Terms Quiz Flashcards
A reference to history, the Bible, art
Allusion
Noun or pronoun that defines an earlier noun or pronoun
Appositive
A tale in which the characters represent abstract ideas or moral qualities
Allegory
Repetition of initial sounds in a line of verse or prose
Alliteration
Comparison between two objects for the purpose of showing similarities
Analogy
Poetic foot of two unstressed followed by a stressed
Anapest
A person who opposes the protagonist and creates the conflict
Antagonist
Balancing of two contrasting thoughts, words, or phrases
Antithesis
A poetic device in which the writer directly addresses a person, place, or thing, as if it were present
Apostrophe
A speech in plays intended for the audience, and not for other characters on stage
Aside
Repetition of vowel sounds in a line of poetry
Assonance
An author’s account of his/her life
Autobiography
A poem that tells a story, usually in four line stanzas, with the second and fourth line rhyming
Ballad
Detailed story of a person’s life
Biography
Poetic lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter
Blank verse
Break of pause in a line of poetry
Caesura
A section or division of a long poem
Canto
Decisive point of a narrative; the moment of greatest intensity when the outcome becomes apparent
Climax
Literature in which the conflict is resolved and the protagonist solves his problem
Comedy
Literature in which the humor stems from the character’s violation of the decorum and rules by which all operate in a polished and sophisticated society
Comedy of manners/Drawing room comedy/British comedy (humor)
Clash of viewpoints; the struggle around which the plot revolves
Conflict
Repetition of consonant sounds in a line of poetry
Consonance
A poetic foot consisting of stressed, followed by 2 unstressed
Dactyl
Formal poem mourning the death of an individual
Elegy
Sermon given or speech presented at a funeral by a minister or loved one
Eulogy
Inscription on a tombstone
Epitaph
Sonnet (14 line poem) consisting of 3 quatrains that state the problem or ask a question and a couplet that resolves the problem or answers the question
Elizabethan sonnet
Brief, witty poignant comment
Epigram
Piece of prose that expresses a personal point of view
Essay
Dignified in tone, always seems to instruct or persuade
Formal essay
Conversational and relaxed, on a variety of subjects
Informal essay
Part of the story that helps the reader understand background
Exposition
Action following the climax
Falling action
Language that departs from the literal for literary effect
Figurative language
Saying one thing and meaning another
Figure of speech
Two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter
Heroic couplet
A verse line consisting of six feet
Hexameter
Exaggeration or overstatement of fact used for humorous or serious purpose
Hyperbole
Poetic foot of unstressed followed by stressed
Iamb
Most popular verse form in English poetry: Five feet in a line, each one an iamb
Iambic pentameter
Rhyme scheme in which a rhymed line in one stanza signals the rhyme in the next stanza
Interlocking rhyme
Rhyme that occurs within the line of poetry
Internal rhyme
An attitude or way of writing that depends of a discrepancy between what is apparent and what is real
Irony
Discrepancy between purpose and result OR between what happens versus what is expected
Irony of situation
Discrepancy when you say one thing and mean something else
Verbal irony
When the reader/audience perceives something that the character does not
Dramatic irony
An octave (states the question) and a sestet (answers the question)
Italian sonnet
Standard phrase popular in Old English where something is described metaphorically rather than directly
Kenning
Kind of theatrical entertainment popular among the English aristocracy in the late 16th and early 17th century, made use of songs, dances, stage effects, lyric poetry, etc. (Play within a play)
Masque
Figure of speech in which two unlike words are compared without a word of comparison
Metaphor
Metaphor (comparison) between two startlingly different things
Metaphysical conceit
A regular pattern of rhythm in poetry
Meter
Work in which something trivial/trivial topic is treated seriously and follows the characteristics of the traditional epic
Mock epic
First 8 lines of a sonnet
Octave
Serious dignified lyric poem usually written for a special occasion in honor of a particular person, place, or thing
Ode
Word whose sound suggests its meaning
Onomatopoeia
Figure of speech which depends on a paradoxical contrast between what is apparent and what is real
Oxymoron
A statement true in fact, although it seems to contradict itself
Paradox
Repetition of phrases that are similar in structure or meaning
Parallelism
Figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human qualities
Personification
Central character who faces the conflict presented by the antagonist
Protagonist
Sacred song or lyric
Psalm
Poetic stanza of four lines
Quatrain
A phrase or sentence repeated at intervals and at the end
Refrain
Action which builds toward the climax
Rising action
A piece of writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt the weaknesses and wrongdoings of individuals, groups, or humanity in general; seeks to change the reader’s mind through the force of laughter by making fun
Satire
Six lines of poetry
Sestet
Figure of speech in which two things are compared with a word of comparison
Simile
Lengthy speech in which the speaker/character reveals his most innermost thoughts and feelings, as if he were thinking aloud
Soliloquy
14 lined poem in iambic pentameter
Sonnet
Variable kind of meter in which a stressed syllable may be combined with any number of unstressed
Sprung rhythm
Style of writing that attempts to imitate the character’s flow of thoughts as he is thinking them
Stream of consciousness
An author’s characteristic way of writing determined by his word choice, arrangement of words in sentences, and relationship of sentences to one another
Style
Word or phrase used to stand for an idea
Symbol
Verse form with 3 line stanzas which incorporates the middle of 1 rhyming with the 1st and 3rd lines of the next stanza (interlocking rhyme)
Terza Rima
A literary movement where authors used powerful symbols to dictate mood, themes, etc.
Symbolism
Poetic line of four feet
Tetrameter
Way in which words are arranged in order to form phrases
Syntax
Literature in which the conflict is not resolved and the protagonist does not solve his problem, extricating himself from the conflict that the antagonist has created
Tragedy
Metrical line consisting of three feet
Trimeter
Poetic foot consisting of a stressed followed by an unstressed
Trochee
Intricately patterned poem (3 line stanzas and a concluding stanza of 4 lines), with the first and third line of the first stanza serving as a refrain that doubles as the end of the poem and also is interwoven throughout. Has two rhymes only.
Villanelle
Character in a piece of literature for the express purpose of pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of another character
Character foil
