Literature 101 Flashcards
Define “cherished”
Beloved, valued
Define demotic and hieroglyphic
Ancient Egyptian writing, using symbols and pictures to represent words
Define uncanny:
Strange, odd
Intrigue:
Curiosity and interest
Define eminent:
Outstanding
Define queried:
Asked
Coffles:
Groups of animals or slaves chained together in a line
Proximate:
Near in time
Jostling:
Bumping and pushing, usually in a crowd
Who is a character?
The people or animals who take part in a story’s action
Characterization:
The way a writer reveals a character’s personality and qualities
What is direct characterization?
The writer describes the character
What is indirect characterization?
The writer reveals the character through speech and actions
What is the theme?
The central message expressed in a story
What is a plot?
The sequence of events in a short story
What are the 5 parts of a plot?
Exposition, Rising action, Climax, Falling action, and the conclusion
Explain exposition:
Introduces the setting
Explain rising action:
Introduces the conflict
Explain climax:
The turning point of the story
Explain falling action:
When the conflict reduces
Explain resolution:
The conclusion of the story
Define tenement:
Old, run-down apartment
Define impromptu:
Unplanned
Define ajar:
Slightly open
Define bodega:
Call grocery store serving a Latino neighborhood
Define tentatively:
Hesitantly
Define involuntary tremor:
Automatic trembling/shaking
Define banister:
Railing along a staircase
Define scalawags:
People who cause trouble
Define canyon:
Narrow valley between high cliffs
Define mesas:
Plateaus with steep sides
Define timid:
Showing shyness
Define initiation:
Process by which one becomes a member of a group
Define neglected:
Failed to take care of
Define Lance:
Long spear
Define turquoise:
Greenish-blue gemstone
Define elective:
Optional course
Define ese:
Spanish for “man”
Define conviction:
Belief
Define scowl:
To make an unpleasant although attractive expression by frowning
Define inflammatory rheumatism:
A disease in which the joints swell painfully and gradually break down
Define solemn:
Serious
Define freshet:
A great rise or overflowing stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow
Define extricate:
Set free
Define presumptuous:
Overconfident, cocky
Define composure:
Calmness of the mind
Define remote:
Far away from everything else
Define rash:
Thoughtless
What is a stanza?
The verses that are grouped in a poem
What is figurative language?
Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally.
What is a metaphor?
Describe one thing as if it were something else
What is personification?
Gives human qualities to something that is not human
What are similes?
Use LIKE or AS to compare two unlike things
What is a symbol?
Anything that represents or symbolizes something else
What do sound devices do?
Enhance a poem’s mood and meaning
What is alliteration?
The repetition of of consonant sounds in the beginning of words (e.g beautiful boat)
What is repetition?
The use of a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence more than once
What is assonance?
The repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in stressed syllables
What is consonance?
The repetition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of accented syllables
What is onomatopoeia?
The use of words that imitate sounds (e.g BANG or BARK, CRASH)
What is a rhyme?
The repetition of sounds at the end of words
What is a meter?
The rhythmical pattern in a poem
What is narrative poetry?
Tells a story in verse
What is Haiku?
A three-line Japanese verse form
What is a free verse?
A poem with no regular meter, rhyme, fixed line length, or specific stanza pattern
What is lyric poetry?
It expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker
What is a ballad?
A song like poem that tells a story
What is a concrete poem?
They’re shaped to look like their subjects. ( arrangement of lines to form an image)
What is a limerick?
A humorous, rhyming, five line poem
What is a rhyming couplet?
A pair of rhyming lines, usually the same length
Define maestro:
Great musician
Define “prickly pear”
Species of cactus with sharp spines and an edible fruit
Define luminous:
Giving off light
Define feed:
Tiny particles minnows feed on
Define swerve:
Curving motion
