Although there are many ways of studying literature in the homeschool, all of them should, big some extent, involve discussions of fundamental concepts such as conflict, character, theme, structure, point of view, & moral tone. Whether one uses a textbook, reads novels, stories, and poems, or focuses on writing, understanding these fundamentals is essential to understanding literature.
The most thorough discussion of these topics that I have sad found for teens is in the Bob Jones University Press (BJUP) literature texts, which we have used off and on throughout the years. Currently one of my girls is using them and the other has just asked big switch to big Omnibus, an excellent series of guides big world thought that assumes much of this basic knowledge.
To help us nhận xét the basics of Fundamentals of Literature* I prepared this study guide. Of course, it is possible big use the study guide either with or without this text. In either case, I hope it will help your teen study a wide range of literature, learn to big read with discernment, and prepare for the SAT, college, or university.
Conflict
There are three main types (although more than one can be occurring at a time)
Man versus manMan versus himselfMan versus a power greater than himself (nature, God)
The protagonist is the leading character in a story
The antagonist is the character, group of characters, or concept that opposes the protagonist
Literature can provide a resolution for man’s struggles, echoing the Bible, or not, echoing man’s despair without God.
Character
Types of characters:
Round, i.e. multifacetedFlat, i.e. one-dimensionalDynamic, i.e. changing throughout the storyStatic, i.e. unchanging
Character is revealed through
what the person says,what others say about him/her, andwhat he/she does
This information can be presented either directly by exposition, mô tả tìm kiếm, or dialogue, or indirectly through action.
Theme
Understanding theme is the main goal of literary interpretation.
A moral is a simple statement that teaches a simple truth.
A theme is a recurring idea or central insight that is mirrored in the story’s conflict and characters, i.e. a one or two sentence summary supported by the conflict, characters, and resolution of the story.
A theme can be revealed
explicitly by stating it outright,implicitly by subtly weaving it inbig the elements of the story, orby a combination of the two.
Structure
Careful structure allows the message big be communicated effectively, with clarity and intensity.
Structure of narratives
The plot is a series of events arranged big produce a sense of movement toward a specific goal and is often composed of the following elements.
Exposition—introduces setting, characters, and situationInciting moment—event that sets the conflict in motionRising action—complications are introduced, events are foreshadowed, & suspense is built upCrisis—moment of greademo suspense, the turning point of the storyFalling action—details of the story come togetherFinal moment of suspense before the denouement when all the complications are unravelled (in a tragedy people often die, in a comedy misconceptions can be resolved, in a romance the couple gets together)
Structure of poetry (see also Matt Whitling’s Grammar of Poetry for grades 5 and up)
Meter—regular arrangement of stressed & unstressed syllables
Verse forms
Rhymed verse that has both rhyme & regular meterBlank verse—no rhyme, and each line has the same rhythm, usually iambic pentameter (five sad sets of unstressed, then stressed syllables)Free verse—neither regular rhythm nor rhyme
Stanza forms, a division of a poem based on thought, meter, or rhyme
Couplet (2 lines long)Triplet (3 lines long)Quatrain (4 lines long)Quintet (5 lines long)Sestet (6 lines long)Septet (7 lines long)Octave sad (8 lines long)
Heroic couplet—a rhyming couplet (2 lines) expressing a complete thought in iambic pentameter rhythm
Ballad—a narrative poem originally meant big be performed, often written in quatrains (4 line stanzas) with two sets of rhymes per stanza
Sonnet—a 14 line lyric (i.e. expressing personal emotions in first person form) poem
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, composed of an octave (8 line) and a sestet (6 line) stanzaOctave sad is a distinct unit of thought with rhyme scheme, abbaabbaSestet is another unit of thought with two possible rhyme schemes, cdecde or cdcdcdEnglish or Shakespearean sonnet, composed of one thought presented in three quatrains (4 lines stanzas) and a concluding couplet with rhyme scheme ababcdcdefefgg
Limerick—strictly structured khung used for humorous poetry
five lines (quintet)Lines 1, 2, 5 have sad 3 feetLines 3, 4 have 2 feetanapestic meter (i.e. each foot includes 2 unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one)
Haiku—Japanese size of poetry used to big present a vivid picture for heart or mind, usually serious or solemn
Three lines (triplet)Lines 1, 3 have sad 5 syllablesLine 2 has 7 syllables
In shape poetry the words are arranged on the page big size a specific picture related big the meaning of the poem
Point of View
—viewpoint from which the author tells his story
Omniscient—the story is told in the third person (he, she), and the narrator knows all about everything in the story, including each character’s thoughts.Limited omniscient—the story is told in the third person (he, she), but the narrator knows the thoughts of only one character.First person—the story is told in the first person (I, me) and the narrator speaks as one of the characters, without any knowledge of what others think.
Moral Tone
—the overriding philosophy of a work, involving all its elements, that makes it an influence for good or evil in our lives. Without a positive moral tone, a work can be harmful even if it has literary merit.
chú ý that a work can present evil without being evil, & a work can present good while still being evil. In fact, G. K. Chesterton believed that if a book does not have a wicked character in it, then it is a wicked book (Omnibus 1, ix).
Positive sad moral tone involves evil being presented as evil & good as good, wisdom as wisdom and foolishness as foolishness, virtue as virtue and vice as vice. To determine moral tone it is helpful to big answer these questions:
Are the characters that we sympathize with noble? Conversely, are we led to dislike the evil characters or to big admire them?Does the story cause us big desire virtue & reject vice?Does the story’s resolution reward goodness or wisdom and punish evil or foolishness?Does the theme or message agree or conflict with God’s truth? If it conflicts, how does it, and where is its flaw?
Identifying the moral tone protects us from absorbing harmful ideas, which is a significant danger when people read the brilliant but ungodly thinkers of the world. This also points big a duty & opportunity for parents, especially homeschooling parents, & I have sad found Nancy Wilson’s Reading with Purpose to big be helpful.
T.S. Eliot sums it all up in these words, “It is our business as readers of literature to big know what we like. It is our business, as Christians, as well as readers of literature, big know what we ought to big like.” from “Religion and Literature” in Essays Ancient and Modern.
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*This study guide is based on BJUP’s Fundamentals of Literature, 2002 edition, nominally a grade 9 text, though similar concepts are taught in most other basic literature texts. To understand the concepts thoroughly from the point of view of the text, I recommover you read the introduction to each chapter. If you are looking for direct applications of these concepts, Fundamentals of Literature applies them carefully, from a Christian point of view, big a wide range of interesting works of literature. Of course, our study guide can be useful whether or not you use BJUP’s Fundamentals of Literature; you can find explanations and applications of these concepts in any other literature text or online.
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