord exchanged wealth, honors and protection for the services and loyalty of his warriors.
Wergild: “Man Price” or blood price—literally, a fixed price in gold /wealth that had to be paid for the death of an individual to their kinsmen or a life of equal status would be taken to repay this debt.
Thane: A Saxon warrior who owes his loyalty to a certain lord. Mead- Hall: The main building of Saxon society where feasting takes place. Paradox: A character who has opposing/contradictory elements in them like brave and cowardly or kind and violent. It can also refer to two situations happening at the same time that seem almost impossible.
Allusion: A reference in one work to something well known from history, literature, film, popular culture, mythology, religion, etc.
Tragic Flaw: A weakness that a hero has that destroys them, usually hubris (the Greek term for extreme pride in one’s own ability to handle anything)
Hyperbole: Exaggeration Wyrd: Saxon word for “fate”- in Saxon belief, it is a bizarre, random fate that you can’t avoid and must at some point meet.
Context: There are three ways we could use this term :
1) The sentence surrounding a word that helps us guess the meaning of that word
2) The events of the plot surrounding some specific occurrence that happens in the story
3) The events happening in history or the author’s real life as he/she writes the book—the time period.
In all three of these cases, context refers to things happening around the story or a part of the story that will influence that story/ part’s meaning. Contextual circumstances really are not hidden from the reader, unlike those found in subtext.
Subtext: The real meaning behind something that is said or that happens in a story that is often NOT directly stated to the reader, such as the character’s motivations, relationships, the author’s message etc. The meaning is hidden under the words, which is literally what subtext means “sub”= under, “text” =written words.
Motif: A pattern or mini theme that repeats within a story.
Mood: The feelings the author creates for the reader in a story.
Setting: The total environment of the characters in a story.
Archetype: A symbol that has been used in so many works over the years that is considered universal within a culture; it is the model or ideal example of an idea.
Oxymoron: A verbal paradox- putting together two opposing ideas in words “thunderous silence”.
Wyrm: Saxon word for “dragon”
Personification: Giving a non human object human qualities
Symbol: When something is itself but also represents a larger idea like love, hate, fear, faith, justice, evil etc. There are two kinds of symbols- Universal ones ( which means most everyone in one culture would know them) and Limited ones (objects/actions that represent certain ideas only within the context of one particular story. For example, the “ring” in Lord of the Rings = power, but that does not mean that every time you see a ring mentioned in any book that it=power).
Elegy: A poem or art form of lament, sorrow or mourning ; a grieving poem in verse for someone or something lost .
Eulogy: A speech in honor of someone who has died.
Tone: The attitude that author expressed towards their own story ( the author’s voice).
Epic: A long poem told in elevated language, often about mythical heroes and set in remote locations or ancient history. Beowulf, Gilgamesh, The Iliad are famous epics.
Courtly Love: A form of romance in the time of Chivalry in which a knight tries to prove himself worthy of the love of his idealized lady, whom he worships from a distance.
Irony/ Situational Irony: When what occurs is the complete opposite of our logical, cultural expectations.
Verbal Irony: When what a character purposeful says is the opposite of what we know they mean/feel to make a point.
Chivalry: The code of conduct of a perfect knight, which included being loyal to your king, honoring God, showing bravery in battle, being charitable, being kind to women and children and telling the truth, even if it cost you your life. Though real knights seldom followed this code, literature, and music of the time period (1100-1400’s) promoted it. The King Arthur legends were the central stories of chivalry.
Conflict: The comic or tragic tension created in a play
Monologue: A single speech given by an actor.
Foil: Characters who have opposite personalities from each other and who create conflict when they are together.
Satire: A work that questions or criticizes some aspect of society, often in a darkly humorous way.
Mystery Play: A medieval play about the mystery of faith- Bible stories.
Miracle Play: A medieval play about the lives of the Saints
Morality Play: A medieval play that contained a message about right and wrong and in which all of the characters were allegorical (Love, Hate, Death, Greed), rather than people.
Corpus Christi Festival: The week long play festival in the spring during medieval times.
Cycle Plays: A series of Mystery plays presented annually at the Corpus Christi and other medieval festivals.
Fabliau: A short, bawdy( PG-13 and up level humor) tale of risqué, low brow humor (think South Park)
Pageant Wagon: A movable stage pulled by horses in the Medieval period.
Allegory: When a character is a symbol or when a story has a moral/symbolical message.
Trope: A short , four lined play in Latin
Guild: A collection of people who are in the same trade/profession, similar to a modern union. The medieval period, each guild put on a mystery play and built their own pageant wagon at the Corpus Christi festival.
Rising Action: The building up of the plot of a story or play towards the climax.
Climax: The most intense, important, emotional or suspenseful part of a play or story.
Resolution: The ending part of a play or story following the climax in which all
loose ends of the plot are tied up / resolved.
War of the Roses: The civil war in England in the 1400’s between two royal families of cousins, Lancasters and Yorks, for the crown .
Theatre in the Round : A theatre style of staging/acting popular in Shakespeare’s time, in which the audience surrounds the actors on three sides. This is a form of theatre in which audience participation is often encouraged.
Groundlings: The cheap seat audience members in Shakespeare’s time who would stand around the stage for the whole performance.
Soliloquy: A monologue in which an actor is often alone on the stage and speaking to themselves, rather than to another character.
Enjambment: To run two or more lines of poetry together, extending the image or subject into the next line.
Blank Verse : Poetry without rhymes.
Couplet: A pair of lines that rhyme at the end in a poem or play.
Rhyme: The repetition of the ending sounds of words in poetry, especially vowel sounds.
Iambic Pentameter: A series of five pairs of unstressed/ short syllables followed by stressed/longs syllable in a line of poetry.
Renaissance: The time period from roughly the end of the 1300’s to the start of the 1600’s in which there was a rebirth of interest in the knowledge of Greek and Roman culture, leading to great advancements in the arts and sciences.
Metaphor: A direct comparison between unlike things in which one says one thing literally is another -- His heart is stone.
Simile: An indirect comparison between unlike things in which one thing is said to be similar to another/ almost like another. Similes often include the words “like” or “as” – Her eyes were as bright as diamonds. He was terrifying like a raging tornado.
Aside: A short statement or exchange, apart from the main dialogue of a scene, in which a character or characters reveal to the audience what they are really thinking.
Machiavellian: A person who is focused on getting power by cold, rational, tricky means. It is a term named in honor of the political writer Machiavelli who wrote a book on how dictators achieved and held power in Italy.
Exeunt: A stage direction in a play which means that an entire group of people left the stage.
Juxtaposition: To place two events or images next to each other for the purposes of comparison.
Pun: Using a word or a phrase that has more than one meaning in a humorous manner.
Victorian: Time period in the 1800’s in which England achieved great power, but which is also stereotypically characterized as a time of great rigidity and prudishness socially.
Wit: A sophisticated, subtle form of high-brow humor, usually with language.
Epistolary: A story written in letter format
Frame: A story within a story
POV: The perspective from which a story is told/ seen
Antihero: When the protagonist of a story is not openly honorable, good, or brave; he may even be a villain, but he is still the main character.
Byronic hero: A popular kind of Anti- hero from the Victorian age who is moody, passionate, restless, depressed, travels the world and is capable of acting honorably, but doesn’t always choose to do so. This term is based on Lord Byron, the model for the first vampire novel, who actually had this kind of personality.
Gothic: A style of literature from the late 1700’s on that includes romantic, moody distant settings, the emotions of violence, madness, fear etc. and an element of the supernatural as part of the main plot.
Romance: A style of art and literature that emphasizes feelings over reason and the beauty/ power of the natural world.
Melodrama: A type of theatre/ art in the 1800’s – on that has over the top adventurous plots, really evil villains fighting really virtuous heroes and that is designed to arouse our emotions.
Pastoral : Poetry/ art/ writing that presents country life as ideal and perfect.
Picaro: Old Spanish term for a pirate
Picaresque: A style of literature from the 1700’s in which a likable rouge/ scoundrel goes on an adventure and may find redemption.
Expressionist: An art movement at the turn of the 19th/ 20th century in which the world of the story/painting mirrors the mind of the character. This often gives the work a nightmare/ dreamlike quality to it.
Colonialism/ Imperialism: The policy of western countries taking over non- western ones to increase their power- especially England.
Apocalyptic: Literature that reflects a world coming to its end or drastically changing
In medias res *(Honors only) In the middle of things ( the time of the plot opening in epics.
Felix culpa *(Honors only): The idea that more good came for humanity from losing Eden and gaining knowledge and redemption than would have come if we stayed in the garden-
Dystopian: Literature that shows a perfect world gone wrong
Beowulf Reading Guide:
p. 3- the top of 29
1.Who is Shield Sheafson and what do we know about his background (3-5)?
2.How is Shield related to Hrothgar (7)?
3. Who is Hrothgar?
4. What is a mead – hall?
5. What is name of the golden mead –hall that Hrothgar builds for his people?
6. What/who shows up and attacks this hall on p.9?
7. What is this creature’s name? (9)
8. Look up the words “harrowed” and “din” and then write, why do you think this creature attacks the hall (9)?
9. How many men does the creature kill in the first attack (11)?
10. How does Hrothgar, ( described here as the “mighty prince”), feel when he sees what the creature has done to his people (11)?
11. What happens the next night and every night after the first attack (11)?
12. Who, if anyone, does the monster spare from his attacks (13)?
13. What is the one thing in the mead-hall that this monster is unable to touch (13)?
15. A warrior learns about this monster. Where is this warrior from (15)?
16. Who is the king whom this warrior serves (hint: he is this king’s thane)? (15)
17. What is this warrior like (15)?
18. What does this warrior decide to do (15)?
19. How many men does he take with him (15)?
20. When the warriors arrive on the coast of Denmark, how does the Danish Watchman on the beach react (17)?
21. What does the watchman seem to think of the warriors (19)?
22.How are the warriors dressed and what are they carrying (22-24)?
25. The lead warrior introduces himself on p.25. What is his name?
26. When the messenger Wulfgar tells Hrothgar that this warrior is here to see him, Hrothgar says that he has heard of this warrior before. What does he know about this warrior already ( 27)?
27.Hrothgar thinks he knows why this warrior has come to see him. He says that he believes that he has come to follow up on what (27)?
28. Wulfgar gives Beowulf permission to visit Hrothgar, but what does he tell him that he must do before he can enter the hall (29)?
P.29- 41
1. What are some of the accomplishments that Beowulf boasts about in this section of the reading?
2. How would you describe Beowulf’s attitude/ personality?
3. What has Beowulf come to do concerning Grendel (29-31)?
4. What is Beowulf’s attitude towards WYRD (fate) (31)?
5. Who is Ecgetheow and what is his connection to Beowulf (31- 33)?
6. What did Hrothgar do for Ecgtheow ( 33)?
7. What has happened to all the men who boasted to Hrothgar that they would defeat Grendel (33)?
8. Describe the character Unferth. What is his personality like and how does he sit by the king (35-37)?
9. What does Unferth challenge about Beowulf’s past and why does he do this (35-37)?
10. How does Beowulf respond to Unferth (37)?
11. Who is Breca and what is Beowulf’s version of the Breca swimming match story?
12. What crime did Unferth commit (41)?
13. How does Hrothgar and the crowd respond to Beowulf’s boasting (41)?
p.41-57—
1. Who is the queen of the Danes (41) ?
2. What does she do at the feast (what is her “job”) (43)?
3. How does she respond to Beowulf (43) ?
4 .When Hrothgar turns the hall over to Beowulf for the night, his parting words to him are “keep in mind….” What and why? 45
5.Before going to sleep, Beowulf says how he plans to fight Grendel. How does he plan to do this (47)
6. What do Beowulf’s men believe will happen to them? What are they prepared for and what does that say about them (47)?
7. What does Grendel do to the door of Heorot (the “mouth of the building” )(49)?
8. What does Grendel do to one of Beowulf’s men (49-51)
9. What does Beowulf do when Grendel tries to grab a hold of him (51)?
10. Who wins the fight (55)?
11. What “souvenir” of the fight does Beowulf hang up on the wall for the Danes (55-57)?
13. What happens to Grendel (57)?
Beowulf Guide Continued
57-89—skip the songs in italics p.59-61 and 69-82
1. What honor does Hrothgar bestow on Beowulf, besides giving him presents (63)?
2. Hrothgar claims that by his victory, what has Beowulf made himself (63)?
3. What was Beowulf planning to do to Grendel (65)?
4. How does Unferth treat Beowulf now (65)?
5. What do all of the Danes gather to do on p.67?
6. What is the Sheilding nation unfamiliar with at this point (67)?
7. Look where Wealtheow sits and what she says to her husband Hrothgar . What does she talk to him about (83) ? Hint—this scene will make more sense if you check your character list and look up Hrothulf, Hrethic and Hrothmund.
8. On p.85—the author foreshadows some events that will happen one day in Geatland, which is Beowulf’s home. To whom will Beowulf give the neck-ring that Wealtheow just gave him and what happens to this person in the future?
9. What is the habit of the of the Danes and Geats before they go to bed ( what do they put beside them as they sleep) ?(87-89)
10. Who shows up in the hall while everyone is asleep and why is this person here (89)?
P. 89 – 117
1. To what does the author compare the strength of Grendel’s mother (what allusion) (91)?
2. What two things does Grendel’s mother take with her when she escapes Heorot (91)?
3. Hrothgar explains to Beowulf why Grendel’s mother attacked them. What reason does he give for her attack (93)?
4. Where does Grendel’s mother live and what is this area like (95)?
5. What does Beowulf promise Hrothgar on p. 97?
6. What happened to Hrothgar’s friend and counselor Aeschere (99)?
7. What kind of creatures live near the entrance to Grendel’s mother’s lair (99)?
8. As Beowulf is putting on his armor, someone hands him Hrunting. What is Hrunting and who gave it to him (101)?
9. Does this person volunteer to go with Beowulf or not and what is the result (103)?
10. Before diving into the water, Beowulf makes three last requests . What are they and what do they tell you about what kind of man he is (103)?
11. What attacks Beowulf as soon as he is in the water (105)?
12. What saves Beowulf from being torn apart (105-107)?
13. What happens when Beowulf tries to strike Grendel’s mother with Hrunting and wrestle her as he did Grendel (105-107)?
14. What weapon finally kills Grendel’s mother (107-109)?
15. What does Beowulf do to the bodies of Grendel and his mother (109)?
16. What happened to the blade of the sword that Beowulf was using (111)?
17. What does Beowulf, the “Geat Captain,” see all over the floor of the cave in “abundance” (111)?
18. What are the only two objects Beowulf carries back to the surface (111)?
19. How many men does it take to carry Grendel’s head (113)?
20. What does Beowulf do with the remaining hilt ( handle) of the golden sword (115)?
21. What does Hrothgar tell Beowulf about the history of this sword (117)?
P.125—159—skip halfway down 129 to the top of 135 and read
1. What does Beowulf promise that he will do if Hrothgar ever needs him again (125)?
2. What does he say that his king/ uncle Hygelac will do (125)?
3. What does Hrothgar say that Beowulf has done for both of their people, the Danes and the Geats (127)?
4. What is Hrothgar afraid of/sad about as he says good-bye to Beowulf (129)?
5. What does Beowulf fear will happen to Hrotghar’s court when he gives his daughter in marriage to someone in the rival clan called the Heathobards (139-141)?
6. What does Beowulf do with the presents Hrothgar gave him (147)?
7. What does the poet say are some of Beowulf’s good traits (149)?
8. Look at the passage about Beowulf on 149. Consider what new information this gives us about Beowulf and the opinion Hygelac use to have of him
9. What happens to King Hygelac (149)?
10. Who eventually becomes king (151)?
11. Fifty years later, a slave breaks into a cave loaded with treasure. What does he steal (151)?
12. What happened to the people of the man who once hid that treasure? Where are they now (153-155)?
13. What creature does the slave accidentally wake up when he steals this item for #11 (155—157)?
14. How does Beowulf plan to fight it? (159).
p.159-175
1. What is the dragon doing to all the villages along the countryside (157)?
2. What happens to Beowulf’s home/mead –hall (157-159)?
3.Why won’t Beowulf take a large army out against the dragon (159)?
4. In a flashback, the author describes how Beowulf became king. Why didn’t Beowulf accept the crown right after Hygelac died when Queen Hygd offered it to him (161)?
5. Where is the slave leading Beowulf and his eleven soldiers (163)?
6. As Beowulf prepares to fight the dragon, how is he feeling(165)?
7. Before fighting the dragon, Beowulf tells a story to his men about how he came to live with his grandfather ,King Hrethel, and his three uncles (Hygelac was the youngest of these uncles). What does he say happened to his family that tore it apart and why was this so damaging (165)?
8. What kind of stories does Beowulf recount to his men on 167-169 and why do you think he might be doing this ?
9.How many men does Beowulf ask to go with him to fight the dragon (71)?
10. What does Beowulf trust in “entirely” (171)?
11.What are his feelings as he fights the dragon (173)?
12. Does Beowulf’s sword kill the dragon (175)?
p.175—end
1. What do Beowulf’s men do when they see him fighting the dragon (175)?
2. Who is Wiglaf 175- 177)?
3. How many battles has Wiglaf fought in before this one (177)?
4. What does Wiglaf call out to Beowulf and what does he promise him (179-181)?
5. What does Beowulf do when Wiglaf’s shield burns(181)?
6. What happens to Beowulf’s sword, which he calls Naegling (181)?
7. Why does this always happen to his swords (181)?
8. What happens to Beowulf ( 181)?
9. How do Wiglaf and Beowulf manage to kill the dragon (183)?
10. Why is the dragon’s bite fatal (183)?
11. What does Beowulf want to see after he is wounded (185)?
12. How does Wiglaf react when he sees the treasure (187)?
13. Who does Beowulf leave his crown to and why (189)?
14. What does Beowulf want his people to build for him (189)?
15. What happens to Beowulf in the end of the story (191)?
16. Why is Wiglaf angry at his fellow warriors (193)?
17. How do the warriors feel now and why(193)?
18. What do Wiglaf and the messenger say is going happen to the Geat people without Beowulf and why will this happen (195-197, 201)?
19. What does Wiglaf say led to the hurt of his people on p.207—“when one man follows” what …(207)?
20. Describe the funeral at the end of the story and the behavior of people present (211)?
21. What happened to the treasure that Beowulf died to win for his people (213)?
22. At the end, what events are foreshadowed as coming for the people of Geatland?
Open Window Reading guide CP4 (by Liffey Thorpe, modified by E. McCormick) NAME:________________
1. How old is the young lady, Vera, and how is she related to the Sappleton family ?
2. How long ago had Framton Nuttel’s sister visited this area?
3. What are “letters of introduction”?
4. Describe the story’s setting (time of year? location of action? time and place?)
5. Why is Framton Nuttel visiting Mrs. Sappleton?
6. According to the “self-possessed young lady,” what “great tragedy” occurred three years ago?
7. According to Vera, how many people went out through the French window three years ago?
8. Who is Bertie?
9. “To Framton it was all purely horrible.” What was and why?
10. What does Framton Nuttel reveal to Mrs. Sappleton about his health?
11. Why does Framton rush out of the house?
12. What explanation of Framton’s sudden departure does Vera give?
13. What does the last line of the story mean? What does it explain to us about Vera?
Packet for “ The Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lake”
(Excerpts from Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur)
Look up the following words before you read:
Prowess
Fidelity
Degrade
Meager
Porter
Meddling
Calumny
2.Who is Arthur’s best knight and in what qualities is he “supreme” (1)?
3.To whom has Launcelot sworn fidelity (1)?
4. Why does Launcelot leave the court of Camelot and what is he looking for (1)?
5. What does Launcelot ask the young noblewoman whom he meets under the apple tree on p. 2 of the packet?
6. What two tasks does she tell Launcelot he can undertake if he wishes(2)?
7. What does Sir Tarquine have locked up in his castle (2)?
8. What is Tarquine carrying on his horse when he finally comes out of the castle(2)?
9. What happens to Tarquine and Launcelot’s horses in their first charge against each other (3)?
10. What was Tarquine going to do if Launcelot was anyone other than Sir Launcelot (3)?
11. Why does he hate Launcelot (3)?
12. Why does Launcelot tell Tarquine who he really is(3)?
13. What does Launcelot do to Tarquine (3)?
14. How does Launcelot know which prisoners are locked in the castle (4)?
15. What happens to the prisoners (4)?
16. What does Launcelot ride off to do directly after his fight with Tarquine (4)?
17.What does Launcelot do to Sir Percy of the Forest Sauvage (5)?
18. What does the young noblewoman want to know about Launcelot (5)?
19. What are his explanations for why he won’t take a wife or a paramour (5)?
20. What does he say a “true knight” can never be (5)?
21. What does Launcelot do to the porter of the bridge and why does he do this (5)?
PART II “Slander and Strife”
3.What do these three knights tell Modred is the only thing that he finds comfort in (1)?
4.Gawain gives Modred two or three good reasons why he should leave Launcelot alone. What are they are (1-2)?
5. What do Aggravayne and Modred tell king Arthur (2)?
6. Why has Arthur refused to believe or prove this for so many years (2)?
7. Who are these knights taking with them to ambush Launcelot and Queen Guinevere (spelt Gwynevere here) (2)?
8. What does Launcelot insist on doing , even after his cousin Sir Bors warns him not to (3)?
9. How long have Launcelot and Guinevere been lovers (3)?
10 What does Launcelot want Guinevere to do (3-4)?
11. What does Guinevere want to do (top of 4)?
12. While Launcelot and Guinevere are talking, what are the knights outside doing with a bench (4)?
13. How does Launcelot get a suit of armor in which to fight (4)?
14. What happens to all of the knights, except Sir Modred?
15. How many knights join Launcelot’s side in his escape?
16. What does Launcelot fear Arthur will do to Guinevere (5)?
17. What is Launcelot and Bors’ plan to save Guinevere (6)?
18. What decision has Arthur made concerning his wife Guinevere (7)?
19. Who insists that she is innocent and argues in favor of Launcelot (7)?
20. What did Launcelot do to this man’s brother and sons (7)?
21. What does this man absolutely refuse to do (7)?
22. Where are Gaheris and Gareth ( the young brothers of Sir Gawain)leading the queen when Launcelot arrives?
23. What does Launcelot do when he arrives?
24. Who wins this battle between Launcelot’s forces and Arthur’s forces (8)
Richard the III Words:
1. Lour: Gloomy, threatening, menacing, lurking, hovering in frightening wa
2. Grim: fierce, ghastly
3. Visage: Face
4.Lascivious and Wanton: Lustful
5. Spurn: reject, refuse rudely
6. Strut: to walk in a vain ,pompous, full of yourself way
7. Dissemble: deceitful, lying, false, double dealing
8.Descant: to discuss /talk about, or sing about at length
9. Falchion: a sword
10. Mew: to close or shut up, trap
11. Slander: false statements or rumors intended to harm another person ; lying gossip
12. Temper ( as a physical action, not emotion): to bend or mold
13. Obsequious: excessively servile, submissive, fawning, attentive to an extreme degree
14. Suppliant: a person who humbly begs another for help
15. Lament: to grieve, be full of sorrow
16. Dissentious: argumentative, disagreeable, causing trouble
17. Avouch : testify, swear to , declare
18. Deluge: A flood
19. Avaunt: to order away, “be gone!”
20. Miscarry: to fail in an attempt or goal
21. Expedient: with speed, done conveniently or quickly
22. Rancorous: hateful, full of resentment or bitterness
23. Peevish: showing irritation, complaining, annoying
24: Factious: breaking into separate groups that often against each other, cliquish
25: Brook ( not the water kind): to stand for or tolerate