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English Literature Terms Flashcards

1
Q

What is allegory?

A

A narrative where characters and events represent broader concepts or moral qualities.

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2
Q

What is alliteration?

A

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely placed words.

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3
Q

What is allusion?

A

An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work.

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4
Q

What is anachronism?

A

A detail or event placed outside its correct historical time.

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5
Q

What is anaphora?

A

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

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6
Q

What is antagonist?

A

A character or force that opposes the protagonist.

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7
Q

What is apostrophe?

A

A direct address to an absent person, abstract idea, or inanimate object.

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8
Q

What is assonance?

A

The repetition of vowel sounds in closely placed words.

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9
Q

What is ballad?

A

A narrative poem, often set to music, that tells a story.

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10
Q

What is blank verse?

A

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

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11
Q

What is cacophony?

A

The use of harsh and discordant sounds in language.

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12
Q

What is catharsis?

A

The emotional release experienced by the audience of a tragedy.

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13
Q

What is characterization?

A

The process of creating and developing characters in a story.

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14
Q

What is climax?

A

The point of highest tension or conflict in a story.

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15
Q

What is conflict?

A

The struggle between opposing forces in a story, such as man vs. man or man vs. nature.

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16
Q

What is connotation?

A

The implied or associated meaning of a word beyond its literal definition.

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17
Q

What is couplet?

A

Two successive lines of poetry that rhyme and have the same meter.

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18
Q

What is denotation?

A

The literal or dictionary definition of a word.

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19
Q

What is denouement?

A

The final resolution or conclusion of a story’s plot.

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20
Q

What is diction?

A

The choice of words and style of expression in a literary work.

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21
Q

What is enjambment?

A

The continuation of a sentence or phrase across a line break in poetry.

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22
Q

What is epiphany?

A

A sudden realization or insight by a character.

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23
Q

What is epitaph?

A

A brief inscription on a tombstone or commemorative poem for someone deceased.

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24
Q

What is euphemism?

A

A polite or mild expression used to avoid harsh or unpleasant realities.

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25
Q

What is euphony?

A

The use of pleasant, harmonious sounds in language.

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26
Q

What is figurative language?

A

Language that uses figures of speech, such as metaphors and similes.

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27
Q

What is flashback?

A

A scene set in a time earlier than the main story.

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28
Q

What is foil?

A

A character who contrasts with another character, often the protagonist.

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29
Q

What is foreshadowing?

A

Hints or clues about what will happen later in a story.

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30
Q

What is free verse?

A

Poetry without a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

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31
Q

What is genre?

A

A category of literature, such as fiction, poetry, or drama.

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32
Q

What is hyperbole?

A

Exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect.

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33
Q

What is imagery?

A

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

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34
Q

What is irony?

A

A contrast between expectations and reality.

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35
Q

What is juxtaposition?

A

Placing two elements side by side to highlight their differences.

36
Q

What is metaphor?

A

A comparison between two unrelated things without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

37
Q

What is metonymy?

A

A figure of speech where one term is substituted with another closely associated term.

38
Q

What is mood?

A

The emotional atmosphere or feeling of a literary work.

39
Q

What is motif?

A

A recurring element or theme in a literary work.

40
Q

What is onomatopoeia?

A

Words that imitate natural sounds, like ‘buzz’ or ‘whisper’.

41
Q

What is oxymoron?

A

A figure of speech combining contradictory terms, like ‘jumbo shrimp’.

42
Q

What is paradox?

A

A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth.

43
Q

What is personification?

A

Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.

44
Q

What is plot?

A

The sequence of events in a story.

45
Q

What is point of view?

A

The perspective from which a story is told (e.g., first person, third person).

46
Q

What is protagonist?

A

The main character or hero of a story.

47
Q

What is quatrain?

A

A stanza of four lines, often with a specific rhyme scheme.

48
Q

What is satire?

A

The use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or mock.

49
Q

What is setting?

A

The time and place in which a story occurs.

50
Q

What is simile?

A

A comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

51
Q

What is soliloquy?

A

A speech in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, often alone on stage.

52
Q

What is sonnet?

A

A 14-line poem, typically written in iambic pentameter.

53
Q

What is symbolism?

A

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

54
Q

What is synecdoche?

A

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole, or vice versa.

55
Q

What is theme?

A

The central idea or message of a literary work.

56
Q

What is tone?

A

The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

57
Q

What is tragedy?

A

A serious play with a sad or disastrous ending.

58
Q

What is understatement?

A

A figure of speech that makes something seem less important than it is.

59
Q

What is verse?

A

A single line of poetry or a specific type of metrical writing.

60
Q

What is verisimilitude?

A

The appearance of being true or real in a literary work.

61
Q

What is vignette?

A

A short, descriptive scene or story.

62
Q

What is voice?

A

The unique style and perspective of a writer or character.

63
Q

What is archetype?

A

A typical example of a person, theme, or symbol in literature.

64
Q

What is asyndeton?

A

The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence.

65
Q

What is Bildungsroman?

A

A coming-of-age story focusing on a character’s growth.

66
Q

What is caesura?

A

A pause in the middle of a line of poetry.

67
Q

What is colloquialism?

A

Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing.

68
Q

What is conceit?

A

An extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage.

69
Q

What is deus ex machina?

A

A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly resolved.

70
Q

What is dialect?

A

A regional or social variety of a language with distinct pronunciation or vocabulary.

71
Q

What is didactic literature?

A

Literature intended to instruct or educate.

72
Q

What is elegy?

A

A poem of serious reflection, often lamenting the dead.

73
Q

What is epistolary novel?

A

A novel written as a series of documents, like letters or diary entries.

74
Q

What is hubris?

A

Excessive pride or self-confidence leading to a character’s downfall.

75
Q

What is inversion?

A

The reversal of normal word order in a sentence.

76
Q

What is litotes?

A

A figure of speech using understatement, often by negating the opposite.

77
Q

What is magical realism?

A

A literary style blending magical elements with realistic settings.

78
Q

What is nemesis?

A

A character or force that serves as a strong opponent or rival.

79
Q

What is omniscient narrator?

A

A narrator who knows all the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

80
Q

What is parody?

A

A humorous imitation of a serious work or genre.

81
Q

What is pathetic fallacy?

A

Attributing human emotions to nature or inanimate objects.

82
Q

What is prose?

A

Ordinary written or spoken language, not in verse form.

83
Q

What is red herring?

A

A misleading clue meant to distract from the real issue.

84
Q

What is refrain?

A

A repeated line or phrase in poetry or song.

85
Q

What is stream of consciousness?

A

A literary technique portraying a character’s thoughts in a continuous flow.

86
Q

What is utopia?

A

An imagined place of ideal perfection.

87
Q

What is wit?

A

The use of clever and humorous expression in writing or speech.

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