1. LEOCT STUDY GUIDE
12TH Grade English

2. Anglo-Saxon Literature
Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Heroic – recounts the achievements of warriors
Epic – a long heroic poem celebrating a legendary warrior known for his courage, strength, and dignity
Elegiac – mourns the death of loved ones and the loss of the past (“seafarer” is an elegy)
Lyric – expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker, composed for easy memorization and recitation

3. Anglo-Saxon Literature cont.
Anglo-Saxon Poetic Elements
Caesura – rhythmic breaks in the middle of lines, where the speaker could pause for breath
for example: “Oft to the wanderer, weary of exile”
Kenning – two-word poetic renaming of people, places, and things
for example: whales’ home for the sea and gray beards for old men

4. Poetic Devices
Rhyme Scheme: A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme.
Quatrain: a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.
Couplet: a pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhyme and are of the same length.
Octave: a group of eight lines of verse, especially the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form.
Sestet: the last six lines of a sonnet in the Italian form, considered as a unit.

5. Poetic Devices, cont:
Iambic Pentameter: A standard line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row:
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM
The tick-TOCK rhythm of iambic pentameter can be heard in the opening line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 12:
When I do count the clock that tells the time Internal Rhyme: when rhyming occurs within a line.
Ending Rhyme: a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses.
Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sound
Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects.

6. Medieval Literature
The most famous medieval author was Geoffrey Chaucer.
He wrote The Canterbury Tales
Provides a glimpse of Medieval society,
focusing on the middle class
Follows a group of pilgrims on their way
to Canterbury
- Written in rhyming heroic couplets

7. The Canterbury Tales
Is actually a story about stories, 24 different tales set within the tale of the pilgrimage
Mainly written in heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines with five stressed syllables each
Begins with a prologue describing each of the pilgrims
- the description frames the story the pilgrim will tell
- we better understand their stories because we know their occupations, personalities, and habits
The tales encompass medieval literature - from romance to comedy, from rhyme to prose, from crude humor to religious mysteries.

8. Renaissance Literature
Sonnets
14 lines of rhymed iambic pentameter
sonnets written in series or group; most often written to or about a beloved
most common sonnet theme is love, often unattainable or unrequited love
Dramas – plays or theatrical productions
William Shakespeare dominated
this literary time period!

9. Sonnets (English or Shakespearean)
Three 4 line quatrains plus a concluding 2 line rhyming couplet
Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg
The quatrains raise a question, state a problem, or present a narrative
The couplet answers the question, solves the problem, or comments on the narrative

10. Sonnets (Italian or Petrarchan)
divided in to two parts: 8 line octave & 6 line sestet
Rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdecde
The rhyme scheme of the sestet can be any combo of c, d, and e
The octave raises a question, states a problem, or presents a narrative
The sestet answers the question,
solves the problem, or comments
on the narrative

11. The Tragic Hero/Heroine
a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy
fatal flaws can be physical, mental or character flaws
The tragedy can effect the tragic hero/heroine as well as many others around them
Conflict of Macbeth as a tragic hero?!?
What leads to his downfall?
Hamlet
Macbeth

12. Dramatic Elements
Stage directions - directions included in a script to indicate entrances and exits, movement, emotions, details of location, scenery and special effects; usually in [brackets] and always italicized.
Soliloquy - a long speech, usually by a character who is alone, that reveals inner thoughts and feelings to the audience (solo= alone)
Aside - a line spoken by an actor to the audience or another actor, but not intended for others on the stage

13. Irony:
Irony: a contradiction between reality and appearance or between the actual and intended meaning of words.
Examples: No man born of a woman – Macbeth
Burnam Woods marching on the castle – Macbeth
Frankie’s parents preaching against smoking – Angela’s Ashes
The Green Knight picking up his severed head – Sir Gawain
Sonnet his woman is ugly but he loves her anyway (social commentary)

14. The Romantic Period
Romanticism: a movement in art and literature occurring in England in the early 19th century that values imagination, intuition, self-expression, emotion, and non-conformity.
Mary Shelley: wrote Frankenstein
Jane Austen: wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice
Gothic Literature –
takes the reader from the reasoned order of the everyday world into the dark and dreadful world of the supernatural

15. Literary Devices
Cliché: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse.
Simile: a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.”
Personification: the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.
Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

16. Allusion: “Beowulf” alludes to: __________________ (biblical)
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
“Beowulf” alludes to: __________________ (biblical)
Frankenstein alludes to: ______________ (biblical)

17. Types of Writing
Informational: Informational/ explanatory writing conveys information accurately.  The writer’s purpose is to increase the reader’s knowledge, to help the reader better understand a procedure or process, or to increase the reader’s comprehension of a concept. 
Asks why or how?
Conveys info accurately
Author’s purpose: to increase knowledge, explain a procedure, or explore a concept in depth.

18. Types of Writing
Argumentative: An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating the writer’s position, belief, or conclusion.  The writer makes a claim and then defends that claim with information from credible sources.
The author’s purpose: to change the reader’s thinking, move the reader to action, or convince the reader to to accept the writer’s explanation of a problem or concept.

19. Research and Writing
Plagiarism: an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author.
Thesis: a subject for a composition or essay.
Primary Source: pertaining to or being a firsthand account, original data, etc., or based on direct knowledge, as in primary research.
Reference sources: Reference sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, etc. are research tools that can help you with your paper or project
Paraphrasing: express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

20. MLA Format: In-text citations: (Authors Last Name Page Number)
Ex: (Shelley 148).
Work Cited (Book): Last, First. Title in Italics. City. Publisher, Year.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York City. Kaplan Publishing, 2011.