Chapters 1-5
Name the five steps of a Greek tragedy and define them and how your Greek tragedy fits those five steps?
1. Questor - The questor is the person who goes on the quest and typically they are young.
2. A place to go - The place the questor is going.
3. The stated reason to go - The reason the questor thinks they are going to the destination.
4. Challenges & Trials - The trial and challenges that the questor encounters.
5.The Real Reason - The actual reason the questor went, it is not the stated reason and it is normally self-knowledge.
Answers may look like:
1. Oedipus
2. Not a set destination but he is in the City of Thebes going on a hunt.
3. To find his fathers killer.
4. Accepting his own fate and the challenges his fate presents.
5. Knowledge about his past and his fate
What does a religious allusion do for a piece of literature?
It points out flaws in a comedic way.
Authors kill off characters for four reasons, can you name all four and can you name the two different ways a author kills off a character and an example of each way a character can be killed?
The four reasons a character maybe killed are: eliminate plot complications, create stress for other characters, create new plot complications, or to increase or create new action. The two ways a character can be killed is by narrative violence (suffering and death brought on by the author to advance the plot ex. cancer) and specific injury (what the injury, ex. is shooting or stabbing)
Why do authors make characters blind and connect it to a Greek tragedy.
add levels of sight and interest to the character delayed
What symbolic reference makes a meal scene important to a piece of literature and what does “breaking bread” symbolize and is it always religious why?
A meal always symbolizes communion, it is people gathering together and sharing an experience. “Breaking Bread symbolizes acts of peace and sharing and it is not always religious, it is used to show the relationship between people.
Definition: a list of novels, fairy tales, and any other piece of literature that we all know is important in literature in some way, what word is this a definition of and provide an example that connects to your Greek tragedy?
Literary Canon, Ex. Merchant of Venice
Symbolism and Allegories both symbolize something, what is the definition of symbolism and the definition of allegory?
Symbolism is when a symbol could stand for many different things and it is left up to the reader's interpretation and an allegory is something that can only represent one thing.
What does Baptism mean in literature?
Can mean death but most commonly rebirth
What are the “principles” of disease in literature?
Not all diseases are equal, should be mysterious and have symbolism
Vampire-like characters are common in literature, what are two examples and what are common features between the two?
Evil twins and ghosts are two different examples of vampire-like characters. They are similar because they both represent the evil in people.
Define the four great struggles of man and then explain how the different struggles apply to our Greek tragedy.
The four great struggles are: is with nature, with the divine, with ourselves, and with others.
Examples: The divine - Fate of killing his dad and marrying his mother, Ourselves - getting over marrying his mother and killing father
List three examples of symbols of politics:
-conflict
-war
-inequality
-social status
-Justice
What does it mean when an author sends a character south?
Usually to deal with their subconscious
What does it mean to “not read with your eyes”? Give an example from the Greek tragedy you have read to when you have done this.
Look into what’s between the lines not what’s physically there. Look into the meaning of the words and events because the author writes everything for a reason.
What is intertextuality and what is the “aha” factor and how are the two connected to each other and how are they different?
Interextuality is “the relationship between two texts” and the “aha” factor is the moment you link the piece of text you are reading to a piece you have read in the past. These two things are similar because they both revolve around similarity and connections between texts and the difference is one is two books you have read and one is just books in general.
Weather is symbolic in literature; it is never just weather. Can you give three examples of what rain and snow symbolize, one thing that a rainbow and fog symbolize and explain how this is significant?
Rain: miserable, clean, and cold
Snow: death, filth, warmth
Rainbow: peace between Earth and Heaven
Fog: Mystery/confusion
Important because different weather events can contribute feelings and a better depth of understanding to the reader.
You might be a Christ figure if you are thirty three years old?
True
Describe what each season symbolizes
Fall: decline, middle age
Winter-dissatisfaction, death or misery
Summer- happiness,childhood
Spring- rebirth or childhood
What is figuration and give a quote from your Greek tragedy.
Symbols, allegory, imagery, etc.
Authors often quote Shakespeare. Can you list three reasons why, and can you connect the Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice, to Oedipus the King?
1. It is a familiar text and gives readers around the world a sense of familiarity. 2. It makes the writer sound more educated. 3. His unique sense of humor is imprinted in our brains so they quote him when trying to make a tragic event comedic. The Merchant of Venice and Oedipus the King are similar because they both deal with the fate of the characters.
Characters are not people; however when building a character we use three “elements” . What are those three “elements” and why is it crucial for a character to never stand next to the hero?
The three “elements” are their memory, their observation, and their invention. It is crucial for a character to never stand next to the hero because a character is a tool and the hero will never be killed therefore the character will be killed.
What is a story from Greek mythology that involves flying from How to read literature like a professor?
Daedalus and Icarus
Why do authors give characters deformities? Name an example from a book.
symbolize different values, morals, and imperfections
Very hard List every type of Irony and give each an. Example from your Greek tragedy.
-verbal irony: a character says the opposite of the expected
-situational/structural irony: a situation plays out in a opposite way
-dramatic irony: the audience or reader knows something that the character does not