Week 10 Flashcards
Romanticism
A division of a poem created by arranging the lines into a unit, often repeated in the same pattern of meter and rhyme throughout the poem; a unit of poetic lines (a “paragraph” within the poem). The ~~~s within a poem are separated by blank lines. ~~~s in modern poetry, such as free verse, often do not have lines that are all of the same length and meter, nor even the same number of lines. ~~~s created by such irregular line groupings are often dictated by meaning, as in paragraphs of prose.
stanza
When a sentence or phrase spans over more than one line of poetry. Because of this, a thought or idea carries on from one line to the next without a pause or punctuation mark at the end of the line.
enjambment
A figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of the thing they refer to or describe. The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock” of a clock, and the “ding dong” of a doorbell are all examples.
Some additional key details:
• This technique can involve the use of real words, made-up words, or just letters used to represent raw sounds (as “Zzzzzz” represents someone sleeping or snoring). • Advertising, branding, and slogans often use this device: “Snap, crackle, pop.” • Its use can differ across cultures and languages, even when referring to the same sound. A dog’s “woof” in English is a dog’s “bau” in Italian.
Everyday plain language can be pretty dull. Consider this example:
“The car drove fast down the street and turned quickly at the corner.”
There’s nothing wrong with this sentence and it conveys meaning in a clear way. But, now consider this revision of the same sentence:
“We heard the vroom of the car’s engine as it whizzed by and screeched around the corner.”
The use of ~~~ makes the sentence a lot more vivid and descriptive.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
onomatopoeia
An unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly make reference to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas, and they do so in order to layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work. ~~~ can also occur in media other than literature, such as film, visual arts, or even casual conversation. If you’ve ever responded to betrayal with a dramatic cry of “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”), then you’ve made an ~~~—to a famous line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
allusion
A figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the stressed syllables of those words.
Some additional key details:
This form of figurative language involves the repetition of sounds, not just letters.
The words don’t have to be right next to each other. Other words can appear between them.
This type of writing is often found in poetry and prose, as well as in commercial writing like brand names and marketing taglines.
Example from the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet:
This example from lines 5-6 of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet has two sets of this figure of speech — one with “f” sounds and one with “l” sounds.
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;”
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
alliteration
A type of figurative language that describes something by comparing it to something else with the words “like” or “as.” Example: “Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get.” (Note: different from “metaphor” as metaphor ordinarily doesn’t use “like” or “as.”)
simile
~~~ (born Nov. 3, 1794, Cummington, Mass., U.S.—died June 12, 1878, New York City) was a poet of nature, best remembered for “Thanatopsis,” and editor for 50 years of the New York Evening Post. ~~~ lived and wrote at the cusp of the Romantic era; indeed, he’s credited with giving an American slant to the English Romantic poetry heralded by William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s (1772 – 1834) Lyrical Ballads (1799). He edited the New York Evening Post, helped establish New York’s Central Park, helped establish the Republican Party, helped launch the political career of Abraham Lincoln, and is considered one of the most important and influential writers of the American Romantic period.
William Cullen Bryant
~~~ (born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.—died October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland) was perhaps the best-known American Dark-Romantic author — a Romantic who worked in the so-called Gothic mode. He was a short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor who is now famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre. His tale “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivaled in American fiction. His “The Raven” (1845) numbers among the best-known poems in the national literature.
Edgar Allen Poe
stanza
A division of a poem created by arranging the lines into a unit, often repeated in the same pattern of meter and rhyme throughout the poem; a unit of poetic lines (a “paragraph” within the poem). The ~~~s within a poem are separated by blank lines. ~~~s in modern poetry, such as free verse, often do not have lines that are all of the same length and meter, nor even the same number of lines. ~~~s created by such irregular line groupings are often dictated by meaning, as in paragraphs of prose.
enjambment
When a sentence or phrase spans over more than one line of poetry. Because of this, a thought or idea carries on from one line to the next without a pause or punctuation mark at the end of the line.
onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of the thing they refer to or describe. The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock” of a clock, and the “ding dong” of a doorbell are all examples.
Some additional key details:
• This technique can involve the use of real words, made-up words, or just letters used to represent raw sounds (as “Zzzzzz” represents someone sleeping or snoring). • Advertising, branding, and slogans often use this device: “Snap, crackle, pop.” • Its use can differ across cultures and languages, even when referring to the same sound. A dog’s “woof” in English is a dog’s “bau” in Italian.
Everyday plain language can be pretty dull. Consider this example:
“The car drove fast down the street and turned quickly at the corner.”
There’s nothing wrong with this sentence and it conveys meaning in a clear way. But, now consider this revision of the same sentence:
“We heard the vroom of the car’s engine as it whizzed by and screeched around the corner.”
The use of ~~~ makes the sentence a lot more vivid and descriptive.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
allusion
An unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly make reference to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas, and they do so in order to layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work. ~~~ can also occur in media other than literature, such as film, visual arts, or even casual conversation. If you’ve ever responded to betrayal with a dramatic cry of “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”), then you’ve made an ~~~—to a famous line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
alliteration
A figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the stressed syllables of those words.
Some additional key details:
This form of figurative language involves the repetition of sounds, not just letters.
The words don’t have to be right next to each other. Other words can appear between them.
This type of writing is often found in poetry and prose, as well as in commercial writing like brand names and marketing taglines.
Example from the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet:
This example from lines 5-6 of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet has two sets of this figure of speech — one with “f” sounds and one with “l” sounds.
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;”
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
simile
A type of figurative language that describes something by comparing it to something else with the words “like” or “as.” Example: “Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get.” (Note: different from “metaphor” as metaphor ordinarily doesn’t use “like” or “as.”)
William Cullen Bryant
~~~ (born Nov. 3, 1794, Cummington, Mass., U.S.—died June 12, 1878, New York City) was a poet of nature, best remembered for “Thanatopsis,” and editor for 50 years of the New York Evening Post. ~~~ lived and wrote at the cusp of the Romantic era; indeed, he’s credited with giving an American slant to the English Romantic poetry heralded by William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s (1772 – 1834) Lyrical Ballads (1799). He edited the New York Evening Post, helped establish New York’s Central Park, helped establish the Republican Party, helped launch the political career of Abraham Lincoln, and is considered one of the most important and influential writers of the American Romantic period.
