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Senior Literature > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Auschwitz

A

concentration camp created by the Nazis in Poland

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2
Q

Bastille

A

prison in Paris where political prisoners were held and tortured until the French Revolution. attacked by workers on July 14th 1789 the prisoners were released

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3
Q

Alamo

A

a fort in San Antonio Texas where Americans made a heroic stand against Mexican forces. during the war for Texan independence from mexico

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4
Q

Abstract

A

language that describes concepts rather than concrete images

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5
Q

Allegory

A

characters, events, and settings present abstract qualities in which the writer intends a second meaning

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6
Q

Anecdote

A

short narrative of an incident, used to make a point or humorous effect

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7
Q

Annotation

A

notes added to text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data

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8
Q

Antithesis

A

presentation of two contrasting images

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9
Q

Aphorism

A

short witty statement of a principle or truth of life

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10
Q

Apostrophe

A

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, place, or thing

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11
Q

Argumentation

A

writing that proves validity of point of view or idea by reasoned arguments

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12
Q

cacophony

A

dissonance, harsh, awkward sounds used in poetry

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13
Q

caricature

A

descriptive that exaggerates a specific feature of appearance or personality

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14
Q

colloquialism

A

word or phrase used in everyday convos and informal writing, inappropriate for formal writing

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15
Q

coherence

A

quality of a piece of writing, 3 parts contribute to central idea

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16
Q

concrete language

A

describes specific observable things, people, or places rather than ideas

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17
Q

connotation

A

suggested meaning of a word because of its association

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18
Q

consonance

A

repetition of identical sounds within two or more words

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19
Q

conundrum

A

riddle whose answer is or involves a pun , paradox or difficult problem

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20
Q

deduction

A

the process of moving from one general rule to a specific

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21
Q

denotation

A

literal meaning of a word as defined

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22
Q

description

A

the picture in words of something or someone through observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch

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23
Q

diction

A

word choice. creates tone, attitude, style, and meaning

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24
Q

ballad

A

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

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25
Q

biography

A

the story of a persons life, written by someone else

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26
Q

blank verse

A

unrymed iambic pentameter

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27
Q

caesura

A

a pause or sudden break in a line of poetry

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28
Q

cause and effect

A

when one event causes another, the event that happened first is the cause the one that happens second is the effect

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29
Q

character

A

person that is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem. important. helps form plot and create mood

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30
Q

antagonist

A

character in story who deceives, frustrates, or works against main character. don’t have to be a person. death, devil etc.

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31
Q

caricature

A

picture or imitation of a persons habits, appearance, or mannerisms exaggerated in an absurd way

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32
Q

foil

A

a character who serves as a contrast or conflict to another character

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33
Q

hero/heroine

A

character whose actions are inspiring or noble, often main character in a story

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34
Q

connecting

A

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

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35
Q

Connotation

A

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

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36
Q

Consonance

A

the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within a line of poetry. Alliteration is a specific type of consonance

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37
Q

context clues

A

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

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38
Q

contrast

A

the process of pointing out differences between things

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39
Q

couplet

A

rhymed pair of lines in a poetry. William Shakespeare trademark was to end a sonnet with a couplet

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40
Q

denotation

A

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

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41
Q

denouement

A

see plot

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42
Q

dialect

A

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

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43
Q

dialogue

A

the conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. occurs in most work of literature

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44
Q

drama

A

form of literature meant to be performed by actors before an audience. characters dialogue and actions tell the story. written form is script

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45
Q

drawing conclusions

A

combining several pieces of info to make a inference

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46
Q

dramatic monologue

A

device used when character reveals his/her innermost thoughts and feelings

47
Q

elegy

A

type of literature defined as a song or poem, expresses sorrow, usually for one that has died

48
Q

enjambent

A

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

49
Q

epigram

A

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

50
Q

epic

A

long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero whose actions reflect ideas, values of a group

51
Q

epiphany

A

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

52
Q

epitaph

A

short poem or verse written in memory of someone

53
Q

essay

A

short work of nonfiction that deals with a single subject

54
Q

chronilogical order

A

the order in which events happen in time

55
Q

clarifying

A

readers process of pausing while reading to review

56
Q

cliche

A

figurative language containing overused expression or saying that is no longer original

57
Q

climax

A

see plot

58
Q

comedy

A

a dramatic work that is light and often humorous, usually ends with peaceful resolution

59
Q

comparison

A

process of identifying similarities

60
Q

concrete poetry

A

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

61
Q

conflict

A

tension or problem in a story, struggle between opposing forces

62
Q

central conflict

A

the dominant or most important conflict of story

63
Q

external conflict

A

problem or struggle existing between main character and outside force

64
Q

internal conflict

A

problem or struggle that takes place in main characters mind

65
Q

descriptive essay

A

describes particular subject

66
Q

expository essay

A

purpose is to explain and give info about a subject

67
Q

formal essay

A

highly organized and thoroughly researched

68
Q

humorous essay

A

one whose purpose is to amuse or entertain the reader

69
Q

informed essay

A

lighter in tone and usually reflects the writers feelings and personality

70
Q

narrative essay

A

an essay that tells a story

71
Q

persuasive essay

A

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

72
Q

evaluating

A

the process of judging the value of something or someone.

73
Q

exaggeration

A

see hyperbole

74
Q

expostion

A

see plot

75
Q

extended metaphor

A

a figure of speech that compares two essentially unlike things

76
Q

fable

A

a brief tale that teaches a lesson about human nature , often feature animals as characters

77
Q

fact and opinion

A

fact states something that can be proved, opinion states that reflects the writers or speakers belief, cant be supported with evidence

78
Q

fiction

A

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

79
Q

figurative language or figure of speech

A

expressions that are not literally true

80
Q

first person point of view

A

see point of view

81
Q

flashback

A

interruption of the chronological sequence or event of earlier occurrence, allows writers to bring up past events

82
Q

foil

A

see character

83
Q

folklore

A

traditions, customs, and stories that are passed down within a culture

84
Q

folk tale

A

story passed from generation to generation by mouth, to entertain, teach a lesson

85
Q

foot

A

unit of meter within a line of poetry

86
Q

foreshadowing

A

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

87
Q

free verse

A

poetry without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm of ordinary speech

88
Q

generalization

A

a broad statement about an entire group

89
Q

genre

A

type of literature, four main lit genres include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama

90
Q

haiku

A

Japanese poetry usually dealing with nature. 3 lines, describes single moment, feeling, or thing.1st and 3rd lines contain 5 syllables 2nd contains 7 syllables

91
Q

hero/heroine

A

see character

92
Q

heroic couplet or closed couplet

A

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

93
Q

historical fiction

A

explores the past time and may contain references to actual people and events of the past

94
Q

horror fiction

A

contains mysterious and supernatural events to create sense of horror

95
Q

humor

A

the quality that provokes laughter or amusement, created through exaggeration, sarcasm, amusing description, irony, and witty dialogue

96
Q

hyperbole

A

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

97
Q

iambic meter

A

see meter

98
Q

idiom

A

phrase or suggestion that means something different from what the word actually says

99
Q

imagery

A

use of words and phrases that appeal to the 5 senses

100
Q

inference

A

logical guess based on evidence in text

101
Q

internal conflict

A

see conflict

102
Q

interview

A

meeting in which one person asks another about personal matters, professional matters or both.

103
Q

irony

A

contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens

104
Q

verbal irony

A

when the speaker means something totally different from what he/she is saying

105
Q

dramatic irony

A

when facts are not know to characters in a work of lit but known by audience

106
Q

cosmic irony

A

suggest that some unknown force brings about dire and dreadful events

107
Q

irony of situation

A

the difference between what is expected to happen and how they actually workout

108
Q

legend

A

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

109
Q

limerick

A

short humorous poem composed of 5 lines that has rhyme scheme aabba. 2 rhyming couplets, followed by fifth line that rhymes with the first couplet. sing-song

110
Q

literal meaning

A

actual meaning of a word or phrase

111
Q

lyric poetry

A

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

112
Q

main character

A

see character

113
Q

main idea

A

the most important point that a writer wishes to express

Senior Literature (7 decks)

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