Eng II Literary Terms Flashcards
Literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions
Allegory
Repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words
Alliteration
Reference to something literary, mythological, biblical, or historic
Allusion
Comparison between two different things which are similar in some way
Analogy
Repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences
Anaphora
A brief personal narrative which focuses on a particular incident or event
Anecdote
Statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced
Antithesis
Statement which expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance
Aphorism
Act of speaking directly to an absent or imaginary person, or to some abstraction
Apostrophe
Informal words or expressions not unusually accepted in formal writing
Colloquialism
The implied or associative meaning of a word
Connotation
The literal meaning of a word
Denotation
Something which has as its primary purpose to teach or instruct
Didactic
Omission of a word which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context
Ellipsis
A moment of sudden revelation or insight
Epiphany
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
Euphemism
Major category of type of literature
Genre
Intentional exaggeration to create an effect
Hyperbole
Concrete sensory details which contribute to the themes of ideas of a work
Imagery
Intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack
Invective
Situation or statement where the truth is the opposite of appearances
Irony
Apparently contradictory statement which actually contains some truth
Litotes
Direct comparison of two different things which suggests that they are somehow the same
Metaphor
Standard theme or dramatic situation which recurs in various works
Motif
