Humanities (Abridged)

Humanities Study Guide

©2020 Achieve Page 9 of 14 Anaphoric is the repetition of the first part of a sentence or phrase. We can see examples of this in many great works of literature. One famous example can be found in the following biblical verse: "There is a time for everything and a season for everything under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,..." The phrase "a time for" repeats several times in this paragraph. An antithesis is a juxtaposition or a meeting of two opposing ideas. An author uses antithesis when he presents two different thoughts in a sentence: "United we stand, divided we fall." A Euphemism is a gentler, more diplomatic way of saying something. People use euphemisms to describe something without explicitly stating it. Instead of saying "he is bald," a person might say, "he is getting thin on top." A hyperbole is an overstatement or an exaggeration. Some common hyperboles are "I had to wait in line all day" or "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." We consider statements like these to be hyperboles because the person exaggerates the truth to some extent. Imagery is an author's use of descriptive words to paint a mental picture for the reader. Imagery evokes all five senses and draws on one's humanity. Irony is the use of words so that the intended meaning is different than the actual purpose . An author uses irony when they say one thing, but often mean or do the opposite. For instance , sharing an article on Facebook about the uselessness of Facebook would be an example of irony. Personification is the assignment of human characteristics to nonhuman elements. For example, "The leaf danced in the wind" is an example of personification because a leaf cannot dance, such as a human can dance. Metaphors and similes are similar in that they both compare two things. A metaphor is an indirect comparison between two dissimilar or unrelated things. A metaphor does not use "like" or "as," but sometimes uses "are" or "is." "Her smile is the sunshine on a rainy day" is one example of a metaphor. The author compares the girl's smile to sunshine on a rainy day, or indirectly, he equates her smile to happiness on a sad day. A simile is a direct comparison between two things, ideas, objects, or people. A simile typically uses the words "like" or "as." For example, "the boy ran quietly like a mouse through the hall" is an example of a simile. In this case, the author compares the boy's running to a quiet mouse. 1.7 Literature Before we as humans could write down the lessons and stories of our ancestors, we used songs and the spoken word. Ezra Pound once described great literature, "{as}language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree." We use literature to encompass a variety of writing types, but we can classify them all into two groups. Poetry, a work that uses stanzas to arrange words into a free- flowing piece, and prose, paragraphs that follow traditional grammar rules. Usually, we discuss the elements of the art style in detail before analyzing it, but with literature, we need to know what to look for before reading it. When reading poetry or prose, a person should reflect on the underlying meaning. The first step includes discussing how the author uses rhetorical devices to communicate a message to readers. Next, we address the time period in which the work was created and decide if additional context is needed. Lastly, after we read, we look for a deeper meaning or theme to understand the message the author was trying to convey. Authors use many literary devices to convey meaning in text. To understand literature at its greatest, we must become familiar with these terms. Firstly, an allegory is something that represents a real-life event, person, or issue. Think of it as a reference to something real in that time period or culture. An allusion is an indirect reference to a historical, cultural, social, literary, or political event, figure, or concept. Martin Luther King Jr's speech I have a Dream refers to the political, social, and cultural unrest at the time.