ENG 200 LiteratureMaha Zaouil Summer IIJuly 13, 2023 Let’s Review In order to an

ENG 200 LiteratureMaha Zaouil
Summer IIJuly 13, 2023
Let’s Review
In order to analyze literature, we need to:
1- Read and understand the meaning of the poem or literary text.
2- Look for literary devices and stylistic devices such as metaphors or similes, personification, and imagery.
3- Analyze the structure and style of the text. How is it written? What happens first, second and last? How are the sentences constructed? Are they long or short sentences? What type of vocabulary is used?
4- Connect the text to the context and the author. What was happening during the time of the author? How does this relate to the text?
5- Search for deeper meanings: What are some deeper meanings you can understand from the text as a result of your analysis?
6- Formulate your opinion: Do you agree or disagree with the author? Is the author convincing? How does the text make you think or feel? How does the text connect with your own current reality and experiences?
TEXT 1: Verses upon the Burning of our House (July 10, 1666) is a poem by Anne Bradstreet.
She wrote it to express the traumatic loss of her home and most of her material. However, she expands the understanding that God had taken them away in order for her family to live a more pious life
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I waken’d was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of “Fire” and “Fire,”
Let no man know is my Desire.
I starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Then coming out, behold a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And when I could no longer look,
I blest his grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.
Far be it that I should repine,
He might of all justly bereft
But yet sufficient for us left.
TEXT 2: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) (Pages 3-4).
The door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand. This personage prefigured and represented in his aspect the whole dismal severity of the Puritanic code of law, which it was his business to administer in its final and closest application to the offender. Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will. She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day; because its existence, heretofore, had brought it acquainted only with the grey twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison.
…
Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped. It may be true, that, to a sensitive observer, there was something exquisitely painful in it. Her attire, which, indeed, she had wrought for the occasion, in prison, and had modelled much after her own fancy, seemed to express the attitude of her spirit, the desperate recklessness of her mood, by its wild and picturesque peculiarity. But the point which drew all eyes, and, as it were, transfigured the wearer–so that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time–was that Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.
TEXT 3: INDIAN SPEECH, Delivered before a Gentleman Missionary, from Massachusetts, by a Chief, commonlycalled by the white people RED JACKET. His Indian name is SAGU-Y A-WHAT-HATH, which being interpreted,is KEEPER-AWAKE, 1805
In the summer of 1805,
The white people had now found our country. Tidings were carried back and more came amongst
us. Yet we did not fear them. We took them to be friends. They called us brothers. We believed them,
and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased. They wanted more
land; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened and our minds became uneasy. Wars took
place. Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. They also
brought strong liquors amongst us. It was strong and powerful and has slain thousands.
Brother. Our seats were once large and yours were small. You have now become a great people, and
we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got our country, but are not satisfied;
you want to force your religion upon us.
Brother. Continue to listen.
You say you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind, and, if we
do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. You
say that you are right and we are lost. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your
religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit
given to us, and not only to us, but to our forefathers, the knowledge of that book, with the means of
understanding it rightly? We only know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to believe,
being so often deceived by the white people.
Task 1: Analysis ( In Pairs)
What makes literature different from scientific texts is the usage of literary devices and creative writing styles. Review the literary devices below and complete the table.
Literary Devices
Alliteration: One of the most used poetic devices, Alliteration is a phonetic structure and repeated usage of sound or letter used in the first syllable of a word.
o Example: “She sells seashells by the sea-shore.”
Rhyme: A repeated sound at the end of the word
o Example: In the middle of the night/The house shone so bright
Personification: Giving objects or animals human characteristics
o Example: The moon gazed at the garden below, admiring the family enjoying their evening.
Contrast: A writer will often use contrast as way to highlight the differences between two persons, places, or objects.
o Example: Dark skies surrounded her, but she appeared as though rising on a cloud of light.
Metaphor: is used in order to draw a comparison between unrelated things in an implicit or hidden way.
o Example: That athlete is a beast!
Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things that are different from each other but have similar qualities.
o Example: Love is a rose that can prick like a thorn.
Imagery: A form of description to help the reader imagine a scene. It can use sight, sound, taste, or touch.
o Example: She smelled the scent of sweet hibiscus wafting through the air, its tropical smell a reminder that she was on vacation in a beautiful place.
Text
Literary Devices with examples
Language and Structure
Meaning and Topics
Text 1: Poem
Rhyme: “look, took”
“Noise, voice”, spy, cry”
Repetition: “fire, fire”
Imagery/Contrast: “In silent night, when rest I took”
Personification: “In silent night”
“The flame consumed my dwelling”
“my heart did cry”
Short sentences
Structure is inverted, grammar is not straightforward
Clear subject
The poet is sharing her experience of the loss of her home, she expresses grief at the loss, but later realizes that God takes and gives. She shows acceptance that it was God’s will.
Text 2: Novel Extract
Contrast: “made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped”
Simile: “there appeared in the first place like a black shadow emerging into sunshine”
Imagery: “the door of the jail being flung open”
Difficult vocabulary
Long sentences
Descriptive and detailed
Old-fashioned style
The writer describes the situation of a lady who has been punished. The accused was meant to be ashamed but is able to change assumptions and showed strength.
Text 3: Speech
Metaphor: “Scarcely a space to spread our blankets”
Contrast: “Our seats were once large, and yours were small.”
Easy language, straightforward. Short and simple and direct sentences. Intense and strongly worded with imperative “Listen”
Refutation of the White Man’s argument, politics, religion, white/Native Americans, racism
TASK 2: Writing (Individually)
Choose one of the above texts to respond to one of the following questions:
1- How does the chosen text represent faith and religion? Use examples from the text to support your answer.
2- How does the writer of the text use structure/style to make it more attractive to the reader? (Here you need to reference a quote with a literary device and explain how it makes the style more attractive).
Your answers should be written in the format below:
Point:
o The point you would like to prove about the text.
o It needs to be an opinion on the text and should answer the prompt.
Evidence:
o Find quotes from the text that support the point you made.
o Remember to introduce the quote.
o Use correct punctuation and add the page number.
Explain:
o Explain what the quote means as well as the literary device.
o Comment on specific word choices in the quote.
o Link the evidence and technique back to the point.
(Optional) Reflect:
o How does this quote make the reader feel?
o How does it connect your experiences or the writer’s context?
Example:
Hester Prynne in Chapter 2 of the novel The Scarlet Letter is represented as a strong character. This can be seen on page 3 when Hester is escorted out of the prison with a guard and, “She repelled him by an action repelled with natural dignity and force of character and stepped into the open air.” This quote shows that Hester Prynne is a strong character because she refuses to be dragged out of the prison and wants to leave with her own dignity in tact. The words “natural dignity and force of character” reveal how independent and strong she is. As a result, the reader sympathizes with the character and admires her courage in a situation meant to humiliate her.
Proofreading Checklist
o The first sentence (point) answers the question.
o My evidence supports the point.
o I have explained the meaning of the quote(s) and how it supports my point.
o I have commented on how my evidence makes the reader feel/helps them understand the character.
o I have stated the author, book and date in the first sentence.
o I have introduced my quote(s) properly with context
o I have reviewed the spelling of the words.
o I have used complete sentences.
o I have capitalized the names of the author, and the title of the book, and any proper nouns.