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English IB > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Absurdism

A

The idea that human existence is irrational and meaningless

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2
Q

Anachronism

A

Placing something in a time period where it wasn’t in existence

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3
Q

Anagnorisis

A

An epiphany experienced by a protagonist

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4
Q

Anaphora

A

Repeating a word or phrase in the beginning of a successive clause

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5
Q

Ancillary characters

A

secondary characters

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6
Q

Angst

A

Feeling of deep anxiety and dread pertaining to human condition or exsistence

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7
Q

Antecedent Action

A

Events leading up to climax

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8
Q

Anticlimax

A

Disappointing and underwhelming resolution

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9
Q

Antithesis

A

“To be or not to be”

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10
Q

Aphorism

A

Statement that expresses a general truth or principle

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11
Q

Assertion

A

Statement with confidence but without proof

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12
Q

Bildungsroman

A

Novel that focuses on the moral growth of a protagonist’s life

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13
Q

Blank verse

A

Unrhymed iambic pentameter poetry

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14
Q

Blocking

A

Movement and positioning of characters on stage

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15
Q

Cacophony

A

Harsh sounds used for artistic effect (sounds of battle)

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16
Q

Caesura

A

Pause or break in line of poetry

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17
Q

caricature

A

exaggerated protrayal of person’s facial features

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18
Q

catharsis

A

Release of tension by audience

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19
Q

Chiasmus

A

Order of words in first clause is reversed in second

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20
Q

Chorus

A

Characters who are commentators/narrators

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21
Q

Colloquial

A

Informal language, everyday conversation

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22
Q

Conceit

A

Extends metaphor that relates two unrelated things

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23
Q

Concrete poetry

A

Visual arrangement of words that contribute to meaning in a poem

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24
Q

Denouement

A

Resolution or conclusion of a story’s plot

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25
Q

Deus Ex Machina

A

An unsolvable problem is solved by an unexpected entity (supernatural)

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26
Q

Didacticism

A

Intentional teaching of morals using literature

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27
Q

Elegy

A

Poem or song done in lamentation

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28
Q

Enjambment

A

Continuation from one line to another without pause

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29
Q

Ethos

A

Appeal to credibility

30
Q

Eulogy

A

Praise speech delivered for the dead

31
Q

Euphemism

A

Word substituted for another that is harsh or blunt

32
Q

Euphony

A

pleasant, harmonious sound

33
Q

Existentialism

A

belief that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice

34
Q

Exposition

A

provides background information

35
Q

fable

A

short story with moral

36
Q

Foil

A

character contrast

37
Q

Framing

A

Structure where something is presented

38
Q

Free verse

A

Poetry that doesn’t follow rhyme or meter scheme

39
Q

Hamartia

A

fatal flaw

40
Q

Huris

A

Excessive pride and arrogance

41
Q

Iambic rhythm

A

The unstressed and stressed pattern of rhythm

42
Q

In media res

A

Starting a stay in middle of action instead of beginning

43
Q

Indirect characterization

A

character traits that are not immediately present

44
Q

Kinesthetic images

A

words that evoke a physical sensation

45
Q

Limited omniscient POV

A

story that is told from a single character without insight

46
Q

Lyric

A

Poetry that expresses thoughts and feelings

47
Q

Malapropism

A

Funny misuse of word

48
Q

Melodrama

A

dramatic mark, absurd statement

49
Q

Metonymy

A

A word or phrase is substituted without another that is closely associated

50
Q

Octet

A

Stanzas of 8 lines

51
Q

Oedipus complex

A

Unconscious desire for opposite sex parent

52
Q

Omniscient point of veiw

A

narrator knows thoughts and feelings of characters

53
Q

Parody

A

humorous imitation with prepare of satire or ridicule

54
Q

Pastoral

A

Indealizes rural life and nature

55
Q

Peripeteia

A

Sudden reversal of fortune

56
Q

Plausibility

A

Quality of being believable or realistic

57
Q

Premise

A

Underlying context

58
Q

Prologue

A

Introductory section of literature

59
Q

Quatrain

A

Stanza of four lines

60
Q

Raisonneur

A

Character in a play who expresses the author’s moral perspective

61
Q

Rhetoric

A

Art of persuasive speaking or writing

62
Q

Scrim

A

thin, transparent fabric used as background

63
Q

Sestet

A

stanza of six lines

64
Q

Sight rhyme

A

Words that look alike but are pronounced differently

65
Q

Situational irony

A

Outcome is opposite than what is expected

66
Q

Slant rhyme

A

Words that have similar sounds

67
Q

Sonnet

A

14 line poem with rhyme meter

68
Q

Stock character

A

stereotypical character

69
Q

Synecdoche

A

reference to part which represents the whole

70
Q

Verbal irony

A

when speaker says one thing but means the opposite

71
Q

Verisimilitude

A

Appearance of being true and real

72
Q
A

English IB (2 decks)

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