Literary Terms

Front 1

Metaphor

Back 1

two things are compared with the verb ‘to be’

Front 2

Simile

Back 2

two things are compared using ‘like’ or ‘as’

Front 3

Personification

Back 3

giving a non-human, human characteristics

Front 4

Alliteration

Back 4

the repetition of a beginning consonant sound

Front 5

Assonance

Back 5

the repetition of the same vowel sound accompanied by unlike consonant sounds (roamed/loamed)

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Hyperbole

Back 6

a figure of speech employing obvious exaggeration

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Onomatopoeia

Back 7

the sound which suggests what the word means (splash, buzz, murmur)

Front 8

Foreshadow

Back 8

the dropping of important hints to prepare the reader for what is to come

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Internal rhyme

Back 9

the rhyming in the middle of two words (tagged/dragged)

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Conflict (4 diff conflicts)

Back 10

an argument between two opposing forces -person vs. person
-person vs. person
-person vs. nature
-person vs. self
-person vs. society

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Irony

Back 11

a contrast between what appears to be and what really is of inconsistency

Front 12

Symbol

Back 12

something that has a meaning in itself, but also suggests other meanings as well

Front 13

Rhyme scheme

Back 13

the fixed pattern of rhymes used in a poem

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Plot

Back 14

a series of actions; the plan or groundwork of the story

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Theme

Back 15

the idea, general truth, or commentary on life or people brought out in literary work

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Setting

Back 16

the time and place in which the events in a narrative take place

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Characters

Back 17

animals or people portrayed in a story

Front 18

Dynamic

Back 18

a character that changes throughout the story

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Static

Back 19

a character that will not change during the course of the story

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Protagonist

Back 20

a character that opposes the antagonist (good guy)

Front 21

Antagonist

Back 21

a character that opposes the protagonist (bad guy)

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Point of view

Back 22

the perspective from which the story is told

Front 23

1st person

Back 23

narrator is a character in the story

Front 24

3rd person (3 diff types)

Back 24

narrator not a character in story – tells about events and other people (he/she)
-omniscient
-limited
-objective

Front 25

omniscient

Back 25

‘all knowing’ narrator describes thoughts & actions of all characters

Front 26

limited

Back 26

confined to one character’s thoughts & actions

Front 27

objective

Back 27

describes only what can be seen and heard (not anybody’s thoughts)

Front 28

2nd person

Back 28

(rare) where you, yourself are the narrator

Front 29

Imagery

Back 29

Describing a place, animal, person or object with detail

Front 30

Genre (give 4 diff types)

Back 30

type or category of literature
-short story
-novel
-drama
-poetry

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Pun

Back 31

a play on words

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Prose

Back 32

ordinary writing as distinguished from verse

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Stanza

Back 33

a group of lines of verse treated as a unit and separated from other units by a space

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Allusion

Back 34

a reference to something or someone – often has literary, historical, cultural or geographical significance

Front 35

Plot mountain (give 5 diff levels)

Back 35

a series of events in a story put on a drawn out mountain
-exposition (explanation/background)
-rising action (complication)
-climax (crisis/high point)
-falling action (immediate follow-up after climax)
-resolution (denouement/conclusion)

Front 36

Short story (give 3 elements)

Back 36

a brief fictional narrative in prose
-universal problems
-climatic segment
-creative arrangement

Front 37

Blank verse

Back 37

unrhymed verse that is generally written in iambic pentameter

Front 38

Oxymoron/Paradox

Back 38

a statement that on the surface seems contradictory, yet if interpreted
figuratively, involves an element of truth

Front 39

Soliloquy

Back 39

a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections; similar to a monologue

Front 40

Aside

Back 40

a line spoken off to the side by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage

Front 41

Iambic Pentameter

Back 41

describes the meter of poetry written in lines consisting of five groups (pentameter) of two syllables each, the second syllable stressed more than the first (iambic foot)

Front 42

Apostrophe

Back 42

a figure of speech in which words are addressed to a person or thing – absent or present – or to a personified idea, such as death, truth, or nature.

Front 43

Ballad

Back 43

a narrative that sprang from unknown sources, was transmitted by word of mouth (often altered in the process), and was designed to be sung.

Front 44

Lyric

Back 44

any short poem that seems to be especially musical and expressed, in most instances, the poet’s clearly revealed thought and feelings.

Front 45

Dramatic Monologue

Back 45

a poem representing itself as a long speech made by one person to a silent
listener, usually not the reader

Front 46

Free Verse

Back 46

verse which does not conform to any fixed pattern. Such poetic devices as rhyme and regular rhythm occur only incidentally.

Front 47

Epic

Back 47

a long narrative poem that deals with persons of heroic proportions and with
actions of great significance

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Narrative

Back 48

a story told in verse form

Front 49

Ode

Back 49

a lengthy, dignified lyric poem expressing exalted or enthusiastic emotion, often about some person or occasion worthy of esteem

Front 50

Sonnet (the 2 kinds)

Back 50

a poem consisting of fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter and dealing with a single idea or emotion
-Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet
-Shakespearean Sonnet

Front 51

Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet (explain its format)

Back 51

A sonnet composed of an octave (8 lines) followed by a sestet (6 lines). Has rhyme scheme of: abba,abba,cd,cd,cd

Front 52

Shakespearean Sonnet (explain its format)

Back 52

A sonnet composed of three quatrains and two rhyming couplets. Has rhyme scheme of: abab,cdcd,efef,gg

Front 53

Romance

Back 53

a long narrative either in verse or prose, which deals with chivalric adventures, courtships and loves

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Limerick

Back 54

structured poem that are usually humorous, and are composed of 5 lines, in an aacca rhyming pattern.

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2 examples of a ballad

Back 55

- Get Up and Bar the Door by Anonymous
- Sir Patrick Spens by Anonymous

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1 example of a lyric

Back 56

- Written in March by William Wordsworth

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1 example of a dramatic monologue

Back 57

- My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

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1 example of a free verse

Back 58

- In the Unroamed by Mason Williams

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3 examples of a narrative

Back 59

- Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
- The Lady of Shalott Alfred Lord Tennyson

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1 example of a romance

Back 60

- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare