Literary Terms Flashcards
Allegory
Story or poem where characters/events/settings stand for other people/events/abstract ideas or qualities
Alliteration
Repetition of same/similar consonant sounds in words that are close together
Allusion
Reference to someone/something that is known from history/religion/politics/sports/science; an indirect reference to something
Ambiguity
Deliberately suggesting two or more, sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work
Analogy
Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike
Anaphora
Repetition of a word/phrase/clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row
Anastrophe
Inversion of the usual/logical parts of a sentence (fancy word for “inversion”)
Anecdote
Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something
Antimetabole
Repetition of word in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order
Antithesis
Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure
Antihero
Central character who lacks all usual qualities associated with a hero
Anthropomorphism
Attributing human characteristics to animals/inanimate objects (personification)
Aphorism
Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life/a principle/accepted general truth
Apostrophe
Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place/thing/personified abstract idea
Apposition
Placing in immediately succeeding order of 2+ coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation/qualification/modification of the first
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together
Asyndeton
Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally (instead of X, Y, and Z->X.Y,Z)
Balance
Constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance
Chiasmus
(Poetry): a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with parts reversed (Prose): antimetabole
Colloquialism
A word/phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations
Comedy
A story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character(s)
Conceit
An elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different; often an extended metaphor
Confessional Poetry
A 20th century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet’s life
External Conflict
Conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine
Didactic
Form of fiction/nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson/moral/provides a model of correct behavior/thinking
Elegy
A poem of mourning, usually about someone who died. (Eulogy: laudatory speech about someone who died)
Epanalepsis
Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated both at beginning and end of line/clause/sentence (“Common sense is not so common”)
Epic
A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, that recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the value of a particular society
Epigraph
A quotation/aphorism at the beginning if a literary work suggestive of the theme
Epistrophe
Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the end of 2+ lines/clauses/sentences (opposite of anaphora)
Epithet
An adj./adj. phrase applied to a person/thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality (“the great Emancipator”)
Essay
A short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject
Causal Relationship
Form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument
Farce
A type of comedy in which ridiculous, often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations
Flashback
A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration/overstatement for effect
Hypotactic
Sentence marked by the use of connecting between clauses/sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them
Inversion
The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence/phrase
Litotes
A form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form
Local Color
A term applied to fiction/poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting (including customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape)
Loose Sentences
One in which the main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units
Lyric Poem
A poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker (Ballad tells a story)
Dead Metaphor
A metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a person/place/thing is referred to by something closely associated with it (“the crown” used to rep. a monarch)
Parable
A relatively short story that teaches a moral, or a lesson about how to lead a good life
Paradox
A statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth
Paratactic Sentence
Simply juxtaposes clauses/sentences
Parody
A work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style
Periodic
Sentence that places the main idea/central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements
Polysyndeton
Sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series (instead of X, Y, and Z-> X and Y and Z)
Refrain
A word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated several times in a poem
Rhythm
A rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language
Romance
A story in which an idealized hero/heroine undertakes a quest and is successful
Satire
A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people/institutions in an attempt to bring about a change
Soliloquy
A long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stqge
Steam of Consciousness
A style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole
Syntactic Fluency
Ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length
Syntactic Permutation
Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved
Telegraphic Sentence
A sentence shorter than five words in length
Tricolon
Sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses
Vernacular
The language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality
