Literary Terms Set 1 Flashcards
physical things tangible to our senses (ex: tables, trees, etc.)
Concrete Nouns
non-physical concepts such as love, anger, etc.
Abstract Nouns
when readers connect, and identify with a piece of art. Feel emotions.
Close Aesthetic Distance
objective experience with piece of art. Not emotionally connected.
Far Aesthetic Distance
symbolic narrative that displays a meaning not explicitly stated. Story within a story. (ex.: Wizard of Oz, Animal Farm)
Allegory
something uncertain. More than one way to interpret. (ex.: Phantom of the Opera, 1984 Ending)
Ambiguity/Ambiguous
literary device where something is placed in wrong time period.
Anachronism
repetition at beginning of successive phrases, clauses, lines, and sentences.
Anaphora
repetition at the end of successive phrases, clauses, lines, and sentences.
Epistrophe
harmonious, ordered, rational, calm
Apollonian
sensual, pleasure-seeking impulses. “GIRLS GONE WILD SPRING BREAK 2023!”
Dionysian
address to an absent or imaginary person or thing
Apostrophe
A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way and to evoke a response. Ex: star-crossed lovers, hero, overbearing mother-in-law.
Archetype
overdone attempts at evoking emotion, usually creating a comedic effect
Bathos
emotional appeal
Pathos
an antihero who is a romanticized but wicked character.
Byronic Hero
a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
Cacophony
pleasant, harmonious sound
Euphony
a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.
Caricature
a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases. Ex: we forget what we want to remember and remember what we want to forget.
Chiasmus
characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
Colloquial
using evolution and the idea of “survival of the fittest” to analyze human behavior in literature.
Darwinism (Literature)
a term used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking; a tone intended to instruct or moralize. Instructive; not superior
Didactic Tone
Related to the beliefs of Ralph Waldo Emerson, focused on nature and simplifying life. Abstract ideas, not straight forward.
Emersonian
the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
Enjambment
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant. (passed away vs died)
Euphemism
A moment of sudden revelation or insight (eureka!)
Epiphany
having or showing profound knowledge /learned, polished, scholarly.
Erudite Tone
trade something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches (Anakin and Sidious, Ariel and Ursula)
Faustian
abusive or insulting language
Invective Language
a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine
Hamartia
excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy (tortoise and the haire)
Hubris
placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast (“all is fair in love and war”)
Juxtaposition
A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite (“how are you?” “not bad”)
Litotes
a charming young man who seduces and deceives women. Playa character. F boy
Lothario
the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar (dance “flamingo” (flamenco))
Malapropism
devilish, crafty. Represents devil (Dr. Faciler represents devil (“his friends”))
Mephistophelean
substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it (metaphor) (“pen is mightier than sword” means “written words are more powerful than military force”)
Metonymy
a recurring theme, subject or idea
Motif
cunning and deceitful; lacking morals (ex Scar)
Machiavellian
