Unit I Diagnostic Test Review

1. Unit I Diagnostic Test Review English IV 09/12/11 Howard

2. Some General Problems with Your Tests: • incomplete headings • frequent spelling, capitalization, and punctuation problems • answer in complete sentences; too many fragments and run-ons • read questions carefully; many of you appear to have misunderstood what you were being asked • literary terms – most of you don’t know them, and you didn’t look them up • general laziness when it comes to your classwork

3. 1. Characteristics of the Epic Hero • 1. The hero is introduced in the midst of turmoil, at a point well into the story; antecedent action will be recounted in flashbacks. • 2. The hero is not only a warrior and a leader, but also a polished speaker who can address councils of chieftains or elders with eloquence and confidence.

4. 1. Characteristics of the Epic Hero • 3. The hero, often possesses distinctive weapons of great size and power, often heirlooms or presents from the gods. • 4. The hero must undertake a long, perilous journey, often involving a descent into the Underworld, which tests his endurance, courage, and cunning. • 5. Although his fellows may be great warriors (like Achilles and Beowulf, he may have a commitatus, or group of noble followers with whom he grew up), he undertakes a task that no one else dare attempt.

5. 1. Characteristics of the Epic Hero • 6. Whatever virtues his race most prizes, the epic hero possesses in abundance. His key quality is often emphasized by his stock epithet: "Resourceful Odysseus," "swift-footed Achilles," "pious Aeneas.“ • 7. The hero gains little honor by slaying a lesser mortal, but only by challenging heroes like himself or adversaries of superhuman power.

6. 1. Characteristics of the Epic Hero • 8. The two great epic adversaries, the hero and his antagonist, meet at the climax, which must be delayed as long as possible to sustain maximum interest. • 9. The hero's epic adversary is often a "god-despiser," one who has more respect for his own mental and physical abilities than for the power of the gods. • 10. The hero may encounter a numinous phenomenon (a place or person having a divine or supernatural force) such as a haunted wood or enchanting sorceress that he most use strength, cunning, and divine assistance to overcome.

7. 2. – 5. Tolkien Excerpt • mood – The climate or  feeling in a literary work. The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating mood. • chronological sequence = time order of events • aside – in drama a character reveals his thoughts and feelings to audience rather than to another character

8. 2. – 5. Tolkien Excerpt • theme – The main idea or underlying message about life expressed in a literary work. A theme may be stated or implied. • flashback – an interruption of the chronological sequence (as of a film or literary work) of an event of earlier occurrence” • prediction – an inference or foretelling about upcoming events in a selection based upon what has happened so far. • internal conflict – when a character has a struggle within himself

9. 6. – 7. Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing • paraphrasing – putting text into your own words to indicate you understand it • paraphrasing differs from a summary because a summary is always shorter than the original while a paraphrase may be about the same length

10. 8. – 9. Literary Devices • characterization - the art of creating characters for a narrative. Characters may be presented by means of description, through their actions, speech, or thoughts. • alliteration – the repetition of initial (beginning) consonant sounds in the first syllables of a series of words and/or phrases. • irony - A situation is often said to be ironic (situational irony) if the actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended.

11. 8. – 9. Literary Devices Other types of irony: • Comic irony: Irony that is humorous (whereas much irony is not) • Dramatic irony: When the audience (or reader) knows a fictional character is making a mistake, because the audience has more information than the character. • Tone - The tone of a story is often defined as what the author is feeling towards the subject, rather than what the reader feels. (What the reader feels is defined as the mood.)

12. 10. Cause and Effect • A cause is something that makes something else happen. Out of two related events, it is the event that happens first. To determine the cause, ask the question "Why Did it Happen?" • An effect is what happens as a result of the cause. Of two related events, it’s the one that happens second or last.  To determine the effect, ask the question "What Happened?“ CAUSE: EFFECT: The boy kicked the ball consequently the ball rolled. The girl teased the cat therefore the cat growled. Because Sally studied hard, she earned an A on her test.

13. 11. – 12. Autobiography • An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person. An autobiography frequently provides information about the society in which the person lived. • A historical narrative tells the story of real people and events during a particular time and place. Therefore a historical narrative contains many details about the period it describes.

14. 13. – 17. Humor, Legends, Ballad Stanzas, and Reading Comprehension • humor – the quality of a literary work that makes characteristics and situations seem funny, amusing, or ridiculous. • monitoring comprehension = checking understanding • legend – a legend is a tale that is based on history and is handed down from one generation to the next • ballad stanza – the ballad stanza is a quatrain or four line stanza

15. 18. Two Challenges of Translating Poetry • translating words for which there is no word available with the same meaning • maintaining literary elements of the original poem such as rhythm, rhyme scheme, alliteration, etc.

16. 19. – 20. Archetypes and Your Knowledge • archetype – a character type, setting, image or story pattern that appears in the literature of many cultures • whenever you are asked to apply your own knowledge to something you should make every effort to do so – usually, the only wrong answer is no answer at all.

17. Unrelated Issue • Fascinating/Fast Facts are always to be written in complete sentences and they should provide significant/important information to your audience.