Terminology - NLMG & Macbeth Flashcards
Bildungsroman
a form of novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.
Dystopian
A genre of literature which imagines a society gone wrong, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded landscape.
Symbolism
the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a deeper meaning
Unreliable narrator
a narrator whose account of events appears to be faulty, misleadingly biased, or otherwise distorted
Non-linear narrative
when an author presents the story’s occurrences and characters out of order
Memento Mori
A symbol reminding the reader of death
Analepsis
Flashback; depiction of earlier story points after later events have been revealed
Prolepsis
Flash forward
Motif
A recurring element, such as an image, theme, or type of incident.
Pathetic fallacy
Attributing human qualities to a force of nature
Digression
A temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing
Protagonist
The central character in a work of literature
Semantic field
Group of words which are related in meaning
Motif
A recurring theme, subject or idea
Setting
The time and place of a story
Dialogue
Conversation between characters
conversational tone
A relaxed and informal style that allows the speaker to talk with you and not at the audience
Euphemism
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
science fiction
writing that tells about imaginary events that involve science or technology
Speculative Fiction
a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements
Realism
artistic representation that aims for visual accuracy
Climax
the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.
retrospective
Looking backward over a period of time
Foreshadowing
A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.
circular narrative
A narrative that starts at its end point, then circles back to relate the events that lead up to that point
Allusion
A statement that refers to something else without directly referencing
Connotation
The associated meaning of words e.g. red connotes danger
Foreboding
A feeling that something bad will happen
Foreshadowing
A warning or indication of future events.
Hyperbole
An exaggeration for effect.
Metaphor
A description by comparison e.g. He was a giant.
Paradox
A paradox is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true (or wrong at the same time).
Pathetic Fallacy
When inanimate objects are given human qualities OR when the weather is used to reflect the mood of characters.
Personification
A description that gives an inanimate/non human object human qualities e.g. The sea growled as it thrashed the shore.
Simile
A description by comparison using like or as e.g. eyes like the ocean.
Symbolism
When one thing represents a wider or deeper meaning
Aside
A brief remark made by a character intended to be heard by the audience, but not the other characters on stage.
Antihero
A main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as courage and morality and yet the audience still roots for them.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that the character(s) on stage does not. (Verbal irony is when a character says one thing and means another.)
Hamartia
A tragic flaw, something that under normal circumstances would be seen as a virtue (e.g. ambition, love).
Hubris
Excessive pride or self-confidence.
Rhyming Couplet
A pair of lines, usually with the same metre, that end-rhyme with each other and complete a thought. They often create finality, emphasis and succinctness.
Soliloquy
A speech given by a character on stage alone to the audience in order to reveal his/her thoughts and feelings.
Tragedy
A literary genre in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw or moral weakness.
Tragic Hero
a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy/downfall.
Alliteration
Repetition of the same sound or letter at the start of a word e.g. The forest’s ferny floor.
Assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound in multiple words e.g. The purple curtain.
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like their meaning, which helps bring the text to life e.g. the patter of rain on my window.
Plosives
Repetition of b, p, t or d sounds, which create an abrupt, sharp effect, e.g. Her cheek blushed bright beneath my burning kiss.
Sibilance
The repetition of ‘s’ or ‘sh’ sounds creating a soft or hissing effect e.g. the sea swished against the shore.
Caesura
A stop or pause within a line usually causing an abrupt stop/break in the rhythm.
Monosyllabic Words
Words that consist of single syllables and often create simplicity e.g. I will not go.
Polysyllabic Words
Words that consist of more than one syllable and can be used exaggerate/draw out an idea or show complexity.
Stichomythia
Dialogue in brief alternating lines.
Syntax
Word order that has been selected to have an effect on the reader.
