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159 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
The Absurd |
In modernist drama, the seemingly meaningless and irrational plots, characters and images that stress the theme that human existence is inexplicable and incoherent. |
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Act |
a major division in a play. most plays have between one and five of these. and most of these are divided into one or more scenes. |
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allegory |
A narrative in which characters, settings and events stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities. |
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Alliteration |
the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together |
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Allusion |
a reference to a statement, a person, a place, an idea, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or the arts. |
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ambiguity |
an element of uncertainty in a text, in which something can be interpreted in a number of different ways. |
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Analogy |
A comparison made between two things to show their similarities or to clarify the meaning of a statement or idea. |
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Anecdote |
A very brief account of a particular incident, frequently used to illustrate a point. |
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Antagonist |
A character in fiction who opposes or struggles against the protagonist. In some cases this can be a force in nature or a group of people |
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Anticlimax |
Something less than what is expected. An author can use this for humor, lightening a serious topic by referring to something trivial. |
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Antithesis |
A figure of speech using contrasting words, sentences, or ideas. these are usually presented in grammatically parallel structures. |
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Aphorism |
A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. |
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Apostrophe |
a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding. |
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Archetype |
An old imaginative pattern that appears cross cultures and is repeated throughout the ages. these are universal actions, characters, and images. |
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Aside |
In drama words spoken by a character directly to the audience or to another character but that are not meant to be overhead by other onstage characters. |
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Assonance |
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together. |
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Atmosphere |
The overall mood or tone of a work of literature. this can be described in one or two adjectives. |
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Attitiude |
This in a poem is often revealed through the poets choice of details |
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Bathos |
The effect created when a writer attempts at evoking pity or compassion are overdone, creating an unintentionally comedic effect. |
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Blank Verse |
Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. each line of a poem written in this consists of five iambs. Each iamb consists of a single unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. |
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Cacophony |
A harsh, discordant combination of sounds. |
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Cadence |
The natural rhythm of spoken language, created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. |
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Caesura |
A pause or break within a line of poetry |
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Catharsis |
An emotional release said to be experienced by an audience following powerful feelings evoked by tragedy. |
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Character |
An individual who takes part in the action of a story, poem, or play. |
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Chiasmus |
A type of parallelism in which the order of words or ideas in the first part of parallelism is reversed in the second part |
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Climax |
The moment of greatest emotional intensity or suspense in a plot. This in a story or play usually marks the moment in which the conflict is resolved. |
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Colloquial |
This writing uses words, phrases or sentences to reflect informal conversation. Dialogue in literature often relies on this writing to convey the everyday speech of characters. |
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Comedy |
In general, a story that ends happily. |
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Comic relief |
A comic scene that relieves tension in a serious play or narrative. it allows writers to lighten the tone of a work and show the humorous side of a dramatic theme. |
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Conceit |
An elaborate figure of speech that often includes metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or analogy. there are two main types of this: petrarchan and metaphysical. |
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Conflict |
a struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces. |
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connotation |
All the meanings, associations, or emotions that have to be attached to some words, in addition to their literal definitions. |
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Consonance |
The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds |
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Contradiction |
a person, thing, statement, or situation that is in opposition to another, or one that has opposing qualities. |
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contrast |
the placement of dissimilar or opposed images, ideas, or both next to each other. |
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Controlling image |
a dominant image or metaphor that is sustained throughout all or part of a literary work, especially with respect to structure or theme. |
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Couplet |
two consecutive end-rhymed lines of poetry. |
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Crisis |
In a narrative plot,the high point of tension, after which follows a resolution. Some stories have more than one of these |
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Denotation |
The literal meaning of a word, without its emotional associations. |
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Denouement |
The resolution a play, short story, or novel. usually follows the the narratives climax and includes resolution of the conflict and answers to questions |
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Details |
The pieces of information an author chooses to include in a work |
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Deus ex machina |
an unexpected force or event that suddenly appears and resolves a seemingly irresolvable problem. |
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Dialect |
A way of speaking characteristic of a particular region or group of people |
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Dialogue |
A conversation between characters in a story or play |
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Diction |
A writer or speaker's choice of words. |
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Dirge |
a song of grief or lament |
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Dissonance |
A harsh discordant combination of sounds |
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Double-entendre |
A word or expression that can have two meanings, one of which is usually risque. |
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Dramatic monologue |
a poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation. |
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Duality |
The idea that human beings have two forms-- a physical and a spiritual self. |
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Elegy |
A poem mourning the dead or with a sorrowful reflective mood. |
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End-stopped Line |
a line of poetry in which the grammar, meaning, and meter end at the end of the line. |
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Enjambment |
In poetry, the continuation of a sentence fro one line to another. |
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Epic |
a long narrative poem, written in elevated language, that relates the great deeds of a larger than life hero |
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Epigram |
A short clever statement in poetry or prose. |
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Epilogue |
A brief concluding section added to a literary work. |
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Epiphany |
A moment of profound insight into the true meaning of a situation. |
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Episode |
An event that consists of a single action but is also part of a longer narrative. |
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Epithet |
An adjective or descriptive phrase that is used regularly to characterize a person, place, or thing. |
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Euphemism |
A mild or neutral expression substituted for a more blunt one. |
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Euphony |
a pleasant harmonious combination of sounds |
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Evocation |
The summoning of a memory or spirit |
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Evocative |
Brining about strong emotions through the use of images, feelings, or memories |
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Exposition |
A type of writing that explains, gives information, defines, or clarifies |
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Fable |
A very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral, or a practical lesson about how to get along in life |
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Falling action |
The action in a literary work that follows the climax |
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Farce |
A mostly visual comedy designed to appeal through exaggerated physical action, stereotyped characters, and ridiculous situations |
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Figure of speech/ figurative language |
a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and that is not meant to be understood on a literal level |
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Flashback |
A scene that interrupts the present action of the plot to show events that happened at an earlier time |
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Foil |
a character who serves as a contrast to another character. |
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Foot |
a group of syllables forming the basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry |
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Foreshadowing |
the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot |
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Form |
The structure shape and style of a piece of work |
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Free verse |
Poetry that does not have regular meter or rhyme scheme |
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Genre |
the category under which a work of literature is classified |
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Hero |
The central character in a literary work |
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Hubris |
An excess of pride or self confidence. |
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Hyperbole |
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or to create a comic effect. |
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Iambic pentameter |
a line of poetry made up of five iambs |
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Imagery |
Language that appeals to the senses. |
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Incident |
In narrative literature, any plot or event that contributes to the plot. |
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In medias res |
The technique of starting a story in the middle and then using flashback to tell what happened earlier. |
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Invective |
Abusive or condemnatory speech or writing |
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Irony |
A contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality or between what is said and what is meant |
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Juxtaposition |
The placement of ideas, characters, images, or actions close together to create an effect,such as a comparison, a contrast, a rhetorical point, or a characterization. |
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litotes |
A figure of speech that uses understatement to create an effect, often making an affirmative statement by negating its opposite. |
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Lyric Poetry |
Poetry that expresses a speaker's emotions or thoughts and does not tell a story. |
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Maxim |
A brief, direct statement that expresses a basic rule of human conduct or a general truth about human behavior |
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Measure |
In poetry, a metrical grouping, such as a foot. |
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meiosis |
A figure of speech that uses understatement for emphasis |
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Melodramatic |
indicative of a type of extravagant drama that pits excessively "good" characters against "evil" ones in a thrilling plot replete with dire events and near disasters |
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Metaphor |
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using a connective word. |
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meter |
A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. |
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Metonymy |
A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it. |
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monologue |
An extended speech presented by one character in a play to other characters or the audience. |
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Mood |
A literary works atmosphere or the feeling it evokes |
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Motif |
In literature anything with the real thematic importance that occurs in a work |
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Motivation |
The justification for a characters actions thoughts or feelings |
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Narrator |
In fiction, the one who tells the story |
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Novella |
a short prose narrative, usually longer or more complex than a short story but less complex or shorter than a novel |
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octave |
In literature an eight line poem or the first eight lines of a petrarchan or italian sonnet |
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Ode |
A long and elaborate lyric poem |
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Onamatopoeia |
The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning. |
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oxymoron |
A figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined |
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Pace |
The rate at which the action of a literary work proceeds |
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Parable |
A brief story that teaches a moral or religious lesson |
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Paradox |
A statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a kind of truth. |
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parallelism |
The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure or that state a similar idea. |
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Parody |
A humorous imitation a literary work |
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Passivity |
Submissiveness or acting under the control of an outside force, often a trait held by an anti-hero |
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pathetic fallacy |
a figure of speech that attributes human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects nature or animals |
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persona |
the mask or voice assumed by a writer |
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personification |
A type of figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract qualities are granted human characteristsics. |
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Point of view |
The vantage point from which a writer narrates |
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prologue |
An introduction usually to a play |
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prose |
Most writing and speech that does not have a regular rhythmic pattern |
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protagonist |
the main character in a literary work |
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proverb |
A brief saying that expresses a truth about life |
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Pun |
A play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings |
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quatrain |
A stanza or poem that is four lines long |
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Refrain |
A repeated sound, word, phrase, line, or group of lines in a poem song or speech |
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Repartee |
A witty response or exchange |
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Repetition |
The recurrence of a word sound phrase or idea |
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Rhyme |
The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem |
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Rising action |
The portion of the plot leading to the climax |
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Romance |
Historically a medieval verse narrative about the adventures of a hero who undertakes a quest for a high ideal |
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Sarcasm |
a harsh bitter kind of irony |
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Satire |
A work that mixes humor and wit with criticism to ridicule human shortcomings |
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Scansion |
The analysis of meter in lines of poetry |
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Scene |
A subdivision of an act in a dramatic work |
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Self-effacement |
The act of making oneself inconspicuous |
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Sestet |
six lines of poetry especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet |
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Shift |
In poetry a change in thought or feeling often expressed as the speaker reveals the significance of a poetic experience |
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Simile |
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word like "like" or "as" |
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soliloquy |
A long speech in which a character who is alone expresses private thoughts or feelings |
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Sonnet |
A fourteen line lyric poem usually written in iambic pentameter |
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speaker |
The voice that addresses the reader in a poem |
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stanza |
a group of consecutive lines that form a single unit in a poem |
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stream of consciousness |
a style of writing that portrays the inner workings of a narrator or characters mind |
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Stress |
In poetry syllables that revieve emphasis indicated by a symbol |
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subplot |
a minor story within a fictional work |
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suspense |
a feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story |
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symbol |
a person place thing or event that stands both for itself and something beyond itself |
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synecdoche |
a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole |
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synesthesia |
the juxtaposition of one sensory detail with an image that appeals to an unrelated sense |
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theme |
the central idea or insight about life revealed by a work of literature |
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Tone |
the attitude a writer takes toward a subject a character or the reader |
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tragedy/ tragic flaw |
a play novel or other narrative usually depicting serious and important events in which the protagonist through a flaw in character or an error in judgement comes to an unhappy end |
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transformation |
in narrative literature dynamic characters undergo change as a result of the stories action. |
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Trochee |
a metrical foot made up of an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable |
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Understatement |
A statement that says less than what is meant |
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Verse |
Another term for poetry, for a single line of poetry or a stanza of poetry |
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Villain |
A bad or evil character or sometimes force that opposes a storys hero or protagonist |
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voice |
The writers or speakers distinctive use of language in a text |
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Volta |
in a petrarchan sonnet the change in thought or feeling between the octave and sestet |
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Wit |
a quality of speech or writing that combines verbal cleverness with keen perception especially of the incongruous |
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Word Choice |
An element of a writers style |
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Zeugma |
A figure of speech in which a word often a verb or adjective is syntactically related to more than one other word but in different ways |