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202 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Skene
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an oblong building at the back edge of the orchestra, which served as a place for the actors and a background for the action
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Irony
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A situation or use of language involving some sort of incongruity or discrepancy. It is usually intended not to deceive but for rhetorical or artistic purposes.
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Peripeteia
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moment in a tragedy which the tragic protagonist's fortunes are reversed
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Verbal Irony
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A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.
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Hamartia
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a tragic flaw that leads to the demise of the protagonist
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Dramatic Irony
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An incongruity between what the character thinks or says and what the reader knows to be true.
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mimesis
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an imitation of an action
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Irony of situation
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A situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fufillment, ir between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate.
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moira
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the fate of the protagonist
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Sarcasm
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The crude and taunting use of praise as a method of dispraise.
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Farce
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beheivor whose sole object is to incite laughter, including ludicrous mockery
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Symbol
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Something concrete that has more meanings besides its literal meaning.
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Proskenion
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a raised stage between the orchestra and skene
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Editorializing
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Writing that changes from the narrative or dramatic mode and instructs the reader how to feel about the events of a story or the behaivor of a character.
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Orchestra
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an area at the center of the state where the chorus sings its songs
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Poeticizing
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Writing that uses heightened or distended language to sway the reader's feelings.
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Sentimentality
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A story that elicits or seeks to elicit tears through an oversimplification or falsification of reality. Nearly always presents a "sweet" picture of life.
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Foil
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A minor character who serves to stress and highlight the character of the protagonist.
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Microcosm
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A term which means "smaller universe" and is intended to display a parallel to a smaller (though similar) idea in literature.
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Macrocosm
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A term which means "greater universe" and is intended to display a parallel to a larger(though similar) idea in literature.
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Action
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What the character does that leads the reader to interpret their character.
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Character
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Persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with certain moral, intellectual or emotional qualities from conclusions based upon what they say, as well as their actions.
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Dialogue
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Conversation between characters
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Motivation
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The grounds for a character's speech and actions, what influences them to say or do what they do.
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Characterization
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The process by which the traits or characters are presented.
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Direct Characterization
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The character is revealed by descriptive portrayal or by direct comments made by the narrator. Through direct characterization the reader has no access to the characters mind.
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Indirect Characterization
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Characterization by showing as opposed to telling.
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Implicit Characterization
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Character is presented in terms of his or her own environment. It includes descriptive details as well as words and thoughts of other characters.
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Dramatic Characterization
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The character is revealed through their own words and actions
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Introspective Characterization
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The reader possesses access to the character's mind, and their thoughts and ideas are revealed directly.
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Dialogue
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Conversation between characters
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Dynamic character
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a character who undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his personalit or outlook
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Flat character
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a character that is limited to one or two individual traits
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Round character
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A complex and multifacited character
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Static character
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A character that is the same at the end of the story as they are at the beginning.
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Stock Character
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A character that is more type than individual, whose nature is similar to the prototypes of characters in other narratives.
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Three principles of characterization
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Consistency (must not alter character without a good reason), plausibility (must be life-like), and motivation (audience must understand why they do the things they do)
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Theme
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A general concept, which a literary work incorporates and implies or states to the reader.
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Theme statement
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A statement that reflects the unifying idea or concept of a story that is a cliche and is not contridictd by any aspect of the story.
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Moral
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rule of conduct or maxim or living as expressed or implied as the "point" of a literary work
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motif
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a conspicuous element, such as type of incident, device, reference, or formula which occus frequently in a work of literature.
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Author
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An individual who creates through their own imagination or intellect, a literary work that is distinctively their own.
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Narrator
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The character or voice that conveys the story.
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Point of view
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Signifies the perspective from which a story is told. The four points of view are: omniscient, limited omniscient, first person and objective
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Omniscient point of view
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When the narrator knows all amd is free to reveal anything including what characters are thinking and feeling, and why they act as they do.
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Limited omniscient point of view
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the narrator is limited to a complete knowledge of only one character in the story. Might possess knowledge of either a major character or a minor character.
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First person point of view
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The story is told by one of its characters in the first person. It can either be a major character or a minor character.
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First person narrator
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The story is told by one of its characters in the first person. It can either be a major character or a minor character.
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Objective Point of view
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The third person narrator is limited to revealing the action and dialogue of the characters, but does not reveal their throughts or interpret their behavior.
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Dramatic Point of View
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The third person narrator is limited to revealing the action and dialogue of the characters, but does not reveal their throughts or interpret their behavior.
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Academic Audience
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The people who read the work of literature in an academic setting
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Analogy
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A comparison based on similarity between things that are otherwise dissimmilar
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Anecdote
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A very short tale told by a character in a literary work
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Kairos
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The act of knowing when to communicate and when to stay silent
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Opposing point of view and rebuttal
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Anticipation of likely objections and the formation of responses to them
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Rhetoric
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The art of write effectivly as to convince or sway an audience.
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Rhetorical context
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The circumstances surrounding any literary situation including purpose, audience, and writer.
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Rhetorical purpose
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The reason for your writing as part of the triangle of rhetorical context.
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Antagonist
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Any force in a story that is in conflict with the protagonist
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Artistic unity
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In a successful literary work when all elements work together to achieve a central purpose. Nothing is omitted that is important and nothing irrelevant is included, and it is arranged in an order to achieve the purpose.
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Chance
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The occurrence of an event that was not caused by previous events or the predisposition of a character.
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Climax
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The high point of turning point in a plot where the major conflict is usually resolved.
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Coincidence
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The chance occurrence of two or more events that share a particular correspondence.
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Conflict
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a clash of ideas, goals, desires, or actions in the plot of a story. There are three kinds of conflict: Man against man, man against himself, and man against environment.
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Denouement
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Resolution following the climax
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Deus et Machina
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The resolution of a plot by use of highly improbable chance or coincidence.
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Ending
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The conclusion of a literary work. Can either be happy, unhappy, surprise, or intermediate.
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Happy ending
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An ending in which events turn out well for the protagonist
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Unhappy ending
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an ending in which event turn out poorly for the protagonist
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Intermediate ending
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an ending in which the central conflict or problem is left unresolved
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Surprise ending
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an unexpected revelation or turn of plot at the conclusion of a story
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Escape literature
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Literature written purely for entertainment, with little or no attempts to provide insight to the nature of human life.
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Exposition
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in the beginning of a narrative the introduction of the major characters and the revelation of the setting.
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Falling action
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all of the action following the climax
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Flashback
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interpolated narratives or scenes which represent events that happened earlier.
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Foreshadow
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A detail within the narrative tabout something that will happen later in the story and may contribute to the development of suspense.
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Hero/Heroine
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An old fashioned literary term for protagonist, but only applies if the protagonist possesses "heroic" traits
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Mystery
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An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation
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Plot
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The events or actions in a dramatic or narrative work which are created and ordered with the purpose of acheving artistic or emotional effects.
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Plot manipulatioin
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A situation in which the author twists the plot without a justification by preceding action or by the characters involved.
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Protagonist
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The main character in a plot, with whom the reader's interest centers
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Rising action
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all of the action preceding the climax
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setting
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the time and place in which the action occurs.
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Story
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The mere sequence of events in time; the bare synopsis of the temporal order.
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Subplot
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A socondary story that is complete and interesting in itself and is contained within the larger story.
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Suprise
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and unexpected turn in the development of plot
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Suspense
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A lack of certainty on the part of a concerned reader about what is going to happe, especially to character that the reader has established a bond of sympathy with.
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Unity of action
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A plot in which all of the parts or incidents are considered to be functional and directedtownard an intended effect in the opinion of the reader.
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Villian
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Literary term that can be used for the antagonist if the antagonist is evil, or capable of crul and criminal actions.
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fabliaux
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a brief comic tale in verse, usually scurrilous and often scatological or obscene.
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Novel
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An extended work of prose fiction
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Bildungsroman
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A youthful character who grows and matures in some way throughout the writing.
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Auditory imaging
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action is presented by other senses as opposed to visual images.
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Scansion
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The act of determining the component feet of a line of verse
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Rhythm
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A recognizable though varying pattern in the beat of stressed and unstressed syllables
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meter
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the arrangment of rhythmic beats in verse and is determined by the metrical foot and the number of feet per line
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foot
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the smallest unit of meter
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iamb
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rythmic foot with one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.
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trochee
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Rhythmic foot with one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.
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anapest
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rhythmic foot with two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
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dactyl
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rhythmic foot with one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.
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spondee
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rhythmic foot with two stressed syllables.
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quyte
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To revenge or payback
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stanza
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A division of a poem made by arranging the lines into units separated by a space.
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Closed form
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Poems written in closed form are poems that may be catagorized by the pattern of lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas.
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Fixed form
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Poems written in fixed form are poems that may be catagorized by the pattern of lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas.
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Open form
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poems written in open form are poems that have no fixed pattern of meter or rhyme.
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free verse
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poems written in free verse are poems that have no fixed pattern of meter or rhyme.
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Blank verse
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verse composed in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
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dramatic monologue
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A literary work which consists of a revealing one-way conversation by a character usually directed to another character or an imaginary audience.
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Sonnet
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A fixed form consisting of 14 lines of iambic pentameter, and are usually about love.
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Elizabethan sonnet
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Like a regular sonnet but grouped into three quatrains with 6 alternating rhymes followed by a lined couplet.
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dramatic monologue
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A literary work which consists of a revealing one-way conversation by a character usually directed to another character or an imaginary audience.
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Spenserian sonnet
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like a Shakespearian sonnet except that it links the quatrains with an interlocked rhyme scheme (abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee)
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Petrarchan sonnet
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the 14 lines are divided into an octave of two rhyme sounds arranged abba abba and a sestet of two additional rhyme sounds which may be variously arranged.
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quatrain
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a poem, unit, or stanza of 4 lines of verse usually with a rhyme scheme of abab or xbyb.
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couplet
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two successive lines of poetry of equal length and rhythmic correspondence, with end words that rhyme.
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closed couplet
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a couplet in which the sense and syntax is self-contained within its two lines
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Spenserian sonnet
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like a Shakespearian sonnet except that it links the quatrains with an interlocked rhyme scheme (abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee)
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Open couplet
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a couplet with run on lines where the thought is carried beyond the rhyming lines in the couplet.
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Octave
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a stanza of eight lines sharing a pattern of end rhyme.
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Sestet
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a stanza of six lines sharing a pattern of end rhyme.
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Villanelle
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a poem in fixd form consisting of five three-line stanzas followed by a quatrain and having only two rhymes
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Limerick
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a light or humorous verse form of 5 chiefly anapestic verses in the rhyme scheme of aabba
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ode
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a long lyric poem that is serious in subject and treatment, elevated in style, and elaborate in its stanza structure
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epigram
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a pithy, sometimes satiric couplet or quatrain that conprisies a single thought or event.
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ballad
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a short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. Usually suitable for singing
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ballad stanza
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a quatrain in alternate 4 and 3 stress lines
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sestina
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a fixed form consisting of six 6-lined stanzas in which the end words of the first stanza recur as the first words in the next stanza and a tercet at the end.
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envoi
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a short final stanza of a poem serving as a summary or dedication
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envoy
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a short final stanza of a poem serving as a summary or dedication
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tercet
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a unit or group of three lines of verse which are rhymed together or have a rhyme scheme that enterlaces with an adjoining tercet.
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pantoum
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a poem in fixed form consisting of a varying number of 4-line stanzas with lines rhyming alternatingly and the second and fourth line of each stanza is repeated to form the first and third line of the next stanza.
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terza rima
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a verse consisting of tercets, usually in iambic pentameter which a chain or interlocking rhyme scheme with a seprate line added to the end of the poem rhyming with the second line of the preceding tercet.
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haiku
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a japanese form of poetry in which there are 3 unrhymed lines of 5, 7, then 5 syllables.
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cinquain
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a five-line stanza of verse with the successive lines containing 2,4,6,8, and then 2 syllables.
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rhyme
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when the last stressed vowel of two words and any sounds following that vowel share an identical sound.
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masculine rhyme
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rhyme that falls on a single stressd syllable
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feminine rhyme
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rhyme that consists of a stressed syllable followed by one or more unstressed syllables.
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end rhyme
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rhyme that occurs at the end of poetic lines
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internal rhyme
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rhyme formed within a line of poetry
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eye rhyme
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words whose endings are spelled alike but have different pronounciations.
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alliteration
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the repetition of initial consonant sounds
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assonance
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the repetition of vowel sounds
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consonance
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the repetition of consonant sounds
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onopatopoeia
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words that imitate the sound they denote.
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monometer
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one rhythmic foot per line
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dimeter
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two rhythmic feet per line
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trimeter
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3 rhythmic feet per line
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tetrameter
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four rhythmic feet per line
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pentameter
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5 rhythmic feet per line
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hexameter
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6 rhythmic feet per line
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heptameter
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7 rhythmic feet per line
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octameter
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8 rhythmic feet per line
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catalexis
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a missing final unstressed syllable at the end of a line of verse
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couplet
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two consecutive lines that share similar meter and end-rhyme
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end-stopped line
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a line of verse that ends in a natural pause, at the end of a sentence, clause, or other syntatic unit, usually indicated by punctuation.
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end-stopped line
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A line of verse that ends in a natural pause, at the end of a sentence, clause or other syntactic unit, usually indicated by punctuation.
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enjambment
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a line of verse in which the pressure of an incomplete syntactic unit toward closure carries on into the next line.
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caesura
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a pause within a line of verse
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accentual meter
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verse in which the number of stressed syllables per line is consistent, while the number of unstressed syllables varies.
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strong-stress meter
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verse in which the number of stressed syllables per line is consistent, while the number of unstressed syllables varies.
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sprung rhythm
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a varient of accentual meter where each foot begins with a stressed syllable that may stand alone or be associated with unstressed syllables
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anaphora
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the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or lines of verse.
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denotation
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a words primary signification or reference
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connotation
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the range of secondary or associated significations and feelings which a word commonly suggests or implies.
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figurative language
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expressions which are not meant literally but to some extent must be understood imaginatively.
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simile
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a figurative comparison between unlike things using "like" "as" or "as if"
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metaphor
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a figurative comparison between unlike things that does not assert the comparison with words like "like" or "as"
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personification
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giving the characteristics of a human being to an animal, object, or abstraction
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metonymy
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when the literal term for one thing is applied to another with which it is commonly associated with.
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synecdoche
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a part of something that is used to signify the whole.
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symbol (poetry)
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a word or phrase, usually concrete that denotes an object or event, which in its turn signifies something, that is usually abstract.
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fable
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a short narrative in prose or verse that exemplifies an abstract moral thesis or principle of human behaivor.
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allusion
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a passing reference, without explicit identification to a iterary or historical person, place, or event.
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paradox
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a seeming contridiction which appears to be absurd, yet turns out to be interpretable.
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oxymoron
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a paradox that joins two wrods that are usually contraries.
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hyperbole
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a bold overstatment, usually for a serious, comic or ironic effect.
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euphony
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language that is smooth pleasant and musical
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cacophony
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language which is perceived as harsh, rough, and unmusical
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dissonence
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language which is perceived as harsh, rough, and unmusical
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doggerel
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rough, heavy-footed versification (whatever that means)
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Agon
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Dramatic confrontation
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Anagnorisis
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The tragic protagonist's eventual perception of the truth
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Aristotelian unities
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Unity of Time (Action takes place in a single day), Unity of Action (The plot concerns a single conflict or catastrophe), Unity of place (the action unwinds in one place)
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Aside
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A character expresses to the audience his thoughts or intentions in a short speech inaudible to the other characters on stage
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Buffoonery
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Low jesting and ridicule
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Catharsis
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a cleansing or purification of the emotions of pity and terror through a shocking experience in the members of the audience
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Chorus
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A compant of singers and dancers in Greek drama participating in or commenting on the action
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Comedy
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A genre of theater intended to make the audience laugh
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Comic relief
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scenes of comedy in a tragedy to alleviate the tension in the play, in many examples these moments enhance the thematic significance of the story.
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dithyramb
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a song sung by the chorus, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus, usually wild in character
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Dramaturgy
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The art of writing and producing plays
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mekane
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a boom that allowed actors playing gods to be lowered to and raised from the stage
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New comedy
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Targeted social manners and attacked vices, such as vanity, or portrayed the foibles of a social class, usually the middle class
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Old comedy
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individuals could be attacked personally through ribald, coarse buffoonery and farce
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Playwright
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Person who by their own intellect and imagination compose a play
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Protagonist
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the main character in a play
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Satyr play
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a witty and brief, frequently erotic piece of comic relief in which half-beast, half-man figures sporting giant phalluses cavorted about; usually capped a day of tragedies
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Soliloquy
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an actor alone on stage expresses aloud a character's thoughts, motivations, or state of mind
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Thespian
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an actor
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Tragedy
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Drama whose purpose is to stir the emotions through shock, fear, and sadness
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