1. WHY LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE ARE IMPORTANT

2. I. Why we study Language
We use language to communicate to each other and to express how we feel.
In the study of language, essentially, we study ourselves.
Words are our history, our history is preserved through our stories

3. II. How do we do this?
We listen to and tell stories, as well as read and write them.
We also tend to act them out and we enjoy watching a story unfold.
(theater, movies, video games, songs, camp fire stories, etc.)

4. III. What does it look like?
To learn from stories, we must ask ourselves about its origins, the author, what time period it might be written in.
There are 5 key elements that we look for within a story to help us determine the true meaning and origin
(Setting, Symbols, Characters, Conflicts, Themes)

5. We look at the SETTING of a story, meaning its location, time period, and atmosphere or feel of the environment.
Setting helps us determine when the story was written and under what circumstances, if any
How does setting do this?
What technology are the people using? What are there living conditions like? Do they have a government? Is the location real? Are the people real?

6. What can you infer from the setting of this picture?

7. We try to find SYMBOLS that reveal hidden meanings.
Symbols are a person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself (literal) and for something beyond itself (figurative)
We investigate symbols in order to find the true intention of the author’s words

8. We look at the CHARACTERS and wonder about their personality and motivation or simply, why they do what they do. (heroes, villains, sidekicks, etc.)
Round: a character that has depth (“more than meets the eye”)
Flat: a character with no depth
Dynamic: a character that changes during the tale
Static: a character that does not undergo change

9. From these characters, naturally a CONFLICT arises.
Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions
Internal: conflict that takes place solely within a single character’s mind, thoughts, or emotion (Man v. Self)
External: conflict that takes place in the outside world, between more than one character, force, or emotion (Man v. Man, Man v. Nature, Man v. Society)

10. Through the study of all of this, THEMES emerge
Theme: Idea or insight revealed by a work of literature. It is the message the writer wishes us to discover about that subject.
The author uses setting, symbols, characters, and conflict to present the theme
c. A theme is NOT a one word concept, like LOVE. A theme is expressed as a sentence: LOVE HAS THE POWER TO TRANSFORM A PERSON.

11. IV. Why are themes important?
We find common themes in many stories.
If we are communicating through telling our own stories and reading others, we are finding out that we have many things in common.
We share many of the same experiences and emotions as we react to the experience of life.
Themes transcend culture, tradition, and time periods. They speak to who WE are as a species, and connect all of us.

12. V. Why is it important to study World Literature?
First, what do we all have in common? What is the most basic common denominator? We are all human.
By the study of stories from all over the world, crossing cultures and time periods, we find the things we have in common. These things tell us about ourselves, the essentials of being human.
Science cannot explain everything; we have to wonder and try to explain the rest. This may be why we feel this need to tell stories.

13. VI. What kind of stories do we start with?
The first stories are called Myths.
These are stories about beginnings, an attempt to explain mysteries.
Like what? Why and how the world was created, why people die, why not everything is perfect. Questions that do not have definite answers.
A similar type of story is the folktale. These are usually told for entertainment, but have been known to teach a moral lesson.

14. VII. Why are these important in every world culture?
These stories give a culture its identity, traditions, and a name.
Greece = The Iliad, The Odyssey
Rome = The Aeneid
China = Romance of the Three Kingdoms
England = Beowulf
Italy = The Divine Comedy
Japan = The Tale of Genji
Babylon = Epic of Gilgamesh
Persia = One Thousand and One Nights
Germany = Nibelungenlied
France = The Song of Roland
Egypt = Story of Sinuhe
Africa = Epic of Sundiata