Literary Terms and Elements Flashcards
What is Allusion?
Relating to something without fully mentioning it.
What is Alliteration?
The repetition of the same sound or syllable.
Analogy
A comparison made based on the similarity of two (or more) things.
What is an Anticlimax? Define Anticlimactic.
When the conclusion to an interesting series of events is uninteresting
What is Irony?
When something is intended to be understood opposite from its literal meaning.
What is Dramatic Irony?
When the audience can tell and identify the irony while the characters can not.
What is Hyperbole?
An extreme exaggeration.
What is Idiom?
A figure of speech.
What is Metaphor?
When something is said to be another thing.
What is Simile?
When something is compared with another thing using the words “like” or “as.”
What is Metrical Poetry?
Poetry that follows a certain patter of stressed and unstressed syllables.
What is a Moral?
A lesson of right or wrongdoing in a composition.
What is Personification?
When an inanimate object is given human characteristics.
What is Poetic Justice?
When one’s actions are awarded or punished
What is Rhetoric?
Effective writing.
What are Sensory Details?
Details that appeal to one’s senses.
What is Synecdoche?
When a part of something is used to represent the whole.
eg. Wheels to represent cars
What is Metonymy?
When something that is often associated with another is used to represent it.
(eg. the Crown can represent the Monarch)
What is Mood?
One’s feelings when reading the book (happy, sad, excited)
What is Tone?
The authors choice of words.
What is Atmosphere?
Ones general feeling of the setting (dark, gloomy, bright)
What is Digression?
A temporary departure from the topic
What is Catharsis?
A release of emotional tensions in writing.
What is Antithesis?
Something that is the opposite of another thing (love is the antithesis of hatred).
What is Paradox?
A controversial yet valid/true statement.
What is Ambiguity?
Uncertainty of meaning.
What is Leitmotif?
A recurring theme or idea.
What is Zeitgeist?
The mood and setting of a period in history.
What is the Dramatis Personae?
A list of characters in a composition.
What is the Prologue?
The introductory section to a composition.
What is a Synopsis?
A brief summary of events.
What is Apostrophe?
A digression for the author to speak to an inanimate object.
What is Tragic Irony?
A type of Dramatic Irony where the words and actions contradict what is being said.
What is Antecedent Action?
Information that describes the past to help the reader understand the current time.
What is Pathos?
A quality that evokes sadness?
What is Double Entendre?
A phrase that can be interpreted 2 different ways, one which is often sexual and derogatory.
What is a Stock Character
A character created based on common stereotypes.
What is Innuendo?
An imitation of an action, person or thing.
What is an Allegory?
A symbol, often used to find a hidden meaning.
What is a Farce?
An absurd event.
