Literary Terms (English) Flashcards
Simile
A figure of speech that uses like or as to compare two essentially different objects, actions, or attributes
Irony
Using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning
Analogy
A comparison of similar things, often for the purpose of using something familiar to explain something unfamiliar. An analogy is not a figure of speech; in other words, an analogy is a more developed comparision
Rhetoric
The faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion
Idiom
An expression whose meaning is usually more metaphorical than literal
Direct Characterization
The character details the author explicitly describes
Dramatic Irony
When the reader or the audience knows more than the character(s)
Foreshadowing
In literature, the technique of giving hints or clues that suggest or prepare for events that occur later in the work. Foreshadowing can only occur in works of fiction.
Verbal Irony
A discrepancy between the words spoken and the intended meaning
Anecdote
A brief narrative of an entertaining and presumably true incident. Anecdotes are used in biographical writings, essays, and speeches to reveal a personality trait or illustrate a point.
Colloquialism
A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing, but often inappropriate in a formal piece. Colloquial expressions are often regional
Point of View
The perspective (the eye and mind) through which a story is told
Inference
A general conclusion made by the reader from the events/information provided in the text
Situational Irony
When there is a difference between the purpose of a particular action and the result
Rhetorical Analysis
Explaining the choices the author has made in order to convey their attitude/opinion/conviction on a particular topic
Figurative Language
Language that contains figures of speech/expressions that make comparisons or associations meant to be interpreted imaginatively rather than literally
Personification
A figure of speech in which a non-human thing is given human-like characteristics
Exigency
The importance of the moment
Alliteration
The repetition of CONSONANT sounds at the beginning of words or within words
Indirect Characterization
Shows the characters’ traits without explicitly describing them
Internal Monologue
The presentation of the flow of a character’s inner emotional experience stream of consciousness
Diction (word choice)
The conscious selection of words to further the author’s purpose
Allusion
A passing reference to historical or fictional characters, places, events or other works that the author assumes the reader will recognize
Tone
The reflection in a work of the author’s attitude towards their topic/subject, characters and readers
Syntax
Word order or the arrangement of words in a sentence
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which emphasis is achieved through exaggeration
Cacophony
Meaning “bad sound” and refers to words combining sharp or harsh sounds
Rhyme
Repetition of identical or closely related sounds in the syllables of different words most often at the end of lines
Third Person POV Omniscient
The narrator can relate the actions & thoughts of all the characters
Third Person POV Limited
The narrator can relate the actions of one or more characters
Anaphora
Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences.
Euphemism
The use of a word or phrase that is less direct, but is also considered more tasteful or less offensive than another.
Antithesis
A figure of speech in which opposing or contrasting ideas are balanced against each other in parallel syntax.
Chiasmus
A form of syntax in which the second half of the statement inverts the word order of the first half. The purpose is to create a new meaning not the opposite meaning.
Denotation
The precise, literal meaning of a word, without emotional associations or overtones. The dictionary definition.
Connotation
The associations, images, or impressions carried by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning.
Litotes
Opposite of hyperbole; a form of ironic understatement that affirms something by stating the negative of its opposite.
