Literary Investigation

Worksheet Description

This worksheet invites students to delve into the world of anthimeria within literature, a rhetorical device that involves using one part of speech as another. The activity centers on identifying examples of this literary technique in classic texts, thereby enhancing students’ literary analysis skills and their appreciation for creative language use. By reading excerpts from Thomas Hardy’s “Under the Greenwood Tree,” Thomas Wolfe’s letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Jane Austen’s “Emma,” learners are tasked with spotting instances where nouns are turned into verbs, verbs into nouns, and so on, to express ideas in unconventional and inventive ways. This task underscores the fluidity of language and its capacity to convey depth and nuance through such transformations.

The aim is to encourage students to not only recognize anthimeria when reading but also to inspire them to employ similar techniques in their own writing. By exposing them to illustrious examples, the worksheet offers a scaffolded approach that builds their literary understanding from observation to application. It fosters critical thinking as students discern the impact of anthimeria on the reader’s experience and the texture it adds to the text. As a result, learners gain a more profound grasp of how authors play with language to craft memorable phrases and communicate complex emotions.