English Litereary Terms

Front 1

language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places

Back 1

abstract language

Front 2

the repetition at close intervals of initial identical consonant sounds

Back 2

alliteration

Front 3

a comparison to a directly parallel case. when a writer uses this, he or she argues that a claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the analogous case

Back 3

analogy

Front 4

a brief recounting of a relevant episode. these are often insterted into fictional or non-fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor

Back 4

anecdote

Front 5

repetition of a vowel sounds w/i two or more words in close proximity. "lake" and "fate" demonstrate this.

Back 5

assonance

Front 6

a song or song like poem that tells a story

Back 6

ballad

Front 7

language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities

Back 7

concrete language

Front 8

rather than the dictionary definition, the associations suggested by a word. implied meaning rather than literal meaning or denotation.

Back 8

connotation

Front 9

repetition of a consanant sound within two or more words in a close proximity

Back 9

consanance

Front 10

the literal, dictionary definition of a word

Back 10

denotation

Front 11

a temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing

Back 11

digression

Front 12

a character who changes significantly during the course of a story; the opposite of a static character

Back 12

dynamic character

Front 13

bacground info provided by a writer to enhance a reader's understanding of the context of a fictional or non-fictional story

Back 13

exposition

Front 14

a character constructed around a single idea or quality; this is immediately recognizable

Back 14

flat character

Front 15

conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect. not intended literally, this is often humorous.

Back 15

hyperbole

Front 16

an expression peculiar to a particular language that means something different from the literal meaning of words

Back 16

idiom

Front 17

following the ordinary or usual meeting of a term or expression

Back 17

literal

Front 18

so overused that its original impact has been lost

Back 18

dead metaphor

Front 19

the use of a word whose pronunciation suggests its meaning

Back 19

onomatopoeia

Front 20

any writing that is not poetry

Back 20

prose

Front 21

a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings

Back 21

pun

Front 22

the art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. this focuses on the interrelationship of invention, arrangement, and style in order to create felicitous and apporpriate discourse

Back 22

rhetoric

Front 23

a character drawn w/ sufficient complexity to be able to surprise the reader w/o losing credibility.

Back 23

round character

Front 24

a 14-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes

Back 24

sonnet

Front 25

a groupe of consecutive lines ina poem that form a single unit

Back 25

stanza

Front 26

story intro, or exposition; tells us who the characters are and usually what their conflict is

Back 26

starting point

Front 27

a character who doesnt change significantly during the course of a story; the opposite of a dynamic character

Back 27

static character

Front 28

conventional character types that recur repeatedly in various literary genres

Back 28

stock character (stereotypic)

Front 29

the choices in diction, tone, and synax that a writer makes. in combination they create a work's manner of expression.

Back 29

style

Front 30

a writer's attitude towards his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization of the sentence and global levels

Back 30

tone

Front 31

in its most general sense, a synonym for poetry

Back 31

verse

Front 32

in its most general sense, a synonym for poetry

Back 32

verse

Front 33

in its most general sense, a synonym for poetry

Back 33

verse