Literary Theories
What is Marxism?
This refers to time, place, geography where a story takes place.
What is setting?
Eating a meal together signifies what?
Communion, something bigger than just eating.
Excessive pride or self confidence that often causes a downfall of a character
What is Hubris?
What is the significance of blind characters?
They have "sight" or knowledge outside of physical ability to see. May have seer capabilities or just be in the know.
A theory that examines how men and women are portrayed, differences in masculinity and femininity, or other related items.
What is Feminist Theory?
What does it mean to juxtapose two characters?
To compare and contrast two very different things
Generally speaking, what do the following weather patterns symbolize in literature: snow, rain, fog?
snow can be anything, rain is renewal/cleansing, fog is confusion
What is the difference between tone and mood?
tone is established by the author in the words/choices they make, mood is what we understand and establish as readers
What is necessary for a "Baptism" as Foster explains it?
submersion of water OR water 3 times, and a change in lifestyle/personality.
This theory examines the context of when the author was writing and the culture that was present when the work was produced.
What is Historical, New Historicism, or Cultural Studies?
__________ is an object/event/character that can represent multiple different things to a reader. However, __________ is often a story that signifies one single representation.
Symbol/Allegory
What does Foster say that vampires, ghosts, and monsters ACTUALLY represent as a whole?
Stealing of innocence or the things we fear about ourselves.
What country is Hogwarts located?
Scotland
Why should we pay attention to a character who has a scar, birthmark, or deformity?
Because they are marked for greatness or this "mark" gives them something that other characters do no have.
If we were using the archetypal lens, what are 3 examples of things we might look at?
Situations, characters, objects.
Explain the 3 types of irony.
Situational: when something goes against an expected outcome
Dramatic: when the audience knows something important the characters don't
Verbal: when someone says something that is opposite to what they intend
Flight as a symbol in stories represents what? Define and give one example
Freedom...ability to leave. Dumbo, Peter Pan, The Greatest Showman (ironically) when they are flying on the rope/singing.
What are the 5 steps of the quest? Or... what are AT LEAST 5 major steps of the Hero's journey?
The quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials, a real reason to go.
Ordinary world, call to adventure, meeting the mentor, supreme ordeal, return.
Explain the differences between narrative and authorial violence AND the difference between metaphorical and physical violence!
Narrative is the stuff that happens between characters (stabbings etc) and authorial is when the author creates a tornado or something.
metaphorical is when there is a deeper reason to the violence, physical is when it just is someone punching or something
Using a psychoanalytic lens to critique something, what might be something we look for/at?
repression, violence/rage, seduction/sexual tension, weird dreams, characters reverting
Fluffy in Harry Potter
"I am a lost boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan" Song
Taylor Swift's 'Love Story'
In Beauty and the Beast she is explaining "“Here’s where she meets prince charming, but she won’t discover that it’s him ‘til Chapter 3.” when many people think that is Aladdin.
When Rapunzel shows up in Frozen, or Belle shows up in Hunchback of Notre Dame.
These are all examples of what?
Allusions
Foster says that most of our stories are influenced/adapted from 4 major inspirations... What are the 4 areas we pull from the most?
Shakespeare, the Bible, Greek mythology, and children's fairy tales
Name at least 3 types of conflict found in literature. (not internal or external)
Man vs. Man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. supernatural, man vs technology
Les Mis, The Jungle, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Moulin Rouge and many more pieces of literature use/reference Tuberculosis. What is the significance of TB and why do authors love to use it?
Tb is a "beautiful" disease and allows the authors to let characters suffer in multiple ways before dying.