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97 Cards in this Set

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metaphor
Direct comparison of two different things that suggests they are somehow the same
epiphany
a sudden realization or revelation; an "ah-ha!" moment
ad hominem
an attack on a person's character rather than attacking an argument or position
motif
a recurring element, structural element, or theme
syllepsis
linking one word with two other words in two strikingly different ways

"The relatives exhausted their credit, exhausted their friends"
conceit
a imaginative, sometimes bizarre, clever metaphor

John Donne compares himself and his wife to two legs of a compass or a marriage bed to a flea
tautology
needless repetition, adding no further meaning or understanding

"widow woman" if she's a widow, it's evident that she's a woman; "free gift" and "close proximity"
antithesis
a parallel statement of opposing ideas

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness"
synecdoche
"part for the whole"; using part of an object to represent the entire object

The ship sank and all hands were lost. "Hands" represents sailors.
style
the overall manner in which an individual writer expresses ideas
alliteration
repetition of initial consonant sound in successive or neighboring words
consonance
repetition of consonant sounds throughout a line or section of prose or poetry
assonance
repetition of vowel sounds throughout a line or section of prose or poetry
sibilance
repetition of "ss" sounds (including "zz" and "sh" sounds and other similar sounds)
sarcasm
harsh, cutting language or tone, intended to ridicule
irony
situation or statement where the reality is opposite of what is expected or appears to be
pedantic
describing an excessive display of learning or scholarship (i.e. showing off one's learning; a pedant is a know-it all)
syllogism
a logical argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise

All elephants are gray; Nellie is an elephant. Therefore, Nellie is gray.
allegory
a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions
understatement
the deliberate representation of something as less in magnitude or gravity than it really is
imagery
concrete, sensory details (appealing to any of the five sense) which contribute to the themes or ideas of a work
anecdote
a brief, personal story which focuses on a particular incident or event
non sequitur
an inference that doesn't follow logically from the premise(s)
ellipsis
LIT TERM: the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context

Allen wants to be a soldier; Billy, an actor.
PUNCTUATION: ... three periods used to indicate a pause, passage of time, or other break in text
pathos
the quality in a work that prompts the reader to feel pity or sorrow
satire
writing that mocks the flaws, weakness, and imperfections of society; can either be gentle and witty or harsh and cutting
chiasmus
a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed.

Out went the candle as she hurried in.
genre
a major category or type of literature
parody
comic imitation of a serious work
denotation
the literal meaing of a word (i.e. the "dictionary" definition of the word)
colloquialism
informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing
invective
an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack
aphorism
a concise statement, which expresses a general truth or idea succinctly often using rhyme or balance (similar to a proverb, maxim, adage, etc.)
hyperbole
intentional exaggeration to create an effect
syntax
the structure or manner in which words are arranged by a writer into sentences (i.e. the structure of the sentence in terms of "grammar")
apostrophe
LIT TERM: the act of speaking directly to an absent or imaginary person, or to some abstraction (talking to someone who isn't there or can't respond)

"O death where is thy sting" "Death, be not proud"

PUNCTUATION: ' the mark is used to represent a letter (or letters) that have been omitted (in don't the ' = o )
tone
the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience
oxymoron
an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined
connotaion
the implied or associative meaning of a word (the "emotional" definition of a word)
paradox
an apparently contradictory statement which contains some truth
onomatopoeia
words that imitate sounds (crackled, buzzing, etc.);

can also be "real" words that represent sounds: Poe's "silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain" attempts to recreate the sound of the curtain moving
symbol
an object which is something in itself yet is used to represent something else
anaphora
the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences
didactic
writing which has as its primary purpose to teach or instruct

Religious and political writing usually has an overt didactic purpose, but most stories and poetry often has some instructional purpose (i.e. to demonstrate the qualities of a good ruler, the punishment of the wicked, etc.)
allusion
a reference (explicit or implicit) to literature, mythology, history, or religion
metonymy
substitution the name of one object for another object closely associated with it
diction
the word choice of the author

usually when considering diction, speculate as to the purpose of this word as opposed to another (usually tied up in the connotation of the words)
personification
endowing human attributes in non-human things or creatures
euphemism
an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant or rude
litotes
a type of understatement in which something affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite
analogy
a comparison between two different things which are similar in some way
antagonist
the character or force(s) in opposition to the protagonist
protagonist
the main or chief character of a work
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
catharsis
an emotional outpouring or purging of emotions at the end of a tragedy
bildungsroman
a "growth" novel--sometimes a coming of age novel
comic relief
humorous situation or character that helps to relieve the audience or reader of the burden of strong emotion through laughter--can be before or after the emotional (sorrowful or terrifying) event
end rhyme
rhyme at the end of the lines of poetry
internal rhyme
rhyme within the line of a poem
slant rhyme
rhyme the comes close to rhyming but doesn't, often demonstrates tension or confusion about the subject or theme
foil
character who serves to illustrate a trait in the main character by demonstrating the opposite quality (an angry character who clashes with a peaceful one); usually the foil and protagonist are similar

Tybalt is a foil to Romeo
Laertes is a foil to Hamlet
Macduff is a foil to Macbeth
pastoral
type of poetry or writing in which rustic country life is portrayed as ideal; often romanticizes shepherds
in medias res
a story which begins in the middle of the action and tells the beginning of the plot later
octave
eight line verse

in a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet, the octave often poses a problem, examines a situation, or contemplates philosophy
sestet
six line verse

in a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet the sestet resolves the octave eithe by solving the problem or demonstrating what the speaker has learned
speaker
the "narrator" or "storyteller" of a poem; it is crucial to separate the speaker from the author/poet
pun
play on words
scansion
determining the meter of a poem
setting
time and place of the story; often reveals a great deal about the characters and themes of the work
quatrain
four line verse

in the English (Shakespearean) sonnet the quatrains pose problems and further complicate or illustrate the problem until the resolution of the couplet
dystopian novel
An anti-utopian novel where, instead of a paradise, everything has gone wrong in the attempt to create a perfect society

1984 and Brave New World demonstrate how dystopias can vary--'84 is brutal; BNW is a "happy" world--both are horrifying visions of what our culture could become
utopia
a vision of a perfect society; literally means "no place"

Utopias describe a perfected vision of society; perfect is completely in the eye of the author
asyndeton
literary technique that deliberately omits conjunctions between clauses and phrases; it can speed the pace of a passage or draw attention to a single idea

"I came, I saw, I conquered" Julius Caesar

"...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln
polysyndeton
use of several conjunctions, particularly "and," which could be omitted; can help control the pace of a work; can also demonstrate an almost childlike exuberance

"I said, 'Who killed him?' and he said 'I don't know who killed him, but he's dead all right,' and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights or windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was right only she was full of water." Ernest Hemingway, After the Storm
stream of consciousness
stream-of-consciousness writing is a form of interior monologue; it's characterized by associative leaps in syntax and punctuation that can make the prose difficult to follow, tracing a character's fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings
masculine rhyme
single syllable rhyme
feminine rhyme
relatively rare in English poetry; multiple syllables rhyme--often to indicate humor, a delicacy, or whimsical nature
the great chain of being
Medieval system of cosmology in which all things have a descending structure from God to the earth itself; a disruption in one level leads to problems for the lower levels; often used in Shakespeare as rulers are killed some wacky stuff happens

God->angels->King->
Nobility->Peasants->
Animals->plants->earth
synesthesia
using one senses vocabualry and wording to describe another sense

sweet music--"sweet" is a word describing taste, but here is applied to sound
tragic hero and tragic flaw
a tragic hero is traditionally a highly placed member of society (a king or noble) who suffers from a tragic flaw, a problem in his character (i.e. pride, naivete). His flaw directly causes his suffering and that of others; generally near the end of the tragedy he recognizes his flaw and accepts responsibility for the suffering he caused
ceasura
a pause in the rhythm of a line of poetry
elegy
a formal, sustained poem lamenting change or loss, often involving the death of a particular person, and often ending in a consolation for the loss.
epic
a long, narrative poem, often dealing with heroes and adventures, having an expansive setting, written in deliberately ceremonial style.
dramatic monologue
a kind of poetry in which one character narrates a story (a single episode) with no direct dialogue

"My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover"
Vignette
a brief literary sketch or verbal description of a scene or incident
Lyric poem
a poem, usually short, that expresses some basic emotion or state of mind. Often creates a single impression and is highly personal ("When all at once I saw a crowd,? A host of golden daffodils... Wordsworth, "I wandered lonely as a cloud"). Contrast with narrative.
Narrative poem
a poem which tells a story with all the elements of plot (exposition, rising action, climax, etc)

"The Raven"
deus ex machina
from Greek drama, this term describes a plot device that is unrelated to the story and resolving conflict (a god suddenly appearing and punishing the wicked, rewarding the good); the term is pejorative

Lord of the Flies ends with a deus ex machina
juxtaposition
The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development.

In Hamlet the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet creates an opportunity for us to see Hamlet’s character development. Ophelia’s role serves as a catalyst for Hamlet.
malapropism
comic misuse of common words

"Thou shalt be condemned to everlasting redemption" from Much Ado About Nothing
Modernism
literary movement in the early 20th century which prided itself on its novelty in breaking away from established rules and traditions.
Post-modernism
term used for the pessimistic, contemporary worldview which began in the 1960s, rejecting tradition, resisting authority, and denying any final or enduring meaning and purpose in life (and literature). Postmodern literature tends to focus upon the way in which institutions and traditions use (and have used) their power to deny individuals and minorities of their freedom. Cf. Deconstruction.
enjambment
The running over of a sentence or thought into the next couplet or line without a pause at the end of the line; a run-on line.

For example, the first two lines here are enjambed:

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove. . . ." --Shakespeare
end-stopped lines
A line that has a natural pause at the end (period, comma, etc.). For example, these lines are end stopped:

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.
Coral is far more red than her lips red." --Shakespeare
Epic
An extended narrative poem recounting actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes and written in a high style (with ennobled diction, for example).
Gothic novel
novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action. The setting is often a dark, mysterious castle, where ghosts and sinister humans roam menacingly.
Verisimilitude
How fully the characters and actions in a work of fiction conform to our sense of reality. To say that a work has a high degree of verisimilitude means that the work is very realistic and believable--it is "true to life.".