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Literature Subject Test > Terms and Vocab > Flashcards

Terms and Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

What are the major genres?

A

Prose, Poetry, and Drama

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2
Q

What are the major subgenres of Prose?

A

Fiction and Nonfiction

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3
Q

What are the major subgenres of Poetry?

A

Narrative, Lyric and Dramatic

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4
Q

What are the major subgenres of Drama?

A

Tragedy and Comedy

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5
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Fiction?

A

Western, Science Fiction, Romantic

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6
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Nonfiction?

A

Essay, Biography, Instructional

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7
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Narrative poetry?

A

Epic, Ballad

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8
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Lyric poetry?

A

Ode, Elegy, Sonnet

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9
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Dramatic poetry?

A

Dramatic Monologue

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10
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Tragedy?

A

Common man, Classical Greek

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11
Q

What are some minor subgenres of Comedy?

A

Comedy of character, Satire, low comedy

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12
Q

Prose

A

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

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13
Q

Poetry

A

written or spoken language which may have stanzas and heightened figurative language with metrical structure

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14
Q

Drama

A

a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance

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15
Q

Fiction

A

Invented or imaginary characters and events

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16
Q

Nonfiction

A

True or real characters and events

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17
Q

Narrative poetry

A

Contains a plot

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18
Q

Lyric poetry

A

Expresses emotion

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19
Q

Dramatic poetry

A

Contains elements of a play

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20
Q

Tragedy

A

Serious, tragic disaster

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21
Q

Comedy

A

ends Happily

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22
Q

Essay

A

a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

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23
Q

Autobiography/ biography

A

an account of someone’s life written by themselves/ someone else

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24
Q

Epic

A

a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.

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25
Q

ballad

A

Narratives songs that may be sung or recited. The subjects are usually courage or love.

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26
Q

ode

A

a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter. A serious long lyric poem with a single theme; purpose may be to eulogize someone or something

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27
Q

elegy

A

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.

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28
Q

Sonnet

A

A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter

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29
Q

Dramatic monologue

A

a poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.

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30
Q

Common man tragedy

A

Examples include death of a salesman, 1984

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31
Q

Classical Greek tragedy

A

Examples include oedipus Rex, Antigone

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32
Q

Comedy of character

A

comedy in which the emphasis is on characterization rather than plot or lines

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33
Q

Satire

A

wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly, in extreme is a farce

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34
Q

Low comedy

A

comedy employing burlesque, horseplay, or the representation of low life

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35
Q

fable

A

Fables are stories centered on morals, which are often expressed in an epigram.

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36
Q

Epigram

A

Short poems that are characteristically witty with a twist in thought at the end. Or a clever saying used for a variety of purposes

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37
Q

Dramatic structure

A
  1. Exposition/Introduction
  2. Conflict/Exciting force
  3. Rising action or complication
  4. Climax crisis or turning point
  5. Falling action
  6. Resolution or conclusion
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38
Q

Consonance

A

Final consonant sounds of stressed syllables are repeated but the preceding vowels are different such as learn and torn or Reader and rider.

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39
Q

Concrete poetry

A

Highly graphic modern poems that are also graphic art.

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40
Q

Assonance

A

The same or similar vowel sounds are repeated in nearby words, usually in stressed syllables such as lies and night and feet and keep

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41
Q

Tragic hero

A

Has a flaw in his character that causes his defeat, even though he was originally of a noble family. For example Macbeth

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42
Q

Antihero

A

a hero that is more ordinary than a traditional hero; could be villainous; acts in self interest

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43
Q

Blank verse

A

Is written in iambic pentameter but with no rhyme pattern. It is the major verse form used by Shakespeare in his plays

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44
Q

Couplet and heroic couplet

A

A couplet consists of two group lines that rhyme. A heroic couplet is written in iambic pentameter.

45
Q

Free verse

A

verse that is free of a regular meter

46
Q

Meiosis

A

Understatement

47
Q

Malapropism

A

the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, “dance a flamingo ” (instead of flamenco ).

48
Q

Iambic foot

A

Unstressed, stressed

49
Q

iambic pentameter

A

Five iambic feet

50
Q

Situational or dramatic irony

A

The result following a sequence of events is the opposite of what is expected

51
Q

Verbal irony

A

When the speaker says the opposite of what they mean

52
Q

Contradiction in context

A

Example: describing a cruel person in terms that are endearing

53
Q

Allegory

A

When metaphors are extended into narrative form in which the actual stories and its elements represent elements outside this story often with the characters and events representing ideas

54
Q

Anthropomorphism versus personification

A

With anthropomorphism, the object or animal is actually doing something human. With personification, the object or animal just seems like it’s doing something human. Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland = anthropomorphism, a rabbit staring like he wants to make you for dinner = personification

55
Q

Apostrophe, Invocation

A

An exclamatory figure of speech when a character turns from addressing one party to another party or inanimate object. Called an invocation if to a muse

56
Q

Metonymy versus synecdoche

A

The difference between synecdoche and metonymy is that in metonymy the word you employ is linked to the concept you are really talking about, but isn’t actually a part of it, which is synecdoche.

57
Q

Parable

A

Teaches a lesson using the very structured Allegory

58
Q

Rhyme scheme

A

Pattern at the end of each line of a poem

59
Q

etna

A

a device formerly used for heating liquids and consisting of a cup fixed in a saucer in which alcohol is burned.

60
Q

litotes

A

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won’t be sorry, meaning you’ll be glad ).

61
Q

expletive

A

a word or phrase used to fill out a sentence or a line of verse without adding to the sense.
“it is” in “it is time to go”

62
Q

bier

A

a movable frame on which a coffin or a corpse is placed before burial or cremation or on which it is carried to the grave.

63
Q

noxious

A

harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.

64
Q

emanation

A

an abstract but perceptible thing that issues or originates from a source.

65
Q

eery

A

eerie

66
Q

espy

A

catch sight of

67
Q

elative

A

adjective describing motion; the adjective form of prepositions

68
Q

sprung rhythm

A

a poetic meter approximating speech, each foot having one stressed syllable followed by a varying number of unstressed ones. app of iamb

69
Q

theater of the absurd

A

drama using the abandonment of conventional dramatic form to portray the futility of human struggle in a senseless world.

70
Q

surrealism

A

a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.

71
Q

aphorism

A

a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”.

72
Q

euphony

A

It can be defined as the use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create.

73
Q

indicative mood

A

used to make factual statements, ask questions, or express opinions as if they were facts. Any verb tense may be deployed in the indicative mood.

74
Q

subjunctive mood

A

The subjunctive mood is used to explore conditions that are contrary to fact: “If”

75
Q

imperative mood

A

The imperative mood expresses direct commands, prohibitions, and requests.

76
Q

romance

A

romantic stories with chivalrous feats of heroes and knights. Romance describes chivalry and courtly love, comprising stories and legends of duty, courage, boldness, battles, and rescues of damsels in distress.

77
Q

realism

A

the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.

78
Q

tenor and vehicle

A

The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed.

79
Q

hypobole

A

A rhetorical figure in which several things are mentioned that seem to make against the argument, or in favour of the opposing side, and then they are refuted one by one.

80
Q

reification

A

Reification is making something real, bringing something into being, or making something concrete.

81
Q

conceit

A

a fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor.

82
Q

idiomatic

A

using, containing, or denoting expressions that are natural to a native speaker.

83
Q

agog

A

very eager or curious to hear or see something.

84
Q

turbid

A

confused or obscure in meaning or effect.

85
Q

tandem

A

having two things arranged one in front of the other.

86
Q

akimbo

A

with hands on the hips and elbows turned outward.

87
Q

poignant

A

evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

sharp or pungent in taste or smell

88
Q

despondent

A

in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.

89
Q

denouement

A

the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

90
Q

indite

A

write; compose.

91
Q

loci

A

plural of locus, a particular point in place

92
Q

anastrophe

A

the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses.

93
Q

lipogram

A

a composition from which the writer systematically omits a certain letter or certain letters of the alphabet.

94
Q

Italian sonnet vs. English Sonnet

A

An Italian sonnet is composed of an octet (eight lines - abbaabba) and a sestet (six lines - either abcabc or ababab). The English sonnet comprises three quatrains (four line - abab) and one couplet at the end (two lines - aa). All sonnets have 14 lines.

95
Q

Nonrestrictive clause

A

A nonrestrictive clause (also known as a nonessential clause) is a type of adjective clause that provides additional information about a word whose meaning is already clear. Nonrestrictive clauses often begin with the word which and are always set off with commas.

96
Q

Restrictive Clause

A

a restrictive (or essential) clause provides information necessary for understanding the word it modifies. When deciding whether to include the word that or which in an adjective clause, remember to use that for restrictive clauses and which for nonrestrictive clauses:

97
Q

Intensive pronouns

A

Intensive pronouns are used to add emphasis to the subject or antecedent of the sentence. The intensive/reflexive pronouns include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

98
Q

demonstrative pronouns

A

A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific within a sentence. Those are, these are, that is, this is

99
Q

Complex sentence

A

Complex sentences contain an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

100
Q

Linking verbs

A

is like an equal sign

is, become, feel,

101
Q

Intransitive verb

A

does not need an object after the verb. sit, jump, read

102
Q

transitive verb

A

needs an object after the verb. kiss, kill, buy

103
Q

homonym vs homophone vs homograph

A

Homonym- same pronunciation and spelling; homophone- same pronunciation; homograph- same spelling

104
Q

relative pronoun

A

which, that, when, whose (not as a question)

105
Q

dangling modifier

A

a type of ambiguous grammatical construct whereby a grammatical modifier could be misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended, or with no particular word at all. Walking down Main Street, the trees were beautiful. Reaching the station, the sun came out.

106
Q

participle

A

a modifier for past and present verbs. I “have” swum. I “am’ swimming.

107
Q

eye rhyme

A

a similarity between words in spelling but not in pronunciation, e.g., love and move.

108
Q

true rhyme

A

rhyme; share, care

109
Q

imperfect rhyme

A

a rhyme in which there is only a partial matching of sounds (e.g., peek and seat ).

Literature Subject Test (2 decks)

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