Online Reading Materials
Plato described plot as the imitation of action or the
arrangement of the incidents. The arrangement of the incidents or events must have a
causal, inevitable relationship. in other words, there must be a readily identifiable
cause-and-effect relationship in the chain of events.
Others have broken plot down to five sections. If you ever watch
Elizabethan drama, the five acts will follow the below progression. These five steps are
one of the best ways to break down a stories components.
While the bombardment was knocking the trench to pieces at
Possalta, he lay very flat and sweated and prayed oh jesus christ get me out of here.
Dear jesus please get me out. Christ please please please christ. If
you'll only keep me from getting killed I'll do anything you say. I believe in you and
I'll tell everyone in the world that you are the only one that matters. Please
please dear jesus. The shelling moved further up the line. We went back to work on
the trench and inthe morning the sun came up and the day was hot and muggy and cheeful and
quiet. The next night back at Mestre he did not tell the girl he went upstairs wtih at the
Villa Rosa about Jesus. And he never told anybody.
--from Ernst Hemingway's In Our Time
This passage contains the story's Situation
(relationships, compulsions, oppositions, conflict, instability):
While the bombardment was knocking the trench to pieces at
Possalta, he lay very flat and sweated and prayed oh jesus christ get me out of here.
h2 align="center">Looking at Plot: Complication
The Complication (deepening of oppositions,
heightening of conflicts, intensification of tension, the plot thickens):
Dear jesus please get me out. Christ please please
please christ. If you'll only keep me from getting killed I'll do anything you say.
I believe in you and I'll tell everyone in the world that you are the only one that
matters. Please please dear jesus.
Climax (revelation, recognition, crisis):
The shelling moved further up the line.
Denouement/Unraveling ( reappraisal,
showdown,catastrophe, solution ):
We went back to work on the trench and in the morning the sun
came up and the day was hot and muggy and cheerful and quiet.
Resolution (stability with change) :
The next night back at Mestre he did not tell the girl he
went upstairs wtih at the Villa Rosa about Jesus. And he never told anybody.
When you read a narrative, it helps to be able to tell the
difference between the story and the plot. The sequence
of events which transpire, beginning with what happens first and continuing to what
happens last, is called the story; the arrangement is chronological, and no special
emphasis or importance is given to those events. Plot, on the other hand, is the
manipulation of the events of the story by the author in order to create impact, to give
special meaning to the story's themes, or to develop the characters. It is important to
remember that the plot is wholly shaped by the author to his design. One can draw a
diagram of a story or a plot to detect their structures and follow their movements. A
story, based on the definition given above, looks like this:
----.----.------.----.------.----------.-->
A B C
D E
F
Events A-F appear on the line in the order they
transpired, and the story heads in only one direction, forward. Plots have more shape when
you try to diagram them. Here are three common plot structures:
The Aristotelian plot generally orders
its events (A-F) chronologically but begins with an initial conflict, usually some sort of
problem, that the hero (protagonist) must solve. However, the hero finds obstacles or
barriers (complications)--usually natural such as storms or wild animals, from opposing
characters (villains or antagonists), or from weaknesses within the hero's own
character--and as the hero attempts to overcome these obstacles, it creates a rise in
tension in the action (what the characters do within the story) and in the readers. The
story nears its conclusion in the climax when the obstacles are overcome and the initial
conflict is resolved. Any loose ends in the story are solved in the denouement, and the
narrative officially ends. A common form of story shaped by the Aristotelian plot is the
quest. In the quest, the hero is forced on a perilous journey to attain some goal. Often,
the hero learns about himself or herself and undergoes improvement as a person as the goal
is approached, and just as often, the hero finds it is this self-improvement that holds
the key to his or her success.
In the Loop, the story begins in the
present (also called the frame of the story) to establish the context of the narrative but
then returns to the past, where most of the action takes place. Thus, the sequence of
events (A-F) is drastically altered. Later in the story, the action returns to the
present, with the intent that the information given about the past will help the reader
understand what is happening in the spent. Scene E, where the juxtaposition of the two
time periods takes place, thus becomes crucial to our understanding of the plot.
In the X, the plot follows the fortunes
of two major characters. At the beginning, one character (A) is somehow superior to the
other (B), either physically, mentally, economically, spiritually, socially, etc. Often,
this is expressed in the form of a power struggle, with character A having power over
character B. But as the story progresses, Character A declines or worsens as a character,
while character B improves; if there is a power relationship between the two, the reader
can also detect a shift of power. Events A-F, though experienced by both characters, will
have different effects, showing the downfall of the one and the rise of the other. The
crucial event C depicts the moment when the characters trade places, and by the end of the
story, the standing of the characters has been reversed, with character B having the
power.
Crucial to the author's manipulation of the plot is the
idea of information. If the resolution of the plot depends upon the characters solving the
conflicts they face, then it is imperative for the characters to learn how to overcome the
complications in their path. To do this, they must learn something about those
complications, or about themselves, and then be able to act upon what they have learned.
Sometimes, the hero will learn the information he or she needs to resolve the conflict but
may not be in a position to use it. One of the central sources of tension in the story
"I Stand Here Ironing" arises from the fact that the mother, in her memories,
knows exactly why Emily behaves the way she does, but she has been continually prevented
from expressing any of this to Emily, and she finds it impossible to express it to her
unnamed visitor, thus leaving the resolution of the story up in the air. Also, a minor
character might learn something before the hero does because of that character's unique
perspective, and further complications can arise if the character cannot get that
information to the hero. In Othello, for example, Roderigo learns of Iago's
treacherous nature when Iago stabs him in Act V, but his admissions of guilt, and
especially of his part in Cassio's downfall in Act II, come too late to help Othello.
How the information is revealed, and by whom, can be just
as important. For instance, in the Star Wars trilogy, the fact that Luke Skywalker learns
of his father's identity from Darth Vader rather than Ben Kenobi is much more dramatic,
adding an element of shock and surprise. Characters will have "blind spots" when
they are unaware of the information they need, and dramatic irony is created when the
audience knows what the characters do not.
Timing is also crucial. The author can withhold from the
characters the information they need or reveal it as necessary to move the plot forward.
Tragedy and comedy hinge on when the hero overcomes blind spots: if they are overcome in
time, the story ends happily; if not, the story ends tragically.
All of this manipulation will have an effect upon the
audience as well. Our enjoyment of a story, and our understanding of what is happening,
depends heavily upon what we learn about the characters and the problems they face. When
we learn something new about the characters and their situations, we often feel the story
has reached a "turning point," and, as a result, a higher level of tension.
Thus, the author, by determining when to reveal certain pieces of information, can affect
not only the plot, but an audience's response as well.
The author uses several techniques to manipulate
information and shape the story into a plot, and we as an audience can look out for them.
Here is a partial list of techniques:
1) The author chooses when to begin and end the story.
2) The author chooses when to begin and end chapters (if any), often providing
"hooks" to draw readers along and keep them interested.
3) The author chooses the order he wishes to present the events of the story.
4) The author makes transitions in time by employing flashbacks, jump cuts, or parallel
scenes (scenes shown at different times but which happen concurrently). He slows time
within a scene by using description and dialogue, which prolong the pace of the action. He
speeds time with verbal summaries and quick cuts. The pace of drama, unlike fiction, is
influenced more strongly by dialogue because the action on stage can move only as fast as
the characters can speak.
5) The author chooses a narrator. What the narrator knows, perceives and learns can affect
how the plot is resolved (especially if the narrator is a character within the story) and
how it is understood by the audience. This is where point of view and the reliability of
the narrator can become important. Mystery novels often employ a narrator who knows
nothing of the crime so that the solution can be delayed until the end.
6) The author introduces or subtracts characters (or objects or forces) which assist or
prevent the hero from resolving the conflict.
7) The author may use subplots, secondary plots which are analogous to or counterpoints of
the main plot. They will often involve the minor characters and broaden the audience's
understanding of the main plot. Information can be given in subplots which is important in
resolving the central conflict.
Some of the effects these authorial choices have on an
audience are:
1) We feel a sense of opening or closure in the action.
2)We sense a change in the direction of the story--a turning point--for better or worse.
These changes are what create the rise in tension.
3) We feel a heightening of our suspense toward the outcome based on our expectations for
what that outcome will be.
4) We are surprised when those expectations are not met, or met in a way we did not
foresee.
5) We learn something about the characters or the complications that we did not know
before.
6) We see the characters forced to make a decision concerning their course of action.
7) We see the characters withstand reversals (peripety) or make a discovery or recognition
concerning their fate (anagnorisis), often with the latter initiating the former.
**One last thing to remember--a plot will have a story,
but a story will not always have a plot. A plot holds a story within it the way a bottle
holds water, not the other way around.
The more of each element a narrative essay contains, the more
likely that narrative essay is to be effective in communicating
the writer's point and effectively developing the essay's
rhetorical goal.
Perhaps the best Invention strategy for a narrative essay is
The Pentad, which takes into account that every human action is
influenced by five elements: act (what), scene (where, when),
agent (who), agency (how), and purpose (why).
As noted in the invention reading, these elements are useful
because they can be used to analyze events, arguments,
characters, or audiences--anything involving human interaction.
Answering these questions will give you considerable detail
for a narrative essay. Develop the answers as fully as possible
and you will go a long way toward completing your narrative
essay.
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
Plato described character as the
"Moral constitution of human personality."
Character can also be defined as the
presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one
sort or another or persons sometimes sketched not as a
individual, but as an example of some vice or virtue.
author of a character through direct exposition,
illustrated by action often told either by first person
narrator or omniscient narrator/author
action, with little or no explicit comment by the author;
reader must deduce the attributes of the actor from the
action
character of the impact of actions and emotions on
the character's inner-self, without comment on the
character by the author: reader should come to clear
understanding of the character's attributes.
Static: changes little
or not at all: things happen to character, but nothing happens
within. Pattern of action reveals/exposes character. If character
is revealed bit by bit, character may seem changing, but can be
static.
Dynamic: modified by
actions and experiences.
Flat (one or two
dimensional): constructed around a single idea/quality/
distinguishing behavior; easy to recognize and remember but fails
to recognize the complexities of the ordinary human mind.
Disregards what does not fit the caricature.
Round (three
dimensional): all that a flat character is not: can it surprise
in a convincing way? No surprises = flat, unconvincing in the
surprises = flat
Protagonist: Often
referred to as the "hero" but better thought of as the
character that drives the action of the plot.
Antagonist: Often
referred to as the "bad guy" or the "villain"
but better thought of as the character that stands in the way of
the protagonist.
These roles need not be filled
exclusively by characters representing human beings. For
instance, in Steven Crane's "The Open Boat" the
antagonist could be considered to be nature, the stormy sea, or
fate.
A character in a work of fiction or drama can be defined as a person, animal, place, or
object that influences (or is influenced by) the plot and that demonstrates a unique
personality.
Thus, because the house in The Amityville Horror influences the plot and
demonstrates a personality, it can be considered a character. Likewise, the cat(s) in
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" influence the plot and show personality, and
so they can also be considered characters.
Characters can be classified by the amount of influence they have over the plot. If a
character has a large influence on the plot—that is, if the character's actions have
a significant effect on the outcome of the story—then that character is considered a major
(or main) character. On the other hand, if a character has a small influence on the
plot—that is, if the character's actions have little effect on the outcome of the
story—then that character is considered a minor character.
Characters can also be classified by the amount of change they exhibit in their
personalities. If a character undergoes a significant change in personality, then that
character is considered a dynamic character. If a character shows little or no
change in personality, then that character is considered a static character.
Another method of classifying characters is by the fullness of their personalities. If
a character has several well-defined traits and a complex personality, then that character
is considered a round character. If a character has few (if any) defined traits and
a shallow personality, then that character is considered a flat character.
The most important character in a work, the character whom the story or play seems to
follow, is called the hero or the protagonist (this character can also be
called the title character if his/her name is used as the title of the story
or play). The terms hero and protagonist are often used interchangeably, but
in certain contexts, they are different. The word hero, derived from a Greek word
meaning "protector," originally referred to a man born of one mortal and one
immortal parent and known for courageous and noble exploits. We still look up to heroes as
people with higher moral and physical standards than ourselves. However, some
"heroes" engage in questionable or repulsive behavior; for example, the narrator
in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," who kills his benefactor and buries
him under the floorboards, can hardly be considered noble, so the term hero does
not seem to fit him. The term protagonist is derived from Greek words meaning
"chief actor" or "one who struggles first." However, though the
protagonist is a leader, much like a hero, the term does not carry the connotations of
moral worth as does the word hero. Thus the narrator of "The Tell-Tale
Heart," who is the chief actor of the story, can rightfully be called a protagonist.
In general, the term protagonist can be applied more universally than the term hero.
The hero/protagonist can also be defined as the character who drives the action of the
plot forward; he or she acts, and the other characters react. Again, the protagonist of
"The Tell-Tale Heart" provides us with an example. His growing madness and his
scheme to kill his benefactor are the actions that give the story its meaning; without his
distaste for his benefactor's "Evil Eye," we essentially have no reason for the
story to be told.
Depending on the type of story in which he/she appears, the hero/protagonist may assume
a number of secondary traits. The hero/protagonist of a tragedy, for example, often
suffers a reversal of fortune and falls from a place of prominence in society. Sophocles's
Oedipus, when he learns that he has killed his father and married his mother, abdicates
his title as king of Thebes. In one moment, he is transformed from respected ruler to
despised beggar. The tragic hero/protagonist may also undergo a worsening of character.
Shakespeare's Othello changes from a capable general and loving husband into a capricious
leader and jealous, homicidal revenge-seeker. The tragic hero/protagonist may also become
gradually isolated from his/her society. Shakespeare's Macbeth, after murdering his king,
alienating his friends and allies, and losing his wife, stands alone against his enemies
at the end of the play. The hero/protagonist of a comedy, in contrast, often enjoys an
improvement of fortune, a betterment of character, and a gradual inclusion into his/her
society. In a traditional comedy, the hero/protagonist achieves all three at the end of
the story through marriage, the age-old symbol of a happy union between two people.
The secondary traits of the hero/protagonist may also be determined by how he/she
resolves the conflicts facing him/her. The hero/protagonist may sometimes be classified as
a Bull or a Fox. The Bull is a hero/protagonist who relies on strength to
overcome difficulties. This character type has existed for ages. One prototype, Hercules,
comes to us from Greek Mythology. Hercules is famous for his feats of strength, including
the Twelve Labors. A prototype from the Bible is Sampson, who was terrifically strong but
not very clever; Delilah easily tricked him into revealing the secret of his strength. A
modern-day example of this heroic type would be Arnold Schwartzenegger, who has portrayed
many strong characters in his movies, characters that derive much of their presence from
his muscular physique.
The Fox is a hero/protagonist who relies on cleverness or dexterity to overcome
difficulties. This character type, too, has existed for ages. A famous example in Greek
Mythology is Odysseus, who is renowned for creating the Trojan Horse and for escaping the
Cyclops. In the Bible, Solomon, the ancient ruler of Israel, demonstrates his intelligence
in the well-known story about the two women claiming to be the mother of the same child.
In modern fiction, Sherlock Holmes, the world-famous sleuth, may also be categorized as a
Fox because of his intelligence. An example from modern movies would be Michael J. Fox,
who, as Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future, escapes from Biff by creating
and using a skateboard.
In some stories, the hero/protagonist may be caught in a dilemma and forced to make a
choice that will affect his/her destiny. In this situation, the hero/protagonist may be
flanked by two characters who each represent one of the choices and who each try to
influence the hero/protagonist to pick the choice they represent. These flanking
characters are sometimes called the Good Angel and the Bad Angel.
In some cartoons, a character, standing in thought, is suddenly visited by an angel on one
shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder, each of whom whispers advice into the
character's ears. A more serious character, Christopher Marlowe's Faust, is also visited
by angels and devils. This image of the hero being flanked by a good and a bad spirit is
derived from the medieval morality plays, in which the hero/protagonist often made moral
decisions that would determine his fate in the afterlife. However, the Good Angel and the
Bad Angel may simply be human characters. Shakespeare's Othello is flanked by his wife
Desdemona, who represents truth, faithfulness, and "turn the other cheek"
justice; and by Iago, who represents treachery, faithlessness, and "eye for an
eye" justice. Oliver Stone uses the Good Angel-Bad Angel format in his movies Platoon
and Wall Street to depict the choices faced by Charlie Sheen's characters. The Good
Angel-Bad Angel characters, as seen above, can appear in many types of stories and dramas.
The character who stands in opposition to the hero/protagonist is called the villain
or the antagonist. As with the terms hero and protagonist, the terms villain
and antagonist are often used interchangeably, but here, too, we should be aware
that these words have different connotations. The word villain originally meant
"feudal serf," one who worked on the country estate of a lord. Because serfs
were of the lowest social class, the term gradually came to mean "vile, brutish
peasant," and now the term describes any "depraved, base-minded" person.
Thus, the word has had strongly negative overtones throughout its history. On the other
hand, the word antagonist is derived from Greek words meaning "one who
struggles against" and lacks the negative connotations of the word villain.
Like the hero/protagonist, the villain/antagonist may assume secondary characteristics
depending on the type of story in which he/she appears. The Bull and Fox categories
described above may sometimes be used to classify the villain/antagonist. Examples of the
Bull as villain are the original Terminator played by Arnold Schwartzenegger, and Biff in Back
to the Future; the supreme example of the Fox as villain is Iago in Shakespeare's Othello.
Some characters may also be classified as stock characters or foil
characters. Stock characters are recognizable stereotypes: the mad scientist, the femme
fatale, the straight-shooting law officer, the psychopathic criminal genius. Each of these
stereotypes has appeared in several stories and so has become familiar. Foil characters,
according to Robert DiYanni, contrast and parallel the main character(s) in a play or
story. Foils are usually minor characters but can sometimes be major characters, and they
are closely associated with the character for whom they serve as a foil. The term foil
derives from jewelry: the foil is the precious metal against which the precious stone is
set; the purpose of the foil is to bring out the brilliance of the gem. Similarly, a foil
character, through comparison and contrast, brings out the brilliance of a main character.
In Shakespeare's Othello, for example, Emilia serves as a foil for Desdemona. In
Act IV, Scene iii, when Desdemona wonders if any woman would cheat on her husband, Emilia
asserts that she would if she gained the world as compensation. Her down-to-earth
attitude, so in contrast to Desdemona's innocence and purity of thought, highlights the
differences between the two women.
In order to analyze a character's personality or motivations, the reader must search
for a pattern in the character's behavior, and in order to discover this pattern, the
reader needs to understand the techniques of characterization, which is the process
by which an author creates a character. Authors rely on four methods to create characters:
1) Through the exposition of the narrator (how the narrator views or judges the
character). The narrator of a story or play may comment on how/he she feels, on what
he/she thinks, on what he/she intends to do. This narrator may also voice an opinion about
other characters, an opinion which helps the reader to understand those characters but
also understand the narrator as well.
2) Through dialogue (what a character says). As with people in real life, what
characters say—and how they say it—reveals much about their personalities. A
character's choice of words can reveal his/her feelings and intentions as well as provide
insights into social status, education level, and area of residence. For instance, a
character who says "I don't have any money" will likely have a background
different than a character who says "I ain't got no money."
3) Through action (what a character does). Again, as with people in real life, what
characters do—and how they do it—reveals much about their personalities. A
character who simply tightens his fist upon hearing that his father has died is likely to
be a different sort of person than one who shouts, screams, and weeps upon hearing the
same news. Also, a reader should make a special note of how closely a character's actions
and dialogue agree. For example, a character who says "I'll be there by
five-thirty" and then arrives at five-thirty can be considered reliable; a character
who says "I'll be there by five-thirty" and then arrives at eleven can be
considered unreliable.
4) Through description (how a character looks/what belongings a character owns). We
often gain our first impression of a person by noting what clothes he or she is wearing,
what car he or she is driving, etc. For example, our impression of a man who wears a grey
flannel suit and drives a Volvo will be different than our impression of a man who wears
shiny black leather and rides a Harley-Davidson.
Staying aware of these methods will help the reader determine if a character is major
or minor, dynamic or static, round or flat. The reader should also use these methods to
determine the reasons behind his/her attitudes towards the characters.
Theme is often seen as the general idea or insight the story,
play, or poem reveals. There is no reason to think that a work of
literature has just one theme. depending upon the perspective
brought to the work, there could be a number of themes.
Theme can also be viewed as an abstract concept made concrete
through its representation in person, action, and image in a work
of literature.
The theme need not be obvious nor a moral or a message, though
some moral inferences may be drawn from the work.
Some typical themes are loss of innocence, initiation into
maturity (known as "coming of age"), and man's
inhumanity or frailty.
Theme is not the plot.
One way to determine a works theme, is to answer the following
questions: How does the title relate to the story? What kind of
change does the protagonist undergo? Any? Why? Are any
observations on life offered up?
Determinists believe that all acts that seem to arise from a person's will are actually the result of causes that determine them. Among these causes can be found the following frames of reference, depending on the epoch and attitudes: fate or necessity (neoclassic), will of God (Calvinist), action of scientific law (Naturalist), or operation of economic forces (Marxist). For the Determinist every act and action has a deeper meaning because these acts and actions are controlled from without and are not really the result of an individual's will or choice.
Defined: The total environment for the action of a fictional work.
Established primarily through description, though narration is used also.
Close attention to clothing, manners, vocabulary, tools, money, historical references and the like will help you to determine the time and the place of the story.
Setting serves as a backdrop against which the action takes place, but it can also have an effect on the action of the story and on the behavior of the characters. The characters in Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat," for example, are somewhat at the mercy of their setting--they are stranded in the middle of the ocean--and are in a constant struggle against it.
Setting helps to establish the personality of the characters. What belongings surround a character often determine what he/she is like as a person or how that person sees him-/herself.
Setting can establish the customs and the culture of the characters. A character living in England will have a different way of celebrating Christmas than a person living in America; women and men in India act differently toward each other than do women and men in America; people dress differently, eat differently, worship differently, and speak differently based on where they live.
Our physical environment is the exterior landscape, since it exists outside of our minds and surrounds our bodies. The exterior landscape can be a city, forest, house, room, street, ocean, or any other physical location.
The interior landscape exists within our minds. The interior landscape is a picture of any thoughts, feelings, memories, etc., that we are aware of (that we can "see" in our conscious minds) at a given moment.
Exterior can often be used as a symbol for the interior to give us further insights into the minds of the characters.. However, exterior landscapes can also be used to show contrasts between appearance and mental state, especially if a character is confused or indecisive.
Setting can have thematic meanings. An ancient theme that arises out of setting is the conflict between City and Wilderness. In older times, when humankind's dominance over its environment was less certain than it is now, the city was viewed as a haven against the hostile forces of nature. It was also the center of culture and human endeavor. The wilderness, filled with dangerous animals, brutal weather, and other life-threatening forces (real and imagined), was seen as antagonistic towards humans and their civilizations.
--exterior, represents man's control over his environment and over nature, a refuge from the wilderness, and a center of civilization and law.
--interior, it represents the rational, the conscious, the safe, the superego.
--exterior, the abode of lawless creatures and humans; it is the unknown in which dwell dangerous animals, monsters, etc., that constantly challenge humans and their civilizations. Generally perceived as hostile and unsafe to humans, and any desert, uncultivated land, or unexplored sea is likened to the pre-Creation, primordial chaos. However, it is also the setting for journeys, visionary experiences, and quests in which the hero must prove his/her valor. The Wilderness provides the visionary with prophetic insights and the hero with an opportunity to improve status, increase wealth, and gain renown. The Western view of the wilderness as a place to conquer is derived from the Bible, in which God commands mankind to establish dominion over the earth and over the animal kingdom.
--interior, represents the subconscious or irrational, the id, the emotions (anger, fear, lust, greed, insecurity), repressed memories.
Gothic genre upsets this traditional conflict by making the house, otherwise a symbol of safety against the wilderness, the abode of monsters and of the irrational.
Pastoral works against this conflict by promoting the country as an idyllic escape from the corruptive influences of the city. Begun in ancient Rome to provide a diversion for world-weary citizens, the pastoral depicts shepherds as handsome, love-eager poets and shepherdesses as beautiful but coy objects of affection. The pastoral also calls into question the moral degeneration brought about by city life and institutions of power.
Romantic movement of the 19th century, in some ways an outgrowth of the ancient pastoral, also counters this conflict by presenting nature as a beneficial place reflective of God's presence; the city, because of the debilitating effects of machines, industry, and city living, has become the symbol of fear and danger. The city, being a human construct, is seen as faulty and at odds with natural rhythms and processes. The "return to nature" becomes an escape from the harmful influences of mankind.
Meter: the recurrence of rhythmic pattern.
Quantitative: established through units containing regular successions of long and short syllables: classical meter. Syllables considered long if they have a long or short vowel followed by two consonants. Others considered short. two short syllables equal in duration to one long syllable. Somewhat like musical notes.
Accentual: occurrence of syllable marked by stress or accent that determines the basic unit regardless of the number of unstressed syllables: old English versification and sprung meter.
Syllabic: the number of syllables in a line is fixed, though the accent varies.
Accentual-Syllabic: number of accents and syllables are fixed or nearly fixed: most common sort today.
The rhythmic unit is known as the foot; A standard foot contains two syllables. See the stress patterns below, because there you will see a variety of feet.
monometer--one foot
dimeter--two feet
trimeter--three feet
tetrameter--four feet
pentameter--five feet
hexameter--six feet
heptameter (fourteener if "iambic")--seven feet
Iambic--unstressed syllable followed by stressed syllable: "come live / with me / and be / my love."
Trochaic--accented followed by unaccented syllable. often used in children's rhymes because of sing-song quality: "Jack and Jill / went up the hill /to fetch a pail of water; /Jack fell down / and broke his crown / and Jill came tumbling after."
Anapestic--two unaccented followed by an accented syllable: "Like a child / from the womb / like a ghost / from the tomb"
Dactyll--stressed/accented syllable follow by two unaccented: mannikin
Spondaic--a foot of two accented syllables--usually monosyllabic words in succession. "Hot sun / cool fire" It's rare for a polysyllabic word to have two successive accents.
Phyrric--a foot of two unaccented syllables. Some say since there is no accent, it cannot correctly be a foot "On the / bald street / breaks the / blank day"
Rhyme: likely owes its existence to oral literatures, made it easier to remember lines/stories/myths/folklore/tales. classified according to position of rhymed syllables in the line and the number of syllables involved.
True--can, ran; boat, tote--based on sounds of vowels and succeeding consonants of accented syllables.
Sight--slant, near, off, imperfect--moved, loved
End--at the end of the line
Front--occurs at first syllable or syllables of the line (alliteration): Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.
Internal--occurs somewhere between the first and last syllable of the line
masculine--restricted to final accented syllable as in "can" and "ran."
feminine--rhyming stressed syllables followed by rhyming unstressed syllable: "fountain" and "mountain"
At first glance, or read, sonnets can be intimidating because of their rigid form, but here are some guidelines to reading them that should help you make sense of them at least on the surface level. After gaining that understanding, at least as much as is possible, can we then dig a little deeper.
The typical rhyme scheme for the above describe rhetorical pattern for the Shakespearean or English Sonnet, is this: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. One variation on this is the Spenserian Sonnet, named after Edmund Spenser, one of Shakespeare's contemporaries. It goes like this: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Another variation is the Italian or Petrachan Sonnet, named after the Italian poet Petrach who is credited with the creation of the form. This form is as follows: ABBA ABBA CDECDE or CDCDCD or CDEDCE. With the Italian Sonnet, the turn comes between the second and third stanza and more space is devoted to the resolution of the situation and complication.
This should give you some information to make sense of the sonnets you read.
Nationalist fervor of country, bolstered by defeat of Spanish Armada (much of which was sunk in a storm), beginnings of world colonization and trade--both of which were reflected in literature.
Renaissance learning and interest began to be more generally felt. English language enriched by borrowings from Latin, Greek, Italian, and French. Humanist ideals (exalt the human over the divine). Verse forms such as sonnet and blank verse became more familiar.
Religious controversy: struggles between Catholics and Church of England, and also among those of the High Church (similar in many ways to the Catholic Church) and the Low Church (Puritans).
Rhetoric is stylish and self conscious, showing relish for ornate and cleverly arranged words. Depended more on rhyme schemes than tropes (metaphorical figures of speech)
Reliance on amplification, exaggerated emphasis in interest of persuasive effect
Pathetic fallacies--attribution of living qualities to inanimate objects, primarily with animalistic hostility in inanimate objects.
Fashionable/popular literature of the era is a reaction against Puritanism. (Puritans wished to purify church of England by eliminating anything remotely smacking of the Catholic Church and its pomp--doing away with superstitious rites of church (such as transubstantiation where the wafer and wine are believed to actually become the real body and blood of Jesus Christ), taking communion sitting rather than kneeling, serious observance of the Sabbath, discarding apocryphal (spurious, doubtful, divinely uninspired) books of Bible.)
Although a time of anxiety and tension, recrimination and score settling, literature marked by love of gaiety, wit, and immortality, revival of interest in science.
Nature's law: orders natural elements/physics
Celestial/heavenly law: that which the angels follow
Law of Reason: binds reasoning creatures to law which they know they are bound
Divine Law: binds men, known only because of revelation by God
Human Law: Laws that men make out by following reason or divine law
The Chain of Being: describes God's plentitude, unfaltering order, and ultimate unity. Every speck in creation has a place in the chain.
Earthly (bottom)
inamimate class: elements: earth, water, air, fire.
vegetative class: trees, bushes, weeds, etc.
sensitive class--existance, life, and feeling that has three levels
Divine
Man's soul--bridge between earthly and divine
Angels (Angles bridge the gap between god and man)
Angels: triple divisions echo the Trinity
(contemplative) Seraphs, cherubs, thrones,
(Active in thought, not deed) Dominations, Virtues, Powers
(Active) Principalities, Archangels, Angels
God
Ether: each ruled in order by the angels above
primum mobile ,(outermost of 10 coencentric circles making up the universe--that which is the cause of all movement but does not move itself.) the fixed stars, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon.
Among groups, there is one member who has Primacy: