Terms Flashcards
a sound device commonly used in poetry and occasionally in prose that involves the repetition of an initial sound in two or more words of a phrase. For example Colridge’s line from “ The rime of the ancient mariner”: The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew.”
Alliteration
a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place, event or to another literary work or passage. The writer expects the reader to recognize the reference. Generally there are four types: Historical (He met his Waterloo), mythological (to have an Achilles’ heel) Literary (Steinbeck title of Mice and men and Biblical (a “Daniel come to judgment”).
Allusion
is the character or force in a literary work pitted against the central figure (protagonist).
Antagonist
a figure of speech in which a person or thing not present (or alive) is addressed (spoken to) as if it were. For example, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand?
Come, let me clutch thee!
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” The dagger was not actually there.
Apostrophe
a sound device involving the repetition of internal vowel sounds in words. For example, Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” uses this with the repetition of the soft “i” sound: “… the cliffs of England stand, Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay..”
Assonance
a person in a play, short story or novel.
Character
a complex, many-sided character that is fully developed by the author
Round Character
characterized by one or two traits only; a type of minor character,
Flat Character
the stereotyped character that has occurred so often in fiction that his nature is immediately known.
Stock Character
a character that does not undergo significant change. Whether round or flat, their personalities remain essentially stable throughout the course of the story.
Static Character
a character that changes significantly during the course of the story.
Dynamic Character
A phrase or expression that was once original but has since been used so frequently that it has become trite.
Cliche
The clash of ideas, actions, or wills. There are five basic form: person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. nature, person vs. society, and person vs. God.
Conflict
The repetitions of internal consonant sounds in words.
Consonance
A pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair lines that rhyme and are of the same metrical length.
Couplet
a poetic form in which a single character, speaking to a silent listener at a critical moment, reveals both a dramatic situation and his own character.
Dramatic Monologue
is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work.
Epilogue
any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of the words in order to furnish new effects or fresh insights into an idea or a subject.
figurative language
a narrative technique involving a shift from the present to the past (usually to reveal important background information to the audience).
flashback
a narrative technique that occurs when an author gives a hint of a later event.
foreshadowing
a type or class of literature
genre
a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant (example: I could eat a horse.”)
hyperbole
a synonym for dialect. In its more scholarly and narrow sense, it refers to a construction or expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated word-for-word in another language. For instance, the English expression, “She has a bee in her bonnet,”meaning “she is obsessed,” cannot be literally translated into another language word for word
Give it a shot - Try
Speak your mind - Say what you really feel
A piece of cake - Very easy
Slipped my mind - I forgot
Cross your fingers - For good luck
Be in hot water - Be in trouble
It cost an arm and a leg - It was expensive
It’s in the bag - It’s a certainty
Get cold feet - Be nervous
A rip off - Too expensive
Get a kick out of - Enjoy
Read between the lines - Find the hidden meaning
Have mixed feelings - Unsure how you feel
idiom
a literary technique involving visually descriptive language or figures of speech used to appeal to the senses and/or to create “word pictures” in the mind.
imagery
a departure from the expected
-in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case.
irony
to mean the opposite of what you say
verbal irony
the audience or reader is aware of something that the character or speaker is not aware of
dramatic irony
the opposite happens to what is expected
irony of situation
a technique that involves placing things side by side for comparison or contrast. Eg. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
juxtaposition
a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared, without using the words “like,” “as”, or “than”. For example, he is a lion in battle.
metaphor
also known as atmosphere or psychological setting. It is the emotional effect of a narrative or descriptive passage on its audience.
mood
another word for “story”
narrative
a sound device wherein a word resembles a sound such as “buzz”, “hiss”, or “thud”.
onomatopoeia
a figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox, as in “eloquent silence.”
oxymoron
a seemingly contradictory statement that nonetheless contains an element of truth. (Example: “Less is more.”)
paradox
a figure of speech in which abstractions, animals, ideas, and inanimate objects are endowed with human characteristics or traits. (example: the wind danced on the rooftops)
personificaiton
the narrator speaks as “I” and the narrator is a character in the story who may or may not influence events within it.
Point of view: 1st person
the narrator speaks as “you”
Point of view: 2nd person
The narrator speaks as “he”, “she,”they,” etc
Point of view: 3rd person
the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of more than one character.
Point of view: omniscient
the narrator knows what only one character thinks and feels
point of view: limited omniscient
the narrator is like a camera showing us only the actions and dialogue of characters
Point of view: objective or dramatic point of view
the story line or organization of incidents in a story.
plot
background information including antecedent action-action that takes place before the story commences
Plot: exposition
the first event in a story that introduces the conflict
Plot: initial incident
details/events that occur prior to the climax of the story
Plot: rising action
highest point of intensity conflict
Plot: climax
wrapping up of loose ends
Plot: denouement
is the central character of a drama or narrative
protagonist
a stylistic choice to 1)emphasize, 2) please the ear, and 3) provide structure within a text.
repetition
this term refers to the time, place, and social conditions in which a story takes place.
setting
a genre of fictional prose consisting of a narrative that is usually brief in nature. Typically a short story can be read in one sitting and has one “effect” or purpose.
short story
is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”. (Example: “life is like a box of chocolates”)
simile
a poetic division much like a paragraph in a prose passage
stanza
anything that represents something else
symbol
a literary technique that allows words, places, characters, or objects to represent something beyond the literal.
symbolism
the central insight of any literary text; the main unifying idea of a text
theme
is also known as a controlling idea. In an essay, a thesis is an argument, either overt or implicit, that a writer develops and supports.
thesis
the writer’s attitude toward his or her subject
tone
a perplexing situation, which presents two different possibilities, and both of them seem practically acceptable. This is a rhetorical device in which a conflicting situation arises for a person to choose between right and wrong where both seem of equal worth.
dilemma
refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant.
Euphemism
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Fiction
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non-fiction
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narrator
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poetry
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prose
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speaker
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suspense
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tradegy
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understatement
