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English Midterm > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
0
Q

Character

A

Person, animal, thing, natural force appearing in a short story, novel, play, or narrative Poe

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1
Q

Plot

A

Sequence of events or happenings in a literary work

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2
Q

Point of view

A

Vantage point form which a story is told

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3
Q

Theme

A

Main idea or the basic meaning of a literary work

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4
Q

Setting

A

Time, place, and environment of action in a narrative

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5
Q

Suspense

A

Quality of a literary work that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome

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6
Q

Conflict

A

Struggle between two opposing forces or characters

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7
Q

External conflict

A

Man vs man
Man vs society
Man vs nature
Man vs unknown

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8
Q

Internal conflict

A

Man vs himself

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9
Q

Tone

A

Attitude a writer take toward his or her subject, characters, or readers

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10
Q

Symbol

A

Any object, person, place, or action, that has meaning in itself and that also stands for sow,thing larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, a belief, or a value

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11
Q

Mood

A

Feeling that a writer creates in the reader

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12
Q

Single effect

A

Elements of fiction work together to create one mood

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13
Q

Fiction

A

Anything that is invented or imagined especially a prose narrative

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14
Q

Flat character

A

Have only one or two “sides”

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15
Q

Dynamic character

A

Characters experience change in personality

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16
Q

Static character

A

Remain the same throughout a narrative

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17
Q

Round character

A

Complex and have many “sides”

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18
Q

First person pov

A

Story told by one of story’s characters in his/her words. “I”

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19
Q

Omniscient pov

A

All-knowing narrator who can describe all characters thoughts/feelings

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20
Q

Limited omniscient

A

All-knowing narrator who relates one character’s thoughts/feelings

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21
Q

Objective pov

A

Objective observer relates only what can be seen or heard

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22
Q

Foreshadowing

A

The use of hints or clues narrative to suggest what action is to come

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23
Q

Verbal irony

A

When speakers or writers say the opposite of what they mean

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24
Q

Situational irony

A

When what happens in a particular situation is the opposite of what is expected

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25
Q

Dramatic irony

A

When the reader or listener has information that is not known by the character involved

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26
Q

Irony

A

A contradictory statement or situation; the opposite of what is expected

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27
Q

Exposition

A

Background info; needed to understand story

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28
Q

Complication

A

Series of difficulties forming central action

29
Q

Climax

A

Turning point of the story

30
Q

Resolution

A

Final part of the story

31
Q

Anonymity

A

State of being nameless or unidentifiable

32
Q

Universality

A

State of being universal to the world; appeals to readers at all times

33
Q

Characterization

A

The personality a character displays, the means by which an author reveals that personality

34
Q

Indirect characterization

A

How they show or dramatize a character

35
Q

Direct characterization

A

Tells about a character

36
Q

Jargon

A

The special language of a group of people

37
Q

Framework story

A

Narrative within a narrative; an author chooses to tell a story within the framework of another story

38
Q

Escape literature

A

Exist for our pleasure, to entertain us by taking us away from everyday life and reality

39
Q

Interpretive literature

A

Exists to expand our awareness and understanding of life, to give us insight into behavior of others

40
Q

Detective story

A

A form of fiction in which a mystery, often murder, is solved by a detective, reader gets to match his/her wit against those of sleuth

41
Q

Chronological order

A

Sequence of events

42
Q

Prose

A

Any type of writing that’s not poetry

43
Q

Simile

A

Comparison made between two dissimilar thighs through the use of a specific word of comparison such as like, as, than, or resembles

44
Q

Metaphor

A

Comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them

45
Q

Personification

A

An animal, an object, a natural force, or an idea that is given a personality or described as if it were human

46
Q

Explicit theme

A

Clearly expressed of fully or directly stated in the text

47
Q

Implicit theme

A

Must be inferred and interpreted by the reader

48
Q

Denotation

A

The literal or dictionary meaning of a word or phrase

49
Q

Connotation

A

The emotion or association that a word or phrase may arouse

50
Q

Dialogue

A

The conversation between characters

51
Q

Dialect

A

A representation of the speech patterns of a particular region or social group

52
Q

Thesis

A

The statement of belief or opinion and implied organization of the paper

53
Q

Criteria

A

Areas of proposed discussion in the paper (criterion)

54
Q

Proof

A

Incidents, examples, quotes, details, and inferences that substantiate (support) judgments

55
Q

Literal language

A

Fact or idea stated directly

56
Q

Figurative language

A

Language that is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense

57
Q

Allusion

A

A reference in one work of literature to a person, place, or event in another work of literature or in history, art, or music that she/he expects the reader to understand

58
Q

Flashback

A

A scene in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that interrupts that action to show an event that happened at an earlier time

59
Q

Critical analysis

A

The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationship to one another

60
Q

Utopia

A

An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect

61
Q

Dystopia

A

An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one

62
Q

Minor character

A

Character that is significant to the story but is not the main character; helps or changes the main character

63
Q

Science fiction

A

Fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes

64
Q

Motivation

A

The drive for someone to do something

65
Q

Social criticism

A

Mode of criticism that locates the reasons for malicious conditions in a perfect society

66
Q

Epiphany

A

Sudden and profound understanding of something

67
Q

Narrator

A

Person who gives an account or tells the story of events or experiences

68
Q

Dramatist/Playwright

A

Person who writes dramatic literature or drama

69
Q

Objective

A

Information based on many points of view; meant to be unbiased

70
Q

Subjective

A

Information that is one person’s opinion

71
Q

Novel

A

A fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism

English Midterm (3 decks)

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