● Metaphor: a comparison between two ideas or things, without using “like” or “as”
● Simile: a comparison between two ideas or things, using “like” or “as”
● Personification: when nonhuman objects, things, or animals are given human qualities
● Irony: a contrast between expectation and reality
● Diction: word choice
● Tone: a writer’s attitude towards what they want to convey to the reader
● Imagery: language that enhances the five senses
● Theme: the main idea that is explored and is constantly present in the text
■ Feminist/Gender: concerned with the ways literature portrays Western feminism in a patriarchal society; may be ethnocentric.
■ Queer: calls for a crtique of heterosexuality; grounded in gender and sexuality.
■ Marxist: based on the theories of Karl Marx (communist); reveals the ways in which societal hierarchy influences the experiences of people.
■ Psychoanalytic: based on the theories of psychology of Sigmund Freud; focuses on how the unconscious mind (the feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories outside of conscious awareness) influences events, especially childhood. Mainly revolves around the unconscious, desires, and defenses.
■ Post Colonial: concerned with literature produced by colonial powers and works produced by people who were/are colonized. Focuses on power distribution, economics, politics, and culture.
● Any story should have a quest:
○ Quester
○ Place to go
○ Stated reason to go there
○ Challenges and trials on route
○ Real reason to go there
● Readers should not get stuck on whether their analysis of literature is correct or not
● “Always” and “never” do not have a concrete meaning within the language of reading
● Eating or drinking is considered communion
○ It is the act of sharing and peace
○ May include situations where there is irony, tension, and conflict between characters
● Death is always present
○ Considered as evil
○ Can represent:
■ Sex or seduction
■ Selfishness
■ Exploitation
■ Corruption
○ Convey and/or deliver a message to other characters
○ It teaches a lesson
■ For instance, a ghost could come back to haunt an antagonist, or it can warn or protect a character
○ Symbolizes various aspects of our common reality
● The ongoing interaction between poems or stories
● There is NO such thing as a “wholly original work of literature”
● There is only one story; stories grow out of other stories
● We makes comparisons and parallels
○ For example, the Holy Bible has numerous stories and themes, and it is considered one of the original stories that has influenced literature.
● William Shakespeare was an English playwright who wrote plays like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Othello”. He is considered one of the most influential people in literature
○ Literature is influenced by/ has evolved from Shakespeare
○ Every age and every writer reinvents its own Shakespeare
● Provides a figure against whom writers can struggle; a source of texts against which other texts can bounce ideas off of
● English is frequently about religion, especially the Bible
● The Bible offers:
○ Enriching motifs
○ Characters
○ Themes
○ Plots
○ Titles
○ Quotations
○ Irony