Literary Terms Flashcards
to study IB vocab
Allegory
story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities. Ex: Animal Farm; Dante’s Inferno; Lord of the flies
Alliteration
the repetition of the same or similar consonant or vowel sounds at the beginning of closely positioned words. (Example: peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers) (related to Assonance and Consonance)
Allusion
reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something. (usually to literature)
Ambiguity
Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way– this is done on purpose by the author, when it is done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work.
Analogy
Comparison made between made between two things to show how they are alike.
Anecdote
Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual.
Antagonist
Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.
Antihero
Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.
Anthropomorphism
A figure of speech in which human specific characteristics are attributed to animals other than humans. (Example: Mickey Mouse dancing).
Aphorism
Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.
Apostrophe
Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration
Archetype
A recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found throughout myth and literature across different cultures and eras. In terms of structure, it merely serves as a model from which writers create different versions and copies.
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together. (related to consonance) (Example: as hard as she might, her tries to light the fire were slight).
Asyndeton
commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z… the writer uses X,Y,Z… see polysyndeton.
Atmosphere
The dominant feeling that is created by a particular setting. (It is related to mood)
Bildungsroman
A German term for “novel growth and development”. They generally depict a youth who struggles toward maturity, forming a worldview or philosophy of life and leaving behind the concerns of adolescence. Ex: great expectations
Cacophony
A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. Ex: “grate on the scrannel pipes of wretched straw (John Milton)
Characterization
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
Indirect characterization
The author reveals what the character is like by describing how the character looks, and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people (showing how other characters feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature.
Direct characterization
the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets, and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form.
Static character
Is one who does not change much in the course of history
Dynamic character
is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action.
Flat character
has only one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.
Round character
has more dimensions to their personalities— they are complex, just like real people are.
Cliche
is a word or phrase , often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse. Avoid cliches like the plague. (that cliche is intended.)
Collaquialism
a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.
Conflict
the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story
External Conflict
conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or a between a person and a whole society.
Internal Conflict
A conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a persons mind
Connotation
The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.
Consonance
the repetition of similar consonant sounds anywhere within words that are placed close together (related to assonance) Ex: The mother hen checked on the chick with a click of her beak.)
Comedy
in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.
Dialect
A more micro level variety of a language (specifically, often spoken variety) that is characteristic of a particular area, community or group, often with relatively minor differences in vocabulary, style, spelling and pronunciation. Ex: A person from the North East might say, “hello.” A southerner might say, “hey y’all.” A person from Texas might say, “howdy.” Think expressions and accents and you’ll be in the right ballpark.
Diction
a speaker or writer’s choice of words
Didactic
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Epigraph
a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.
Epithet
An Adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality. “Father of out country” and “the great Emancipator” are examples.
A Homeric epithet is a compound adjective used with a person or thing: swift-footed Achilles”; “rosy-fingered dawn.”
Essay
A short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject
Argumentative Essay
one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop a fair and balanced yet effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way.
Persuasion Essay
an appeal that relies more on emotionally charged language than on facts.
Argument
An appeal to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way.
Casual Relationship Essay
a form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one ting results from another, often used as part of a logical argument.
Descriptive Essay
One of the four major forms of discourse that uses language to describe things as vividly as possible.
Expository Essay
one of the four major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or “set forth”
Narrative Essay
one of the four major forms of discourse that tells about a series of events.
Explication
act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.
Eulogy
A great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.
Euphony
Agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words
Fable
A very short story told in prose or poetry that uses anthropomorphism and, or, personification to teach a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.
Farce
a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved inn silly, far-fetched situations.
