Neha's Notebook

 What is “In Media Res”? "In Media Res" (Latin for "in the midst of things") is a powerful storytelling technique where the narrative plunges the audience directly into a critical, exciting, or significant moment of the story, skipping over the initial exposition and setup. Instead of beginning with a traditional "once upon a time," the reader/viewer is immediately immersed in the action or a pivotal scene. It jolts the reader directly into the “heart of the action.” The preceding events, character backstories, and the "how we got here" are then revealed gradually through flashbacks, dialogue, or indirect exposition as the story progresses. This method is designed to grab attention immediately, create suspense, and cultivate a sense of mystery, compelling the audience to understand what led to the current situation.   Let’s take the example of this story opening paragraph to understand the concept of “In Media Res”   The Case of the Mis...

Nalini was journeying through a forest alongside a cook, a servant, an elf, and a minister from her mother’s palace. Her goal was to find the magical blue gemstone that lay hidden in some corner of the forest. With the help of various compasses and maps, they finally discovered the blue gemstone. The gemstone lay amidst a dense clump of tall grasses. As she bent down to pick up the gem, someone pointed a pistol on her back and demanded that the gem be given to him. When she turned around to take a look, it was the minister. Her mother had entrusted the minister thinking that he would help Nalini find the gemstone. But he turned out to be a betrayer and a “snake in the grass.” The idiom “Snake in the grass” refers to “A treacherous person. A person who cannot be trusted. A secretly faithless friend.” Read more stories related to  Vocabulary !

Let’s take the example of a fictional novel called “Simi’s Memory Journal.” Here are some excerpts from “Simi’s memory journal” a diary in which this character records her memories, feelings, details of everyday experiences, dreams, fantasies, obsessions, ideas, notes, observations, and just about everything.   October 17 th – A recurring dream "The old house again. That creaking floorboard in the attic. Always the same grey light filtering through the dusty window. The hum of the old radio, even though I know it's been broken for years. The same old crow and its same old caw-caw." November 5 th – An observation “A woman in the bus caught my attention today. Her amethyst-colored scarf reminded me of my mother. For a split second, I almost reached out to her to ask who gave her this scarf.” December 12 th – A cryptic note about the memory of a past event “He said the words, but I heard something else entirely. The way the fierce winds whipped and the way ...

Macaronic verse refers to a poetic piece or poetry that combines or mixes words or phrases from different languages, often in a humorous or burlesque way. An example of macaronic verse includes Lord Byron’s poem "Maid of Athens, ere we part." Each stanza of this poem ends with the same Greek line, which translates to "My life, I love you!"   Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give, oh, give me back my heart! Or, since that has left my breast, Keep it now, and take the rest! Hear my vow before I go, Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ [My life, I love you!]   Macaronic comes from the Italian word “macaroni” or “dumplings,” which refers to “the coarse, unrefined nature of a mixture of languages.” Read more stories related to  Vocabulary !

On one midnight, Pongo, the dinosaur, ran away from his home in the jungle. Wandering about in zigzagging trails of dense trees, he got lost. As young as he was, he couldn’t remember his way to home. Lonely and frightened, he kept walking and soon found himself roaming in the city. While he was plodding on a streetside, he bumped into a boy named Brandy who was playing with other kids in a park. They were jumping in a pool, laughing loudly, and having fun. Seeing them enjoy, Pongo approached them. By the time he arrived at the pool, the boys were already walking away towards a lemonade stand. Eager to join their friendly company, Pongo followed them to the lemonade stand. By the time he reached the stand, the boys had already bought their glasses of lemonade and were now walking towards a peanut seller. Sweaty-bodied, Pongo kept following them. Meanwhile, one of the boys in the group realized that this giant green dragon was following them. He whispered this to Brandy and other boys. T...

1.     Polyptoton is a figure of speech that involves the repetition of words of the same root used in the same sentence with a variety of differing contexts, inflection and voice; Derived from the Greek word polúptōtos, meaning “having many cases”. This device is often used to embellish the poetry and poetic sentences with musicality and tone. Ex: "I dreamed a dream in times gone by.", "The bread rolls rolled down the counter.", "They waited impatiently in the waiting room." Read more stories related to  Vocabulary !