Literary Terms #3 Flashcards
Periodic Sentence
Sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements- e.g. (Across the stream, beyond the clearing, from behind a fallen tree, the lion emerged,”
Persona
A writer often adopts a fictional voice to tell a story. Persona or voice is usually determined by a combination of subject matter and audience.
Personification
Figurative language in which inanimate objects, animals, ideas, or abstractions are endowed with human traits of human form
Plot
System of actions represented in a dramatic or narrative work
Point of View
The perspective from which a fictional or nonfictional story is told. First person, third person, third person omniscient points of view are commonly used.
Protagonist
Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal
Pun
A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings
Red herring
Device through which a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue
Repetition
Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity
Rhetoric
Art effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. This focuses on the interrelationship of invention, agreement, and style in order to create disclosure
Rhetorical Question
A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point; no response is expected
Round Character
A character drawn with sufficient complexity to be able to surprise the reader without losing credibility
Satire
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesnt simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.
Sarcasm
A type of verbal irony in which, under the guise of praise, a caustic and bitter expression of strong and personal disapproval is given. This is personal, jeering, and intended to hurt
Setting
Locale and period in which the action takes place
Simile
A figurative comparison of two things, often dissimilar, using like or as
Situational Irony
When the audience expects one outcome but gets another
Soliloquy
When a character in a play speaks to his thoughts aloud- usually alone
Stock Character
Conventional Character types that recur repeatedly in various literary genres. e.g. the wicked stepmother or prince charming
Stream of Consciousness
Technique of writing that undertakes to reproduce the raw flow of consciousness, with the perceptions, thoughts, associations, and memories presented just as they occur without being tidied into grammatical sentences or given logical and narrative order.
Style
The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes, In combination they create a work’s manner of expression. Style is thought to be conscious and unconscious and may be altered to suit specific occasion. Often habitual and evolves over time.
Symbol
A thing, event, or person that represents or stands for some idea or event. Symbols also simultaneously retain their own literal meanings. A figure of speech in which a concrete object is used to stand fro an abstract idea.
Synecdoche
Part of something is used to stand for the whole. ex: “wheels” for cars
Syntax
The arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship
Theme
A central idea of a work of fiction or nonfiction, revealed and developed in the course of a story or explored through argument
Tone
A writer’s attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization of the sentences and global events
