terms (part 1) Flashcards
alliteration
the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning or in the middle of two or more adjacent words
ex. “To make a man to meet the moral need/ A man to match the mountains and the sea”
anaphora
the repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
ex. i wish i may, i wish i might
antagonist
opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story
ex. scar in the lion king
antanaclasis
repetition of a word in two different senses
ex. if we do not hang together, we will hang separately
think: ant vs classics don’t make sense together
antihero
central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. he/she may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples
ex. raskolnikov (crime and punishment), loki (marvel), sherlock holmes (sherlock)
antimetabole
the repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order
ex. one should eat to live, not live to eat (socrates), if you fail to plan, you plan to fail
think: anti-GRAMMAR
apostrophe
calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea.
note: if the character is asking for a god/goddess for inspiration, it’s called invocation
ex. love: who needs it? // twinkle twinkle little star, how i wonder what you are
chiasmus
inverted relationship between two elements in two parallel phrases
ex. when the going gets tough, the tough get going (simone, the lion king) // never kiss a fool and never let a fool kiss you
didactic
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or proves a model of correct behaviour or thinking
note: often dry and pompous
think: DIEdactic
elegy
a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.
elegy
a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.
eulogy
a great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died
epanalepsis
repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause
ex. blood hath brought blood
think: epilepsy happens at the beginning and the end
epistrophe
repetition of a group of words at the end of successive clauses
ex. i want the best, we need the best, and we deserve the best (jfk)
external conflict
conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine, or between a person and a whole society
flashback
a part of the plot that moves back in time and then returns to the present
ex. “great balls of fire” beach scene in tgm
internal conflict
a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person’s mind
ex. pip wanting to be a gentleman but not hurt joe’s feelings
irony
writing or speaking implies the contrary of what is actually written or spoken
ex. “what a beautiful day” during a tornado
verbal irony
when someone says one thing and means another
situational irony
takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen or what would be appropriate to happen and what actually happens
cosmic irony
a situational irony that emphasizes the pessimistic and fatalistic side of life
dramatic irony
as on stage, a character thinks one thing is true, but the audience knows better
motif
a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work, unifying the work by typing the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme
ex. fire in jane eyre, the green light in the great gatsby
polysyndeton
a sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series
ex. “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays”
think: polysyndeton is a king word, so it means long sentences
protagonist
the main character in a piece of literature; the figure in the narrative whose interests the reader is most concerned about and sympathetic toward. usually the hero or antihero
ex. harry potter, percy jackson, richard papen
