approach to literature week2

l  Plot (The five parts of plot P.85) (Freytag's Pyramid)  

Ø  The Difference Between Stories, Novelettes, Novellas, and Novels

What Is a Short Story?

3,500 - 7,500 Words

The most important difference between a short story, novelette, novella, and a novel is the word count. An average short story usually has at least 3,500 words and no more than 7,500. Traditionally, short stories were meant to be read in a single sitting. They are usually published individually in magazines and then collected and published in anthologies.

A short story is one of the most common forms of writing. It is often used to describe a single event, a single episode, or a tale of one particular character. A short story does not usually involve major twists and conflicts, and involvement of various sub-plots and multiple characters is not common. A short story is basically fictional prose, written in a narrative style. However, the narrative style may either be first person or third, or whichever the author chooses.

What Is a Novella?

17,000 - 40,000 Words

Novellas were first introduced in the early Renaissance (1300s), but their genre did not become firmly established until the late 18th and early 19th century. A novella is longer than a novelette and is sometimes called a long short story or a short novel. Although in the past, novellas were commonly written and published, and some to great acclaim (A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and The Metamorphosis by Kafka, for example), these days it is considered to be an awkward length and it may be more difficult to get a novella published.

What Is a Novel?

40,000+ Words

The novel is one of the more common works of fiction that we encounter. A novel often involves multiple major characters, sub-plots, conflicts, points of view, and twists. Due to its considerable length, a novel is meant to be read over a period of days. The plot moves forward through many characters, actions, thoughts, time periods, and situations. The reader often feels that the story deviates and is affected by the involvement of different sub-stories and sub-plots, by the passage of time, or by the involvement of new important characters– this is considered the real beauty of a novel.

The word count of a novel is really debatable. This is because different genres have different requirements. However, a novel is usually no shorter than 40,000 words. For modern publication, editors often consider a novel one which is spread over 80,000 – 120,000 words. Romance novels, however, can be shorter than that. On the other hand, a fantasy, horror, and science fiction usually see works of greater lengths. The word count for fantasy novels often touch the 240,000 mark. Some famous books, like the Lord of the Rings series, are famous for containing so many words. The Harry Potter series has 1,084,170 words; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix itself has 257,045 words.

Ø   Aristotle (Poems imitation entertain higher than history)

Aristotle ( / ˈ æ r ɪ ˌ s t ɒ t əl / ; [1] Greek : Ἀριστοτέλης [aristotélɛːs] , Aristotélēs ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira , Chalkidice , on the northern periphery of Classical Greece .

Ø  Round and Flat Characters Defined

Round characters in a story, play or novel are simply characters who are most like real people because they have depth. When Shrek says 'Ogres are like onions,' he means that there's more to them than what you see on the surface. Round characters are like onions too; they have layers.

And round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics and undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader

Flat character, one who can be fully described in a single sentence because he has no depth. In this case, all you need is two words: cannon fodder. They are are two-dimensional in that they are relatively uncomplicated.

Ø  Allegory 寓言

As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. Allegory has been used widely throughout history in all forms of art, largely because it can readily illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners.

Ø  Aesop’s fables 伊索寓言

Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with Aesop's name have descended to modern times through a number of sources. They continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media.

Ø  Parable

A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse , which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy .

Ø  Vocabulary

Ø   Ver-；vir：true

Verification: To show or agree that something is true

Verdict: an opinion that you have or a decision that you make

→ Reach the verdict

Virtual (虛擬實境): almost the same as the thing that is mentioned

Verisimilitude: the appearance of being real

→ Verisimilitude realism (寫實主義)

Ø   Dict：to say to tell word

l   Verdict: an official judgment made in a court

l   Predict: to say what you think will happen in the future

l   Dictionary: a reference resource which provides information about words and their meanings, uses, and pronunciations. A dictionary may be published as a printed book, or as a digital product such as a website or app, and it may be monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual.

Ø   Pro：in favor of many much

l   Protagonist: the main character in a play, film, book, or story

Ø   Anti：against

l   Antihero: a main character in a story who does not have the qualities that a hero usually has, such as being morally good

l   Antagonist: your opponent, for example in a competition or fight

Ø   Para：beside, near, issuing from, against, contrary to(平行並立)

Ø   Paradise: Heaven, the place where some people believe you go when you die if you have lived a good life

1. In writing → hypothesis give examples create harmony