English Mid Term Vocab

Front 1

a person or force which opposes the protagonist in a literary work

Back 1

antagonist

Front 2

the moment when the conflict reaches its peak of intensity; the rising action leads to this point

Back 2

climax

Front 3

occurs when the protagonist is opposed by some person or foorce in the play; serves as a plots reason to be

Back 3

conflict

Front 4

a narrative or drama, the presentation of essential information including setting, character introduction and details related to the conflict that is about to be revealed

Back 4

expostition

Front 5

series of events which take place after the climax

Back 5

falling action

Front 6

character who sets off the main or other characters, revealing more about them by comparison

Back 6

foil

Front 7

used to create suspense by using hints on what is to come

Back 7

foreshadowing

Front 8

occurs when a comparison is made between two unlike quantities without the use of like or as

Back 8

metaphor

Front 9

hero or central character of a literary work

Back 9

protagonist

Front 10

sequence of events in a story

Back 10

plot

Front 11

part of a narrative which begins with the end of the of the expostition and builds toward the climax

Back 11

rising action

Front 12

time and place of the story

Back 12

setting

Front 13

an object represents a broder idea

Back 13

symbol

Front 14

figure of speech; the speaker addresses someone or something that is not present

Back 14

apostrophe

Front 15

a recurring pattern in literature, character types or ideas, i.e. the loss of paradise

Back 15

archetype

Front 16

refers to an author's intent

Back 16

author's purpose

Front 17

figure of speech that connects an analogy between two things or ideas

Back 17

extended metaphor

Front 18

writing that tells about real people, real places, and real events

Back 18

historical nonfiction

Front 19

overstates or exaggeration for effect

Back 19

hyperbole

Front 20

a word or phrase appealing to one or more of the sense; creates a visual for the reader

Back 20

imagery

Front 21

traditional story concerning early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon

Back 21

myth

Front 22

traditional story about how life began

Back 22

origin myth

Front 23

public speaking that is formal, persuasive, and emotionally appealing

Back 23

oratory

Front 24

quality that evokes pity or sadness

Back 24

pathos

Front 25

perspective from which a story is told

Back 25

point of view

Front 26

favored simple, short words rather than long fancy words tather than long fancy words and got to the point immediately

Back 26

puritan plain style

Front 27

stanza of four lines, having alternating rhymes

Back 27

quatrain

Front 28

five line peoem with no rhyme scheme or meter

Back 28

cinquain

Front 29

the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse

Back 29

rhyme scheme

Front 30

a talk on a religious or moral subject, esp. one given during a church service and based on a passage from the bible

Back 30

sermon

Front 31

uncertainty resulting when a statement contains two or more meanings or a situation involves two or more interpretations

Back 31

ambiguity

Front 32

comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification

Back 32

analogy

Front 33

the method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a literary work; methods may include (1) what the cahracter says about himself or herself; (2) what others reveal about the character; (3) the character's own actions; (4) the character's appearance

Back 33

characterization

Front 34

the author makes statements about a charracter;s personality directly to the reader

Back 34

direct characterization

Front 35

when the author reveals the character's personality through that character's thoughts, words, or interactions with others

Back 35

indirect characterization

Front 36

judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement

Back 36

inference

Front 37

brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson

Back 37

parable

Front 38

object represents a broader idea

Back 38

symbol

Front 39

reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Back 39

allusion

Front 40

the form of language spoken by peoplei n a particular region or group

Back 40

dialect

Front 41

two opposties existing at the same time

Back 41

dichotomy

Front 42

a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writings

Back 42

digression

Front 43

a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, esp. equally

Back 43

dilemma

Front 44

what one expects and what happens are two different outcomes

Back 44

irony

Front 45

any geographical references or realistic places that the author uses a make a work realistic

Back 45

local color

Front 46

misusing words with similar sounds

Back 46

malapropism

Front 47

literary movement that includes frontier life and the develpment of the New World

Back 47

naturalism

Front 48

humorous imitation of the work, one that exaggerates or distorts the characteristic features

Back 48

parody

Front 49

presentation in art of the details of actual life

Back 49

realism

Front 50

imagination, emotion, nature,"", individuality, not practical but ideal

Back 50

romanticism

Front 51

writing that rridcules or criticize individual, ideas, institutions, social convention, or other works of art or literature (humors us and proves a point about society)

Back 51

satire

Front 52

a monologue in a dramatic work where a character speaks his/her thoughts out loud

Back 52

soliloquy

Front 53

a belief or practice resulting from ignoracne, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation

Back 53

superstition