Rune Posted February 15, 2003 Report Posted February 15, 2003 This is just an idea I came up with, and I am not sure if most people are interested but I thought it would be rather neat to try. I want to build a workshop. Basically, how it works.. is that you reply to this msg with a common (or not so common) literary term and then the definition of it, and an example. For example: what are the different sections (where a line break occurs) in a poem called? What is a metaphor? What does rhetorical mean? Obviously this list could go on forever, but I just wanted to try and identify some of the terms that those of us who aren’t quite as well educated in technical parts of the literary world could learn from. So a response could be: What is a noun? The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive. Ok so the noun example was rather basic, but it does demonstrate my point. If enough people want to contribute, I can make it into a help file that will be located in the help section for a quick and easy reference.
Aardvark Posted February 15, 2003 Report Posted February 15, 2003 What are them... umm.. things.... you take a bunch of letters and string 'em to gether... urrr...damnit, tip of the tongue, lose my own head next....
reverie Posted February 15, 2003 Report Posted February 15, 2003 (edited) iambic: a metrical foot consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable or of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable (as in above) metrical foot: pretty much a syllable. revery the dreamlost "bunnies, it must be bunnies... or maybe midgets..."(buffy musical) the dream continues... Edited February 15, 2003 by reverie
Canid Posted February 16, 2003 Report Posted February 16, 2003 Syllables..... Blackadder style. (Blackadder is explaining Charades to Prince George and Baldrick, demonstrating how they might express the word "bible".) Blackadder: For instance, if it was The Bible, I would go like that [holding up two fingers] to indicate that there are two syllables in it... Prince George: Two what? Blackadder: Two syllables. Prince George: Two silly bulls? I don't think so, Blackadder -- not in The Bible. I can remember a fatted calf, but, as I recall, that was quite a sensible animal. Oh, ah! It's it, um, er, Noah's Ark, with the, er, two pigs, two ants, and two silly bulls? Is that it? Blackadder: Two syll-a-bles. Prince George: What? Blackadder: Look, we're getting confused; let's start again, shall we? Prince George: No, let's not, Blackadder. I think the whole game's getting a bit syll-a, to be honest.
Peredhil Posted February 16, 2003 Report Posted February 16, 2003 Figures of Speech. A "Figure of speech" relates to the form in which the words are used. It consists in the fact that a word or words are used out of their ordinary sense, or place, or manner, for the purpose of attracting attention to what is thus said. A Figure of speech is a designed and legitimate departure from the laws of language, in order to empahsise what is said. This peculair form or unusual manner may not be true (or so true,) to the literal meaning of the words; but it is more true to their real sense, and truer to truth. Dr. Bullinger, in Figures of speech classified about 217 figures, some with varieties and subdivisions. Some examples include: Allegory (Continued comparison by representation and implication.) Teaching a truth about one thing by substituting another for it which is unlike it. Amcebaeon (Refrain). The repetition of the same phrase at the end of successive paragraphs. Simile (resemblance) A declaration that one thing resembles another. Fred is like a dog. Metaphor (representation) A declaration that one thing is (or represents) another. Fred IS a dog. Hypocatastasis (implication) An implied resemblance or representation. (when talking about Fred:) Dog! Hyperbole (Exaggeration) When more is said than is literally meant. plus many more...
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