Literary Terms Flashcards
Protagonist
The central character
Antagonist
The individual/force against which the protagonist struggle (see: conflict)
Character
A person, place, animal, or object that influences (or is influenced by) the pot and that demonstrates a unique personality.)
Plot
The events in a story
Conflict
Struggle.
Person vs Person/Self/Nature/Society etc.
Prose:
Writing that is not poetry.
Blank Verse:
A verse without rhyme, esp. that which uses iambic pentameter.
Aside:
When a character play directs something to the audience/self, that isn’t indented to be heard by other characters.
Soliloquy:
A (usually lengthy) speech in which a character, alone on stage, expresses their thoughts aloud. Dramatic device used to display inner feelings to audience.
Rhyming Couplet:
Two subsequent lines that rhyme.
Sonnet:
A fourteen line lyric (emotional) poem that usually contrasts two things or ideas being examined by the poet and leads to a resolution. Different rhyming scheme depends on type of sonnet.
Classical Allusion:
An unexplained reference to something well known, like mythology.
Metaphor:
A comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them. Unlike a simile, does not use “like,” “as,” “then,” etc.
Simile:
A comparison between two things using “like,” “as,” “then,” etc.
Alliteration:
The repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word.
Assonance:
The repetition of vowel sounds, but not consonants. (May be within words.)
Consonance:
The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels. (May be within words.)
Euphony/Cacophony:
Soothing, pleasant/harsh, discordant sounds.
Pathos:
To arouse feelings of sympathy, pity.
Aptonym:
When a person’s name is appropriate/suited to their occupation, personality, features, etc.
Homophone
When two words sound the same but have different meanings.
Onomatopoeia:
A word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.
Personification:
Giving human like qualities to a non-human object, animal, etc.
Pun:
The humorous use of a word or phrase, often suggesting two or more meanings at the same time.