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English > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

alliteration

A

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words

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2
Q

assonance

A

The repetition of vowel sounds.

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3
Q

consonance

A

the repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of a word

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4
Q

cacophony

A

harsh, non-melodic, unpleasant sounding arrangement of words

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5
Q

euphony

A

any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds

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6
Q

onomatopoeia

A

words that sound like what they mean

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7
Q

sibilance

A

hissing sounds represented by s, z, sh

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8
Q

allegory

A

a literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas; a symbolic representation

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9
Q

apostrophe

A

someone absent, dead, or imaginary, or an abstraction, is being addressed as if it could reply

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10
Q

didactic poetry

A

poetry with the primary purpose of teaching or preaching

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11
Q

dramatic monologue

A

character “speaks” through the poem; a character study

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12
Q

elegy

A

poem which expresses sorow over a death of someone for whom the poet cared, or on another solemn theme

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13
Q

sonnet

A

14 line poem, fixed rhyme scheme, fixed meter (usually 10 syllables per line)

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14
Q

connotation

A

what a word suggests beyond its surface definition

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15
Q

denotation

A

basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word

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16
Q

diction

A

choice of words for effect

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17
Q

syntax

A

word order or grammatical appropriateness

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18
Q

blank verse

A

unrhymed iambic pentameter

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19
Q

caesura

A

a natural pause in the middle of a line, sometimes coinciding with punctuation

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20
Q

couplet

A

two successive lines which rhyme, usually at the end of a work

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21
Q

enjambment

A

describes a line of poetry in which the sense and grammatical construction continues on to the next line

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22
Q

feminine rhyme

A

latter two syllables of first word rhyme with latter two syllables of second word (ceiling appealing)

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23
Q

free verse

A

no fixed meter or rhyme

24
Q

iambic pentameter

A

70% of verse is written this way; ten syllables per line, following an order of unaccented-accented syllables

25
Q

internal rhyme

A

repetition of sounds within a line (but not at the end of the line)

26
Q

masculine rhyme

A

final syllable of first word rhymes with final syllable of second word (scald recalled)

27
Q

meter

A

regularized rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables; accents occur at approx. equal intervals of time

28
Q

refrain

A

repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines in a pattern

29
Q

rhyme

A

repetition of end sounds

30
Q

rhythm

A

the pattern or beat of a poem.

31
Q

stanza

A

group of lines

32
Q

structure

A

internal organization of a poem’s content

33
Q

allusion

A

a reference to something in literature or history

34
Q

anaphora

A

repetition of the same word or words at the start of two or more lines

35
Q

archetype

A

a character or personality type found in every society

36
Q

conceit

A

an extended witty, paradoxical, or startling metaphor

37
Q

hyperbole

A

exaggeration, overstatement

38
Q

imagery

A

representation through language of a sensory experience

39
Q

irony

A

incongruity or discrepancy between the implied and expected; verbal, dramatic, situational

40
Q

metaphor

A

implied or direct comparison

41
Q

metonymy

A

symbolism; one thing is used as a substitute for another with which it is closely identified (the White House)

42
Q

mood

A

the atmosphere suggested by the structure and style of the poem

43
Q

oxymoron

A

a figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms

44
Q

pace

A

tempo or rate implied by the structure and style of the poem

45
Q

paradox

A

statement or situation containing seemingly contradictory elements

46
Q

parallelism

A

presents coordinating ideas in a coordinating manner

47
Q

persona

A

assumed speaker of the poem; typically used synonymously with ‘speaker’

48
Q

personification

A

giving a non-human the characteristics of a human

49
Q

simile

A

comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’

50
Q

style

A

a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period

51
Q

symbolism

A

something (object, person, situation, etc.) means more than what it is

52
Q

synecdoche

A

symbolism; the part signifies the whole, or the whole the part (all hands on board)

53
Q

theme

A

the general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals

54
Q

tone

A

writer’s attitude toward the audience or subject, implied or related directly

55
Q

understatement

A

saying less than one means, for effect

English (23 decks)

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