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Mrs. Mahuka’s Literature Courses

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CONTENTS Introduction to Literary Language

• Imply and Inferring • Colloquial, colorful and cliché • Making Thoughtful Inferences

Introduction to Imagery

• Metaphor and Simile • Creating Mental Pictures with Metaphors (A) • Quotations with More Than One Metaphor

Analogy

• Seeing the Logic in Analogy Personification

• Personification Makes Things Almost Human Antithesis

• How Antithesis Attracts Attention • Antithesis: Cause for Discussion

Two Useful Literary Terms

• Hyperbole • Apostrophe

Irony

• Not What You Expected • Recognizing Irony in Words and Situations • Reading Selection: The Blind Men and the Elephant • Recognizing Dramatic Irony • Sample of Satire

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Introduction to Literary Language

How You Infer What Others Imply Tana described what he planned to do with the prize money he saw himself winning. “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, “ Manu warned him. “But, I’m not a chicken famer,” he replied. Tana was taking Manu’s words literally, as if they meant exactly what they seemed to mean on the surface. Manu used this familiar expression figuratively, to express his ideas indirectly. And, since both knew he didn’t raise chickens, Tana should have realized this. If this were a real life incident, he probably did – and was simply joking. In everyday situations, most people use the same techniques found in literature without even being aware of it. “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” actually makes good sense on 2 different levels: Literal level: If you raise chickens, you cant be sure how many eggs laid by your hens will actually hatch as healthy chickens. Figurative level: In the same way, you shouldn’t count on something to happen until you are sure it will come true. Since Tana knew the saying didn’t fit on a literal level, he should infer Manu was speaking figuratively and meant to imply he shouldn’t plan how to spend money before winning the prize. Definitions of the terms that fit this imaginary situation. Figurative: stating ideas indirectly, such as by a comparison or other expressive manner of speech. Literal: meant to be taken as given, to be accepted at face value or by its primary meaning, not figuratively. Imply: to put or weave, in an underlying meaning that is interned to be understood though not directly stated. Implication: something that is implied Implicit: contained within a statement or situation, though not stated. Infer: to take out or to draw a conclusion based on that which is implied, but not directly stated (inference: something that is inferred).

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What Other Imply, You Infer

Directions: Each of the popular sayings given below can be taken on both a literal and figurative level. On the first line, write the meaning if taken literally. On the second line, write what you think you should infer to be its meaning if the saying was intended figuratively. Example: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

On a literal level: If you raise chickens, you can’t be sure how many eggs laid by your hens will hatch as healthy chickens. On a figurative level: You shouldn’t count in something unless you are sure of its happening.

1. It’s no use crying over spilt milk. On a literal level: On a figurative level: 2. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. On a literal level: On a figurative level: 3. A stitch in time saves nine. On a literal level: On a figurative level: 4. It’s a long road that has no turning. On a literal level: On a figurative level: 5. Let sleeping dogs lie. On a literal level: On a figurative level:

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Colloquial, Colorful or Cliché Colloquial: an expression proper for everyday conversation, but not for standard writing or speech.

Cliché: an expression that seems dull, trite, and unimaginative because of long overuse, such as “brave as a lion.” Directions: Each of the following cliché’s is also an example of figurative use of language, which some people use to add a colorful flavor to colloquial conversation. On the lines, write what each means on a figurative level. 1. To be “in the chips” 2. To have “a chip on your shoulder” 3. To be “under the weather” 4. To be “off your feed” 5. To feel “in the pink” 6. To describe something as “water under the bridge” 7. To say something has “fallen by the wayside” 8. To “take 40 winks” 9. To avoid something “like the plague” 10. To be “out on a limb”

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Making Thoughtful Inferences Directions: Writers often purposely try to state their ideas in a way that will capture readers’ attentions and make them stop and think. They expect thoughtful readers to infer their underlying meaning by using their own knowledge, ideas, and judgment. Read and think carefully about the following quotations, then write your answers to the questions that follow. Show your understanding by stating your ideas your own words. 1. “The fashion wears out more apparel than the man” (Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare) Inference: more people throw out clothes because they are 1)___________________ than because they are 2). _____________________. 2. “What does it matter if we have a new book or an old book, if we open neither?” (Jessie Jackson) Inference: 1). Concerning education, Jackson implies that some people worry too much about children having to ___________________________________________. Instead, Jackson believes those interested in schools should put more emphasis on ______________________________________________. 3. “We are what we eat” Inference: 1). From a physical standpoint, what people eat affects both their ________________________ and their ________________________. 2) From an emotional standpoint, people’s eating habits can also show ________________________________________________________. 4. “Today’s common sense is yesterday’s science.” (Niels Bohr) Inference: 1). Science is often considered something known mainly by people who ________________________________________________________ and do their work in _________________________________________________. 2). Common sense includes whatever ought to be known by____________________

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_________________ and used in _____________________. 3). By “today” and “yesterday” the writer means _____________________________ and _______________________________________. 4). When scientific knowledge becomes widespread, it seems like something ____________________________________________________________________.

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Introduction to Imagery

Metaphor and Simile

My love is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June..

(A Red, Red Rose, by Robert Burns)

Like most techniques of literature, imagery is commonly used in everyday conversation. It simply means language that invites you to “see” or mentally picture the scene, person, or object in questions. Imagery calls to mind one of the 5 senses:

• Something you can hear, touch, smell, or taste and as well as see. When you picture a “red, red rose” that’s begun to bloom in June, what words come to mind to describe your mental image of it? Of course, you will only want to think of good things, because it’s being used to describe someone’s loved one. Fresh Delicate Petal-soft Bright Dewy

Dainty Beautiful Sweet-smelling Brilliant And you can think of others..

When you say something happened “as quick as a wink” or someone is a “real lamb” you’re actually using a figure of speech, and expressive use of language meant to be taken in a figurative, not a literal sense. The figures of speech given as examples are called metaphors and similes. Metaphor: A figure of speech that compares one object to another that is not obviously similar in an attempt to show the reader qualities that the secondary one shares with the subject of the comparison. For example Romeo expresses the power of his love with his comparison: “Juliet is the sun.” The words metaphor and metaphorical refer to a direct comparison, as in the example, and the type of comparison also known as simile. Simile: A type of comparison or metaphor using “like” or “as.” For example, “His muscles were like the Hulk’s” or “She was quiet as a shadow.” When you read, identifying metaphors and similes is relatively easy. But good readers know their purpose goes beyond adding color and variety to writing. Their real purpose is to give you a clearer image of the subject being described. By using metaphors, writers invite you go picture something familiar and apply its description to the subject you are reading about. In this way, metaphorical comparisons help you to understand how writers want you to “see” their subject in your imagination – and sometimes how is sounds, feels, smells, and even tastes as well.

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Creating Mental Pictures with Metaphors

Directions: Step 1: Name the subject that serves as the basis for the comparison, followed by the metaphor used to help you picture it more clearly. Step 2: Indicate whether the comparison is made as a metaphor or a simile. Step 3: List at least 2 descriptive words or phrases that come to mind when you picture the metaphorical words or phrases and that make them a fitting comparison. “The road was a ribbon of moonlight…” (Highwayman, by Alfred Noyes) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “My heart is like a singing bird.” (Christina Rossetti) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “Truth is a shadow.” (Stephen Crane) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________

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“Oh for a poet – for a beacon of light.” (Oh Poet, by Edward Arlington Robinson) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “The Assyrians came down like a wolf on the fold…” (The Destruction of Sennacherib, by Lord Byron) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “Shame is Pride’s Cloak” (William Blake) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________

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Quotations with More Than One Metaphor Directions: Each of the following uses 2 or more metaphors some that refer to the same subject and others with different subjects as their basis for comparison. Identify each metaphor and fill in the answers concerning it. “The house of everyone is to him as his castle and his fortress.” (Sir Edward Coke) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “A brain of feathers, and a heart of lead.” (Alexander Pope) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________

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“It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” (Charles Dickens) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Type of comparison ___________________________________________ 3). Two reasons for this being a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ “After “The First Snowfall” THE snow had begun in the gloaming, And busily all the night Had been heaping field and highway With a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock Wore ermine too dear for an earl, And the poorest twig on the elm-tree Was ridged inch deep with pearl.” (James Russell Lowell) 1). Subject __________________is being compared to __________________ 2). Two reasons this is a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - _____________________________________________________________ 1). In the second example, _________________________ is compared to __________________________. 2). Two reasons this is a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________

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- _____________________________________________________________ 1). The third comparison is _____________________ to __________________. 2). Two reasons this is a fitting comparison: - _____________________________________________________________ - ___________________________________________________________ EXTRA CREDIT:

Finding Your Own Metaphors There are many familiar metaphors you hear everyday. Sly as a fox Strong as an ox As quiet as a mouse

The foot of the bed The hands of the clock

Although some of them may be cliché’, our everyday conversation could hardly do without them. Directions: list at least 10 familiar metaphors or similes, and explain the mental image that makes each a fitting comparison. If you prefer, you may wish to add some original metaphors of your own for the at the back of this sheet. Metaphor Why it is fitting

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Analogy Seeing the Logic in Analogy Analogy: A comparison of one thing to another, based on their having similar characteristics in certain respects; for example

• A hummingbird’s wing and a bee’s wing, • Or a human heart and a pump..

Analogies appeal mainly to a person’s logic or intelligence, not the emotions or sense. Writers use analogies to help readers develop a better understanding of the subject being discussed. Directions: Carefully read the following analogies and answer the questions concerning each. Try to restate the ideas in your won words. Except for the terms of the analogy, avoid copying parts of the passage exactly. Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of the rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is a war minus the shooting. (George Orwell) Orwell is making an analogy between _____________ and ____________. Why would both involve the following: Jealousy _________________________________________________________ Boastfulness ______________________________________________________ Disregard of all the rules ____________________________________________ Sadistic pleasure ___________________________________________________ In what ways do the parts of the analogy differ? __________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Crimes, like virtues, are their own rewards. (George Forquer) Forquer’s analogy compares _____________ to ____________. How can virtue be its own reward in regard to the way it makes people feel about themselves? _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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What, then, must Foquer expect you to infer about the other elements in his analogy? _________________________________________________________________ (To the Japanese) work is a form of beauty; in the sense that it matters less what one does than how one is seen to do it. Japanese, more than any other people I know, have made work into a spectacle, it not a fine art. (Ian Buruma) Buruma is making an analogy between _____________ and ____________. Explain the main reason for their being alike _________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Why would it be difficult for work to be a fine art? _____________________________________________________________ In what sense might it be a spectacle? _____________________________________________________________

Know how to read? You must Before you can write. An idiot Will always talk a lot (Marie Francoise-Catherine de Beauveau) An analogy is made between _________________ and ________________. In order to write well, the author implies ____________________________ _____________________________________________________________ The author states “An idiot will always talk a lot.” Why doesn’t this mean someone who talks a lot is always an idiot. __________________________ _____________________________________________________________ To complete the analogy, what is the idiot lacking? ____________________ ____________________________________________________________

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Personification

Personification Makes Things Almost Human Personification: To give human characteristics to a thing that is not human. Writers can personify persons or things through the use of personal pronouns such as she or he or by describing them as having human emotions, appearance, or abilities. Example: “The house waited patiently for its family to return, missing the sound and bustle of normal life.” Directions: After reading the following examples, tell what is being personified and the phrases used to show personification. Be able to point out the specific words that influenced your decision.

April, April, Laugh thy girlish laughter; Then, the moment after, Weep thy girlish tears! (Song, by William Watson)

___________________ is being personified Two phrases that show this personification are: - _______________________________________________________________

- _______________________________________________________________

When Freedom from her mountain height Unfurled her standard to the air, She tore the azure robe of night, And set the stars of glory there. (Joseph Rodman Drake, The American Flag)

___________________ is being personified Three phrases that show this personification are: - _______________________________________________________________

- _______________________________________________________________ - _______________________________________________________________

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The merry brown hares came a-leaping Over the crest of the hill Where the clover and corn lay a-sleeping Under the moonlight so still (A Rough Rhyme on a Rough Matter, by Charles Kingsley)

The first example of personification is: This is indicated by the poet’s use of: The second example of personification is: This is indicated by the author’s use of:

Shame is Pride’s Cloak (William Blake) ___________________ is being personified. This is shown by the poet’s having _____________________________________ What other figure of speech does this illustrate? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________

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Antithesis

How Antithesis Attracts Attention

Antithesis: The contrast of 2 ideas, often done by placing their 2 opposing parts side by side, or against one another, such as “Give me liberty or give me death.” Writers who express themselves well and gracefully use antithesis in a way that offers their readers fresh, original views and that gives them ideas worth thinking about.

Directions: Read the following examples of antithesis, and write your answers to the questions that follow. Carefully think through your answers to make sure they are clearly stated. “The farm is a piece of the world, the school-house is not.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

1. In what sense is a farm an actual “piece of the world?”

2. What do you infer that school lacks in comparison? “Winning is not the most important thing; it’s everything.” (Vince Lomardi)

1. If it stood alone, what mistaken idea would you infer from the first half of the antithesis?

2. Restate Lombardi’s ideas in the fewest words possible, without using antithesis or using the word, “everything.”

3. Why does the use of antithesis make Lombardi’s statement so effective? “Not that you won or lost – But how you played the game.” (Grantland Rice)

1. What does Rice imply is more important than winning, that he uses the phrase “how you played the game?”

2. In what way is this quotation the antithesis of the quote from Lombardi?

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“The boys throw stones at the frog in sport, but the frogs die not in sport, but in earnest." (Bion)

1. The contrast in this antithesis is between the _________________ attitude of the boys and the __________________.

2. Explain what the writer is implying about some of the things young people do

“just for fun.”

Antithesis: Cause for Discussion Directions: Because they present 2 opposing ideas, antithesis offers thought provoking ideas that invite further discussion. Working in pairs or groups, first decide the underlying meaning of the quotations you choose or that your professor assigns you. Then discuss your reactions to it. Plan to present your findings to the class, and invite them to add their ideas to yours. You may also like further discussion of some of the antithesis in the foregoing exercise. For Discussion: “One should eat to live, not live to eat.” (Molière) “People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.” (Somerset Maugham) “Economy is going without something you do want in case you should someday, want something you probably won’t want (if you get it).” (Antony Hope) "A Man is known by the books he reads, by the company he keeps, by the praise he gives, by his dress, by his tastes, by his distastes, by the stories he tells, by his gait, by the motion of his eye, by the look of his house, of his chamber; for nothing on earth is solitary, but everything hath affinities infinite."

(Ralph Waldo Emerson) “For a city consists in its men, not in its walls nor ships empty of men.” (Nicias, c. 470 – 413) “The entire object of a true education is to make people not merely do the right thing but enjoy the right thing.” (John Ruskin) “The first and wisest of them all professed

To know this only, that he nothing knew.” (Paradise Regained, by John Milton)

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Two Useful Literary Terms

Hyperbole & Apostrophe

Study the definitions of 2 different ways of using words that you may encounter in your reading. Then write your answers to the questions concerning the examples following each. Hyperbole: obvious exaggeration that is intended for effect; an extravagant statement not meant to be taken literally; another type of figure of speech. Example: “I’ve been waiting for here for an eternity.” Directions: In the blank space after each example of hyperbole, write the key word or words creating a hyperbolic effect. “Toussaint, the most unhappy man of men!” (William Wordsworth) Key word or words of hyperbole: _____________________________________________________________________ “The atrocious crime of being a young man… I shall neither attempt to palliate or deny.” (William Penn, Earl of Chatman) Key word or words of hyperbole: _____________________________________________________________________ “This was the most unkindest cut of all…” said Marc Antony of the stab wound given Julius by his supposed friend, Brutus. (Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare) Key word or words of hyperbole: _____________________________________________________________________ “These, in the day when heaven was falling, The hour when earth’s foundation fled… … took their wages and are dead.” (Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries, by AE Housman) Key word or words of hyperbole: _____________________________________________________________________

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Apostrophe: To address or speak directly to a personified thing or idea; also to directly address someone or something not present. Example: “Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!” Directions: In the blank space, write the key words or words use in direct address, which thereby show apostrophe. “O, World, I cannot hold thee close enough.” (Edna St. Vincent Millay) Key word or words showing apostrophe: _____________________________________________________________________ “Age of Gold, I bid thee come To this Earth, was erst’ thy home!” (Pietro Metastasio) Key word or words showing apostrophe: _____________________________________________________________________ “Western wind, when will thou blow The small rain down can rain?” (Anonymous) Key word or words showing apostrophe: _____________________________________________________________________ “Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll!” (Lord Byron) Key word or words showing apostrophe: _____________________________________________________________________

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Irony

Not What You Expected “Have you any more brilliant ideas?” In some ways, it might seem a surprising question to ask when someone’s big plans have turned out wrong. Yet, not if you recognized by the tone of voice or turn of phrase that the question was asked “ironically” and “brilliant” meant the opposite of what was actually said.

As with many figures of speech, irony adds an element of surprise and a note of humor. This often makes it more effective than stating the question plainly as: “Have you any more dumb ideas?” Be careful not to confuse irony and sarcasm. Although some sarcastic remarks contain an element of irony, not all irony is used sarcastically. Here are definitions or irony that you should know. Irony: is a figure of speech that always contains the element of being the opposite of what someone would normally expect. Verbal Irony: is a statement that means the exact opposite of what is said. The speaker or writer intentionally uses a word or expression that is contrary to what is really meant – and expects the reader or listener to recognize his or her actual intention. Example: “Have you any more brilliant ideas?” Situational Irony: occurs when an event or situation has an outcome that is the exact opposite of what was hoped for or would be expected – as if a twist of fate had intervened to make it turn out wrong. Example: “A teacher warns a student to be careful not to drop a vial in

chemistry class, then drops it himself.” Dramatic Irony: involves a situation in which the speaker involved does not realize that his or her words or actions have an ironic twist that the reader or observer recognizes. Example: After Lusia’s fashion conscious friend, Sina, told her, “You really

ought to pay more attention to how you dress,” Lusia noticed the price tag Sina forgot to remove from the collar of her new dress.

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Recognizing Irony in Words and Situations Directions: First, write a key word or words that are used ironically in each example. Then, explain why they create an ironic effect that is the opposite of what you would normally expect. “I knew it was my lucky day,” cried Malia when she discovered she forgot her laptop after a morning when everything had gone wrong.”

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic: “Snubbed by his supposed friends after losing all his money, the former millionaire said, “Now I know how loyal and faithful my friends are.”

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic: “Around me are the two hundred and forty men of B Company Mud-colored Going about their avocations, Resting between their practice of art Of killing men…” (What the Orderly Dog Saw, by Ford Maddox Ford)

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic: “The law in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under the bridges, to be in the streets, and to steal bread.” (Anatole France)

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic: “King Edward’s new policy of peace was very successful and culminated in the Great War to End War. It was followed by the Peace to End Peace.” (WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman, 1066 and All That)

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic: “He took castles and towns; he cut short limbs and lives; He made orphans and widows of children and wives;

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This course many years he triumphantly ran, And did mischief enough to be called a great man.” (Lines from Crotchet Castle, by Thomas Love Peacock)

1. Key word or words indicating irony:

2. Reason for this being ironic:

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Reading Selection: The Blind Men and the Elephant

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Dramatic Irony: “Blind Men and the Elephant” Directions: Apply your knowledge of literary techniques in answering the following questions about “Blind Man and the Elephant.” Part I: HUMOROUS METAPHORS Each of the 6 blind men used a different simile to describe what an elephant was really like. List in order, the 6 different comparisons that were made.

The first compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. The second compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. The third compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. The fourth compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. The fifth compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. The sixth compared the elephant’s ___________________ to a _______________. Explain the way in which all were making the same mistake:

Part II: EXAMPLES OF DRAMATIC IRONY In lines 1 – 33, the poet has the men use 6 expressions that will seem ironical to the reader because of the men’s known blindness. List them below:

Stanza 1: Stanza 2: Stanza 3: Stanza 4: Stanza 5: Stanza 6: Explain why saying “Deny the fact who can” is ironical in line 31. This poem contains dramatic irony because:

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Sample of Satire Satire: A type of humor that makes fun of a serious situation. Although the tale of the “Blind Men and the Elephant” is mean to be humorous itself, it has a serious side when you apply it to other people and situations. You will discover the poem’s satire as you answer the following questions.

1. Why was each of the men, partly right?

2. Why were we “all… in the wrong?”

3. In spite of the fact that “all were in the wrong,” what attitude did all of them have about their own opinion?

4. How is their attitude typical of the way that people sometimes behave in real life situations?

5. From this kind of behavior, what serious situations can result?

6. By having readers laugh at others through satire, what purpose is the poet also trying to accomplish?