文学导论复习题

Filltheblanks:1.Literaturecanbeclassifiedintothesegenres:drama,fiction,essays,poetryandbiography.2.Fictionisanarrativetoldinprose,namely,thenovelandtheshortstory.3.Plotisthearrangementofeventsthatmakeupastory.4.Theplotofatypicalrealisticstoryusuallymovesthroughfivestages:exposition,complication,crisis,fallingactionandresolution.5.Themostfrequentlyuseddeviceforawritertointerruptthechronologyoftheplotisflashback(orretrospect),throughwhichawritercanbringinthepastwheneveritismostrelevanttothepresent.6.Foreshadowingisadevicewherebyawriterpresentingsomedetailswhichhintatthedirectionthestorywilltake.7.Insomelongerworksoffictionwemaydiscernasubplot:asequenceofeventsdistinctfromthemainplot.Inmostcases,thesubplotiscloselyrelatedtothemainplot.8.Theconflictbetweentheprotagonistandantagonistformsthecentraltensionofastory.9.Thetermcharacterappliestoanyindividualinaliterarywork.10.Themajor,orcentralcharacteroftheplotistheprotagonist.11.Thesopponentiscalledantagonist.12.Ifaminorcharacteriscreatedtomakecontrastwiththemajorcharacter,theminorcharacteriscalledafoil.13.Characterizationisthemeansbywhichanauthorpresentsandrevealscharacters.14.Anauthorusestwomethodsortechniquestopresentcharacters.Onemethodistelling(orexpository);theotherisshowing(ordramatic).15.Themethodoftellingreliesonexpositionanddirectcommentarybytheauthor,whileshowing”makesthecharacterrevealthemselvesdirectlythroughtheirwordsandactions.16.Themeisthecentralordominatingideainaliterarywork.17.Pointofviewreferstothevantagepointfromwhichtheauthorpresentstheactionsofthestory,or,toputitinanotherway,whotellsusthestoryandhowitistold.18.Third-personnarratordoesnotappearasacharacterinastory.19.Ifanarratorknowseverythingaboutallthecharacters,heisomniscient”(all-knowing).20.Theknowledgeofalimitedomniscientnarratorisrestrictedtoonecharacter.21.Theobjectiveordramaticpointofviewdoesnottakeusintothemindofanycharacter.Thestoryispresenteddramaticallythroughactionanddialogue.22.Thestorieswithnarratorwhoparticipateintheactionarepresentedfromafirst-personpointofview.23.Stylereferstothedistinctivemannerinwhichawriterarrangeswordstoachieveparticulareffects.124.Styleiscomposedoftwobasicelements:dictionandsyntax.25.Dictionreferstoawriterschoiceofwordsthatcompriseanauthorsbasicvocabulary.26.Toneisthesimplicitattitudetowardthepeople,places,andeventsinfiction.27.Verbalironyoccurswhenapersonsaysonething,buthe/sheactuallymeanstheopposite.28.Situationalironyisestablishedwhenthereisanincongruitybetweenwhatisexpectedtohappenandwhatactuallyhappens.29Dramaticironyinvolvesthecontrastbetweenwhatacharacterbelievesorsaysandwhatthereaderunderstandstobetrue.30.Symbolsinfictionareimages,objects,settings,events,andcharactersthatconveymeaningbeyondtheirliteralsignificance.31.Symbolsareclassifiedastwobroadtypes:traditionalandoriginal.Explainingthefollowingterms:1.LiteratureSincethe19thcentury,literatureisexclusivelydefinedasabodyofwrittenworks,whichhaveimaginative,creativeorartisticvalue.”2.Prose/EssayProseisaliterarytermormediumwhichisposedagainstpoetry.Proseisnotpatternedbyrhymeormeters.Proseiswrittensentencebysentenceinsteadoflinebyline.Wecansafelysaythatifawrittenorspokenworkisnotpoetry,thenitmustbeprose,thatis,proseincludesnovels,shortstories,dramas,etc.Essayisanyshortcompositioninprosethateitherformallyorinformally,undertakestodiscussamatter,expressapointofview,persuadeustoacceptathesisonanysubject,orsimplyentertain.Itisoftenwrittenfromanauthor’spersonalpointofview.3.FictionAnarrativetoldinprose,namely,thenovelandtheshortstory.4.Plot/StoryPlotisthearrangementofeventsthatmakeupastory.E.M.ForsterinhisAspectsoftheNoveldiscussesthedifferencebetweenthetwo.Hedefinesstoryasanarrativeofeventsarrangedintheirtimesequence.Inthissense,Thekingdiedandthenthequeendied”shouldberegardedasstory.Thekingdiedandthenthequeendiedofgrief”promisesaplot,sinceplotemphasizesthesignificantcausalrelationshipbetweenevents.5.Roundcharacters/FlatcharactersRoundcharactersarecomplexmulti-dimensionalcharacterswiththecapacitytogrowandchange.Flatcharactersarealsoreferredtoastypecharacters,stockcharacters,orone-dimensionalcharacters.Flatcharacterstendtostaythesamethroughoutastory.Theyembodyasinglecharacteristicortrait,oratmostaverylimitednumberofsuchqualities.26.Dynamic/StaticcharactersDynamiccharactershavethecapacitytochangeasthestoryprogresses.Staticcharactersremainthesamefromthebeginningoftheworktotheend.7.Subject/ThemeSubjectisthespecifictopicorfocalpointofaliterarywork.Themeisthecentralordominatingideainaliterarywork.Manystoriesshareidenticalsubject,suchasfate,love,war,death,growth,etc.Buteachstoryusuallymakesitsownstatementaboutthesubjectandexpressesitsdistinctviewoflife.8.Symbolism/AllegorySymbolismistherepresentationofideasbytheuseofsymbols.Symbolsinfictionareimages,objects,