lit terms Flashcards
Epic
a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
Anaphora
Repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences , clauses or poetic lines
Foil
a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to paint or show to advantages some aspect of the second character
Hyperbole
a figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect
alliteration
repetition of the same sound
elegy
medatitive lyric poem lamentig the death of a public personage or of a friend or loved one
aphorism
short statement or catch phrase containing a well known or general truth or opinion
connotation
refers to a selection of a word or phrase for its sugested meaning instead of its literal one, word or thing
syntax
set of rules that help readers and writers make sense of sentences
tone
how the author feels or speaks in the text
rhetorical question
asking a question with a different way and implies the answer
conceit
an often unconventional, logically complex, or surprising metaphor whose delights are more intellectual than sensual. (remember its a metaphor)
stanza
like a paragraph with lines in a poem
mood
the way you feel from reading a passage, the reader
epsitle
a letter in a verse usually adressed to a person close to the writer
regionalism
focuses on the characters or the region with dialogue ex) The dead -by- James Joyce
anti hero
has traits of a villain but gives the goals of a good hero ex) prince hamlet
enjambment
a line a poetry that runs into another with no punctuations
mock epic
satire form of an epic ex) epic of Gilgamesh
pathetic fallacy
poetic practice at attributing human emotion or responses to nature, objects or animals
allegory
fictional narrative that conceives a meaning not explicity set forth in the narrative
motif
repeating of an image or idea
physiognomy
personal characteristics with personal emotions
heroic couplet
a pair of rhyming lines
parallelism
coordinate ideas align with both the phrases setup and style and ideas
freeverse
a poem with no rhyme and meter
blankverse
no rthyme but metered lines
kenning
concise compound or figurative phrase replacing a common noun
