1. DICTION, CONNOTATION, AND DENOTATION
CONTEMPORARY LIT 2016

2. Do you recognize this?
"When things get so balled up that the people of a country got to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are not trying to put nothing over on nobody." (H.L. Mencken)

3. The Declaration of Independence
"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.“
Both versions mean roughly the same thing, but the effect is very different.

4. Diction Your diction is simply your choice of words.
There is no single, correct diction in the English language; instead, you choose different words or phrases for different contexts:
To a friend- a screw-up
To a child- a mistake
To the police- an accident
To an employer- an oversight
All of these expressions mean the same thing -- that is, they have the same denotation -- but you would not likely switch one for the other in any of these three situations: a police officer or employer would take "screw-up" as an insult, while your friends at the bar after a hockey game would take "oversight" as an affectation.

5. Connotation vs. Denotations
Connotation is the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word.
Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of a word.
For example, both "woman" and "chick" have the denotation "adult female" in North American society, but "chick" has somewhat negative connotations, while "woman" is neutral.

6. Why Know about Diction, Connotation, and Denotation?
As English speakers? As readers?

7. Allusion and Narrator
CONTEMPORARY LIT 2016

8. Allusion
A figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or something that happened
There are several ways that an allusion can help a writer:
Allusions engage the reader and will often help the reader remember the message or theme of the passage.
Allusions allow the writer to give an example or get a point across without going into a lengthy discourse.
Allusions are contingent on the reader knowing about the story or event that is referenced.

9. Allusion Example The Fault in Our Stars—John Green
From Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.“
The quote indicates that our actions lead to our deaths, not fate.
John Green’s novel explores that idea in his novel.
The title is meant to evoke the consideration of what leads to our death and what we do with the time we have on earth.

10. Narrator First Person Third Person
Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision.
Third Person
Omniscient
all-knowing
Limited
Only the thoughts of one character

11. Reliability of Narrator (First Person)
Is the narrator
telling the truth?
omitting information?
Giving clues to his character?
What can the reader infer from the narrator?

12. Flashback, Foreshadow, and Symbolism

13. Flashback
The use of a flashback is to convey to the readers information regarding the character’s background and give them an idea of the characters motives for doing certain things later in the story.
Increases tension, deepens conflict
Use as contrast to portray the character in a different world, juxtaposing it with the current world.

14. Foreshadow
Indicative words and hints that set the stage for a story to unfold and give the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense. 
Builds anticipation
Prepares the reader for twists in the plot or bizarre events to come

15. Symbolism Double levels of meaning in a text
Gives universality to characters and themes
Evokes interest in the reader
Text has broader implications

16. Imagery, Tone, Theme, Mood, Characterization

17. Imagery
The use of figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.
Imagery needs the aid of figures of speech like simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia etc. in order to appeal to the bodily senses.
Example: The clouds were low and hairy like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
Which words appeal to which senses?
Chloe came running and touched every nook and corner of my face with her slobbering tongue.

18. Tone
The perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regard to a specific character, place or development.
Helps the reader establish the writer’s feelings towards a particular topic and in turn influences the reader’s understanding of the story.
Tone can change many times throughout a story

19. Mood
The general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words.
Often created through the author’s use of imagery and setting.

20. Theme
The theme in a piece of fiction is often its view about life and how people behave.
The reader must extract it from the characters, action, and setting that make up the story.
Examples of common themes in literature:
Death
Coming of Age
Chaos and Order
Lost Love
Quest for Power
Revenge

21. Characterization
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization.
Direct: Explicitly stated characteristics
Indirect: Inferred by the reader
Acronym STEAL
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on others
Actions
Looks