Lit Terms/Devices Flashcards
Aside
Glimpse into a character’s thoughts
Heard by audience but not by characters
Blank verse
Unrhymed but metered lines, iambic pentameter
Characterization
Description of a characters physical traits, point of view, personality, private thoughts and actions
Conflict
To clash with someone/something
Couplet
A pair of successive rhyming lines, usually of the same length
Epithet
Adjective or phrase that is used to express a characteristic of a person or thing, such as Ivan the Terrible
Figurative language
language that’s intended to create an image, association, or other effect in the mind of the listener or reader
Foil
a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character
Foreshadowing
suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted.
Iambic meter
type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama.
Metaphor
Comparing something without using like or as
Simile
Comparing something using like or as
Pun
A play on words for a humorous effect
Analogy
saying something is like something else to make some sort of explanatory point. For example, “Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get.
Imagery
Use of literal or figurative language to add symbolism and enable the reader to imagine the world of the piece of literature
Irony
The opposite of what is expected
Dramatic Irony
Audience knows but characters don’t
Situational irony
Situation where the opposite of what is expected happens
Verbal irony
A character says something but means that opposite (sarcasm)
Monologue
an extended speech by one person
Oxymoron
term that describes words or phrases that, when placed together, create contradictions.
Personification
when you give an object or animal human behaviors
Allusion
an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text
Climax
the decisive moment, or turning point, at which the rising action of the play is reversed to falling action
Dramatic structure
The structure is how the plot or story of a play is laid out, including a beginning, a middle and an end.
Symbol
something that stands for something else
Protagonist
Main character, heroine
Antagonist
the principal opponent or foil of the main character
Motivation
the reason compelling a person’s actions and behaviors
Theme
The underlying message the author is trying to convey
