Vocabulary Flashcards
Epic
Hero is outstanding Actions= deeds of great valor/requiring superhuman courage,written in special style, third person pov, window into social and cultural patterns of contemporary life
Invocation of the Muse
An address to a deity or muse that often takes the form of a request for help in composing the poem at hand.
In Medias res
In the middle of action (hero’s at his lowest point)
Deus Ex Machina
supernatural forces insert themselves into the action (divine intervention)
Epic Smile
A detailed, often complex poetic comparison (see simile) that unfolds over the course of several lines.
Extended Metaphor
when an author uses a metaphor throughout a long passage or even an entire poem.
Epithet
a descriptive word or phrase, especially one joined by fixed association to the name of someone or something
Tragic Hero
Tragic hero = Tragically flawed
A tragic hero is loyal at the start and has a downfall that is brought down because of himself.
Hubris
excessive pride or self-confidence.
Dramatic Irony
When the reader knows something that the characters don’t know; Helps add suspense and foreshadowing; In this case, Oedipus’s refusal to understand the truth also reveals his characterization and conflicts
Catharsis
the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
Moirai
personifications of destiny
Didactic
intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive
Terza Rima
Terza rima is a verse form composed of iambic tercets (three-line groupings).
Three line rhyme
Tercet
a set or group of three lines of verse rhyming together or connected by rhyme with an adjacent tercet.
Contrapasso
In Dante’s Inferno, contrapasso is the punishment of souls “by a process either resembling or contrasting with the sin itself.”
“law of nature”
Allegory
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
