Lit Terms 91-105 Flashcards
anti-hero
a graceless, inept, sometimes stupid or dishonest protagonist who is the opposite of a traditional hero
apostrophe
figure of speech in which someone, some abstract quality, or a non-existent personage is directly addressed as though alive and capable of understanding
asyndeton
a stylistic pattern in composition in which the writing contains clauses without coordinating conjunctions
aubade
a poem about dawn, morning love song, lovers parting at dawn
hypotaxis
a stylistic pattern in composition in which the writing contains clauses that are subordinated to and dependent on one another
literal language
language that is not figurative but instead accurate to the letter
onomatopoeia
the combination of words whcih imitate sounds; a figure of speech in which the sound is suggestive of the meaning
paradox
a statement or situation which seems on the surface contradictory or untrue but proves valid upon closer inspection
parataxis
a stylistic pattern in composition in which the writing contains clauses that are equally weighted without subordination; can occur with asyndeton (no coordinating conjunction) or polysyndeton
pastoral
a type of poem that deals in an idealized way with shepherds and rustic life
persona
the persona is the mask which covers the direct voice of the author
polysyndenton
a stylistic pattern in composition in which the writing contains an overabundance of coordination conjunctions, having the effect of slowing down the pace of writing.
Platonism
1) true reality is in the idea realm
2) the soul is immortal
3) love has lower and higher forms of expression
spoonerism
phonetic transpositions in which sounds are switched in a phrase or pair of words
Understatement
a statement for dramatic or humorous effect of less importance than the occasion would warrant
