● Glossary

mimesis

Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the presentation of the self.

In ancient Greece, mimesis was an idea that governed the creation of works of art, in particular, with correspondence to the physical world understood as a model for beauty, truth, and the good. Plato contrasted mimesis, or imitation, with diegesis, or narrative. After Plato, the meaning of mimesis eventually shifted toward a specifically literary function in ancient Greek society, and its use has changed and been reinterpreted many times since then.

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plot

the arrangement of the action. The five main parts or phases of plot are exposition, rising action, climax or turning point, falling action, and conclusion or resolution. See also subplot, overplot.

Plot is a narrative (and, traditionally, literary) term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly: as they relate to one another in a pattern or in a sequence; as they relate to each other through cause and effect; how the reader views the story; or simply by coincidence. Authors are generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect. An intricate, complicated plot is called an imbroglio, but even the simplest statements of plot may include multiple inferences, as in traditional ballads.

A plot is composed of causal events, which are a series of sentences linked by "and so." A plot highlights the important points and the line of a story. Ansen Dibell writes: "Plot is built of significant events in a given story – significant because they have important consequences." Consequently, it also has the same meaning as storyline.

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● Spring Break

Spring break is a vacational period in early spring at universities and schools in various countries in the world. It is also known by names such as Easter vacation, Easter Holiday, March break, spring vacation, Mid-Term Break, study week, reading week, reading period, or Easter week, depending on regional conventions.

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Easter

Easter, also called Pasch or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

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Equinox 晝夜平分點

An equinox occurs twice a year, around 20 March and 22 September. The word itself has several related definitions. The oldest meaning is the day when daytime and night are of approximately equal duration.

UT date and time of equinoxes and solstices on Earth[1]
event	equinox		solstice		equinox		solstice
month	March		June		September		December
year
	day	time	day	time	day	time	day	time
2010	20	17:32	21	11:28	23	03:09	21	23:38
2011	20	23:21	21	17:16	23	09:04	22	05:30
2012	20	05:14	20	23:09	22	14:49	21	11:12
2013	20	11:02	21	05:04	22	20:44	21	17:11
2014	20	16:57	21	10:51	23	02:29	21	23:03
2015	20	22:45	21	16:38	23	08:20	22	04:48
2016	20	04:30	20	22:34	22	14:21	21	10:44
2017	20	10:28	21	04:24	22	20:02	21	16:28
2018	20	16:15	21	10:07	23	01:54	21	22:23
2019	20	21:58	21	15:54	23	07:50	22	04:19
2020	20	03:50	20	21:44	22	13:31	21	10:02

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● Important Quotation

"IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice)

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'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all  

    Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.' (Line 49, Ode on a Grecian Urn)

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● Vocabulary

equ: equal

e.g., equinox, equation, equilibrium

p.s. assets(資產) - liabilities(債務) = equity

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high/low profile 低/高調

high profile: attracting a lot of attention and interest from the public and newspapers, television

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retrospect noun ret·ro·spect \ˈre-trə-ˌspekt\

For example: In retrospect, we should have saved more money for college.

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exquisite adjective ex·qui·site \ek-ˈskwi-zət, ˈek-(ˌ)\

For example: Her singing voice is truly exquisite.

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exemplary adjective ex·em·pla·ry \ig-ˈzem-plə-rē\

For example: As a hospital volunteer you have given exemplary service to your community.

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asperity noun as·per·i·ty \a-ˈsper-ə-tē, ə-, -ˈspe-rə-\

For example: She responded with such asperity that we knew she was deeply offended by the question.

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● eBook

wikisource en.wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page

Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org/

Bartleby bartleby.com/

p.s. "Bartleby, the Scrivener(抄寫員): A Story of Wall Street" : a story of wall street.

Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men? Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitting to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters, and assorting them for the flames? Sometimes from out the folder paper the pale clerk takes a ring—the finger it was meant for, perhaps, moulders in the grave; a bank- note sent in swiftest charity—he whom it would relieve, nor eats nor hungers any more…on errands of life, these letters speed to death. Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!

These are the last lines of "Bartleby the Scrivener." The narrator (the Lawyer) has heard a rumor that Bartleby once worked in the Dead Letter section of a post office. For the Lawyer, these dead letters become a way of explaining Bartleby's nature. The Lawyer believes that the endless pile-up of sad, forgotten letters, often intended for people now dead, must have caused Bartleby to slowly withdraw from human society, perhaps even from his own existence. But it shouldn't be assumed that these dead letters simply drove Bartleby insane. Bartleby may very well have continued working if he had not lost his job due to a change in administration. It is possible that Bartleby became his job, and when he couldn't do it any more he lost his sense of purpose. Whatever the reason, the Dead Letter office is only one small clue to the Bartleby's strange behavior.

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● Didacticism

Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός (didaktikos), "related to education and teaching", and signified learning in a fascinating and intriguing manner.

-- didactic: designed or intended to teach people something [used to describe someone or something that tries to teach something (such as proper or moral behavior) in a way that is annoying or unwanted]

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● Five Parts of Plot