Literary Terms Flashcards
Need to know how to use and spell
structure
verse
written in lines
line breaks are a part of the poem punctuation
structure
line break
where the line stops and goes to the next
black thoughts brim in the grim playground of my mind
structure
end-stop
verb: end-stopping
the line is stopped with punctuation; the sentence ends at the end of the line
structure
enjambment
verb: enjambing
continuation of a sentence through the end of a line or a line break
sound
rhythm
the pattern of stresses within a poem/verse/line
structure
stressed syllable
emphasized syllable
structure
unstressed syllable
unemphasized syllable
structure
prose
writing in which line breaks aren’t part of the work; lines run all the way to the bottom of page and continue
e.g. books, newspapers, etc.
figure
simile
a figure of speech that compares a literal thing (tenor) to a figurative thing (vehicle)
figure
metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is figurative
figure
tenor
the literal part of a simile/metaphor
figure
vehicle
the figurative part of a simile/metaphor
structure
anaphora
adj: anaphoric
repetition of certain words or phrases, especially the first part
e.g. “Give me liberty or give me death.”
figure
personification
when inanimate objects are given human-like qualities/actions
e.g. “The sun smiles down at me as I walk.”
structure
polysyndeton
use of more conjuctions than needed
e.g. “Anna and Kendall and Sam and Stewart came to prom.”
structure
asyndeton
use of no conjunctions
e.g. “The teacher was astonished, gaping, awestruck.”
sound
tone
writer’s attitude
diction
diction
word choice
diction
high/elevated/formal register
complex, formal, high-sounding speech
diction
low/colloquial/conversational register
casual, everday, easy-to-understand speech
structure
verse form
the shape/structure of a poem
like stanzas, groupings of lines, line breaks, etc.
general literature
genre
category of literary works; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
e.g. Romance, comedy, tragedy, etc.
general literature
speaker
the voice behind a literary work;
It’s important to note that the speaker isn’t always the author.
genre
dramatic monologue
A poem where the voice of the poem is a fictional character and clearly not the poet
structure
sonnet
a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter made up of an octave and a sestet with a rhyme scheme
structure
Italian sonnet
also called a Petrarchan sonnet
a type of sonnet with an octave and a sestet; tradionally with the following rhyme schemes:
ABBA;ABBA;CDC;CDC
or
ABBA;ABBA;CDCDCD
structure
octave
group of eight lines
structure
sestet
group of six lines
structure
quatrain
a stanza comprised of four lines
structure
tercet
group of three lines
structure
rhyme scheme
specific rhyming pattern of the last words of every line in a poem
structure
end rhyme
last words of each line rhyme
structure
internal rhyme
when words within a line rhyme
sound
masculine rhyme
a single-syllable rhyme
e.g. “top” and “flop”
sound
feminine rhyme
a multi-syllable (2-3 syllables) rhyme
e.g. “beaming” and “steaming”
sound
perfect rhyme
a rhyme that perfectly overlaps over the two words
e.g. “face” and “trace”
sound
slant rhyme
rhyme of words that are similar, but not identical
e.g. “poncho” and “crunchy”
figure
volta
aka turn
shift in subject, tone, pacing, or another element of poem
general literature
canon
a body of works deemed authentic, elite, or an essential part of a culture; works that have acheived the status of a “classic”
e.g. Shakespeare
genre
epic
(poetry)
- a long, adventerous, narrative poem
- written in high register
- often involving heros & mythological beings
- invocation of the muses
Greek context/culture
rhapsode
illiterate, often blind, storytellers that told stories (like epics)
Greek context/culture
kleos
glory; often accumulated from patriarchal ancestry
Greek context/culture
xenia
hospitality; expected from the host and the guest
Greek context/culture
nostos
journey home; homecoming
Greek context/culture
katabasis
journey to the underworld
Greek context/culture
anagnorisis
moment of recognition
Greek context/culture
aristeia
a person’s (often a hero’s) shining moment/moment of glory
Greek context/culture
deus ex machina
- derived from Greek theatre, when, at the end, a god would be lowered onto the stage to solve all the problems
- today’s meaning: an “artificial” ending; resolved too neatly
e.g. the end of the Odyssey when Athena stops the impending bloodshed
Greek context/culture
supplication
verb: supplicate
to humble oneself and touch another’s knees to beg earnestly; often in an act of desperation
Greek context/culture
libation
poured offerings to honor anyone who isn’t present; traditionally with mixed (diluted) wine
Greek context/culture
portent
aka omen
a sign/warning that something, especially important, is likely to occur
literary theory
metamorphosis
a change in physical form
Greek context/culture
oath
an unbreakable promise
general literature
narrative
a work in the 1st person
general literature
narration
the action or process of giving a spoken or written account of a story
(in the 3rd person)
Greek context/culture
in medias res
literal meaning: “in the middle”
often how epic poems begin
e.g. The Odyssey begins in medias res
Greek context/culture
invocation
an address to the Muses in which a poet requests help in composing a poem/telling a story
general literature
catalogue
a list
general literature
exemplum
pl. exempla
a short story/anecdote (usually from myth/history) used to give advice/shed wisdom regarding a moral situation
general literature
epithet
a stock phrase used to get the required number of syllables in lines; like puzzle pieces
figure
epic simile
a long, intricate simile that often tells a short story
figure
hypallage
aka transferred epithet
when a word that grammatically belongs to another word is moved to another place in the sentence
e.g. “Pale with fear” > “Pale fear”.
figure
apostrophe
when characters/narrator speak to someone/something who isn’t present
figure
antithesis
adj. antithetical
assertion of the positive part vs the negative side
e.g. “Your enemies jealous, your friends delighted.”
figure
irony
when there is tension between two underlying meanings; when the thing said contrasts the underlying meaning
structure
meter
adj. metrical
basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse
e.g. iambic pentamer
general literature
scansion
verb: scan
looking for stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry as well as feet
structure
poetic foot
rhymical unit of meters
e.g. iamb, trochee
structure
iamb
adj. iambic
a poetic foot consisting of an unstressed then stressed syllable
to hèlp (` is supposed to be a stress mark)
(opposite of trochee)
structure
trochee
adj. trochaic
a poetic foot consisting of a stressed then an unstressed syllable
yòu need (` is supposed to be a stress mark)
(opposite of iamb)
structure
iambic pentameter
meter consisting of 5 iambs
structure
trochaic substitution
the subsitution of an iamb for a trochee, usually at the beginning of a line
