Unit 7: Overview
Literature is the art of language. It works differently from the visual arts because its medium is words, which carry both sound and meaning simultaneously. A painting presents everything at once; a poem or story unfolds in time, word by word, asking you to hold earlier passages in memory as new ones arrive.
Unit 7 covers the major structures of literature: narrative (episodic, organic, and quest), the lyric, and the literary details that make language vivid (image, metaphor, symbol, diction). It also introduces the concept of the objective correlative, a term for objects or situations that embody a specific emotion without naming it directly.
You have been reading literature your entire life, but this unit asks you to read it with the same precision you have been applying to visual art. The question is the same: how does the form of this work transform its subject matter into content?
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Distinguish between episodic, organic, and quest narratives
- Define the lyric and explain the concept of the objective correlative
- Identify literary details: image, metaphor, simile, symbol, and diction
- Explain the difference between denotation and connotation
- Apply descriptive and interpretive criticism to a literary work
What you'll do in this unit
- Explore the Gallery at the top of the lesson, taking your time with each work
- Work through the lesson and open each numbered section
- Try the Experience It activity at the end of the lesson
- Work through the Critic's Practice exercise
- Write your reflection, then take the quiz