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English > Literary Devices > Flashcards

Literary Devices Flashcards

1
Q

Personification

A

Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects

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2
Q

Simile

A

A comparison that uses like or as

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3
Q

Metaphor

A

A comparison between two unlike objects

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4
Q

Iambic pentameter

A

A form of meter that is unstressed stressed

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5
Q

Foreshadowing

A

A hint of what’s to come in literature

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6
Q

Monologue

A

When a single character expresses their thoughts

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7
Q

Soliloquy

A

A dramatic device in which a character speaks their thoughts alone

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8
Q

Dialogue

A

Direct speech between two characters

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9
Q

Rising action

A

Action leading up to the climax that develops the conflict

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10
Q

Climax

A

Turning point in literature

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11
Q

Falling action

A

Results or effects of climax

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12
Q

Resolution

A

At the end of literature where loose ends are tied up and questions are answered

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13
Q

Prose

A

Written or spoken language in its own form without meter

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14
Q

Couplet

A

Two lines of verse that usually rhyme and form a unit

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15
Q

Pun

A

When multiple meanings of a word are used to convey different things
(Play on words)

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16
Q

Blank verse

A

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

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17
Q

Free verse

A

No clear rhyme scheme or meter but have short lines as opposed to sentences

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18
Q

Irony

A

The opposite of what is expected in the expression

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19
Q

Verbal irony

A

When someone writes or says one thing but means the opposite

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20
Q

Situational irony

A

When the outcome is not what was expected

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21
Q

Dramatic irony

A

When the audience or reader understands what’s going on but not the character

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22
Q

Sonnet

A

A poem with 14 lines and usually in iambic pentameter

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23
Q

Oxymoron

A

A phrase that contains two words that are contradictory

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24
Q

Speaker

A

Voice in the poem, the person or thing speaking

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25
Q

Setting

A

A time or place of a literary work

26
Q

Symbolism

A

One noun that is used to represent something else

27
Q

Imagery

A

Language that appeals to the five senses

28
Q

Mood

A

The overall atmosphere of the literary piece

29
Q

Tone

A

The authors attitude toward the subject of the work

30
Q

Theme

A

The underlying main idea of the literature. Theme differs from the subject of the literature

31
Q

Hyperbole

A

Extreme exaggeration to add meaning

32
Q

Conflict

A

Struggle between two or more opposing forces

33
Q

Aside

A

A dramatic device in that a character makes a small speech intended for the audience to hear but not other characters

34
Q

Prologue

A

A separate introductory section to a piece of literature

35
Q

Subtext

A

An underlying distinct theme or idea that is clearly shown in a piece of writing or conversation

36
Q

Alliteration

A

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

37
Q

Assonance

A

Repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds

38
Q

Consonance

A

A reoccurrence of similar sounds, mainly consonants in close proximity

39
Q

Apostrophe

A

Addressing an absent person or an abstract inanimate object

40
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

A formation of a word from the sound its associated with

41
Q

Allusion

A

Allusion – a reference to something well-known that exists outside the literary work

42
Q

Ba’al Shem Tov

A

18th century founder of Chasidism

43
Q

Shabbat

A

The sabbath, weekly festival where all work stops for Friday night and Saturday

44
Q

Yeshiva

A

a special Jewish parochial school where boys and girls are educated separately, and where stress is placed on study of the Torah and Talmud

45
Q

Tzitzit

A

the ritual fringes used to remind Jews of God’s commandments; found either on a prayer shawl or a special undergarment worn under the shirt

46
Q

Rabbi

A

Jewish religious and spiritual leader trained in scholarship and to lead the community

47
Q

Rebbe

A

a revered leader of a Chasidic sect; the Rebbe is consulted in nearly all matters by his followers because he is considered the wisest man in the community and because it is believed that he is best able to interpret God’s will on earth

48
Q

Hebrew

A

the language the Torah is written in and therefore considered a holy tongue. Chasidim do not speak Hebrew for trivial matters, but converse in Yiddish. Hebrew has been adopted as the national language of the modern nation of Israel, founded in 1948

49
Q

Yiddish

A

a language, a combination of Hebrew, German, Polish and other European languages, spoken among Chasidic Jews

50
Q

Yarmulke

A

a small hat worn by Jewish men to remind themselves that they are continually below God

51
Q

Abba

A

Hebrew word for father

52
Q

Talmud

A

the oral law. According to Jewish tradition, when the Torah was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, Moses also received oral instructions which were passed down orally, but not written down for many generations. Several generations later, a group of rabbis did write down their discussions of the oral laws and those writings are known as the Talmud

53
Q

tzaddikim

A

The righteous ones – “a superhuman link between themselves and God.”

54
Q

Tefilin

A

two boxes with long straps crafted of unblemished leather that contain particular Bible verses in them. They are worn around the head and between the eyes, and around the arm traditionally by Jewish men during morning weekday services so that they can literally fulfill the commandment in Deuteronomy that says, “and you shall wear them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.”

55
Q

Torah

A

literally “law” the first five books of the Bible that traditional Jews believe were handed to Moses on Mt. Sinai while they were in the desert returning to Canaan after years of slavery in Egypt (613 commandments)

56
Q

Momzer

A

a contemptible person

57
Q

Samovars

A

an urn with a spigot at its base for tea

58
Q

Hasidic Jews

A

Hasidim, or pious ones, are followers of a Polish Jew named Israel who lived in the 18th century. Also called a saintly man, he taught and mingled with his people out of a sense of love, not duty. The leaders of this sect are known as Tzaddikim, the righteous ones. Reb Saunders is a Tzaddik

59
Q

Gentiles

A

non-Jewish faih, Christian

60
Q

Kosher

A

clean or fit to eat according to Jewish law

61
Q

Apostate

A

a person guilty of abandoning his faith

English (2 decks)

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