Lit Terms #180-210 Flashcards
Spenserian Stanza
A 9 lines stanza with the rhyme scheme “ababbcbcc”; the first 8 lines are written in iambic pentameter and the last line (and alexandrine) is written in iambic hexameter
Sonnet
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme; may be Shakespearean (English) or Petrarchan (Italian)
Spondee
A metrical foot of 2 accented syllables
Stanza
A division of a poem
Stereotype
A character whose attitudes, words, and actions fall within a widely-held idea of what that “type” is like; may also be applied to plot
Stichomythia
Dialogue in which the endings and beginnings of each line echo each other, taking on new meaning with each line
Stream of Consciousness
A form of writing which replicates the way the human mind works; ideas are presented in random, not chronological, order; thoughts may be unfinished
Style
Author’s choice and arrangement of words, tone, mod, imagery, sound devices, syntax, etc.
Subject Compliment
The word (with any accompanying phrases) or class that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the sentence by renaming it (predicate nominative) or by describing it (predicate adjectives)
Subjunctive
Mood of the verb that expresses a wish or or a statement that is contrary to fact
Subordinate Clause
A dependent clause which can’t stand alone as a complete sentence; functions as an adverb, an adjective or a noun
Syllabic Verse
Poetry which contains the same number of syllables in each line or follows a pattern of syllables per line
Symbol
A person, place, or thing that represents something else
Synecdoche
A type of figurative language in which the part stands for the whole
Syntax
Arrangement of words in sentences to convey tone, purpose, or effect by form (simple, compound, complex), by use (declarative, imperative, interrogative, narrative), or by mode (expository, argumentative, interpretive, narrative)
Syllogism
Formal argument of deductive reasoning
Tercet
3 lines of poetry which usually rhyme
Terra Rima
An interlocking 3 line stanza with the rhyme scheme “aba bcb cdc ded” etc.
Theme
Underlying meaning of a work
Thesis
Sentence (or group of sentences) that directly express the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition in expository writing
Tone
Author’s attitude toward the subject; shifts in tone are often identified by one or more of the following: key words (esp. conjunctions), punctuation (esp. dashes and semicolons), stanza and paragraph division, changes in line and/or stanza length, sharp contrasts in diction
Tragedy
A play in which the protagonist comes to an unhappy end
Transcendentalism
19th century movement in the Romantic tradition which believes that humans can arise above materialism to a higher happiness through simplicity and communion with nature
Transition
A word or phrase that links ideas, signaling a shift from one idea to another
Trochee
A metrical foot composed of one accented syllable followed by an u accented syllable
Understatement
Ironic minimalizing of fact
Verbal
A verb form used as a noun, adjective, or adverb
Villanelle
A poetic form consisting of five 3 line stanzas followed by a quatrain with the rhyme scheme “aba aba aba aba aba abaa”, lines 1 and 3 repeating alternately as refrains
Wit
Cleverness and keen perception
Zeugma
Use of a verb that has 2 different meanings with objects that compliment both meanings
