Literary Terms Flashcards
the name given to a thought, feeling, idea or concept e.g. happiness, imagination, destiny
ABSTRACT NOUN
the characteristic pronunciation features and speech rhythms of a speaker, usually related to regional or social influences
ACCENT
a pattern of speech in which one utterance is followed by an appropriate linked response
ADJACENCY PAIR
the repetition of an initial consonant sound
ALLITERATION
a reference to another work of literature or other source by a writer. The writer may well assume that the reader has some knowledge of the work referred to and will understand the allusion
ALLUSION
a character who is in opposition to the protagonist, who creates conflict with the main character
ANTAGONIST
the main character of text who lacks the conventional heroic qualities
ANTIHERO
the juxtaposition of contrasting words or phrases to create a balance or opposition between conflicting ideas.
ANTITHESIS
a word or phrase which is opposite in meaning to another, e.g. hot and cold
ANTONYM
a brief line or speech spoken by a character to the audience, and unheard by the other characters on stage, in which the speaker reveals inner thoughts and intentions
ASIDE
repeated vowel sounds
ASSONANCE
a form of list, in which there is no ‘and’ and ‘but’ seperating the final two items. this can give an open-ended feel to the list, perhaps suggesting there is more that could be added. the opposite to this is a sydentic list
ASYNDETIC LIST
AMBIGUITY
Words, phrases or whole texts which have several or unclear meanings.
ALLEGORY
A type of narrative which makes literal sense in its own right but also has a double meaning
BLANK VERSE
Unrhymes poetry written in Iambic Pentameter
CHORUS
a character or group in the play who comments on the action
COMEDY
nowadays a work which makes us laugh but used to be a work with a happy ending
double-barrelled words made by combining two existing, often unrelated words, they are often used to condense description. e.g. sea-dog, white-mossed
COMPOUND WORDS
the suggestion or implication evoked by a word, phrase or statement
CONNOTATION
COUPLET
two lines of poetry together. a rhyming couplet is two lines of poetry which rhyme
two or more characters speaking to eachother
DIALOGUE
the vocabulary chosen by a writer
DICTION
the shape or pattern in which a poem is written eg. sonnet, ballad, dramatic monologue
FORM
poetry which seems to have no set pattern, stanzas, rhyme scheme.
FREE VERSE
HYPERBOLE
huge exaggeration or statement
a line of poetry made up of ten syllables with alternating light or heavy beats e.g. Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?
IAMBIC PENTAMETER
saying one thing but meaning the opposite
IRONY
writing that creates a picture in the mind using comparisons
IMAGERY
putting two things side by side in order to show a relationship between them
JUXTAPOSITION
a regular rhythm in verse; the measurement of poetry
METRE
the overall feeling generated by a written or spoken piece
MOOD / TONE
words which describe sounds and also sound like that which they describe eg. splash, crash, howl
ONOMATOPOEIA
the linking together of contradictory words e.g. bitter sweet
OXYMORON
the joining together of ideas or concepts which appear to be contradictory but actually makes sense in another way
JUXTAPOSITION
PERSONIFCATION
objects given human characteristics
PROTAGONIST
leading character in a play or novel
a play on words which sound the same or similar which is usually used for comic effect
PUN
four lines of poetry
QUATRAIN
the movement of language in speech, verse or prose often with a regular beat
RHYTHM
a poem of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter
SONNET
objects which are used to represent something else
SYMBOLISM
the central idea or message the writer is trying to put across
THEME
a work with an unhappy ending. it must be serious and often shows the downfall of a great character.
TRAGEDY
a protagonist who begins as a great character and is destroyed by a combination of a fatal flaw in his character and the workings of fate
TRAGIC HERO
when a poem talks to the reader eg. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
DIRECT ADDRESS
an imaginary speaker addressing an imaginary audience ( ADD PHOTO HERE )
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE
when a sentence runs over from one line of verse into the next, usually found in a play or a poem
ENJAMBEMENT
words that almost rhyme but not quite: very similar to assonance
HALF-RHYME
language does not mean directly what it states ( opposite of literal language ) eg. i laughed my head off
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
a recurring phase or lines at the end of each stanza of poetry, like a one-line chorus
REFRAIN
SIBILANCE
alliteration of the ‘s’ sound
SPEAKER
the ‘voice’ that is speaking in a poem written in the first person
how the poet has organised his work into patterns eg. the number of stanzas / verses and their line lengths
STRUCTURE
