Vocab Quiz- Literary Terms 2 Flashcards
Genre
Types or classes of literature, marked by distinctive style, form, content
Gothic novel
Type of prose fiction inaugurated by Horace Walpole’s “the castle of otranto “ which flourished in the early 19th century. Features include foreign or gloomy settings, a vulnerable heroine, w cruel villain, macabre or violent incidents and supernatural Elements
Imagery
Concrete, sensory details which contribute to themes/ideas of a work; types include visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, organic, kinesthetic
Irony
Situation or statement where truth is the opposite of appearance
Local color
Details of setting, dialect, customs, dress, and ways of thinking which are distinctive of a particular region
Magical realism
Prose that weaves together realism and fantastic, dreamlike elements as well as material from myth and fairytale
Metafiction
A literary device used to draw attention to a work’s status as an artifact which poses questions about the relationship of fiction and reality
Metaphor/simile
Figure of speech in which word or phrases that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison; a simile makes the comparison using “like” or “as”.
Motif
Conspicuous element, such as a type of event, device, reference or formula, which occurs frequently in a work
Narrative
Story involving events, characters, and what the characters say and do; includes short story and novel in prose fiction
Narrator
One who tells the story, not usually the same person as the author; participant- participates in the action of story, observer- indirectly involved, non participant- not involved at all, unreliable- one whose perceptions do not coincide with those implied by the author, which he/she expects the reader to share; naive- one who tells the story without knowing what will happen next
Novel
Extended works of prose fiction; types include epistolary, novel of manners, gothic historical, science fiction…
Paradox
Statement which seems on its face to be logically contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to be interpretable In a way that makes sense
Parallelism
Similar word order or structure
Parody
humorous imitation of a more serious work
Personification
Endowing non-human objects or creatures with human characteristics
Plot
Sequence of events or actions in narrative ; ordered to achieve particular artistic or emotional effects; a subplot is a second story introduced into main plot which broadens audiences perspective on main plot
Point of view
Signifies a way a story is told. Third person - someone outside the story. Omniscient- one who knows everything that is and going to happen. Objective- describes only what is seen (fly on the wall). Limited- knows only what is seen by a single character. First person- limits narrative to one person in the “I” voice
Resolution
Sorting out or unraveling of a Plot at the end of a drama
Rising action
Set of conflicts and crises that continue that part of a plays plot leading up to the climax
Satire
Literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking attitude of amusement, contempt, scorn; often proposes a corrective for human vice and folly
Setting
Place and time for a literary work
Stream of consciousness
Narrative method that represents unbroken flow of perceptions, memories, thoughts and feelings in a characters or narrators mind
Symbol
An object which is something in itself yet is used to represent something else as well
Syntax
Manner in which words are arranged into sentences; word order
Theme
Main ideas or concepts of literary work
Tone
Attitude of the writer, usually implied, toward subject and audience
Romanticism
Includes fascination with beauty, non-conformity, corruption of abusive systems, individual versus society, the power of nature, reaction against age of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Is Mary Shelley’s mother who fought for equal rights Mary Shelley never knew her and purposely made the women in her book have domestic roles bc of it
William Godwin
Was Wollstonecraft’s husband who continued his wife’s feminist works and wrote about her after her death; she is characterized as a fallen woman
George Gordon/ Lord Bryon
Wrote “darkness” at the same time Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Both wanted to write ghost stories, and Shelleys was more famous.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Was Mary’s husband who helped her wrote Frankenstein bc he was a romantic poet
Myth of Prometheus
Prometheus stole from the gods and was punished while DR Frankenstein received a similar inner torture by obsessing over power and lightning and committing an act Known to only be done by gods, so it was a form of karma
Faust
Similar to how Frankenstein starved himself and drained himself of all energy for his creation, Faust gave his soul to the devil for intellect
Pygmalion
Created a statue so beautiful he considered himself God and married it. Similarly Frankenstein was so caught up in the beauty of creating such a breakthrough that he too considered himself a God, before running away
The golem
Was a creature constructed from nature or Clay similar to the monster. He too went on a violent rampage because he was deprived of love
Paradise lost
Victor who plays God resembles Saran from Paradise lost in which Saran is punished for his thirst for knowledge. Romantics such as Gordon Byron (Mary’s friend) and Percy Shelley (Mary’s husband) believe Satan to be a victim of tyranny. Monster compares himself with Satan and Adam
Plutarch’s Lives
Where Frankenstein learns abut high thoughts and discovers the idea of human society. It’s where he finds out about the vicious behavior of some men in public and comes to admire virtuous men and peaceful lawmakers
Volleys “Ruins of Empire”
Learns about the outside world and religions and the existence of war and murder. Humans are both magnificent and cruel
Goethe “the Sorrows of young Werther “
It’s domestic settings appeal to the monsters experience with the Lacy family. He relates to the characters heights of happiness and d Otha of despair. Prompts him to ask questions about his own identity and destiny
Mont Blanc and Chamonix
Relate back to the sublime in romanticism and are associated with Nature and home for victor
