Medieval Literature Test Review sheet Flashcards
Social Commentary
the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in a society.(informing the populace).
Exemplum
a rhetorical device defined as a short tale or narrative that is used to emphasize a point
Anecdote
a short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh
Archetype
also known as universal symbol, may be a character, a theme, a symbol or even a setting.
Satire
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidit
Medieval Romance
A religious crusade, a conquest for the knight’s lord/King, and/or the rescue of a captive lady (or any combination).
Prose
a form of language that has no formal metrical structure. It applies a natural flow of speech, and ordinary grammatical structure rather than rhythmic structure, such as in the case of traditional poetry.
verse
The literary device verse denotes a single line of poetry. The term can also be used to refer to a stanza or other parts of poetry
Quatrain
A stanza of four lines
Alliteration
The occurence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent words
Kenning
A two word phrase that describes an object with metaphors
Epic
A long narrative poem written in elevated style, in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds. The setting is vast in scope, covering great nations, the world, or the universe, and the action is important to the history of a nation or people.
Legendary Hero
character immortalized in myths and folk tales, who is famous for acts of courage and bravery.
Romantic Hero
archetype referring to a character that rejects established norms and conventions, has been rejected by society, and has themself as the center of his or her own existence.
Frame Story
a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative
Simile
a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things.
Incremental Repetition
a device used in poetry of the oral tradition, especially English and Scottish ballads, in which a line is repeated in a changed context or with minor changes in the repeated part.
Refrain
A line or set of lines at the end of a stanza or section of a longer poem or song–these lines repeat at regular intervals in other stanzas or sections of the same work. Sometimes the repetition involves minor changes in wording.
Scop
scop (/ʃɒp/ or /skɒp/) was a poet as represented in Old English poetry.
Allusion
is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance
Folk Ballad
The anonymous folk ballad (or popular ballad), was composed to be sung. It was passed along orally from singer to singer, from generation to generation, and from one region to another
