Midterm Literary Elements Flashcards
Dramatic irony
When the audience or reader knows something that the character doesn’t
Epithet
An adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality or characteristic of a person
Formulaic diction
A established form words in a literary work that follows or reinforces a pattern
Hyperbole
An exaggeration
Aside
Lines that are spoken by the character directly to the audience
Metaphor
Comparison without using like or as
Monologue
Long speech spoken by a character
Mood
How the audience feels about the book
Motif
A recurring structure,contrast, or other device that develops or informs a works major theme
Personification
When an author give human features to non human things
Comedy
A humorous work of drama
Tragedy
A serious work of drama in which a hero suffers catastrophes or serious misfortune
Simile
A figurative speech comparing 2 thing using like or as
Soliloquy
Thoughts spoken aloud by a character
Stage directions
Italicized comments that identify parts of the setting or the use of props and costumes
Tragic hero
A protagonist with fatal flaw that eventually leads to his demise
