Masterworks Of Literature Key Terms

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genre

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The classification of literary works according to common elements of content, form, or technique.

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tone

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Tone is a literary technique, that is a part of composition, that encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes.

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narrative voice

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the person telling the story

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didactic

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instructional and informative qualities in literature

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secular

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of or relating to the doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations

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regionalism

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local traditions that divide people in a region or country

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tabula rasa

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"clean slate"

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nationalism

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loyalty and devotion to a nation or ethnic group that places emphasis on promoting the interests, cultural and social values, or religion

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aphorism

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A short, pithy statement of truth or opinion; a saying.

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personae

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A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word derives from the Latin for "mask" or "character", derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning.

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rhetoric

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using language effectively to please or persuade

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transcendentalism

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a literary and philosophical movement that was begun during the early 19th century in New England by Ralph Waldo Emerson and others. Influenced by the Romantic movement, as well as the philosophies of Kant and Hegel. Emphasized nature as a source of human inspiration, almost on a religious level. Human intuition and relationship with nature very important.

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phrenology

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an idea which claims to be able to determine character, personality traits and criminality on the basis of the shape of the head

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Knickerbocker school

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New York City-based writers of the early 1800s who imitated English and European literary fashions.

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anti-hero

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a protagonist who is the antithesis of the hero - graceless, inept, stupid, sometimes dishonest

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sentimentalism

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excessive expression of emotion

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individualism

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stresses the importance of the individual over society

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materialism

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a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters

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naturalism

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a school of writing that concentrates on writing in a way that reflects life as it seems to the common reader, but backed by the philosophical stance (rooted in post-Darwinian biology) that humans belong entirely in the order of nature and do not have a soul or any other connection with a religious or spiritual world beyond nature. Humans are therefore merely a higher-order animal whose character and fortunes are determined by two kinds of natural forces: heredity and environment.

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Hudson River School

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Beginning in the 1820s under the direction of painter Thomas Cole, a group of landscape artists who depicted views of the Hudson River valley.

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ambiguity

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unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning

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paradox

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a statement that contradicts itself

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allegory

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A story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or generalization about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.

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novella

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Fictional, prose narrative that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.

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slant rhyme

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occurs when the final consonant sounds are the same, but the vowels are different: green and gone, that and hit

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muckraking

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the exposure of scandal