Parody Definition A work created to mock or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humor and imitation. Parody Examples : Weird al yankovic, Scary Movie Series, Monty Python It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of… Continue reading Parody and Satire Definitions and Examples
Category: Themes in Literature
Literature Examples
Literary Examples in Pop Culture Alliteration (0:42) Allusion (1:23) Foreshadowing (2:00) Hyperbole (2:25) Metaphor (2:53) Onomatopoeia (3:15) Personification (3:46) Simile (3:10)
Literary Guild
Guilds were associations of men and sometimes women that performed a combination of social, religious, and economic activities. More prevalent in urban areas, they tended to be either parish organizations created to perform religious devotions, or craft or trade fellowships designed to regulate their organizations (membership, craft standards, and other activities), protect their business from… Continue reading Literary Guild
Literary Work
Work The concept of work is notoriously difficult to define. The payment of wages cannot be the sole criterion in determining whether an action counts as work, since men and women throughout history have often labored without compensation. The physical efforts expended by a slave in ancient Greece, for example, or by a homemaker today… Continue reading Literary Work
Literary Violence
Violence The term violence originates from the Latin violentia, meaning vehemence, which in turn implies an intense force. Etymologically, “violence” is akin to “violate” and thus is suggestive of damage and destruction that would characterize a violent storm or a traumatic experience such as rape, terrorism, or war. In its primary sense, therefore, violence denotes… Continue reading Literary Violence
Literary Tradition
Literary Tradition Definition Although most people today might think that the word tradition is a reference to things from the past that are fixed and therefore must be replicated, the English word tradition actually comes from the Latin infinitive tradere literally meaning “to hand across.” However, the same word frequently meant “to surrender.” The various… Continue reading Literary Tradition
Literary Survival
Survival As with any thematic approach to literary study, consideration of the role of survival in literature requires an acknowledgement of the ever-evolving nature of the theme itself. Of primary importance, then, is recognizing that at different times, in different places, and to different people, the word survival has taken on myriad different meanings. Our… Continue reading Literary Survival
Literary Suffering
Suffering Human beings shrink from suffering. We avoid confronting the afflictions of others because it is unpleasant, and if we focus on suffering for too long, it could give us a pessimistic view of the world. Nevertheless, we remain avid fans of television dramas, intense and violent movies, and works of literature that speak to… Continue reading Literary Suffering
Literary Success
Success What does it mean to be successful in life? Many people would equate success with wealth, but some wealthy people are profoundly unhappy. Others would equate success with power or fame, which are equally problematic. If we assume that being successful is about attaining goals, few would pursue goals that were geared toward making… Continue reading Literary Success
Literary Stages of Life
Stages of Life If, as the American mythologist Joseph Campbell has suggested, a primary purpose of storytelling is “the reconciliation of consciousness with the preconditions of its existence” (180), then, given the undeniable precondition of mortality, it is to be expected that the journey a life makes in its arc from cradle to grave is… Continue reading Literary Stages of Life