Brit Lit Terms-

Front 1

Genre

Back 1

- kind type of literary text, what characterizes the work
- description or categorization
- refers to a catagory or type of literature on its style, from, and content. The mystery novel is a literary genre.

Front 2

Epic

Back 2

- folk; primary; oral
- art; secondary; literary
| Beowulf does not have a sense of unity which is uncharacteristic of epics
- is along narrative poem that tells of deeds and adventure of a hero.
- hero/heroism; protagonist, for the people, adventure action includes elevated language- mythic, foundational;

Front 3

Myth

Back 3

is a traditional story that attempts to justify a certain practice or belief or to explain a natural phenomenon.
a story that once served to explain the orign of life/religous beliefs/forces of nature as supernatural occurrences. in a system of narratives set in an imaginary world.

Front 4

Medieval romance

Back 4

- a very long poem at least 1000 words, story set in the past but reflects on the present, a story to which is added a love interest and strange wonders and marvels such as dragons, wizards, faeries, sprites, etc.

Front 5

courtly love

Back 5

Arose because marriages were arranged for economic benefit; strict code of behavior; lover idealizes/ idolizes lady who remains aloof

Front 6

Irony-

Back 6

A literary term that always implies some kind of contrast, contradiction or discrepancy between what is expected and what results. contrast b/t what is said and what is meant, or b/t what is expected and what occurs
--The reader (or audience in the case or a play) knows something that a character does not know

Front 7

Allusion

Back 7

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, work of art, etc.
A reference to previous literature, history, mythology, current events, or the Bible

Front 8

tragedy

Back 8

- A serious play in which the chief figures, by some peculiarity of character, pass through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe. divided into 5 acts. is a literary work in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or by forces beyond his or her control.

Front 9

Hubris

Back 9

a negative term implying both arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence.(leads to downfall) derived from the greek word hubris, means "excessive pride." In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

Front 10

Hamartia

Back 10

"missing the mark". a tragic flaw(misperception), lack of insight, or blindness that ironically comes from one's own strengths and abilities. error, physical emotional weakness, mistaken judgement, or misstep through which the fortunes of a tragic hero are reversed;
the result of bad judgment, bad character, ignorance, inherited weakness, accident, or any of many causes; MUST express itself through a definite action or failure to act

Front 11

Metaphor

Back 11

a figure of speech that compares two unlike things

Front 12

Persona

Back 12

a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes, The speaker of a poem

Front 13

Paradox

Back 13

is a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may in fact, be true: " The coach considered this a good loss."

Front 14

Allegory

Back 14

A symbolic narrative, in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning, is a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or a generalization about life; often have a strong moral or lesson.

Front 15

Extended metaphor

Back 15

a metaphor developed at length and involves several points of comparison

Front 16

Conceit

Back 16

A far-fetched comparison between seemingly unlike things (extended metaphor)
an elaborate figure of speech in which 2 seemingly dissimilar things/situations are compared

Front 17

Sonnet

Back 17

a 14-line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter

Front 18

Italian Petrarchan sonnet

Back 18

First 8 lines are called an Octave (it poses a problem or question)
And its Rhyme scheme is A,B,B,A,A,B,B,A
Divided into an octave (8-line stanza) rhyming "abbaabba" and a sestet (6-line) rhyming "cdecde"

Front 19

Tone

Back 19

is the overall feeling, or effect, created by writers use of words. This feeling may be serious, humorous, or satiric.

Front 20

Paradise lost

Back 20

epic poem

Front 21

imaginary

Back 21

words/phrases appealing to a/the sense(s) to create a mental picture