Notes

.Voice- is the style of language used by the persona of aLiterary work, designed by the author to establish the work’stone

. Persona- is the narrating voice understood to be speaking,Thinking, or writing a literary work. This narrating voice isDesigned by the author to produce a particular effect on thereaders

. Tone- is the author’s attitude toward the text. The tone is Through the voice and persona.

. Plot- is the way a story unfolds- its sequence of event

Tip: when you read a literary work, keep in that the persona of the persona of theNarrator may have a different or even opposite point of view from the author of The work. This can be a tricky distinction to make, as narrators frequently speakWith authority, as if they are the writers of the work.go back to a novel you’ve read That is written using the first-person voice, “I”. What clues reveal that the narrator is A persona the author has invented to create an effect? What is that effect?

Lesson 16

Now you try it!

From “Revenge” by Letitia Elisabeth Landon

I would not wish to see you laidWithin an early tomb;I should forget how you betray’d,And only weep your doom:

But this is fitting punishment,To live and love in vain,-O My wrung heart, be thou content,And feed upon his pain.

Go thou and watch her lightest sigh,-Thine own it will not be;And bask benath her sunny eye,-It will not turn on thee.

‘Tis well: the rack, the chain, the wheel,Far better hadst thou proved;Ev’n I could almost pity feel,For thou art nor beloved.

1. The narrator of this poem is-A. A windowB. Newly marriedC. A sorceress D. A scorned loverThe answer is D

2. Which of the following wordsBEST express the narrator’s toneIn the poem? A. Anguish and suffering B. Desire and love C. Pity and sorrow D. Warmth and friendship The answer is A

notes

A soliloquy is a monologue addressed directly to the audience or as

though it is a character’s thoughts spoken aloud.

An aside is apiece of dialogue delivered as though under a

character’s breath, often directly to the audience for comic effect,

creating the impression that none of the other characters has heard it.

A character foil is a character whose purpose in a play is to

contrast with, emphasize, or enhance another character’s traits.

Lesson 17

TipDon’t neglect the stage directions. When reading a scene from a play, it is tempting to Just read the dialogue, letting your eyes skip past the descriptions and the parts in parentheses. Don’t do it! As you can see in the example above, the whole key to thescene’s meaning rests in an aside. If you’d neglected to read the word in the parentheses that marked the Count’s remark as an aside, you might have misread

thescene. You see? Stage directions can contain critical information!

notes

Why did the author write about this particular subject? Is it to call attention to a societalProblem? To show how confining certain customs are? There can be any number ofreasons.

What is the author’s tone? Why did the author have this particular attitude toward the Subject?

Does the author take something for grated that we would not take for granted today? For example, certain words or phrases may sound old-fashioned to you- this can tell you something about the period in which the author lived.

Tips1. When reading, look for signposts that supply information about the era, culture, and society the author is writing about. Pay attention to how people dress; what they eat; how they speak; whether they are rich or poor; educated, worldly, naïve, from the country or the city; and the like.

2. Be careful not to assume that a story’s time, place, and values are the same as those of the author. Authors frequently write stories about people living centuries away from their own time, about people from places very different from their own, and about people who hold very different beliefs.

Lesson 18

Now you try it!

“John Brown” by William Herbert Carruth

Had been made of such poor clay as we, Who, when we feel a little fire aglow ‘ gainst wrong within us dare not let it grow,But crouch and hide it, lest the scorner seeAnd sneer, yet bask our self-complacency In the faint warmth-had he been fashioned so, The nation n’er had come to that birth-throeThat gave the world a new humanity.He was no vain professor of the word- His life a mockery of the creed;-he madeNo discount on the Golden Rule, but heard Above the Senate’s brawls and din of tradeEver the clank of chains. Until he stirred The nation’s heart on that immortal raid.

1. Which of the following statements BEST express Carruth’s Attitude toward John Brown in this poem?

A. Brown was a heroic man who took action to end slavery rather than ignoringit.B. Brown was a violent man who should not be honored despite the fact that he helped to end slavery.C. Brown was a great man who wanted to end slavery but did not want to do so with violence.D. Brown was a great statesman whose speeches in the Senate inspired people to fight against slavery.The answer is A

notes

The style of a literary work, or its feel, is the combined effect of

tone, mood, and theme on a reader’s emotions.

Mood is the emotional atmosphere created by a literary work.

Diction is the author’s language, or choice of words, throughout a

literary work.

Lesson 19

Tip Diction plays a huge role in creating the world of a literary work.sometimes it is obvious, and other times you’re barely aware it’s there. In either case, it’s important to take note of the diction used for everything that you read.

Here’s a simple example to illustrate the importance of diction: “might I have a world?’’ and “hey, you!” are both ways to get someone’s attention- but they use wildly different styles to do it.the first is formal and polite; the second, informal and disruptive.each suggests a completely different feeling. You probably wouldn’t hear Newland Archer from The Age Of Innocence say, “Hey, you!” very often (see page 68 in this book). And if you heard Huck Finn saying, “Might I have a word?” you’d probably think he was joking around.

Notes

A story set on a college campus in 1957 takes place on the day of the annual spring fair. Students complete against another college in contests of endurance and idiocy, like flagpole-sitting, phone booth-Stuffing, goldfish-eating, and blindfolded drag racing. In the course of the story, a student takes one of the particularly dangerous contests to its logical extreme and ends up in a serious accident.

A question about this story might ask; based on information in the passage, what can you conclude about fads on college campuses in the 1950s? The story, however, doesn’t discuss “fads on college campuses in the 1950s” in a direct historical way. To answer the question correctly you have to generalize, drawing a logical conclusion from the situation presented in the story.

Lesson 20

Tip when answering questions like the ones in this lesson, you will never be asked to rely upon any previous knowledge you might have about a historical period. All the information you need to answer the question will be within the passage the question is referring to. Answer choices that give accurate information about a historical period, but not information drawn from the passage, are wrong.