Prelim Midterm Reviewer Lit1

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LESSON 1: THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE Importance of Literature:

1. Literature helps us grow both personally and intellectually.


Literature has been widely known by many people and experts. It has been 2. Literature links us with the rest of the world of which we are apart.
defined differently by various writers. Some of them include: 3. Literature enables us to transcend our immediate time, place, and culture
and to make connections with other human beings and their concerns.
 “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the 4. Literature encourages us to develop mature empathy with all forms of life:
necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this human, animal, plant.
respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” – C.S. 5. Literature sharpens our sense of moral judgment.
Lewis 6. Literature stimulates our imagination and ingenuity.
 “Literature raises life to a new level of meaning and understanding, and in 7. Literature shows the significance of irony, paradox, oxymoron and
the process restores sanity and justice in an insane and unjust world.” – ambivalence of life.
Cirilo F. Bautista 8. Literature allows us to see the world in different vantage points.
 Literature is a work of fiction that is the result of creation by a spontaneous 9. Literature relives history.
surge of emotion that is capable of both the aspects of language as well as 10. Literature reminds us that we are human beings.
aspects of meaning.” – E.E. Cummings, Mujarovsky and Sjklovski
What makes a book a “Classic”?
It is a known fact that literature deals with emotions, thoughts and ideas of It can have a wide range of answers depending on the experience of the
man. It provides different meanings to different lessons at different stages of person you question on the topic. However, there are some tenets that the
their life. Thus, regardless of what you learn from a book, literature provides classics, in the context of books and literature, all have in common. These
connection to the reader and to the world. qualities of classic literature make them appropriate for study; We also call
these qualities as literary standards.
Definition of Literature:
The word literature is derived from the Latin term literatura which means 7 Literary Standards
“writing formed with letters”. The term is further derived from litera which These are a set of characteristics to determine whether or not a work is
means “letter” in English. literary. The criteria were developed by writer William J. Long in his textbook
"English Literature: Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-
 Others: Literature can be any printed material written within a book or speaking World.
pamphlet. For some it could be a result of one’s imagination and
expression. 1. Universality
 Merriam Webster: Literature are writings in prose or verse, the body of  Literature appeals to everyone, regardless of culture, race, gender, and
written works produced in a particular language, country or age. Written times which are all considered significant. When a theme is relatable by
works considered as having high quality and ideas of lasting and a wide range of readers, we call this a universal theme.
widespread interest. 2. Artistry
 Britannica Encyclopedia: Literature is a body of written works. The name  Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty.
applied to any imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the  It must be of high artistic quality, at least for the time in which it was
intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their written.
execution. 3. Intellectual Value
 Literature stimulates critical thinking that enriches mental processes of
Literature can be classified according to a variety of systems, like language, abstract and reasoning, making man realize the fundamental truths of
national origin, historical period, genre and subject matter life and its nature.
4. Suggestiveness - general character of the language used by the author
 Literature unravels and conjures man’s emotional power to define - plays a very important role in creating tone and voice appropriate for your
symbolisms, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages, giving audience and writing objective
and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and
experience. LEVELS OF DICTION (Levels of Articulation)
5. Spiritual Value I. HIGH OR FORMAL – for highly educated audience.
 Literature elevates the spirit and the soul and this has the power to - Usually contains language that creates an elevated tone. It is free of slang,
motivate and inspire, drawn from the suggested morals or lessons of the idioms, colloquialisms, and contractions. It often contains polysyllabic
different literary genres. words, sophisticated syntax, and elegant word choice.
6. Permanence - Appropriate for formal occasions used when addressing a highly educated
 Literature endures across time and draws out the time factor: timeliness, audience.
occurring at a particular time, and timelessness, remaining invariable - This includes sermons, scholarly journals, etc.; Found in publications such
throughout time. academic publications
 Books published in the recent past “modern classic” II. A. NEUTRAL/ STANDARD – for well-educated audience.
 Books written after World War II “classic” - used when addressing a well-educated audience.
7. Style - commonly this is the level used for college papers, mass publications, and
 Literature presents peculiar way/s on how man sees life as evidenced by business communication.
the formation of his ideas, forms, structures, and expressions which are - refers to the level of diction employed in most college-level writing
marked by their memorable substances. assignments as well as newspapers and general interest journals.
 The way in which an author writes and/or tells a story. It’s what sets one - maintains a professional tone but tries to avoid highly technical or
author apart from another and creates the “voice” that audiences hear specialized terms and concepts.
when they read. B. NEUTRAL/ INFORMAL – for a familiar audience.
 - used when addressing a familiar audience.
some key parts that work together to make up a piece of literature’s style: - grammatically correct but conversational includes personal letters, emails,
 Diction: the style of the author’s word choice and documents with conversational or entertaining purposes also include
 Sentence structure: the way words are arranged in a sentence "slang" language, which may be used to create a specific "flavor" as in
 Tone: the mood of the story; the feeling or attitude a work creates sports casting or novels.
 Narrator: the person telling the story and the point-of-view it is told in III. LOW/NON-STANDARD
 Grammar and the use of punctuation - Language deficient in some form or manner
 Creative devices like symbolism, allegory, metaphor, rhyme, and so on. - diction outside of conventional or standard use
- Includes: vulgarity/pedestrian, slang, colloquial, dialect, cliché, jargon
DICTION
- language and word choice of the writer. TYPES OF DICTION
- shows the formality of a text which helps in shaping the perceptions and 1. Slang
view of the readers. - refers to a group of recently coined words often used in informal
- LEVELS OF DICTION AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS: situations; develops from the attempt to find fresh, colorful, exaggerated,
➢ Formal Diction - Academic/ Scholarly Language or humorous expressions.
➢ Informal Diction - Conversational language - Ex. Emo, frenemy, my bad, awesomity, greycation, bromance
➢ Colloquial Diction - Slang Language; Captures regional dialect
- word choice of the author
2. Vulgarity 11. Denotation
- a language deficient in taste and refinement; coarse, base (swear words). - is the exact, literal definition of a word independent of any emotional
- Ex. pakshet, difotah association or secondary meaning.
- Ex. snake (reptile), house, mother, loose (not tight)
3. Colloquial
- expressions are nonstandard, often regional ways of using language 12. Connotation
appropriate to informal or conversational speech and writing. - is the implicit rather than explicit meaning of a word and consists of the
- Ex. Anyhow, gotcha, gramps, stats, info, guys, kid suggestions, associations, and emotional overtones attached to a word.
- Ex. Snake (evil), home, stepmother, loose (not in the right mind)
4. Jargon
- consists of words and expressions characteristic of a particular profession,
NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW
or pursuit.
describes the stand of the narrator of the story teller. The narrator is the eye
- Ex. gigabyte, logic board, CPU, LCD = computer jargon
of the story, expressing the story through first-person, second-person, and
5. Dialect alternating-person.
- is a nonstandard subgroup of a language with its own vocabulary and
1. First-Person POV
grammatical features.
- can be seen in a narrator who is the character in his or her own story.
- Ex. Philippine English as dialect of English language
- uses “I” or very seldom “we” when referring to a group.
6. Cliché 2. Second-Person POV
- is figurative language used so often that it has lost its freshness and - a narrator that tells the story of another person or the narrator
originality. himself/herself.
- Ex. Time is Gold, Love is like a rosary full of mystery, you shine like a star - uses the pronoun “you”.
3. Third-Person POV
7. Concrete diction - where every character is signified to by the storyteller as “she”, “he”, “it”.
- consists of specific words that describe physical qualities. - the narrator never uses “I” “we” “you”.
- Ex. spoon, table, velvet eye patch, nose ring, sinus mask, hot 4. Alternating Person
8. Abstract diction - is used I novels when authors experiment different points of view even if
- refers to language that denotes ideas, emotions, conditions or concepts it is suggested that they establish a single point of view. In this type, it
that are intangible. combines firs and a third person storytelling.
- Ex. love, success, freedom, good, moral, democracy, chauvinism,
Communism, feminism, racism, sexism. NARRATIVE VOICE
illustrates how the story is told through stream of consciousness, character
9. General voice, unreliable narrator, epistolary voice, third-person narratives include:
- refers to groups. ▪ subjective; objective; omniscient; free indirect; alternating.
- Ex. Furniture, people, institutions, houses
1. Stream-of-Consciousness
10. Specific - expressed to the audience but not necessarily to other characters.
- refers to individuals. - It is a literary technique which was pioneered by Dorthy Richardson,
- Ex. Rocking chair, Filipinos, hospitals, nipa hut Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce. Stream of consciousness is characterized
by a flow of thoughts and images, which may not always appear to have a
coherent structure or cohesion.
2. Character Voice Examples of Imagery
- is employed in the first-third-person viewpoints wherein the storyteller ▪ Imagery using visuals:
portrays how the character views humanity and the world. The night was black as ever, but bright stars lit up the sky in beautiful and
- in which a story's character is presented as the narrator; this character is varied constellations which were sprinkled across the astronomical
called a "viewpoint character" landscape.
3. Unreliable Voice
▪ Imagery using sounds:
- involves the use of an untrustworthy narrator.
Silence was broken by the peal of piano keys as Shannon began practicing her
- This mode may be employed to give the audience a deliberate sense of
concerto.
disbelief in the story or a level of suspicion or mystery as to what
information is meant to be true and what is meant to be false. ▪ Imagery using scent:
4. Epistolary Voice She smelled the scent of sweet hibiscus wafting through the air, its tropical
- uses a series of letters and other documents to convey the plot of the story. smell a reminder that she was on vacation in a beautiful place.
- One example is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which is a story written in a ▪ Imagery using taste:
sequence of letters. The candy melted in her mouth and swirls of bittersweet chocolate and
5. Third person voices slightly sweet but salty caramel blended together on her tongue.
- narratives using the third-person view.
▪ Imagery using touch:
NARRATIVE TIME After the long run, he collapsed in the grass with tired and burning muscles.
determines the timeline of the story whether it may have happened before, The grass tickled his skin and sweat cooled on his brow.
during, or after the narration.
A. VISUAL imagery – describes what we see
What is Imagery? B. AUDITORY imagery – describes what we hear
- is language used by poets, novelists and other writers to create images in C. OLFACTORY imagery – describes what we smell
the mind of the reader. D. GUSTATORY imagery – describes what we taste
- includes figurative and metaphorical language to improve the reader’s E. TACTILE imagery – describes what we feel or touch
experience through their senses.
Freytag's Pyramid is a five-part dramatic structure that goes from the
TYPES OF IMAGERY EXPOSITION into the RISING ACTION, to the CLIMAX, FALLING ACTION, and
finally the DENOUEMENT/RESOLUTION. The action in a story rises and falls in
the shape of a pyramid.

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