Enlish Literature (Term Paper Sample)

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Synecdoche- a figure of speech, where a part is used to represent the whole or the whole to represent a part. May also be used to call something by the material it is made from.
Peripety- in literature, peripety is the unexpected change of circumstances.
Irony- it is a literary device by which words are used in a way that their actual meaning is different from their intended meaning. Also, it may be a situation different from what was expected.
Plot- in literature plot is used to illustrate the central part of a story. The events in a story make up the plot. Moreover, the plot makes the foundation of a story.
Theme- this is the main subject in literary work. Importantly, the theme plays as the foundation of the entire work of literature.
Lacuna- in a piece of writing, Lacuna is the missing part. In other words, is a gap left in literary work.
Metaphor- is a figure of speech which compares two unrelated objects or things, but have the same characteristics.
Iambic tetrameter- is a line of poetry that has four metrical feet. These feet are usually Iambs.
The Enlightenment- also known as the Age of Reason, is the period in eighteen century where the human being was abandoning ignorance and appreciating the new age of enlightenment through reasoning, science, and the respect for humankind.
Short answers:
Question 1.
Popes’s poem “An Essay on Criticism” expresses pope’s opinion and emotions from the perspective of a poet and a critic. On the other hand Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” the central idea is the exploration and the relationship of the soul to the universe and nature.
Significantly, pope’s poem is composed in heroic couplets. This consists of two rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter. There are two syllables; one unstressed followed by one stressed. On the contrary, Wordsworth’s Immortality Ode is written in eleven variable ode stanzas. Here we find that there is varying rhyme scheme in iambic lines from two to five stressed syllables. The rhymes in this poem mostly are in a single line.
Secondly, the tone in pope’s poem differs from that of Wordsworth’s ode. Pope’s tone of his poem is satirical one with a sense of humor while that of Wordsworth’s is a dignified tone. Pope criticized those poets without scolding them. By use of this tone, he was able to stand and address the problem of poetic literature. In Wordsworth’s ode, the tone is dignified because the poet wanted to show deep feeling and emotions. The poem talks about regret and loss from the poet’s point of view. With this tone, the poet can show us how humans are so connected to the material things and forget about nature.
Thirdly, pope’s poem is presented in three parts, whereas Wordsworth’s poem jumps from one idea to another.the first part of pope’s poem it talks about good criticism. The second part addresses the flaws of a critic. And finally the third part tells us qualities that a good critic must have.
Question2
“Happy Endings” is not a short story we are used to. It is a good example of metafiction. To understand, a metafiction is where a writer writes about writing a story. For instance, part C the writer says,”…this is the thin part of the plot, but it can be dealt with later.”
Notably, Atwood presents to us six scenes with the same character. All of the scenes have the same conclusion. In a scene A John and Mary meet, live, age and they die. Atwood shows us there is no character development because everything is predictable. The names are also interchanged, and the conclusion is the same still. What Atwood was showing us is that the plot is the most important part of the story. The available evidence is when Atwood says “That’s about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what.”
Atwood’s teaches when writing a short story, the focus should not be on ending the story, but, rather the importance of a plot. Atwood narrates, it is the journey of life that matters. On these grounds, we can argue that style coupled with an organized plot is the secret to writing a good story.
Atwood effective use of voice and Irony provides confirmatory evidence that this is a postmodern story.
Question 3
“The Sisters Brother” is a comedy. The book is full of surprises, among them is the use of Wild West language, which for many readers is fun to read. The use of such words as fortuitous, mighty (“mighty kind of you ma’am”). DeWitt has freely used the language bringing out this rich sense of humor and delightful irony. For example, “Our unmanned previous horses had been immolated.” The book shows us to the hilarious lives and adventures of two gunslingers; Charlie sisters and Eli.
The plot of the story is somewhat enticing. However, the writing mechanics used to create the story are of their own class. Besides, the ending of the story is unexpected. The two brothers are on a mission to kill Hermann Kermit Warm, on the contrary to what we expect, they collaborate with Herman and kill the man who hired them, Commodore.
Question 4
In the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the Player is the lead tragedian. In the play, the Player seems to know the events in the play before they happen. This is evident from the witty sayings the Player uses. The main function of the player in this play is to relieve the dramatic tension present in the play. The Player goes to an extreme of not knowing the difference between acting and real life. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not able to know the meaning of their fate but both the audience and the Player knows. With this in mind, we can argue that the Player role is to relieve the dramatic tension.
Question 5
Both “ The Boat” and “The Boarding House” have an ending that seems to have left out some information. There is a missing part on both of the stories. For example, in the “The Boarding House” Joyce does not give us a better conclusion of the story. Conversations between characters are not well mentioned. For instance, there is no mention of the confrontation between Mr. Doran and Mrs. Mooney. Joyce leaves this open for the reader to guess what happens. Conversely, in “The Birthmark” the ending is well told to us. No information is left out. The author clearly tells us how Aylmer succeeds in ridding his wife of the birthmark but fails in the sense that she dies. The author shows us that humans are inherently flawed and we cannot separate them from their imperfections. From this, we can surely see how the characters are well described and nothing is left for the reader to fill. Therefore, we can say this is what makes “The Birthmark” different from “The Boat” and the “The Boarding House”
Purpose of Literature
Introduction
In the last few years, there has been a growing interest about the purpose of literature. To understand this better, literature is used to describe any written works (such as plays, novels, poems, fiction and nonfiction) with a lasting importance and are considered to be very good. There is ample growing support for the that literature has a purpose in our day to day lives. The essay is a modest contribution to the ongoing discussion about the purpose of literature.
The most interesting approach to the purpose of literature has been well proposed by Mark Edmundson’s book, why read? Edmundson says, “the truth-the circle, the vision of experience – that they’ve encountered through socialization is inadequate. It doesn’t put them into a satisfying relation to experience” (52). On these grounds Edmundson argues that teaching students literature gives them good values, changes their perspective and also teaches them the ways of living different from those currently in the society.
The available evidence seems to suggest that Literature is a tool that is used to as a teaching tool. It is from literature that we can learn about the history of ourselves. Moreover, it is from literature that we learn about different themes in life. Notably, war, love, the plight of women. Not to mention the various cultural values that literature teaches us.
What’s more, literature also makes us be critical thinkers. It is from reading literature that our thinking changes and our attitude. Our thinking becomes more complex, and our mindset changes. We can apply this in our day to day lives.
Further evidence supporting the study of literature may lie in the findings of Marjorie Perloff, who writes “such study, I believe, will come back into favor for the simple reason that, try as one may, one cannot eliminate the sheer jouissance or pleasure of the text” (17) this implies that there is pleasure in the works of literature. On these grounds, we can argue that literature also has the enjoyable part of it. Through the reading of comic books and poetry, there is enjoyment.
In conclusion, these findings suggest that literature plays a vital role in human development. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that literature helps us grow in mind and in thinking. We ...