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English Midterm > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms 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
Situational irony
When what happens in a particular situation is the opposite of what is expected
25
Dramatic irony
When the reader or listener has information that is not known by the character involved
26
Irony
A contradictory statement or situation; the opposite of what is expected
27
Exposition
Background info; needed to understand story
28
Complication
Series of difficulties forming central action
29
Climax
Turning point of the story
30
Resolution
Final part of the story
31
Anonymity
State of being nameless or unidentifiable
32
Universality
State of being universal to the world; appeals to readers at all times
33
Characterization
The personality a character displays, the means by which an author reveals that personality
34
Indirect characterization
How they show or dramatize a character
35
Direct characterization
Tells about a character
36
Jargon
The special language of a group of people
37
Framework story
Narrative within a narrative; an author chooses to tell a story within the framework of another story
38
Escape literature
Exist for our pleasure, to entertain us by taking us away from everyday life and reality
39
Interpretive literature
Exists to expand our awareness and understanding of life, to give us insight into behavior of others
40
Detective story
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
Chronological order
Sequence of events
42
Prose
Any type of writing that's not poetry
43
Simile
Comparison made between two dissimilar thighs through the use of a specific word of comparison such as like, as, than, or resembles
44
Metaphor
Comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them
45
Personification
An animal, an object, a natural force, or an idea that is given a personality or described as if it were human
46
Explicit theme
Clearly expressed of fully or directly stated in the text
47
Implicit theme
Must be inferred and interpreted by the reader
48
Denotation
The literal or dictionary meaning of a word or phrase
49
Connotation
The emotion or association that a word or phrase may arouse
50
Dialogue
The conversation between characters
51
Dialect
A representation of the speech patterns of a particular region or social group
52
Thesis
The statement of belief or opinion and implied organization of the paper
53
Criteria
Areas of proposed discussion in the paper (criterion)
54
Proof
Incidents, examples, quotes, details, and inferences that substantiate (support) judgments
55
Literal language
Fact or idea stated directly
56
Figurative language
Language that is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense
57
Allusion
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
Flashback
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
Critical analysis
The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationship to one another
60
Utopia
An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect
61
Dystopia
An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one
62
Minor character
Character that is significant to the story but is not the main character; helps or changes the main character
63
Science fiction
Fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes
64
Motivation
The drive for someone to do something
65
Social criticism
Mode of criticism that locates the reasons for malicious conditions in a perfect society
66
Epiphany
Sudden and profound understanding of something
67
Narrator
Person who gives an account or tells the story of events or experiences
68
Dramatist/Playwright
Person who writes dramatic literature or drama
69
Objective
Information based on many points of view; meant to be unbiased
70
Subjective
Information that is one person's opinion
71
Novel
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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