Lit Terms 3rd Term Flashcards
alliteration
repetition of initial consonant sounds
allusion
referencing another work of literature/historical event/etc within another work
alter ego
a secondary or alternative personality
ambiguity
capable of having multiple meanings
anadiplosis
repetition of word in the clause that follows
ex. “Anger leads to fear, fear leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
anaphora
repetition at the beginnings of phrases or clauses
antagonist
character in opposition to the protagonist
anthimeria
“verbing” a noun
anit-hero
a hero lacking one or more attributes that are associated with a hero
antithesis
opposing ideas in parallel structure
apostrophe
directly addressing someone dead or not present, or something that is not human
aside
line spoken onstage directly to the audience while other characters are present but do not hear (a behind-the-hand comment)
assonance
repeated vowel sounds that are NOT rhyming
ex. rowing slowly over oceans
asyndeton
no conjunctions in a series
bildungsroman
a coming-of-age story
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
cacophonous sounds
grating or harsh sounds
charaterization
the portrayal/attributes given to a character in a work
chiasmus
two or more clauses that balance against each other by reversing structure
ex. Never let a fool kiss you or you kiss a fool.
cliche
a trite, overused expression that has lost its original impact
comic relief
a scene placed in the midst of tragedy to lighten the mood
commercial fiction
thrillers, money makers, inventive plots, thin on literary merit
connotation
meanings ASSOCIATED with a word, not found in its dictionary definition
consonance
words that involve the same consonant sound anywhere EXCEPT the beginning of the word
ex. struts and frets
couplet
two lines of poetry
denotation
the dictionary definition of a word
Deus ex machina
an improbable device/event brought into a story to resolve all of the plot’s entanglements
diction
word choice
doppleganger
literally–doublewalker, a look alike, an alter ego, or two characters who walk similar paths
dumb show
a pantomime occurring before a play begins that gives a brief summary of the play’s contents
elegy
a poem written for someone who has died
ellipsis
the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues
epistolary
using letters or other documents to tell a story
ex. Frankenstein
epistrophe
repetition at the ends of phrases or clauses
eternizing conceit
the final 2 lines of a Shakespearean sonnet (ending couplet)
eulogy
a speech for someone that has died
euphonious sounds
pleasing to the ear
extended metaphor
a metaphor which extends through the entire work (poem or novel)
figurative language
not literal language, standing for more than itself
foil/character foil
a character who contrasts with another, most likely the protagonist
frame story
a story within a story
genre
categories within literature
heroic couplet
rhyming couplet in iambic pentameter
hubris
excessive pride, arrogance
iambic pentameter
unstressed, stressed syllable repeated 5 times per line
imagery
sensory language
implied mataphor
a comparison HINTED at but not explicitly stated
in media res
in the middle of things, beginning in the middle of the action
dramatic irony
reader or audience understands/knows more than the characters
verbal irony
saying the opposite of what is meant
situational irony
the outcome is significantly different from what is expected
juxtaposition
things set up side by side for the purpose of comparison
literary analysis
the study of various techniques or devices and their contribution to the larger literary work
literary criticism
the study, analysis, and EVALUATION of a literary work
literary ficiton
serious fiction, works that hold high literary merit
litotes
understatement by using double negatives
ex. not too bad instead of good or not as young as i was instead of I am old
lyric
poetry which expresses emotions
malapropism
using an incorrect word that is similar in sound to the word you MEANT to use, usually creating humor
metaphor
direct comparison of two things
metonymy
a thing or concept is called not by its own name but by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept
microcosm
a “a small world,” a miniature version of the world at large
mood
the prevailing emotion or atmosphere in a scene
motif
a repeated word, object, image, etc.–unifies the work and contributes to theme
narrative poem
tells a story
non sequitur
a statement or conclusion which does not follow any logic
octave
8 lines of poetry
onomatopoeia
a word that imitates the sound it is associated with
oxymoron
two opposing ideas are joined to create an effect (cruel kindness, jumbo shrimp)
paradox
a statement that seems to be untrue, yet it is true–it opposes itself
parallelism
words, phrases, or clauses that are grammatically parallel
paraphrase
to rewrite in your own words
personification
giving human qualities to non-human things
poetic justice
the good characters are rewarded and the bad are punished by the end of the work
point of view
the perspective through which the story is told
polysyndeton
many conjunctions in a series
prose
not verse
protagonist
the main character
pun
a play on words using a word that suggests two or more meanings creating a humorous effect
quatrain
four lines of poetry
satire
criticizing and exposing foolishness corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule
sestet
six lines of poetry
setting
the place and time in which a story occurs
simile
comparison using like or as
soliloquy
speech by a character alone on stage, generally giving the audience an idea of his/her inner thoughts
sonnet
14 line poem with specific rhyme scheme
ex. Shakespearean/English: ababcdcdefefgg
Petrarchan/Italian: abbaabba/cdecde (last 6 lines are combo of c, d, e rhymes)
stream-of-consciousness
type of writing where character’s thoughts or perceptions are presented as occurring in random from, without regard for logical sequences, syntactic structure, or grammatical rules
symbol
something which is both literal and figurative; stands for more than itself
synecdoche
a figure of speech in which part is made to represent the whole
syntax
sentence structure
theme
the meaning of the work, a truth about the human condition, FULL sentence
tone
the speaker’s or author’s attitude toward the work
tragic hero
a hero destined for downfall or defeat
tragic flaw
a trait/flaw that leads to the downfall of a character
tricolon
a series of three parallel phrase or clauses
tropes
- figures of speech
2. overused, familiar plot device
unreliable narrator
a narrator who sees things less clearly than the reader
verse
written like poetry, not prose
