Praxis Middle School-Language Arts-Figurative Language Flashcards
allegory
a story in which people or things or actions represent an idea or a generalization about life. Allegories usually have strong lessons or morals (Animal Farm)
alliteration
the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words such as peter piper picked a pack of pickled peppers
allusion
a reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event. - for example, Don Juan, brave new world, Everyman, machiavellian, utopia
analogy
a comparison of objects or ideas that appear to be different but are alike in some important way
anapestic meter
meter that is composed of feet that are short-short-long or unaccented -unaccented-accented, usually used in light or whimsical poetry, such as a limerick
anecdote
a brief story that illustrates or makes a point
antagonist
a person or thing working against the hero of a literary work (the protagonist)
aphorism
a wise saying usually short and written (ex. lost time is never found again)
apostrophe
a turn from the general audience to address a specific group of persons (or a personified abstraction) who is present or absent. Ex. Hamlet turning to the audience and speaking directly to one woman about his father’s death.
assonance
a repetition of the same sound in words close to one another. (ex. white stripes)
blank verse
unrhymed verse often occurring in iambic pentameter
caesura
a break in the rhythm of a language, particularly a natural pause in a line or verse, marked in prosody by a double vertical line.
characterization
a method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their personal traits
cliche
an expression that has been used so often that it uses it’s expressive power (ex. dead as a doornail or I am so hungry I could eat a horse)
consonance
repetition of the final consonant sound in words containing different vowels. for example stroke of luck
couplet
a stanza made up of two rhyming lines.
diction
an author’s choice of words based on their clearness, conciseness, effectiveness, and authenticity.
archaic: type of diction
old fashioned words that are no longer used in common speech such as thee, thy, and thou
colloquialisms: type of diction
expressions that are usually accepted in informal situations or regions such as “wicked awesome”
dialect: type of diction
a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area
jargon: type of diction
specialized language used in a particular field or content area for example educational jargon includes differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, and authentic assessment
profanity: type of diction
profanity: type of diction
slang: type of diction
informational language used by a particular group of people among themselves
vulgarity: type of diction
language widely considered crude, disgusting, and oftentimes offensive
end rhyme
rhyming of ends of lines of verse
enjambment
also known as a run on line in poetry. Enjambment occurs when one line ends and continues onto the next line to complete meaning. For example in thoreau’s poem “my life has been the poem I would have writ” the first line is my life has been the poem I would have writ. The second line completes the meaning “but I could not both live and utter it”
existentialism
a philosophy that values human freedom and personal responsibility. Jean-Paul sartre is the foremost existentialist . Other famous existentialist writers include Kierkegaard(the father of existentialism), albert Camus, fredirich Nietzsche, franz kafka, and simone de beauvoir
flashback
a literary device in which the author jumps back in time in the chronology of a narrative
foot
a metrical foot is defined as one stressed syllable and a number of unstressed syllables (from zero to as many as 4) Stressed syllables are indicated by the ‘ symbol. Unstressed syllables are indicated by the (smiley face) symbol. There are four possible metrical feet
iambic : type of foot
unstressed, stressed
trochaic: type of foot
stressed, unstressed
anapestic
unstressed, unstressed, stressed
dactylic
stressed, unstressed, unstressed
one foot:
monometer
two feet:
dimeter
three feet
trimeter
four feet
tetrameter
five feet
pentameter
six feet
hexameter
seven feet
Septameter
eight feet
octameter
foreshadowing
a literary technique in which the author gives hints or clues about what is to come at some point later in the story.
free verse
verse that contains an irregular metrical pattern and line length: also known as vers libre
genre
a category of literature defined by its style, form, and content
heroic couplet
a pair of lines of poetic verse written in iambic pentameter
hubris
the flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero; this term comes from the Greek work hybris, which means excessive pride
hyperbole
an exaggeration for emphasis or rhetorical effect
imagery
the use of words to create pictures in the reader’s mind
internal rhyme
rhyme that occurs within a line of verse
irony
the use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal of expected meaning.
dramatic irony
the reader sees a character’s errors, but the character does not
verbal irony
the writer’s say one thing and it means another
situation
the purpose of a particular action differs greatly from the result
malapropism
a type of pun, or play on words, that results when two words become mixed up in the speaker’s mind. For example: don’t put the horse before the cart
metaphor
a figure of speech in which a comparison is implied but not stated such as this winter is a bear
meter
a rhythmical pattern in verse that is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables
mood
the feeling a text evokes in the reader such as sadness, tranquility, or elation
moral
a lesson a work of literature is teaching
narration
the telling of a story
onomatopoeia
the use of sound words to suggest meaning
oxymoron
a phrase that contains of two contradictory terms like “deafening silence”
paradox
a contradictory statement that makes sense for example Hegel’s paradox :man learns from history that man learns nothing from history
personification
a literary device in which animals ideas and things are represented as having human traits
point of view
the perspective from which a story is told
first person point of view
the story is told from the point of view of one character
third person point of view
the story is told by someone outside the story
omniscient point of view
the narrator of the story shares the thoughts and feelings of all the characters
limited omniscient point of view
the narrator of the story shares the thoughts and feelings of one of the characters
camera view
the narrator records the action from his or her point of view, unaware of any other characters’ thoughts of feelings. This perspective is also known as the objective view
refrain
the repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals, particularly at the end of each stanza
repetition
the multiple use of a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect
rhetoric
persuasive writing
rhythm
the regular or random occurrence of sound in poetry
setting
the time and place in which the action of a story takes place
simile
a comparison of two unlike things, usually including the word like or as
style
how the author uses words, phrases, and sentences to form ideas
symbol
a person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else, such as the white flag that represents surrender
tone
the overall feeling created by an author’s use of words
transcendentalism
during the mid 19th century in new england, several writers and intellectuals worked together to write, translate works, and publish and become known as transcendentalists. Their philosophy focused on protesting the puritan ethic and materialism. The valued individualism, freedom, experimentation, and spirituality. Noted transcendentalists are ralph waldo emerson, nathaniel hawthorne, henry david thoreau, henry wadsworth longfellow, and oliver wendell holmes
verse
a metric line of poetry. a verse is named based on the kind and number of feet composing it
voice
distinctive features of a person’s speech and speech patterns
rhythm
pattern of stresses in a line of verse. Examples.
feet
individual rhythmic units: iamb (unstressed, stressed), trochee (stressed, unstressed), dactyl (stressed, unstressed, unstressed), anapest (unstressed, unstressed, stressed)
verse
is built by stringing together repetitions of one of the feet (anapest, dactyl, iamb, trochee). If there is one foot it is monometer, two feet it is dimeter and so one
iambic pentameter
five feet of unstressed, stressed
pentameter
poetry lines with five feet
