Approaches to Literature (week 16)

※Viola tricolor  

Viola tricolor, Also known as Johnny Jump up (though this name is also applied to similar species such as the yellow pansy), heartsease, heart's ease, heart's delight, tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, come-and-cuddle-me, three faces in a hood, or love-in-idleness, is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. It has been introduced into North America, where it has spread. It is the progenitor of the cultivated pansy, and is therefore sometimes called wild pansy; before the cultivated pansies were developed, "pansy" was an alternative name for the wild form.

※Closet Drama

A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. The dichotomy between private 'closet' drama (designed for reading) and public 'stage' drama (designed for performance in a commercial theater setting) dates from the late eighteenth century. The practice of circulating plays in written form (printed or handwritten) for literary audiences predates this period, however.

United States Constitution     The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it.

※Hyppolyta

In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta was the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle that was given to her by her father, Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons. She figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. As such, the myths about her are varied enough that they may be about several different women.

※The Five Part of Plot

Exposition: Beginning of the Story

The exposition is the beginning of the story and prepares the way for upcoming events. In the exposition, the author introduces the major characters, establishes the setting and reveals major conflicts in the story. The author often discusses the characters' backstory, so readers gain insight as to why characters act or respond as they do. For example, the exposition in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain centers on the introduction of Huckleberry Finn, an adolescent who's unhappy living with a strict widow, and has a shallow relationship with his greedy, unfit father. The setting is the mid-1800s in a small river town along the Mississippi River; the conflict revolves around Huck's desire to experience adventure, and his running away. The exposition sets the stage for his tumultuous, life-changing journey on a riverboat.

Rising Action

The rising action occurs when the main problem or conflict is addressed with a form of action. The rising action always leads up to the climax. During the rising action, the protagonist often encounters some sort of crisis that creates tension. For example, in "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner, the rising action occurs when Thomas -- the protagonist -- enters the maze to try to escape his prison-like existence and save his friends.

Climax or Turning Point

The climax is the pivotal point in the story when the protagonist deals with the culmination of events. The climax often centers on the protagonist's most difficult challenge or bleakest moment, according to Pasadena City College. For example, in "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, the climax occurs when Katniss and Peeta -- the primary protagonists -- decide to eat poisonous berries and commit double suicide, rather than kill one another. The climax is the most exciting part of the story and initiates a turning point in the characters' lives.

Falling Action

The falling action occurs immediately after the climax and details the consequences -- good or bad -- that the characters must deal with after the turning point of events. It leads up to the resolution and sets the stage for the final chapter of the story. For example, in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the falling action occurs when the antagonist, Bob Ewell, assaults two of the primary protagonists -- Scout and Jem Finch -- and the town recluse saves the children by killing Ewell. The altercation is a direct result of the climax -- Ewell wants revenge after the children's father, an attorney, defends an innocent black man and rebukes Ewell for lying about the case and mistreating his own daughter.

Resolution: End of the Story

The resolution tells us what happens to the characters after the conflict is resolved. All the loose ends are tied up, unless the author plans to write a sequel and purposely leaves room for further plot developments. Some stories have happy endings; others have sad endings. The resolution leaves readers with a sense of closure, so they understand the fate of the protagonists and antagonists.

※Thirteenth Amendment to the United

The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed its adoption. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.

text

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

※A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.

plot

The play consists of four interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon.

The play opens with Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her father Egeus' demand that she wed Demetrius, whom he has arranged for her to marry. Helena meanwhile pines unrequitedly for Demetrius. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian law before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity while worshipping the goddess Artemis as a nun.

※Late fragment

BY Raymond Carver

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

※vocabulary

commencement(n.) late 13c., "beginning," from Old French comencement "beginning, start" (Modern French commencement), from comencier (see commence). Meaning "school graduation ceremony" attested by 1850, American English. (Sense "entrance upon the privileges of a master or doctor in a university" is from late 14c.)

I know what you are thinking of -- the class members grouped in a semicircle on the stage, the three scared boys in new ready-made black suits, the seventeen pretty girls in fluffy white dresses (the gowns of the year), each senior holding a ribbon-tied manuscript bulging with thoughts on "Beyond the Alps Lies Italy," "Our Ship is Launched -- Whither Shall it Sail?" and similar topics. [Charles Moreau Harger, "The Real Commencement," "New Outlook," May 8, 1909]

elegy(n.)     1510s, from Middle French elegie, from Latin elegia, from Greek elegeia ode "an elegaic song," from elegeia, fem. of elegeios "elegaic," from elegos "poem or song of lament," later "poem written in elegiac verse," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Phrygian word. Related: Elegiast.

eulogy(n.)   mid-15c., from Latin eulogium, from Greek eulogia "praise; good or fine language" (in New Testament, "blessing"), from eu "well" (see eu-) + -logia "speaking" (see -logy). Eu legein meant "speak well of."

preach(v.)   at first in late Old English predician, a loan word from Church Latin; reborrowed 12c. as preachen, from Old French preechier "to preach, give a sermon" (11c., Modern French précher), from Late Latin praedicare "to proclaim publicly, announce" (in Medieval Latin "to preach"), from Latin prae "before" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before") + dicare "to proclaim, to say" (from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly"). Related: Preached; preaching. To preach to the converted is recorded from 1867 (form preach to the choir attested from 1979).