LITERATURE

Literature (Prose and

Poetry)
Literature, in its broadest sense, is any single body
of written works. More restrictively, literature is writing
that is considered to be an art form, or any single writing
deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to
deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary
usage. Its Latin root literatura/litteratura (derived itself
from littera: letter or handwriting) was used to refer to all
written accounts, though contemporary definitions extend
the term to include texts that are spoken or sung (oral
literature). Literature can be classified according to
whether it is fiction or non-fiction and whether it
is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished
according to major forms such as the novel, short
story or drama; and works are often categorized according
to historical periods or their adherence to
certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).
 PROSE
PROSE - It is a literary piece which is
written in the pattern of ordinary
spoken language and within the
common flow of conversation. It is
derived from the Latin word prosa
which means ‘straightforward’
Fiction - It is a series of imagined
facts which shows truths about human
life.
Examples are:
a. Short Story – brief, artistic
form of prose which is centered on a
major main incident.
b. Novel – a more extensive form
of prose which is elastic and can
expand to hundreds of pages.
Non Fiction - These are literary works that are
based mainly on facts rather than on the

imagination. An example is the essay. Essay – a

composition with moderate length, usually expository
in nature. There are several types of essay.
Formal Essay – deals with serious and important
topics
Informal Essay – deals with any subject, even the
ordinary
Critical Essay – seeks to analyze or evaluate a
literary work
Biography – deals with the personal life and
achievement of a person
Travelogue – informs others of vicarious
experiences in a given place and time.
Elements of Prose
Prose is divided into 2 categories:

Short Story - Fictional story that

can be read in one sitting.

Novel - A long prose narrative

that must be read in many
sittings.
 Elements of Prose
Plot - The “framework” or “skeleton” of the story; a
series of related events that are linked together
1. Introduction (Exposition) - Tells the audience
who the characters are and introduces the
conflict
2. Rising Action - Complications that arise
when the characters take steps to resolve their
conflicts
3. Climax - Most exciting or suspenseful
moment when something happens to determine
the outcome of the conflict.
4. Falling Action: The conflict is in the process
of being resolved or “unraveled”
5. Resolution: (Denouement) or “Untying the
knot”. When the story’s problem/conflict is
resolved and the story ends
Character - A person or being in a story
that performs the action of the plot.
1. Dynamic Character: The character
changes as a result of the action of the
story.
2. Static Character: The character does
not change much in the course of the
story.
3. Protagonist: The main character of
the story. Can be good or evil
4. Antagonist: The character or force
that comes into conflict with the
protagonist
Setting - The time and location in which
the story takes place
Purpose of Setting
1. Gives background information
2. Provides conflict
O Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society

3. Can reveal a lot about someone’s

character
4. Provides mood or atmosphere
O Mood- the feeling WE get when we read a
story
5. Can paint images for the reader.
Images – words that call forth the 5
senses
Imagery - Essentially, there are five
types of imagery, each corresponding
to one of our senses: visual, auditory,
kinesthetic olfactory (smell), and
gustatory(taste).
Kinesthe Olfactory Gustator
Visual Auditory
tic pungent y
picture scream
feel fragrant sweet
flash shout
warm sweet sour
bright listen
grasp dank salty
sharp tone
sharp rich bitter
clear whisper
peaceful aroma fresh
see ring
cold stinky juicy
light utter
rugged musty bland
dark nasal
joyful rotten burnt
large squeal
fuzzy odor zesty
blue quiet
hard essence tangy
Visual
To evoke visual imagery, visualize the
following:
A shape: circle, triangle, square
An oak tree
A rose
A sailing boat
A button
A computer
Auditory
To evoke auditory imagery, imagine
the following:
The wind blowing through the trees
The ring on your telephone
The sound of your computer keyboard
Scales played on a guitar
Water lapping on a lake shore
Olfactory
To evoke olfactory imagery, conjure up
the following smells:
Petrol fumes
Newly baked bread
Chlorine
New mown grass
Freshly brewed coffee
Gustatory (taste)
To evoke gustatory imagery, imagine
the taste of:
Sugar
Bananas
Salt
Lemon
Toothpaste
Kinesthetic
Kinesthetic imagery can be further divided into: sense of touch, temperature,
movement, and feelings.

O Touch - imagine the feelings of:

Standing barefoot on a sandy beach
Running your fingertips on satin fabric
Holding a smooth pebble

O Temperature:
Sunlight falling over your arm
Holding an ice cube
Stepping into a warm bath
O Movement - feel yourself engaged in an activity:
Swimming
Running on grass
Throwing a ball
O Feelings - what does it feel like in your body to be:
Peaceful
Angry
Sad
Calm
Happy
Theme - The insight about human life
that is revealed in a literary work. The
“golden thread” woven throughout the
story.

Love is the central theme of all

literary pieces.
Point of View - The direction from which the writer
has chosen to tell the story
First Person: One of the characters tells the story;
talks directly to the reader. Uses the pronoun “I,” “me,”
“we,” or “us”
Second Person: The narrator will focus on the
thoughts & feelings of just one character. Reader
experiences the events of the story through the
memory and senses of only one character. Narrator
is part of the character.
Third-Person Omniscient and Limited
Omniscient- “All-knowing” An all-knowing narrator
who refers to all the characters as “he” and “she.”
Knows the thoughts and feelings of ALL of the
characters. A narrator who knows everything about all
the characters is all knowing, or omniscient. A narrator
whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major
or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.
Conflict - It exists when a character is
struggling with something or someone. Could be
a number of things:
O Another person, an animal,
O an inanimate object- a rock, the weather
O The character’s own personality

External Conflict- Caused by something

OUTSIDE the character
O Example: an another character, a river,
weather, society
O Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society
Internal Conflict- Character struggles with
some personal quality that is causing trouble
O Example: vanity, pride, selfishness, grief
O Man vs. Self
Foreshadowing - Clues about
what is going to happen as the
story unfolds
Suspense - Anxiety WE feel
about what is going to happen
next in the story
Parody - The imitation of a work
of literature, art, or music for
amusement or instruction
Satire - A kind of writing that
ridicules human weakness, vice,
or folly in order to bring about
 Irony - An “unexpected
twist” in a story
Types of Irony:
Verbal: Someone says one thing but means another. Also known as
sarcasm.
Situational: When a reader expects one thing to happen and the opposite
occurs
Dramatic: When the character in a play thinks one thing is true, but the
audience knows better. The audience has inside information that a character
does not. This information usually comes in the form of an aside or a
soliloquy.
Soliloquy - A character stands alone on stage and addresses the world
(audience), giving voice to his innermost thoughts and feelings.
Aside - Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience
only or to another character only. They are not supposed to be overheard
by others on stage. It is meant to let someone in on a secret or for a
character to give personal comments about current events in the play
 POETRY
POETRY - It refers to those expressions in verse,
with measures, rhymes, lines, stanzas and
melodious tones. It came from the Greek word
poiesis which means ‘making’.

Most poems make use of highly concise, musical,

and emotionally charged language. Many also make
use of imagery, figurative language, and special
devices of sound such as rhyme. Poems are often
divided into lines and stanzas and often employ
regular rhythmical patterns, or meters. However,
some poems are written out just like prose, and
some are written in free verse.
 Lyric Poetry
Lyric Poetry - In earlier days, it was meant to be sung to
the accompaniment of a musical instrument known as
lyre. Examples are:
a. Simple Lyric – embraces a wide variety of poems and
is characterized by subjectivity, imagination, melody and
emotion.
b. Song – short lyric poem which has a specific melodious
quality and is intended to be sung
c. Sonnet – a poem expressing of 14 lines with a formal
rhyme
d. Elegy – a poem expressing lament or grief for the
dead.
e. Ode – most splendid type of lyric poetry that expresses
a noble feeling with dignity.
 Narrative Poetry
Narrative Poetry - It tells a story following an
order of events. It includes:
a. Ballad – short simple narrative poem,
composed to be sung and is orally told from one
generation to another
b. Metrical Romance – a long rambling love story
in verse which is centered around the adventures
of knights and lords, and their royal ladies during
the age of chivalry.
c. Epic – a long, majestic narrative poem which
tells the adventures of a traditional hero and the
development of a nation.
 Dramatic Poetry
Dramatic Poetry – It has the elements that are closely
related to drama because it is written in dramatic form
or makes use of a dramatic technique. It includes:
a. Dramatic Monologue – a combination of drama and
poetry which presents the speech of a character in a
particular situation at a critical moment.
b. Soliloquy – passage spoken by the speaker in a
poem of a by the character in a play except that there is
no one present to hear him except the audience or the
reader.
c. Character Sketch – poem which the writer is
concerned less with complete or implied matters of a
story, but rather with arousing sympathy or antagonism
for, or some interest in an individual
 ORAL TRADITION
ORAL TRADITION is the passing of
songs, stories, and poems from
generation to generation by word of
mouth.
Some Type of Poetry
CONCRETE POEM is one with a shape that suggests its
subject. (See handout) William Burford’s “A Christmas Tree”
is a concrete poem:

Star,
If you are
A Love compassionate,
You will walk with us this year.
We face a glacial distance, who are here Huddl’d
At your feet.

The lines of the poem appear on the page in a shape of a

tree, and the words star and at your feet appear in
appropriate positions, at the top and bottom.
 Dramatic Poetry
DRAMATIC POETRY is poetry that
involves the techniques of drama.

a. A MONOLOGUE is a speech by one

character in a play, story, or poem.
 Epigram
An EPIGRAM is a short poem with a
single point, usually two to four lines
long, but sometimes more. The word
literally means “inscription” and they
originally were inscribed on tombs.
 Haiku
The HAIKU is a three-line Japanese verse form. A haiku
seeks to convey a single vivid emotion by means of
images from nature. Each line has a certain amount of
syllables.
Line 1 ----- 5
Line 2 ----- 7
Line 3 ----- 5

Example

Green and speckled legs,

Hop on logs and lily pads
Splash in cool water.
 Limerick
Limerick - a five-line witty poem with a
distinctive rhythm. The first, second and
fifth lines, the longer lines, rhyme. The third
and fourth shorter lines rhyme. (A-A-B-B-A).

Sincere Thanks to a Friend

Gratitude is a virtue, I've heard
And I'm feeling it now, so a word
Telling you, my dear friend
That you can't comprehend
The emotion with which I am stirred.
 Lyric Poetry
LYRIC POETRY is a highly musical
verse that expresses the observations
and feelings of a single speaker. They
were at one time sung, but not
today. They still have a musical
quality that is achieved through
rhythm and other devices such as
alliteration and rhyme.
 Sonnet
A SONNET is a short rhyming poem with 14 lines. The original
sonnet form was invented in the 13/14th century by Dante and
an Italian philosopher named Francisco Petrarch. The form
remained largely unknown until it was found and developed by
writers such as Shakespeare.

i. The SHAKESPEAREAN (ENGLISH) sonnet consists of three

quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a couplet (two lines), usually
rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The couplet usually comments on
the ideas contained in the preceding twelve lines. The sonnet is
usually not printed with stanzas divided, but a reader can see
distinct ideas in each.(Popularized by William Shakespeare aka
“Bard of Avon.”)

ii. The PETRARCHAN (ITALIAN) sonnet consists of an octave

(eight line stanza) and a sestet (six-line stanza). Often the
octave rhymes abbaabba and the sestet rhymes cdecde. The
octave states a theme or asks a question. The sestet comments
on or answers a question. (Popularized by Francesco Petrarca
aka “Petrarch”)
 Narrative
A narrative poem tells the story of an
event in the form of a poem. There is a
strong sense of narration, characters,
and plot.

A narrative poem is one that tells a

story.
 Epic
Epic - a lengthy narrative poem in
grand language celebrating the
adventures and accomplishments of a
legendary or conventional hero
 Free Verse
A Free Verse Poem does not follow any
rules. Their creation is completely in
the hands of the author. Rhyming,
syllable count, punctuation, number of
lines, number of stanzas, and line
formation can be done however the
author wants in order to convey the
idea. There is no right or wrong way to
create a Free Verse poem.
 Speaker
Speaker is the imaginary voice
assumed by the writer of a poem. In
many poems the speaker is not
identified by name. When reading a
poem, remember that the speaker and
the poet are not the same person, not
more than an actor is the
playwright. The speaker within the
poem may be a person, an animal, a
thing, or an abstraction.
Structure Of Poetry
O Blank Verse is poetry written in
unrhymed iambic pentameter
lines. This verse form was widely
used by Elizabethan dramatists like
William Shakespeare.
O A Refrain is a repeated line or group
of lines in a poem or song.
Structure Of Poetry
A Stanza is a formal division of lines in a poem, considered
as a unit. Often the stanzas in a poem are separated by
spaces. Stanzas are sometimes named according to the
number of lines found in them.
a. 2 lines ---- couplet
b. 3 lines ---- tercet
c. 4 lines ---- quatrain
d. 5 lines ---- cinquain
e. 6 lines ---- sestet
f. 7 lines ---- heptastich
g. 8 lines ---- octave
h. 9 lines -----Spenserian Stanza (pop. by Edmund Spenser)
i. 14 lines ---- Onegin Stanza (pop. by Eugene Onegin)
Structure Of Poetry
Meter of a poem is its rhythmical
pattern. This pattern is determined by
the number and types of stresses, or
beats, in each line.
 Sound Devices
Sound devices are resources used by poets to
convey and reinforce the meaning or experience
of poetry through the skillful use of sound. After
all, poets are trying to use a concentrated blend
of sound and imagery to create an emotional
response. The words and their order should
evoke images, and the words themselves have
sounds, which can reinforce or otherwise clarify
those images. All in all, the poet is trying to get
you, the reader, to sense a particular thing, and
the use of sound devices are some of the poet’s
tools.
 Accent
The rhythmically significant stress in the
articulation of words, giving some syllables more
relative prominence than others. In words of two
or more syllables, one syllable is almost invariably
stressed more strongly than the other syllables.
Words of one syllable may be either stressed or
unstressed, depending on the context in which
they are used, but connective one-syllable words
like, and, but, or, to,etc., are generally unstressed.
The words in a line of poetry are usually arranged
so the accents occur at regular intervals, with
the meter defined by the placement of the accents
within the foot.
 Alliteration
Also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, the
repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants) of
stressed syllables in neighboring words or at short
intervals within a line or passage, usually at word
beginnings, as in "wild and woolly" or the line from
the poem, Darkness Lost:

From somewhere far beyond, the flag of fate's

caprice unfurled.

“There will come soft rains and the smell of the

ground and swallows circling with their
shimmering sound;”
 Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel
sounds followed by different
consonants in two or more syllables.
Ex. “weak and weary” in “The Raven”
 Consonance
Consonance is the repetition in two
or more words of final consonants in
stressed syllables.
Ex.“add-read”
 Cacaphony
Discordant sounds in the jarring
juxtaposition of harsh letters or
syllables, sometimes inadvertent, but
often deliberately used in poetry for
effect, as in the opening line of Fences
(by Robert Shubinski):

Crawling, sprawling, breaching spokes

of stone,
 Dialect
DIALECT is the form of a language
spoken by people in a particular region
or group. Pronunciation, vocabulary,
and sentence structure are affected by
dialect
 Dissonance
Dissonance is a mingling or union of
harsh, inharmonious sounds that are
grating to the ear.
 Euphony
Harmony or beauty of sound that
provides a pleasing effect to the ear,
usually sought-for in poetry for effect.
It is achieved not only by the selection
of individual word-sounds, but also by
their relationship in the repetition,
proximity, and flow of sound patterns.
 Meter
A measure of rhythmic quantity, the organized succession
of groups of syllables at basically regular intervals in
a line of poetry, according to definite metrical patterns. In
classic Greek and Latin versification, meter depended on
the way long and short syllables were arranged to succeed
one another, but in English the distinction is between
accented and unaccented syllables. The unit of meter is
the foot. Metrical lines are named for the constituent foot
and for the number of feet in the line: monometer (1),
dimeter (2), trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5),
hexameter (6), heptameter (7) and octameter (8); thus, a
line containing five iambic feet, for example, would be
called iambic pentameter. Rarely does a metrical line
exceed six feet.
 Modulation
In poetry, the harmonious use of
language relative to the variations
of stress and pitch.
 Near Rhyme
Also called slant rhyme, off rhyme,
imperfect rhyme or half
rhyme, a rhyme in which the sounds
are similar, but not exact, as
in home and come or close and lose.
 Onomatopoeia
ONOMATOPOEIA is the use of words
that imitate sounds.

Ex. Whirr, thud, sizzle, buzz, and hiss

are typical examples.
Phonetic Symbolism
Sound suggestiveness; the association of
particular word-sounds with common areas of
meaning so that other words of similar
sounds come to be associated with those
meanings. It is also called sound symbolism.

An example of word sounds in English with a

common area of meaning is a group
beginning with gl, all having reference to
light, which include: gleam, glare, glitter,
glimmer, glint, glisten, glossy and glow.
 Repitition
REPETITION is the use, more than
once, of any element of language – a
sound, a word, a phrase, a clause, or a
sentence. Poets use many kinds of
repetition. Alliteration, assonance,
rhyme, and rhythm are repetitions of
certain sounds and sound patterns.
 Refrain
REFRAIN is a repeated line or group
of lines.
 Resonance
The quality of richness or variety
of sounds in poetic texture, as in
Milton's

. . . and the thunder . . . ceases now

To bellow through the vast and
boundless Deep.
 Rhyme
RHYME is the repetition of sounds at
the ends of words.
a. End rhyme occurs when the
rhyming words come at the end of
lines.
b. Internal rhyme occurs when the
rhyming words appear in the same
line.
 Rhyme Scheme
RHYME SCHEME is a regular pattern
of rhyming words in a poem. The
rhyme scheme of a poem is indicated
by using different letters of the
alphabet for each new rhyme.
 Rhythm
RHYTHM is the pattern of beats, or
stresses, in spoken or written
language. Some poems have a very
specific pattern, or meter, whereas
prose and free verse use the natural
rhythms of everyday speech.
Ways to Meaning
 Literal Language
LITERAL LANGUAGE uses words in
their ordinary senses. It is the
opposite of figurative language.
Figurative Language
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE is writing or
speech not meant to be interpreted
literally.
a. SIMILE uses “like or as” to make a
comparison
i. Between two unlike ideas
ii. Jim is as fast as Rick ---- not a simile
iii. Jim runs like a deer ---- simile
 Metaphor
METAPHOR one thing is spoken of as
though it were something else. Does
not use like or as.
Ex. Jim is a deer.
 Imagery
IMAGERY is a word or phrase that
appeals to one or more of the five
senses – sight, hearing, touch, taste,
or smell. Writers use images to re-
create sensory experiences in words.
 Parody
PARODY is a work done in imitation of
another, usually in order to mock it, but
sometimes just in fun. The following lines are
Lewis Carroll’s parody of the familiar children’s
rhyme, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”:

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!

How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a teatray in the sky.
 Personificiation
PERSONIFICATION is a type or
figurative language in which a non-
human subject is given human
characteristics.
 Literary
according to
GENRE

PROSE POETRY

Non- Narrative Dramatic

Fiction Lyric Poetry
Fiction Poetry Poetry

a. Simple Lyric a. Dramatic

a. Short a. Ballad Monologue
b. Song
b. Metrical b. Soliloquy
Story Essay c. Sonnet
Romance c. Character
d. Elegy
b. Novel e. Ode
c. Epic Sketch