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American Literature > Handbook of Literary Terms > Flashcards

Handbook of Literary Terms Flashcards

0
Q

alliteration

A

the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

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1
Q

allegory

A

a story or poem in which characters, settings, & events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities

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2
Q

allusion

A

a reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture

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3
Q

ambiguity

A

a technique by which a writer deliberately suggest 2 or more different, & sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work

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4
Q

analogy

A

a comparison made between 2 things to show how they are alike

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5
Q

anapest

A

a metrical foot that has 2 unstressed syllables followed by 1 stressed syllable
ex. coexist (co-ex-ist…no stress-no stress-stressed)

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6
Q

anecdote

A

a very brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something

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7
Q

antagonist

A

the opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

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8
Q

anthropomorphism

A

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object

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9
Q

aphorism

A

a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life

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10
Q

apostrophe

A

a technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent

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11
Q

argument

A

a form of persuasion that appeals to reason, rather than emotion, to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way

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12
Q

assonance

A

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different by different consonant sounds, especially in words close together
ex. The t-i-de r-i-ses, the t-i-de falls, The tw-i-l-i-ght darkens, the curlew calls

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13
Q

atmosphere

A

the mood or feeling created in a piece of writing

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14
Q

autobiography

A

an account of the writer’s own life

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15
Q

ballad

A

a song or poem that tells a story

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16
Q

folk ballads

A

ballads composed by unknown singers & passed on orally from 1 generation to the next

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17
Q

literary ballads

A

ballads written to imitate the sounds & subjects of folk ballads

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18
Q

biography

A

an account of someone’s life written by another person

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19
Q

blank verse

A

poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

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20
Q

cadence

A

the natural, rhythmic rise & fall of a language as it is normally spoken (different from “meter”)

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21
Q

caesura

A

a pause or break within a line of poetry

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22
Q

catalog

A

a list of things, people, or events

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23
Q

character

A

an individual in a story or play (note: always has human traits)

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24
Q

characterization

A

process by which writer reveals personality of a character

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25
Q

direct characterization

A

we don’t figure out what character’s personality is like - the writer tells us directly

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26
Q

indirect characterization

A

we have to exercise our own judgement, putting clues together to infer what a character is like (like we do in real life when we get to know someone)

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27
Q

static character

A

one who does not change much in course of a story

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28
Q

dynamic character

A

character who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action

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29
Q

flat character

A

character that has few personality traits (can be summed up in single phrase like loyal sidekick or nosy neighbor)

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30
Q

round character

A

character that has more dimensions to their personality - s/he’s complex, just as real people are

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31
Q

cliché

A

a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless bc of overuse

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32
Q

climax

A

that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest

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33
Q

comedy

A

in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters

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34
Q

conceit

A

an elaborate metaphor or other figure of speech that compares 2 things that are startlingly different

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35
Q

concrete poem

A

a poem in which the words are arranged on a page to suggest a visual representation of the subject

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36
Q

conflict

A

the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story

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37
Q

internal conflict

A

conflict involving opposing forces w/in a person’s mind

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38
Q

external conflict

A

conflict that can exists between 2 people, btwn. person & nature or machine, or between a person & a whole society

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39
Q

connotation

A

the association & emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition

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40
Q

what are words with strong connotations often called? (2 diff. phrases)

A

loaded words or suggestive words

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41
Q

consonance

A

the repetition of the same or similar final consonant sounds on accented syllables or in important words
ex. ticktock; singsong

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42
Q

couplet

A

2 consecutive rhyming lines of poetry

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43
Q

closed couplet

A

couplet where the 2 rhyming lines express a complete thought

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44
Q

dactyl

A

a metrical foot of 3 syllables in which the 1st syllable is stressed & the next 2 are unstressed
ex. tendency (ten-den-cy…stress,stress,no stress)

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45
Q

denouement

A

the conclusion (or resolution) of a story

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46
Q

description

A

1 of the 4 major forms of discourse, in which language is used to create a mood or emotion
(does this through sensory imagery)

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47
Q

dialect

A

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

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48
Q

diction

A

a speaker or writer’s choice of words

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49
Q

dramatic monologue

A

a poem in which a character speaks to one or more listeners

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50
Q

elegy

A

a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died

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51
Q

epic

A

a long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society

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52
Q

epithet

A

a descriptive word or phrase that is frequently used to characterize a person or thing
ex. NYC’s epithet = The Big Apple

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53
Q

stock epithats

A

ex. epics like Homer’s Odyssey & Iliad… frequently use stock epithats over & over again to describe certain characters/places: “patient Penelope” “wily Odysseus” “earthquaker” (for Poseidon)

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54
Q

essay

A

a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

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55
Q

exposition

A

1 of the 4 major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or “set forth” (usually includes background info on characters, their setting & their problems)

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56
Q

fable

A

a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life

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57
Q

farce

A

a type of comedy in which ridiculous & often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations

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58
Q

figure of speech

A

a word or phrase that describes 1 thing in terms of another & that is not meant to be taken literally

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59
Q

name the most common figures of speech

A

simile, metaphor, personification, & symbol

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60
Q

what’s another name for figures of speech?

A

figurative language

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61
Q

flashback

A

a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time

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62
Q

foil

A

a character who acts as a contrast to another character

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63
Q

foot

A

a metrical unit of poetry

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64
Q

iamb

A

common foot in English poetry

consists of unstressed syllable followed by stressed syllable

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65
Q

foreshadowing

A

the use of hints & clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

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66
Q

free verse

A

poetry that doesn’t conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

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67
Q

list the traditional poetic elements that free verse uses

A
  • imagery
  • figures of speech
  • repetition
  • internal rhyme
  • alliteration
  • assonance
  • onomatopoeia
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68
Q

hyperbole

A

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement, for effect

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69
Q

iamb

A

a metrical foot in poetry that has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word “protect”

70
Q

iambic pentameter

A

a line of poetry that contains 5 iambic feet

71
Q

idiom

A

an expression that means something different from the literal definitions of its parts

72
Q

imagery

A

the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience

73
Q

imagism

A

a 20th century movement in European & American poetry that advocated the creation of hard, clear images, concisely expressed in everyday speech

74
Q

impressionism

A

a 19th century movement in literature and art that advocated a recording of the artist’s personal impressions of the world, rather than a strict representation of reality

75
Q

incongruity

A

the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other

76
Q

interior monologue

A

a narrative technique that records a character’s internal flow of thoughts, memories, & ideas

77
Q

internal rhyme

A

rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry or within consecutive lines

78
Q

inversion

A

the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

79
Q

irony

A

in general, a discrepancy between appearances & reality

80
Q

verbal irony

A

occurs when someone says 1 thing but really means something else (aka sarcasm)

81
Q

situational irony

A

takes place when there is a discrepancy btwn. what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, & what really does happen

82
Q

lyric poem

A

a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of a speaker

83
Q

magic realism

A

a genre developed in Latin America that juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical

84
Q

metaphor

A

a figure of speech that makes a comparison btwn. 2 unlike things w/out the use of such specific words of comparison as “like”, “as”, “than”, or “resembles”

85
Q

directly stated metaphor

A

states comparison explicitly

ex. “Fame is a bee”

86
Q

implied metaphor

A

doesn’t state explicitly the 2 terms of the comparison

87
Q

extended metaphor

A

metaphor that’s extended or developed over a # of lines or w/ several examples

88
Q

dead metaphor

A

metaphor that’s been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid
ex. seat of govt.; head of the house

89
Q

mixed metaphor

A

metaphor that fails to make a logical comparison bc its mixed terms are visually or imaginatively incompatible

90
Q

meter

A

a pattern of stressed & unstressed syllable in poetry

91
Q

scanning (the poem)

A

looking over all the little stressed & unstressed symbols

92
Q

list 4 ways meter is described

A
  1. iambic
  2. trochaic
  3. dactylic
  4. anapestic
93
Q

metonymy

A

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it

ex. referring to a king or queen as “the crown”
ex. calling a car “wheels”

94
Q

modernism

A

term for the bold new experimental styles & forms that swept the arts during the 1st 3rd of the 20th century

95
Q

motivation

A

the reasons for a character’s behavior

96
Q

myth

A

an anonymous traditional story that’s basically religious in nature & that usually serves to explain a belief, ritual, or mysterious natural phenomenon

97
Q

narrative

A

the form of discourse that tells about a series of events

98
Q

chronological order

A

in the order in which the events occured

99
Q

name 4 major forms of discourse

A
  1. description
  2. exposition
  3. persuasion
  4. narrative
100
Q

naturalism

A

a 19th century literary movement that was an extension of realism & that claimed to portray life exactly as it was

101
Q

objective correlative

A

an object, a situation, or a chain of events that serves as the formula for a specific emotion

102
Q

octave

A

an 8 line poem, or the 1st 8 lines of a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet

103
Q

ode

A

a lyric poem, usually long, on a serious subject & written in dignified language

104
Q

onomatopoeia

A

the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning

105
Q

oxymoron

A

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

ex. sweet sorrow
ex. deafening silence

106
Q

parable

A

a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson, about how to lead a good life

107
Q

paradox

A

a statement that appears self-contradictory but that reveals a kind of truth
ex. “I taste a liquor never brewed”

108
Q

parallel structure (aka parallelism)

A

the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures

109
Q

parody

A

a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style

110
Q

personfication

A

a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

111
Q

persuasion

A

1 of the 4 forms of discourse, which uses reason & emotional appeals to convince a reader to think or act in a certain way

112
Q

plain style

A

a way of writing that stresses simplicity & clarity of expression

113
Q

plot

A

the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the story line

114
Q

complications

A

in plot, arise as the characters take steps to resolve their conflicts

115
Q

rising action

A

refers to all actions that take place before the turning point (aka crisis)

116
Q

turning point (aka crisis)

A

point at which hero experiences a reversal of fortune (not always for the better… Shakespeare anyone?)

117
Q

falling action

A

all action after turning point - leads to final resolution (happy or unhappy) of the conflict

118
Q

where does the major climax in most plays & novels take place?

A

just before the ending

119
Q

point of view

A

the vantage point from which the writer tells a story

120
Q

list the 4 main points of view

A
  1. 1st person
  2. 3rd person limited
  3. omniscient
  4. objective
121
Q

first person point of view

A

one of the characters in the story tells the story, using 1st person pronouns such as “I” & “we”

122
Q

3rd person limited point of view

A

an unknown narrator (usually thought of as the author) tell the story, but this narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts & feelings of only 1 character (uses he, she, they as pronouns so 3rd person)

123
Q

omniscient point of view

A

an omniscient, or “all-knowing”, narrator tells the story, also using the 3rd person pronouns but doesn’t focus on 1 character, rather tells us everything about many characters

124
Q

objective point of view

A

narrator who’s totally impersonal & objective tell story w/ no comment on any characters or events

125
Q

postmodernism

A

term for the dominant trend in the arts since 1945

126
Q

protagonist

A

the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action

127
Q

proverb

A

a short, well-known statement that expresses a common truth or experience

128
Q

pun

A

a “play on words” based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things

129
Q

quatrain

A

a poem consisting of 4 lines, or 4 lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit

130
Q

realism

A

a style of writing, developed in the 19th century, that attempts to depict life accurately w/out idealizing or romanticizing it

131
Q

refrain

A

a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem

132
Q

regionalism

A

literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting & that reproduces the speech, behavior, & attitudes of the people who live in that region

133
Q

resolution

A

the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled

134
Q

rhetorical question

A

a question asked for an effect, not actually requiring an answer
(these questions presume the audience agrees w/ the speaker on the answers)

135
Q

rhyme

A

the repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables & all succeeding syllables

136
Q

internal rhyme

A

when words w/in the same line of poetry have repeated sounds

137
Q

end rhyme

A

refers to rhyming words at the ends of lines

138
Q

rhyme scheme

A

the pattern of rhymes in a poem

commonly indicated w/ letters of the alphabet, each rhyming sound represented by diff. letter

139
Q

approximate rhymes (aka off rhymes, half rhymes, imperfect rhymes, or slant rhymes)

A

words that have some correspondence in sound but not an exact one

ex. flash & flesh
ex. stream & storm
ex. early & barley

140
Q

rhythm

A

the alternation of stressed & unstressed syllables in language

141
Q

romance

A

in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest & is successful

142
Q

romanticism

A

a revolt against rationalism that affected literature & the other arts, beginning in the late 18th century & remaining strong throughout most of the 19th century

143
Q

satire

A

a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change
*always intensely moral in its purpose

144
Q

scanning

A

the analysis of a poem to determine its meter

145
Q

sestet

A

6 lines of poetry, especially the last 6 lines of a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet

146
Q

setting

A

the time & location in which a story takes place

147
Q

what are the 3 things setting creates?

A
  1. conflict
  2. atmosphere or mood
  3. creates & delineates character
148
Q

simile

A

a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between 2 unlike things, using a word such as “like”, “as”, “than”, or “resembles”

149
Q

slant rhyme

A

a rhyming sound that is not exact

ex. follow/fellow
ex. mystery/mastery

150
Q

soliloquy

A

a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage

151
Q

sonnet

A

a 14 line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has 1 of 2 basic structures

152
Q

Petrarchan sonnet (aka the Italian sonnet)

A

1st 8 lines (called octave) ask a question or pose a problem

last 6 lines (called sestet) respond to question or problem

153
Q

English / Elizabethan / Shakespearean sonnet

A

sonnet w/ 3 four-line units (quatrains)

concludes w/ couplet

154
Q

sound effects

A

the use of sounds to create specific literary effects

155
Q

spondee

A

a metrical foot consisting of 2 syllables, both of which are stressed

ex. nineteen
ex. true-blue

156
Q

sterotype

A

a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea that doesn’t allow for any individuality, & is often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices

157
Q

another name for stereotypes?

A

stock characters

158
Q

stream of consciousness

A

a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind

159
Q

style

A

the distinctive way in which a writer uses language

160
Q

surrealism

A

a movement in art & literature that started in Europe during the 1920s. Surrealists wanted to replace conventional realism w/ the full expression of the unconscious mind, which they considered to be more real than the “real” world of appearances

161
Q

suspense

A

a feeling of uncertainty & curiosity about what will happen next in a story

162
Q

symbol

A

a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself & that also stands for something more than itself

163
Q

symbolism

A

a literary movement that originated in late 19th century France, in which writers rearranged the world of appearances in order to reveal a more truthful version of reality

164
Q

synecdoche

A

a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole

ex. capital city being spoken of like its the govt… Washington & Tehran are both claiming…”

165
Q

synesthesia

A

the juxtaposition of 1 sensory image w/ another image that appeals to an unrelated sense (basically combining diff. sensory images into a conflicting phrase)
ex. “sweet laugher”

166
Q

tall tale

A

an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that’s obviously unbelievable

167
Q

theme

A

the insight about human life that’s revealed in a literary work

168
Q

tone

A

the attitude a writer takes towards the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience

169
Q

tragedy

A

in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end

170
Q

transcendentalism

A

a 19th century movement in the Romantic tradition, which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reason & sensory experience

171
Q

trochee

A

a metrical foot made up of an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable, as in the word taxi

172
Q

understatement

A

a statement that says less than what it means

173
Q

vernacular

A

the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality

American Literature (2 decks)

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