Literary Elements Exam Review
Detailed List to Promote Critical Thinking During End of Year Exams
May 19, 2008
For teachers who would like to extend the list of literary elements they incorporate in their English final exam review, here is a more comprehensive list.
Keep Students Engaged
Though it is one of the most exciting times of the school year, teachers can maintain student interest by structuring a student-centered exam review. That is, students can take turns conducting specific segments of the review. They will be responsible for asking questions, calling on other students and helping students locate specific examples of literary elements in the text of the play. You can assign students a participation grade for this active involvement.
Time and Place
- setting: the time, place, and mood of a story. The setting of Julius Caesar is Ancient Rome, near the end of the Roman Republic
- foreshadowing: hinting at future events in a story. In Julius Caesar, several images hint at events which later occur in the story. These images are excellent examples of foreshadowing.
- What are the images?
- What later event do they foreshadow?
- theme: the author’s underlying, unwritten idea in a story; the central idea or purpose. One of the major themes in Julius Caesar is that you should never allow jealousy to dictate your actions or think before you act.
- flashback: recalling events from an earlier time and telling them in the present time. When does Caesar speak in flashback to Calpurnia?
Irony
- verbal irony: a writer or speaker says one thing but really means the opposite. Many rich examples of verbal irony exist in Julius Caesar. One is “Brutus says Caesar was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.” Who speaks this quote?
- situational irony: occurs when the situation turns out to be the opposite of what we expect. Why is Brutus stabbing Caesar an example of situational irony?
- dramatic irony: occurs when the reader or audience knows something important that the character in the story does not know. Identify an example of dramatic irony from the play that involves Cassius.
Characterization
- direct characterization: when the reader is directly told what the character is like by the author. How is Caesar directly characterized?
- indirect characterization: when the reader has to use his/ her own judgment to decide what the character is like based on the evidence provided by the author. In Julius Caesar how does indirect characterization inform the audience that Cassius’ motive for killing Caesar is jealousy?
- static character: a character who does not change despite the actions that occur around him. In Julius Caesar, who is the static character?
- dynamic character: a character who does change because of the events that occur around him/ her. In Julius Caesar, who is the primary dynamic character? Why?
Figurative Language
- imagery: any language that appeals to the senses. Identify several examples of imagery in “Julius Caesar” which reminds our physical senses of blood.
- simile: a form of comparison between two unlike objects using the words “like” or “as”. Identify a simile in Julius Caesar.
- metaphor: a form of comparison between two unlike objects without using “like” or “as”. Locate a metaphor used in the play.
- symbolism: using an object to represent something else. In Julius Caesar, of what is blood a symbol?
Students who locate specific examples of each literary element and discuss their significance in the play are actively developing essential critical thinking skills. Reviewing these elements are also a great segue into preparing students to write a character analysis essay.
