WORLD LITERATURE – FINAL TERM TRANSES
[CYRUSS, ALLYZA, & JOYCE]
CHINESE LITERATURE
- one of the oldest civilizations in the world.
- The basis of Chinese classical civilization
was established solidly during the Chou,
Ch’in, and Han dynasties, and nearly all
that came after that until about the 19th
century fits neatly into the pattern of
dynastic rise, expansion, disintegration, and
fall.
- Twentieth century China was marked by
wide class division, warlordism, appalling
poverty among the masses and government
corruption.
- The dynastic rule of China was ended with
the revolution of 1911, led by Sun Yat-sen,
which overthrew the Manchus, but this
revolution did not usher in democratic rule
as had been hoped.
- The Chinese revolution probably changed
the lives of more people drastically that any
other revolution in world history.
- China is rich, but she has now solved the
problems of poverty and starvation.
- There are no more idle, opium-smoking
landlords or rickshaw drivers who might be
beaten to death or babies eaten by rats.
- Chinese are still practical, and they are still
humanistic.
- The unity of this pattern was firmly based on
Confucianism.
CONFUCIANISM
- Confucianism is not exactly a religion,
although it seems to answer all the basic
needs of men, which in the West have been
answered by religious thought.
- It provides the Chinese with both a moral
order and an order for the universe.
- It makes the individual aware of his place in
the world and the behavior appropriate to it
- It provides social philosophy.
- Confucius did believe in gods and
ancestral spirits as did most Chinese of his
time, but he generally refused to speak
about them because nothing could be
known directly about them.
- This is the Chinese practicality and
man-centeredness.
TAOISM
- Taoist beliefs and influences are an
important part of classical Chinese culture.
- The “Tao” is usually translated “The Way”
– the way in which a flower grows from a
seed, according to its natural inborn
potential.
- Just for the Buddhist, suffering comes from
grasping and trying to stop the inevitable
flux of the universe.
- For the Taoist, unhappiness comes from
parting from the Tao or from trying to flout it.
- To follow the Tao, or to “go with the flow”,
is both wisdom and happiness: the analogy
here is that of a flower petal flowing along
effortlessly with a stream.
- It changed the economic structure, the very
basis of society and all relationships that
grow out of the structure.
For 3500 years, the Chinese have woven a variety
of genres and forms encompassing poetry, essays,
fiction, and drama; each in its own way reflecting
the social climate of its day through the high spirit
of art.
Chinese literature has its own values and tastes, its
own reigning cultural tradition and its own critical
system of theory.
ANALECTS
- The sayings of Confucius were remembered
by his followers and were later compiled in a
book of Analects (sayings), perhaps
having been expanded on in the meantime.
- Through them, we discover Confucius’
notions of virtues.
i.e., the positive character traits, to which we
should aspire.
- Foremost among these is Filial Piety, the
respect which children owe to parents and
by extension, wives owe to husbands,
sisters to brothers, and everyone to
ancestors.
- When such virtue is cultivated in the home,
it is supposed to carry over into one’s
relations in affairs of state as well.
- The analects were written and compiled
within a century after Confucius’ death (d.
473) by Confucius’ first- and
second-generation pupils.
- During Warring state period (476 BC – 221
BC) the text was completed.
- Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) the book
was widely known and transmitted
throughout China in a mostly complete form.
- Some scholars have proposed dates as late
as 140 BC for the text’s compilation.
- Lu Xiang (Han Dynasty Scholar) two
versions of the Analects:
a. Lu – contains 20 chapters.
b. Qi – contains 22 chapters, including
chapters that are not found in the Lu
version.
- Both versions had in common; the Lu
version had more passages. Each version
 has its own masters, scholars, and
transmitters.
READING CHINESE LITERATURE
The main disadvantage of written Chinese is the
great number of characters it contains even basic
reading and writing require a knowledge of more
than 1,000 characters. This has often made it
difficult to spread the skills of reading and writing
into certain areas of the country. But even with this
disadvantage, Chinese has been a potent factor in
shaping and maintaining a cultural continuity for
millions of people.
THE SPLENDOR OF CHINESE LITERATURE
Chinese literature can be used as an escape into a
beautiful world and time, a guide to virtuous living,
and a historical map through images and
philosophy.
CONFUCIUS’ ANALECTS
“Do not do unto others what you don’t want others
do to you.”
“Men are born pretty much alike, but through their
habits they gradually grow further and further apart
from each other,”
“To know what you know and know what you don’t
know is the characteristics of one who knows.”
“It is east to be rich and not haughty; it is difficult to
be poor and not grumble.”
“If a man would be severe towards himself and
generous towards others, he would never arouse
resentment.”
“A man who does not think a plan long ahead will
find trouble right by his door.”
“To repay evil with kindness is the sign of a
generous character. To repay kindness with evil is a
sign if criminal.”
“When you see good man, try to emulate his
example, and when you see bad man, search
yourself for his faults.”
“Don’t criticize other people’s fault; criticize your
own.”
“The superior man is always candid and at ease
(with himself or others): the inferior man is always
worried about something.”
“A gentleman is ashamed that his words are better
than his deeds.”
“Reading without thinking gives one a disorderly
mind, and thinking without reading makes one
flighty.”
“The type of scholarship which is bent on
remembering things in order to answer people’s
questions does not qualify one to be a teacher.”
Lesson 2: Japanese Literature
● Japanese literature spans a period of almost
two millennia and comprises one of the major
literatures in the world, comparable to English
literature in age and scope. It comprises a
number of genres, including novels, poetry, and
drama, travelogues, personal diaries and
collections of random thoughts and
impressions.
● From the early seventh century until the present
there has never been a period when literature
was not being produced by Japanese authors.
● Japan adopted its writing system from China,
often using Chinese characters to represent
Japanese words with similar phonetic sounds.
● Early works were heavily influenced by cultural
contact with China and Chinese literature, and
was often written in Classical Chinese
Japanese Writing System
Modern writing system uses:
▪ Kanji—ideographs from Chinese characters
▪ Kana—a pair of syllabaries, consisting of;
- Hiragana—used for native Japanese
words.
- Katana—Used for foreign loanwords
and sometimes to replace kanji or
hiragana for emphasis
The Period of Japanese Literature
1
Ancient Literature, 2 Classical Literature, 3
Medieval Literature, and 4 Modern Literature;
Edo Period, Meiji Period, Post-War Japan, and
Contemporary Literature.
● Ancient Literature
Two of the oldest Japanese Literature:
- Kojiki (Records of ancient matter)
Relate to the creation or the world,
describes the gods and goddess of the
mythological period, and contains facts
about ancient Japan.
- Nihongi (Chronicle of Japan)
 Tells the history of Japan in poetry and
shows the profound influence of
Chinese.
● Classical Literature
The Heian Period, referred as the golden
era of Japanese art and Literature.
- Man’yoshu (Collection of Myriad
Leaves)
The oldest collection of Japanese poetry
collected in the year 800.
- Genji Monogatarai (The Tale of Genji)
Written by court lady named Murasaki
Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent
masterpiece of Heian fiction and the first
example of work of fiction in the form of
novel.
● Medieval Literature
o Japan experienced many civil wars led to
the development of warrior class,
subsequent war tales, history and related
stories.
o Work from this period is notable for its
insight into life and death, sinple lifestyle,
and Seppuku.
o Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the
struggle between two clans for control of
Japan at the end of the 12th century.
Edo period
- he Tokugawa Period is commonly
referred to as the Edo Period. Capital
of Japan moved from Kyoto to Edo
(modern Tokyo)
- Scholarly work continued to be
published in Chinese, which was the
language of the learned much as
Latin was in Europe.
- Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a kabuki
dramatist, known as the Japan’s
Shakespeare.
- Many Genre of literature made their
debut during the Edo Period, helped
by a rising literacy rate among the
growing population of townspeople,
as well as the development of lending
libraries.
- Important of Chinese vernacular that
proved the greatest outside influence
on the development of early modern
Japanese fiction.
- Genres included horror, crime stories,
morality stories, comedy, and
pornography—often accompanied by
woodcut prints.
Meiji Period
- The Meiji Period marks the
re-opening of Japan to the West,
and a period of rapid
industrialization.
- The introduction of European
literature brought free verse into the
poetic repertoire. It became widely
used for longer works embodying
new intellectual themes.
- Young Japanese prose writers and
dramatists struggled with novelists
were the first to assimilate some of
these concepts successfully.
- War-time Japan saw the debut of
several authors best known for the
beauty of their language and their
tales of love and sexuality.
- Kawabata Yasunari, for his
narrative which with great sensibility
expresses the essence of the
Japanese mind became Japan’s first
winner of the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
Contemporary Literature and Post War
- World War II, and Japan’s defeat, deeply
influence Japanese literature. Many
authors wrote stories of disaffection,
loss of purpose and the coping with
defeat.
- Prominent writers of the 1970s and
1980s were identified with intellectual
and moral issues in their attempts to
raise social and political consciousness.
- Modern Japanese writers covered a
wide variety of subjects, one particularly
Japanese approach stressed their
subject’ inner lives, widening the earlier
novel’s preoccupation with the narrator’s
consciousness.
- In Japanese fiction, plot development
and action have often been of
secondary interest to emotional issues.
In keeping with the general trend toward
reaffirming national characteristics,
many old themes reemerged, and some
authors turned consciously to the past.
Japanese Drama
- Noh Play—the national theatre of
Japan, which was originally reserved for
the nobility. Legend says that the Noh
dance was invented by the gods.
- Joruri Play—a puppet plays or dolls are
beautiful made and life-like in size.
- Kabuki—the play for the masses. It is
less intellectual and more realistic, even
sensational.
Japanese Poetry
- Tanka (5-7-5-7-7)—it is the five-line
poem. The first and third lines have five
syllables each and others seven, making
total of thirty-one syllables per poem.
- Haiku (5-7-5)—it is a seventeen-syllable
poem of three lines arranged in lines of
5-7-5. HAIKU is a short Japanese poem
that presents the world objectively and
contrasts two different images.

HAIKU
● Form of minimalist Japanese poetry
● Theme: Nature or seasons
● Attempt to be deep or compare to unlike
things.
KABUKI
● Developed around 1600’s
● Stores based on folklore history.
● Highly stylized make up
● Appeals to middle class audience that
often yells during performance.
● Bountiful and exaggerated
CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCE OF
KABUKI & NOH
● Japanese anime (cartoons) and manga
(comic books)
● Costume / make up for modern movies
(such as Star Wars)
BANKARU
● A Japanese traditional puppet SO
theatre in which half-life-size dolls
act out a chanted dramatic narrative,
called jōruri, to the accompaniment
of a small samisen (three-stringed
Japanese lute).
● The term Bunraku derives from the
name of a troupe organized by
puppet master Uemura Bunrakuken
in the early 19th century;
● The term for puppetry is ayatsuri and
puppetry theatre is more accurately
rendered ayatsuri jōruri.
Lesson 3: INDIAN LITERATURE
● India, officially known as the Republic of India,
is a sovereign country in South Asia.
● It is the 7th largest country by geographical
area, the second most populous country, and
the most populous liberal democracy in the
world
● Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south,
the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of
Bengal on the east.
● India has a coastline of over 7,000 kilometers.
● It borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal
and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh
and Myanmar to the east
● In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of
Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia
● Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a
region of historic trade routes and vast
empires, the Indian subcontinent was
identified with its commercial and cultural
wealth for much of its long history
● Four major world religions, Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated
here, while Islam, Christianity, Judaism and
Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millennium
CE and shaped the region’s variegated
culture.
● Gradually annexed by the British East India
Company from the early 18th century and
colonized by the United Kingdom from the
mid-19th century, India became a modern
nation-state in 1947 after a struggle for
independence that was marked by widespread
use of nonviolent resistance as a means of
social protest
● Historically, South Asia was always famous as
the richest region of the globe
● Currently with the world’s 12th largest
economy by market exchange rates and the
3rd largest in purchasing power, India has
made rapid economic progress in the last
decade
● Although the country’s standard of living is
projected to rise sharply in the next
half-century
● It currently battles high levels of poverty,
illiteracy, persistent malnutrition, and
environmental degradation
● A pluralistic, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic
society, India is also home a diversity of
wildlife in a variety of protected habitats
● Indians believe in many and different gods
● Three most powerful gods are Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva
● Brahma is the creator-god
● Vishnu, the preserver-god
● Shiva, the destroyer-god
FACTS
• Early settlers called their land “Bharat
Varsha” or “Bharat”.
 • During medieval times, it was known as
“Hindi”.
• Earliest Indian civilization grew up in the
Indus Valley from 4000 to 2500 BC.
• 1500 BC—Aryan invaders entered India.
• Hinduism and the Caste system were
the foundation of the Indian society.
• Most written in Sanskirt (oldest extant
Aryan language)
• A small portion was written in Prakrit
(vernacular form of Sanskirt).
PERIOD OF LITERATURE
Vedic
- 1500 BC- 200 BC
- Principally religious and lyric
Sanskirt
- 200 BC- present
- Many types of literature achieved
distinction.
RELIGIOUS WORKS
Oldest sacred literature is found in the four
Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva
Veda, and Yajur Veda.
Rig Veda—an anthology of 1028 hymns to
various gods.
Sama Veda— (book of chants) Liturgies,
mostly repetition of hymns in the Rig Veda.
Atharva Veda— (Prayer book) additional
many prose formulas
Yajur Veda— (Book of spell) incantation,
notions about demonology and witchcraft.
PROSE
Brahmanas—commentaries on the Vedic hymns
Upanishads—collection of 108 discourses on the
Brahman.
Sutras—often unintelligible treatises concerning
rituals.
EPICS
Mahabharata—written in Vyasa
- Longest poem in the world
- About 200,000 lines, nearly 8 times as long
as Iliad and the odyssey.
- Greatest epic of India
- Circa 500 BC
Ramayana—written in Valmiki
- Circa 500 to 200 AD
- About 96,000 lines, in seven book.
DRAMAS
The Toy Clay Cart—attributed to King Sundra; has
3 acts; a courtesan saves the life of a merchant
because of his former kindness and generosity.
Sakuntala or the Fatal Ring—attributed to
Kalidasa (The Hindu Shakespeare).
TALES
The Jatakas—imagination legends concerning the
550 births of Buddha and his early life.
The Panchatantra— (Five books); probably
intended as a manual of instruction for kings’ sons.
The Hitopdesa— (Book of Good Counsels),
forty-three tales
The Sukasaptati— (Seventy stories of a parrot)
fairy tales.
POETS
Kalidasa—leading lyricist famous for a large
number of poems of sentiment; Indians foremost
Sanskirt dramatist and poet.
Javadeva—author of the GItagovinda (love-making
of Krishna).
L4: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
HARPER LEE
❖ Harper Lee, in full Nelle Harper Lee, (born
April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Alabama, U.S.
❖ Died February 19, 2016, Monroeville),
American writer nationally acclaimed for her
novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
❖ Harper Lee’s father was Amasa Coleman
Lee, a lawyer who by all accounts
resembled the hero of her novel in his
sound citizenship and warm heartedness.
❖ The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is based in
part on his unsuccessful youthful defense of
two African American men convicted of
murder.
❖ Lee studied law at the University of
Alabama (spending a summer as an
exchange student at the University of
Oxford), but she left for New York City
without earning a degree.
❖ In New York she worked as an airline
reservationist but soon received financial
aid from friends that allowed her to write
full-time. With the help of an editor, she
transformed a series of short stories into To
Kill a Mockingbird
Overview of the Novel ATTICUS FINCH
❖ To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of Scout ● Father of Scout and Jem
and Jem during the Great Depression, when ● A widower
racism and segregation were common, ● An attorney by profession
especially in the South where the story ● Highly respected
takes place. As white children, Scout and ● Good citizen
Jem have yet to understand the challenge ● Instills good values and morals in his
of the black community. children
❖ However, during this story they learn about ● His children call him “atticus”
innocent black men accused of crimes, ● Honest
while experiencing the kindness and ● Typical southern gentleman
acceptance of black people in their town. ● Brave
❖ By the end of the novel, the children ● Courteous
understand they need to be more ● Soft-spoken
open-minded and see people as individuals. JEM FINCH
- Scout’s older brother
SETTING - Looks up to his father atticus
● Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) - Usually looks out for scout
● 1933 - 1935 - Typical older brother at times
● Although slavery has long been abolished, - Smart
the southerners in Maycomb continue to - Compassionate
believe in white supremacy. - Matures as the story progresses
THEMES CALPURNIA
● Racial Prejudice - The Finch’s black housekeeper
● Social Snobbery - Has watched the children since their
● Morality mother’s death
● Tolerance - Has been a positive influence on the
● Patience children
● Equality ARTHUR “BOO” RADLEY
● The need for compassion - An enigma
● The need for conscience - An adult man, whose father has “sentenced”
SYMBOLISM him to a lifetime confinement to their house
● The Mockingbird: Symbolizes everything because of some mischief he got into when
that is good and harmless in this world he was a teenager.
● The Mockingbird only sings to please others - Has a reputation of being a lunatic
and therefore it is considered a sin to shoot - Basically a harmless, well-meaning person
a mockingbird. They are considered - Sometimes childlike in behavior
harmless creatures who give joy with their - Starving for love and affection
song. - Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger
● The mockingbird image or symbol appears TOM ROBINSON
four times in the novel. - A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking
● Two characters in the novel symbolize the black man
mockingbird: Tom Robinson & Boo Radley. - Has a crippled left hand
JEAN LOUIS FINCH - “SCOUT” - Married with three children. Works on a
● The story’s narrator farm belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white
● Although now an adult, Scout looks back at man
her childhood and tells of the momentous - WIll be falsely accused of raping a white
events and influential people of those years. girl, Mayella Ewell
● Scout is six when the story begins DILL
● She is naturally curious about life. - A close friend of Jem and Scout
SCOUT’S CHARACTER TRAITS - Usually lives in Maycomb only during the
● Tomboy summer (stays with a relative)
● Impulsive - Tells “big stories”
● Emotional - Has been deprived of love and affection
● Warm and Friendly TWO POOR WHITE FAMILIES
● Sensitive ➔ The Cunninghams
● Adorable - Poor white family
● Gains in maturity throughout the Novel. - Hard-working
- Honest
 -Proud HARPER LEE
-Survive on very little ❖ She was born in 1926 in Monroeville,
-Always pay back their debts - even if alabama (the fictional “maycomb, alabama”)
it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or ❖ Her father “Amasa” was a lawyer whom she
holly deeply admired
➔ The Ewells ❖ Her mother’s maiden name was “finch”
- Poor white trash ❖ Her own childhood mirrors that of the
- DIrty character “scout”
- Lazy ❖ In 1969 she published her only novel – “To
- Good for nothing kill a mockingbird”
- Never done a day’s work ❖ It received the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in
- Foul-mouthed 1961
- Dishonest ❖ Since 1960, “to kill a mockingbird” has
- Immoral never been out of print
❖ At age 81, she is alive and resides in New
THE BLACK COMMUNITY York
- Simple ❖ She rarely makes public appearances or
- Honest gives interviews.
- Clean
- Hard-working
- God fearing
L5: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
- Proud
- Would never take anything with paying it
back ROBERT FROST
- Respectful
- in full Robert Lee Frost, (born March 26,
- Had stronger character than most of the 1874, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died
whites January 29, 1963, Boston, Massachusetts)
- Oppressed - American poet who was much admired for
- Uneducated his depictions of the rural life of New
- Discriminated against England, his command of American
- Talked about badly colloquial speech, and his realistic verse
- Deserve better than what is dished out to portraying ordinary people in everyday
them by society. situations.
- By 1911 Frost was fighting against
LANGUAGE discouragement.
- Sometimes the language of scout will be - Poetry had always been considered a
that of her as a child; other times, she will young person’s game, but Frost, who was
nearly 40 years old, had not published a
be speaking in the voice of an adult
single book of poems and had seen just a
- Atticus uses formal speech
handful appear in magazines.
- Calpurnia uses ”white language” in the
- Frost demonstrated an enviable versatility of
Finch house and switches to “black jargon” theme, but he mostly investigated human
when amidst blacks. contacts with the natural world in small
- The Ewells use fouls words and obscenities encounters that serve as metaphors for
- Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words, larger aspects of the human condition.
typical of their age - He often portrayed the human ability to turn
- Tom Robinson uses language typical of the even the slightest incident or natural detail
southern black such as “suh” for “sir” and to emotional profit, seen at its most
“chillun” or “children” economical form in “Dust of Snow.”
- Various derogatory terms for blacks will be
WRITINGS OF ROBERT FROST
used such as “nigger” “darky” “negroes”
“colored folks” – Lee uses such language to A. A Boy's Will (1913)
keep her novel naturally in sync with B. North of Boston (1914)
common language of the times. C. Mountain Interval (1916)
TONE D. New Hampshire (1923)
- Somber E. West-Running Brook (1928)
F. A Further Range (1937)
- Serious
G. A Witness Tree (1942)
- Humorous (at times)
H. In the Clearing (1962)
 THE ROAD NOT TAKEN SELECTION
1. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
2. And sorry I could not travel both
3. And be one traveler, long I stood
4. And looked down one as far as I could
5. To where it bent in the undergrowth;
6. Then took the other, as just as fair,
7. And having perhaps the better claim,
8. Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
9. Though as for that the passing there
10. Had worn them really about the same,
11. And both that morning equally lay
12. In leaves no step had trodden black.
13. Oh, I kept the first for another day!
14. Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
15. I doubted if I should ever come back.
16. I shall be telling this with a sigh
17. Somewhere ages and ages hence:
18. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
19. I took the one less traveled by,
20. And that has made all the difference.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE STORY
- The speaker, walking through a forest
whose leaves have turned yellow in autumn,
comes to a fork in the road.
- The speaker, regretting that he or she is
unable to travel by both roads (since he or
she is, after all, just one person), stands at
the fork in the road for a long time and tries
to see where one of the paths leads.
- However, the speaker can't see very far
because the forest is dense, and the road is
not straight.
- The speaker takes the other path, judging it
to be just as good a choice as the first, and
supposing that it may even be the better
option of the two, since it is grassy and
looks less worn than the other path.
- Though, now that the speaker has walked
on the second road, he or she thinks that
the two roads must have been equally worn
in.
- Reinforcing this statement, the speaker
recalls that both roads were covered in
leaves, which had not yet been turned black
by foot traffic.
- The speaker exclaims that he or she is in
fact just saving the first road, and will travel
it later, but then immediately contradicts him
or herself with the acknowledgement that, in
life, one road tends to lead onward to
another, so it's therefore unlikely that he or
she will ever actually get a chance to return
to that first road.
- The speaker imagines him or herself in the
distant future, recounting, with a sigh, the
story of making the choice of which road to
take.
- Speaking as though looking back on his or
her life from the future, the speaker states
that he or she was faced with a choice
between two roads and chose to take the
road that was less traveled, and the
consequences of that decision have made
all the difference in his or her life.
- Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a
trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward
Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who, when
out walking with Frost in England, would
often regret not having taken a different
path.
- Thomas would sigh over what they might
have seen and done, and Frost thought this
quaintly romantic.
- In other words, Frost's friend regretted not
taking the road that might have offered the
best opportunities, despite it being an
unknown.
- 'The Road Not Taken' is all about what did
not happen: This person, faced with an
important conscious decision, chose the
least popular, the path of most resistance.
- He was destined to go down one and
regretted not being able to take both, so he
sacrificed one for the other.
L6: THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
EDGAR ALLAN POE
- Author, not the narrator of the story.
- Developed characters whose sanity is
questionable.
- Father of the genre “the short story”
- Father abandoned family and mother died
when he was 2 years old.
- He was adopted after their death.
- While in college he became an avid
gambler.
- He then married his biological cousin,
Virginia Clemm, aged 13.
- His brother and wife died of tuberculosis.
- Most of his storied deal with death, murder,
and even cannibalism.
- His poem “The Raven” is his most highly
acclaimed work.
- It is rumored that he died of an opium
overdose or alcoholism.
- Recent DNA tests show Poe died from
rabies.
THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
“…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge.”
- The Cask of Amontillado is the narrator’s
account of his ability to carry out a chilling
plot of revenge against his offender.
- Time, place, and setting contribute to the
macabre setting of this story and add
suspense as Montressor seeks revenge on
Fortunato.
 CARNIVAL
- Is a secular holiday, but it evolved from the
Christian observance known as Lent.
- Lent is a solemn forty-day period of fasting
prior to Easter.
- Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves
abstaining from eating meat.
- Modern interpretations of fasting may
involve abstaining from anything one
enjoys.
- CARN + VAL [Flesh (meat) + Farewell]
- In anticipation of the solemnity of Lent, the
celebration of Carnival evolved.
- Participations engage in excessive and
extreme behavior to bid farewell to
meat-eating (and merriment).
WHAT HAPPENS DURING CARNIVAL?
- Carnival is a time of EXCESS and
INDULGENCE.
- Partying in the streets and masquerading
are enjoyed.
- The combination of alcohol and costumes
creates an atmosphere where people tend
to let down their inhibitors.
- European carnival traditions survive in the
United States in the form of Mardi Gras.
SETTING OF THE STORY
- The story is set during the “supreme
madness” of carnival.
- In such a riotous atmosphere, it is easy to
see how a crime could go unnoticed.
REFERENCES OF THE STORY
1. Palazzo – a large, imposing building (as a
museum or place of residence) especially in
Italy.
2. Fine Wine (vintages)
3. Cask of Wine
4. Nitre – a potassium nitrate salt formerly
known as saltpeter. Composed of names
“Sal” or salt, and “Petrae” or rock. Literally,
salt of the rock.
5. Flagon or vase of De Grave – a type of
wine.
6. Trowel – hand tool used by brick masons.
7. Masons – a member of the fraternity of
Freemasons, a worldwide fraternal
organization. OR one whose occupation is
to build with stone or brick; also, one who
prepares stone for building purposes.
8. The Family Arms – a huge foot d’or, in a
field azure; the foot crushes a serpent
rampant whose fangs are embedded in the
heel.
9. Family Motto – “Nemo me impune lacessit”
or in English, “No one provokes me with
impunity.” Or in colloquial English, “No one
attacks me and gets away with it.”
CATACOMBS
- The narrator plans for his revenge to take
place in the catacombs beneath his estate.
- Catacombs: Cities of the Dead
a) Paris Catacombs
o it lies beneath the city.
o In it, there are the bones of 5 to 6
million people.
o Starting from the late 18th century,
lacking in space to put corpses,
bodies of people who could not
afford proper burials were moved
from the overflowing cemeteries and
dumped there.
o The bones are piled around in heaps
that line the walls. Some of the
bones are in gigantic stacks.
o Some bones are fashioned into
macabre configurations: a cross
made from femurs.
- At the end of the 18th century, Paris was
greatly overcrowded, flooded with far too
many people who had come seeking work
or adventure.
- But there was also a great deal of filth,
disease and death, and the influx of new
people, often bringing new diseases, filled
the city cemeteries to overflowing.
- Proper burial became impossible.
- People stacked corpses in cemeteries with
only a thin layer of dirt over them.
- The stench of decaying bodies was
unbearable and spreading disease.
- It was then ordered to find an alternative-
thus, catacombs.
- Catacombs and the Wealthy – it was not
unusual for wealthy to have catacombs
under their estates. They could place the
remains of their own family members there.
- Visiting the Catacombs – it is possible for
one to take a tour of the catacombs today.
- The narrator carries out his revenge within
the catacombs beneath his palazzo.
- In the story, Montressor lures Fortunato to
his catacombs to sample rare amontillado, a
type of wine.
- Wine was often stored in catacombs
because it does well in places where the
temperature stays a constant cool
year-round.
- Herein, where wine bottles intermingle with
the bones of the dead, the narrator carries
out his plan for revenge.
- To add to the macabre setting, carnival – a
time merriment, is occurring just outside
Montressor’s home.
UNDERSTANDING THE STORY
- The major theme of the “The Cask of
Amontillado” is revenge. Montressor is
 motivated by his hate to take revenge on
Fortunato, after Fortunato greatly insulted
his family and caused him “a thousand
injuries.”
- The story features revenge and secret
murder to avoid using legal channels for
retribution.
- Edgar Allan Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado
as a Description of Poe's Life; it was written
by Allan Poe at a time when he felt he was
being unjustly attacked.
- It can be believed the cask of Amontillado is
a story of Revenge and Hatred against
some friends whom he believed had
wrongfully accused him.
Reviewer World Lit FINALS

PART 1. Chinese Literature, Japanese Literature, Indian Literature

• Chinese civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world

• There is documented evidence of the Shang dynasty, which goes all the way back to 1765 BC and
China’s legendary history goes back even further.

• The basis of Chinese classical civilization was established solidly during the Chou, Ch’in and Han
dynasties, and nearly all that came after that until about the 19th century fits neatly into the
pattern of dynastic rise, expansion, disintegration and fall.

• The unity of this pattern was firmly based on Confucianism

• Confucianism is not exactly a religion, although it seems to answer all the basic needs of men,
which in the West have been answered by religious thought
• It provides the Chinese with both a moral order and an order for the universe
• It makes the individual aware of his place in the world and the behaviour appropriate to it
• It provides moral and social philosophy.
• Confucius did believe in gods and ancestral spirits as did most Chinese of his time, but he
generally refused to speak about them because nothing could be known directly about them
• This is the Chinese practicality and man-centeredness.

For 3500 years, the Chinese have woven a variety of genres and forms encompassing poetry,
essays, fiction and drama; each in its own way reflecting the social climate of its day through the
high spirit of art.

Chinese literature has its own value and taste, its own reigning cultural tradition and its own
critical system of theory.

ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS

• The sayings of Confucius were remembered by his followers and were later compiled in a book
of Analects (sayings), perhaps having been expanded on in the meantime
• Through them, we discover Confucius’ notions of the virtues
 i.e., the positive character traits, to which we should aspire

• Foremost among these is Filial Piety, the respect which children owe to parents-and by
extension, wives owe to husbands, sisters to brothers, and everyone to ancestors
• When such virtue is cultivated in the home, it is supposed to carry over into one’s relations in
affairs of state as well.

Reading Chinese Literature

The main disadvantage of written Chinese is the great number of characters it contains: Even basic reading
and writing require a knowledge of more than 1,000 characters. This has often made it difficult to spread
the skills of reading and writing into certain areas of the country. But even with this disadvantage, Chinese
has been a potent factor in shaping and maintaining a cultural continuity for millions of people.

The Splendor of Chinese Literature

Chinese literature can be used as an escape into a beautiful world and time, a guide to virtuous living, and
a historical map through images and philosophy.
• The analects was written and compiled within a century after Confucius' death (d. 473) by
Confucius first and second generation pupils.
• During Warring state period (476 BC -221 BC) the text was completed
• Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) the book was widely known and transmitted throughout China
in a mostly complete form.

• Some scholars have proposed dates as late as 140 BC for the text's compilation.
• Liu Xiang (Han Dynasty Scholar) two versions of the Analects:
• Lu version contains 20 chapters
•Qi version contains 22 chapters, including chapters that are not found in the Lu version
• Both versions had in common; the Lu version had more passages. Each version had its own
masters, scholars,
and transmitters
Confucius
• Lived 551-479 BC
• Very little known about the real man
• Teacher
• Philosopher
• Zhou Dynasty
• Unstable
•Teachings more concerned with:
• Human Relationships
• Creating an organized, stable society
o Proper behavior
Good behavior important not to attain heaven, but to have an orderly society where
people respect each other

Based on the teaching of Confucius, but written down centuries later

• Sayings, conversations, teachings
•Does not offer the "right" answer, but encourages reflection, contemplation, and personal
growth
• While touches upon spiritual themes, is not overly concerned with the afterlife
•Morality based on correct behavior of the specific individual at a particular time
• Emphasizes social order and proper behavior

• Emphasizes:
• "The Way"
•Personal Cultivation over Rules of Behavior
• Skilled judgment
• Organized Life (Li)
Doing the right things at the right time
• Righteousness (Yi)
Do what is ethical based on the circumstances
• Benevolence (Ren)
Fulfilling your responsibilities to others
• Gentleman (Junzi)
• Social Nobility
• State of moral excellence that is attainable
• Key focus = Social Order
• Built on mutual respect and obligation
Rooted in the family
Extended to community and government
• Organized through:
A specific set of appropriate rules
A hierarchical relationship among the roles
A governing code of conduct

• Ethical behavior manifested through respect for others and ritual decorum

• This behavior can be learned, cultivated, and perfected

Social Hierarchy
1. Royalty & Scholar Officials
2. Artisans
3. Peasant Farmers
4. Merchants

Key Themes
 • Good Government
• Proper Behavior
• Social Roles
• Relationships
• Learning
• Nature
• "The Way"

JAPANESE LIT

• Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia and comprises one of the major
literatures in the world, comparable to English literature in age and scope.
• It comprises a number of genres, including novels, poetry, and drama, travelogues, personal
diaries and collections of random thoughts and impressions.
• From the early seventh century until the present there has never been a period when literature
was not being produced by Japanese authors.

Japanese Writing System

The modern Japanese writing system uses:

• Kanji, ideographs from Chinese characters,

• Kana, a pair of syllabaries, consisting of

• Hiragana, used for native Japanese words, and

• Katakana, used for foreign loanwords and sometimes to replace kanji or hiragana for
emphasis.
The Period of Japanese Literature

• Ancient Literature

• Classical Literature

• Medieval Literature

• Modern Literature

•Edo Period

• Meiji Period

• Post-War Japan

• Contemporary Literature

Ancient Literature
Two of the oldest Japanese literature:

• Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matter) relates to the creation of the world, describes the gods and goddess
of the mythological period, and contains facts about ancient Japan

• Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) tells the history of Japan in poetry and shows the profound influence of
Chinese.

Classical Literature

The Heian Period, referred to as the golden era of Japanese art and literature.

• Man'yoshu (Collection of Myriad Leaves)

The oldest collection of Japanese poetry collected in the year 800

• Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji)

written by court lady named Murasaki Shikibu is considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of
Heian fiction and the first example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel.

Medieval literature

Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequent war
tales, histories, and related stories.

Work from this period is notable for its insights into life and death, simple lifestyles, and Seppuku
Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the struggle between two clans for control of Japan at the end of
the twelfth century.

Edo Period

• The Tokugawa Period is commonly referred to as the Edo Period.

The capital of Japan moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern Tokyo)

• Scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese, which was the language of the learned much as
Latin was in Europe

• Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a kabuki dramatist, known as the Japan's Shakespeare

• Many genres of literature made their début during the Edo Period, helped by a rising literacy rate
among the growing population of townspeople, as well as the development of lending libraries

Edo Period

The importation of Chinese vernacular fiction that proved the greatest outside influence on the
development of Early Modern Japanese fiction.

Genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornography--often accompanied by
colorful woodcut prints.
Meiji Period

The Meiji period marks the re-opening of Japan to the West, and a period of rapid industrialization.

The introduction of European literature brought free verse into the poetic repertoire. It became widely
used for longer works embodying new intellectual themes.

Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists struggled with a whole galaxy of new ideas and artistic
schools, but novelists were the first to assimilate some of these concepts successfully

Meiji Period

• War-time Japan saw the début of several authors best known for the beauty of their language and
their tales of love and sensuality.

•Kawabata Yasunari, for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the
Japanese mind" became Japan's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Post-War and Contemporary Literature

World War Il, and Japan's defeat, deeply influenced Japanese literature. Many authors wrote stories of
disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with defeat.

Prominent writers of the 1970s and 1980s were identified with intellectual and moral issues in their
attempts to raise social and political consciousness.

Modern Japanese writers covered a wide variety of subjects, one particularly Japanese approach stressed
their subiects' inner lives, widening the earlier novel's preoccupation with the narrator's consciousness

Post-War and Contemporary Literature

•In Japanese fiction, plot development and action have often been of secondary interest to emotional
issues. In keeping with the general trend toward reaffirming national characteristics, many old themes
re-emerged, and some authors turned consciously to the past.

Japanese Drama

• Noh play

the national theatre of Japan, which was originally reserved for the nobility. Legend says that the
Noh dance was invented by the gods.

• Joruri play

a puppet play or doll theatre wherein the dolls are beautifully made and life-like in size.

• Kabuki

the play for the masses. It is less intellectual and more realistic, even sensational.

Japanese Poetry

•Tanka (5-7-5-7-7) It is a five line poem. The first and third lines have five syllables each and the others
seven, making a total of thirty- one syllables per poem.

• Haiku (5-7-5) It is a seventeen-syllable poem of three lines arranged in lines of five-seven-five.

• HAIKU is a short Japanese poem that presents the world objectively and contrasts two different
images.
Japanese Poetry
Tanka
A cool wind blows in With a blanket of silence.
Straining to listen For those first few drops of
rain, The storm begins in earnest.

Haiku
Autumn moonlight- a worm digs silently into the chestnut.

Haiku A form of minimalist Japanese poetry

Theme: Nature or Seasons Attempts to be deep or compare
two unlike things Consists of 3 lines and a certain
number of syllables per line
Haiku has 5-7-5 syllabic structure.
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.

The first cold shower

Even the monkey seems to want
A little coat of straw.

by Matsuo Bashō
 Developed around 1600's
§ Stories based on folklore, history
Highly stylized make up
Appeals to middle class audience that often yells during
performance
Bountiful and exaggerated

Contemporary Influence of Kabuki &Noh

Japanese anime (cartoons) and manga (comic books)
Costume / make up design for modern movies (such as Star Wars)

INDIAN LIT

• India, officially known as the Republic of India, is a sovereign country in South Asia
• It is the 7th largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the
most populous liberal democracy in the world
• Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal
on the east
• India has a coastline of over 7,000 kilometer,
• It borders Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and
Myanmar to the east
 • In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia
• Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the
Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long
history
• Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainisn and Sikhism originated here, while
Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism arrived in the first millenium CE and shaped the
region’s variegated culture.

Early settlers called their land "Bharat Varsha" or "Bharat".

During medieval times, it was known as "Hind."

• Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early 18th century and colonized
by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became a modern nation-state in 1947
after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread use of nonviolent resistance
as a means of social protest
• Historically, South Asia was always famous as the richest region of the globe
• Currently with the world’s 12th largest economy by market exchange rates and the 3rd largest in
purchasing power, India has made rapid economic progress in the last decade
• Although the country’s standard of living is projected to rise sharply in the next half-century
• It currently battles high levels of poverty, illiteracy, persistent malnutrition, and environmental
degradation
• A pluralistic, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic society, India is also home a diversity of wildlife in a
variety of protected habitats
• Indians believe in many and different gods
• Three most powerful gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
• Brahma is the creator-god
• Vishnu, the preserver-god
• Shiva, the destroyer-god
• Earliest Indian civilization grew up in the Indus Valley from 4000 to 2500 BC.

• 1500 BC --- Aryan invaders entered India.

• Hinduism and the Caste system were the foundations of the Indian society

• Mostly written in Sanskrit (oldest extant Aryan language)

• A small portion was written in Prakrit (vernacular form of Sanskrit)

PERIODS OF LITERATURE

VEDIC

• 1500 BC-200BC

• Principally religious and lyric

SANSKRIT
• 200 BC-present

• Many types of literature achieved distinction

• Oldest sacred literature is found in the four Vedas.

• RIG VEDA - - - an anthology of 1028 hymns to various gods

• SAMA VEDA - - (Book of Chants) liturgies, mostly repetitions of hymns in the Rig Veda

• ATHARVA VEDA --- (Prayer Book) additional many prose formulas

• YAJUR VEDA - -- (Book of Spells) incantations, notions about demonology and witchcraft
BRAHMANAS – commentaries on the vedic hymns

UPANISHADS – collection of 108 discourses of the Brahman religion.

SUTRAS – often unintelligible treatises concerning rituals

EPICS

• Mahabharata - - written by Vyasa

• Longest poem in the world

• About 200,000 lines, nearly 8 times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey

• Greatest epic of India

• Circa 500 BC
EPICS

• Ramayana - - - written by Valmiki

• Circa 500 BC to 200 AD

• About 96,000 lines, in seven books

DRAMAS

• The Toy Clay Cart --- attributed to King Sundra; has three acts; a courtesan saves the life of a merchant
because of his former kindness and generosity

• Sakuntala or the Fatal Ring --- attributed to Kalidasa (the Hindu Shakespeare

TALES

• The Jatakas --- imaginative legends concerning

the 550 births of Buddha and his early life

• The Panchanatantra --- (Five Books); probably intended as a manual of instruction for kings' sOns

• The Hitopdesa - - (Book of Good Counsels), forty-three tales

• The Sukasaptati --- (Seventy Stories of a Parrot) fairy tales

POETS

• Kalidasa --- leading lyricist famous for a large number of poems of sentiment; India's foremost Sanskrit
dramatist and poet

• Javadeva --- author of the Gitagovinda (love-making of Krishna)

Reviewer World Lit FINALS
PART 2. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Road Not Taken, The Cask of Amontillado

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
• Harper Lee, in full Nelle Harper Lee, (born April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Alabama, U.S.A.

• Died February 19, 2016, Monroeville), American writer nationally acclaimed for her novel To Kill a
Mockingbird (1960).

• Harper Lee’s father was Amasa Coleman Lee, a lawyer who by all accounts resembled the hero of her novel in his
sound citizenship and warm heartedness.

• The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is based in part on his unsuccessful youthful defense of two African
American men convicted of murder.

• Lee studied law at the University of Alabama (spending a summer as an exchange student at the University of
Oxford), but she left for New York City without earning a degree.

• In New York she worked as an airline reservationist but soon received financial aid from friends that allowed her
to write full-time. With the help of an editor, she transformed a series of short stories into To Kill a Mockingbird.

Overview of the Novel

• To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of Scout and Jem during the Great Depression, when racism and segregation
were common, especially in the South where the story takes place. As white children, Scout and Jem have yet to
understand the challenge of the black community.

• However, during this story they learn about innocent black men accused of crimes, while experiencing the
kindness and acceptance of black people in their town.

• By the end of the novel, the children understand they need to be more open-minded and see people as
individuals.
 Setting Themes
" Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) • Racial Prejudice
• Social Snobbery
• 1933-1935 • Morality
Although slavery has long been abolished, the • Tolerance
Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in • Patience
white supremacy • Equality
• The Need for Compassion
• The Need for Conscience

Symbolism Jean Louis Finch - "Scout"

• The Mockingbird: Symbolizes Everything That is
Good and Harmless in This World
The mockingbird only sings to please others and
therefore it is considered a sin to shoot a
mockingbird. They are considered harmless
creatures who give joy with their song.
• The mockingbird image or symbol appears
four times in the novel.
• Two characters in the novel symbolize the
mockingbird: Tom Robinson & Boo Radley.
The story's narrator
Although now an adult, Scout looks back at her
childhood and tells of the momentous events and
influential people of those years.
• Scout is six when the story begins. She is
naturally curious about life.

Scout's Character Traits Atticus Finch

• Tomboy • Father of Scout and Jem
• Impulsive • A widower
• Emotional • An attorney by profession
• Warm & Friendly Highly respected
• Sensitive • Good citizen
• Adorable • Instills good values and morals in
Gains in Maturity throughout the Novel his children.
His children call him "Atticus"
Honest
• Typical southern gentleman
Brave
• Courteous
■
Soft-spoken

Jem Finch Calpurnia

Scout's older brother • The Finch's black housekeeper
Looks up to his father Atticus • Has watched the children since their mother's
Usually looks out for Scout death
@Typical older brother at times • Has been a positive influence on the children.
smart
©Compassionate Matures as the story
progresses

Arthur "Boo" Radley Tom Robinson

" An enigma " An adult man, whose father has
"sentenced" him to a lifetime confinement to their
house because of some mischief he got into when
he was a teenager.
• Has a reputation of being a lunatic
"Basically a harmless, well-meaning person
• Sometimes childlike in behavior
• Starving for love and affection
• Saves Jem and Scout from certain danger
• A young, harmless, innocent, hardworking
black man
• Has a crippled left hand
• Married with three children. Works on a farm
belonging to Mr. Link Deas, a white man
• Will be falsely accused of raping a white girl,
Mayella Ewell
Dill Two Poor White Families
• A close friend of Jem and Scout The Cunninghams
• Usually lives in Maycomb only during the summer •Poor white family
(stay with a relative) " Tells "big stories" • Poor white trash
• Has been deprived of love and affection • Hard-working
• Dirty
• Lazy
• Honest
• Good-for-nothing
• Proud
" Never done a day's
• Survive on very little work
" Always pay back their
• Foul-mouthed
debts - even if it is
• Dishonest
with hickory nuts,
• Immoral
turnips, or holly.

Simple Language
• Honest Sometimes the language of Scout will be that of
• Clean her as a child; other times, she will be speaking in
• Hard-working the voice of an adult
• God fearing • Atticus uses formal speech "Calpurnia uses
• Proud •Would never take anything with paying it "white language" in the Finch house and
back switches to "black jargon" when amidst blacks
• Respectful • Had stronger character • The Ewells use foul words and obscenities
than most of the whites " Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words, typical
of their
age • Tom Robinson uses language typical of the
southern black such as "suh" for "sir" and
"chillun" for "children"
 Various derogatory terms for blacks will be used
such as "nigger," . "darky," "Negroes," and
"colored folk" - Lee uses such language to keep
her novel naturally in sync with common
language of the times

Tone Harper Lee

Somber • She was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama
• Serious (the fictional "Maycomb Alabama")
• Humorous (at times) Her father "Amasa" was a lawyer
whom she deeply admired
• Her mother's maiden name was "Finch"
"Her own childhood mirrors that of the
character "Scout"
•In 1960 she published her only novel
- "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• It received the Pulitzer Prize for
Literature in 1961 • Since 1960, "To Kill a
Mockingbird"
has never been out of print
"At age 81, she is alive and resides in
New York She rarely makes public
appearances or gives interviews

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN by ROBERT FROST

• Robert Frost, in full Robert Lee Frost, (born March 26, 1874, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died January 29,
1963, Boston, Massachusetts)

• American poet who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, his command of
American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations.

• By 1911 Frost was fighting against discouragement.

• Poetry had always been considered a young person’s game, but Frost, who was nearly 40 years old, had not
published a single book of poems and had seen just a handful appear in magazines.
• Frost demonstrated an enviable versatility of theme, but he most commonly investigated human contacts with
the natural world in small encounters that serve as metaphors for larger aspects of the human condition.
• He often portrayed the human ability to turn even the slightest incident or natural detail to emotional profit,
seen at its most economical form in “Dust of Snow”.

• Writings of Robert Frost

A Boy's Will (1913)
North of Boston (1914)
Mountain Interval (1916)
New Hampshire (1923)
West-Running Brook (1928)
A Further Range (1937)
A Witness Tree (1942)
In the Clearing (1962)

THE POEM: “THE ROAD NOT TAKEN”

• The speaker, walking through a forest whose leaves have turned yellow in autumn, comes to a fork in the road.

• The speaker, regretting that he or she is unable to travel by both roads (since he or she is, after all, just one
person), stands at the fork in the road for a long time and tries to see where one of the paths leads.

• However, the speaker cannot see very far because the forest is dense and the road is not straight.

• The speaker takes the other path, judging it to be just as good a choice as the first, and supposing that it may
even be the better option of the two, since it is grassy and looks less worn than the other path.

• Though, now that the speaker has actually walked on the second road, he or she thinks that in reality the two
roads must have been more or less equally worn-in.

• Reinforcing this statement, the speaker recalls that both roads were covered in leaves, which had not yet been
turned black by foot traffic.

• The speaker exclaims that he or she is in fact just saving the first road, and will travel it later, but then
immediately contradicts him or herself with the acknowledgement that, in life, one road tends to lead onward to
another, so it's therefore unlikely that he or she will ever actually get a chance to return to that first road.
• The speaker imagines him or herself in the distant future, recounting, with a sigh, the story of making the choice
of which road to take.
• Speaking as though looking back on his or her life from the future, the speaker states that he or she was faced
with a choice between two roads and chose to take the road that was less traveled, and the consequences of
that decision have made all the difference in his or her life.

• Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh
poet, who, when out walking with Frost in England, would often regret not having taken a different path.

• Thomas would sigh over what they might have seen and done, and Frost thought this quaintly romantic.

• In other words, Frost's friend regretted not taking the road that might have offered the best opportunities,
despite it being an unknown.

• 'The Road Not Taken' is all about what did not happen: This person, faced with an important conscious decision,
chose the least popular, the path of most resistance.

• He was destined to go down one and regretted not being able to take both, so he sacrificed one for the other.

THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO

Author, not the narrator, of the story

"The Cask.. • Developed characters whose
sanity is questionable.
• Father of the genre
"the short story"
Father abandoned family & mother died when he was 2 He then married his biological cousin, Virginia Clemm-
• He was adopted after their death age 13
• While in college he became an avid gambler • His brother died of TB
• His wife died of TB

Most of his stories deal with death, murder, and even It is rumored that he died of an opium overdose
cannibalism! or alcoholism
• His poem "The Raven" is his most highly • Recent DNA tests show Poe died
acclaimed work from Rabies!

"The Cask of Amontillado" "The Cask of Amontillado"

•" but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. Time, place, and setting contribute to the macabre
"The Cask of Amontillado" is the narrator's account of his setting of this story and add suspense as Montressor
ability to carry out a chilling plot of revenge against his seeks revenge on Fortunato.
offender.

Carnival
• Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves abstaining
from eating meat.
• Modern interpretations of fasting may involve
abstaining from anything one enjoys.
What happens during Carnival?
• Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE.
• BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.
Carnival
• Carnival is a secular holiday, but it evolved from the
Christian observance known as Lent.
• Lent is a solemn forty-day period of fasting prior to
Easter.
Carn + Val
FLESH (Meat) + FAREWELL
• In anticipation of the solemnity of Lent, the
celebration of Carnival evolved.
• Participants engage in excessive and extreme
behavior to bid farewell to meat-eating (and
merriment).
• The combination of alcohol and costumes creates an European Carnival traditions survive in the
atmosphere where people tend to let down their United States in the form of Mardi Gras.
inhibitions.

Setting of "Cask..
99 • "The Cask of Amontillado" is set during the
"supreme madness" of Carnival.
• In such a riotous atmosphere, it is easy to see how a
crime could go unnoticed.

Palazzo - a large, imposing building (as a museum or

place of residence) esp. in Italy
Nitre is a potassium nitrate salt formerly known as
saltpeter. Saltpeter is composed of the names "Sal" or
salt, and "Petrae" or rock. Literally, salt of the rock.
"..but observe the white webwork which gleams
from the these cavern walls.

MASONS THE FAMILY ARMS "A huge foot d'or, in a field azure;
Two definitions: A member of the fraternity of the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are
Freemasons, a worldwide fraternal organization imbedded in the
OR heal."
One whose occupation is to build with stone or brick; FAMILY MOTTO
also, one who prepares stone "Nemo me impune lacessit Translation: "No one
for building purposes. provokes me with impunity" /A more colloquial
translation into English would be "No one attacks me
and sets away with it"
In "Cask... The narrator plans for his revenge to take
place in the catacombs beneath his estate.
What are catacombs?
Paris Catacombs
• It lies far beneath the city
• In it, there are the bones of 5 to 6 million people.
• Starting from the late 18th century, lacking in space to
put corpses, bodies of people who could not afford
proper burials were moved from the overflowing
cemeteries and dumped there.
Why Catacombs?
• At the end of the 18th century, Paris was greatly
overcrowded, flooded with far too many people who had
come seeking work or adventure
• But there was also a great deal of filth, disease and
death, and the influx of new people, often bringing new
diseases, filled the city cemeteries to overflowing.
Catacombs: Cities of the Dead
Paris Catacombs
• The bones are piled around in heaps that line the
walls. Some of the bones are in gigantic stacks.
• Some bones are fashioned into macabre
configurations: A cross made from femurs
Why Catacombs?
• Proper burial became impossible.
• People stacked corpses in cemeteries with only a thin
layer of dirt over them
• The stench of decaying bodies was unbearable and
also spreading disease
• It was then ordered to find an alternative- thus,
catacombs
Catacombs & the Wealthy Visiting the Catacombs
• It was not unusual for wealthy to have catacombs • It is possible for one to take a tour of the catacombs
under their estates today.
• They could place the remains of their own family • First, you walk down a long
members here tunnel...
• And then you see..

The narrator of "The Cask of Amontillado" carries out his
revenge within the catacombs beneath his palazzo.
• In "The Cask...." Montressor lures Fortunato to his
catacombs to sample rare amontillado, a type of wine. •
Wine was often stored in catacombs because it does well
in places where the temperature stays a constant cool
year round.

• Herein, where wine bottles intermingle with the bones

of the dead, the narrator carries out his plan for revenge.
• To add to the macabre setting, Carnival - a time of
merriment- is occurring just outside Montressor's home.
• The major theme of “The Cask of Amontillado” is revenge. Montressor is motivated by his hate to take revenge
on Fortunato, after Fortunato greatly insulted his family and caused him “a thousand injuries”

• The story features revenge and secret murder as a way to avoid using legal channels for retribution.

• Edgar Allan Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado as a Description of Poe's Life; it was written by Allan Poe at a time
when he felt he was being unjustly attacked. ...

• It can be believe the cask of Amontillado is a story of Revenge and Hatred against some friends whom be
believed had wrongfully accused him.

GOOD LUCK!!!