Literary Terms A-F Flashcards
the repetition of sounds, especially initial constant sounds in two or more neighboring words (e.g. “she sells sea shells”)
alliteration:
device of using character and or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning
allegory:
a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art
allusion:
the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage
ambiguity:
a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them
analogy:
the word, phrase, or clause referred to by pronoun
antecedent:
a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle
aphorism:
a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love
apostrophe
the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting
atmosphere:
a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb
clause:
the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing
colloquial
a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects
conceit:
the non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning
connotation:
the strict, literal, dictionary meaning of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color
denotation:
referring to style, diction refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
diction:
from the Greek, literally means “teaching”
didactic:
from the Greek for “good speech”, a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept
euphemism
a metaphor developed a great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work
extended metaphor
writing or speech that is not intended to carry literary meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.
figurative language:
a device used to produce figurative language
figure of speech:
is derived from a Greek word asyndeton which means unconnected. It is a stylistic device used to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. Asyndeton helps in speeding up the rhythm of words. EX: “This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely.”
Asyndeton:
is derived from a Greek word that means turning upon, which indicates the same word returns as the end of each sentence. Ex: hourly joys be still upon you! Juno sings her blessing on you… Scarcity and want shall shun you, Ceres’ blessing so is on you.”
Epistrophe:
is the opposite of epistrophe and means the repetition of the same phrase or word at the beginning of successive sentences such as in this example.
Five years have passed;
Five summers, with the length of
Five long winters! and again I hear these waters…
Anaphora:
Represents credibility or an ethical appeal which involves persuasion by the character involved
Ethos
