Sunday, October 28, 2007

A place holder, but not a place holder

This marks the end of the terms currently in play for the final online posting assignment. You are not responsible for adding to any of the entries earlier than this post, unless you would like to add a Romantic comment on the definition.

You are still responsible for reviewing and understanding ALL terms and their overall significance to the class, since the final exam is cumulative.

P.J.

Uniformitarism

A philosophy used and held by John Dryden. Particularly seen in "Absalom and Achitophel". The philosophy holds that everyone (all humans) , everywhere in any time period are the same.

Example: London 1680 -1682 (Exclusion Crisis)
Is compared to Jeruselem 1000 BCE. In "Absalom and Achitophel"

Tamara Williams

Novel

The novel was "invented" in 1740 when Samuel Richardson's Pamela was published. This was the first work to depict a protagonist that faces realistic social concerns and deals with the plight of contemporary people. Novels, unlike romances, must follow the laws of physical and human nature. Austen's Northanger Abbey is an example of a novel.

According to the Norton the novel is a very flexible genre in form and subject matter, giving high priority to narration of events.

Julie Menezes

Alexandrine

Alexandrine: in French verse a line of twelve syllables, and, by analogy, in English verse a line of six stresses. Drama poets often used alexandrines before Marlowe and Shakespeare popularized iambic pentameter.( =hexameter, usually iambic)

Hexameter: the hexameter line (6-stress line) is the meter of classical Latin epic; while not imitated in that form for epic verse in English, some instances of the hexameter exist.

Examples: From Pope's "Essay on Criticism":
(line 3) "But of the two less dangerous is the offense"
(line 357) "That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along."

-Grace Lin,1B

amoral

Amoral - adjective.
Not involving questions of right or wrong; without moral quality; neither moral nor immoral.
Having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong: a completely amoral person. Denying the existence of morality.
We see amoral behavior throughout "The Country Wife." Mrs Pinchwife and the Fidget ladies all act in an amoral way. All of these characters intend, or are unfaithful to their husbands, and seem to lack any remorse while doing so. Their behavior suggests a complete lack of moral restraint.
[William Hamilton]

burlesque

A burlesque is a work that takes a relatively high subject and treats it in a relatively low fashion.

Example: Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe

Even though Mac Flecknoe is primarily a mock heroic, it has elements of burlesque within it, such as in Line 139. “Heavens bless my son, from Ireland let him reign/To far Badbadoes on the western main…” They are taking the relatively high subject of reign and royalty, but treating it in a relatively low fashion by essentially saying that the empire Shadwell reigns over is vast but empty. The proclamation, which should be taken seriously, is only used to draw attention to Shadwell’s failings in a humorous way.

Another example of burlesque is in Swift’s A Modest Proposal, where he takes the serious issue of overpopulation and puts it in a satire.

Emily Chen

cuckold

Noun: a derisive name for the husband of an unfaithful wife
Verb: To make a cuckold of; to dishonor a husband by adultery

We see cuckolds throughout William Wycherly’s “The Country Wife.” Throughout the play, Horner cuckold’s some of the main characters (Mr. Fidget, Mr. Pinchwife) by sleeping with their wives. What makes the play so ironic is the fact that Horner has convinced the husbands in the play that he is a eunuch, and so they all trust him with their wives, so he is able to make cuckold’s of them right under their noses! At the beginning of the play, Horner makes the comment that a “jealous man” makes “the greatest cuckold” (I.1.257-258)—which sets the stage for his actions for the rest of the play!

[Kyrsten Caires]

deism

deism: A religious view that holds God to be an amoral creator. In other words, He does not involve Himself directly in the affairs of mankind even if he is the creator of the universe and all the laws that govern it. A common and helpful comparison is that of God as the divine watchmaker. He carefully sets the gears of the world in place and leaves his invention alone to run on its own. Deism was popular among some of the 17th and 18th century intellectuals.

example: Pope's "Universal Prayer"

The God Pope addresses his prayer to is all-powerful and beyond human comprehension. He is the "Great First Cause," but also "least understood" (ll. 5). Pope confesses himself to be "blind" (ll. 8) to His true designs and does not "presume thy bolts to throw" (ll. 27). But God is nonetheless a rational creator. There is a reason he does the things he does. He has simply chosen not to explain himself and has "Left free the human Will" (ll. 12).

Pope expresses a certain optimistic faith here in the natural order of the world that can be likened to Dryden's faith in the Great Chain of Being.


Elaine Chang

epic (literary conventions)

Norton:

Epic (synonym, herioc poetry): an extended narrative poem celebrating marital heroes, invoking divine inspiration, beginning in media res, written in a high style, and divided into long narrative sequences.

The burlesque form of the epic is known as the mock epic. Pope's The Rape of the Lock is a mock epic recalling the style, diction, and imagery of Homer's Odyssey and Milton's Paradise Lost (nymphs, hell, goddesses).

Andrea Yamsuan

essay

Rebecca Neighbors

The term essay was used more generally in the early 18th century than it is now. An essay is a piece of prose that comments on a particular subject. One example of an essay is Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man. This essay is organized differently than most essays today. For instance, the work is divided into four verse epistles, followed by the thesis of the essay at the end. The general form of the essay enables Pope to test philosophical ideas.

fable

Using a paraphrased OED definition, a fable is a short story devised to convey some moral or lesson, usually using animals. Aesop used this form in the famous Aesop's Fables to make a comment on human nature.

In Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift uses the fable's elements to show us that human nature is neither purely reason-based nor instinct-based. He presents the Houyhnhnms as an example of creatures driven wholly by reason and, in contrast, the Yahoos as creatures driven wholly by instinct. Swift points out the ridiculousness of Gulliver's thinking: Gulliver believes that the Houyhnhnms are perfect in their emotionless logic, but in striving for rationality, Gulliver degrades himself into a prime example of irrationality. The Houyhnhnms, in line with Aesop's tradition, are actually talking horses -- and Gulliver tries to imitate them by mimicking their speech patterns, etc. which are all undeniably horse-like; he has lost all sense of what constitutes logic.

Further, Swift's purpose is to attack an over-reliance on reason, by portraying the consequences. The Houyhnhnms lack passion whatsoever. For marriage prospects, they check teeth, giving no consideration to love but only to good physical breeding, and they commit genocide for the greater good.

- Deborah Kim, 1B

Great Chain of Being

The Great Chain of Being was the common philosophy of the universe during the Age of Reason (1660 – 1798). The belief, which most acknowledged as truth, is that the universe is organized into a hierarchy. This hierarchy is an unbreakable chain where there is a place for everything, and where everything has its place. The hierarchy is strict and mobility within it is rarely possible, for everything has its proper place in the universe, just as God intended.
The loose hierarchy is as follows:
God
Angels
Man
Animal
Vegetation
Earth (Inanimate)

Each level of the hierarchy has sub-hierarchical systems within it. For example, types of rocks are higher than others within the Earth state, such as gold or silver being of a more agreeable nature than other sediments. Likewise, within the level of man, kings are higher in rank than slaves. The levels are categorized in order of highest perfection and are built on top of each other. Vegetation lies above earth because it contains life. Animals are above vegetation because they contain life AND movement. Man lies above animals because they possess life, movement, AND reason, as well as a soul. Angels lie above man because of their immortality, and God presides at the top of the Chain as perfection.
The author perhaps most concerned with The Great Chain of Being was John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester (who we’ll further call simply Rochester). His “Satire against Reason and Mankind” attacks and criticizes reason and human nature. Rochester does this by inverting a portion of the Great Chain of Being. Rochester says:
Were I (who to my cost already am
One of those strange prodigious creatures, man)
A spirit free to choose, for my own share,
What case of flesh and blood I pleased to wear,
I’d be a dog, a monkey, or a bear;
Or anything but that vain animal
Who is so proud of being rational.
Rochester attempts to invert the chain between animals and man, saying that reason is the downfall of man and causes us to ignore our instincts. Instinct, which Rochester calls “natural reason” is what we should base our lives on, and since all humans are knaves, we shouldn’t bother acting hypocritical, but give into our impulses. Animals don’t have a pride that inflates their consciousness, but act out of survival and instincts, and simple desire, while humans “merely for safety after fame we thirst…men must be knaves, ‘tis in their own defense.” Thus, reason, that which supposedly places man above animal, is debunked according to Rochester, and animals assume the superior species.

-Brad Munns

heroic couplet

a stanza consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter, often forming a distinct rhetorical as well as metrical unit.

example:

Say first, of God above, or man below
What can we reason, but from what we know?


The heroic couplet was utilized by the likes of John Dryden, Alexander Poe, and occasionally Johnathon Swift. As the Norton puts it, Dryden fashioned the heroic couplet as an instrument suitable for every sort of discourse. Likewise Poe utilized the heroic couplet for its union of maximum conciseness with maximum complexity. By fashioning much of their verse in these stanzas, these authors were able to convey their statements in a manner that was concise, and neat, seemingly simple, yet allowed deeper meanings of the text to be concealed.

[Rhiza D]

heroic triplet

see response in comments

hyperbole

Figure of speech in which extreme and deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis and effect.

For example:

On Page 43 in Austen's Northanger Abbey, Mr. Thorpe states: "Upon my soul, you might shake it to pieces yourself with a touch. It is the most devilish little ricketty business I ever beheld!"

Thorpe overemphasizes the fact that the carriage behind them would fall at a slight touch. He gives an impression of the carriage as a withering object...and at the same time, devaluing the carriage behind him uplifts his stature as a man who rides his well-built carriage. He is thoroughly trying to impress--or perhaps vainly trying to persuade--Charlotte in believing that he is a man of importance, wealth, stability, and power.


Cristina Khou

iamb

A beat consisting of two syllables; an unstressed followed by a stressed.

Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel was written in iambic pentameter; each line consists of 5 iambs. Iambic pentameter with each line ending in rhyme is a common characteristic of the heroic couplet.

Here is the first line of Absalom and Achitophel. The correct way to read it would be with a pattern of stresses that alternates each syllable, and goes low high low high, IE: _/_/_/_/_/.

In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin

-Kelly Mower

knave

A knave is a trickster, someone who is amoral and subject to crafty practices.

Works that have knaves:

“A Satire Against Reason & Mankind” by John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochestor. Line 160, “men must be knaves, tis in their own defense,” it is human nature to resort to trickery to achieve one’s goals. Because everything is driven by “base fear,” men are inherently cowards and knaves.

“The Country Wife” by William Wycherley. Horner is a classic knave because he is solely focused with sleeping as many women as possible, he is amoral and doesn’t care about social conventions. He also manages to deceive Sir Jasper and Pinchwife, and successfully cuckold without them knowing it, thus showing his cleverness.

-Diep Tran, Section 10B

libertinism

Barbara Vanderheyden

The OED defines a libertine is a person who is freely indulgent in sensual pleasures. The ideology of libertinism entered the English scene when Charles II, a Libertine, took the English throne. Libertinism was an imported from France. Charles II was humorized in Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel” with the lines stating David (Charles II), “scattered his Maker’s image through the land” (Dryden 2089). Libertinism is an embrace of the sensual and getting the most out of one's only life .One of the trademarks of libertinism was to try and have as much sex and as many offspring as possible. Thus, Charles II being a true libertine was famous for his various bastard children. In our reading a great libertine author is the Earl of Rochester, who distinguished himself as “the man of the most wit and least honor in England” (Norton 2167). He believed that one should be as bad as he could to truely get the most out of life. Libertinism and Reason do not go hand in hand as seen in Rochester's "A Satire agaist Reason and Mankind", Rochester states, "Were I (who to my cost alreadly am one of thoes strange and prodigious creatures, man) a sprit free to choose, for my own share what case of flesh and blood I pleased to wear, I'd be a dog, a monkey, or a bear; or anything but that vain animal who is so proud of being rational" (Norton 2173). With the libertine's praise for the indulgence of pleasure, reason seems to get in the way and makes man seem "proud" and feel he is above other animals. A great libertine character is Horner from “The Country Wife,” who is the ideal rake and also attempts to spread his image throughout the play. Libertinism also conflicts with Natural Religion, which seeks to endorse the existance of God with reason, because Libertinism does not believe in the complete greatness of reason alone.

mock heroic

hera yoon

Definition: Takes a relatively low subject and treats it in a relatively high fashion.

Literary examples (as seen in class):
1. Mac Flecknoe as Augustus in line 3 of Mac Flecknoe
2. "A Modest Proposal" telling readers to do good for Ireland through cannibalism
3. Pope's "Rape of the Lock"

"Contemporary" examples:
The Onion
Daily Show/Colbert Report
SNL Weekend Update

natural religion

Natural religion is the use of rationality and experience, as opposed to scripture and the supernatural, to endorse the existence of God. The utilization of such reason to explain the ways of God was prevalent in the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation. As opposed to Roman Catholics, who primarily relied on tradition to affirm the existence of God, Protestants, and moreover radical Protestants, looked to primarily to natural religion and the Bible. Deists more ardently employed the notion of natural religion in the 18th century, asserting that the existence of God can be wholly corroborated by reason and physical observation.
Alexander Pope, in Essay on Man, seconds the use observation of general nature and to confirm God’s existence and explain God’s ways.
Ex. lines 17-22: “Say first, of God above, or man below, what can we reason, but from what we know…through worlds unnumbered though the god be known, ‘tis ours to trace him only in our own…”

[Lisa Wahl]

pox (multiple definitions)

Pox: in the most common sense, a shortened name for the small pox disease. Also used to describe the effects of syphilis, or the "French Pox," and the marks it left on its victims. The curse "a pox upon thee" can be used with both meanings.

[Danielle Lucio]

prelapsarian

Prelapsarian: occuring before the fall; characteristic of innocence, sinlessness

The narrator evokes images of a prelapsarian Paradise in Oronooko to describe the world of the indians. Of their clothing she writes: "apron they wear just before 'em , as Adam and Even did the fig leaves." Of their purity she writes: "though they are all thus naked...there is not to be seen an indecent action or glance." In their simplicity the narrator observes, "so like our first parents before the Fall, it seems as if they had no wishes...these people represented to me an absolute idea of the first state of innocence, before man knew how to sin."


Behn exaggerates the glorification of the naked, ignorant, and simple to victimize the decandent, rational, and--most emphatically--the religious. She writes, "Religion would here but destroy that tranquillity they possess by ignorance, and laws would but teach 'em to know offence of which now they have no notion." In other words, Christianity doesn't bring morality--it merely declares the existence of sin. Like Rochester, she inverts the Great Chain of being by putting slaves or non-whites at the top of the hierarchy to criticize the value vain man puts on reason.

rakehell

Rakehell- according to folk etymology refers to someone who strokes the fires of Hell (with a rake of course!) in order to make them hotter.

During the restoration period (1660-1688) the term was often shortened to just Rake. A Rake is a man who wastes his (usually inherited) fortune on wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process. They were used regularly as stock characters in novels and plays, characterized as sexually promiscuous spend-alls.

The clearest example of a Rake appears in William Wycherley’s The Country Wife as the protagonist Horner.

During the reign of Charles II the carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocratic courtiers; the Earl of Rochester and the Earl of Dorset were admired as real life examples. Following Charles II’s reign however, the term took a dive into squalor becoming the butt of moralistic tales in which a Rake’s typical fate was debtor's prison, venereal disease, or, in the case of William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, insanity in Bedlam.



[Jose Miranda]

Restoration comedy (conventions & formulae)

"Restoration comedy" is the term applied to a play written during 1660-1700, the period in which the monarchy was restored to England. In the years prior to the Restoration, heavy Puritan influence caused all of the theaters in the country to be shut down. When they reopened in 1660, playwrights celebrated their new creative freedom with a surge of bawdy, sexually-charged comedies. The main characters in these plays were typically rakehells, playing whatever games necessary to get as many women as they can.

William Wycherley’s The Country Wife is one of the most famous examples of a Restoration comedy. The story follows the rakish Mr. Horner as he tricks his way into sexually conquering all of the women in town. Horner’s unabashed libertine qualities and his successful trickery of the husbands in the play make him the quintessential Restoration comedy character. Another fixture of Restoration comedies was the division of the story into a main plot and a subplot. In this case, the tale of Horner and his lasciviousness games are contrasted by his friend Mr. Harcourt's pursual of Alithea. Though Harcourt uses knave-like tricks to break Alithea out of her engagement, he is more interested in love than sexual achievement.


-Kevin Sanders

rhetoric

A rhetoric aims at changing the attitudes and/or actions of the audience. During the Commonwealth period (1642-1660), the social stratus was torn apart. King Charles II reigned in England from 1661 until his death in 1685. As John Dryden was poet laureate for Charles the II, he took the risk of attempting to convince Charles to alter his behaviors. Dryden composes “Absalom and Achitophel” as a rhetoric poem to try to sway Charles into being a good king by taking care of his country before being a good father. He takes the perspective of a Tory and wishes a strong monarch/executive branch to excel. Though this poem succeeded in changing Charles’ views, it did not achieve its desired political goals.

[Wendy Tu]

romance (genre)

A story that is unrealisitic, in that it

-Violates the laws of physical/human nature

-Takes place in a far off time and/or place

(Contrasted with the more realistic novel)

Ex of a Romance: Oroonoko


----------------------Rashell Khan, 10/26/2007; 1 pm

satire

An attack by means of fiction on a recognizable victim who exists outside the literary work
• A real person who is attacked in a fictional account through a person that is meant to represent them

Examples:
o Thomas Shadwell is the victim in John Dryden’s “Mac Flecknoe” and is represented by Mac Flecknoe
o Arabella Fermar is the victim in Alexander Pope’s “Rape of the Lock” and is represented by Belinda


Jill Sager

savoir-faire

Suzy Spaulding

Savior-faire is a French term that literally translates to “know how to do”. In literature this phrase can be found applicable towards character attributes and actions. Someone who is savior-faire is someone that always knows what to say and what to do. Jane Austin writes a lot of savior-faire characters in her novels. For example, Catherine in Northanger Abbey would be a near antonym for savior-fair. She would not be a true antonym because though she is naïve and a little less cultured she is not completely socially inept. In a way Catherine reminds me of Lindsey Lohan’s character from the movie "Mean Girls". When Catherine first travels to Bathe she is like “the new girl at the lunch table”. Mrs. Allen would be the “plastic” girl that takes Catherine “under her wing”. In Catherine’s eyes Mrs. Allen would at first seem to have a bit of savior-faire, since she knows “the way of the world” around Bathe. In general many of the characters have an air of savior-faire. Henry Tilney for example would be thought of as savior-faire. He is dashing and witty, which are both characteristics associated with being savior-faire. To put it simply to be savior-fair is to be the cool charming popular girl/ guy at school that always knows just what to say, what to do, and what to wear. The non savior-fair kid at school wears sweatpants socks and Birkenstocks, has greasy spitball hair and always spills his lunch tray in front of the jock table along with saying really inappropriate comments at the most inopportune of times leaving an odd wake of awkward silence .

synecdoche

A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which the one of the following (or its reverse) is expressed:

-A part stands for a whole
-An individual stands for a thing
-A material stands for a thing

The use of synecdoche is a common way to emphasize an important aspect of a fictional character; for example, a character might be consistently described by a single body part, such as the eyes, which come to represent the character.

C. Erik Troedsson

theodicy

Webster's defintion:
Theodicy: (n) defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil


Theodicy is an attempt to reconcile the ways of God to man. Many argue that if God is such a loving, all powerful, and benevolent ruler, then why is there evil and suffering in the world? In theodicy, writers like Milton prove that behind each evil in the world is a reason and purpose. In Paradise Lost, God made everything good in the beginning, but Adam, Eve, and Satan began the tradition of suffering and evil during the Fall.

Two works and authors that take up the issue of theodicy are
1. Alexander Pope, in his "An Essay on Man" and
2. John Milton, "Paradise Lost"

By asserting theodicy, these authors may be critiquing men who want to become god-like (omnipotent, omniscient). Theodicy asserts that men belong in their place and ought to be satisfied with the gifts they were given. Authors like Pope and Milton want to remind all humans to remain in their proper place in the Great Chain of Being.

Grace Kang

transubstantiation

Roman Catholics maintain that during the consumption of the Holy Eucharist, the bread and wine literally transform into the body and blood of Christ. This belief, known as transubstantiation, differs from Protestant views concerning the Eucharist. Many Protestants believe that the bread and wine are “united” with Christ’s body and blood, while other sects view “the Lord’s Supper” as simply a memorial of Christ’s last meal with his disciples, concluding that no changes occur in the bread or wine that they drink. Both sects view the Eucharist as an extremely holy and sacred rite, which is why the issue has been historically controversial.

In 1681, Parliament was very concerned with the possibility of a Catholic king rising to power, since Charles had no legitimate heirs, and his brother James II was a Catholic. John Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel” comments on the Popish Plot and the Monmouth rebellion, placing all blame on the Earl of Shaftesbury (he was suspected of inciting the rebellion). In the poem, Dryden satirizes Catholic practices, including transubstantiation. Dryden’s portrayal of the Catholics throughout “Absalom and Achipotphel” can be attributed to his loyalty to Charles II, his poet laureate role, and his conservative Tory beliefs.
Dryden, "Absalom and Achitophel" Lines 120-121
“The Egyptian rites the Jebusites embraced,/ Where gods were recommended by their taste./ Such savory deities must needs be good,/ As served at once for worship and for food,” writes Dryden. The “Egyptians” represent the French (staunch Catholics) and the Jebusites represent the English Catholics.
Line 107 "For 'twas their duty, all the learned think,/ To espouse his cause by whom they eat and drink." Here, Dryden references the doctrine again. This clearly separates the Protestants and Catholics into warring sects, espousing the two separate causes.

Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" also references the doctrine. In the fourth chapter of Part 1, the Lilliputs (who represent the English) and the Blefuscus (the French) are immersed in a war concerning which is the proper way to "break eggs." When it becomes against the law to break your egg on the larger end, rebels find refuge in Blefuscu. The pun on "breaking egg" with the phrase commonly associated with the Eucharist, "breaking bread," clearly reveals the satire's subject. Swift's satire makes fun of the trivial issues that divide the sects.
Alyssa Linn, 1B

trochee

A trochee is a foot used in metered poetry consisting of two syllables. Instead of being short-long like an iamb, a trochee is long-short. When the trochee is used as a substitution in iambic poetry, it helps the syllables to stand out and be emphasized.

Example Absalom and Achitophel, (501-505):

The next for interest sought to embroil the state,
To sell their duty at a dearer rate;
And make their Jewish markets of the throne;
Pretending public good, to serve their own.
Others thought kings a useless heavy load,

Here the word others comprises a trochee. The trochee highlights that the topic is changing, so that the reader doesn't get confused.







Robert Martin, 1B

verse essay

The verse essay is an essay written in the poetic mode in order to convince the reader of considering the subject in a certain way. The verse essay addresses classical principles, as this was during the neo-classical era. The verse essay does not have to be as rigorously philosophical as if one were writing prose. Also, the verse essay tends to be easier to remember than prose. These characteristics of the verse essay most likely why Alexander Pope wrote both his Essay on Criticism and Essay on Man in verse essay form.

Rebecca Neighbors

wit (multiple definitions)

Wit is an intelligence that was played with in the 17th century. At this time the idea of wit had several meanings and purposes. It was commonly used to make an understanding of either political views, social comedy, or any other matter in which it took a level of intelligence to understand. One prime example of wit is John Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe. In this poem, Dryden writes using a mock heroic style to create a humorous tone of the Thomas Shadwell and his right to the throne of dullness. Wit is used here in that it is not just Shadwell who Dryden is speaking of, but also Shadwell’s political views of he Whig party.
Another great example is the humorous Country Wife by Wycherley. The entire play is based upon wit in which Hornor will outwit or outsmart the other men of the play by sleeping with their women. The most obvious scene where wit is used is in the china scene when all on stage are talking about china, but Horner, the Lady Fidget, and the audience know it is not really about the china.
Wit was used to show off the mastery of deceiving someone by ridiculing them right in front of their noses and they don’t even knowing it.
Leon Khela

zeugma

As Abrams defines it, Zeugma in Greek means “yoking”; in the most common present usage, it is applied to expressions in which a single word stands in the same grammatical relation to two or more other words, but with an obvious shift in its significance. Sometimes the word use is literal in one relation and metaphorical in the other.

That definition may be a little confusing, so basically it is when a single word (usually a verb or adj.) is made to refer to two or more words in a sentence

Example: He arrived in a taxi and a hurry.
- Arrived is used to describe his arrival in a taxi, and that his arrival was in a hurry.

Example: He opened the door and her heart.
- Open is describing the physical action of opening a door while metaphorically describing the opening of ones heart.

[Kyle Litfin. Section 1G]