Literary Terms Flashcards
allegory
written piece in which ideas or morals are represented by individual characters or things
allusion
a reference within an artistic work to another artistic work
antagonist
In a literary work, the character whose actions oppose those of the hero
ballad
a story - poem, often sung aloud
Beat movement
a group of American poets and artists whose expressions of alienation in the 1950s became a calling card of the underground (Ginsberg Kerouac)
Blank verse
Non - rhyming verse consisting of 10 - syllable lines
canto
a subdivion of an epic poem
Classicism
Artistic of literary movement that is aesthetically based on the Ancient Greeks or Romans
Climax
The point in any story at which the action reaches its zenith
couplet
two rhyming lines of poetry in succession, most often of a similar or like meter
denouement
The conclusion or resolution following the climax of the story
elegy
a poem of remembrance
Existentialism
French philosophical idea that the individual lives in an indifferent world and must take responsibility for his or her own choices (Sartre, Camus)
fable
an allegorical story often employing animals as characters
genre
a category of work within art or letters, usually of a distinctive style