E221 Study Guide – Flashcards
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For what was Ancient Greek literature the model, and what did its writers introduce?
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-Latin literature -Greek writers introduced many significant types of literature, including lyric and epic poetry, tragic and comic drama, philosophical essays and dialogues, critical and biographical history, and literary letters.
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What is the Socratic method?
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literary form developed by the pupils of Socrates based his question and answer method of arriving at some important truth.
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What are Aristotle's most notable works?
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The Organon Physics Metaphysics Poetics Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics
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What is the plot of "Medea"?
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Medea is furious at Jason, her husband for marrying a princess instead of her. She plots her revenge. She exacts her revenge on Jason by killing Creon and Glauce, the woman Jason left her for. Medea takes her revenge one step further by killing Jason's sons. She escapes to Athens after exacting her revenge.
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Who are the major characters in "Medea"?
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Medea - the main protagonist of the story who hellbent on revenge against Jason, who has left her for a greek princess Jason - Medea's former husband who leaves her for a princess Glauce - the princess that Jason leaves Medea for and the first victim of Medea's murderous revenge plot
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Where is "The Clouds" set?
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The Clouds is set in 5th Century BCE in Athens, Greece. The setting's mood is primarily cheery.
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What are the major themes of "The Clouds"?
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Reconciling Science and Religion The Clouds is mainly focused on education that ends with the Greek gods' reassertion. The Quest for Proper Education Aristophanes depicts the Thinkery as everything a school shouldn't be. Educational Playwriting The play draws it punch from the commonly agreed ideas of the day. Satire is also shown in the play to have an educative purpose.
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What is the plot of "The Iliad"?
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The town of Chryse is attacked by the Achean Army. Hector attacks the ships, with Patroclus being killed in the process. Achilles returns to turn the tables against the Trojans and fell Troy. The Trojans soon retreat and Hector is killed.
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Where is "The Iliad" set?
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The Iliad is set is Troy during the Bronze Age. The mood is lamenting and pitying.
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Who are the major characters in "The Odyssey"?
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Odysseus - King of Ithaca who must get rid of the suitors in his palace Telemachus - Odysseus' son who starts out as a brat and ends up a hero Penelope - Odysseus' wife who hasn't seen Odysseus for almost 20 years
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What are the major themes of "The Odyssey"?
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-Fate and Free Will The characters in The Odysssey are controlled by fate, as apposed to their free will. -Piety Sacrifice is one of the many things the characters must do in proving their piety. -Justice Justice is based around a sense of cause-and-effect. For example, bad actions will result in a bad return on your part.
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What is the plot of "The Republic"?
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Socrates and and his friend Glaucon are walking home after a day at the festival. Before they can retreat into their houses for the night, they're intercepted by a gang of their acquaintances, who convince them to come to Polemarchus' house. Polemarchus starts debating with Socrates about the nature of justice. The conversation ends with Socrates telling a story called The Myth of Er, a story about a trip to the underworld.
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What are the major themes of "The Republic"?
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Justice as the Advantage of the Stronger The Sophists do not believe in "right" or "wrong". They instead belive that every choice will have an advantageous or disadvantageous outcome. The Principle of Specialization Plato has to explain what Justice is before he can prove justice is a good thing. The Tripartite Soul Plato believes the soul is divided into 3 separate seats of desire.
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Who was Cicero?
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Cicero was the greatest master of Latin prose. He dominated Latin literature from about 80 B.C. until his death in 43 B.C.
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When did the Golden Age of Latin Literature occur?
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Latin literature was at its height from 81 B.C. to A.D. 17. This period began with the first known speech of Cicero and ended with the death of Ovid. 27 B.C. to A.D. 14. This period is sometimes called the Golden Age of Latin Literature.
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What are Ovid's most notable works?
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The Art of Love Metamorphoses
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Who are the major characters in "Confessions"?
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Augustine - the writer of The Confessions whose point of view tells the story Adeodatus - Augustine's son who is baptaized at the same time as his father Alypius - One of Augustine's friends who converts with his friend Monica - Augustine's mother who is with him for the majority of the story before she dies.
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Where is "Confessions" set?
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The Confessions are set in the 4th Century era Roman cities of Thagaste, Carthage, Rome, and Milan, with a humble mood. I think Augustine acts maturely.
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What is the plot of "The Aeneid"?
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Aeneas is fated to travel to Italy from the ruins of Troy to establish Rome. Aeneas falls in love with Dido, and opens the gates of war when he turns down the hand of Lavinia, King Latinus' daughter. Pallas is killed by Tarnus, which incites Aeneas' rage. Aeneas leaves Dido, which prompts her suicide, and then kills Turnus to avenge Pallas.
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Who are the major characters of "The Aeneid"?
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Aeneas - A survivor of Troy's siege who is fated to found Rome. Dido - the queen of Carthage whose for Aeneas ultimately leads to her death Turnus - Aeneas' major antagonist throughout the story who kills Pallas
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Where is "The Epic of Gilgamesh" set?
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The Epic of Gilgamesh is set in 2700 B.C. era Mesopotamia. The mood shifts with Gilgamesh's attitude. I think Gilgamehs acts immaturely when he fears about his mortality.
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What are the major themes in "The Epic of Gilgamesh"?
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Love as a Motivating Force Love motivates the story's change. The Inevitability of Death The inescapability of death is a lesson Gilgamesh learns the hard way in the story's course. The Gods are Dangerous The habits of the gods to act like children is one of the things that makes them so dangerous.
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What is Sanskrit literature and what are its three periods?
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Sanskrit literature is the literature of India written in the ancient language called Sanskrit. The literature falls into three periods—Vedic, Epic, and Classical.
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What vast body of literature arose as the Vedic period ended? What did it seek to preserve? What do its texts reflect?
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A vast body of literature arose to preserve the ancient texts and rituals in unchanged form. This literature included manuals for ritual performance and books on such subjects as grammar, astronomy, and mathematics. These texts reflect the full development of the scientific method in ancient India.
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What is the Mahabharata?
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Mahabharata, <>, is an important text for Hinduism. It is one of two great epics (long poems about heroic events) written in Sanskrit, a literary language of ancient India. The other is the Ramayana.
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"Midnight's Children" Plot
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Saleem is born at exactly midnight, the time of India's independence, which gives him and other children born at that time special powers and gifts. He telepathically connects with the other gifted children and becomes a society. However, he soon loses his memory. When he regains his memory, he finds that his gifts and presumably the other children's gifts have lost their potency too.
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"Midnight's Children" Setting
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Midnight's Children is set in 20th century India, Iraq, and Bangladesh with an urgent and satirical mood. I think the characters act immaturely with their rivalry.
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"The Power of One" Major Characters
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Peekay - The protagonist of the book who struggles with lonliness The Judge- Peekay's rival in the book and the story's antagonist who kills Granpa Chook Granpa Chook - Peekay's pet chicken who is killed by the Judge
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"The Power of One" Themes
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The Slow Poison of Apartheid As Apartheid makes it way into society, it also makes history untrustable. The Importance of Camoflage for Survival One of the keys to survival and camouflage is hiding any signs of weakness. The Necessary Coexistance of Logic and Magic Magic creates hope as opposed to logic.
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"Cry, the Beloved Country" Plot
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Stephen Kumalo is struggling with forces that threaten to destroy his family and country. Kumalo travels to Johannesburg to find his son. Absalom, meanwhile, is arrested for murdering Arthur Jarvis. Absolam is sentenced to death and hung.
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"Cry, the Beloved Country" Themes
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Reconciliation between Fathers and Sons Kumalo doesn't understand Absolam until after Absolam's sentence. The Vicious Cycle of Inequality and Injustice Kumalo's search takes place during many social inequalities. Christianity and Injustice Kumalo's main solace comes from his faith in God.
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Why, during most of China's history, did China not consider literature a separate art form?
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They expected all cultured people to write in a graceful, elegant style, regardless of the topic. Many masterpieces of Chinese literature deal with subjects that some Western writers regard as nonliterary. These topics include history, philosophy, politics, religion, and science.
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Who were the Chinese Communists and what did they demand of literature?
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The Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong, came to power in 1949 after a long civil war. They demanded that all literature serve the new state and ordered writers to create works that could be easily understood by the peasants, soldiers, and workers. In addition, the heroes of literary works had to represent the working class.
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"The Joy Luck Club" Characters
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Jing-Mei - main protagonist who serves as the bridge between the multiple stories in the book. Suyuan Woo - A strong and willful character who refuses to focus on her hardships An-Mei Hsu - character who sees fate as something one is destined to struggle towards achieving.
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"The Joy Luck Club" Setting
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The Joy Luck Club is set in San Francisco and China over four different time periods. The mood is bemused, and I think the characters act maturely.
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What is The Tale of Genji?
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In the early 1000's, Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting to a famous empress, wrote The Tale of Genji. the greatest work of Japanese fiction. sophisticated style and delicately shaded description of human emotion.
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What happened to Japanese literature during the medieval period?
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Japan's educated warrior classes joined the nobility in producing and reading literature during the medieval period. In the early 1300's, a trend toward historical fiction and an increasing mood of pessimism about human fate inspired the creation of The Tale of the Heike
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"The Tale of Genji" Plot
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Hikaru Genji is born as the second son of the emperor. Genji is soon forced into an arranged wedding with with a woman he does not love; He soon instead falls in love with one of the emperor's concubines. Later on, Genji regrets his choices in his later years. Genji assumedly dies in selucsion.
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"The Tale of Genji" Major Characters
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Genji - the protagonist of the book who is the second son of the emperor. The Emperor - Genji's father whose concubine gives brth to Genji Lady Kokiden - the emperor's consort
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What are the characteristics of the picaresque novel?
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The picaresque novel was by far the most important contribution of Spanish Golden Age fiction to world literature. This type of novel presented society through the eyes of a picaro (rogue) and usually included biting satire or moral commentary
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What are Culteranismo and Conceptismo?
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Culteranismo was a movement led by Luis de Góngora. The movement was also known as Gongorismo. Góngora created lyric poetry full of color, imagery, and musical linguistic effects. Conceptismo featured a subtle and ambiguous use of figures of speech.
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Tirso de Molina's most notable work
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The Trickster of Seville
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"Don Quixote" Setting
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Spain, 1614 The mood is mocking.
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"Don Quixote" Major themes
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Perspective and Narration Don Quixote is a rich exploration of narration's possibilities. Incompatible Systems of Morality Quixote understands no one, and no one understands him. The Distinction of Class and Worth Sancho is incredibly wise despite his low social class.
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Who was Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz?
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The Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is generally considered the leading writer of the Baroque period and the finest writer in colonial Latin American literature.
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What is the Baroque style?
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A new literary style called the Baroque emerged during the second half of the 1600's. ornate and artificial style and used cutting wit and intricate wordplay, producing works that were often difficult to understand
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"The House of the Spirits" Plot
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Clara is shown writng in her journal about her new pet, a giant dog named Barrabas. She is later revealed to be gifted with supernatural powers. Clara's Uncle Maros dies soon after. Alba is abducted by Esteban Garcia. Esteban hits Clara, and she never talks to him again afterwards
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"The House of the Spirits" Setting
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20th century Tres Marias The mood is calm.
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"One Hundred Years of Solitude" Characters
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Jose Arcadio Buendia - Macondo's patriarch Colonel Aureliano Buendia - One Hundred Years of Solitude's greatest soldier figure Ursula Iguaran - character who outlives all three of her children
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"One Hundred Years of Solitude" Major Themes
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The Subjectivity of Experienced Reality One Hundred Years of Solitude treats biblical narratives and Latin American mythology as credible history. The Inseparability of Past, Present, and Future Iguaran notices that Macondo moves forward over and over again in time. The Power of Reading and Language An object's function becomes more complex when it is not named.
