Literary Terms And Allusions Test Flashcards

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1
Q

Camelot

A

Arthurian. Place of justice and chivalry

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2
Q

Brahmin

A

American. Any socially prominent or intellectual individual

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3
Q

Ahab

A

Biblical. Anyone inclined to evil intentions

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4
Q

Antediluvian

A

Bliblical. “Before the flood.” Anything that happened a while ago

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5
Q

Herculean

A

Greek. A monumental task that requires superhuman effort to do

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6
Q

Noble savage

A

American. An unpolished person who is more worthy than his more “civilized” acquaintances

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7
Q

Apocalypse

A

Biblical. The end of the world

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8
Q

Subject

A

What a story is about

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9
Q

Paradox

A

A seemingly contradictory state plenty that makes sense

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10
Q

Holy Grail

A

Arthurian. A quest for a hard to get goal

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11
Q

Setting

A

Time and place of a story

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12
Q

Dystopia

A

A society that is falling apart

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13
Q

Expository

A

Non fiction writing that explains an idea

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14
Q

3rd limited

A

Narrator is focused on one person

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15
Q

Hyperbole

A

Tremendous exaggeration

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16
Q

Utopia

A

Ideal perfection

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17
Q

Climax

A

Most intense moment

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18
Q

Prose

A

Normal writing

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19
Q

Homeric

A

Greek. Anything that is larger than life

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20
Q

Job

A

Biblical. Anyone who suffers with patience

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21
Q

Protagonist

A

Main character

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22
Q

Hubris

A

Overbearing pride that leads to downfall

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23
Q

Dramatic irony

A

Audience knows something that the character doesn’t

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24
Q

Plot

A

Series of events that tells a story

25
Q

Sarcasm

A

An insincere tone of voice

26
Q

Catch-22

A

American. A situation where you lose no matter what your decision is

27
Q

Epiphany

A

When a character comes to a major realization

28
Q

Sisyphean

A

Greek. A never-ending task

29
Q

Symbol

A

Something that stands for something greater than itself

30
Q

Athena/Pallas Athena

A

Greek. Goddess of wisdom and power

31
Q

Allegory

A

A story where nearly everything serves on a symbolic level

32
Q

Faustian

A

A bargain where a person sacrifices everything to get something now, but pays the price later

33
Q

Tone

A

Author’s attitude

34
Q

Irony

A

A difference between expectation and reality

35
Q

Antagonist

A

Character that stands in the way of the protagonist

36
Q

3rd omniscient

A

Narrator focused on all characters

37
Q

Round Table

A

Arthurian. Place of friendship and loyalty

38
Q

Rising Action

A

Problem of story becomes more intense

39
Q

Exposition

A

Beginning of a story

40
Q

Prometheus

A

Greek. A person willing to sacrifice for their beliefs

41
Q

Poetry

A

Decorated literature that has verse form

42
Q

Fiction

A

Not real

43
Q

Achilles(heel)

A

Greek. A person’s most vulnerable place

44
Q

Edenic

A

Biblical. Reference to a perfect time

45
Q

Israelites

A

Biblical. In American literature, the group with which the puritans identified

46
Q

Genre

A

Category for a specific type of novel

47
Q

Tragic Flaw

A

A trait that leads to the downfall of a character (not always a bad trait)

48
Q

Verbal irony

A

Someone says something one thing, but means the opposite

49
Q

Tabula Rasa

A

“Blank slate.” Fresh mind

50
Q

Pun

A

Play on words

51
Q

Denouement

A

Resolution

52
Q

Galahad

A

Arthurian. Representation of purity and perfection

53
Q

1st person

A

A character is telling a story; “I”

54
Q

Theme

A

Central idea in a literary work

55
Q

Foreshadowing

A

Clues that hint to a future event

56
Q

Point of view

A

The vantage point an author writes their story

57
Q

Non-fiction

A

Real

58
Q

Situational irony

A

A situation itself is ironic