Ap Literature Terms

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Aesthetic Distance

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The degree of emotional engagement a work of art asks from its audience.

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Allegory

Back 2

a narrative or description having a second or symbolic meaning beneath the surface one. (moral truth)

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Allusion

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a direct on indirect reference to something commonly known such a book, event, myth, place, person or work to convey a tone or effect.

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Anecdote

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a short account of an interesting or humorous incident

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Artistic Unity

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that condition of a successful literary work whereby all its element work together for the achievement of its central purpose

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Atmosphere

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the emotional mood created by the entirety of literature work, established partly by the setting and the object described

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Cliche

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an overused expression

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Genre

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a type or class

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Imagery

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the representation through language of sensory experience

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Mood

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the emotional response that piece of literature stimulates in the reader

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Moral

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a rule of conduct for living expressed as the point of a work, not a theme

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Motif

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a recurring structure, contrast or other device that develops a work's major themes

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Pathos

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the quality of a work to evoke a high level of emotion

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Prose

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non metrical language-opposite of verse

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Setting

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the context of time and place that a story occurs

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Symbol

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something that means more than what it is, an object that has figurative meaning as well

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Theme

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the message of a literary work. "statement on humanity"

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Tone

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the writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject, the audience, or themselves

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Topic

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the subject matter of a work

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Verse

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metrical language-opposite of prose

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Voice

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the distinctive style or manner of express of an author or character

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Antagonist

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character in a story or poem who opposes the main character

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Antihero

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a protagonist with major, unheroic flaws, yet whose motivation makes them sympathetic

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Characterization

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conveying info about characters

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Direct Characterization

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method in which the author, by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a character is like

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Indirect Characterization

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an author shows the character in action leaving the reader to infer what they are like

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Deuteragonist

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the second most important character, usually a foil, or becomes number one

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Dynamic Character

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a character who over the course of the story permanently changes in some aspect of character or outlook

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Flat Character

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a character that is summed up in one or two traits

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Foil

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a character that contrast with the main character, throwing certain aspects into a higher focus

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Hero

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man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold actions, and favored by the gods

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Hubris

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overbearing and excessive pride

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Protagonist

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the main character

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Round Character

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a character whose character is complex and many sided

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Static Character

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a character that is the same person at the end of the story

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Stock Character

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a stereotyped character

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Tragic Flaw

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hamartia, a flaw that brings the protagonist to ruin and sorrow

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Aside

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a brief speech in which a character turns from the person being addressed to address the audience, which provides true insight to their feelings

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Colloquilaism

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informal, conversational language in speaking or writing

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Dialogue

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conversation between two characters or an entire literary work

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Dialect

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distinct language spoken by members of a certain region, nation or class

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Diction

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word choice

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Euphemism

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"good speech" substituting a harsh term for a milder one

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Figure of Speech

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saying one thing and meaning another, in any way other than the ordinary way

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Hyperbole

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exaggeration for effect

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Invective

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emotional violent attack using abusive language

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Monologue

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a dramatic soliloquy, or a literary work in such form

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Proverb

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a short, pithy saying that expresses a basic truth

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Pun

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a play on words, either the sense of a work or the similar sound

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Sarcasm

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bitter or cutting speech

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Soliloquy

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a device used in drama when the character relates their thoughts and feelings to themselves and the audience

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Slang

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casual speech full of figures of speech used intentionally instead of correct terms

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Understatement

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saying less than one means, or with less force than what is needed

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Exposition

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the beginning or part of the story that provides the background information needed to understand the rest of the story

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Conflict

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a clash of action, desires, ideas, or goal in the plot of a story. Person vs. person, self, nature, society

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Rising Action

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the development of the plot that leads up to the climax

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Climax

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the high or turning point of a story

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Falling Action

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immediately follows the climax and shows the aftereffects of it

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Denouement

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resolution, the conclusion of a story with most conflicts being solved

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Irony

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any discrepancy in a situation or language

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Verbal Irony

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discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the meaning of the words

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Situational Irony

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something happens that is the opposite of what is expected

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Dramatic Irony

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when the reader knows more than a character

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Cosmic Irony

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the universe's indifference, which makes a search for purpose meaningless

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Epistolary Novel

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a novel that is a series of documents

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First Person POV

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told by a character in first person

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Flashback

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when an earlier device is inserted into a narrative

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Flashfoward

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when a later device is inserted into a narrative

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In Media Res

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the story begins in the middle or end and is told with flashbacks

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Limited Omniscient POV

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told in the third person, but only with insight to one character's thoughts or feelings

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Linear Structure

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plot following a chronological order

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Objective POV

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third person limited to what they say and do, no analysis or thoughts

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Omniscient POV

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third person, knows all of the character's thoughts and feeling

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Narrator

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the speaker of a work, either main person, observer, or no relation

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Nonlinear Structure

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told in any manner that is not chronological

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POV

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angle of vision that a story is told from

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Stream of Conciousness

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Private thoughts without interpretation or commentary

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Unreliable Narrator

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credibility compromised, usually first person

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Anticlimax

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sudden descent from the impressive to the inconsequential

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Catastrophe

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the concluding action of a classical tragedy containing the resolution

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Comic Relief

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a humorous incident introduced into a serious work to relieve tension or increase impact

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Dilemma

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when a character has to choose between two undesirable courses of action

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Deus Ex Machina

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the resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence

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Indeterminate Ending

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ending when the central conflict is unresolved

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Inversion

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a reversal in order, nature, or effect

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Motivation

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an emotion, desire or need that acts an incitement to action

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Mystery

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an unusual set of circumstances for which a reader craves resolution, creates suspense

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Paradox

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a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory elements

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Plot

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the sequence of events that compose a story

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Plot Manipulation

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a situation in which an author gives the plot a twist unjustified by a preceding action or by the characters involved

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Plot Device

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an object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story

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Prologue

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an introduction or a preface

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Red Herring

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a literary tactic of diverting attention from an item or person of significance

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scene

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A subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and time continuous

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Suspense

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quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next

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Suspension of disbelief

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agreement between audience and writer, believe if entertain

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subplot

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plot underneath main plot of literary work

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surprise

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an unexpected turn in the plot

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Ballad

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narrative folk song

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Comedy

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drama with happy ending emphasizing human limitation

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Comedy of Manners

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ridicules customs of a certain segment of society

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Satire

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ridicules human folly, with the purpose of bring about reform

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Scornful Comedy

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expose and ridicule human folly, vanity, or hypocrisy

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Romantic Comedy

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likable characters are placed in difficulties and rescued at the end

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Farce

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relies on exaggeration, horseplay, and unrealistic situations to provoke laughter

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Elegy

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song or poem expresses sorrow for one that has died

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Epic

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long poem about the exploits of heroic figures

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Escapist Literature

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written purely for entertainment, does not provide insight to human nature

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Fable

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short narrative, making a cautionary point with personified animals

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Fantasy

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fiction that takes creatures or events outside of known reality

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Interpretive Literature

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provides valid insights in to human nature and behavior

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Lyric

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song like poems have flow express emotions

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Myth

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a story that explains how the world was created or why the world is the way it is

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Narrative Poem

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a poem that tells a story

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Novel

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a book of long narrative in literary prose

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Novella

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longer than a novelette shorter than a novel

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Ode

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a lyric poem that praise concepts, natural scenes

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Parable

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simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson

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Sonnet

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fixed form of fourteen lines, rhyme scheme, either Italian or English

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Tragedy

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drama with noble protagonist, falls to ruin because of a fatal flaw

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Apostrophe

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when something dead or absent is addressed as if it were alive or present

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Cacophony

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harsh discordant, unpleasant sounding choice of sounds

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Connotation

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feelings associated with a word

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Denotation

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dictionary definition of a word

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Ekphrasis

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the poetic representation of a painting or sculpture

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Epigram

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short witty poem with one observation, one clever paradoxical statement

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Epithet

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a poetic nickname that characterizes an individual

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Euphony

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smooth pleasant arrangement of sounds

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Extended figure

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figure of speech sustained throughout a considerable amount of lines or a whole poem

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Figurative language

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language using figures of speech

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Figure of Speech

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saying something other than the ordinary way

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Idiom

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expression with an acquired meaning other than its literal meaning

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Juxtaposition

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placement of opposites next to each other to heighten contrast

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Metaphor

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implicit comparison between two unlike things

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Metonymy

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the name of an object is substituted with one close to it

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Onomatopoeia

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words that sound like sounds

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Paradox

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expression that seems contradictory, but has some truth

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Personification

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giving human attributes to an object or animal

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Rhythm

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wavelike reoccurence of motion or sound

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Sentimentality

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seeks to elicit tears with simplification, over tender feeling

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Simile

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explicit comparison between unlike things

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Synechdoche

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part of entity is referred to as the whole

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Syntax

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word organization and order

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Allliteration

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repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant of accented syllalbles

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Anapest

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two unaccented one accented

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Anapestic meter

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use anapest (2 un 1 acc)

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Approximate Rhyme

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sound correspondence but not exact

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Assonance

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the repetition of vowel sounds of accented syllables

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Ballad Meter

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quatrains of iambs usually rhyme but not strictly followed 1 and 3 have four stresses 2 and 4 have three stresses

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Blank Verse

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poetry with meter no rhyme in iambic pentameter

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Consonance

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repetition of final consonant sounds

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Couplet

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two successive lines with same meter and rhyme

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Dactyl

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one accented with two unaccented

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dactylic meter

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made of dactyls (1 acc 2 un)

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End Rhyme

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rhyme at the end of lines

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End stopped Line

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line that ends with a natural speech pause and punctuation

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Enjambment

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a run on line with not no natural speech pause

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what

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ever