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153 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Allegory
story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities
Alliteration
repetition of the same or similar consonants in words that are close together
Allusion
reference to something or someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect refence to something.
Ambiguity
deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way- done on purpose by author, or vagueness which may detract from the work
Analogy
comparison made between two things to show how they are alike
Anaphora
Repetion of word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row
Anastrophe
Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. Inversion.
Anecdote
Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual
Antagonist
Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story
Chiasmus
Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order in poetry
Antithesis
Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often means of grammatical structure
Antihero
Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. May lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples
Anthropomorphism
attributing human characteristics to an animal
Aphorism
brief, cleverly worded statements that make a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. maxim. epigram.
Apostrophe
calling out to the imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract answer. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.
Invocation
the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.
Apposition
pacing in immediate succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first(often set off by a colon
Assonance
the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together
Asyndeton
ommas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: X,Y,Z; not X,Y, and Z
Balance
constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance. Sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well.
Characterization
the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character
Indirect characterization
the author reveals to the reader to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characterseffect on other people, or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature.
Direct characterisation
the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form.
Static character
is one who does not change much in the course of a story
Dynamic character
one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action
Flat character
has only on or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.
Round character
has more dimensions to their personalities-- they are comple, just the way real people are
Cliche
is aw ord of phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse. Avoid cliches like the plague
Colloquialism
A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is innapropriate for formal writing
Comedy
in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters
Conceit
An elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.
Confessional Poetry
A twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life
Conflict
the struggle between opposing forces or characters in the story
External conflict
conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person and a whole society
Internal Conflict
a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind
Connotation
the association and emotional overtones that have become attached to a owrd or phrase, in addition to its trict dictionary definition
Dialect
A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area
Diction
A speaker of writer's choice of words
Didactic
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
Elegy
A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. A Eulogy is great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died
Epanalepsis
device of repetition in which the same expression(single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.
Epic
a long, narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society
Epigraph
a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme
Epistrophe
Device of repetition in which the same expression(single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences
Epithet
an adjective or adject phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality
Essay
a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject
Argumentation essay
one of the four terms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals(logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act a specific way
Argumentation essay-Persuasion
relies more on emotional appeals than on facts
Argumentation essay-Argument
form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way
Argumentation essay-causal relationship
form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument
Argumentation essay-description
a form of discourse that uses language to create mood or emotion
Argumentation essay-exposition
one of the four major forms of discourse in which something is explained or "set forth"
Argumentation essay-narrative
the form of discourse that tells about a series of events
Explication
act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language
Fable
a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life
Farce
a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in sill, far-fetched situations
Figurative language
words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.
Flashback
A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time
Foil
A character who acts in contrast to another character. Often a funny side-kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero
Foreshadowing
the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot
Free verse
poetry that does not conform to regular meter or rhyme scheme
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect
Hypotactic
sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationship between them
Hypotaxis
use of syntactical subordination of just one clause
Imagery
the use of language to evoke a picture or concrete sensation of a person,a thing, a place, or an experience
Inversion
the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase
Irony
A discrepancy between appearances and reality
Verbal Irony
Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else
Situational irony
takes place when there is a discrepancy between what i expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen
Dramatic irony
is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better
Juxtaposition
poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit
Litotes
a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form
Local color
a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape
Loose sentence
one in which the main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units. Periodic sentence
Lyric poem
a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker
Metaphor
a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words as like, as, than, or resembles
Implied metaphors
does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison
Extended metaphors
a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it
Dead metaphor
a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid
Mixed metaphor
a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible
Metonymy
a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it
Mood
an atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected
Motif
a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work(or in severalworks of one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme
Motivation
the reason for a character's behaviour
Onomonopoeia
the use of words whose sounds echo their sense
Oxymoron
a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase
Parable
a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life
Paradox
a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth
Koan
a paradox than is used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge
Parallel structure
the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures
Paratactical sentence
simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences
Parody
a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style
Periodic
sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought as the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements
Personification
a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Plot
the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the story line
Plot-exposition
introduces characters, situation, and setting
Plot-rising action
complications in conflict and situations(may introduce new ones as well)
Plot-climax
that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. Also called turning point
Plot-resolution
the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled; often also the denouncement
Point of view
the vantage point from which the writer tells the story
First person point of view
one of the characters tells the story
Third person point of view
an unknown narrator tells the story, but the narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character
Omniscient point of view
an omniscient or all knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator, instead of focusing on one character, often tells us everything about many characters
Objective point of view
a narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events
Polysyndeton
sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series. X, Y, and Z turns to X and Y and Z
Protagonist
the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero;in a tragic hero there is always a hamartia, or tragic flaw in his character which will lead to his downfall
Pun
a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things
Quatrain
a poem consisitng of four lones, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit
Refrain
a word, phrase, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem
Rhythm
a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language
Rhetoric
art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse
Rhetorical question
a question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer
Romance
in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful
Satire
a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt in an attempt to bring about change
Simile
a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike thins using words such as like, as, than, or resembles
Soliloquy
a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage
Stereotype
a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on rleigious, social, or racial prejudices
Stream of consciousness
a style of writing that portrays the inner(often chaotic) workings of a character's mind
Style
the distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax
Suspense
a feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story
Symbol
a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself
Synecdoche
a figure of speech in which a part resembles the whole
Syntactical fluency
ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately compelex and/or simple and varied in length
Syntactical permutation
sentence structure that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow
Tall tale
an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable
Telegraphic sentence
a sentence shorter than five words in length
Theme
the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work
Tone
the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization
Tragedy
in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end
Tricolon
sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses
Understatement
a statement that says less that what is meant
Unity
unified parts of th writing are related to one central idea or organizing principle. Unity is dependent upon coherence.
Vernacular
the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality
Impressionism
a nineteenth-century movement in literature and art which advocatd a recording of the artist's personal impressions of the world, rather than a strict representation of reality
Modernism
1920's-1945, a term for the bold new experimentation styles and forms that swept the arts during the first third of the twentieth century
Naturalism
late 1800's-mid 1900's, s nineteenth century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was
Plain style
writing style that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression(but will still utilize allusions and metaphors), and was the main form of Puritan writers
Puritanism
1620's-1770's, writing style of America's early English-speaking colonists, emphasize obedience to God and consists mainly of journals, sermons, and poems
Rationalism
1770's- early 1800's,a movement that began in Europe in the seventeenth century, which held that we can arrive at truth by using our reason rather than relying on the authority of the past, rather than relying on the past, the authority of the Church, or an institution. Also Neoclassicism and the age of reason
Realism
1850's- early 1900's, a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or ramanticising
Regionalism
1884- early 1940's, literature that emphasizes a specific geographical setting and that reproduces speech, behaviour, and attitudes of the people that live in that region
Romanticism
early 1800's-1870's, a revolt against Rationalism that affected literature and the other arts, beginning in the late eighteenth century and remained strong throughout most of the nineteenth century
Surrealism
a movement in art and literature that started in Europe during the 1920's. Surealists wanted to replace conventional realism with the full expression of the unconscious mind, which they considered to be more than the "real" world of appearances
Symbolism
a literary movement that originated in late nineteenth century France, in which writes rearranged the world of appearance in order to reveal a more truthful version of reality
Transcendentalism
a nineteenth century movement in the Romantic tradition, which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reasons and sensory experience
Puritanism time
1620-1770's
Neoclassic time
1770'2-early 1800's
Romanticism period
early 1880's-1870's
Realism period
1850's-early 1900's
Regionalism period
1884-early 1900's
Naturalism period
late 1800's-mid 1900's
Modernism period
1920's-1945
Post-Modernism period
1945-now