Prose, poetry, formal writing rules

plot
a series of events in a narrative that is carefully constructed by the author

simple narrative account
a chronological description of real events (to tel what happened)

plotless short story
a very modern creation, that is pleasurable to read as it describes chracters in a situation, but does not employ the development or resolution of a conflict

in media ras
this structure is when the story starts in the middle of the action, andthen information about the beginning of the action is supplied to the reader through flashbacks along with other expository devices

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frame story
a story within a story

typical plot structure is… (steps?)
exposition, compilation, technical climax, resolution, conclusion

exposition
conflict is introduced & background information on the characters, setting, and other events necessary for understanding the story are given in this step

compilation
the conflict is developed, suspense is created, and forshadowing may be used here

suspense
anticipation, as to the outcome of events

forshadowing
hints at later events

conflict
the interplay between opposing elements

protagonist vs.

self

conflict involving… internal struggle

protagonist vs.

others

conflict involving… external struggle with people & society

protgonist vs. environment
conflict involving… external struggle with nature

technical climax
the turning point in the plot at which the outcome of the action is determined; the conflict starts to end

dramatic climax
the point greatest interest or intensity in a story (subjective)

resolution
events following the technical climax, in which the outcome is actually worked out

conclusion
the final event of a story’s plot

setting
the represented time and place of events in a literary work

4 functions of setting
to help in understanding the characters & their actions, to help create mood and atmosphere, to facilitate plot development by being involved in the conflict

pathetic fallacy
technique authors use, using the setting, or nature, to parallel/mirror the mood of a character or of the story

character
a fictional personality created by an author

characterization
technique an author uses to create and reveal characters in a work of fiction

credibility & consistency
two things that are essential for a good character

expository character revelation
i.

e. Mary is a nice girl.

dramatic character revelation
i.e. Mary likes to help little children with their homework.

motivation
the reasons that cause characters to act the way they do

protagonist
the central character in a work of fiction; they sat the action of the plot

antagonist
the principle opponent of the main character, the person or thing working against

round
character who is well described and whose thoughts and actionsare revealed to the reader

flat
a non-developed character in a story

dynamic
character who grows, learns, an changes in some significant way throughout

static
character who resists change or refuses to change in a story

foil
character who constraints in some important way with a more important character (with their contrasts, they underscore the distinctive characteristics of another)

consistent
character whose speech, thoughts, and actions are what the reader has been led to ecpect from that particular character

stock
type of character who is always found “in stock” in a particular type of story

stereotyped
character created according to widely held, often narrow-minded ideas (no individuality; not developed)

point of view
the physical and phychological relationship between the narrator and the story’s characters/events

narrator
the teller of the story

first person
the narrator is a character in the story

third person objective
the narrator is not a character in the story, and reports only what can be seen and heard

third person limited omniscient
the narrator is not a character in the story and reports not only what can be seen and heard, but also the thoughts and feelings of one of the chararacters

third person omniscient
the narrator is not a character in the story and reports not only what can be seen and heard, but also the thoughts and feelings of all of the important characters

theme
a controlling idea of a literary work that is a general truth or commentary about life, people, and the world that is brought out in a story (moral/lesson of the story)

3 guidelines for stating theme
complete declarative sentence, general truth about life, clearly brought out throughout the entire story

2 step process for determining theme
“This story is overall about _____.” and “What is it about _____ that the author is trying to tell me?” **the words in these blanks are the theme

mood
described the reader’s state of mind after she finishes the story (emotions left with the reader)

atmosphere
describes the general feeling of the story itself, established by the story’s description

style
the distinctive handling of language by a writer through the purposeful selection of words and sentence structure; this helps to indicate tone

diction
the purposeful selection of words

syntax
sentence structure

tone
the author or speaker’s attitude toward the characters, events, or audience which is created by details & descriptive words used by the author

symbolism
the use of something concrete to represent something abstract; using a thing to represent an idea, concept, quality, or condition

irony
contrast between the way things truly are & the way they appear to be

verbal irony
a discrepancy between the menaing (literal) of a word & the meaning actually conveyed; sarcasm could be an example (say something bu mean another)

dramatic irony
a discrepancy between knowledge held by a reader & the characters ignorance of that knowledge (readers know somehting the character doesn’t)

situational irony
a discrepancy between the expected outcome of a situation & the actual outcome (twist in the plot)

narrative
a long poem told in verse form; an epic is an example

lyric
a brief personal poem that uses many sound devices, as well as rhythm, adn meter, and is full of emotion; sonnets, odes, elegies are examples

ballad
a type of poem that is actually meant to be sung and is both lyric and narrative

figures of speech
words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of another & is not meant to be taken on a literal level

simile
two dissimilar things that are compared using words such as “like” “than” “as” or “resembles”

metaphor
this makes a comparison between two unlike things

direct metaphor
the literal term and the figurative term are both named

implied metaphor
the literal term is named while the figurative term is implied

extended metaphor
a metaphor, direct or implied, that is developed over more then one line of poetry

personification
giving human or animate qualities to an animal, object, or concept

apostrophe
addressing someone, absent or dead, or something non-human as if it were alive and present and could reply

literary allusion
a reference to a person, place, or thing from previous literature

common literary allusions
Bible, Greek/Roman mythology, Shakespeare

hyperbole
using exaggeration for emphasis; overstatement

litotes
a special form of understatement; it affirms something by negating the opposite

irony
states one thing when, in fact, the opposite meaning is intended

antithesis
a strong contrast of words, clauses, sentences, or ideas that shows opposing grammatical structures

synecdoche
using a part of something to represent the whole thing

metonymy
the substitution of one word for another closely related word (not synonym though)

paradox
a statement that although seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true

symbol
something that means more than what it truly is

sound device
figures of speech that pertain to the words sound in a line of poetry

alliteration
the repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds of certain words

consonance
the repetition at close intervals of middle or end consonant sounds of certain words

assonance
the similarity and repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds of certain words

onomatopoeia
the use of words that mimic their meaning in their sound

repetition
repeating a word or phrase within a poem in order to…

make rembering it easier, emphasize it, unite the poem’s structure

parallelism
the repetition of the structure of two or more lines in a poem

cataloging
the listing of words, images, or attributes

refrain
the repetition of a word or phrase or line(s) at definite intervals of a poem

stanza
a group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit; often referred to as a “paragraph” of poetry

couplet
a 2 line stanza

triplet
a 3 line stanza

quatrain
a 4 line stanza

quintet
a 5 line stanza

sestet
a 6 line stanza

septet
a 7 line stanza

octave
an 8 line stanza

rhyme
th similarity or llikeness of sound in two or more words

perfect rhyme
the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all succeding sounds in important words

imperfect rhyme
this occurs when there are changes within the vowel sounds intended to rhyme, but only the final consonant sounds of the words are identical (soul/oil)

eye rhyme
rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronounciation

internal rhyme
rhyme between words that occurs within a single line of poetry

rhyme scheme
the pattern of end rhyme throughout a poem

rhythm
the pattern of stressed/unstressed syllabes in words in a line of poetry

meter
a regularized pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables in a line of poetry; the intentional arrangement of language in which the accented syllables occur at equal intervals of time

scansion
the process of marking lines of poetry to determine the meter; stressed= “/” and unstressed= “u”

foot
the basic unit of meter used in the scansion or measurement of verse, either consisting of two or three syllabes

u/
iambic

/u
trochaic

//
spondaic

uu
pyrrhic

uu/
anapestic

/uu
dactylic

monometer
one foot per line

dimeter
two feet per line

trimeter
three feet per line

tetrameter
four feet per line

pentameter
five feet per line

hexameter
six feet per line

heptameter
seven feet per line

octameter
eight feet per line

rhymed verse
has a regular meter & rhyme scheme

blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter (Shakespeare wrote mostly this)

free verse
no regular metrical rhythm or end rhyme

metrical verse
has regular meter & no rhyme scheme

enjambment
the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction of a line onto the next line or stanza (no end punctuation)

end-stopped lines
lines in which both the grammatical structure and the sense reach completion at the end

causura
a pause within a line of verse

present
verbs should be in this tense

start a sentence
“there,” “here,” and “it” cannot ____.

superlatives
“every,” “perfect,” “never,” and “always” are _____.

no
can superlatives be used in formal writing

very
avoid this modifier

active voice
write in ____ rather than in passive voice.

false
True or False: First and second person pronouns can be used in formal writing.

false
True or False: The word “thing” and its forms are perfectly acceptible in the terms of formal writing.

true
True or False: Abbreviations such as “w/” or “b/c” or others are not okay to use in formal writing.

false
True or False: Slang words or phrases can be used freely in formal writing.

true
True or False: Contractions such as can’t, don’t, i’m, etc. need to be separated (without an ‘) in formal writing

1 inch
margin size of an MLA style paper

double
spacing allowable for MLA papers

Times New Roman; size 12
the font should be ____; size ___ when writing a formal paper (two answers with a “;” between them

name, teacher’s name, course, date (day month year= due)
MLA format includes…