Literary Terms Flashcards
a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of an article
abstract
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one
allegory
the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
alliteration
an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
allusion
the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
anaphora
a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other
antithesis
a punctuation mark used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers
apostrophe
when a character in a work of fiction addresses the audience directly for a moment to either express a truth, reveal a feeling, or comment on the events of the story
aside
the repetition of vowel sounds across a line of text or poetry
assonance
poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines, almost always iambic pentameter
blank verse
A stop or pause in a metrical line, often marked by punctuation or by a grammatical boundary, such as a phrase or clause
caesura
the purification or purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear) primarily through art
catharsis
a storytelling genre that uses laughter and humor in order to entertain and amuse
comedy
A resemblance in sound between two words, or an initial rhyme
consonance
a pair of end-rhymed lines of verse that are self-contained in grammatical structure and meaning
couplet
choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
diction
A poem in which an imagined speaker addresses a silent listener, usually not the reader
dramatic monologue
a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation, especially for one who is dead
elegy
a poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next
enjambment
long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds
epic
a figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect
hyperbole
The most common meter in English verse. It consists of a line ten syllables long that is accented on every second beat
iambic pentameter
whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do
irony
a comparison between two things that are otherwise unrelated
metaphor
A revival of classical aesthetics and forms
neoclassicism
“it does not follow”
a conclusion that does not follow from the statements that lead to it
non-sequitur
An eight-line stanza or poem
octave
A formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea
ode
statement that appears to contradict itself, but upon further rumination, either reveals a deeper meaning or actually makes sense
paradox
class of literature that presents the society of shepherds as free from the complexity and corruption of city life
pastoral
the person who is understood to be speaking (or thinking or writing) a particular work
persona
attribution of personal qualities
personification
the vantage point from which a story is presented
point of view
the repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a line
rhyme
an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century
The movement was characterized by a celebration of nature and the common man, a focus on individual experience, an idealization of women, and an embrace of isolation and melancholy
romanticism
the art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble, or discredit its targets.
satire
The analysis of the metrical patterns of a poem by organizing its lines into feet of stressed and unstressed syllables and showing the major pauses, if any
scansion
the act of talking to oneself
soliloquy
A 14-line poem with a variable rhyme scheme
sonnet
a narrator: one who tells a story
speaker
an object, a person, a situation, or an action that has a literal meaning in a story but suggests or represents other meanings
symbol
a verse form composed of iambic tercets (three-line groupings)
terza rima
a literary device that reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject matter or audience of a literary work
tone
branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual
tragedy
A French verse form consisting of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas
villanelle
