STUDY GUIDE

English 2342: Literature I

Revised July 2011

In the space following each objective, take notes from your viewing and reading. The tests are based on the objectives.

The following programs are in the Literary Visions series of videotapes. Watch each program, read the assignments for that program, and answer the questions. The following textbook assignments are from Roberts Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Test 1 covers the videotapes, reading assignments, and objectives for programs #1-10. See syllabus for deadlines for each unit.

Program #1 First Sight: An Introduction to Literature After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. List several reasons why various writers write literature and/or roles that writers play in cultures.

2. List several reasons why various readers read literature.

Program #2 Ways of Seeing: Responding to Literature

After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Explain how to read serious (as opposed to popular or light) literature. What are some activities that are helpful?

. 2. Discuss the importance of supporting interpretations with evidence from the work itself.

Program #3 A Personal View: The Art of the Essay

You do not need to watch this program..

THE SHORT STORY Program #4 Reflected Worlds: The Elements of Short Fiction TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter Fiction: An Overview. This material mentions many terms that will be emphasized more in later programs. In addition, read the fol1owing stories: A & P, Updike Two Kinds, Tan Marriage is a Private Affair, Achebe After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Discuss how the reader helps to create the meaning of a short story.

2. Explain Poe's theory of the short story.

3. State how Okeke feels at the end of Marriage Is a Private Affair. 4. State what Two Kinds and Marriage Is a Private Affair have in common in terms of subject matter. What sort of experience occurs in both of the stories?

Program #5 The Storys Blueprint: Plot and Structure in Short Fiction TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text read the explanatory materia1 in the chapter Structure: The Organization of Stories. Also read the following stories: Blue Winds Dancing, Whitecloud Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri The Lottery, Jackson This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, Alexie After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define action, plot, and conflict.

2. Define internal and external as they apply to conflicts.

3. Understand that conflict consists of two forces in opposition to each other. An internal conflict involves two different specific parts of the same character. Be able to state several conflicts (the two opposing forces in each) from Blue Winds Dancing.

4. Be able to state the central or main conflict (including the opposing forces) from Blue Winds Dancing, The Lottery, Interpreter of Maladies, and This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona. Are they internal or external? How is each resolved?

5. Understand the terms exposition, resolution, flashback, and chronological order.

.. .

Program #6 Telling Their Tales: Character in Short Fiction TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text read the explanatory material in the chapters Characters: The People in Fiction and Point of View: The Position or Stance of the Works Narrator or Speaker. Also read the following stories: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Garcia Marquez The Things They Carried, OBrien

After you have finished studying this lesson you will be able to: 1. Define stock, flat, dynamic, static, antagonist, and protagonist.

2. Recognize examples of these terms in short stories that you read. 3. State who is the antagonist in A&P. 4. State who the protagonists are in A&P, Two Kinds, and The Things They Carried. 5. Identify the central/main character for each of the following stories: This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, The Things They Carried, and A&P.

6. Define what is meant by point of view (as an element of literature).

7. Define and recognize first person, limited omniscient, omniscient, and dramatic points of view.

8. Label the point of view of each of the following stories: The Lottery, A & P, This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, and The Things They Carried.

9. Be able to discuss how a particular point of view affects a story. 10. Define narrator and persona.

Program #7 In That Time and Place: Setting and Character in Short Fiction TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT : In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter Setting: The Background of Place, Objects, and Culture in Stories . Also read the following stories: Everyday Use, Walker My Old Home, Hsun Sonnys Blues, Baldwin After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define setting. Understand the various things that are included as part of setting.

2.

Discuss how a reader's response is affected by knowledge about the background and social and historical context of a short story and its author.

3. List objects that are important in the settings of the following stories: My Old Home, Sonnys Blues, and Everyday Use. List at least 2 for each.

4. Discuss other details of setting (time, place, colors, weather, etc.) and their importance for the stories listed above in item #3. Give at least three specific details for each (in addition to the objects listed above).

Program #8 The Authors Voice: Tone and Style TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter Tone and Style: The Words That Convey Attitudes in Fiction. Remember that there is a glossary of terms near the back of the book. Also read the following stories: The Story of an Hour, Chopin, and How to Become a Writer, Moore After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Identify the major elements and characteristics of style. 2. Define tone. Recognize how it can vary within a story. 3. State several frequently used tones.

4. Define irony. List the different types of irony.

5. Label the tone of The Story of an Hour. Give examples to support your label.

6. Label the tone of How to Become a Writer. Give examples to support your label.

Program #9 Suggested Meaning: Symbolism and Allegory

TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter Symbolism and Allegory: Keys to Extended Meaning. After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define symbolism.

2. Distinguish between private/contextual and cultural/universa1 symbols.

3. Define fable and myth.

Program #10 The Sum of Its Parts: Theme TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter Idea or Theme: The Meaning and the Message in Fiction. Also read the following stories: The Hammon and the Beans, Paredes The Lesson, Bambara After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Explain the relationship between a story's central conflict and meaning.

2. Define theme/main idea. Differentiate between theme in a story and thesis in an essay.

3. Differentiate between subject and theme in a short story. 4. Recognize that there may be more than one theme/idea in a story. State the theme(s)/main idea(s) of the following stories: The Hammon and the Beans, Interpreter of Maladies, The Lottery, and The Lesson. Be sure to state each idea 1) in a complete statement/sentence and 2) such that it can be applied to situations in life outside of the story. The idea itself needs to be stated in a complete statement that can stand alone outside of the sentence in which it is imbedded.

Take Test 1 (Short Story) in the Testing Center

POETRY Test 2 covers the videotapes, reading assignments and objectives for programs #11-17 Program #11 The Sacred Words: Elements of Poetry TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: Read the following poems: Homage to My Hips, Clifton The Day Zimmer Lost Religion, Zimmer Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, Thomas Latin Women Pray, Ortiz After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Understand the importance of economy of language in poetry.

2. Be able to state and discuss the theme/idea for each of the poems listed above. (50% of the poetry test will be over the themes of poems.) Be sure to state the theme as a comp1ete sentence and such that it can be applied to life outside the poem. (State the theme/idea the same way that you did in the short story unit.)

Program #12: A Sense of Place TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text read the explanatory material in the chapter Characters and Setting: Who, What, Where, and When in Poetry. In addition, read the following poems: Where Children Live, Nye Theme for English B, Hughes Buffalo Bills Defunct, Cummings Eagle Poem, Harjo Oranges, Soto After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Show how clues and information in the poem about the setting affect a poem's meaning for a reader.

2. Discuss how a reader's understanding of a poem is affected by knowledge about the background and historical and social context of a poem and poet.

3. Be able to state and discuss the theme/idea for each of the poems listed above. (50% of the poetry test will be over the themes of poems.) Be sure to state the theme as a complete sentence and such that it can be applied to life outside the poem.

Program #13 Tools of the Trade: Words and Imagery in Poetry TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text read the explanatory material in the chapters Words: The Building Blocks of Poetry, and Imagery: The Poem's Link to the Senses. In addition read the following poems: Eating Poetry, Strand Where Mountain Lions Lay Down with Deer, Silko The Soul Selects Her Own Society, Dickinson Showing the Birds, Oliver A Supermarket in California, Ginsberg

After you have finished studying this lesson you will be able to: 1. Be able to state and discuss the theme/idea for each of the poems listed above. (50% of the poetry test will be over the themes of poems.) Be sure to state the theme as a complete sentence and such that it can be applied to life outside the poem.

2. Define and be able to recognize examples of formal and informal diction, concrete and abstract diction, specific diction, and slang.

3. Define image and imagery. Define and be able to recognize examples of tactile, auditory, visual, and olfactory images.

4. Be aware that images affect the reader emotionally. 5. Define connotation. 6. Understand parallelism in a poem.

Program #14 Seeing Anew: Rhetorical Figures in Poetry TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter "Figures of Speech, or Metaphorical Language: A Source of Depth and Range in Poetry and Tone: The Creation of Attitude in Poetry." In addition, read the following poems: Poetry, Giovanni Harlem, Hughes If You Forget Me, Neruda Metaphors, Plath Ethics, Pastan After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be ab1e to: 1. Define and recognize examples of figures of speech, including metaphor, explicit metaphor, simile, and personification.

2. State reasons why poets depend on figurative language as one of the main characteristics of poetry.

3. Be able to state and discuss the theme/idea for each of the poems listed above. (50% of the poetry test will be over the themes of poems.) Be sure to state the theme as a complete sentence and such that it can be applied to life outside the poem.

4. Understand the meaning of situational irony.

5. Define and recognize examples of synesthesia, apostrophe, and pun.

Program #15 An Echo to the Sense: Prosody and Form

TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapters Prosody: Sound, Rhythm, and Rhyme in Poetry and Form: The Shape of the Poem. In addition, read the following poems: Cross, Hughes I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died, Dickinson We Real Cool, Brooks The Man He Killed, Hardy To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph, Sexton The Shape of History, Webb

After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define meter and metrical pattern. 2. Define iambic and understand that it is the most common type of foot in the English language.

3. Define and identify assonance and alliteration.

4. Define rhyme and understand how to mark a poem's rhyme scheme (with letters of the alphabet). Mark the rhyme schemes of Cross and The Man He Killed. 5. Define stanza.

6. Define and recognize common forms of poetry such as couplets, sonnets, ballads, common measure, lyrics, and free verse.

7. Identify which form is used in each of the following poems: To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph, I Heard a Fly Buzz, The Shape of History, and The Man He Killed.

Program #16 Distant Voices: Myth, Symbolism, and Allusion TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapters Symbolism and Allusion: Windows to Wide Expanses of Meaning and Myths: Systems of Symbolic Allusion in Poetry. In addition, read the following poems: Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, Williams Wild Geese, Oliver A Wedding Sonnet, Viorst Waiting for Icarus, Rukeyser Myth, Rukeyser After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define and distinguish among myths, allusions, and symbolism.

2. Understand the differences between private, cultural, and universal symbols.

3. Recognize that the same myth can recur in various poems. 4. Discuss what a poet's use of myth and allusion contribute to a poem.

Program #17 Artful Resonance: Theme TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: Read the following poems: Next Please, Larkin True Love, Viorst Let America Be America Again, Hughes After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Define and differentiate between subject and theme in poetry.

2. Determine the theme(s) in various poems (see previous programs).

3. Be able to state and discuss the theme/idea for each of the poems listed above. (50% of the poetry test will be over the themes of poems.) Be sure to state the theme as a complete sentence and such that it can be applied to life outside the poem.

4. Understand that all poems have theme but that theme is not necessarily the most important aspect of a poem. 5. Be able to cite evidence from a poem to support your statement of the theme.

Take Test 2 (Poetry) in Testing Center

DRAMA Program #18 Image of Reality: Elements of Drama

THERE IS NO VIDEO TO WATCH FOR PROGRAM #18.

TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: In your text, read the explanatory material in the chapter The Dramatic Vision: An Overview. After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Explain why performance is critical in drama.

2. Explain why audience is critical in drama.

Program #19 Playing the Part: Character and Action TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT; In your text, read the explanatory material at the beginning of the chapter The Tragic Vision: Affirmation Through Loss. In addition, read the following play: Death of a Salesman, Miller (and introductory information) After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to:

1.

List three qualities of the ideal tragic hero.

2.

Define tragic flaw.

3. Define tragic dilemma.

4. Define catharsis.

5. Define recognition.

6. Define scene of suffering/pathos.

7. Discuss Willy Loman as a tragic hero. Give examples of the different characteristics of a tragic hero that apply to Willy; also discuss those traits that do not apply to him.

8. Discuss the play Death of a Salesman as a tragedy. Give examples from the play of several of the components of tragedy that you have defined above. Also discuss whether there are components of tragedy that do not appear in this play.

Program #20 Patterns of Action: Plot and Conf1ict

TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: Read the following play: A Dollhouse, Ibsen (and introductory information about Ibsen, which precedes A Dollhouse) After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1.Discuss Nora as a tragic heroine. Give examples of the different characteristics of a tragic hero that apply to her; also discuss those traits that do not apply to her.

2. Discuss the play A Dollhouse as a tragedy. Give examples of several components of tragedy that occur in the play. Also discuss whether there are components of tragedy that do not appear in this play.

Program #21 Perspectives on Illusion: Setting and Staging in Drama TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT: Read the following play: Oedipus the King, Sophocles (and introductory information) After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Analyze the characteristics of Oedipus: his strengths and his flaws. 2. Discuss whether Oedipus is a tragic hero. Discuss whether the different characteristics of a tragic hero apply to him.

3. Discuss the play Oedipus the King as a tragedy. Give examples of several components of tragedy that occur in the play. Also discuss whether there are components of tragedy that do not appear in this play.

Program #22 Speech and Silence: Language in Drama

THERE IS NO VIDEO TO WATCH FOR PROGRAM #22.

After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. Give examples of the language of gesture, movement, and expression.

2. Give examples of irony from each of the three plays read.

Program #23 Vision Quest: Myth and Symbolism in Drama

After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Recognize the importance of myth in drama.

2. Identify symbols in Death of a Salesman and discuss their meanings.

Program #24 Frame for Meaning: Theme in Drama

After you have finished studying this lesson, you will be able to: 1. State (and give evidence from the play to support) the main themes/ideas in Oedipus the King.

2. State (and give evidence from the play to support) the main themes/ideas in Death of a Salesman.

3. State (and give evidence from the play to support) the main themes/ideas in A Dollhouse.