world lit finals literary terms Flashcards
ALLITERATION
Repeated consonant sounds
ASIDE
Actor is not alone on stage and addresses the audience
COMEDY
the style or genre represented by comedy films, plays, and broadcast programs
COMIC RELIEF
an amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action
CONFLICT
a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one, OR be incompatible or
at variance; clash
CONNOTATION
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning
(deeper than the direct/definition meaning)
COUPLET
little rhyme in poetry containing 2 lines with the same idea
ex: today is a good day I can go outside and play
DENOTATION
the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the
word suggests (dictionary definition)
DUMB SHOW
gestures used to convey a meaning or message without speech, mime
ELIZABETHAN
relating to or characteristic of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, OR a person, especially a writer, of the time of Queen Elizabeth I
EPIC
a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation
EPILOGUE
a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
departing from a literal use of words; metaphorical
FOOT
a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
GLOBE THEATER
a theater in London associated with William Shakespeare
GREEK HOSPITALITY
guest-friendship’ or ‘ritualized friendship’. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity
GROUNDLINGS
lower class people during Shakespearean days that did not get a cushion and stood on thee ground floor of the theater
HEROIC EPITHET
Epithets serve as a kind of shorthand to immediately identify the hero or thing being described (son of aegeus)
HEROIC SIMILE
a detailed comparison in the form of a simile that are many lines in length
HEROISM/HEROIC JOURNEY
the call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, crossing the threshold, tests, allies, and enemies, the approach, the ordeal, the reward, the road back, the resurrection, the return, and the freedom to live
HIGH/LOW COMEDY
High humor tends to be verbal while low humor is focused on physicality
IAMB
a metrical foot consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable
IAMBIC PENTAMETER
a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama.
IN MEDIA RES
Technical term for the epic convention of beginning “in the middle of things,”
rather than at the very start of the story
