Pre-AP English II – Unit 4 (Allusion) – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Symbolic
answer
Parable representing something else. (Three modes of writing)
question
Ironic
answer
Opposite of what is expected. (Three modes of writing)
question
Allusion
answer
Reference in a writing work to something outside it.
question
Historical allusion
answer
Refers to past events.
question
Personal allusions
answer
Indirectly show the writer doesn't want to communicate clearly.
question
Bible, Dictionary, Book on Greek mythology
answer
Three things to keep handy when reading poetry
question
G.K. Chesterton
answer
Childhood-centered; warm happy family. Valued family unit to a degree that he said it's the foundation of society.
question
G.K. Chesterton
answer
"The Donkey" is one of his best known poems. - When donkey is saying "dumb", he means silent. (Numbers 22:20-35 or to Christ in Isaiah 3:7) - Paul alludes to Epimenides and Aretis (poets from Crete) in Acts 17:28
question
Rudyard Kipling
answer
Born in Bombeii, India.
question
Rudyard Kipling
answer
Prolific author, poet--wrote The Jungle Book.
question
Cupid's Arrow
answer
Classical allusion in the title: Cupid, the boy god, son of Venus, wreaks havoc among men and gods with his archery. He shoots 2 types of arrows: Golden-headed (requited, mutual love), and leaden-headen (unrequited, unmutual love)
question
Cupid's Arrow
answer
Kitty's nickname: "Diana of Tara-Devi" associates her with the virgin huntress Diana, who was the cousin of Venus (who is known for her archery).
question
Cupid's Arrow
answer
Significant to the reference to the Judgement of Paris: An incident that caused the abduction of Helen, which began the Trojan War. Paris a Trojan Prince. He was asked by the gods to judge a beauty contest, to judge: Hera (Juno) Athena Aphrodite (Venus) The prize is a golden apple, which he gives to Venus because she promises him the most beautiful woman, Helen, who was married to the King of Sparta (Menelaus). Aphrodite helps Paris elope with Helen. Starts the Trojan War, in which Paris is mortally wounded by an arrow.
question
Cupid's Arrow
answer
The plot of the story is based upon one of the oldest situations in literature and life, the love-triangle.
question
Cupid's Arrow
answer
The theme is just as old as the plot. The theme is-- the precedence of love over position and material considerations and the choice of a mate. (The mom embodies the false values, and symbolizes authority.)
question
Eldorado
answer
Alludes to the city sought by the conquistadors in Spanish Portugal.
question
Eldorado
answer
Second allusion is a bleak allusion to heaven.
question
Eldorado
answer
In either allusion, it stands for life in general. It's this life goal, a self-conceived notion of an ideal state toward which the individual bends his efforts, or for which the idealist crusades.
question
Eldorado
answer
In all of our quests, the poem implies that Eldorado (in the general, symbolic sense), is not to be found in this world.
question
Eldorado
answer
The "pilgrim shadow" is one who has carried his quest into the next world. His directions seem vague. Stanza 1 has external shadows--mean the difficulties of life. Stanza 2 has internal shadow-- defeat. Stanza 3 is the traveller--ends in death. Stanza 4 -- valley of shadow (allusion to death).
question
Eldorado
answer
Do they imply futility? Do they recommend suicide? ("Down the valley of the shadow,/Ride, boldly, ride.") Is this "Shadow" a successful or unsuccessful "pilgrim"? Is he still questing or now returning? If returning, did he find what he sought, or does he mean "be prepared for disappointment"? Does the poem subtly question the Christian's hope of heaven, as the worlding's hope of finding heaven in this world?
question
Eldorado
answer
These are interesting questions, but the poem is intentionally vague. Certainly it offers a picture of life in which strength fails before the goal--an illusory one--is reached.
question
Matthew Arnold
answer
1822-1888: A national inspector of schools, which convinced him that English education was culturally barren.
question
Matthew Arnold
answer
Concluded that literature was the best way to incorporate spiritual concepts.
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
"Progress" represents continuation/journey, and "poesy" represents poetry. In either meaning, it is ironic. What is described is a dwindling retroversion rather than a triumphant procession or advance.
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
Biblical allusion in the first stanza references to the range of Horeb and the rocky outcropping of Sinai, the mount of God. ("Arid mount") b. Through allusion, Arnold is associated poetic inspiration with the divine inspiration of the Law delivered by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. c. Line 3 adds on allusion to Moses' smiting the rock to bring forth water for thirsting Israel.
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
Poetic creativity, the poem suggests, is mysterious and divine (Arnold was an agnostic humanist whose only god was man).
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
The poem is organized by stanzas according to stages of life. a. The creative life is described in terms of the search for water. Imaginative creativity occurs only in youth. In middle years it is chanelled and disciplined even as it is drying up. In old age both source and channel provide nothing.
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
The last line refers to Moses' being buried in the mountains of Edom, having failed (because of his disobedience in striking the rock) to enter the Promised Land (Exod. 17).
question
The Progress of Poesy
answer
At least 2 and possibly 3 allusions converge in the poem: 1. Mount Sinai 2. The Law 3. Moses' striking of the rock
question
G.K. Chesterton
answer
a. Catholic who places high values on tradition. b. Very conservative.
question
On The Pleasures of No Longer Being Very Young
answer
How does Chesterton feel about aging? a. He celebrates being old, specifying several advantages in his essay. b. List some of the trite platitudes that Chesterton mentions.
question
On The Pleasures of No Longer Being Very Young
answer
IN defending the beliefs and customs passed along from parent to child that young people often reject, Chesterton is in agreement with scripture (Prov. 1:8-9, Jer. 35)
question
On The Pleasures of No Longer Being Very Young
answer
Believes that an idea encapsulated in a memorable statement (a Proverb) is likely to have been preserved because it contains truth.
question
G.K. Chesterton
answer
Belives time brings re-evaluation.
question
Edmund Waller
answer
a. Two great passions: Politics and poetry. b. Poetry for which he is most famous for was panegyric, poetry written to praise someone--often a king or a patron.
question
Edmund Waller
answer
_____ reinforces Chesterton's view by contradicting the prevalent idea that intellectual and creative powers fail after mid-life so that a poet is finished before he reaches old age.
question
The Soul's Dark Cottage
answer
Waller was 84 when he wrote these lines.
question
The Soul's Dark Cottage
answer
Lines 1-2 and 5-6 give metaphoric support to the idea stated directly in lines 3-4. a. The metaphors are also Biblical allusions: the first to II Corinthians 5:1-4 (which itself alludes to Israel's or the Patriarchs' wandering in tents) and the second to Moses' viewing the Promised Land from Mount Pisgah (Duet. 34:1-4). b. The two allusions come together when the journeys of Israel under Moses and Joshua are taken allegorically as a picture of the Christian's passage from this world to the next-- the Jordan River serving as an emblem of death. c. This allegorizing of this segment of Israel's history is not strictly Biblical in origin but classical--an adaption of the pagan mythological view of death as passage over a river. d. The metaphor of the body as a dilapidated cottage is also not precisely the same of that as a body as a tent house. But the truth is nonetheless powerful.
question
The Soul's Dark Cottage
answer
Old age brings greater illumination ("new light") and greater breadth of vision of (of "both worlds", the earthly and the Heavenly).
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
Written by John Updike.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
Only story by Updike which points to hopefullness; other stories written by Updike seem to stress man's helpfulness and isolation.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
Updike shows the encroachment of erroneous philosophies on faith.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
Mother represents the Romantic view of nature as god; the Father represents the modernistic view of science as god; and the preacher represents the humanistic view of man as god.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
P. 106: Allusion/irony. Allusion to H.G. Wells is particularly significant: English author know for satirical novels and popular historical and political writings. He was an athiest who strongly advocated socialism, feminism, and evolution-ism. It is ironic, therefore, that Updike would choose a passage from Wells to serve as the catalyst which starts David on his journey of faith.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
P. 106: Thought/Theme. The reference to the mother's "unfamiliar handwriting" reflects the emotional distance already existing between David and his mother, a distance that will increase as his stuggle intensifies.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
What is David's struggle? a. To find truth.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
David eventually recognizes that man is made in the likeness of God, the Great Designer, who instilled in man a love for patterns and provided patterns as a mode of communication and a channel for delight and pleasure.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
David is reaching out for the assurance of that personal Jesus who is God's reliable representative.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
David needs to know for certain that the historical, Biblical Jesus is not only the Way and the Truth, but also the Life. The allusions to John's gospel found in this story are significant, for John stresses the divinity of Christ.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
The pigeons are birds of the air, and in this story, they function as messengers for the Heavenly Savior's affirmation of love and design to those on earth. a. The seemingly "worthless" birds echo the comforting words of Jesus in Matthew 10:29 and 31.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
The grandfather's Bible on the shelf represents truth.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
Irony: The mother, who does not believe in God, still keeps the Sabbath.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
(Examples of Symbols) On page 109, you have an argument between the mom and dad (about fertilizer, but really about philosophy). Neither character argues logically nor gives any proof of the validity of his belief system.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
(Examples of Symbols) Page 114: Reverend Dobson's character represents man as god. (Dobson's character description is used to reinforce the worthlessness of his ideas: "dark eyes", and his small hands flicker like "protesting doves"--symbol of the Holy Spirit.
question
Pigeon Feathers
answer
(Examples of Symbol) P. 119: Books. Rekindle his fear, because they symbolize his struggle. Wells, like David's father, represents scientific materialism. Plato, like Dobson, represents classical humanism. And Galsworthy, like David's mother, represents sentimental Romanticism. However, grandfather's Bible also stands on the shelf, a symbol of truth in the midst of error.
