Literary
Terms and Definitions: C
This page is under perpetual
construction! It was last updated March 30, 2012.
This list is
meant to assist, not intimidate. Use it as a touchstone for
important concepts and vocabulary that we will cover during
the term. Vocabulary terms are listed alphabetically.
[A]
[B] [C]
[D] [E]
[F] [G]
[H] [I]
[J] [K]
[L] [M]
[N]
[O] [P]
[Q] [R]
[S] [T]
[U] [V]
[W] [X]
[Y] [Z]
CACOPHONY
(Greek, "bad sound"): The term in poetry refers
to the use of words that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious
sounds. It is the opposite of euphony.
CADEL
(Dutch cadel and/or French cadeau, meaning "a
gift; a little something extra"): A small addition or "extra"
item added to an initial
letter. Common cadels include pen-drawn faces or grotesques.
Examples include the faces appearing in the initial letters
of the Lansdowne 851 manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
CADENCE:
The melodic pattern just before the end of a sentence or phrase--for
instance an interrogation or an exhortation. More generally,
the natural rhythm of language depending on the position of
stressed and unstressed syllables. Cadence is a major component
of individual writers' styles. A cadence
group is a coherent group of words spoken as a single rhythmical
unit, such as a prepositional phrase, "of parting day"
or a noun phrase, "our inalienable rights."
CADENCE GROUP:
See discussion under cadence.
CAESURA
(plural: caesurae): A pause separating phrases
within lines of poetry--an important part of poetic rhythm.
The term caesura comes from the Latin "a cutting"
or "a slicing." Some editors will indicate a caesura
by inserting a slash (/) in the middle of a poetic line. Others
insert extra space in this location. Others do not indicate
the caesura typographically at all.
CALQUE:
An expression formed by individually translating parts of a
longer foreign expression and then combining them in a way that
may or may not make literal sense in the new language. Algeo
provides the example of the English phrase trial balloon,
which is a calque for the French ballon d'essai (Algeo
323).
CALLIGRAPHIC
WORK: In medieval manuscripts, this is (as Kathleen Scott
states), "Decorative
work, usually developing from or used to make up an important
or introductory initial, or developing from ascenders at the
top of the page and descenders at the bottom of the justified
text; a series of strokes made by holding a quill constant at
one angle to produce broader and narrower lines, which in combination
appear to overlap one another to form strap-work"
(Scott 370).
CANCEL:
A bibliographical term referring to a leaf which is substituted
for one removed by the printers because of an error. For instance,
the first quarto of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida
has a title page existing in both cancelled and uncancelled
states, leaving modern readers in some doubt as to whether the
play should be considered a comedy, history, or tragedy.
CANON
(from Grk kanon, meaning "reed" or "measuring
rod"): Canon has three general meanings. (1)
An approved or traditional collection of works. Originally,
the term "canon" applied to the list of books to be included
as authentic biblical doctrine in the Hebrew and Christian Bible,
as opposed to apocryphal works (works of dubious,
mysterious or uncertain origin). Click here for more
information. (2) Today, literature students
typically use the word canon to refer to those works
in anthologies that have come to be considered standard or traditionally
included in the classroom and published textbooks. In this sense,
"the canon" denotes the entire body of literature
traditionally thought to be suitable for admiration and study.
(3) In addition, the word canon refers
to the writings of an author that scholars generally accepted as
genuine products of siad author, such as the "Chaucer canon" or the "Shakespeare canon."
Chaucer's canon includes The Canterbury Tales, for instance,
but it does not include the apocryphal work, "The Plowman's
Tale," which has been mistakenly attributed to him in the past.
Likewise, the Shakespearean canon has only two apocryphal plays
(Pericles and the Two Noble Kinsmen) that
have gained wide acceptance as authentic Shakespearean works
beyond the thirty-six plays contained in the First Folio. NB:
Do not confuse the spelling of cannon (the big gun) with
canon (the official collection of literary works).
The issue of canonical literature
is a thorny one. Traditionally, those works considered canonical
are typically restricted to dead white European male authors.
Many modern critics and teachers argue that women, minorities,
and non-Western writers are left out of the literary canon unfairly.
Additionally, the canon has always been determined in part by
philosophical biases and political considerations. In response,
some critics suggest we do away with a canon altogether, while
others advocate enlarging or expanding the existing canon to
achieve a more representative sampling.
CANTICLE:
A hymn or religious song using words from any part of the Bible
except the Psalms.
CANTO:
A sub-division of an epic or narrative poem comparable to
a chapter in a novel. Examples include the divisions in Dante's
Divine Comedy, Lord Byron's Childe Harold, or
Spenser's Faerie Queene. Cf. fit.
CANZONE:
In general, the term has three meanings. (1) It refers generally
to the words of a Provençal or Italian song. (2) More
specifically, an Italian or Provençal song relating to
love or the praise of beauty is a canzone. (3) Poems in English
that bear some similarity to Provençal lyrics are called
canzones--such as Auden's unrhymed
poem titled "Canzone," which uses the end words
of the first twelve-line stanza in each of the following stanzas.
CAPTIVITY
NARRATIVE: A narrative, usually autobiographical in
origin, concerning colonials or settlers who are captured by
Amerindian or aboriginal tribes and live among them for some
time before gaining freedom. An example would be Mary Rowlandson's
A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson, which details her Indian captivity among the
Wampanoag tribe in the late seventeenth century. Contrast with
escape
literature and slave
narrative.
CARDINAL
VIRTUES (also called the Four Pagan Virtues):
In contrast to the three spiritual or Christian virtues of fides
(faith), spes (hope), and caritas
(love) espoused in the New Testament, the four cardinal virtues
consisted of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice. Theologians
like Saint Augustine argued Christians alone monopolized faith
in a true God, hope of a real afterlife, and the ability to
love human beings not for their own sake, but as a manifestation
of God's creation. However, these early theologians argued that
pagans could still be virtuous in the cardinal virtues. In Latin
terminology, pagan Rome espoused the four cardinal virtues as
follows:
-
prudentia
(or sapientia): prudence, wisdom,
foresight, planning ahead for emergencies, seeing the good
of the whole community
-
fortitudo:
fortitude, toughness, bravery, enduring pain in stoic silence,
willingness to sacrifice or suffer for the good of the whole
community
-
moderatio:
moderation, avoiding extremes of appetite and enthusiasm,
seeking balance
-
iustitia:
justice, the preservation of the good and the punishment
of the wicked.
The Latin four-fold classification--later
adopted by Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas--originates
in much older Greek philosophy. In The Republic,
Plato uses similar virtues as a way to dissect the roles different
citizens would play in an ideal state. Cf. pietas.
CARPE
DIEM:
Literally, the phrase is Latin for "seize the day," from carpere
(to pluck, harvest, or grab) and the accusative form of die
(day). The term refers to a common moral or theme
in classical literature that the reader should make the most
out of life and should enjoy it before it ends. Poetry or
literature
that illustrates this moral is often called poetry or literature
of the "carpe diem" tradition. Examples include Marvell's
"To His Coy Mistress," and Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make
Much of Time." Cf. Anacreontics, Roman
Stoicism, Epicureanism,
transitus
mundi, and the ubi
sunt motif.
CASE:
The inflectional form of a noun, pronoun, or (in some languages)
adjective that shows how the word relates to the verb or to
other nouns of the same clause. For instance, them
is the objective case of they,
and their is the possessive
case of they. Common cases
include the nominative, the accusative, the genitive, the dative,
the ablative, the vocative, and the instrumental forms. Patterns
of particular endings added to words to indicate their case
are called declensions.
Click here for expanded information.
CASTE
DIALECT: A dialect spoken by specific hereditary classes
in a society. Often the use of caste dialect marks the speaker
as part of that particular class.
CATACHRESIS
(Grk. "misuse"): A completely impossible figure
of speech or an implied metaphor that results from combining
other extreme figures of speech such as anthimeria,
hyperbole,
synaesthesia,
and metonymy
Copyright Dr. L.
Kip Wheeler 1998-2012. Permission is granted for non-profit,
educational, and student reproduction. Last updated March 30, 2012. Contact: kwheeler@cn.edu Please
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