Test 1 Flashcards
Alliteration
the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable: “descending dew drops”
Allusion
A brief reference to a person, place, thing, even, or idea in history or literature. Allusions imply reading and cultural experiences
Cacophony
is language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce “never my numb plunker fumbles.”
Caesura
A pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line. A caesura can occur anywhere within a line and need not be indicated by punctuation. In scanning a line, we indicate caesuras by double vertical line (||).
Colloquial
Refers to a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions.
Connotation
Associations and implications that go beyond a word’s literalmeaning and deriving from how the word has been commonly used the associations people make with it. For example, the word eagle connotes ideas of liberty and freedom
Consonance
A common type of near rhyme that consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds: home, same; worth, breath.
Convention
characteristic of a literary genre (often unrealistic) that is understood and accepted by readers because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique. For use of meter and rhyme are poetic conventions.
Denotation
The dictionary meaning of a word
Dialect
type of informal diction. Dialects are spoken by definable groups ofpeople from particular geographic region, economic group, or social class
Cliche
phrase that has been used so often that it appears trite
Diction
the choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to create meaning.
Formal diction
consists of a dignified, impersonal, and elevated use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone.
Middle diction
maintains correct language usage but is less elevated than formal diction; it reflects the way most educated people speak.
Informal diction
represents the plain language of everyday use and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contractions, and many simple, common words.
Poetic diction
refers to the way poets sometimes use an elevated diction that deviates significantly from the common speech and writing of their time, choosing words for their supposedly inherent poetic qualities.
Didactic poetry
Poetry designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson.
Figures of speech
Ways of using language that deviate from the literal, denotative meanings of words in order to suggest additional meanings or effects.
Form
The overall structure or shape of work, which frequently follows an established design. Forms may refer to a literary type , or to patterns of meter, lines, andrhymes.
Free verse
free verse refers to poems characterized by the nonconformity to established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza
Genre
A French word meaning kind or type. The major genres in literature are poetry, fiction, drama, and essays. Genre can also refer to more specific types of literature.
Hyperbole
boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true, as in the statement
Image
word, phrase, or figure of speech (especially a simile or metaphor) that addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures of sights, sounds, smells,tastes, feelings or actions.
Irony
literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveala reality different from what appears to be true.
Verbal irony
figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite
Sarcasm
strong form of verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone through, for example, false praise
Dramatic irony
creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or saysand what the reader or audience member knows to be true
Situational irony
exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens owing to forces beyond human comprehensionor control
Metaphor
metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using the words like or as
Implied metaphor
more subtle comparison; the terms being compared are not so specifically explained
Extended metaphor
sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors
Direct metaphor
metaphor that directly compares two things with a verb such as “is”
Synecdoche
metaphor in which a part of something is used to signifythe whole
Metonymy
type of metaphor in which something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it
Onomatopoeia
term referring to the use of a word that resembles the sound it denotes
Oxymoron
A condensed form of paradox in which two contradictory words are used together
Paradox
statement that initially appears to be contradictory but then, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense
Paraphrase
prose restatement of the central ideas of a work, in your own language
Parody
humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work. It can take any fixed or open form, because parodists imitate the tone, language, and shape of the original in order to deflate the subject matter, making the original work seem absurd.
Persona
speaker created by a writer to tell a story or to speak in a poem.
Personification
form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman things
Pun
play on words that relies on a word’s having more than one meaning or sounding like another word
Rhyme scheme
the pattern of similar-sounding words used at the end of the lines ofa verse
Refrain
lines repeated at intervals in a poem
Satire
literary art of ridiculing a folly or vice in order to expose or correct it.
Setting
physical and social context in which the action occurs
Simile
common figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two things by using words such as like, as, than, appears, and seems
Speaker
voiced used by the author in the poem; like the narrator in a work of fiction, the speaker is often a created identity rather than the author`s actual self. The two should not automatically be equated.
Stanza
group of lines in a poem whose content and form distinguish them as a single unit
Style
distinctive and unique manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects
Symbol
person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal significance
Syntax
ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases clauses, and sentences.
Theme
central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. A theme provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other element of a work are organized
Thesis
central idea of an essay. The thesis is a complete sentence (although sometimes it may require more than one sentence) that establishes the topic of the essay in clear, unambiguous language.
Tone
author’s implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author’s style.
