An aphorism is defined as a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. Aphorisms grow out of speeches, sermons, religious texts such as the Bible, poems and stories, advertisements and most commonly, the expressions of ordinary people in ordinary situations.
Some examples are "Love your neighbor as yourself", "Say sorry when you hurt someone", "If you expect respect, be the first to show it" and "When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together."
Benjamin Franklin was very clever and decided to write down many aphorisms in his Almanac in 1732. He continued to publish his Almanac for 25 more years.
You can find Ben Franklin's aphorisms on page 74 in our Textbook. Review them and you will gain great insight in your life. :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Parts of a play and reading a play
We will be reading the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. This play is set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The characters are Puritans who fled from England to achieve religious freedom. As you will soon discover, they use their "freedom" to get revenge on anyone they choose.
The parts of a play are:
1. characters
2. stage directions
3. dialogue
4. acts and scenes
1. Characters are the individuals who are performing each part. Consider the age, gender, nationality, and situation the character is in.
2. The stage directions are usually in italics and sometimes enclosed in parentheses or brackets. They can describe the setting and situation, the set, sound effects, lighting and placement of props. They also describe the characters' appearances, emotional states, and movements.
3. Dialogue is the directly quoted words of conversation between two or more characters. Dialogue helps reveal characters' personalities, thoughts and motivations.
4. The play is divided into acts and scenes. These are dividers like chapters in a book. It allows the reader to separate the play into portions that can be easily identified.
When we read a play we must visualize or "picture" what is going on in the act or scene. What does the stage, costumes and props look like? How do the characters act and look? What facial expressions are they making? How do the characters sound? Are they talking? Yelling? Whispering?
Plays are also written differently than a narrative text. Plays are written in dialogue form. This means that each line must have a character's name and then the EXACT line the actor/actress is to say. The following is an example of the opening lines of the play "The Crucible."
http://content.screencast.com/users/mrspinney/folders/Jing/media/1b29a4ca-a036-4cb2-a4a5-4d28a4b7a7e1/Crucible%20Text%20Page%201.png
Please notice some features of a play text that are different than a narrative.
1. The stage directions are in parentheses and explain action that is occurring away from the actual dialogue.
2. The setting is described as to where, when, and who is involved in the action in this particular scene.
As we begin reading the play, "The Crucible," pay close attention to the names of the characters, how they are speaking, and the dialogue they are saying. It will make the play so much more interesting than just reading the lines straight through without any inflection in your voice or understanding what action is occurring in the scene.
Here is a short glimpse of the movie so you will have an idea of what to expect when reading this fantastic play.
The parts of a play are:
1. characters
2. stage directions
3. dialogue
4. acts and scenes
1. Characters are the individuals who are performing each part. Consider the age, gender, nationality, and situation the character is in.
2. The stage directions are usually in italics and sometimes enclosed in parentheses or brackets. They can describe the setting and situation, the set, sound effects, lighting and placement of props. They also describe the characters' appearances, emotional states, and movements.
3. Dialogue is the directly quoted words of conversation between two or more characters. Dialogue helps reveal characters' personalities, thoughts and motivations.
4. The play is divided into acts and scenes. These are dividers like chapters in a book. It allows the reader to separate the play into portions that can be easily identified.
When we read a play we must visualize or "picture" what is going on in the act or scene. What does the stage, costumes and props look like? How do the characters act and look? What facial expressions are they making? How do the characters sound? Are they talking? Yelling? Whispering?
Plays are also written differently than a narrative text. Plays are written in dialogue form. This means that each line must have a character's name and then the EXACT line the actor/actress is to say. The following is an example of the opening lines of the play "The Crucible."
http://content.screencast.com/users/mrspinney/folders/Jing/media/1b29a4ca-a036-4cb2-a4a5-4d28a4b7a7e1/Crucible%20Text%20Page%201.png
Please notice some features of a play text that are different than a narrative.
1. The stage directions are in parentheses and explain action that is occurring away from the actual dialogue.
2. The setting is described as to where, when, and who is involved in the action in this particular scene.
As we begin reading the play, "The Crucible," pay close attention to the names of the characters, how they are speaking, and the dialogue they are saying. It will make the play so much more interesting than just reading the lines straight through without any inflection in your voice or understanding what action is occurring in the scene.
Here is a short glimpse of the movie so you will have an idea of what to expect when reading this fantastic play.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
What is inversion?
The second literary skill you will study is inversion.
By definition, inversion is the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase (Elements of Literature- Fifth Course, page 1177).
Inversion is usually used when writing poetry because an author may want to move the word order around so that the words at the end of the lines rhyme.
However, sometimes inversion is used for a certain effect. That is the case with the speech of one character from the Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith. Yoda, the Jedi master, speaks almost entirely in inversion.
Now view the following video and pay attention to how Yoda, the little green Jedi master, speaks. Most of his sentences are inverted.
Did you notice how Yoda puts the noun phrase at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning? One example is: "If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find." In normal English syntax, the sentence would be: "You will only find pain if you go into the security recordings."
Another example is :"Destroy the Sith, we must!" In normal English syntax, the sentence would be: "We must destroy the Sith!"
Think of several possible reasons why Yoda would speak like that. One might be that it forces the listener to pay closer attention to what is being said. Can you think of any other reasons?
Inversion is most effective when used to write poetry. The author might need to move words around in order to make lines of poetry rhyme.
Here is the audio version of "Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666". Listen as she reads and note the inversion she uses to make end rhymes. It would be a good idea to have your textbook opened to page 29 as you listen to this. You can actually see the inverted word order while hearing the poem.
Now, just for fun, try writing a few lines (maybe 5 or 6) of poetry using inversion. If you blog them to me, I will give you 5 extra credit points on your next assignment. This offer is only valid if you blog back to me. Do not bring the poem to school and try to turn it in because I will not accept it.
Your next literary skills are the parts of a play and reading a play.
By definition, inversion is the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase (Elements of Literature- Fifth Course, page 1177).
Inversion is usually used when writing poetry because an author may want to move the word order around so that the words at the end of the lines rhyme.
However, sometimes inversion is used for a certain effect. That is the case with the speech of one character from the Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith. Yoda, the Jedi master, speaks almost entirely in inversion.
Now view the following video and pay attention to how Yoda, the little green Jedi master, speaks. Most of his sentences are inverted.
Did you notice how Yoda puts the noun phrase at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning? One example is: "If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find." In normal English syntax, the sentence would be: "You will only find pain if you go into the security recordings."
Another example is :"Destroy the Sith, we must!" In normal English syntax, the sentence would be: "We must destroy the Sith!"
Think of several possible reasons why Yoda would speak like that. One might be that it forces the listener to pay closer attention to what is being said. Can you think of any other reasons?
Inversion is most effective when used to write poetry. The author might need to move words around in order to make lines of poetry rhyme.
Here is the audio version of "Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666". Listen as she reads and note the inversion she uses to make end rhymes. It would be a good idea to have your textbook opened to page 29 as you listen to this. You can actually see the inverted word order while hearing the poem.
Now, just for fun, try writing a few lines (maybe 5 or 6) of poetry using inversion. If you blog them to me, I will give you 5 extra credit points on your next assignment. This offer is only valid if you blog back to me. Do not bring the poem to school and try to turn it in because I will not accept it.
Your next literary skills are the parts of a play and reading a play.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
What is an archetype?
The first literary term you will encounter is archetype.
An archetype is defined as an old imaginative pattern that has appeared in literature across cultures and is repeated throughout the ages. An archetype can be a character, a plot, an image, a theme or a setting (Elements of Literature, Fifth Course, page 1170).
Our first example of an archetype is found in the Native American story "Coyote Finishes His Work" on page 25 in your textbook, Elements of Literature, Fifth Course.
You can also find the story at the following website:
http://nexuslearning.net/books/Elements_of_Lit_Course5/Native_American.htm
The archetype that is featured in this story is that of the "trickster."
View the following PowerPoint and think about what makes each character labeled a "trickster." It would be helpful to have a pen and paper handy to write down your thoughts about each character as you are viewing the Powerpoint.
If you have not done so already, you now need to either read the story from the textbook on page 25, read it off of the above link or listen to it from the following clip:
We will encounter archetype again in later literary pieces so the more you learn about it now, the easier it will be later in the year.
An archetype is defined as an old imaginative pattern that has appeared in literature across cultures and is repeated throughout the ages. An archetype can be a character, a plot, an image, a theme or a setting (Elements of Literature, Fifth Course, page 1170).
Our first example of an archetype is found in the Native American story "Coyote Finishes His Work" on page 25 in your textbook, Elements of Literature, Fifth Course.
You can also find the story at the following website:
http://nexuslearning.net/books/Elements_of_Lit_Course5/Native_American.htm
The archetype that is featured in this story is that of the "trickster."
View the following PowerPoint and think about what makes each character labeled a "trickster." It would be helpful to have a pen and paper handy to write down your thoughts about each character as you are viewing the Powerpoint.
If you have not done so already, you now need to either read the story from the textbook on page 25, read it off of the above link or listen to it from the following clip:
We will encounter archetype again in later literary pieces so the more you learn about it now, the easier it will be later in the year.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Welcome to our Literary Terms Blog!
I have developed this blog so that you, as my student, will be able to access additional information on the literary terms that I will be addressing for each genre of literature that we will cover this year.
You may be asking...What are literary terms? That is a very good question. Literary terms are the one or two major concepts taught in each piece of literature in my course. You will need to learn not only the definition of each literary term but also how to use, identify, relate to, understand and apply it to other pieces of literature you will encounter. These literary terms can be found at the beginning of each reading in your textbook and are labeled Literary Focus.
For each genre of literature we cover, I will post additional materials that will help you understand the literary term and give multiple examples for you to view at home or in your spare time.
You will also need to be familiar with the term genre. The definition for this can be found at the following website: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms
I will also give valuable tidbits and helpful suggestions to those of you who choose to follow this blog and make comments about its content. It is in your best interest to check back on this blog periodically when I introduce a new piece of literature and gleen additional information that I will place only here.
Your first assignment for this class includes defining all of the literary terms that we will be addressing this school year. The Handbook of Literary and Historical Terms begins on page 1169 in your textbook.
Be sure to check back in with me in the next few days and I will give additional information about the first literary term we will cover= archetype.
Mrs. Pinney
mrspinney@yahoo.com
You may be asking...What are literary terms? That is a very good question. Literary terms are the one or two major concepts taught in each piece of literature in my course. You will need to learn not only the definition of each literary term but also how to use, identify, relate to, understand and apply it to other pieces of literature you will encounter. These literary terms can be found at the beginning of each reading in your textbook and are labeled Literary Focus.
For each genre of literature we cover, I will post additional materials that will help you understand the literary term and give multiple examples for you to view at home or in your spare time.
You will also need to be familiar with the term genre. The definition for this can be found at the following website: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms
I will also give valuable tidbits and helpful suggestions to those of you who choose to follow this blog and make comments about its content. It is in your best interest to check back on this blog periodically when I introduce a new piece of literature and gleen additional information that I will place only here.
Your first assignment for this class includes defining all of the literary terms that we will be addressing this school year. The Handbook of Literary and Historical Terms begins on page 1169 in your textbook.
Be sure to check back in with me in the next few days and I will give additional information about the first literary term we will cover= archetype.
Mrs. Pinney
mrspinney@yahoo.com
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