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Glossary: Glossary of terms
Allegory:Allegory is a device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. Allegory has been used widely throughout the history of art, and in all forms of artwork. A reason for this is that allegory has an immense power of illustrating complex ideas and concepts in a digestible, concrete way. In allegory a message is communicated by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric; a rhetorical allegory is a demonstrative form of representation conveying meaning other than the words that are spoken.  Allegory of arithmetic, by Laurent de La Hyre, ca 1650 As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. One of the best known examples is Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave." In this allegory, there are a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to the allegory, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. (source: Wikipedia) |
Jos? Lu?s Peixoto:Jos? Lu?s Peixoto (born 4 September 1974, in Galveias, Portalegre, Portugal), is a Portuguese writer who has written fiction, poetry, drama, lyrics and has participated in a wide number of projects involving writing.  (source: Wikipedia) |
Orhan Pamuk:Ferit Orhan Pamuk (generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk; born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over eleven million books in sixty languages, making him the country's best-selling writer.  Orhan Pamuk in 2008 Born in Istanbul, Pamuk is Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing. His novels include The White Castle, The Black Book, The New Life, My Name Is Red and Snow. As well as the Nobel Prize in Literature (the first Nobel Prize to be awarded to a Turkish citizen), Pamuk is the recipient of numerous other literary awards. My Name Is Red won the 2002 Prix du Meilleur Livre ?tranger, 2002 Premio Grinzane Cavour and 2003 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The European Writers' Parliament came about as a result of a joint proposal by Pamuk and Jos? Saramago. In 2005, Pamuk was put on trial in Turkey after he made a statement regarding the Armenian Genocide and mass killing of Kurds in the Ottoman Empire. His intention, according to Pamuk himself, had been to highlight issues relating to freedom of speech (or lack thereof) in the country of his birth. The ensuing controversy featured the burning of Pamuk's books at rallies. He has also been the target of assassination attempts. (source: Wikipedia) |
Snow:Snow (Turkish: Kar) is a novel by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. It was published in Turkish in 2002 and in English (translated by Maureen Freely) in 2004. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural tensions of modern Turkey and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism, and a deep sympathy with its characters.  Kar is the word for Snow, but the main character also abbreviates his name to Ka (his initials) with the novel set in the eastern Turkish city of Kars. An opening (and recurring) theme concerns reasons behind a suicide epidemic among teenage girls (which actually took place in the city of Batman). (source: Wikipedia) |
Metaphor:A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. Metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance including allegory, hyperbole, and simile. One of the most prominent examples of a metaphor in English literature is the All the world's a stage monologue from As You Like It:
This quote is a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage. By figuratively asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses the points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the lives of the people within it. |
Symbolism:Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a more abstract nature. Symbolism creates quality aspects that make literature like poetry and novels more meaningful. (source: Wikipedia) |
Kingdom of Sardinia:The Kingdom of Sardinia (Italian: Regno di Sardegna, Sardinian: Rennu de Sardigna, Piemontese: Regn ?d Sard?gna; also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont) consisted of the possessions of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards, following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague (1720). This compensated him for the loss of the crown of Sicily to Austria and allowed him to retain the title of king, as the title "King of Sardinia" had existed since the 14th century.  Besides Sardinia, the Savoyard state at that time included Savoy, Piedmont, and Nice; Liguria, including Genoa, was added by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. During most of the 18th and 19th centuries, the political and economic capital of the kingdom was Turin in Piedmont on the Italian mainland. In 1860, Nice and Savoy were ceded to France in return for French consent and assistance in Italian unification. In 1861, the Kingdom of Sardinia became the founding state of the new Kingdom of Italy, annexing all other Italian states. The Kingdom thus continued in legal continuity with the new Italian state, to which it transferred all its institutions. (source: Wikipedia) |
Redshirts:Redshirts (Italian Camicie rosse) or Red coats (Italian Giubbe Rosse) is the name given to the volunteers who followed Giuseppe Garibaldi in southern Italy during his Mille expedition to southern Italy, but sometimes extended to other campaigns of his. The name derived from the colour of their shirts (complete uniforms were beyond the finances of the Italian patriots). |
Spanish Civil War:The Spanish Civil War was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the established Spanish republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco. The Nationalists prevailed and Franco would rule Spain for the next 36 years.  Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death, Cerro Muriano, September 5, 1936, by Robert Capa. The war began after a pronunciamiento (declaration of opposition) by a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces under the leadership of Jos? Sanjurjo against the elected government of the Second Spanish Republic, at the time under the leadership of President Manuel Aza?a. The rebel coup was supported by a number of conservative groups including the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right, monarchists such as the religious conservative Carlists, and the Fascist Falange. The coup was supported by military units in Morocco, Pamplona, Burgos, Valladolid, C?diz, Cordova, and Seville. However, barracks in important cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and M?laga did not join in the rebellion. Spain was thus left militarily and politically divided. The rebels, led by General Franco, then embarked upon a war of attrition against the established government for the control of the country. The rebel forces received support from Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, and neighboring Portugal, while the Soviet Union and Mexico intervened in support of the "loyalist," or Republican, side. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, operated an official policy of non-intervention. Atrocities were committed by both sides in the war. Organised purges occurred in territory captured by Franco's forces to consolidate the future regime. A smaller but significant number of killings took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, normally associated with a breakdown in law and order. The extent to which killings in Republican territory were carried out with connivance of the Republican authorities varied. The Civil War became notable for the passion and political division it inspired. Tens of thousands of civilians on both sides were killed for their political or religious views, and after the War's conclusion in 1939, those associated with the losing Republicans were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists. The war ended with the victory of the Nationalists and the exile of thousands of left-leaning Spaniards, many of whom fled to refugee camps in Southern France. With the establishment of a Fascist dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco in the aftermath of the Civil War, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. (source: Wikipedia) |
Feminism:Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is "an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women". (source: Wikipedia) |