Margie, Kala, Dwannisha, Missy, Christos In Medias Margie, Kala, Dwannisha, Missy, Christos

Terms of Focus Exposition Flashback Narrative Pace Parenthetical Observation Subplot Shift in Style

Exposition Definition - the essential information to provide background knowledge Ex: “She was a very pretty girl, and her beauty happened to be of a sort of which Emma particularly admired. She was short, plump and fair, with a fine bloom, blue eyes, light hair, regular features, and a look of great sweetness; and before the end of the evening, Emma was as much pleased with her manners as her person, and quite determined to continue the acquaintance.” (Jane Austen’s Emma)

Flashback A literary or cinematic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative. EX: Another example is the ballad of “The Cruel Mother.” A mother remembers her murdered child. While going to a church, she remembers her child born, grown up and died. Later, she thinks back further to a distant time in her past to remember how her own mother was ruthless to her. EX: .

Narrative Pace Definition: The pace at which the authors tell a story, speeding up or slowing down some parts, and omitting others altogether. Ex: “I am only bound to invoke memory where I know her responses will possess some degree of interest; therefore I now pass a space of eight years almost in silence: a few lines only are necessary to keep up the links connection.”

Parenthetical Observation Definition: a brief interruption during which the character or the narrator reflects on a minor point that clarifies and/or seizes the readers attention. Example: “That he is mad, ‘tis true ‘tis pity, And pity ‘tis ‘tis true-- a foolish figure, But farewell it, for I will use no art.”

Subplot Definition: Secondary story that parallel or contrast with the main action. Subplot can impact main story or just mirror it. EX: A subplot in Romeo and Juliet is the rivalry between the families, especially between Benvolio and Mercutio. This serves as a contrast between the love of Romeo and Juliet.

Shift in Style Definition - a marked change in style, usually accompanied by a corresponding change in tone Ex:“Each event spoke with a cryptic tongue. And the moments of living slowly revealed their coded meanings. ...There was the languor I felt when I heard leaves rustling with a rainlike sound. ...There was the experience of feeling death without dying that came from watching a chicken leap about blinding after its neck had been snapped by a quick twist of my father’s wrist. ...There was the thirst I had when I watched clear, sweet juice trickle from sugar cane being crushed. ..And there was the quiet terror that suffused my senses when vast hazes of gold washed earthward from star-heavy skies on silent nights…” (Richard Wright’s Black Boy) The shift occurs in this list because it changes from the usual structure (chronological account of his youth) to this list of sense impressions