Glossary Of Literary And Rhetorical Terms Set 2

Front 1

Caesura

Back 1

pause somewhere in the middle of a verse, often marked by punctuation

Front 2

Canon

Back 2

works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studied

Front 3

Caricature

Back 3

grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things

Front 4

Carpe Diem

Back 4

literally, seize the day, a phrase applicable to many lyric poems advocating lustful living

Front 5

Catharsis

Back 5

in classical tragedy, the purging of pity and fear experienced by the audience at the end of the play

Front 6

Classic

Back 6

highly regarded work of literature or other art form that has withstood the test of time

Front 7

Classical, Classicism

Back 7

deriving from the orderly qualities of ancient Greek and Roman culture; implies formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraint

Front 8

Climax

Back 8

point toward which the action of a plot builds as the conflicts become increasingly intense or complex; the turning point

Front 9

Coming-of-age-story

Back 9

tale in which a young protagonist experiences a introduction to adulthood

Front 10

Conceit

Back 10

highly imaginative, often startling, figure of speech drawing an analogy between two unlike things in an ingenious way

Front 11

Connotation

Back 11

associations that attach themselves to many words, deeply affecting their literal meanings

Front 12

Couplet

Back 12

two rhymed lines of poetry

Front 13

Denotation

Back 13

literal dictionary meaning of a word

Front 14

Dénouement

Back 14

the “untying”; the resolution of the conflicts following the climax of a plot

Front 15

Deus ex Machina

Back 15

the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem

Front 16

Diction

Back 16

words chosen in writing or speaking

Front 17

Dionysian

Back 17

word refers to sensual, pleasure seeking imulses

Front 18

Dramatic Irony

Back 18

circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about the situation than the charicter

Front 19

Elegy

Back 19

poem commemorating someone’s death but usually encompassing a
larger issue as well

Front 20

Ellipsis

Back 20

three periods, the omisiision of words in a qutation

Front 21

Elliptical Construction

Back 21

sentence containing a deliberate omission of words

Front 22

Empathy

Back 22

emotional identification that a reader or an audience feels with a character

Front 23

End-stopped

Back 23

term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of puctuation

Front 24

Enjambment

Back 24

the use of successive lines with no punctuation between them

Front 25

Consonace

Back 25

repetition of the same consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds