Name: Date: Teacher: ER.DFA1.G10.1R.C4.PO3 Determine how the meaning of the text is affected by the writer's word choice (e.g., literal vs. figurative language idioms. adages). /5 All excerpts in this formative are from The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde The wind shook some blossoms from the trees, and the heavy lilac blooms, with their clustering stars, moved to and fro in the languid air. A grasshopper began to chirrup in the grass, and a long thin dragon-fly floated by on its brown gauze wings. 1. This paragraph reflects which of the following characteristics of the opening scene of this novel? a) A peaceful setting. b) An impatient sense of fear. c) An abrupt introduction. d) A hasty jolt of reality. Harry: Poets are not so scrupulous as you are. They know how useful passion is for publication. Nowadays a broken heart will run to many editions. Basil: I hate them for it. An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. If I live, I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait of Dorian Gray. 2. This dialogue illustrates Basil s sense of which of the following emotions? a) Uncontrollable rage. b) Self inflicted sadness. c) Reflective frustration. d) Irrepressible ecstasy.
Yes, he [Dorian] was certainly wonderfully handsome, with his finely-curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes, his crisp gold hair. There was something in his face that made one trust him at once. All the candor of youth was there, as well as all youth s passionate purity. One felt that he had kept himself unspotted from the world. No wonder Basil Hallward worshipped him. He was made to be worshipped. 3. All the candor of youth was there, as well as all youth s passionate purity reflects which of the following traits about Dorian? a) A determined, forceful attitude. b) A fraudulent sense of entitlement. c) A deceptive personality. d) A straightforward, honest nature.
Extended Response Gradually the events of the preceding night crept with silent blood- stained feet into his brain, and reconstructed themselves there with terrible distinctness. He winced at the memory of all that he had suffered, and for a moment the same curious feeling of loathing for Basil Hallward, that had made him kill him as he sat in the chair, came back to him, and he grew cold with passion. The dead man was still sitting there, too, and in the sunlight now. How horrible that was! Such hideous things were for the darkness, not for the day. 4. What are literal and figurative languages? How do you distinguish between the two in this text? Use specific examples of Oscar Wilde s diction in this excerpt to defend your answer. A groan broke from Campbell s lips, and he shivered all over. The ticking of the clock on the mantel-piece seemed to him to be dividing time into separate atoms of agony, each of which was too terrible to be borne. He felt as if an iron ring was being slowly tightened round his forehead, and as if the disgrace with which he was threatened had already come upon him. The hand upon his shoulder weighed like a hand of lead. It was intolerable. It seemed to crush him. 5. How does word choice affect the meaning of the text? Select three specific words from this excerpt and explain how they are effective.
Name: Date: Teacher: AK.ER.DFA1.G10.1R.C4.PO3 Determine how the meaning of the text is affected by the writer's word choice (e.g., literal vs. figurative language idioms. adages). /5 All excerpts in this formative are from The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde The wind shook some blossoms from the trees, and the heavy lilac blooms, with their clustering stars, moved to and fro in the languid air. A grasshopper began to chirrup in the grass, and a long thin dragon-fly floated by on its brown gauze wings. 1. This paragraph reflects which of the following characteristics of the opening scene of this novel? a) A peaceful setting. b) An impatient sense of fear. c) An abrupt introduction. d) A hasty jolt of reality. Harry: Poets are not so scrupulous as you are. They know how useful passion is for publication. Nowadays a broken heart will run to many editions. Basil: I hate them for it. An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. If I live, I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait of Dorian Gray. 2. This dialogue illustrates Basil s sense of which of the following emotions? a) Uncontrollable rage. b) Self inflicted sadness. c) Reflective frustration. d) Irrepressible ecstasy.
Yes, he [Dorian] was certainly wonderfully handsome, with his finely-curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes, his crisp gold hair. There was something in his face that made one trust him at once. All the candor of youth was there, as well as all youth s passionate purity. One felt that he had kept himself unspotted from the world. No wonder Basil Hallward worshipped him. He was made to be worshipped. 3. All the candor of youth was there, as well as all youth s passionate purity reflects which of the following traits about Dorian? a) A determined, forceful attitude. b) A fraudulent sense of entitlement. c) A deceptive personality. d) A straightforward, honest nature.
Extended Response Gradually the events of the preceding night crept with silent blood- stained feet into his brain, and reconstructed themselves there with terrible distinctness. He winced at the memory of all that he had suffered, and for a moment the same curious feeling of loathing for Basil Hallward, that had made him kill him as he sat in the chair, came back to him, and he grew cold with passion. The dead man was still sitting there, too, and in the sunlight now. How horrible that was! Such hideous things were for the darkness, not for the day. 4. What are literal and figurative languages? How do you distinguish between the two in this text? Use specific examples of Oscar Wilde s diction in this excerpt to defend your answer. Students must be able to differentiate between the figurative ( preceding night crept ) and the literal ( the dead man was still sitting there ). In this case, Wilde blends the two for horrific effect. A groan broke from Campbell s lips, and he shivered all over. The ticking of the clock on the mantel-piece seemed to him to be dividing time into separate atoms of agony, each of which was too terrible to be borne. He felt as if an iron ring was being slowly tightened round his forehead, and as if the disgrace with which he was threatened had already come upon him. The hand upon his shoulder weighed like a hand of lead. It was intolerable. It seemed to crush him. 5. How does word choice affect the meaning of the text? Select three specific words from this excerpt and explain how they are effective. Students must understand that diction is a CHOICE. Authors use certain words to affect the readers in specific ways. Although many words stick out, students will tend to discuss these: shivered, agony, disgrace, and intolerable. Some students may also pick out the figurative elements like hand of lead and atoms of agony.