LESSON NOTE FOR UB ONE, ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THIRD TERM

SCHEME OF WORK

WK 1-Tenses, types of drama-comedy, tragedy, etc.

WK 2-Adverbials, compound words, themes, stage, costume, etc.

WK 3-Formal letters, adverbs, play director, etc.

WK 4-Compound words, functions of adverbs, topic sentence

WK 5-Informal letters, active and passive voices, reading drama text

WK 6- Figures of speech, active and passive voices

WK 7-Question tags, active and passive voices, simile and metaphor

WK 8-Connectivities, active and passive voices,

WK 9-Question and question tags, poetry-introduction

WK 10-Conjunction, punctuation, diction, appreciation of poem

WK 11-Revision

WK 12-Examination

Tenses
* Present Simple

I do, I do do

* Present Continuous

I am doing

* Present Perfect

I have done

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* Present Perfect Continuous

I have been doing

* Past Simple

I did, I did do

* Past Continuous

I was doing

* Past Perfect

I had done

* Past Perfect Continuous

I had been doing

* Future Simple

I will do

* Future Continuous

I will be doing

* Future Perfect

I will have done

* Future Perfect Continuous

I will have been doing

Adverbials
Adverbial phrase: An adverbial phrase is built round an adverb by adding words
before and/or after it, for example: The economy recovered very slowly. They
wanted to leave the country as fast as possible.

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  Word order: The verb and adverb elements which make up intransitive phrasal
verbs are never separated:  We broke up two years ago.  We broke two years ago
up.

The situation is different with transitive verbs, however. If the direct object  is a
noun, you can say: They pulled the house down. [direct object]‘They pulled down
the house.’

If the object is a pronoun  (such as it, him, her, them) , then the object always
comes between the verb and the adverb: They pulled it down. [direct object] NOT
‘They pulled down it.’

ADJUNCTS
An adverbial adjunct is a sentence element that often establishes the
circumstances in which the action or state expressed by the verb takes place. The
following sentence uses adjuncts of time and place: Yesterday, Lorna saw the dog
in the garden. Notice that this example is ambiguous between whether the
adjunct in the garden modifies the verb saw (in which case it is Lorna who saw the
dog while she was in the garden) or the noun phrase the dog (in which case it is
the dog who is in the garden). The definition can be extended to include adjuncts
that modify nouns or other parts of speech (see noun adjunct).

Forms and domains

An adjunct can be a single word, a phrase, or an entire clause. -Single word: She
will leave tomorrow.

-Phrase: She will leave in the morning.

-Clause: She will leave after she has had breakfast.

Most discussions of adjuncts focus on adverbial adjuncts, that is, on adjuncts that
modify verbs, verb phrases, or entire clauses like the adjuncts in the three
examples just given. Adjuncts can appear in other domains, however; that is, they
can modify most categories. An ad-nominal adjunct is one that modifies a noun:

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for a list of possible types of these, see Components of noun phrases. Adjuncts
that modify adjectives and adverbs are occasionally called ad-adjectival and ad-
adverbial.

‘the discussion before the game’ – ‘before the game’ is an ad-nominal adjunct.

‘very happy’ – ‘very’ is an "ad-adjectival" adjunct.

‘too loudly’ –‘ too’ is an "ad-adverbial" adjunct.

Adjuncts are always constituents. Each of the adjuncts in the examples

throughout this note is a constituent.

ADVERBIAL CLAUSE

An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that functions as an adverb; that is, the
entire clause modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. As with all clauses,
it contains a subject and predicate, although the subject as well as the (predicate)
verb may sometimes be omitted and implied (see below)

An adverbial clause is commonly, but not always, fronted by a subordinate

conjunction—sometimes called an eye of the tiger word. (In the examples below
the adverbial clause is italicized and the subordinate conjunction is bolded.)

Mary, the aspiring actress, became upset as soon as she saw the casting list.
(subject: she; predicate: saw the casting list; the clause modifies the verb
became). Peter Paul, the drama teacher, met with Mary after she came to the
next class.'' (explicit subject: she; predicate: came to the next class.; predicate
(verb): came; the clause modifies the verb met;)

He talked carefully in order to appear fair.

He talked carefully in order .. [that 'he'] appear fair.

(implied subject, he, is omitted; predicate (verb): appear; the clause modifies
the adverb carefully)

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 The little boy preferred fierce dinosaurs, as [was] T rex.

(subject of the clause: T rex; predicate of the clause: [was], implied; the clause
modifies the adjective fierce.)

According to Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, adverbial clauses function

mainly as adjuncts or disjuncts, which parts also perform in a sentence as
adverbial phrases or as adverbial prepositional phrases (Greenbaum and
Quirk,1990). Unlike clauses, phrases do not contain a subject and predicate; they
are contrasted here:

We left the convention the day before.

(adverbial phrase; contains no subject or predicate)

We left before the speeches.

(adverbial prepositional phrase; contains no subject or predicate—and no

verb (action) is implied)

We left after the speeches ended.

(adverbial clause; contains subject and predicate).

DETERMINERS

Determiners are words placed before a noun to make it clear what the noun
refers to. Use the pages in this section to help you use English determiners
correctly.

Determiners in English

* Definite article : the – the man

* Indefinite articles : a, an – a pen, an egg

* Demonstratives: this, that, these, those – that girl, these books

* Pronouns and possessive determiners : my, your, his, her, its, our, their – your
mother, his pen
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* Quantifiers : a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough – a
few books, many cars

* Numbers : one, ten, thirty – ten men

* Distributives : all, both, half, either, neither, each, every – all teachers and
students

* Difference words : other, another – another tailor

* Pre-determiners : such, what, rather, quite – such a man

FORMAL LETTERS

A formal letter is any letter written in the professional language, with a prescribed
format for a formal purpose, i.e. it can be a recommendation letter, enquiry
letter, complaint letter, cover letter and so on. All business letters are formal, but
vice versa is not possible. Such letters are used for a variety of reasons like a
formal invitation, proposal, reference, making a complaint or inquiry, applying for
a job. While writing a formal letter one should keep in mind the following things:

* It should be in specified format.

* It should avoid the use of unnecessary words.

* It should be straight to the point.

* It should be relevant and objective.

* It should be complex and thorough.

* It should be polite, even if it is a complaint letter.

* It should be free from any mistakes, i.e. grammatical or spelling.

There are three types of formal letters, i.e. business letters, letters for outlining
civic problems and job applications.

INFORMAL LETTERS

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An informal letter is a letter written to someone; we know fairly well. The letter
can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice,
congratulate recipient, request information, asking questions, etc. It is a personal
letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any
other closed one. There is no specific format prescribed for writing this letter.

While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use
personal or emotional tone. Slang or colloquial terms, codes, abbreviations, etc.
can also be used at the time of writing it, depending on the familiarity with the
recipient.

Key Differences Between Formal and Informal Letter

The significant points of difference between formal and informal letters are
discussed as under:

1. A formal letter is one, written in formal language, in the stipulated format, for
official purpose. A letter is said to be informal when it is written in a friendly
manner, to someone you are familiar with.

2. Formal letters are written for official or professional communication. On the

other hand, informal letters are used for casual or personal communication.

3. There is a manner prescribed for writing formal letters. As opposed to informal

communication, which does not follow any format.

4. Formal letters are usually written in the third person, however, for business
letters, first person is used. On the contrary, informal letters are written in first,
second and third person.

5. Formal letters are used for writing letters to business, i.e. partners, suppliers,
customers, clients, etc. , college or institute, employer, professionals, etc. As
against this, we use informal letters for writing letters to friends, relatives,
acquaintance, etc.

6. While writing formal letters, we use passive voice. Conversely, an active and
imperative voice is used.
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7. The sentences we use at the time of writing a formal letter are, long and
complex. Unlike an informal letter, where we use short and simple sentences
which are easy to interpret.

8. The size of a formal letter should be concise; that does not include irrelevant
matter. In contrast, the informal letter can be concise or large.

9. Formal letters do not include contraction like (didn’t, can’t) and abbreviations
rather it uses full forms. As compared to informal letters, which makes use of
contraction, abbreviation, idioms, phrasal verbs and even slang and colloquial
terms.

Three (3) Genres of Literature

1. PROSE Consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in
sentence and paragraphs. Prose is a form of language which applies ordinary
grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure
(as in traditional poetry). It is commonly used, for example:

1.    NOVEL

This is long narrative divided into chapters. The events are taken from to life
stories…and spam long period of time.

 2.    SHORT STORY

It is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single
impression.

3.    PLAYS

This is presented on stage, is divided into acts and has many scenes.

4.    LEGENDS

These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.

5.    FABLES

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 These are also fictitious, they deal animals and imitate things that speak and act
like people, and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that
can mold their ways and attitudes.

 6.    ANECDOTES

A merely product of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out
lessons to the readers and attitudes.

 7.    ESSAY

This is expresses the viewpoint of the writer about a particular problem or

event.

 8.    BIOGRAPHY

It is Deals with the life of a person, which may be about himself, his
autobiography or that of others.

 9.    NEWS

Is Report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry and

accidents, happening nationally or not.

10. ORATION

A formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It

appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

2. Poetry

Comes from the Greek poiesis — with a broad meaning of a "making", seen
also in such terms as "hemopoiesis"; more narrowly, the making of poetry. It is
refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and
has a more melodious tone.

Two types of poetry:

 1.    NARRATIVE POETRY - describes important events in life real or imaginary.

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2.    LYRIC POETRY - refers to that king of poetry meant to be song to the
accompaniment of a lyre, but now this applies to any type of poetry that
expresses emotions and fillings of the poet.

Types of Narrative Poetry:

A.   EPIC

An extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural control.

It may deal with heroes and gods.

 B.   METRICAL TALE

A Narrative, which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or

as a metrical romance.

 C.   BALADS

Of the narrative poems, this is the shortest and simplest. It has a simple
structure and tells of a single incident.

Types of Lyric Poetry:

A.   FOLKSONGS (AWIT NG BAYAN)

These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love,
despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow.

 B.   SONNETS

A lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling of an idea.

C.   ELEGY

This is a lyric poem, which express feelings of grief and melancholy and whose
theme is death.

D.   ODE

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 A poem of noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite syllables or
definite number of lines in a stanza.

E.   PSALM (DALIT)

It is a sound praising god or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of

life.

F.    AWIT (SONG)

Measures of a 12 (do decasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a

guitar or Banduria.

G.   CORRIDO

Have measure of eight (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.

3. DRAMA

Drama is the theatrical dialogue performed on stage, it consists of 5 acts.

Types of Drama:

A.   COMEDY

It is comes from the Greek “komos” meaning festivity or revelry. This is usually
light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.

B.   MELODRAMA

It is usually used in musical plays with opera. It arouses immediate and intense
emotions and is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal
character.

C.   TRAGEDY

Involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death
or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

D.   FARCE

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 Exaggerated comedy, situations are too ridiculous to be true; and the
characters seem to be caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.

POETIC DEVICES

Definition

Poetic devices are tools that a poet can use to create rhythm, enhance a poem's
meaning, or intensify a mood or feeling. These devices help piece the poem
together, much like a hammer and nails join planks of wood together. Some of
these devices are used in literature as well, but for the sake of clarity, we will look
at all of these devices through the lens of poetry.

Devices That Create Rhythm

Let's start with some of the devices that can be used to create rhythm, including
repetition, syllable variation, and rhyming.

In poetry, repetition is repeating words, phrases, or lines. For example, Edgar

Allen Poe's poem 'The Bells' repeats the word 'bells.' By doing so, Poe creates a
sing-song rhythm similar to that of bells ringing.

To the swinging and the ringing

of the bells, bells, bells--

A unit of poetic meter, also known as a foot, consists of various combinations of

stressed and unstressed syllables. There are several types of feet in poetry, and
they can all be used to create rhythm. One example is an anapest. An anapest
consists of two unaccented syllables with an accented one right after it, such as
com-pre-HEND or in-ter-VENE.

An anapestic meter creates rhythm in Byron's poem 'The Destruction of

Sennacherib.' Read the lines and count out the syllables, noting how every third
syllable is the accented one. Anapestic meter is challenging to craft, but it creates
a powerful rhythmic flow as seen below.

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
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When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

The reverse of an anapest is a dactyl. It is a stressed syllable followed by two

unstressed ones, such as FLUT-ter-ing or BLACK-ber-ry. Tennyson's poem 'The
Charge of the Light Brigade' uses dactyl meter. As you read the lines, you'll notice
that the poet consistently follows the pattern of one stressed syllable then two
unstressed syllables.

Forward, the Light Brigade!

Half a league, half a league

Rhyming is another common poetic device used to create rhythm. There are
several types of rhyming devices.

One example is a couplet, or two rhymed lines that are together and may or may
not stand alone within a poem. Shakespeare's sonnets end in couplets, as in his
Sonnet 29. Shakespeare's couplet below consists of two lines that have end
rhyme because of the words 'brings' and 'kings.'

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Another example of rhyming in poetry is internal rhyme, which is a rhyme that

typically occurs within the same line of poetry. Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven' uses
internal rhyme with the words 'dreary' and 'weary':

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary

Unlike an internal rhyme, an end rhyme occurs when two words at the end of
lines rhyme. Emily Dickinson's poem 'A Word' uses end rhyme by rhyming the
words 'dead' and 'said' at the end of the lines.

A word is dead

When it is said

Devices That Enhance Meaning

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There are many devices that can enhance the meaning of a poem. A simile is a
comparison between two unlike things. Similes use the words 'like' or 'as.' A
simile can get the reader to look at something in a different way. In 'Harlem,'
Langston Hughes compares a dream deferred to a raisin using the word 'like.' His
comparison encourages the reader to look at raisins and dreams postponed in a
new way.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun

In contrast to a simile, a metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things

without using the words like or as. A metaphor uses the senses and compares two
things in a meaningful way. John Donne's poem 'The Sun Rising' uses a powerful
metaphor:

She is all states, and all princes, I.

Through this comparison, Donne is saying that his beloved is richer than all states,
while he is richer than the princes because of their love, and he does not use 'like'
or 'as' in his comparison.

Many poets also use a symbol, or an object that means more than itself and
represents something else. In Robert Frost's poem 'The Road Not Taken,' he talks
about deciding which path to take when coming to a fork in the road. The fork
and the two routes that result symbolize choices in life, a specific decision that
must be made, etc. So, the actual road that he describes represents something
much greater that what it is.

Poets may also use imagery, or words to create an image in the reader's mind.
Imagery is based on our five senses, though visual imagery is used the most. The
images contribute to a poem's meaning. In William Wordsworth's poem 'I
Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,' his emotions build with the images he creates.

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Notice how Wordsworth's lines create images in your head because of the specific
details that he uses, thereby creating imagery.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Devices That Intensify Mood

Some devices are used solely to intensify the mood of the poem. An example is a
hyperbole, an exaggeration that is used for dramatic effect. John Donne uses
hyperbole in his poem 'Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star.'

Ride ten thousand days and nights,

'Til age snow white hairs on thee,

Obviously, ten thousand days and nights might be a bit of an exaggeration (as is
claiming that we'll be white-haired by the time the journey is over), but the point
gets across: a long, long time will pass.

Onomatopoeia is another good example. This device uses words that resemble or
imitate sounds. Words like 'bang' and 'boom' could add to the intensity of a poem
as those sounds could be reminiscent of war or violence, whereas words/sounds
like 'tweet' or 'purr' could add to a tranquil feeling within a poem about the
calming effects of nature.

Alliteration; The repetition of initial consonant sounds

Assonance; The repetition of vowel sounds

Imagery; Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses

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Metaphor; A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer
meaning to one of them. Often forms of the "to be" verb are used, such as "is" or
"was", to make the comparison

Meter; The recurrence of a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Personification; A figure of speech which endows animals, ideas, or inanimate

objects with human traits or abilities

Point-of-view; The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of

the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem (1st person: the speaker is a
character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective, 3rd person
limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters
but limits information about what one character sees and feels, 3rd person
omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and
describe what all characters are thinking)

Repetition; The repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas

Rhyme; The similarity of ending sounds existing between two words

Simile; A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison

such as "like", "as", or "than"

Stanza; A grouping of two or more lines of a poem in terms of length, metrical

form, or rhyme scheme.

LITERARY TERMS (figures of speech)

Definition

Literary terms refer to the technique, style, and formatting used by writers and
speakers to masterfully emphasize, embellish, or strengthen their compositions.
Literary terms can refer to playful techniques employed by comedians to make us
laugh or witty tricks wordsmiths use to coin new words or phrases. They can also
include the tools of persuasion that writers use to convince and drive audiences

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to action. With their carefully crafted speeches geared towards both logical and
emotional thinking, they challenge our everyday modes of thinking.

Literary terms also include powerful figurative language that writers use to
summon emotion ranging from guilt to anger to bliss, and to allow us to see the
world in new and magical ways. Words can be arranged to give poems, songs, and
prose alike, rhythm and musicality. They can animate a story with such wealth of
detail, character development, and action that as readers, we are taken by a
story, and feel as if the people on the page are real. Literary terms have a wide
range of application, from the poet’s beauty, to the speaker’s persuasion, to the
novelist’s story development.

Allusion

An allusion is when an author refers to the events or characters from another

story in her own story with the hopes that those events will add context or depth
to the story she's trying to tell.

While allusions are common, they are also risky because the author has no certain
way of knowing her readers are familiar with the other story. To limit that risk,
allusions are often to very famous works such as the Bible or Shakespearean
plays.

So, for example, one of the most alluded to texts in literature is the Bible, and
specifically the New Testament. Here is an allusion that a writer might make to
the Biblical story of Lazarus, who famously rose from the dead. Notice how using
the allusion helps intensify the character's recovery:

Night after night our hero lay in bed with the flu, hacking mucus and blood and
seeing behind his eyelids the angels or devils come to collect him. But one
morning, like Lazarus, he was whole again…

It should also be noted that an allusion doesn't have to specifically name the
character or event it's referring to.

Diction

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Diction refers to an author's choice of words. When describing the events of her
story, an author never has just one word at her disposal.

Rather, she must choose from many words that have similar denotative meanings
(the definition you'd find in a dictionary), but different connotative meanings (the
associations, positive or negative with a given word).

The decisions she makes with those words are what we call her diction.

For example, imagine that a child in a story comes home from school and tells his
parents about his day.

Here are four separate ways he could describe his behavior at recess. Notice how
selecting one italicized word over another, shifting the diction, totally changes the
meaning of the sentence:

* 'Tommy made fun of me, so I nicked his eye with a stick.'

* 'Tommy made fun of me, so I poked his eye with a stick.'

* 'Tommy made fun of me, so I stabbed his eye with a stick.'

* 'Tommy made fun of me, so I gouged his eye with a stick.'

The words nicked, poked, stabbed and gouged all have similar denotative
meanings, but notice how an author's choosing one or the other would drastically
affect how we understand how well Tommy fared.

Epigraph

Reading literature, you may have come across a work where the author under the
title has included a quotation from some other work; often the quotation is in
italics.

When an author does this, she is using what's called an epigraph. Like an allusion,
an epigraph is a reference to another work that an author hopes will help readers
understand her own work. Unlike an allusion, an epigraph stands apart from the
text itself rather than being included in it.

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Let's take a look at an epigraph from T.S. Eliot's famous poem 'The Love Song of J.
Alfred Prufrock.' The epigraph is from Dante's Inferno, and is meant to help Eliot's
reader understand that the poem that follows is a kind of confession.

If I but thought that my response were made

to one perhaps returning to the world,

this tongue of flame would cease to flicker.

But since, up from these depths, no one has yet

returned alive, if what I hear is true,

I answer without fear of being shamed.

Euphemism

Often in literature, whether for humor or just for taste, a writer wishes to
describe some graphic or offensive event using milder imagery or phrasing. When
an author does this, it's called a euphemism.

While this example isn't from literature, it underscores the meaning of

euphemism.

Imagine that a sports broadcaster calling the action in a baseball game has to say
into the microphone that a player has just been struck in the genitalia with a line
drive. Obviously in the interests of taste, he doesn't wish to say 'genitalia' on the
air, and so instead he says:

'…it's a line drive up the middle and, oh my goodness, ladies and gentlemen, he
seems to have taken one below the belt…'

Notice how below the belt communicates where the ball hit the player but avoids
using the more explicit term.

Foreshadowing

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In order to create suspense for her readers, an author often wishes to hint where
the story is going. At the same time, she doesn't wish to give away the ending.

When an author hints at the ending of or at an upcoming event in her story

without fully divulging it, she is using what's called foreshadowing.

At the end of Ernest Hemingway's famous novel A Farewell to Arms, a key

character dies while it's raining.

To hint at that death, Hemingway earlier in the book includes a scene where the
character admits that she is afraid of the rain because sometimes she sees herself
dead in it.

While this is just an irrational vision, it also gives the reader an ominous detail and
hints at an event that might be to come.

Imagery

Just as when an author chooses words for their connotative associations (see the
above discussion of 'diction'), she chooses sensory details for the associations or
tones they evoke. This is the author's selection of imagery.

In Theodore Roethke's famous poem, 'My Papa's Waltz,' we see a young boy
dance with his drunken father. It's a happy memory for the boy, but also the
poem hints at the father's dangerous condition. One of the ways Roethke
achieves this is through his selection of imagery.

Consider the first stanza:

The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy.

While there are several examples of imagery here, think specifically about
Roethke's choice of 'whiskey' as the alcohol the father is drinking.
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Just as choosing one word over another offers different connotations so does
choosing one image over another affect the work's tone.

What if the father had been drinking a wine cooler or a gin fizzy, for instance?
How would that change how we understand the father's character?

Metaphor

When attempting to describe an image or event, an author often will find it useful
to compare what she's describing to another image or event. This is called
metaphor, and it gives the reader a fresh, sometimes startling way of imagining
what's going on.

In Andrew Marvell's famous poem, 'To His Coy Mistress,' the speaker uses the
following metaphor to describe his fear of pending death.

But at my back I always hear

time's winged chariot hurrying near...

By comparing death to a 'winged chariot,' the speaker is able to communicate the

strength and horror with which he imagines his own demise instead of just trying
to describe directly how thinking about death feels.

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Satire

Satire refers to a play, novel, poem, film or other composition which uses
comedy, irony, mockery, and exaggeration to criticize the absurdity or
weaknesses of a certain person, institution, or situation. Often, satire utilizes
comedy for more serious means, such as political and social commentary.

Rhetorical Questions
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A rhetorical question is a question asked in a form which does not in reality seek
an answer but rather emphasizes a certain point. We often use rhetorical
questions in everyday conversation as well as in speeches. Here are a few
examples of rhetorical questions:

* Why would anyone do such a thing?

* How much longer will we allow such injustices to exist?

* Are you kidding me?

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a remarkably exaggerated statement or idea meant to be taken

figuratively rather than literally. Hyperbole exaggerates certain elements of ideas
or things for comedic or dramatic effects. Here are a few examples of hyperbole:

* I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!

* That was the best performance I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

* I’d kill for a glass of Coca-Cola.

 3. Plot and Character Devices

A story is not a story without a plot and characters. Things must happen, and they
must happen to interesting people who are flawed, capable of change, and active
in their world. Plots are not always simple or linear, though, and characters are
elements of a story which may be built, developed, and complicated. Novelists,
poets, journalists, filmmakers, and others use numerous elements in making a
compelling, interesting, and believable story.

 The importance of Plot and Character Devices

Plot and character devices reveal how complicated compositions can be with a
variety of necessary elements that piece the story together. Stories in any form
require a variety of plot and character devices to shape their development and
supply their meaning.

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 When to use Plot and Character Devices

Plot and character devices are elements of the story which could be told in many
forms including poetry, prose, playwriting, song, television, film, and others.
Devices used in Greek tragedies and in Shakespeare’s classics are still in use by
novelists, story writers, poets, and playwrights today.

 Flashback

A flashback is a moment in which the linear story is interrupted and launched to

an event that occurred in the past. Flashbacks are used to provide more
information about the present and to further develop plots and characters in a
way that is more interesting and complicated than a simple chronological plot.
Here is an example of flashback:

A man is shopping when he sees a woman at the end of the aisle. The story
flashes back, showing that he previously had a relationship with her, a
relationship that ended badly. He swiftly turns around and enters a different aisle,
avoiding her sight.

This flashback shows us that the woman in the store is important to the man, as
she was an important person in his past.

 Climax

Climax is one of the most important and necessary elements of a story’s plot, as
all drama that has been developing over the course of the story reaches a
breaking point when something or someone must change. This is the most
dramatic, meaningful, and suspenseful moment in the story. Here is an example
of the climax in a story:

A boy has been shipwrecked and has struggled to survive on a desert island.
When a plane flies over him, he is prepared with a large fire burning. The plane
circles back and lands on the island, where he is at last rescued.

The climax of this story occurs when the boy’s suffering and struggling end with
his rescue.
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  Sound and Rhythm

The way we word things can create rhythm, musicality, and poetry for the reader
or listener. Poetry in particular operates on syllable counts, arrangement of lines,
usage of certain hard or soft sounds, and pattern-making with rhyme and other
devices. Soft s sounds can create calm and smoothness, whereas hard k sounds
create chaos and harshness. A variety of sound and rhythm devices take
advantage of connotative noises and the feelings they evoke in the audience.
Sound and rhythm create powerful poetry, prose, speeches, and songs.

 The importance of Sound and Rhythm

Sound and rhythm appeal to us just as naturally as heartbeats, rain on the roof,
and the shuffle of feet on the sidewalk do. Rhythm provides soothing and
meaningful repetition and emphasis in prose and poetry. Sound, on the other
hand, is connotative of numerous feelings from anger to sadness based on
arrangement of vowel and consonant sounds.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a certain sound at the beginning of successive

words or phrases. Alliteration is used to create rhythm through repetition and to
evoke emotion through connotations attached to certain sounds. Here are a few
examples of alliteration:

* Sarah swam smoothly and silently across the sound.

* Kathy creates crazy and chaotic chants.

* Bret brought bundles of bread to the bakery.

 Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to words which sound like that which they describe.
Onomatopoeia creates a vivid reading experience, as words are automatic forms
of sound imagery. Here are a few examples of onomatopoeia:

* The explosion erupted with a boom!

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* The horses clip-clopped across the street.

* Fall leaves rustled in the whistling

LITERARY APPRECIATION

Ogenlewe (2006) posits that ‘literary appreciation refers to the evaluation of

works of imaginative literature as an intellectual or academic exercise.’ In this
process the reader interprets, evaluates or classifies a literary work with a view to
determining the artistic merits or demerits or such a work. Donelson and Nilsen
(2009) echo this sentiment and add that it is the process by which one ‘gauges
one’s interpretive response as a reader to a literary work’. This means that the
reader is able to gain pleasure and understanding for the literature, understand
its value and importance and admire its complexity.

Literary appreciation focuses on the adequate grasp of the definitions and

applications of traditional literary devices such as plot, character, metaphor,
setting and symbolism which may be encountered within texts.

Margaret Early’s Stages of Growth in Literary Appreciation determines that the

personal attitudes, reading and observing skills are all part of literary
appreciation. Stages which readers go through are added unto without dropping
the previous stages. Thus, literary appreciation is a lifelong process. However,
occasionally students are ill-equipped to handle transition from childhood
literature to adolescent literature and fail at establishing literary appreciation.
This may occur as a result of a student’s late or early cognitive maturity. As
teachers, we must understand that in order to appreciate literature students
must experience pleasure from their reading. Transaction reading journals and
literature circles can be helpful as students can document their progress and
reflect on them. They should be provided with a forum to respond to literature in
the classroom, discuss personal responses, ideas and deductions with other
students. This will also allow them to make text to text connections.

 
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