WORLD LITERATURE JANUARY 27, 2012 Warm-up: Take a look at the following list of unethical values: *greediness *violence *being two-faced or a liar *over-indulgence *being a back-stabber *incessant anger *always wanting that which you don’t have (envy) Rank these “unethical” values, 7 being the worst and 1 being the least unethical. Then, briefly explain why you chose #7 as the worst of all the options.

REMINDERS Work on your “Hero” Essay. Don’t forget to edit! Take notes on the following slides... Keep all notes in a special section in your folder to turn in at the end of the semester.

STANDARDS Reading 3.1: Analyze characteristics of subgenres (e.g. allegory) that are used in poetry, prose, plays, etc. 3

THE DIVINE COMEDY Dante Alighieri, the Italian, Medieval author of The Divine Comedy, ranked the “unethical acts” on the preceding slide in three main categories: “self-indulgent” acts (lust, gluttony, greed and wrath) were the lighter offenses the “violent” acts (heresy and violence) were worse “malicious” acts (fraud and betrayal) were the worst 4

THE DIVINE COMEDY In “The Inferno”– one of the three parts of The Divine Comedy– Dante paints a picture of a Hell that has different levels to it: the first level of Hell is for the self-indulgent sinners the next level is for the violent sinners the deepest level of Hell is reserved for the malicious 5

THE DIVINE COMEDY The main character in the story– Dante– is led through the different levels of Hell by the ghost of the poet Virgil. 6

NOTES: “THE INFERNO” Though we will be reading a translated copy of “The Inferno”, Dante’s unique style is still very clear and admirable. *What is style? Before we read the selection from “The Inferno”, take notes on the following slides. Title these slides “’The Inferno’ Notes”. 7

SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM=An object that represents an intangible feeling or idea. Example: Hearts symbolize love; rain symbolizes sorrow. After you’ve found an object that represents something else, find out WHY you came to this conclusion and explain.

ALLEGORY ALLEGORY= A work with two layers of meaning. While on the surface the characters, places, objects and events are part of the story’s plot, they also stand for, or SYMBOLIZE abstract ideas or qualities. Example: in “The Inferno” allegory, Dante walks through a physical place– the dark woods– which stands for Dante’s spiritual condition.

IMAGERY IMAGERY= words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences (i.e. sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) for the reader. Example: The cool, white winter snow glistened on the crisp leaves of the tree. Why do authors use imagery? Imagery makes details clear and immediate to help the reader experience what the author is picturing in his/her mind. 10

IMAGERY IMAGERY (CONTINUED): When discussing imagery, be clear about what type of imagery is present: Visual imagery= what you can SEE Auditory imagery= what you can HEAR Tactile imagery= what you can FEEL/TOUCH Olfactory imagery= what you can SMELL Gustatory imagery= what you can TASTE *Note: When you look at imagery That you can feel/touch (tactile), You will NOT be looking at Imagery that you can feel emotionally, But rather physically. 11

DICTION DICTION= word choice When writing, mature writers think carefully about each word that they include to assure that the perfect word is chosen to get across the exact emotions, ideas and understanding.

DENOTATION Denotation= the literal, dictionary definition of a word The words “plump”, “fat” and “obese” literally describe a person who is overweight. This is the dictionary definition of these three words. However...

CONNOTATION Connotation= the emotions, feelings or ideas that are attached to a certain word. The word “plump” has the connotation of being pleasantly fat, almost in a cute way. Plump is often used to describe cute, overweight little old ladies. Santa Claus is also described as being a jolly, plump old man. The positive emotional feelings (or connotations) that are attached to this word show how we use connotation to control people’s minds about a subject. Ask: what comes to mind when we hear This word?

DICTION In “The Inferno”, Dante says that his heart is “pierced” with “terror”. He could have just said that he was scared, but these words have strong connotations How does the diction “pierced my heart” help you to understand his emotion? How does the word “terror” help you to understand what he’s feeling?

HOMEWORK Complete the vocabulary exercise on page 761. 16