literature key terms Flashcards
Literature key terms and concepts
Allegory
a story in which people, things, and events have another meaning. An example of allegory is – Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
Allusion
A refernece in a work of Lit. to something outside the work, especially to a well known historical or literary event, person or work. example: Lorraine Hansberry’s title, “a raisin in the sun” is an allusion to a phrase in a poem by Langston Hughes. example in Hamlet when Horatio says, “ ere the mightiest Julius fell” the allusion is to the death of Julius Cesar.
Attitude
A speaker’s, author’s, or character’s disposition toward or opinion of a subject. Example: Hamlet’s attitude toward Gertrude is a mixture of affection and revulsion, changing from one to the other within a single scene.
Autobiography
an author’s account of his or her own life
Biography
an accurate history of a single person
Climax
Normally the point of highest interest in a novel, story, or play. as a technical term of dramativ composition, the climax is the place where the action reaches a turning point, where the rising action( the complication of the plot) ends, and the following action (the resolution of the plot) begins.
Connotation
the implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning (denotation). both china and cathay denote a region in asia, but to a modern reader, the association of the two words is different.
Convention
A device of style or subject matter so often used that it becomes a recognized means of expression. for example, a lover observing the literary love conventions cannot eat or sleep and grows pale and lean.
Denotation
The dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to connotation.
Diction
word choice. Essay questions on a passage of prose or a poem could ask you to talk about diction or about “techniques” that include diction. any word that is important to the meaning and the effect of a passage can be used in your essay. These words are also details.
Euphemism
A figure of speech using indirection to avoid offensive bluntness, such as deceased for dead or remains for corpse.
Figurative Language
Writing that uses figures of speech (as opposed to literal lang. or that which is actual or specifically denoted) such as metaphors, similes, and irony. Fig lang. uses words to mean something other than their literal meaning. “The black bat night has flown” is figurative, with the metaphor comparing night and a bat. “night is over” says the same thing without fig. lan. NO real bat is or has been on the scene, but night is like a bat b/c it is dark.
Genre
a literary form, such as an essay, novel or poem. within genres like the poem, there are also more specific genres based upon content (love poem, nature poem) or form (sonnet, ode).
Hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration, overstatement. As a rule, hyperbole is self conscious, without the intention of being accpeted literally. “The strongest man in the world” and “ a diamond as big as the Ritz” are hyperbolic.
Imagery
the images of a literary work, the sensory details of a work, the fig. lang. of a work. Imagery has several definitions but the two that are paramount are the visual, auditiory, or tactile images evoked by the words of a literary work and the images that fig. lang. evokes.
Irony
a fig. of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ, characteristically praise for blame or blame for praise, a pattern of words that turns away from direct statement of its own obvious meaning. The term irony implies a discrepancy. In verbal irony (saying the opposite of what one means), the discrepancy is between statement and meaning. sometimes irony may simply understate, as in “men have dies from time to time….”
Jargon
the special lang. of a profession or group. The term Jargon usually has pejorative associations, with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligable to outsiders.
Literal
Not figuarative; accurate to the letter, matter of fact or concrete.
Lyrical
songlike, characterized by emotion, subjectivity and imagination.
metaphor
a figurative use of lang. in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term like; as, like or than. A simile would say, “ night is like a black bat” a metaphor would say “the black bat night” when romeo says “ it is the east and juliet is the sun” his metaphors compare her window to the east and juliet to the sun.
Narrative techniques
the methods involved in telling a story, the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts. this term asks you to discuss the procedures used in the telling of a story. examples of some techniques are point of view, manipulation of time, diaglogue, or interior monologue.
Novel
a fictional narrative in prose of considerable length. shorter works are called novellas and even shorter ones are called short stories.
omniscient point of view
the vantage point of a story in which the narrator can know, see, and report whatever he or she chooses. The narrator is free to describe the thoughts of any of the characters to skip aobut in time or place to speak directly to the reader.
Oxymoron
a combonation of opposites, the union of contradictory terms. Romeo’s line, “feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, “ contains 4 examples of the device.
Parable
a story designed to suggest a principle, illustrate a moral, or answer a question. Parables are allegorical stories.
Paradox
a statement that seems to be self contradicting but in fact, is true. The figure in a donne sonnet that concludes “ i never shall be chaste except you ravish me” is a good example of the device.
Parody
a composition that imitates the style of another composition, normally for comic effect. A contest for parodies of Hemingway draws hundreds of entries each year.
Personification
a figurative use of lang. that endows nonhumans (ideas, inanimate objects, animals, abstractions) with human characteristics.
Plot
the interrelated actions of a play or novel that move to climax and a final resolution.
Point of view
any of several possible vantage points from which a story is told. the point of view may be omniscient, limited to that of a single character or limited to that of several characters, as well as other possibilities. The teller may use the first person and or third person.
Rhetorical question
a question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply. NO reply is expected b/c the question presupposes only one possible answer.
Rhetorical techniques
the devices used in effective or persuasive lang. the most common examples include devices like contrast, repetitions, paradox, understatement, sarcasm, and rhetorical questions.
satire
writing that seeks to arouse a reader’s disapproval of an object by ridicule. Satire is usually comedy that exposes with an eye to correcting vice and folly. Examples of satire can be found in the novels of charles dickens, mark twain and joseph heller.
Setting
the background to a story, the physical locatoin of a play, story, or novel. The setting of a narrative will normally involve both time and place.
simile
a directly expressed comparision, figure of speech comparing two objects usually with like, as, or than. it is easier to recognize a simile than a metaphor b/c the comparison is explicit- for example, “ my love is like a fever.” or “ my love is deeper than a well” or “ my love is as dead as a doornail”
soliloquy
a speech in which a character who is alone speaks his or her thoughts aloud. a monologue also has a single speaker, but the monologuist speaks to others who do not interrupt. Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” and “ o what a rogue and peasant slave am I” are soliloquies.
Strategy
the management of lang. for a specific effect. The strategy or rhetorical strategy of a poem the planned placing of elements to achieve an effect. the rhetorical strategy of most love poems for example, is deployed to convince the loved one to return the speakers love. by appealing to the loved one’s sympathy -(if you dont return my love my heart with break) or by flattery (How could i not love someone as beautiful as you) or by threat (when you are old you will be sorry you refused me) the lover attempts to persuade the loved one to love in return.
STructure
the arrangment of materials within a work, the relationship of the parts of a work to the whole, the logical divisions of a work. the most common principles of structure are series(abcde), contrast (a versus b, c versus d, e versus a) and repetition (aa,bb,ab) the most common units of structure are play (scene, act), novel (chapter), and poem (line, stanza).
style
the mode of expression in language, the characteristic manner of expression of an author. Many elements contribute to style, and if a question calls for a discussion of style or of stylistiic techniques, you can discuss diction, syntax, fig. lang, imagery, selection of detail, sound effects, and tone, using those that are appropriate.
syllogism
a form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. a syllogism begins with a major premise (all tragedies end unhappily) followed by a minor premise “hamlet is a tragedy” and a conclusion “therefore hamlet ends unhappily “
symbol
something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else. example, winter, darkness, and cold are real things, but in literature they are also likely to be used as symbols of death. yorick’s skull is a symbol of human mortatlity, and melvilles white whale is certainly a symbol, but exactly what it symbolizes has yet to be agreed upon.
theme
the main thought expressed by a work
thesis
the theme, meaning, or position that a writer understakes to prove or support
tone
the manner in which an author expressed his or her attitude; the intonation of the voice that expresses meaning, tone is described by adjectives, and the possibilities are nearly endless. often a single adjective will not be enough and tone may change from chapter to chapter or even line to line. tone may be the result of allusion, diction, fig. lang. imagery, irony, symbol, syntax, or style.
tragedy
now defined as a play with a serious content and an unhappy ending. shakespears-Hamlet and Millers- death of a salesman are examples
