I. Speak of the author in brief.
– the facts of his biography relevant for his creative activities; – the epoch (historical and social background); – the literary trend he belongs to; – the main literary pieces (works); II. Give a summary of the extract (or the story) under consideration (the gist, the content of the story in a nutshell). III. State the problem raised (tackled) by the author. IV. Formulate the main idea conveyed by the author (the main line of the thought, the author’s message). V.
Give a general definition of the text under study: Types of narration (- a 3d person narration / the 1st-person narration (an I-story) / entrusted narration; – narration interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the personages; – narration broken by digressions (philosophical, psychological, lyrical, etc. ); – an account of events interwoven with a humorous (ironical, satirical) portrayal of society, or the personage, etc. ); Compositional Forms: narration, description, argumentation. VI.
Define the prevailing mood (tone, slant,) of the extract (lyrical, dramatic, tragic, optimistic/pessimistic, melodramatic, sentimental, emotional/unemotional, pathetic, dry and matter-of-fact, gloomy, bitter, sarcastic, cheerful, etc. ). VII. The plot structure of the extract (or the story). Divide the text into logically completed parts and entitle them. If possible choose the key-sentence (the topic sentence) in each part that reveals its essence. The compositional pattern of a complete story (chapter, episode) may be as follows: 1. exposition (introduction); 2. development of the plot (an account of events);
3 climax (the culminating point); 4. denouement (the outcome of the story). VIII. Plot structure techniques (a straight line narrative presentation, a complex narrative structure, a circular pattern, a frame structure). IX. Presentational sequencing (retardation, presupposition, flashbacks, foreshadowing) X. Give a detailed analysis of each logically completed part. Follow the formula- matter- the form. It implies that, firstly, you should dwell upon the content of the part and, secondly, comment upon the language means (EM and SD) employed by the author to achieve desired effect, to render his thoughts and feelings.
XI. Types of text information ( content-factual, content-conceptual, content-implied); XII. Author’s message, means of its presentation (artistic details, symbols). XIII. Title interpretation USEFUL EXPRESSIONS AND WORDS The suggested extract represents a 3rd Person Narration (the 1st Person Narration) interlaced (interwoven, intermingled) with a dialogue, character drawings, a description, a satirical portrayal of society, a historical event, the inner monologue of the leading character, with the author’s digression where he speculates upon the problem of… The author’s digression reveals his vision of life…
The writer digresses from the plot of the story to reveal (convey) his attitude to… (his view on… ) The narration is done in the 1st (the 3rd) person. The main character is the narrator with his own feelings, thoughts and intentions. The story-teller portrays his characters by means of a convergence of SDs, such as. The portrayal of literary personages is done skillfully (masterfully, with great skill). The description (portray-‘ narration) may be vivid, convincing, powerful, meaningful. Highly emotional, unemotional, suggestive etc. The 4th part is focused on John Smith,…
The author focuses (his attention) on the character’s inner world. The author depicts the life of… The subject of depiction in the 2nd part is… The passage opens with the atmosphere of growing suspense (excitement, nervousness, fright etc. ) The paragraph abounds in ( is abundant in ) slang set-phrases The writer makes an abundant use of … The compositional structure of the extract fragment) is based on parallelism. Parallelism (parallel constructions are) is accompanied by anaphora (framing etc. ) These paragraphs stand in sharp contrast to each other. The paragraph is built in sharp contrast to the following one.
The contrast is reflected (manifested) in the language, both in syntactical and lexical means. The paragraph is in full accord (accordance) with the preceding one as far as its idea goes. The author (story-teller) draws a gloomy (majestic, miserable etc. ) picture. The writer uses ( makes use of, employs, resorts to ) common colloquial vocabulary, juridical terminology (law terms) to give the narration (to lend) more authenticity and objectivity to lend the story a humorous ring to make the story sound melodramatic (sentimental etc. ) It testifies to the writer’s mastery (skill). This detail (fact, expression, device) is suggestive of …
is highly informative. It suggests that… It helps the reader guess (realize, come to the conclusion etc. ) It leaves much for the reader’s guesswork. The syntactical pattern of the sentence (paragraph) is suggestive (informative, meaningful). The syntactical pattern (structure, design) is peculiar (is broken, is violated… ) He resorts to high-flown (elevated) words to convey the inner tragedy of his personage. There is a discrepancy between the bookish, elevated vocabulary and the trivial (banal) situation with ordinary men doing everyday things (or the daily routine of ordinary men). It usually produces a humorous (ironical) effect.
It reveals the writer’s ironical attitude to… It is used as a means of irony. The writer makes use of various language means to depict (portray, convey, reveal etc. ) The author digresses from the thread of narration (the topic of story). To pursue his aim the author employs (resorts to, adheres to, uses). The author converses with the reader as if he has an interlocutor before him. (The reader is involved into the events of the text. ) The author lays bare (exposes, unmasks, condemns, touches upon, dwells on, delineates, highlights, stresses, underlines, ridicules, mocks at, accentuates)…
The author lays (puts, places) emphasis (stress) on… The writer carries the idea to the mind of the reader through… The SD is the indicator (signal) of the character’s emotions (emotional tension, mixed feelings). The SD stresses (underlines, discloses, accentuates, emphasizes, is meant to point out, throws light on, highlights, adds to, contributes to, (lightens, enhances, intensifies, gives an insight into, explains and clarifies, serves to provide the text with additional emphases). The satirical (humorous, ironical) effect is heightened (enhanced, intensified, augmented) by a convergence of SD and EM in the paragraph.
The SD contributes (adds) to the same effect (the effect desired by the author, the effect the author strives for, a more colourful and emotional presentation of the scene). The SD adds importance to the indication of the place (time, manner) of action is suggestive (illustrative, expressive) (it indicates where and when the scene is laid). The SD is suggestive (illustrative, expressive, explicit, implicit) of… The SD and EM are linked and interwoven to produce a joint impression (are aimed at achieving the desired effect). The SD wants (needs) interpreting, decoding. It prepares the ground for the next sentence (paragraph).
The SD makes explicit what has been implied before (lends an additional expressiveness). It is implicit in nature, makes the utterance arresting, enables the author to convey the feelings and emotions of the character, reveals the character’s low (high) social position, indicates the step the character occupies in the social ladder, serves best to specify the author’s (character’s) attitude to. There is no direct indication of that. It is understood indirectly through (perceived through)… The title (SD) is highly informative (symbolic, emotive, emotionally coloured, emphatic).
The SD suggests a definite kind of informational design. It is to the word “… ” that prominece must be given. If we analyse the intonational pattern of the sentence we see that to the word “… ” is given a strong (heavy) stress. Looking deeper into the arrangement of the utterance we come to the conclusion that… The reader traces the marked partiality of the writer for his personage. In order to impose (impress) on the reader his attitude towards the character the author employs… Leading gradually up to the hidden idea that he is pursuing the writer makes the reader feel…
The most convincing proof of the idea is… We’ll discuss the implication the following sentence suggests… Hints and suggestive remarks (implications and suggestions) are scattered all over the text. It is worthwhile going a little deeper in (to) the language texture. The idea is hidden between the lines in order to grasp the author’s idea. The word (sentence) is charged (loaded, burdened) with implication (connotation). The SD suggests a touch of authenticity (plausibility) to the narrated events (it makes the reader believe that the narrated events have actually taken place in real life).
The episode is presented through the perception of the character (this type of presenting a picture of life as if perceived by a character that creates the so-called effect of immediate presence). The SD serves as a clue to the further development of the action. The plot unfolds (itself) dynamically (‘slowly). Assignment. Translate the word combinations and sentences suggested above and learn them. Make use of these word combinations and sentences when fulfilling the assignments on the sheme of stylistic analysis. The sample of emotive prose, which has been chosen for stylistic analysis, is a short story “Cat in the rain” by Ernest Hemingway.
It has been chosen because it is suggestive and contains a definite psychological implication. The story is interesting from the point of view of the author’s approach to conveying the main idea to the mind of the reader. It is always implicit and remains unspoken. It is the reader himself who should find it behind the simple, at first sight, description of the events. Hemingway presents only sequence of outward actions and leaves the reader to imagine more than the words themselves can convey. This is characteristic of Hemingway’s manner of writing he is famous for. The author was born in 1899 in Chicago.
His family was rich and well provided. His father’s democratic views influenced Earnest greatly, but ignorance of bourgeois society lighted up a protest in the writer. The young man early left his family’s home. Working as a reporter in the newspaper he came in touch with cruelty of American life and decided to go in the Army. Since this time his searches began. He saw lives of different circles, people of different nationalities. The author let us analyze a lot of characters and events. His literature was his own interests in hunting, love, fishing, military services and so on.
Hemingway avoided conventional narration in his stories. He tried to make the reader understand his ideas by sketching in vivid scenes his own experience. The story “Cat in the rain” reflects the writer’s approach to life in general. It is about an American couple that is spending their vacations in Italy. The writer leaves the surface comparatively bare: the meaning is plain and simple. A close study of the story for the purpose of examining its style involves a careful observation and a detailed description of the language phenomena at various levels.
The text of the story is not homogeneous: it is interrupted with the elements of description and the characters’ dialogues. The writer’s strong sense of place is revealed by the use of foreignisms: “Si, si, signora, brutto tempo” and so on. The very structure of the story adds to the effect of implication but the actual meaning of what is going on is not clear at the beginning of the story, as the feelings suggested by the writer are not precisely determined. The plot of the story is meant to begin before the narration itself starts. There isn’t any preface to the story; the reader knows nothing about the
couple’s past. Hemingway shows his characters in a certain period of their lives – his favorite device. The story begins with the description of the hotel where they stayed. At first sight everything seems to be ideal: a cozy room on the second floor, lovely view from the window. And only the description of the rain evokes the mood of sadness in the reader. To bring home to the reader this air of melancholy, which is felt when it is raining, the author uses such stylistic device as parallel constructions: “The rain dripped from the palm trees. The water stood in pools on the gravel paths.
The sea broke in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the rain “. One can notice that nouns rain, pools, sea belongs to one semantic sphere – the water. This stylistic device is employed by the author to create the atmosphere of inevitability. One cannot hide from the rain. Water is everywhere: it is on the ground, it is pouring from the heavens as though the nature weeps for something. All this pricks the reader’s ears and makes him think that something will happen with this American couple.
In this abstract the author also resorts to the help of stylistic device known as alliteration, namely the repetition of the sounds -r-and -l-: “Rain dripped from the palm trees, the sea broke in a long line in the rain” which brings the necessary measured rhythm into the utterance. Skillfully combining these three stylistic devices the writer obtains the needed effect: within three sentences he gives an exhaustive picture of one of the melancholic rainy evenings when time goes by so slowly. It is also the syntax that serves for this purpose.
The author resorts to parallel constructions consisting of short simple sentences to create a downcast atmosphere of dull, monotonous evening and at the same time presentiment and alarming anticipation of something that is likely to happen in the nearest time. In such deadly boring evening the American girl saw a cat in the rain. “The cat sat under the table and tried to make herself so compact that she wouldn’t be dripped on”. Suddenly the girl felt strong inexplicable desire to get this cat. May be she just pitied it. It must have been a miserable spectacle: wet, homeless cat crouching
under the table in the empty square. The girl decided to go down and get this cat. Here the reader gets acquainted with her husband. He is lying on the bed and reading and he has no desire to go out in such weather for the cat his wife wants so much. Although he proposed it but sooner out of politeness and he did not insist. “Don’t get wet”- he said, but it wasn’t a care – he said it just to say something. Later the reader can see that the hotelkeeper gives the girl more attention than her own husband. That’s why she liked the owner of the hotel so much.
Emphasizing the girl’s attitude to the hotel-keeper the author resorts to repetition: “She liked the deadly serious way he received any complains. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he wanted to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotelkeeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands “. Unconsciously comparing him with her indifferent husband she liked him because he displayed a kind of attention to her. He always bowed seeing her. His attention can be explained by the fact that he was the owner of the hotel and it was his due to take care of his clients, especially if they were foreigners.
He just wanted them to feel comfortable and convenient. He displayed paternal care and attention to her. May be the girl was disposed to the hotelkeeper because he reminded her of her own father who was always kind to her. Anyway, it was so pleasant for the girl to feel sympathy and care. The author says: ” The pardon made her feel very small and at the same time really important. She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance”. That is the reason she liked him. He made her feel important.
He listened to her every word and request, and she knew that her every little whim will be fulfilled, and that can not be said about her husband who never worried about her feelings. Quite the opposite picture the reader can see when the girl went upstairs in her room. The only reaction of her husband was the question if she got the cat. He did not notice her disappointment. Suddenly the girl felt unhappy. Through her sad monologue the writer shows all her dissatisfaction with the life, beginning with the absence of the cat and ending with her short clipped hair.
“I get so tired of it“- she says about her hair, but it is not just looking like a boy that she is tired of. She is tired of a boring life, of her indifferent and selfish husband who remains deaf to her despair. She does not say directly that she is not satisfied with her family life. But the reader can see it in the context. She says: “I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I feel. I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her”. She wants to have long hair to look solid and respectable.
She wants to have children and her own house, which she associates with silver and candles. And the cat in her dreams is a symbol of refuge, something that she corresponds with such notions as home and coziness. The author underlines the idea of dissatisfaction using repetition. In importunate repetition of the construction “I want” the reader can see the girl’s emotional state. This stylistic device discloses her excitement; she is on the verge of hysterics. The emotional tension increases. “And I want to eat at a table with my own silver, and I want candles.
And I want it to be spring and I want to brush up my hair out in front of the mirror and I want the kitty and I want some new clothes “. Here is an example of polysyndeton. The abundant use of the conjunction and makes the members of enumeration more conspicuous and also serves to emphasize the girl’s state of confusion. The syntax also contributes to the effect of extreme agitation of the girl. The writer deliberately avoids the use of commas in the girl’s speech to show uninterrupted, without any pauses flow of speech, which testifies to her emotional excitement. This abstract may be regarded as the climax of the story.
Here the emotional tension reaches its highest degree. The girl throws out all her discontent, all her negative emotions which she accumulated during her joint life with her husband. Then the peak of the climax comes: “Oh, shut up and get something to read” says her husband. Estrangement grows between two people. The girl feels insulted and stays looking out of the window. It is still raining. The rain is present during the whole narration. It is the silent witness of the running high drama. The rain pierces the plot of the story and has a symbolic meaning. It symbolizes their unfortunate family life.
The girl stubbornly continues: “Anyway I want a cat – she says. -I want a cat. I want a cat now. If I can’t have long hair or any fun, I can have a cat”. Suddenly she realizes that her marital life was not successful and the cat for her is the only possibility to feel satisfaction. But her husband does not care about it. He even does not listen to her. Probably he never mused over their joint life. To the end of the story the author gratifies the girl’s wish and she gets the cat. But it is not that very cat from the street. It is a fat replete Tomcat sent by the hotelkeeper.
Then the writer impartially leaves the reader to guess further development of the events. But it is this very device that makes the reader realize that the girl won’t be satisfied, that she never be happy with her husband. And this big tortoise-shell cat does not symbolize home and coziness; it won’t bring her happiness, sooner it symbolizes missed opportunity. The main stylistic device the story is built upon is suspense. The author deliberately postpones the denouement keeping the reader in pressing anticipation. Hemingway’s wonderful mastery of the language permits him to keep the reader tense till the denouement.
Although everything seems to lie on the surface, but indeed the reader should make a great effort to derive the unspoken reference from the description of the facts. Hemingway’s scrupulous attention to details permits him to introduce the hidden idea between the lines, without saying it directly. Hemingway’s talent lies in deep psychological insight into human nature. GUIDE Terms and Techniques for Studying Literature, Film, Narrative Art See also Michael Meyer’s Bedford Glossary of Literary Terms http://www. bedfordstmartins. com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a. htm A. Themes, Meaning, and Ideas
theme an insight or idea about life (like a thesis): X is/was true, false, good, bad, a cause/effect; X should be/happens; any universally human, or culture-specific, or unique insight into human behavior, society, nature, ethics, etc thesis an obvious or explicitly stated insight or purpose, argument or moral (usually in nonfiction ) symbol any character, event, setting, allusion, detail, pattern that suggests deeper (public or private) meaning(s) motif: a recurring element or contrast with thematic significance irony: what is real, true, present contrasts with what seems, is desired/expected, or ought to be; suggests themes
B. Genres of Literature and Film analyze how used/varied; interpret effect on content, meaning, experience, function literature fiction: novel, novella, short story; myth, legend, folk tale, parable, fable drama/plays: tragedy, comedy, history play, tragicomedy/realist, poetic, experimental, etc poetry: lyric (ode, elegy, carpe diem, hymn), narrative (epic, ballad), dramatic (monologue) nonfiction: essay, speech, history, biography, science, journalism, manuals, propaganda, ads
film types: drama, docudrama, art film, experimental film, genre film, animated genre films & TV: comedy, drama, biography, western, mystery, sci fi, horror, noir, romance, musical… C. Modes and Styles analyze how used/varied; interpret effects; choices reflect cultures, social values realism (tragicomedy, drama) evokes real experience in society: ordinary people/lives taken seriously; presentation is faithful, consistent, believable with logical cause/effect &connections with social settings. Symbols&irony lend depth.
domestic realism (family and community life), epistolary (in letters) social realism (individual in relation to social/history conditions) Bildungsroman (coming-of-age, myth/ initation) historical (set in past, based on real events); panorama (wide scope in settings and classes) naturalism (scientific approach, determinism, lower class) psychological realism (individual psychology) realism plus imagination: gothic, horror, sublime, magical realism (folk-tale like) realist formulas/genre films: picaresque, romance, pastoral, melodrama, mystery, detective, film noir
epic, myth, the sacred (may be historical, biographical): an epic subject is heroic, important, on a grand scale, and often of national significance in plot, characters, settings, themes: folk epic for culture’s oral tradition: invocation, repetition, epithets, similes; art epic is crafted, learned myth/sacred/archetypes: hero,goddess, scapegoat, exile; orphan, bad parent/witch, guide, beast/prince/savior plots: death/rebirth, quest/initiation (insight,experience), rescue, generation conflict, passion/death images/symbols:day/night, cycle of seasons,water (purification), sun (energy), circle (whole), colors epic formula/genre film (standard plot, etc): action, western, science fiction, history tragedy “presents courageous individuals who. confront[struggle with] powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth & depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, even death”(Meyer).
Tragedies often use situational irony, dramatic irony, and archetypes Aristotle – tragic plot is unified, has morally significant struggle, brings reversal/fall from high to low (peripiteia) -a tragic hero is admirable, undergoes reversal, maintains dignity amid struggle/reversal, exhibits a tragic flaw (hamartia, hubris)–an error of judgment or frailty, and may experience recognition (anagnorsis) -catharsis: the audience feels pity & fear for characters/selves; the ending gives us catharsis, purges these emotions comedy is “intended to interest, involve and amuse the reader or audience. ” Characters’ actions, experiences, and dialogue surprise in funny ways (exaggeration, repetition, contradiction). Plot involves problems but ends happily. Comedy may use satire and irony to ridicule and expose (usually public) folly or vice. -high comedy: drama, novel, genre film–comedy of manners, romantic comedy, domestic comedy, sitcom: realistic and stock characters, wrong behavior for roles; sophisticated word play, repartee -low comedy: drama, novel, genre film–farce, comedia del arte: stock plot/characters (old man, girl, trickster, dupe), slapstick
irony, satire, allegory, parody, self-reflexive art irony makes visible a contrast between appearance and reality, between what is & what seems to be, what ought to be, what one wishes to be, or what one expects to be; irony may help overturn a genre/mode convention satire uses irony and comedy to ridicule or express outrage at foolish or immoral behavior, usually in public life parody and burlesque satirize by imitating features of a text or style allegory, fable, and iconography use plot and characters (etc) to stand for abstract ideas and messages self- reflexive art calls attention to itself as fiction or art (not “reality”) , sometimes in a playful way
period styles: folk, non-western, Classical, medieval, Renaissance, baroque, romantic, realist, modernist, postmodern experimental, modernist, postmodern, ironic modes: avant garde, violate mode & narrative conventions modernist: serious, elitist, art genius; innovative, complex symbols, allusions: expressionism, cubism, spacial form postmodernist: value process, performance, production, intertextuality, surfaces, images, play; hi/lo&mixed media personal style: qualities associated with an individual artist, writer, film director, actor D. Formal Features: techniques, arrangement, pacing, emphasis, perspective, patterns, contrast plot structure beginning, middle, ending; sections, sequence (film
segmentation); unified or disjointed -plot units: literature: word, sentence, scene/stanza, chapter/act film: frame, shot, scene, sequence -character functions in the plot: protagonist(s) & antagonist(s), their conflicts, and how they are resolved -Freytag’s pyramid ^ plot: inciting action, exposition, rising action, climax (reversal), denouement/falling action -time order&sequence: linear, in medias res, flashback, flash forward, place shift, montage, association -the ending: happy, poetic justice, ironic/twist, surprise, deus ex machina, recognition, epiphany, open plot pacing and plot effects (for film, see also film terms list–editing, cinematography) pacing: fast (short scenes, sketchy details, montage), normal, slow (long scenes, descr.
, long takes) plot effects: unified, disjointed; suspense, surprise, foreshadowing; flashback, catharsis situational irony (real vs. expected/should be) dramatic irony (viewer knows,character doesn’t) characterization types: round or flat or stock; static or dynamic; foil character; hero: tragic,epic,mythic,etc literary -external: tell: description(appearance, gestures), placement in scene, analysis; show: dialogue, actions -internal/inner life: diary, letter; direct, indirect, free indirect discourse; stream of consciousness, monologue film&drama -external: by actor, costume, dialogue, gestures, visual symbols, camera angle, setting, mis en scene -internal/inner life: voiceover, visual memory/thought, diary or letter, POV and reaction shots
point of view and narrator (fiction, film, documentary, etc) or speaker or persona (poem) objective narration (like reporter): events/characters speak for selves or “voice of god”-documentary-like omniscient narrator: moves among people and places; may conceal information limited omniscient (central consciousness) from the perspective of one character (or several, separately) first person: participant or involved observer; reveals inner life and information kept from others narrator/speaker may be: intrusive, subjective,detached,voyeur, self-conscious,unreliable, multiple, frame tone may be detached or involved; objective, sympathetic or judging; humorous, satiric, ironic; consistent or not so narrative strategies
literature: summary, description, analysis, scenes (actions, dialogue &/or indirect discourse, thoughts) film scene: distance of shot; mis-en-scene/arrangement, actors in roles, action,dialogue,lighting, angles sound effects, music; transitions/editing: smooth or abrupt;cuts or special effects, montage or long takes Part IV. Close Reading Strategies and Terms A. Close Reading Questions for Interpreting a Poem, Passage, or Scene First notice author, title, genre, form, subject matter; read 2-3 times (once aloud) & mark interesting phrases, details, patterns. 1. Explain the title, subject, speaker/narrator, and situation. 2. Read aloud or view for literal meaning and main sections; then reread carefully to summarize by sections; follow structure of ideas: narrative, climax, repetition, contrast, question/answer, stream of consciousness, argument 3.
Identify a few significant details, patterns, contrasts, images, and figures of speech such as metaphor compares directly: life is a journey (metaphor may be implied, or expressed as simile, personification) simile compares: life is like, as, more than a journey personification humanizes or animates objects or abstractions: flowers smile, hope springs eternal allusion refers to a nameor object from literature, myth, art: a new Camelot, a Faustian bargain sound effects: rhythm, rhyme scheme, musicality, alliteration (lay low), assonance (see me), onomatopoiea (buzz) tone (humorous, ironic, etc) style: level, diction, connotation, word choice, sentence types rhetorical
figures(serious/comic): understatement, repetition, pun (word play), sarcasm, euphemism, verbal irony paradox contradiction that has truth: one God in 3 persons verbal irony says opposite of meaning: thanks a lot; sure I’ll help you oxymoron self-contradiction: darkness visible, pleasing pain hyperbole exaggerates for effect: I’ll never learn; understatement does the opposite: we have a small problem 4. Describe use of formal features/choices and logical structure and relate to content, meaning, function poem genre: lyric (ode, elegy, song, love, carpe diem), narrative (ballad, epic), dramatic (monologue) form: plot, idea structure; stanza (e. g.
quatrain), English /Italian sonnet, blank verse, free verse, rhyme scheme prose passage plot effects: exposition, conflict, suspense, surprise, foreshadowing, climax, etc perspective: point of view; type of narrator, tone, and why effective; characterization techniques sections: description, summary, analysis, scene(actions, dialogue, indirect spch, thoughts, arrangemt) scene from play or film plot effects: exposition, conflict, suspense, surprise, foreshadowing, climax, etc shots: establishing,medium,closeup; mis-en-scene;action, dialogue, visual image, lighting, angle, sound, music scene transitions/editing: smooth or abrupt; simple cuts or special effects, montage or long takes (realism) 5: Interpret overall themes, symbols, ironies, effects, relations of whole&details, significance in a longer work or section. 6.
Relate text to contexts, functions, and value–social, cultural, biographical, psychological; see Guide Part I. # 8-11 B. Close Reading Concepts and Terms for Analyzing Fiction and Film description (see Bland in Stevick Theory of the Novel): Novels used more localization of the characters than older literary forms, . . . by setting them in a soldly constructed environment. But soon description is being used more widely, to reveal particular moods. In drama, participation in the moods of characters is achieved through direct contact between actor and audience. In the novel, a connection can be made through the evocative power of descriptive passages. Here the novelist learned from landscape painting. Next, description can rise to the level of symbol
