OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film | "What is Understatement?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers @SWLF | Uploaded 5 years ago | Updated 1 hour ago
What does the literary term "understatement" mean? What are some examples of understatement? Professor Lily Sheehan answers these questions using Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest. The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify understatement but also to analyze its structure and purpose.
This video now contains Spanish as well as English subtitles. To switch between languages, please click on the "settings" button in the video.
Timestamps
0:00 Understatement Definition
0:31 Common Properties of Understatement
1:36 Understatement Literary Example
The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary terms and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/oregon-state-guide-english-literary-terms
In the comments section, please feel free to add your favorite examples of understatement! Liking, sharing, and commenting on our videos will help us to build a rich digital learning environment around these topics.
Below are a few more videos in our series. Check them out, and let us know what you thought of them!
"What is a prologue?": youtu.be/PEeMmskARMc
"What is a stanza?": youtu.be/qaXfCSCHBt0
"What is stream of consciousness?": youtu.be/WaSFwO3O2SI
"What is figurative language?": youtu.be/c2CRxHOgxBM
"What is irony?': youtu.be/q6e0oNVx8Uk
"What is a metaphor?": youtu.be/5mPSFQ1eFUU
"What is a simile?": youtu.be/YqJrZ6OoqjU
"What is hyperbole?": youtu.be/IzfyNwNpUmA
"What is a imagery?": youtu.be/uX413tALG7Q
"What is a sonnet?": youtu.be/QmrKmL06J9g
"What is metonymy?": youtu.be/jydjhvOzMGQ
"What is synecdoche?": youtu.be/V3G51sJcvzg
"What is enjambment?": youtu.be/yBn2ZOwv144
"What is satire?": youtu.be/io58hl1Z0TY
"What is juxtaposition?": youtu.be/4KXVPS3FYkQ
"What is foreshadowing?": youtu.be/nc-2Jg6b0Dw
"What is understatement?": youtu.be/tW3MZ6z8KNA
"What is rhyme?": youtu.be/_9oHeL2qI6g
"What is an unreliable narrator?": youtu.be/A-lDvHT2QyQ
"What is a genre?": youtu.be/Go0Mto2fOXY
"What is a narrative arc?": youtu.be/ngpHeQZtS-w
"What is a flashback?": youtu.be/tjTauD53Ru4
"What is personification?": youtu.be/5GOfjV6u0Co
"What is a narrator?": youtu.be/bCNNBxlnkjQ
"What is a flat character vs a round character?": youtu.be/IPIBTgPlK5c
"What is symbolism?": youtu.be/GR9VbSXxouM
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": youtu.be/SPES7Z2fjIY
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)": youtu.be/KEqQIB5ytcI
"What is epistrophe?": youtu.be/6rdlklOZs4o
"What is poetic meter?": youtu.be/S13Tg3RAUW4
"What is a portmanteau?": youtu.be/P5TdpQXTkB0
"What is anaphora?": youtu.be/dr970RgZu8w
"What is an oxymoron?": youtu.be/oXMht0mi0xc
"What is a zeugma?": youtu.be/qGtjLGFPmXE
"What is free indirect discourse?": youtu.be/Vw5XclD9IlQ
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?": youtu.be/dBjtFyktXhQ
"What is the uncanny?": youtu.be/4IHvGHGVAM0
"What is a point of view?": youtu.be/acURl_KBiRI
"What is deus ex machina?": youtu.be/GCpGV7fOp2M
"What is a frame story?": youtu.be/cjJszH88J8A
"What is ekphrasis?": youtu.be/ySS-IZMPjjc
"What is blank verse?": youtu.be/TmwuGQIgj9A
"What is an epistolary novel?": youtu.be/mj40J8lFu7E
"What is allegory?": youtu.be/4IOsFCieGQA
"What is tragedy?": youtu.be/OBvVD08_0hU
"What are euphony and cacophony?": youtu.be/TzELOczXWOY
"What are assonance and consonance?": youtu.be/3ZQxhOcnJzE
"What is a setting in literature?": youtu.be/omsbv-hbXiM
"What is onomatopoeia?": youtu.be/aKRKcKcSW2c
"What is theme in literature?": youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...
"What is a conflict in literature?": youtu.be/XqR0Hv6mwNU
"What is persona?": youtu.be/_5vKV7HNXlo
"What is a dramatic monologue?": youtu.be/ferWxPUN3ig
"What is an allusion?": youtu.be/rF3ANKEPoko
"What is alliteration?": youtu.be/uZNCkV_0u0A
"What is an epic?": youtu.be/YkblUzteA-4
"What is an ars poetica?": youtu.be/rZdBopDIiLo
"What is a motif?": youtu.be/isBKoIORntI
"What is a protagonist?": youtu.be/G5nZzak4TFk
"What is literature?": youtu.be/qvbMNIViMq4
"What is a foil?": youtu.be/nqXQ4L2oC9Q
What does the literary term "understatement" mean? What are some examples of understatement? Professor Lily Sheehan answers these questions using Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest. The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify understatement but also to analyze its structure and purpose.
This video now contains Spanish as well as English subtitles. To switch between languages, please click on the "settings" button in the video.
Timestamps
0:00 Understatement Definition
0:31 Common Properties of Understatement
1:36 Understatement Literary Example
The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary terms and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/oregon-state-guide-english-literary-terms
In the comments section, please feel free to add your favorite examples of understatement! Liking, sharing, and commenting on our videos will help us to build a rich digital learning environment around these topics.
Below are a few more videos in our series. Check them out, and let us know what you thought of them!
"What is a prologue?": youtu.be/PEeMmskARMc
"What is a stanza?": youtu.be/qaXfCSCHBt0
"What is stream of consciousness?": youtu.be/WaSFwO3O2SI
"What is figurative language?": youtu.be/c2CRxHOgxBM
"What is irony?': youtu.be/q6e0oNVx8Uk
"What is a metaphor?": youtu.be/5mPSFQ1eFUU
"What is a simile?": youtu.be/YqJrZ6OoqjU
"What is hyperbole?": youtu.be/IzfyNwNpUmA
"What is a imagery?": youtu.be/uX413tALG7Q
"What is a sonnet?": youtu.be/QmrKmL06J9g
"What is metonymy?": youtu.be/jydjhvOzMGQ
"What is synecdoche?": youtu.be/V3G51sJcvzg
"What is enjambment?": youtu.be/yBn2ZOwv144
"What is satire?": youtu.be/io58hl1Z0TY
"What is juxtaposition?": youtu.be/4KXVPS3FYkQ
"What is foreshadowing?": youtu.be/nc-2Jg6b0Dw
"What is understatement?": youtu.be/tW3MZ6z8KNA
"What is rhyme?": youtu.be/_9oHeL2qI6g
"What is an unreliable narrator?": youtu.be/A-lDvHT2QyQ
"What is a genre?": youtu.be/Go0Mto2fOXY
"What is a narrative arc?": youtu.be/ngpHeQZtS-w
"What is a flashback?": youtu.be/tjTauD53Ru4
"What is personification?": youtu.be/5GOfjV6u0Co
"What is a narrator?": youtu.be/bCNNBxlnkjQ
"What is a flat character vs a round character?": youtu.be/IPIBTgPlK5c
"What is symbolism?": youtu.be/GR9VbSXxouM
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": youtu.be/SPES7Z2fjIY
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)": youtu.be/KEqQIB5ytcI
"What is epistrophe?": youtu.be/6rdlklOZs4o
"What is poetic meter?": youtu.be/S13Tg3RAUW4
"What is a portmanteau?": youtu.be/P5TdpQXTkB0
"What is anaphora?": youtu.be/dr970RgZu8w
"What is an oxymoron?": youtu.be/oXMht0mi0xc
"What is a zeugma?": youtu.be/qGtjLGFPmXE
"What is free indirect discourse?": youtu.be/Vw5XclD9IlQ
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?": youtu.be/dBjtFyktXhQ
"What is the uncanny?": youtu.be/4IHvGHGVAM0
"What is a point of view?": youtu.be/acURl_KBiRI
"What is deus ex machina?": youtu.be/GCpGV7fOp2M
"What is a frame story?": youtu.be/cjJszH88J8A
"What is ekphrasis?": youtu.be/ySS-IZMPjjc
"What is blank verse?": youtu.be/TmwuGQIgj9A
"What is an epistolary novel?": youtu.be/mj40J8lFu7E
"What is allegory?": youtu.be/4IOsFCieGQA
"What is tragedy?": youtu.be/OBvVD08_0hU
"What are euphony and cacophony?": youtu.be/TzELOczXWOY
"What are assonance and consonance?": youtu.be/3ZQxhOcnJzE
"What is a setting in literature?": youtu.be/omsbv-hbXiM
"What is onomatopoeia?": youtu.be/aKRKcKcSW2c
"What is theme in literature?": youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...
"What is a conflict in literature?": youtu.be/XqR0Hv6mwNU
"What is persona?": youtu.be/_5vKV7HNXlo
"What is a dramatic monologue?": youtu.be/ferWxPUN3ig
"What is an allusion?": youtu.be/rF3ANKEPoko
"What is alliteration?": youtu.be/uZNCkV_0u0A
"What is an epic?": youtu.be/YkblUzteA-4
"What is an ars poetica?": youtu.be/rZdBopDIiLo
"What is a motif?": youtu.be/isBKoIORntI
"What is a protagonist?": youtu.be/G5nZzak4TFk
"What is literature?": youtu.be/qvbMNIViMq4
"What is a foil?": youtu.be/nqXQ4L2oC9Q
