ENGL 253 The Short Story Dr. Nick Melczarek basic literary concepts & terms
[Literature] is never anything but philosophy put into images. --Albert Camus Every text [...] is a lazy machine asking the reader to do some of its work[.] -- Umberto Eco, Six Walks in the Fictional Woods (3, 49) Tell me one last thing, said Harry. Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head? [...] Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real? -- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (723)
(re)reading first reading = plot reading Familiarize yourself with who s whom, what s what, where we re going, etc rereading Now that you know the plot, go back and reread for things you missed, or things you now see differently since you know where everything is headed Make notes at each step, then go back and fill out notes upon rereading.
Text(s) Text = what s on the page in front of us; our ultimate boundary for interpretation to avoid confusion, we ll use text instead of story when discussing the work Subtext = themes/ideas going on beneath surface of text, the text s subconscious ideas/topics we can see that text/narrator/author may not be aware of Paratext = material outside the text that influences or informs our reading & interpretation of the text book cover, history, personal experience, etc.
Plot & Story Plot (general sense): what happens, the sequence of events gets characters from A to B Story (general sense): draws out plot s deeper motivations & meaning makes us care about characters getting from A to B
Theme(s) Short fiction can contain one or only a few themes Theme bigger, more general categorical ideas what novel is about (but NOT what happens in novel) when asking about theme, I m asking what s this about, what ideas does it concern, not what happens in it so, if I ask what s this about, I m asking about THEME, not PLOT don t give me plot
Narration vs. Exposition Narration = telling the plot recounts or describes events/plot (without commentary) Narrative = the telling of the story, the language and style used, distinct from the plot/story itself Simple narrative: recites events chronologically Plot narrative: doesn t always follow chronology, but follows internal logic of the story itself depending on what kind of story Exposition = explaining the plot or plot elements non-plot information the narrator gives so we can make sense of the plot identifies, defines, classifies, illustrates, compares, analyzes offers narrator s interpretation outside characters own expressions/statement; so there are different kinds of exposition Explanatory exposition Opinion exposition ( soapboxing, exhortation, judging)
Narrator(s) Narrator = who, or what voice, tells us the plot; recounts or describes events/plot; somebody is always telling us all this First-person: someone who speaks directly to us from her/his own experience, referring to herself/himself with first-person pronouns (I, me, my, mine [sometimes even the collective we, our ]) Sometimes also constitutes an active character in the story Third-person: someone not involved in the action but who only relates it (even if pausing for exposition), using only thirdperson pronouns (him, her, it, his, her, their, its) but never referring to herself/himself Third-person omniscient: ( all-knowing ), views characters from on high outside the events and relates things about them pretty equally Third-person limited: also resides outside the events, but focuses on one or a few characters (almost over those characters shoulders) in particular Reliable/unreliable: based on the narrative & plot, the degree to which we can trust what the narrator tells us, or the narrator as a reporter
Setting Where, when, and under what circumstances (physical, environmental/atmospheric, historical, emotional) the plot takes place General Specific What country, what century/decade/year/season? Any important historical events recently take place? Countryside, town, city? Place name? House, castle, bank? Any specific emotions in play at beginning? end? From what social class do the characters come? Setting sometimes changes through the plot why might it be important? As much as a change in physical scene, what other changes might it indicate?
World/text Diegesis = the world inside the story that the author creates and that the characters move around in unaware that they re characters and that we re reading about them diegetical Verisimilitude = achievement of the illusion of reality (for the reader, through the narrative) A sense that the diegesis, plot, or characters are plausible (believable, likely) through an appeal to our sense of reality in comparison to the fictional diegesis
Imagery & Motif IMAGERY describes an object, person, or scene and asks us to imagine it in our heads asks us to imagine through the senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell invites interpretation & assigning meaning to that image that exceeds that image itself Ex: a tree may be more than just a tree, while it remains just a tree for the narrative NB: an idea is not an image. Something must appeal to our imagination of the physical senses to be an image. MOTIF a repeated image, phrase, idea, etc. within a text tracks an idea, theme, mood throughout the text meaning accrues & can change/grow/develop with each repetition if linked to a specific character, thing, force, or idea, then called a leitmotif
Reference & Figuration ALLUSION indirect reference (usually) to something outside the text that, if we readers recognize it, we can bring the meaning of into the text we re reading SYMBOL usually an image; stands in for a single, easy idea, meaning, or interpretation 1:1 relationship to what it stands in for (e.g. a stop sign, a crucifix, a black cat) METAPHOR figurative language, stands in for something in a way much more complex than simple symbolism indicates a shared quality with what it stands in for or elaborates not a 1:1 relationship to what it stands in for
Human-izing PERSONIFICATION Converting something into or treating something as a person, usually an abstract concept ANTHROPOMORPHOSIS Assigning human qualities to abstract concepts or non-human beings/things ALLEGORY A kind of literature that personifies abstract concepts & forces, and externalizes internal human impulses, to get us to think about them from a safe psychological distance In simple forms, gives a human character the abstract concept as a symbolic name (Prudence, Patience, etc)
Characters Character The people in a narrative (not always human, or animate) Never forget the narrator as a possible character!!!! Protagonist = main character(s) (replaces hero ); with whom we spend the most page-time, whom we come to know the most Antagonist = (replaces villain ) opposes another character/protagonist (characters can also be each other s antagonists; antagonists can be protagonists) Character depths: flat = one-dimensional; we don t learn much about them; usually have singular specific purpose (e.g. foil, a flat character whose only purpose is to make the protagonist/main character more of who/what she/he is) round = more developed, can imagine them as real people on the street dynamic = round character who grows and learns, changing from what she/he was at play s beginning
Characterization Characterization = how the narrative makes characters who they are diction = how characters speak, their wordchoice, vocal mannerisms mannerisms = things characters do/say that allow us to identify them on the page even if they re not named (cf leitmotif) motivation = why characters do/say what they do, what drives them
Tone, etc. TONE = the attitude the narrator/voice/text takes toward its subject matter to get this, must listen to the text by imagining/hearing the narrative voice in your own head can determine or even change the meaning of a passage (as inflection does vocally) subtle, but important ATMOSPHERE environmental description and imagery of the diegesis that implies/reflects emotional environment in which plot takes place MOOD the overall sense of emotion created by atmosphere, etc., for the reader imagery/description atmosphere mood
Works for words, phrases, images, plot, meaning Meaning, clarity (1) DOUBLE MEANING / DOUBLE ENTENDRE Word/phrase that has two different but related simultaneous meanings (not necessarily opposed) usually, one is literal ( surface ) and the other figurative (metaphorical, deeper ) AMBIVALENCE Effect of two opposed/contradictory but simultaneous meanings, interpretations or responses, each of which is equally valid AMBIGUITY Effect where no single definitive meaning, interpretation or response is possible or takes precedence; will accept multiple meanings or interpretations at the same time; can have many but unrelated meanings (not opposed, just different)
DENOTATION The technical, actual ( dictionary ) meaning of a word, term, or phrase (think D for dictionary ) CONNOTATION Meaning, clarity (2) The general- or publicly-accepted, informal, later-accrued meaning of a word, term, or phrase (think C for context ) Bastard Bitch Hot Chick Guy Cool Sick Literally Language in general, and writers in specific, often deploy the different possible senses of words like these, or these words accepted connotations have changed over time
Irony Irony: simply, something different/opposite from what was expected based on context. A contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality. verbal irony = contradiction between what a character says and what we know s/he believes (sarcasm, etc.) situational irony = discrepancy between expectation and reality based on plot dramatic irony = when a character s words or actions come to haunt them or cause their demise later in the plot As readers, our job is to interpret and assign meaning to irony.