English language and literary terms Flashcards
What is an allegory?
A narrative in which characters, action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts or moral qualities.
Example: Lord of the Flies
What is alliteration?
The repetition of same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.
Example: She sells seashells down by the seashore.
What is an allusion?
A seemingly brief reference to something in history, politics, literature, art, or music which the writer expects the reader to understand and relate to the work.
Example: ‘Then Eden sank to grief.’
What is an antagonist?
The character that opposes the hero.
What is antithesis?
A figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other.
Example: ‘Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.’
What is an aphorism?
A short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life.
Example: ‘Early bird gets the worm.’
What is atmosphere in literature?
The mood or prevailing feeling created in a literary work.
What is catharsis?
An emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or liberation from anxiety and stress.
What is a character?
An imaginary person in a literary work.
What is a static character?
A character that does not change in the course of the story.
What is a dynamic character?
A character that changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action.
What is a flat character?
A character that has few personality traits and can be summed up by a single phrase.
Example: The noisy neighbor.
What is a round character?
A character that has more dimension to their personality and is complex like real people.
What is characterization?
The creation of believable fictitious personalities, typically revealed through their speech, dress, manner, and actions.
What is colloquial language?
Informal language of a region, the vernacular.
Example: Depending upon where in the United States you live, a large sandwich might be a hero, a sub, or a hoagie.
What is a confidant?
A character in a novel or drama who takes little part in the action but is a close friend of the main character.
What is conflict in literature?
The struggle between opposing forces in a story, usually resolved by the end of the work.
What is internal conflict?
Conflict that involves opposing forces within a person’s mind.
What is external conflict?
Conflict that exists between two people, a person and a force of nature or a machine, or between a person and a whole society.
What is connotation?
The implied meaning of a word or phrase; the associations that come to mind when a word is used beyond its dictionary meaning.
Example: The word house has a different emotional effect than home.
What is denouement?
The final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
What is denotation?
The literal (dictionary) meaning of a word or phrase.
What is dialect?
A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain group or geographical area.
What is dialogue?
The conversation of characters in a story.
What is diction?
The choice or use of words in oral and written discourse, forming a central literary element.
What are the four literary levels of diction?
Formal, informal, colloquial, and slang.
What is an epiphany?
A sudden, powerful, and spiritual realization.
What is a euphemism?
The use of a mild, delicate, or vague word for one thought to be coarse or unpleasant.
Example: Saying ‘passed away’ instead of ‘died.’
What is figurative language?
A form of language in which writers and speakers mean something other than the literal meaning of their words.
What is a flashback?
An interruption of a story’s chronology to describe an incident that occurred prior to the main time frame of the action.
What is a foil?
A character whose traits are the opposite of another character, highlighting their strengths or weaknesses.
What is foreshadowing?
Implication by the author of events to come later in a literary work.
What is hyperbole?
An exaggeration for the sake of emphasis that is not to be taken literally.
Example: I am hungry enough to eat a horse.
What is an idiom?
A phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say.
Example: ‘Piece of cake’ means it is extremely easy.
What is imagery?
The use of vivid, concrete sensory details.
What does ‘in media res’ mean?
Latin for ‘in the middle of things,’ starting a narrative in the middle of the action.
What is irony?
The contrast between what appears to be on the surface and what actually is.
What is verbal irony?
Occurs when someone says one thing and means something else.
Example: ‘It is easy to stop smoking. I’ve done it many times.’
What is situational irony?
Occurs when the opposite of what is expected happens.
Example: A deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub.
What is dramatic irony?
Occurs when an audience or reader knows crucial information that the characters do not.
What is jargon?
Specialized or technical language of a trade or profession.
Example: Terms like crash, blog, text, tweet.
What is a metaphor?
A figure of speech involving an implied comparison between two unlike things.
Example: ‘All the world’s a stage.’
What is a mixed metaphor?
A metaphor that does not make a logical comparison.
Example: ‘The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas.’
What is a microcosm?
A tiny world within the macrocosm, often representing ideas present in the larger world.
What is mood in literature?
The atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work.
What is a motif?
A central theme or idea that is repeated in a work.
What is a non-linear narrative?
A story that is not told in chronological order.
What is onomatopoeia?
Words which imitate sounds.
Examples: bang, pop, snap.
What is an oxymoron?
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory ideas.
Example: jumbo shrimp.
What is a paradox?
A statement or situation that seems contradictory but makes sense when examined.
Example: ‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’
What is parallel structure?
The use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts.
Example: ‘Jane likes reading, writing, and skiing.’
What is parallelism?
Similarities between elements (themes, symbols, characters) in a narrative.
What is pathos?
The quality of a work that evokes high emotion in the reader or audience.
What is a pattern in literature?
Any significant recurrences within a literary work.
What is persona?
The mask which covers the direct voice of the author.
What is personification?
The giving of human characteristics to something non-human.
Example: whispering trees.
What is plot?
The progression of events in a literary work.
What are the five stages of plot?
Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
What is point of view?
The perspective from which the author conveys the story to the reader.
What is first person point of view?
The narrator tells the story from their point of view using ‘I.’
What is third person limited point of view?
The narration is outside the characters, revealing only one character’s thoughts.
What is third person omniscient point of view?
An all-knowing narrator knows every character’s thoughts and feelings.
What is prose?
The normal pattern of speech and writing, any writing other than poetry.
What is a protagonist?
The main character in a literary work, who may or may not be heroic.
What is a pun?
A play on words or humorous use of a word emphasizing a different meaning.
Example: ‘Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.’
What is sarcasm?
The use of verbal irony in which a person appears to praise something but is actually insulting it.
Example: ‘Look at that coordination.’
What is setting in literature?
The environment in which a story unfolds, including time, place, atmosphere, and social climate.
What is a simile?
A direct comparison of one thing with another, announced by ‘like’ or ‘as.’
Example: ‘She is as pretty as a picture.’
What is suspense?
The poised anticipation of the reader or audience regarding the outcome of events.
What is symbol/symbolism?
Something concrete that signifies something abstract, such as a concept or idea.
What is syntax?
The arrangement of words to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
What is theme in literature?
The main idea of a literary work.
What is tone?
The writer’s or speaker’s implied attitude toward the subject, characters, and audience.
What is tragedy?
A narrative writing in which the protagonist suffers disaster after a significant struggle.
What is a tragic flaw?
A weakness or limitation of character resulting in the fall of the tragic hero.
Example: Julius Caesar’s ambition.
What is a universal theme?
A theme that applies to any time period and any group of people.
What is voice in literature?
An author’s distinctive literary style and general attitude toward the world.
