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English, 12th Literature > Literary Terms 1-13 > Flashcards

Literary Terms 1-13 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Act

A

major unit of action in a drama or play

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2
Q

allegory

A

story in which people things and actions represent an idea about life; usually have strong morals or lessons.

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3
Q

alliteration

A

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

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4
Q

allusion

A

a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature.

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5
Q

analogy

A

comparison of 2 or more objects that suggests if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways.

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6
Q

anecdote

A

a brief account of an interesting incident or event that is usually intended to entertain or make a point

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7
Q

antagonist

A

a character in a story who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main character in some way.

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8
Q

aside

A

an actors speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to be heard by the other actors on stage.

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9
Q

assonance

A

repetition of a vowel sounds within a line of poetry.

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10
Q

audience

A

a particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing

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11
Q

author

A

the writer of a book, article or text.

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12
Q

authors purpose

A

an authors purpose is his or her reason for creating a particular work.

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13
Q

autobiography

A

a form of nonfiction in which a person tells the story of his or her life.

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14
Q

ballad

A

a poem that tells a story and is meant to be sung or recited

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15
Q

biography

A

the story of a persons life that is written by someone else.

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16
Q

blank verse

A

unrhymed iambic pentameter (see meter)

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17
Q

caesura

A

a pause or sudden break in a line of poetry

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18
Q

Cause and Effect

A

two events are related as cause and effect when one even causes the other. The event that follows is the effect.

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19
Q

Character

A

a person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story or poem or other literature.

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20
Q

caricature

A

a picture or limitation of a persons habits, physical appearance or mannerisms exaggerated in a comic or absurd way.

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21
Q

foil

A

a character who serves as a contrast to the conflict to another character.

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22
Q

hero / heroine

A

a character whose actions are inspiring or noble; often he main character of a story.

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23
Q

main characters

A

characters who are central to the plot of the story

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24
Q

minor characters

A

a less important character who interacts with the main characters, helping to move the plot along and providing background for the story.

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25
Q

protagonist

A

may be referred to as the hero of a story.

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26
Q

characterization

A

all of the techniques that writers use to create characters

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27
Q

character trait

A

a characters personality

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28
Q

direct characterization

A

the author directly states a characters traits or makes direct comments about a characters nature.

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29
Q

dynamic character

A

a character who changes through out the course of the story

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30
Q

flat character

A

a character about whom little information is provided.

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31
Q

indirect character

A

the author does not directly state a characters traits; instead the reader draws conclusions and discovers a characters traits based on clues provided by the author.

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32
Q

round character

A

character who i fully described by the author

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33
Q

static character

A

a character who does not change or who changes very little in the course of the story.

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34
Q

chorus

A

see refrain

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35
Q

chronological order

A

the order in which events happen in time

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36
Q

clarifying

A

the readers process of pausing occasionally while reading to quickly review what he or she understands.

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37
Q

cliche

A

a type of figurative language containing overuse expression or a saying that is no longer considered original

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38
Q

climax

A

see plot

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39
Q

comedy

A

a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone and usually ends happily with a peaceful resolution of the main conflict.

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40
Q

comparison

A

the process of identifying similarities.

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41
Q

concrete poetry

A

a type of poetry that uses physical or visual form to present its message

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42
Q

conflict

A

tension or problem in the story; a struggle between opposing sides

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43
Q

central conflict

A

the dominant or most important conflict in the story

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44
Q

external conflict

A

the problem or struggles that exists between the main character and an outside force.

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45
Q

internal conflict

A

the problem or struggle that takes place in the main characters mind

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46
Q

connecting

A

a readers process of relating the content of a literary work to his or her own knowledge and experience

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47
Q

connotation

A

the idea and feeling associated with a word as opposed to its dictionary definition or denotation

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48
Q

consonance

A

the repetition of sounds anywhere within a line of poetry.

49
Q

context clues

A

hints or suggestions that may surround unfamiliar words or phrases and clarifying their meaning

50
Q

contrast

A

the process of pointing out differences between things

51
Q

couplet

A

a rhymed pair of lines in a poem

52
Q

denotation

A

opposite of connotation in that it is the exact or dictionary meaning of a word

53
Q

denouement

A

see plot

54
Q

dialect

A

a form of language that is spoken in a particular place or by a particular group of people.

55
Q

dialogue

A

the conversation between characters in a drama or narrative.

56
Q

drama

A

a drama or play is a form of literature meant to be performed by actors before an audience.

57
Q

drawing conclusions

A

combining several pieces of information to make an inference.

58
Q

dramatic monologue

A

a literary device that is used when a character reveals his or her innermost feelings, those that are hidden throughout the story line.

59
Q

elegy

A

a type of literature defined as a song or poem that expresses sorrow or lamentation; usually for one whose died.

60
Q

enjambement

A

in poetry, incomplete syntax at the end of a line, the meaning running over into the next without terminal punctuation.

61
Q

epigram

A

a short poem or verse that seeks to ridicule a thought or event, usually with witticism or sarcasm

62
Q

epic

A

a long narrative or poem abut the adventures of a hero whose actions reflect the ideals and values of a nation or group.

63
Q

epiphany

A

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

64
Q

epitaph

A

short poem or verse written in memory of someone.

65
Q

essay

A

a short work of nonfiction that deals with a single subject.

66
Q

descriptive essay

A

one that describes a particular subject.

67
Q

expository essay

A

one whose purpose is to explain and give information about a subject.

68
Q

formal essay

A

highly organized and thoroughly researched.

69
Q

humorous essay

A

one whose purpose is to amuse or entertain the reader.

70
Q

informal essay

A

lighter in tone and usually reflects the writers feelings and personality.

71
Q

narrative wssay

A

an essay that tells a story

72
Q

persuasive essay

A

attempts to convince a reader to adopt a particular option or course of action

73
Q

evaluating

A

the process of judging the value of something or someone.

74
Q

exaggeration

A

see hyperbole

75
Q

exposition

A

see plot

76
Q

extended metaphor

A

a figure of speech that compares two essentially unlike things in great length.

77
Q

external conflict

A

see conflict

78
Q

fable

A

a brief tale that teaches a lesson about human nature. often features animals as characters.

79
Q

fact and opinion

A

Fact: a statement that can be proved. Opinion: a statement that reflects an authors opinion or belief.

80
Q

falling action

A

see plot

81
Q

fantasy

A

a work of literature that contains at least one fantastic or unreal element

82
Q

fiction

A

prose writing that tells an imaginary story, fiction includes both short stories and novels.

83
Q

figurative language

A

expressions that are not literally true, see simile metaphor hyperbole understatement irony cliche and metonymy

84
Q

first person point of view

A

see Point of View

85
Q

Flashback

A

an interruption of the chronological sequence(as a film or literary work) or an event of earlier occurrence. a flashback allows a writer to present past events during current events, in order to provide background for current narration

86
Q

foil

A

see character

87
Q

folklore

A

traditions, customs, and stories that are passed down within a culture, folklore contains various types of literature such as legends, myths, and fables.

88
Q

folktale

A

a simple story that has been passed from generation to generation by words of mouth

89
Q

foot

A

a unit of meter with a line of poetry

90
Q

foreshadowing

A

when the writer provides clues or hints that suggest or predict future events in a story

91
Q

free verse

A

poetry without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythms often used to capture sounds and rhythms of ordinary speech.

92
Q

generalization

A

a broad statement about an entire group

93
Q

genre

A

a type or category of literature, the four main types are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

94
Q

haiku

A

traditional form of Japanese writing usually dealing with nature.

95
Q

Heroic Couplet

A

a couplet consisting of two successive rhyming lines that contain a complete thought

96
Q

historical fiction

A

fiction that explores a past time period and may contain references to actual people or events of the past

97
Q

horror fiction

A

fiction that contains mysterious and often supernatural events to create a sense of terror

98
Q

humor

A

the quality that provokes laughter or amusement

99
Q

hyperbole

A

a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect

100
Q

iambic meter

A

see meter

101
Q

idiom

A

a phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say

102
Q

imagery

A

the use f words and phrases that appeal to the senses

103
Q

inference

A

a logical guess based n evidence in the text

104
Q

internal conflict

A

see conflict

105
Q

interview

A

a meeting in which one person asks about personal matters, professional matters of both

106
Q

irony

A

a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or is happening

107
Q

verbal irony

A

occurs when the speaker means something totally different than what he or she is saying,often times the opposite of what a character is saying is true

108
Q

dramatic irony

A

occurs when facts are not known to the characters in a work of literature but are known by the audience

109
Q

cosmic irony

A

suggests that some unknown force brings about dire and dreadful events

110
Q

irony of situation

A

difference between what is expected to happen and the way events actually work out.

111
Q

Legend

A

a story handed down from the past about a specific person, usually someone of heroic accomplishments.

112
Q

Limerick

A

A short humorous poem composed of five lines that usually has the same rhyme scheme abba, created by 2 rhyming couplets followed by a fifth line that rhymes with the first couplet. a limerick typically is a sing song rhyme

113
Q

literal meaning

A

the actual meaning of a word or phrase

114
Q

lyric poetry

A

a song like poem written mainly to express the feelings or emotions of a single speaker,

115
Q

main character

A

see character

116
Q

main idea

A

the most important point that a writer wants to express,

117
Q

memoir

A

a specific type of autobiography that covers personal experiances not the authors entire life

118
Q

metaphor

A

type of figurative language that compares 2 things that are essentially unlike but have similarities.

119
Q

Meter

A

the regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables.

English, 12th Literature (9 decks)

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