Literature Vocab

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Classical

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Greco-Roman works, or imitations of them

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Myth

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anonymous story that explains natural/cosmic phenomena. Culture-specific

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legend

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Unlike myth, legends are specific. They're about a certain cultural hero. Folklore, cautionary tale.

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Epic

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Long, formal narrative poem. Adventures of a hero. In medias res.

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mythopoeia

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refashioning of myths for a creative work

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Convention

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literary device used so widely that readers expect it no matter how unrealistic it is. Conventions create framework

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Irony

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a contradiction between reality and what is expected.

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Lyric

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poem designed to by played on a lyre, or an oral or melodic poem

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Ubi sunt

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a common motif of old english poems that laments the passage of time and asks what happened to loved ones

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Understatement

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Greek for "lessening", characterizing something so that it is less grave or significant than it really is. Often comical

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Medieval

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middle-ages literature: dark, chivalric, courtly love

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Frame story

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the story that contains another story; the one that explains why the interior stories are being told.

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Gothic

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Named for the Goths, a germanic tribe, it is medieval, and features, darkness, decay, suspense, and terror

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Narrative

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a story or telling of a story, written in prose or verse (ballads and epics count, too)

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Iamb

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line of verse containing 5 metrical feet

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Heroic couplet

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pair of rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter

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Satire

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genre or mode that uses irony or wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity's vices and foibles. Not geared towards amusement the way comedy is.

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Breton Lay

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a short narrative poem, typically about love and adventure. Sung, not recited. Flourished in medieval France, and drew mainly on Celtic legends.

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medieval romance

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a narrative, in prose or verse concerned with adventure, chivalry, and courtly love. The first manifestation of romance.

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allegory

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the concrete presentation of an abstract idea, typically in narrative prose/verse/drama, with at least 2 levels of meaning. The first level is the storyline, but the second level is political, philosophical, or religious.

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Canto

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Italian for "song", a numbered section of a long poem

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comedy

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an amusing and entertaining drama normally contrasted with tragedy. Generally represents everyday people and uses vernacular language.

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Apocalypse

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alternate name for the book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament that depicts the end of the world. Violent end of the world and Judgement Day prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

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Eschatology

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Belief concerning "ultimate" questions, or questions about what happens after death and life as we know it. Christian eschatology includes places like Heaven and Hell, Purgatory

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Renaissance

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transformation of Western culture that followed the Medieval period. Began in 14th century Italy and spread to Europe during the 15th century

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terza rima

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Italian verse form composed of tercet (three-line) stanzas, with an interlocking rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc. Sometimes closed by a couplet

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sonnet

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a lyric poem typically 14 lines that follows one of several conventional rhyme schemes. Sonnets address a range of themes, but love is the most common. 2 major types exist: Italian and Shakespearean. Iambic pentameter is the most common for all forms

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Petrarchan conceit

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a conceit that presents and exaggerated portrait of a beautiful, cruel woman and the suffering , love-stricken man who worships her. Typically employs analogy, hyperbole, and oxymoron

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drama

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serious literary work intended for performance in front of an audience. Encompasses prose and verse.

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tensions

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the balance between opposing elements in a literary work, especially a poem, that gives it wholeness

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elision

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omission of part of a word and replacing it with an apostrophe so it better conforms to metrical patterns

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Cavalier Poets

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Poets associated with the reign of Charles I who wrote witty, graceful, brazen poems about love and women

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Caroline Age

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Age spanning the reign of Charles I 1625-1649. War between the Cavaliers who supported him and the Roundheads who supported Cromwell.

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occasional verse

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verse written to commemorate a special occurrence or event.

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wit

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wisdom, today associated with comedy. Clever expression that uses paradox to mock.

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carpe diem

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"seize the day" literary theme that we should enjoy the present before time, and life itself, slips away.

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baroque

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1600-1750 , after the Renaissance . Features ornate and elaborate flamboyance that threatens to overshadow Renaissance elements. "wild".

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blank verse

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any unrhymed verse, but usually iambic pentameter

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Commonwealth Age

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Last of the 5 Renaissance eras. began with the beheading of Charles I in 1649 and ended in 1660

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Apostrophe

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a rhetorical figure in which the speaker addresses directly and often emotionally someone who is dead or absent, or a nonhuman entity. If not human, the object addressed is personified.

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Colonial Period

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Era of American literature from 1607-1765/1776

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Noble Savage/ primitivism

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the postulation that although humans are essentially good, they have been corrupted by "civilization". The practice of seeing tribal groups as superior to civilized people

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race

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term used to distinguish humans based on observable traits. Involves cultural differences instead of biological ones.

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novel

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a lengthy fictional prose narrative that features character development and a more intricate plot than that of a short story or tale.

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Restoration Age

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first of 3 eras within the Neoclassical Period, characterized by satire, wit, and a reaction against Puritanism

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litotes

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understatement that affirms something by negating its opposite "that's not bad" means "that's good". Often used for ironic effect.