ENGL1080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Metonymy, Intertextuality, Alazon
2 May 2018
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Ch 1: Quests
● Quests are never taken to fulfill the stated reason
● All quest are about ‘discovering the self’
● Quests need: a journeyer, a destination, a reason, the real
reason, and obstacles on the way
Ch 2: Communion
● drinking and eating together is communion (not always
religious)
● Needs: communication, collaboration, peace, shared
experiences, internal obstacles
● We all eat to live, we all die. We all live, we all die (eating is
symbolic of equality as living and dying are unifying traits)
Ch 3: Vampires
● violation or corruption of innocence and beauty, the
vampiric archetype
● Includes: old v. vulnerable young
○ usually male v female
● leaves mark
● symbolizes selfishness, exploitation, lack of respect
Ch 4: Sonnets
● 14 lines in iambic pentameter lines have 10 syllables each
ten syllables long is about as high as fourteen lines in length,
makes a square
● usually two parts with two meanings
● shapes indicate shifts in theme or mood
Ch 5: Seen
before/Allusions
● archetypes and patterns are common in literature
● they can be used to enforce common themes and messages
● intertextuality is interaction between works
● if a reader can understand the reference it gives the story a
new depth because their preconceived ideas about the
reference becoming incorporated into/challenged by the
story
Ch 6: Shakespeare
● Shakespeare is very commonly alluded to because the
language, plots and characters are well developed and well
know
● similarly to chapter five the references to shakespeare allow
readers to find more meaning in the story if they have read
Shakespeare because they can connect the meaning of
Shakespeare's work to the lit they are reading
Ch 7: The Bible
● usually connects to:
○ gardens, serpents, plagues, floods, the parting of
waters (metaphorical or literal), loaves, fish, forty
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days, betrayal, denial, slavery and escape, tongues of
flames, voices from whirlwinds, and tension(s)
between brothers
● Many people are familiar with the Bible or Bible stories so
the references are more commonly understood
Ch 8: Fairy Tales
● Literary Canon: list of works most commonly used as
references
● metonymy: part used to symbolize whole (i.e. witches rags
to the witch)
● Hansel and Gretel Archetype: Two young people, lost/out of
element, temptation, and problem they didn’t cause
● used to: add texture to a tale, emphasize a theme, highlight
ironic element, toy with a reader’s knowledge of tales
● irony
Ch 9: Greek/Roman
Myths
● Important questions to ask when reading
○ How does the base myth function in a literary context
○ what does it contribute to the story/writing of the
story?
○ . How does the use of the myth inform a story/poem?
○ How is the myth perceived by the reader?
● Tests of nobility and honor, discusses the importance of
morals
● man v. nature, self, man, supernatural
● adds meaning and depth by connecting to familiar works
Ch 10: Rain, Hail,
Lightning, Thunder
● Weather can be used to symbolize mood
○ rain: dark, dreary, solitary, lonely, death, precursor to
spring, equalizer
○ snow: age, defeat, cleansing, purity, corruption (if
snow is dirty)
○ fog: confusion, loss of path usually ending in a new
path ‘divine or destined course’
○ rainbow: divine promise, peace, connection with God
○ seasons as well
Ch 11: Violence
● Violence in real life doesn’t have the same weight as in
literature because violence in literature connects the
characters more deeply.
● Violence can be used symbolically, to advance plot, to create
allusions (i.e. killing a brother is like Cain in the Bible),
symbolize how common death is, equalizer, facing mortality
alone
● death of characters is used to trigger other characters,
advance plot and symbolize a change in the course of events
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Quests are never taken to fulfill the stated reason. All quest are about discovering the self". Quests need: a journeyer, a destination, a reason, the real reason, and obstacles on the way. Drinking and eating together is communion (not always religious) Needs: communication, collaboration, peace, shared experiences, internal obstacles. We all eat to live, we all die. We all live, we all die (eating is symbolic of equality as living and dying are unifying traits) Violation or corruption of innocence and beauty, the vampiric archetype. 14 lines in iambic pentameter lines have 10 syllables each. Ch 7: the bible ten syllables long is about as high as fourteen lines in length, makes a square. Shapes indicate shifts in theme or mood. Shakespeare is very commonly alluded to because the language, plots and characters are well developed and well know. Similarly to chapter five the references to shakespeare allow readers to find more meaning in the story if they have read.
