English Feb 1 Literary

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Allusion (classical)

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a brief reference to a person, event or place, real or fictious, or a work of art. an allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature or religion

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Analogy

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the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. the key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can choose the correct second pair.

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Anecdotal evidence

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a short narrative account of an amusing,unusual, revealing or interesting event. Has a single definite point. setting, dialogue and characters are usually subordinate to the point of the story.

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antagonist

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the character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends

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apostrophe

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when an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed.

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aside

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in drama, a few words or a short passage spoken by one character to the audience while the other actors on stage pretend their characters cannot hear the speakers words.

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assonance

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the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds as in consonance

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blank verse

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unrhymed iambic pentameter

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chorus

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a group of singers who stand alongside or off the stage from the principal performers in a dramatic or musical performance to say or sing their lines

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comic relief

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a humorous scene, incident, character or bit of dialogue occuring after some serious or tragic moment. comic relief is deliberately designed to relieve the emotional intensity and simultaneously heighten and highlight the seriousness or tragedy of action.

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couplet (rhyming, heroic)

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two lines--the second line immediately following the first--of the same metrical length that the end in a rhyme to form a complete unit.
a heroic couplet was a rhymed pentameter

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diction

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choice of words in a speech or writing

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dynamic character

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a character that will change in some way from the beginning of the story to the end.

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editorial

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an article in a publication expressing the opinion of its editors or publishers.

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extended metaphor

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a comparison of two unlike objects, without using like or as, developed over several lines.

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external conflict

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protagonist vs antagonist, society, God or nature.

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falling action

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the final unraveling of a plot or complicated situation.

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farce

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a form of low comedy designed to provoke laughter through highly exaggerated caricatures of people in improbable or silly situations

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figurative languages

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figures of speech, typically hyperbole, metaphor, simile or personification to say something beyond the power of literal language to convey.

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first person narrative

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the story is told from the main characters point of view. the thoughts of the other characters are not revealed to the reader.

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flashback

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this is an opportunity for the riter to tell the reader about an event that takes place at an earlier time.

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flat character

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a character that is without complexity. the character never surprises and can be summed up in a sentence

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foil

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a person or a thing that makes another better by contrast.

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foreshadowing

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is something that is said or implied (or a hint) that gives the reader a clue of whats to come.

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form

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the fixed metrical arrangement that is used in writing or poetry.

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free verse

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it lacks regular meter and line length, relies on natural speech rhythms of language.

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genre

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a literary type of class, much like Shakespearean tragedy or comedy.

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hubris

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the Greek term hubris is difficult to translate directly into English. it is a negative term implying both arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence and also a lack of some important perception or insight due to pride in ones abilities. this leads to overwhelming pride and this in turn leads to a downhill.

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humor/humorous

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a style of writing that causes laughter.

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hyberbole

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language that is used to create a gross exaggeration.

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image

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a visual image of the setting or situation.

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imagery

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language that is used to create a visual picture of the setting or situatuion. it can also be a description of things, actions or even abstract ideas.

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indirect presentation

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a characters traits are revealed by action and speech rather than the narrators descriptions.

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informal language

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casual language that is used in literary works.

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internal conflict

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a conflict within the protagonist.

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irony
Dramatic
Situational
verbal

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when something happens that is opposite to the expected event or situation. the writer creates words that say one thing but mean another.
the audience knows more than the characters in the play, so the words and actions have additional meaning to the audience.
expectations aroused by a situation are reversed.
the discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.

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jargon

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a language that is used by a group of people, ex. doctors language which is specific to their career or lifestyle.

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limited omniscient point of view

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third person narration where the narrator is outside the story but tells the story from the vantage point of only one character and reveals the characters thoughts.

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lyric

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a poem of limited length expressing the thoughts and especially the feelings of a single speaker. it avoids narrative structure and often contemplates an image and reveals emotional and intellectual attitudes aroused by it.

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metaphor

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a comparison of two unlike objects not using like or as.

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meter

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the pattern of stressed ( / ) and unstressed ( U ) syllables in poetry (verse)
Iambic - Control (U / )
Anapestic - contradict ( U U / )
Trochaic - stupid ( / U )
Dactylic - clumsiness ( / U U )
Spondaic - snow storm ( / / )

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more meters

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monometer (1 foot)
dimeter (2 feet)
trimeter (3 feet)
tetrameter (4 feet)
pentameter (5 feet)
hexameter (6 feet)
heptameter (7 feet)
octometer (8 feet)

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motif

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a recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. a dominant theme or central idea.

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monologue

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an extended speech by one person. a soliloquy is a sub-type of monologue.

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mood

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the pervading tone or mood of a place of situation, especially with reference to the feelings or emotions evoked.

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mystery

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a secret, hidden or inexplicable matter.

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narration

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the telling of a story.

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narrator

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the one who tells the story.

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objective point of view

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'fly on the wall". the narrator simply relays the words being said and an elaborate stanza pattern. the ode often praises people, the arts of music and poetry, natural scenes or abstract concepts.

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omniscient point of view

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"all knowing". the narrator is a god like observer outside the story telling the audience what all the characters are thinking or felling.

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onomatopoeia

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the use of a work whose sounds imitates or suggests its meaning.
(clap, squish, snort)

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oxymoron

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paired opposites: "living death" or "O brawling love, O loving hate".

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paradox

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an apparent contradiction that is actually true. "she killed him with kindness".

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parody

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the imitation of a serious artistic work for amusement or instruction. parodies use exaggeration or inappropriate subject matter to make a serious form or particular work of art seem laughable or to highlights its flaws.

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passive voice

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the telling of a story based on past events.

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personification

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in which non human thing or uality is referred to as if it were human.

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Persuasion; persuasive

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is a kind of writing that tries to convince the reader or listner to think or act a certain way.

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petrarchan lover

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most often found in a sonnet, the concept of unattainable love, and first developed by the itailian humanist and writer, Franesco Petrarch

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Plot

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A plot is the series of connected events that make up a story

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Point of View

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the vantage point from which a writer tells a story

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Propaganda

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the widespread promotion of the ideas or practices of a paticular group or party intended to gain support for one's own cause or to damage another's.

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Protagonist

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the main character in a work of fiction, drama or narrative poetry. the protagonist is the character whose conflict sets the plot in motion.

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Pun

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"a play on words," or the use of words with teo different meanings.
EX. "today you will find me a grave man." spoken by a dying man.

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purpose

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intent, intention, aim, goal, design or objective. it describes what one hopes to effect for a plan or course of action.

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Refrain

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in folk songs or ballads, repetition often appears in the form of a recurring word or group of words.

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Repetition

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the repeating words, phrases or even entire senteces or passages.it is also a biblicail style of writing.

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Resolution

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is after the climax, it is the part in the plot which the problem is finally solved.

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rhyme

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the repetition of accented vowels sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in apoem. EX. "lark'' and ''Shark'' rhyme.

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Rhyme Scheme

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the pattern of end rhymes in a poem.

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Rhythm

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the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language.

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Rising action

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when the plot has a situation in which there is conflict or a problem that the characters have to solve. the characters encounter a series of complictaions that usually makes their problem worse. this part of the plot is called the rising action

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Round character

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a character that is described in depth and developed by the narrator. the reader often feels as if they know the character.

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sarcasm

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when one thing is said, but means something else. EX. "wow i can hardly waittoi get up at 4:00 am to do marching drills"

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satire

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any work that ridicukes human weakness, vice or folly.

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Scansion

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the dividing of verse(lines in poetry) into feet by indicating accents and counting syllables to determine the meter of a poem.

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setting

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is the place and time of the story

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Simile

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a comparsion of two unlike objects using ''like'' or ''as"

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Slang

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an inappropriate us of language. usually used to shorten the real meaning or pronunciation of the word EX. "ain't'' is used for "is not''

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solilquy

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a monologue or a speech that is spoken by one actor in a play that is on stage alone.

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sonnet

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a fourteen line lyric poem.

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stanza

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a group of lines in a poem that form a single unit.

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static character

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this character will stay the same throughout the story.

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stereotype

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"same as stereotyped character"

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Stock/Stereotyped Character

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to imply or portray a character based on how they llo or act EX. "all blonds are stupid"

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style

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the way the writer expresses his or hewr thougths through language.

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suspense

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a sense of uncertainty or anxiety about what will happen next in the story.

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Symbol/Symbolism

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a person, place or thing or event that stands both for itself and for something beyind itself.

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theme

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the central idea or insight of a work of literature

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thesis

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the main idea that will be discussed in the writing. you can find the thesis in the introductory paragraph.

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Third Person Narrative

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the story is told more from a neutral point of view. you get a broader sense of all of the characters, but don't really know what they are thinking.

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tone

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the way in which the syllables if words are stressed to create an undertone of the meaning or mood.

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tragedy

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a serious drama that ends with the defeat or death of the main character or characters.

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Understatement

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the device of presenting something as less signifiant than it really is.

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voice

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the personality and/or style of the writer; it can be active or passive.

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Wit

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the keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure.

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CLASSIC TRAGEDY and its traits as defined by aristotle's poetics.
Tragic hero as a person of stature (either by position or reputation.
The downfall, destruction or death of the tragic hero.

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Hamartia in the tragic hero (a tragic/personality flaw) brings about his/her death, downfall or destruction.
The significant role of fate: events outside of the hero's control.
The audience's catharsis: the purging/release of excessive emotion.