English 30-1 Flashcards
1
Q
Abstract
A
Abstract terms and concepts name things that are not knowable through the senses; examples are love, justice, guilt, and honour (Opposite of concrete)
2
Q
Allegory
A
A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden. It involves a continuous parallel between two or more levels of meaning so that its persons and events correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or chain of events external to the story.
3
Q
Allusion
A
Indirect or passing reference to some person, place, or event; or to a piece of literature or art. The nature of the reference is not explained because the writer relies on the reader’s familiarity with it.
4
Q
Alliteration
A
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
5
Q
Analogy
A
A comparison that is made to explain something that is unfamiliar by presenting an example that is similar or parallel to it in some significant way
6
Q
Anecdote
A
A brief story of an interesting incident
7
Q
Antecedent Action
A
Action that takes place before the story opens
8
Q
Antithesis
A
A contrast or opposition of ideas; the second part of a statement that contrasts opposite ideas
9
Q
Apathy
A
Lack of interest
10
Q
Apostrophe
A
A speech addressed to a dead or absent person or to an inanimate object
11
Q
Archaic
A
Belonging to an earlier time; words or expressions that have passed out of use are said to be archaic
12
Q
Aside
A
Comment made by an actor and supposedly not heard by other actors
13
Q
Assonance
A
Repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds
14
Q
Ballad
A
A narrative poem that tells a story, often in a straightforward and dramatic manner, and often about such universals as love, honour, and courage. Ballads were once songs. Literary ballads often have the strong rhythm and plain rhyme schemes of songs. Songs are still written in ballad form, some old ballads are still sung, and some literary ballads have been set to music
15
Q
Blank verse
A
Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameters
16
Q
Caricature
A
A distorted representation to produce a comic or ridiculous effect
17
Q
Chronological
A
In order of time
18
Q
Cliché
A
An overused expression; one that has become stale through overuse
19
Q
Colloquial
A
Informal, suitable for everyday speech but not for formal writing
20
Q
Concrete
A
A concrete thing exists in a solid, physical; and is knowable through the senses; trees, copper, and kangaroos are all examples of concrete things (Opposite of abstract)
21
Q
Connotation
A
Implied or additional meaning that a word or phrase imparts. Such meaning is often subjective. (Opposite of denotation)
22
Q
Deduction
A
A conclusion reached by logic or reasoning, or by examining all the available information
23
Q
Denotation
A
The explicit or direct meaning of a word or expression, aside from the impressions it creates. These are the meanings listed in dictionaries. (Opposite of connotation)
24
Q
Discrepancy
A
Distinct difference between two things that should not be different, or that should correspond
25
Dissonance
Harsh sound or discordance; in poetry, a harsh jarring combination of sounds
26
Epic
A long poem that is often about a heroic character. The style is elevated and the poetry often represents religious or cultural ideals
27
Epilogue
A final address to the audience, often delivered by a character in a drama
28
Fantasy
A literary genre; generally contains events, characters, or settings that would not be possible in real life
29
Foreshadowing
A storytelling technique; something early in the story hints at later events
30
Free verse
Is usually written in variable rhythmic cadences; it may be rhymed or unrhymed, but the rhymes are likely to be irregular and may not occur at the end of lines.
31
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect
32
Imagery
Language that evokes sensory impressions
33
Imitative Harmony
Words that seem to imitate the sounds to which they refer; (buzz, whisper) Also called onomatopoeia
34
Interior monologue
Conversation-like thoughts of a character
35
Irony
The difference-in actions or words-between reality and appearance. Authors use irony for both serious and humorous effects. Irony can also be a technique of indicating through character or plot development, the writer's own attitude toward some element of the story
36
Jargon
Special vocabulary of a particular group or activity; sometimes used to refer to confusing or unintelligible language
37
Justification
The giving of reasons or support; for example, giving an argument or reason that shows an action or belief is reasonable or true
38
Juxtaposition
Also known as contrast
The deliberate contrast of characters, settings, or situations for effect; the effect may be a demonstration of character or heightening of mood
39
Lyric
A poem that expresses the private emotions or thoughts of the writer; sonnets, odes, and elegies are examples of lyrics
40
Metamorphosis
An alteration in appearance or character
41
Metaphor
Comparison without using the words like or as
| You say it as if that's just how it is, when it is only for effect: not literal
42
Metrical poetry
Is written in regular, repeating rhythms and may be rhymed or unrhymed; when rhymes are used, they are generally regular, like the rhythm, and are often found at the end of the line.
43
Monologue
A literary form; an oral or written composition in which only one person speaks
44
Mood
In a story, the atmosphere; when a writer orders the setting, action, and characters of a story so as to suggest a dominant emotion or patterns of emotions, this emotional pattern is the mood of the story. Also a person's state of mind or complex of emotions at any given time.
45
Motif
A recurring theme, situation, incident, idea, image, or character type that is found in literature
46
Ode
A poem expressing lofty emotion; odes often celebrate an event or are addressed to nature or to some admired person, place, or things
47
Onomatopoeia
Words that seem to imitate the sounds to which they refer (whack, slap, plop)
48
Oxymoron
A combination of two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox; for example, "the living dead." An oxymoron is like a metaphor in that it expresses in words some truth that cannot by understood literally; "truthful lies" is an oxymoron that describes metaphors
49
Parable
A short, often simple story that teaches or explains a lesson (Often moral or religious)
50
Paradox
An apparently self-contradictory statement that is, in fact, true
51
Parallelism
The arrangement of similarly constructed clauses, verses, or sentences
52
Parenthetical
A word, phrase, or passage sometimes within parentheses) that explains or modifies a thought
53
Personification
The giving of human attributes to objects or to abstract ideas
54
Prologue
An introduction to a play, often delivered by the chorus (In ancient Greece, a group, but in modern plays, one actor) who plays no part in the following action
55
Pun
A humorous expression that depends on a double meaning, either between different senses of the same word or between two similar sounding words
56
Rhetoric
The art of speaking or writing
57
Rhetorical question
A question for which a reply is not required or even wanted; the question is asked for effect.
58
Ridicule
Contemptuous laughter or derision (contempt and mockery); ridicule may be an element of satire
59
Satire
A form of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions, or societies to ridicule or scorn in order to correct or expose some evil or wrongdoing
60
Simile
Comparison using the words like or as
61
Soliloquy
A speech by a character who is alone on stage, or whose presence is unrecognized bu the other characters; the purpose is to make the audience aware of the character's thoughts or to give information concerning other characters or about the action
62
Sonnet
A lyric poem fourteen lines long and usually written in iambic pentameter. The Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a couplet (two lines), all written to a strict end-rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg). The development of the poet's thoughts is also structured. T
63
Symbol
Anything that stands for or represents something other than itself. In literature, a symbol is a word or phrase referring to an object, scene, or action that also has some further significance associated with it.
64
Thesis
A statement that is made as the first step in an argument or a demonstration
65
Tone
A particular way of speaking or writing. Tone may also describe the general feeling of a piece of work. It can demonstrate the writer's attitude toward characters, settings, conflicts, and so forth.
66
Theme
A particular subject or issue that is discussed often or repeatedly - can also be the main subject being discussed
67
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
68
Expository essay
Based on fact
69
Verse
A poem that follows the natural rhythm of everyday speech
70
Concluding sentence
Summarizes a paragraph
71
Conflict
The clash that results from the confrontation of two opposing forces
72
Plot
The main event of a piece of work
73
Character
A person in a novel, play, or film
74
Atmosphere
The pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or creative work
75
Complication
The initial event that gets a story moving (gives the protagonist a goal to fulfill)
76
Exposition
A literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters, or other elements of a work
77
Rising action
A series of events build toward the point of greatest interest
78
Climax
The highest or most intense point in the development of the plot
79
Denouement
The final outcome of the story, generally occurring after the climax of the plot
80
Resolution
The part of a story's plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or worked out
81
Suspense
The intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events
82
Protagonist
The main character in any story, such as a literary work or drama
83
Antagonist
The opposing force that brings conflict and is instrumental in the development of the protagonist
84
Setting
The time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction: The setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story
85
Fable
A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral OR a supernatural story incorporating myth and legend
86
Novel
A long, fictional narrative which describes intimate human experiences
87
Style
Describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.
88
Dialect
A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists
89
Diction
Diction is word choice, or the style of speaking that a writer, speaker, or character uses
90
Figurative language
Uses exaggerations or alterations to make a particular linguistic point
91
Sensory impressions
Language that appeals to the senses
92
Elegy
A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead
93
Haiku
A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world
94
Limerick
A humorous, frequently bawdy, verse of three long and two short lines rhyming aabba, popularized by Edward Lear
95
Enjambment
The practice of running lines of poetry from one to the next without using any kind of punctuation to indicate a stop
96
Euphony
A sound device consisting of several words that are pleasing to the ear
97
Cacophony
The use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing, and unmelodious sounds to achieve desired results
98
Repetition
A literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable
99
Rhyme
The repetition of the same or similar sounds occurs in two or more words, usually at the end of lines in poems or songs
100
Rhythm
In poetry, rhythm is expressed through stressed and unstressed syllables
101
Meter
A unit of rhythm in poetry
102
Stanza
A stanza is a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme
103
Couplet
A literary device that can be defined as having two successive rhyming lines in a verse, and has the same meter to form a complete thought
104
Quatrain
A stanza in a poem that has exactly four lines
105
Tragedy
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances
106
Tragic flaw
A character trait that brings about the downfall of the protagonist; ironically, in some works, this "flaw" is the character's greatest strength taken to an extreme
107
Dilemma
A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem equally unfavorable or unsatisfactory
108
Character development
The process of creating a believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and personality
109
Point of view
Who is telling a story, or who is narrating it
• First person point of view. First person is when “I” am telling the story.
• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.”
• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she."
• Third person point of view, omniscient.
Objective... just describes what is seen
110
Narrative manner
The writer's style, and all the things that help develop tone, as well as how the author decides to tell the story: Point of View.
111
Time
Flashbacks, past tense, present or future tense form chosen for writing
112
Distance
Reader's sense of closeness to the story, the distance at which the writer holds the reader (In some stories, we're brought close into the action, so that we feel like we are right there. In others we always feel like a spectator)
113
Dramatic poetry
Any dramatic work written in lines of verse
The works of Shakespeare are probably some of the most easily recognizable examples of dramatic poetry (blank verse)
114
Elements of the novel
* Plot
* Theme
* Character
* Point of view
* Setting
* Style
115
Metonymy
The substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing
116
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”)
117
Idiom
A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light )
118
Leitmotif
A recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation
119
Farce
A comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations
120
Archetype
A very typical example of a certain person or thing
121
Inversion
AKA anastrophe
The syntactic reversal of the normal order of the words and phrases in a sentence,
(“the form divine”), (“Came the dawn”), (“worlds between”)
Inversion is most commonly used in poetry in which it may both satisfy the demands of the metre and achieve emphasis
