Metalanguage Flashcards

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1
Q

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

A

Allusion

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2
Q

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

A

Anaphora

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3
Q

The opposition of words or phrases against each other, e.g., “more light and light, more dark and dark our woes!”

A

Antithesis

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4
Q

Repetition of vowel sounds within words close in proximity

A

Assonance

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5
Q

Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

A

Blank verse

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6
Q

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

A

Consonance

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7
Q

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

A

Alliteration

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8
Q

Dropping of sounds from a word indicated by dropped letters marked with an apostrophe

A

Contraction

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9
Q

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

A

Couplets

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10
Q

Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play

A

Dramatic irony

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11
Q

A fatal flaw; the cause of downfall of a tragic hero

A

Hamartia

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12
Q

A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story

A

Foil

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13
Q

A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader

A

Foreshadowing

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14
Q

A line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, e.g.,”MONday’s CHILD is Fair of Face, TUESday;s CHILD is FULL of GRACE,…”

A

Iambic pentameter

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15
Q

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

A

Imagery

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16
Q

Comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using like or as often used as imagery

A

Metaphor

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17
Q

A specific form of antithesis where an author places incongruous or contradictory words next to each other, e.g., “cold fire” or “bright smoke”.

A

Oxymoron

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18
Q

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

A

Paradox

19
Q

Moments of silence strategically used to enhance meaning

A

Pauses

20
Q

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

A

Personification

21
Q

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

A

Rhythm

22
Q

Repetition of sounds at the end of words

A

Rhyme

23
Q

Comparison of things that have something in common using “like” or “as”

A

Similes

24
Q

A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

A

Soliloquy

25
Q

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

A

Verbal irony

26
Q

A distinct pause within a line of verse, often near the centre

A

Caesura

27
Q

A genre of story in which a hero is brought down by his/her own flaws, usually by ordinary human flaws, - flaws like greed, over-ambition, or even an excess of love, honour, or loyalty

A

Tragedy

28
Q

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

A

Symbolism

29
Q

A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to fictional narrative; common technique in tragedy

A

Peripeteia

30
Q

The point in a play, novel, etc., in which the hero recognises or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances; change from ignorance to knowledge

A

Anagnorisis

31
Q

A release of emotional tension; purgation; purification

A

Catharsis

32
Q

The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself

A

Equivocation

33
Q

The act of killing a king

A

Regicide

34
Q

Wrongfully seizing and holding by force

A

Usurpation

35
Q

Repetition of words derived from the same root, e.g., But yet I’ll make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate

A

Polyptoton

36
Q

Language without any rhythm, metric scheme or rhyme

A

Prose

37
Q

Repetition at the end of successive phrases or clauses

A

Epistrophe

38
Q

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

A

Repetition

39
Q

Brief comment or address to the audience that shows the character’s unspoken throughs, unheard by other characters on state

A

Aside

40
Q

A plosive speech sound. The basic plosives in English are t, k, and p and d, g, and b

A

Plosive

41
Q

Formed by constricting air flow through the vocal tract (f, v, th, z, s, sh, sion)

A

Fricative

42
Q

A type of alliteration in which the “s” sound is repeated

A

Sibilance

43
Q

When a sentence or phrase continues or spills from one line in a poem over into the next

A

Enjambment

44
Q

A lighter or milder word used in substitution of a harsh word when referring to something unpleasant

A

Euphemism