English 201 Notes PDF

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This class is a fairly easy. These are some of the notes that I have taken during Sharon Preiss english 201 class....

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English 201 Spring 2018 Unit 1: Fiction Fiction- stories that are at least partially made up -in Latin, Fiction means “counterfeit” Non-Fiction-factual -biography, articles, essays in newspapers and magazines, history books Literature- A work of art using words as its medium Plot- the basic story; conflict; climax Theme- a broader meaning for the story; Where the story touches you in your heart and mind Setting- Where the action takes place Tone- the mood of the story Symbol- a person, place, or thing that has an alternate meaning Short Story: “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid Characters- The girl, the older person giving the instructions (This character has the power, we know this because she has almost all the dialogue, the girl doesn’t argue back much and is in a position of weakness or dominance Theme: What womanhood is in a culture -How and why people raise their children the way they do -The mixed messages young girls and woman have around sexuality -How to deal with consequences of your actions in a stealthy manner Symbol: The narrator is maybe a symbolic character that represents the people and ideas around her Plot: How the story tells its story -the artistic arrangement of events -Usually there’s a dramatic situation or a conflict- “A day without conflict is pleasant, but a story without conflict is boring When a story starts in the middle of the action, it is called in media res

Flashback- Filling in the background of the story at a later point in the story Foreshadow- a hint at events to come Epiphany- a moment of discovery or awakening Characters: Protagonist- the main character -Antagonist- character that creates the conflict Questions to ask when looking at character 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

Who are the players in the story? What do we know about them? What do we not know about them? How does the author reveal information about the characters? Why does the author not reveal information about the characters? Do any of the characters change during the story? What impact do these changes (if there are any) have upon the story and its theme (meaning)?

Point of view- From whose perspective is the story being told Narrator- person telling the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Craver -The husband felt how it felt being in a blind man’s shoes -The husband has an epiphany- a moment of realization, clarify or change -Through the development of the characters, the author has been leading us toward the epiphany Conflict- a conflict of personalities -The blind is open-minded, confident, kind-hearted and friendly -The husband is close-minded, insecure, inconsiderate and unfriendly Names in stories are often significant Robert- The blind man Beulah- Blind man’s wife Characters with names in stories helps us feel more connected to them and helps to humanize them -The husband “Bud” -The Wife Signs and Symbols

Why has the author made Robert blind? The best way to understand, experience, appreciate is not always through seeing them Cathedral- kind of church and represents the spiritual being of a person Faith- hope in the future Gives us a positive vision of the future, even though we can’t see I Usually about togetherness and other people In ‘Cathedral” by Raymond Craver, you have to step out of your comfort zone to view life from someone else perspective “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway Two waiters- one younger who’s in a hurry and goes home to his wife; one older who is more leisurely, ends up in the bar at the end and is not married One man- deaf man, drinks in cafes, has a niece, tried to commit suicide, his wife died and has money Protagonist- The older waiter- he could be a symbol and has a bit of an existential crisis at the end- a question about the nature of human existence. Antagonist- cold be the younger waiter or the older man Symbols Light/Lighting/Lightness Day Darkness/Night- A lonely time The café is a lighted place in the night Unit 2: Introduction to poetry Poems come in many different forms Poems often have deeper or hidden meaning They use imaginative language (figure of speech) Metaphor- comparison of one thing to another. Ex: My love is a rose Simile- Comparison of one thing to another using the words “Like” or “As”. Ex: He is like a roaring tiger Personification- giving a non-human thing human qualities

There’s an attention to the words used; most poets are trying to create a little music with the words they choose -Rhyme -Alliteration- Words starting with the same letter -Assonance- A repeated vowel sound -Consonance- A repeated consonant sound How should we understand a poem? -Plan on reading a poem multiple times -Try to find the literal meaning of the words -Paraphrase the poem- go through the poem sentence by sentence and rewrite the sentence in your own words -The first times through, read it as if it were regular prose, and don’t worry about lines breaks Elements of Poetry Word Choice Tone- tone of voice created by the words Meanings- Denotative- the literal meaning -

Connotative- an implied meaning, a symbolic meaning

Imagery- The way they’re saying something Form- How the poem is laid out on the page (Line breaks, stanzas, how the lines are grouped together), Includes consideration of rhythm, rhyme and repetition. Music- The form, the rhyme, the rhythm, the repetition of letters and sounds Sonnet- 14 lines, 5 accented syllables per line with a total of 10 syllables per line Syllable- How many parts of a word Line breaks - An intentional choice by the poets to start end and start lines with certain words and create lines of certain lengths -

To speed up or slow down the poem To place emphasis on certain words or ideas To place a certain number of beats per line To create an overall feel for the poem

Enjambment: Breaking a line at a point other than the end of a sentence of a natural pause in the sentence. Stanza: The equivalent of a paragraph Types of poems Lyric- stays still in time to examine a thought, idea or thing Narrative- Tells a story Unit 3 Greek Theater: 2500 years ago Twice annual events; the playwrights were in competition with each other The plays were written as poetry, they were a bit like contemporary opera or musicals Men played all the parts, they were masks; the masks differentiated the characters from each other and were also symbolic Chorus- They’re on stage all the time on a special part of the stage -Their function is different than our choruses of today; today, the chorus sings songs and dances to emphasize part of the action -What is the function of the chorus in Greek theater? Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) A Greek Tragedy- Death; Drama; Conflict; Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned and the playwright would like the audience to experience empathy (understanding someone else’s emotions- we can put ourselves in their place Typical characteristics Recognition- Something important is of that happen during revealed to the protagonist the course of the play -Reversal: The protagonist is fundamentally changed by the recognition -S/he is often cleansed or purged of some fatal flaw- Does this happen in Oedipus? The audience already knows the basic plot of the story because it’s based on ancient stories that are told repeatedly -

Called “Dramatic Irony” Irony- juxtaposition- a contradiction

The title is a pun, a play on words

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To know, see, understand Swollen feet

Characters: Oedipus- King of Thebes; son of king and queen of Corinth; he answered the riddle of the sphinx to take over the throne. The sphinx killed itself. Jacosta- Queen of Thebes; a widow was married to Laius who was murdered outside of Thebes; murderer was never found. Strategies for an In-Class Essay 1. Be prepared- Reread any material you can; go over your notes 2. Read the question carefully and mark it up- underline/circle/highlight important points in the questions. 3. Create a thesis statement- Take the question and create a statement out of it 4. Do a little prewriting- Jot some ideas down that will support the thesis; note good quotes from the readings to use as support 5. Order your ideas to create a rough outline 6. Write the essay 7. Proofread if you have time...