文学用語２

M

metaphor (met-AH-for) [from the Gk. carrying one place to another]: a type of figurative language in which a statement is made that says that one thing is something else but, literally, it is not. In connecting one object, event, or place, to another, a metaphor can uncover new and intriguing qualities of the original thing that we may not normally notice or even consider important. Metaphoric language is used in order to realize a new and different meaning. As an effect, a metaphor functions primarily to increase stylistic colorfulness and variety. Metaphor is a great contributor to poetry when the reader understands a likeness between two essentially different things. In his Poetics, Aristotle claims that for one to master the use of metaphor is “…a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars” (The Poet's Dictionary). A metaphor may be found in a simple comparison or largely as the image of an entire poem. For example, Emily Dickinson’s poem “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” makes use of a series of comparisons between the speaker and a gun. Dickinson opens the work with the following: “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun - / In corners – till a Day / The Owner passed – identified - / And carried me away”. Of course, the narrator is not really a gun. The metaphor carries with it all the qualities of a “Loaded Gun”. The speaker in the poem is making a series of comparisons between themselves and the qualities of a gun. The narrator had been waiting a long time before their love found them. The narrator loves her fellow so desperately that she feels as a protective gun that would kill anyone wishing to harm him. To this effect, Dickinson writes, "To foe of His – I’m deadly foe –." Dickinson’s poem ends up being one extended comparison through the use of metaphor between herself and a gun with “…but the power to kill.” See A Handbook to Literature, The Poet’s Dictionary, or A Glossary of Literary Terms (7th edition). Andy Stamper, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
metonymy (me-TAH-nah-me): a figure of speech which substitutes one term with another that is being associated with the that term. A name transfer takes place to demonstrate an association of a whole to a part or how two things are associated in some way. This allows a reader to recognize similarities or common features among terms. It may provide a more common meaning to a word. However, it may be a parallel shift that provides basically the same meaning; it is just said another way. For example, in the book of Genesis 3:19, it refers to Adam by saying that “by the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food.” Sweat represents the hard labor that Adam will have to endure to produce the food that will sustain his life. The sweat on his brow is a vivid picture of how hard he is working to attain a goal. Another example is in Genesis 27:28 when Isaac tells Jacob that “God will give you...an abundance of grain and new wine.” This grain and wine represents the wealth that Jacob will attain by stealing the birth right. These riches are like money that is for consumption or material possessions to trade for other goods needed for survival. Furthermore, in the play Othello, Act I Scene I features metonymy when Iago refers to Othello as “ the devil” that “will make a grandsire of you.” This phrase represents a person that is seen as deceitful or evil. An understanding of metonymy aids a reader to see how an author interchanges words to further describe a term’s meaning. See A Handbook to Literature; Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama; Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama; or Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Melanie Stephens, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

motif (moh-TEEF): a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work, such as good and evil. In the Book of Genesis, we see the motif of separation again and again throughout the story. In the very first chapter, God separates the light from the darkness. Abraham and his descendants are separated from the rest of the nation as God's chosen people. Joseph is separated from his brothers in order that life might be preserved. Another motif is water, seen in Genesis as a means of destroying the wicked and in Matthew as a means of remitting sins by the employment of baptism. Other motifs in Genesis and Matthew include blood sacrifices, fire, lambs, and goats. A motif is important because it allows one to see main points and themes that the author is trying to express, in order that one might be able to interpret the work more accurately. See A Handbook to Literature, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Robert Bean, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

myth (mith): any story that attempts to explain how the world was created or why the world is the way that it is. Myths are stories that are passed on from generation to generation and normally involve religion. M.H. Abram refers to myths as a “religion in which we no longer believe.” Most myths were first spread by oral tradition and then were written down in some literary form. Many ancient literary works are, in fact, myths as myths appear in every ancient culture of the planet. For example you can find them in ethnological tales, fairy tales as well as epics. A good example of a myth is The Book of Genesis, which recounts tales of the creation of the universe, the Earth and mankind. See A Glossary to Literary Terms, Webster’s Encylopedia of Literature. Becky Davis, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke


N

narrative (na-RAH-tiv): a collection of events that tells a story, which may be true or not, placed in a particular order and recounted through either telling or writing. One example is Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." In this story a madman resolves to kill his landlord because he fears the man's horrible eye. One night he suffocates the landlord and hides the body beneath the floorboards of the bedroom. While fielding questions from the police in the bedroom where the body is hidden, the madman thinks he hears the heart of the victim beating beneath the floorboards. Scared that the police hear the heartbeat too, the madman confesses. This is a narrative because of two things, it has a sequence in which the events are told, beginning with murder and ending with the confession, and it has a narrator, who is the madman, telling the story. By understanding the term "narrative,” one begins to understand that most literary works have a simple outline: the story, the plot, and the storyteller. By studying more closely, most novels and short stories are placed into the categories of first-person and third-person narratives, which are based on who is telling the story and from what perspective. Other important terms that relate to the term "narrative,” are "narrative poetry," poetry that tells a story, and "narrative technique" which means how one tells a story.

narrative poem (nar-RAH-tiv po-EM): a poem that tells a story. A narrative poem can come in many forms and styles, both complex and simple, short or long, as long as it tells a story. A few examples of a narrative poem are epics, ballads, and metrical romances. In western literature, narrative poetry dates back to the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh and Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. In England and Scotland, storytelling poems have long been popular; in the late Middle Ages, ballads-or storytelling songs-circulated widely. The art of narrative poetry is difficult in that it requires the author to possess the skills of a writer of fiction, the ability to draw characters and settings briefly, to engage attention, and to shape a plot, while calling for all the skills of a poet besides. See A Handbook of Literature and Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Melissa Houghton, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

narrator (nar-RAY-ter): one who tells a story, the speaker or the “voice” of an oral or written work. Although it can be, the narrator is not usually the same person as the author. The narrator is one of three types of characters in a given work, (1) participant (protagonist or participant in any action that may take place in the story), (2) observer (someone who is indirectly involved in the action of a story), or (3) non participant (one who is not at all involved in any action of the story). The narrator is the direct window into a piece of work. Depending on the part of the character of the narrator plays in the story, the narrator may demonstrate bias when presenting a piece of work. In the Book of Matthew, the narrator Matthew, probably presented some bias when giving his accounts of the events that took place during that time. See Introduction to Literature, A Handbook to Literature. Heather Cameron, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke


O


P

parable (PAIR-uh-buhl): a brief and often simple narrative that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. Some of the best-known parables are in the Bible, where Jesus uses them to teach his disciples. For example, in "The Parable of the Good Seed," a farmer plants a garden. As the farmer sleeps, someone sows weeds in his field to destroy the farmer's crops. However, when he learns of his misfortune, he does not demolish his entire garden just to remove the weeds. The farmer waits patiently until harvest time and gathers his wheat after the weeds have first been collected and destroyed. The lesson to be learned in this parable is to not be quick to annihilate evil; it will in deserving time receive its punishment. Some other parables in the Bible are "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" and "The Parable of the Mustard Seed." See The Encyclopedia of Literature, A Handbook to Literature. Starlet Chavis, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
persona (per-SO-na): In literature, the persona is the narrator, or the storyteller, of a literary work created by the author. As Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama puts it, the persona is not the author, but the author’s creation--the voice “through which the author speaks.” It could be a character in the work, or a fabricated onlooker, relaying the sequence of events in a narrative. Such an example of persona exists in the poem “Robin Hood and Allin a Dale,” in which an anonymous character, perhaps one of Robin’s “merry men,” recounts the events of the meeting and adventures of Robin Hood and Allin a Dale. After telling of their initial introduction in the forest, the persona continues to elaborate on their quest to recover Allin’s true love from the man she is about to marry. Robin and his entourage succeed and then proceed to marry her and Allin a Dale. The persona’s importance is recognized due to the more genuine manner in which the events of a story are illustrated to the reader―with a sense of knowledge and emotion only one with a firsthand view of the action could depict. See A Handbook to Literature, Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stephanie White, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

personification {PER-son-E-fih-ka-shEn): A figure of speech where animals, ideas or inorganic objects are given human characteristics. One example of this is James Stephens’s poem "The Wind" in which wind preforms several actions. In the poem Stephens writes, “The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his two fingers.” Of course the wind did not actually "stand up," but this image of the wind creates a vivid picture of the wind's wild actions. Another example of personification in this poem is “Kicked the withered leaves about….And thumped the branches with his hand.” Here, the wind is kicking leaves about, just like a person would and using hands to thump branches like a person would also. By giving human characteristics to things that do not have them, it makes these objects and their actions easier to visualize for a reader. By giving the wind human characteristics, Stephens makes this poem more interesting and achieves a much more vivid image of the way wind whips around a room. Personification is most often used in poetry, coming to popularity during the 18th century. Jennifer Winborne, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

point of view (point ov veww): a way the events of a story are conveyed to the reader, it is the “vantage point” from which the narrative is passed from author to the reader. The point of view can vary from work to work. For example, in the Book of Genesis the objective third person point of view is presented, where a “nonparticipant” serves as the narrator and has no insight into the characters' minds. The narrator presents the events using the pronouns he, it, they, and reveals no inner thoughts of the characters. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the first person point of view is exhibited. In this instance the main character conveys the incidents he encounters, as well as giving the reader insight into himself as he reveals his thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Many other points of view exist, such as omniscient (or “all knowing”) in which the narrator “moves from one character to another as necessary” to provide those character’s respective motivations and emotions. Understanding the point of view used in a work is critical to understanding literature; it serves as the instrument to relay the events of a story, and in some instances the feelings and motives of the character(s). See A Handbook to Literature, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Stephanie White, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

protagonist (pro-TAG-eh-nist) A protagonist is considered to be the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. It may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work. Over a period of time the meaning of the term protagonist has changed. The word protagonist originated in ancient Greek drama and referred to the leader of a chorus. Soon the definition was changed to represent the first actor onstage. In some literature today it may be difficult to decide who is playing the role of the protagonist. For instance, in Othello,we could say that Iago is the protagonist because he was at the center of all of the play's controversy. But even if he was a main character, was he the lead character? This ambiguity can lead to multiple interpretations of the same work and different ways of appreciating a single piece of literature. See Merrian Webster Encyclopedia of Literature, Benet’s Readers Encyclopedia of Literature. Khalil Shakeel, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke


Q


R

rhyme (rime): repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work. Lyricists may find multiple ways to rhyme within a verse. End rhymes have words that rhyme at the end of a verse-line. Internal rhymes have words that rhyme within it. Algernon C. Swinburne (1837-1909), a rebel and English poet, used internal rhymes in many of his Victorian poems such as “sister, my sister, O fleet sweet swallow.” There are cross rhymes in which the rhyme occurs at the end of one line and in the middle of the next; and random rhymes, in which the rhymes seem to occur accidentally in no specific combination, often mixed with unrhymed lines. These sort of rhymes try to bring a creative edge to verses that usually have perfect rhymes in a sequential order. Historically, rhyme came into poetry late, showing in the Western world around AD 200 in the Church Latin of North Africa. Its popularity grew in Medieval Latin poetry. The frequently used spelling in English, r*h*y*m*e , comes from a false identification of the Greek word “rhythmos.” Its true origin comes from Provencal, which is a relation to Provence, a region of France. The traditional Scottish ballad, “Edward,” uses end rhymes to describe what he has done with his sword and property:
And what wul ye doe wi’ your towirs and your ha’
That were sae fair to see, O?
Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa’
Rhyme gives poems flow and rhythm, helping the lyricist tell a story and convey a mood. See A Handbook to Literature, Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (unabridged), A Glossary of Literary Terms. Nancy Bullard, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

rhyme scheme (rime skeem): the pattern of rhyme used in a poem, generally indicated by matching lowercase letters to show which lines rhyme. The letter "a" notes the first line, and all other lines rhyming with the first line. The first line that does not rhyme with the first, or "a" line, and all others that rhyme with this line, is noted by the letter "b", and so on. The rhyme scheme may follow a fixed pattern (as in a sonnet) or may be arranged freely according to the poet's requirements. The use of a scheme, or pattern, came about before poems were written down; when they were passed along in song or oral poetry. Since many of these poems were long, telling of great heroes, battles, and other important cultural events, the rhyme scheme helped with memorization. A rhyme scheme also helps give a verse movement, providing a break before changing thoughts. The four-line stanza, or quatrain, is usually written with the first line rhyming with the third line, and the second line rhyming with the fourth line, abab. The English sonnet generally has three quatrains and a couplet, such as abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The Italian sonnet has two quatrains and a sestet, or six-line stanza, such as abba, abba, cde, cde. Rhyme schemes were adapted to meet the artistic and expressive needs of the poet. Henry Howard Surrey is credited with introducing the sonnet form to England. This form differed from the Italian form because he found that there were fewer rhyming words in English than there were in Italian.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Excerpt from Shakespeare's "Sonnet XVIII", rhyme scheme: a b a b.
See Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, Dictionary of Literary Terms, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. Nancy Bullard, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

S

setting (set-ting): the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs. Settings include the background, atmosphere or environment in which characters live and move, and usually include physical characteristics of the surroundings. Settings enables the reader to better envision how a story unfolds by relating necessary physical details of a piece of literature. A setting may be simple or elaborate, used to create ambiance, lend credibility or realism, emphasize or accentuate, organize, or even distract the reader. Settings in the Bible are simplistic. In the book of Genesis, we read about the creation of the universe and the lives of the descendants of Adam. Great detail is taken in documenting the lineage, actions, and ages of the characters at milestones in their lives, yet remarkably little detail is given about physical characteristics of the landscape and surroundings in which events occurred. In Genesis 20, we learn that because of her beauty, Sarah’s identity is concealed to prevent the death of her husband, Abraham. Yet, we have no description of Sarah or Abraham’s hair, eye or skin color, height, weight, physical appearance, or surroundings. Detailed settings that were infrequent in some ancient writings like the Bible are common in today’s literature. In recent literature, settings are often described in elaborate detail, enabling the reader to vividly envision even imaginary characters and actions like the travels of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Settings have a way of drawing the reader into a piece of literature while facilitating understanding of the characters and their actions. Understanding the setting is useful because it enables us to see how an author captures the attention of the reader by painting a mental picture using words. See Literature, An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Kate Endriga, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
simile (sim-EH-lee): a simile is a type of figurative language, language that does not mean exactly what it says, that makes a comparison between two otherwise unalike objects or ideas by connecting them with the words "like" or "as." The reader can see a similar connection with the verbs resemble, compare and liken. Similes allow an author to emphasize a certain characteristic of an object by comparing that object to an unrelated object that is an example of that characteristic. An example of a simile can be seen in the poem “Robin Hood and Allin a Dale”:

With that came in a wealthy knight,
Which was both grave and old,
And after him a finikin lass,
Did shine like glistening gold.
In this poem, the lass did not literally glisten like gold, but by comparing the lass to the gold the author emphasizes her beauty, radiance and purity, all things associated with gold. Similarly, in N. Scott Momaday’s simple poem, “Simile.” he says that the two characters in the poem are like deer who walk in a single line with their heads high with their ears forward and their eyes watchful. By comparing the walkers to the nervous deer, Momaday emphasizes their care and caution. See A Handbook to Literature or Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Crystal Burnette, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
short story (short store-ey): a prose narrative that is brief in nature. The short story also has many of the same characteristics of a novel including characters, setting and plot. However, due to length constraints, these characteristics and devices generally may not be as fully developed or as complex as those developed for a full-length novel. There are many authors well known for the short story including Edgar Allan Poe, Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. According to the book Literary Terms by Karl Becksonand Arthur Ganz, “American writers since Poe, who first theorized on the structure and purpose of the short story, have paid considerable attention to the form” (257). The written “protocol” regarding what comprises a short versus a long story is vague. However, a general standard might be that the short story could be read in one sitting. NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms quotes Edgar Allan Poe’s description as being ‘a short prose narrative, requiring from a half-hour to one or two hours in its perusal’ (201). Please refer to Literary Terms by Karl Beckson and Arthur Ganz and NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms by Kathleen Morner and Ralph Rausch for further information. Susan Severson, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

slant rhyme (slänt rime) is also known as near rhyme, half rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme, oblique rhyme, or pararhyme. A distinctive system or pattern of metrical structure and verse composition in which two words have only their final consonant sounds and no preceding vowel or consonant sounds in common. Instead of perfect or identical sounds or rhyme, it is the repetition of near or similar sounds or the pairing of accented and unaccented sounds that if both were accented would be perfect rhymes (stopped and wept, parable and shell). Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are accepted as slant rhyme due to their usage of sound combinations (spilled and spoiled, chitter and chatter). By not allowing the reader to predict or expect what is coming slant rhyme allows the poet to express things in different or certain ways. Slant rhyme was most common in the Irish, Welsh and Icelandic verse and prose long before Henry Vaughn used it in English. Not until William Butler Yeats and Gerald Manley Hopkins began to use slant rhyme did it become regularly used in English.Wilfred Owen was one of the first poets to realize the impact of rhyming consonants in a consistent pattern. A World War I soldier he sought a powerful means to convey the harshness of war. Killed in action, his most famous work was written in the year prior to his death.

Now men will go content with what we spoiled
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled,
They will be swift with the swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery,
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
See Benet's Reader Encyclopedia, Handbook to Literature,Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Michael Prevatte, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
sonnet (sonn-IT): a sonnet is a distinctive poetic style that uses system or pattern of metrical structure and verse composition usually consisting of fourteen lines, arranged in a set rhyme scheme or pattern. There are two main styles of sonnet, the Italian sonnet and the English sonnet. The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, named after Petrarch (1304-1374) a fourteenth century writer and the best known poet to use this form, was developed by the Italian poet Guittone of Arezzo (1230-1294) in the thirteenth century. Usually written in iambic pentameter, it consists first of an octave, or eight lines, which asks a question or states a problem or proposition and follows the rhyme scheme a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a. The sestet, or last six lines, offers an answer, or a resolution to the proposed problem, and follows the rhyme scheme c-d-e-c-d-e.

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
John Milton, "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent"
The sonnet was first brought to England by Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in the sixteenth century, where the second sonnet form arose. The English or Shakespearean sonnet was named after William Shakespeare (1564-1616) who most believed to the best writer to use the form. Adapting the Italian form to the English, the octave and sestet were replaced by three quatrains, each having its own independent rhyme scheme typically rhyming every other line, and ending with a rhyme couplet. Instead of the Italianic break between the octave and the sestet, the break comes between the twelfth and thirteenth lines. The ending couplet is often the main thought change of the poem, and has an epigrammatic ending. It follows the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all to short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d:
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d.
By thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wandered in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shakespeare, Sonnet XVIII. See Benet’s Readers Encyclopedia, Handbook to Literature, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Michael Prevatte, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
symbol (sim-bol): a symbol is a word or object that stands for another word or object. The object or word can be seen with the eye or not visible. For example a dove stands for Peace. The dove can be seen and peace cannot. The word is from the Greek word symbolom. All language is symbolizing one thing or another. However when we read the book of Genesis it talked about a few symbols. In the story of Adam and Eve when Eve ate the apple, the apple stood for sin. Another reading Cain and Able. The two brothers stood for good and evil, humility and pride. Cain pulled Able to the fields and killed him. In this it is a hidden symbol. It is showing that Cain stands for the bad and Able stands for the good. See The Encyclopedia of Literature and A Handbook to Literature. Misty Tarlton, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke


T

theme (theem): a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work. A theme is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. Generally, a theme has to be extracted as the reader explores the passages of a work. The author utilizes the characters, plot, and other literary devices to assist the reader in this endeavor. One theme that may be extracted by the reader of Mark Musa’s interpretation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy Volume I: Inferno is the need to take account of one’s own behavior now, for it affects one's condition in the afterlife. One example of this theme can be found in Canto V - “...when the evil soul appears before him, it confesses all, and he [Minos], who is the expert judge of sins, knows to what place in Hell the soul belongs: the times he wraps his tail around himself tells just how far the sinner must go down” (7-12). In addition, Dante’s use of literary techniques, such as imagery, further accentuates the theme for the consequences of not living right, for he describes “the cries and shrieks of lamentation” (III:22), “…the banks were coated with a slimy mold that stuck to them like glue, disgusting to behold and worse to smell” (XVIII:106-108) and many other terrifying examples of Hell. In truly great works of literature, the author intertwines the theme throughout the work and the full impact is slowly realized as the reader processes the text. The ability to recognize a theme is important because it allows the reader to understand part of the author’s purpose in writing the book. See Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama, NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms, and Literary Terms: A Dictionary. Susan Severson, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

U

unreliable narrator (un-re-LIE-ah-bel nar-ra-AY-tor): one who gives his or her own understanding of a story, instead of the explanation and interpretation the author wishes the audience to obtain. This type of action tends to alter the audience’s opinion of the conclusion. An author quite famous for using unreliable narrators is Henry James. James is said to make himself an inconsistent and distorting “center of consciousness” in his work, because of his frequent usage of deluding or deranged narrators. They are very noticeable in his novella The Turn of the Screw, and also in his short story, “The Aspern Papers.” The Turn of the Screw is a story based solely on the consistency of the Governess’s description of the events that happen. Being aware of unreliable narrators are essential, especially when you have to describe the characters and their actions to others, since the narrator, unreliable as they are, abandons you without the important guidance to make trustworthy judgments. See The Turn of the Screw and A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Starlet Chavis, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke