Test Prep Vocab Flashcards
Achilles’ Heel
A weakness others can aim at
Anachronism
Something placed in the wrong time period
Analogy
Two unrelated concepts compared for shared characteristics
Antagonist
Main villain
Antihero
Main characters with questionable moral traits
Allegory
Story or part of story with a hidden meaning
Allusion
When another subject unrelated to text is mentioned.
Archetype
Something occurring a lot in literature considered a universal concept.
Call to Adventure
When main character receives sign to start their quest.
Diction
Specific word choice author uses.
Femme Fatale
A woman who uses her feminine features to achieve a certain goal.
Frame Story
It is a counterpart story or narrative that contains one or more stories within.
Irony
When the opposite of a situation or statement is true.
Motif
A repeated symbol that relates to the theme of the text.
Judas Character
It is one who lies and is disloyal to supposed loved ones or his homeland.
Martyr
One who sacrifices themselves to a great cause they believe in.
Monkey’s Paw
It symbolizes human greediness.
Oxymoron
When conflicting concepts are shown in the same word or phrase.
Paradox
A phrase that may seem contradictory however may contain a glimpse of truth on second sight.
Parody
When a piece of work emulates another text or work usually for comedy or mocking.
Prophecy
A divine prediction.
Protagonist
The main or principal character in a piece of work.
Tragic Hero
The main character in a literary tragedy who possesses noble traits but succumbs to one weakness.
Unreliable Narrator
An undependable narrator who tricks readers by lying or altering the text.
Utopia
A world that appears without flaws and seems like paradise.
Foreshadowing
When an author hints at what might happen later in the story before it actually happens
