8th Lit Terms Flashcards
Poetic Justice
Term that describes a character getting “what he deserves” in the end, especially if what it deserves is punishment. The purest form of poetic justice results when one character plots against another but ends up being caught in his or her own trap.
Bildungsroman
Novel that deals with the development of a young person, usually from adolescence to maturity, it is frequently autobiographical, also called a “coming of age” novel.
Dead Metaphor (Figurative Language)
Phrase that has been overused so that its original impact has been lost.
Synecdoche (Figurate Language)
Similar to metonymy; is a form of metaphor. A part of something stands for the whole.
Metonymy
The use of the name of one thing for that of another associated with or suggested by it.
Motif
Repetition or variation of an image or idea in a work that is used to develop the theme or characters
Synesthesia
Description of one kind of sensation in terms of another.
Syllepsis
Linking of one work with two other words in two strikingly different ways. EX: It was food for thought and for vultures.
Hubris
Excessive pride or insolence that results in the misfortune of the protagonist or a tragedy. Hubris leads the protagonist to break a moral law, attempt vainly to transcend normal limitations, or ignore a divine warning with calamitous results.
Anagnorisis
discovery; the revelation of some fact not known before or some person’s true identity.
Reversal (Peripety)
the change in fortune for a protagonist. The reversal of fortune for a protagonist is an action that turns out to have the opposite effect from the one its doer had intended.
Repetition
The deliberate use of any element of language more than once-sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern.
Anaphora
the same words begin successive sentences for emphasis and rhythm. Ex. That never words were music to thine ear/That never object pleasing to thy eye…”
Parison
repeating the entire sentence or clause almost exactly
Epizeuxis
repeating words in immediate succession. Ex. The horror. The horror. ○ Antanaclasis: putting emphasis on a repeated word to obtain different meanings. Ex. Put out the light, and then put out the light.
Anadiplosis
the repetition of a keyword, especially the last one, at the beginning of the next sentence or clause. Ex. He gave his life. Life was all he could give.
Antimetabole (Chiasmus in Poetry
Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order. Ex. One should eat to live, not live to eat. ○ Epanalepsis: a device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence. Ex. Common sense is not so common.
Asyndeton
the practice of leaving out the usual conjunctions between coordinate sentence elements. Ex. Smile, shake hands, part. (removed and)
Polysyndeton
the use of more conjunctions than is normal. Ex. and swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or floats (used more “ors” than necessary)
Ellipsis
the omission of a word or several words necessary for a complete construction that is still understandable. Ex. If it’s rainy, bring an umbrella. (It is clear even though the words “it is” and “you” have been left out.)
