Lit Terms 2

Circumlocution - noun an indirect way of expressing something; a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
Classicism - noun a movement in literature and art during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe that favored rationality and restraint and strict forms
Definition not found for Clich. Please tryhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Clich for a definition.
Climax - noun the decisive moment in a novel or play;arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness; the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding; the most severe stage of a disease; the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse; verb end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
Colloquialism - noun a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
Comedy - noun light and humorous drama with a happy ending; a comic incident or series of incidents
Conflict - noun an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); an incompatibility of dates or events; opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings; opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot); a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests; a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; a disagreement or argument about something important; verb go against, as of rules and laws; be in conflict
Connotation - noun an idea that is implied or suggested; what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression
Contrast - noun the act of distinguishing by comparing differences;the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness); the perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors; the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared; a conceptual separation or distinction; verb put in opposition to show or emphasize differences; to show differences when compared; be different
Denotation - noun the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; the act of indicating or pointing out by name
Denouement - noun the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work; the outcome of a complex sequence of events
Dialect - noun the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
Dialectics - noun a rationale for dialectical materialism based on change through the conflict of opposing forces
Dichotomy - noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
Diction - noun the manner in which something is expressed in words; the articulation of speech regarded from the point of view of its intelligibility to the audience
Didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)
Dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
Elegy - noun a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
Epic - adj. very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic; noun a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
Epigram - noun a witty saying

Lit Terms 1

allegory - noun an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor; a short moral story (often with animal characters); a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
alliteration - noun use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse
allusion - noun passing reference or indirect mention
ambiguity - noun unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning; an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
analogy - noun drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect; an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others; the religious belief that between creature and creator no similarity can be found so great but that the dissimilarity is always greater; language can point in the right direction but any analogy between God and humans will always be inadequate
analysis - noun an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole; the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations; a branch of mathematics involving calculus and the theory of limits; sequences and series and integration and differentiation; a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed; the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., `the father of the bride' instead of `the bride's father'; a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud
anaphora - noun using a pronoun or similar word instead of repeating a word used earlier; repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
anecdote - noun short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
antagonist - noun a drug that neutralizes or counteracts the effects of another drug; a muscle that relaxes while another contracts;someone who offers opposition
antithesis - noun the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance; exact opposite
aphorism - noun a short pithy instructive saying
apologia - noun a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly
apostrophe - noun the mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word; address to an absent or imaginary person
argument - noun a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable; if f(x)=y, x is the independent variable; a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie; a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true; a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
assumption - noun the act of taking possession of or power over something; the act of assuming or taking for granted; a hypothesis that is taken for granted; (Christianity) the taking up of the body and soul of the Virgin Mary when her earthly life had ended; celebration in the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary's being taken up into heaven when her earthly life ended; corresponds to the Dormition in the Eastern Orthodox church; audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to; a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
audience - noun a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance; the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment; a conference (usually with someone important); an opportunity to state your case and be heard
characterization - noun the act of describing distinctive characteristics or essential features; acting the part of a character on stage; dramatically representing the character by speech and action and gesture; a graphic or vivid verbal description
chiasmus - noun inversion in the second of two parallel phrases

Hamlet Essay

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t”.  This line, spoken by Polonious, is one of the most important lines spoken in Shakespears’ Hamlet. This line illustrates the central theme of the play. From the time of Hamlet senior’s death to the final scene, the entire plot is chaotic. Every character has secrets and devises a plot at some point in the play. Hamlet, the character that this quote was directed to, was the master of hiding his true intentions behind a false representation of himself.  When this line was spoken, it gave not only the characters but also the audience, a critical understanding of the innerworkings into the mind of the main characters of the play.

Hamlet is the most complex character in the play.  From the opening scene, we see him being misrepresented by Claudius.  He is constantly being described as a depressed, horny, dramatic teenager. It wasn;t until this line was spoken that the first accurate repsrentation was presented of Hamlet. It was Hamlet’s objective to make everyone think he had gone mad over the death of his father so that they would not view him as a threat.