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English > Glossary of terms > Flashcards

Glossary of terms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

A general term, referring to a broad concept, as opposed to a term that refers to a specific, particular thing; opposite of concrete

A

abstract

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2
Q

A literary work that portrays abstract ideas concretely. Characters are frequently personification of abstract ideas and are given names that refer to these ideas

A

allegory

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3
Q

The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words or syllables

A

alliteration

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4
Q

A reference to another work of literature, or to art, history, or current events

A

allusion

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5
Q

Repetition of an initial word or words to add emphasis

A

anaphora

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6
Q

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

A

antithesis

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7
Q

A direct address to an abstraction, a thing, an animal, or an imaginary or absent person

A

apostrophe

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8
Q

when a character in a work of fiction addresses the audience directly for a moment to either express a truth, reveal a feeling, or comment on the events of the story

A

aside

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9
Q

The repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words

A

assonance

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10
Q

Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Most commonly used verse form in English because it is the verse form that comes closest to natural patterns of speaking in English

A

blank verse

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11
Q

A pause within a line of poetry, sometimes punctuated, sometimes not, often mirroring natural speech

A

caesura

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12
Q

Refers to the emotional release felt by the audience at the end of a tragic drama

A

catharsis

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13
Q

Usually used to refer to a dramatic work that, in contrast to tragedy, has a light, amusing plot, features a happy ending, centers around ordinary people, and is written and performed in the vernacular

A

comedy

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14
Q

An instance in which identical final consonant sounds in nearby words follow different vowel sounds.

A

consonance

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15
Q

a pair of end-rhymed lines of verse that are self-contained in grammatical structure and meaning

A

couplet

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16
Q

“untying the knot”
In this phase of a story’s plot, the conflict has been resolved and balance is restored to the world of the story

A

denouement

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17
Q

A writer’s choice of words

A

diction

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18
Q

a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones

A

dilemma

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19
Q

A type of poem in which the speaker, who is clearly distinct form the poet, addresses an audience that is present in the poem

A

dramatic monologue

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20
Q

A contemplative poem, on death and mortality, often written for someone who has died

A

elegy

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21
Q

A poetic technique in which one line ends without a pause and must continue on to the next line to complete its meanings; also referred to as a “run-on line”

A

enjambment

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22
Q

long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds

A

epic

23
Q

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

A

euphemism

24
Q

An excessive level of pride that leads to the protagonist’s downfall

A

hubris

25
Q

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point

A

hyperbole

26
Q

The most common metrical foot in English poetry, is made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

A

iambic pentameter

27
Q

whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do

A

irony

28
Q

A figure of speech that compares or equates two things without using like or as

A

metaphor

29
Q

A figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing that is related to it

A

metonymy

30
Q

A recurring patterns of images, words, or symbols that reveals a theme in a work of literature

A

motif

31
Q

A revival of classical aesthetics and forms

A

neoclassicism

32
Q

A reply or remark that does not have any relevance to what occasioned or preceded it

A

non sequitur

33
Q

An eight-line stanza or poem

A

octave

34
Q

A form of poetry used to meditate on or address a single object or condition

A

Ode

35
Q

A statement that seems contradictory but actually is not

A

paradox

36
Q

Literature that employs a romanticized description of leisurely farm or rural life

A

pastoral

37
Q

A voice and viewpoint that an author adopts in order to deliver a story or poem

A

persona

38
Q

A figure of speech in which an animal or an inanimate object is imbued with human qualities

A

personification

39
Q

The perspective from which a work is told

A

point of view

40
Q

The repetition of the same (or similar) vowel or consonant sounds or constructions

A

rhyme

41
Q

Late eighteenth to early nineteenth century movement that emphasized beauty for beauty’s sake, the natural world, emotion, imagination, the value of a nation’s past and its folklore, and the heroic roles of the individual and the artist

A

romanticism

42
Q

A literary work that uses irony to critique society or an individual

A

satire

43
Q

The analysis of the metrical patterns of a poem by organizing its lines into feet of stressed and unstressed syllables and showing the major pauses, if any

A

scansion

44
Q

In a play, a monologue in which a character, alone on the stage, reveals his or her thoughts or emotions

A

soliloquy

45
Q

A poetic form composed of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter that adheres to a particular rhyme scheme

A

sonnet

46
Q

In drama the character who is currently delivering lines. In poetry, the person who is expressing a point of view in the poem.

A

speaker

47
Q

A technique in which prose follows the logic and flow of a character’s thought processes rather than a more ordered narrative

A

stream of consciousness

48
Q

A setting, object, or event in a story that carries more than literal meaning and therefore represents something significant to understanding the meaning of a work of literature

A

symbol

49
Q

a verse form composed of iambic tercets (three-line groupings)

A

terza rima

50
Q

A speaker’s attitude as exposed through stylistic choices.

A

tone

51
Q

A serious dramatic work in which the protagonist experiences a series of unfortunate reversals due to some character trait referred to as a tragic flaw.

A

tragedy

52
Q

A form of poetry in which a quatrain follows five tercets.

A

villanelle

53
Q

the rhetorical mixture of vocabulary, tone, point of view, and syntax that makes phrases, sentences, and paragraphs flow in a particular manner

A

voice

English (9 decks)

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