ALLUSION - The Curriculum Corner · 2015-11-16 · his famous poem “Daffodils”. “I gazed–and gazed–but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.” The use

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ALLUSION An allusion is an indirect reference to a person,

place, event or artistic work.


Examples of ALLUSION *“Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, who is completely in love with Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.

*The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. – This is an allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myths, “Pandora’s box”.

*“This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical allusion to the “garden of God” in the Book of Genesis.


ANALYSIS Analysis is a detailed

examination of the elements or structure of something, typically

as a basis for discussion or interpretation.


Examples of ANALYSIS Example #1: (Robin Hood)

The use of a monarchy or kingdom setting in Robin Hood allowed the author to portray the abuses of power that often occur among the wealthiest members of a community.

Example #2: (Snow White)

The use of certain plot elements in Snow White, such as the poisoned apple and resulting slumber, help readers understand that being too trusting can lead to dire consequences.

Example #3: (Cinderella)

The author of Cinderella paired lazy female characters with a hard–working female protagonist to show that hard work leads to love and happiness.


ANNOTATION Annotating a text, or marking

the pages with notes, is an excellent, if not essential, way to make the most out of the

reading you do.


Examples of ANNOTATION Annotating text includes the following components:

(a) writing brief summaries in the text margins in the students' own words;

(b) enumerating multiple ideas (e.g., cause-and-effect relations, characteristics);

(c) noting examples in the margins;

(d) putting information on graphics and charts if appropriate;

(e) marking possible test questions;

(f) noting confusing ideas with a question mark in the margins; and

(g) selectively underlining key words or phrases


ASSERTION When someone makes a

statement investing strong belief in it, as if it is true

(though it may not be), it is called making an assertion.


Example of ASSERTION From George Orwell’s Animal Farm:

In, Animal Farm, pigs make use of assertion as a tool for making propaganda in the entire novel in order to weaken the position of other animals from having contradiction with their rules and leadership. In chapter seven, Squealer informs other animals that they need not to sing the original anthem of the Old Major, Beasts of England — a song they used to inspire the revolution in chapter one. Squealer asserts, saying, “It’s no longer needed, comrade…In Beasts of England we expressed our longing for a better society in days to come. However, that society as now been established. Clearly this song has no longer any purpose.”


CHARACTERIZATION Characterization is a literary device that is used step by

step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a

character in a story.


DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION Direct characterization takes a

direct approach towards building the character. It uses another character, narrator or the protagonist himself

to tell the readers or audience about the subject.


Examples of DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

1. Karen is bright, energetic, and helpful.

Here, the writer uses adjectives to describe who Karen is as a character.

2. Joe was motivated by money. He had no use for love or family.

The sentence above directly states the character of Joe by telling us what motivates him: money.


Example of INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

If a mother calmly tells her son it's time for bed and he responds by saying, 'No, I don't have to do what you say! I'm staying up all night!' then we can infer that this young boy is angry, obstinate and may have authority issues. The author is not telling us directly what kind of personality the little boy has; instead, we must decide this based on the author’s use of speech.


DICTION Diction can be defined as style

of speaking or writing determined by the choice of

words by a speaker or a writer.


CONNOTATION A connotation is a meaning that is implied by a word

apart from the thing which it describes explicitly.


Examples of CONNOTATION A “dog” connotes shamelessness or an ugly face. A “dove” implies peace or gentility. “Home” suggests family, comfort and security. “Politician” has a negative connotation of wickedness and

insincerity while “statesperson” connotes sincerity. “Pushy” refers to someone loud-mouthed and irritating. “Mom and Dad” when used in place of mother and father

connotes loving parents.


DENOTATION A denotation is generally

defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated

meanings.


Example of DENOTATION If you search for the meaning of the word “dove” in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is “a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs.”


GENERLIZATION A generalization is a general

statement or concept obtained by inference from

specific cases.


Examples of GENERLIZATION Cats are nicer than dogs. Dogs are smarter than cats. Only a fool would believe what that

commercial says. Learning to drive isn’t difficult.

College is the only way a person can be properly educated.


IMAGERY Imagery means to use

figurative language to represent object, actions and ideas in such

a way that it appeals to the physical senses.


Examples of IMAGERY It was dark and dim in the forest. – The words

“dark” and “dim” are visual images. The children were screaming and shouting in the

fields. – “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of hearing or auditory sense.

He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. – “whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell or olfactory sense.


INFERENCE Inference is a literary device

used commonly in literature and in daily life where logical

deductions are made based on premises assumed to be true.


Example of INFERENCE Sheldon Cooper: I took another look at the board, and I realized you were right.

Raj Koothrappali: So you were wrong.

Sheldon Cooper: I’m not saying that.

Raj Koothrappali: That’s the only logical inference.

Sheldon Cooper: I’m still not saying it.

(Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar, “The Pirate Solution.” The Big Bang Theory, 2009)


JUXTAPOSTION Juxtapostion is a literary technique in

which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are

placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing

comparisons and contrasts.


Example of JUXTAPOSTION Juxtaposition is a literary device that William Shakespeare uses most commonly in his play “Romeo and Juliet”. We notice the juxtaposition of “light and “darkness” repeatedly. Consider an example from Act I, Scene V:

“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;”

Here, the radiant face of Juliet is juxtaposed with a black African’s dark skin. Romeo admires Juliet by saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows like a

bright jewel that shines against the dark skin of an African.


MAIN IDEA The main idea is the most

important or central thought of a paragraph or larger section of text, which tells the reader

what the text is about.


Examples of MAIN IDEA Example #1:

It is often said that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but this isn’t true. Go ask the forest rangers. Rangers who spend their summers as fire-fighters will tell you that every thundershower brings several bolts of lightning to their lookout stations. (Notice that the first sentence tells what the paragraph is about; the sentences that follow support the idea stated in the first sentence.)

Example #2:

Costs were low that year and the output high. There was a good person for each job and the market remained firm. There were no losses from fire. All in all it was the best years in the history of the company. (Note that the first three sentences give details to explain why it was the best year in the company’s history.


MOOD In literature, mood is a

literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and

descriptions.


Example of MOOD Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in his novel “Pickwick Papers”:

“The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on.”

The depiction of idyllic scenery imparts a serene and non-violent mood to the readers.


PARAPHRASE To paraphrase is to express an idea or somebody’s message in our own words by maintaining

the meaning of original material.


Examples of PARAPHRASING • Example #1:

Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women.

Paraphrase: Mary lived through an era of liberating reform for women.

• Example #2:

Original: Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay, and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day.

Paraphrase: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay everyday.


POINT OF VIEW Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a

situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes

place in a story, poem, essay etc.


Example of FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW

Notice how William Wordsworth uses the first person point of view to express his subjective feelings about the scene of daffodils in his famous poem “Daffodils”.

“I gazed–and gazed–but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.”

The use of the pronoun “I” gives a special quality to the feelings expressed in these lines. The reader can see that the poet has employed first person point of view to share with us his own personal emotions.


Example of SECOND PERSON POINT OF VIEW Read the following lines from “Bright Lights, Big City” by Jay Mclnemey:

“You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.”

The writer illustrates the use of second person point of view by using the pronoun “you”. This technique may be a little rare but you can realize that it has its own strength of hooking the reader right from the start.


Example of THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

Have a look at the following lines from “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen:

“When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.”

“He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she, “sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! — so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!”

These lines demonstrate a fine use of the third person point of view. The excerpt shows the reader two different ways of the use of the third person point of view. Jane Austen first presents two leading characters Jane and Elizabeth, from the third person point of view and then shows us that the two characters are talking about Bingley from their own third person point of view.


SUMMARY A summary is a brief

statement or account of the main points of

something.


Example of SUMMARY Summary of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: It's the story of a young prince of Denmark who discovers that his uncle and his mother have killed his father, the former king. He plots to get revenge, but in his obsession with revenge he drives his sweetheart to madness and suicide, kills her innocent father, and in the final scene poisons and is poisoned by her brother in a duel, causes his mother's death, and kills the guilty king, his uncle.


SYNTAX Syntax is a set of rules in a

language. It dictates how words from different parts of speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought.


Example of SYNTAX In casual conversations, we can simply say, “I cannot go out” to convey our inability to go out. P J Kavanagh’s in his poem Beyond Decoration does not rely on merely stating a prosaic “I cannot go out”. Rather, he shifts the syntax and says “Go out I cannot”, which lays a much stronger emphasis on the inability to go out conveyed by the word “cannot”.


THEME Theme is defined as a main

idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly.


Examples of THEME • Love and Friendship – as seen

in works such as “Romeo and Juliet” or “Frog and Toad are Friends”

• War – as seen in works like “The Iliad and Odyssey”


Tone Tone, in written composition, is an

attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience. Tone is generally

conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a

particular subject.


Example of Tone *Example #1: Father: “We are going on a vacation.” Son: “That’s great!!!” – The tone of son’s response is very cheerful.

*Example #2: Father: “We can’t go on vacation this summer.” Son: “Oh, great! Just what I expected.” – The son’s tone is sarcastic in the given response.

Analysis

Allusion

The use of certain plot elements in Snow White, such as the poisoned apple and resulting slumber, help readers understand that being too

trusting can lead to dire consequences.

“Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a

reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, who is completely in

love with Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.

© www.thecurriculumcorner.com

Assertion

Annotation

In chapter seven of the novel Animal Farm Squealer informs other animals that they need not to sing the original anthem of the Old Major, Beasts of England

— a song they used to inspire the revolution in chapter one. Squealer asserts, saying, “It’s no

longer needed, comrade…In Beasts of England we expressed our longing for a better society in days

to come. However, that society as now been established. Clearly this song has no longer any

purpose.”

writing brief summaries in the text margins in the students' own words; enumerating multiple

ideas (e.g., cause-and-effect relations, characteristics); noting examples in the

margins; putting information on graphics and charts if appropriate; marking possible test

questions; noting confusing ideas with a question mark in the margins; and selectively

underlining key words or phrases


Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization

If a mother calmly tells her son it's time for bed and he responds by

saying, 'No, I don't have to do what you say! I'm staying up all night!' then we can infer that this young boy is angry, obstinate and may

have authority issues.

Karen is bright, energetic, and

helpful.


Denotation

Connotation

If you search for the meaning of the word “dove” in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is “a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs.”

A “dove” implies peace or gentility.

“Home” suggests family, comfort and

security.


Imagery

Generalization

The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. – “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of

hearing or auditory sense.

He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. – “whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell or olfactory sense.

Cats are nicer than dogs. Dogs are smarter than cats.

Only a fool would believe what that commercial says.

Learning to drive isn’t difficult.

College is the only way a person can be properly educated.


Juxtapostion

Inference

Romeo and Juliet: Act I, Scene V:

“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;”

Romeo admires Juliet by saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows like a bright jewel that

shines against the dark skin of an African.

Sheldon Cooper: I took another look at the board, and I realized

you were right.

Raj Koothrappali: So you were wrong.


Mood

Main Idea

“The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky,

glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on.”

It is often said that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but this isn’t true. Go ask the

forest rangers. Rangers who spend their summers as fire-fighters will tell you that every thundershower brings several bolts of lightning

to their lookout stations.

(Notice that the first sentence tells what the paragraph is about. The sentences that follow support the idea stated in the first sentence.)


First Person Point of View

Paraphrase

“I gazed–and gazed–but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.”

The use of the pronoun “I” gives a special quality to the feelings

expressed in these lines.

Original: Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay, and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day.

Another Way: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay everyday.


Third Person Point of View

Second Person

Point of View

“When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in

her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much

she admired him.” The writer is talking from an “all

knowing” perspective and uses pronouns such as “her” and “she” to tell about

the action in this story.

“You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the

terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.” The writer uses the pronoun

“you”.


Syntax

Summary

In casual conversations, we can simply say, “I cannot go out” to convey our inability to go out. P J Kavanagh’s in his poem Beyond Decoration does not rely on merely stating “I cannot go out”. Rather, he says “Go out

I cannot”, which lays a much stronger emphasis on the inability to go out conveyed by the word “cannot”.

Hamlet is the story of a young prince of Denmark who discovers that his uncle and his

mother have killed his father, the former king. He plots to get revenge, but in his

obsession with revenge he drives his sweetheart to madness and suicide, kills her

innocent father, and in the final scene poisons and is poisoned by her brother in a

duel, causes his mother's death, and kills the guilty king, his uncle.


Tone

Theme

*Example #1: Father: “We are going on a vacation.”

Son: “That’s great!!!” – The son’s response is very cheerful.

*Example #2: Father: “We can’t go on vacation this

summer.” Son: “Oh, great! Just what I expected.”

– The son’s response is sarcastic.

*Love and Friendship – as seen in works such as

“Romeo and Juliet” or “Frog and Toad are Friends”

or

*War – as seen in works like “The Iliad and Odyssey”



ALLUSION - The Curriculum Corner · 2015-11-16 · his famous poem “Daffodils”. “I gazed–and gazed–but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.” The use

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