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Literary Terms 1-100 > Literary Terms 1-100 > Flashcards

Literary Terms 1-100 Flashcards

1
Q

a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions

A

Allegory

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2
Q

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words

A

Alliteration

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3
Q

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize

A

Allusion

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4
Q

occurs when a word, phrase, situation, or event can be interpreted in more than one way; both interpretations must be supportable from the text

A

Ambiguity

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5
Q

a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

A

Analogy

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6
Q

a brief narrative (story) that focuses on a particular incident or event

A

Anecdote

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7
Q

a main character of a plot who is in opposition to or conflict with the protagonist. This person usually complicates the conflict and plot.

A

Antagonist

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8
Q

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

A

Archetype

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9
Q

side comments by a character on stage, which the other characters appear not to hear or react to

A

Aside

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10
Q

repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of words (not the same as rhyme)

A

Assonance

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11
Q

a nonfiction story written by an author about himself/herself

A

Autobiography

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12
Q

a nonfiction story about a person’s life written by someone else

A

Biography

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13
Q

a cleansing of the spirit when feelings of pity and sorrow arise from tragedy

A

Catharsis

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14
Q

the introduction and development of the personalities of the individuals in a piece of literature

A

Characterization

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15
Q

an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off

A

Cliché

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16
Q

the point of highest interest in a literary work

A

Climax

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17
Q

a problem, issue, or challenge that must be solved. This is the driving force for all the action and events in the plot.

A

Conflict

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18
Q

the implied or associative meaning of a word

A

Connotation

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19
Q

repetition of the same consonant sounds in neighboring words

A

Consonance

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20
Q

two consecutive lines with words at the end that rhyme

A

Couplet

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21
Q

the literal meaning of a word (the precise dictionary definition)

A

Denotation

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22
Q

the resolution or outcome of a story

A

Denouement

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23
Q

a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region

A

Dialect

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24
Q

conversation between two or more people

A

Dialogue

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25
Q

the word choices made by a writer

A

Diction

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26
Q

when the narrator or a character in the story explicitly tells readers what they need to know about a character

A

Direct characterization

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27
Q

the formal name for a play

A

Drama

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28
Q

an individual who changes, learns, and grows from his/her experiences during the story

A

Dynamic character

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29
Q

a poetic technique in which one line ends without a pause and must continue on to the next line to complete its meaning

A

Enjambment

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30
Q

a long narrative poem written in elevated style that presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation

A

Epic

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31
Q

a sudden perception or moment of understanding that causes a character to change or act in a certain way

A

Epiphany

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32
Q

the opening part of the plot that introduces the setting, characters, and conflict

A

Exposition

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33
Q

a struggle or problem originating outside a character, i.e., person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society

A

External conflict

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34
Q

a brief story that embodies a moral, often using animals as characters

A

Fable

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35
Q

stories that include characters, settings, and/or events that were created in the imagination of the writer. If any of these three is invented, the entire story is deemed fiction.

A

Fiction

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36
Q

language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.)

A

Figurative language

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37
Q

a story told from the perspective of someone in the story using the pronouns “I,” “me,” “my,” etc.

A

First-person point of view

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38
Q

the insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative

A

Flashback

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39
Q

a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story

A

Flat character

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40
Q

a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight various features of the characters’ personalities, throwing these characteristics into stark focus

A

Foil

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41
Q

hints or clues about what may happen later in the plot. This can be suggested through symbolism, dialogue, imagery, or other literary devices.

A

Foreshadowing

42
Q

poetry with no fixed meter or rhyme scheme

A

Free verse

43
Q

a major category or type of literature

A

Genre

44
Q

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

A

Hubris

45
Q

intentional exaggeration to create an effect

A

Hyperbole

46
Q

an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression (i.e., “raining cats and dogs”)

A

Idiom

47
Q

the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses

A

Imagery

48
Q

when readers indirectly learn about a character through thoughts, comments, or actions of the characters

A

Indirect characterization

49
Q

a conclusion one draws (infers) based on premises or evidence

A

Inference

50
Q

a struggle or problem within a character, i.e., person vs. self

A

Internal conflict

51
Q

the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs

A

Irony

52
Q

a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical and often supernatural elements

A

Legend

53
Q

a narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that one character

A

Limited narrator

54
Q

a poem written to express feelings or emotions (the most common category for poems)

A

Lyric poem

55
Q

a nonfiction story about certain moments or parts of an author’s life

A

Memoir

56
Q

a direct comparison of two different things

A

Metaphor

57
Q

the rhythm or syllable pattern in lines of poetry; the beat of the words

A

Meter

58
Q

one character speaking to himself or directly to the audience

A

Monologue

59
Q

the emotional quality the reader experiences from the words, images, and descriptions created by the writer

A

Mood

60
Q

a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works

A

Motif

61
Q

a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events

A

Myth

62
Q

a poem that tells a story

A

Narrative poem

63
Q

a story or narrated account

A

Narrative

64
Q

the one who tells the story; the speaker; may be first-person (a character living the story) or third-person (a character watching the story unfold), limited or omniscient

A

Narrator

65
Q

stories that include characters, settings, and events that are based on fact. All three must be accurate and true for a piece to be considered nonfiction.

A

Nonfiction

66
Q

a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters

A

Omniscient narrator

67
Q

a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds

A

Onomatopoeia

68
Q

an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined

A

Oxymoron

69
Q

an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth

A

Paradox

70
Q

a humorous imitation of a serious work

A

Parody

71
Q

giving human qualities or characteristics to non-human objects or creatures

A

Personification

72
Q

the sequence or order of events

A

Plot

73
Q

the perspective from which the story is told

A

Point of view

74
Q

non-poetry; most writing falls into this category (short stories, novels, nonfiction, etc.)

A

Prose

75
Q

the main character of the plot who is usually considered the hero or positive individual

A

Protagonist

76
Q

a play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings (i.e., In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.” Grave carries the double meaning of serious/sad and dead.)

A

Pun

77
Q

the part of the story’s plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or worked out. This occurs after the falling action and is typically where the story ends.

A

Resolution

78
Q

the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing

A

Rhetoric

79
Q

a set pattern of rhyming words found at the ends of lines of poetry. The rhyme scheme is indicated by assigning capital letters to pinpoint the pattern (i.e., ABAB CDCD EFEF GG).

A

Rhyme scheme

80
Q

a character who, like a real person, possesses many different, even contradictory, character traits

A

Round character

81
Q

ridicule intended to expose truth

A

Satire

82
Q

time and place in which the plot takes place

A

Setting

83
Q

the comparison of two or more related objects or events using the words like or as in the phrasing

A

Simile

84
Q

when a character is alone (solo) on stage, speaking aloud her thoughts or emotions. Soliloquies often reveal motivation and/or foreshadowing.

A

Soliloquy

85
Q

a fourteen-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

A

Sonnet

86
Q

the natural divisions of a poem, similar to a paragraph in a work of prose

A

Stanza

87
Q

a character who does not change through the course of a story

A

Static character

88
Q

a technique in which prose follows the logic and flow of a character’s (or multiple characters’) thought processes

A

Stream of consciousness

89
Q

all the distinctive ways an author uses language to create a literary work; style can involve diction, imagery, tone, syntax, and figurative language

A

Style

90
Q

a building or rising sense of concern or interest in what will happen in a plot

A

Suspense

91
Q

an object that is used to represent something else

A

Symbol

92
Q

the use of objects, animals (especially birds), colors, etc. that have a greater or universal meaning beyond their simple existence. The symbols can offer information and even create foreshadowing if the reader understands or notes their meaning.

A

Symbolism

93
Q

sentence structure

A

Syntax

94
Q

the message, advice, or warning about life and/or relationships the author shares through the characters’ experiences. This message is often inferred; it is more than a simplistic moral to the story.

A

Theme

95
Q

the primary position taken by a writer or speaker

A

Thesis

96
Q

the narrator of the story exists outside of the story’s events and uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” “they,” etc.

A

Third-person point of view

97
Q

the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience

A

Tone

98
Q

a work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle, which ends in ruin or destruction

A

Tragedy

99
Q

a habit, personality trait, or practice that repeatedly causes a character problems in his/her life and ultimately causes his or her downfall or destruction

A

Tragic flaw

100
Q

the point in a work in which a very significant change occurs

A

Turning point

Literary Terms 1-100 (1 decks)

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