Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
112 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
accent
|
the emphasis , or stress, given a syllable in pronounciation
|
|
act
|
a major division in the action of a play
|
|
allegory
|
a narration or description usually restricted to a single meaning because its events, actions, characters, settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas
|
|
alliteration
|
the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sqequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable
|
|
allusion
|
a brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature
|
|
ambiguity
|
allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work
|
|
anagram
|
a word or phrase made from the letters of another word or phrase, as "heart" is an anagram of "earth"
|
|
anapestic meter
|
the metrical unit by which a line of poem is measured
|
|
antagonist
|
the character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist, and gives rise to the conflict of the story
|
|
antihero
|
a protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of hero. He or she may be bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely pathetic
|
|
apostrophe
|
an address either to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend.
|
|
approximate rhyme
|
rhyme is almost but not exactly alike
|
|
archetype
|
a term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader
|
|
aside
|
in drama, a speech directed to the audience that supposedly is not audible to the other characters onstage at the time
|
|
assonance
|
the repetition of internal vowel sounds in nearby words that do not end the same
|
|
ballad
|
traditionally, a ballad is a song, transmitted orally from generation to generation, that tells a story and that eventually is written down
|
|
ballad stanza
|
a four-line stanza, known as a quatrain, consisting of alternating eight- and six-syllable lines
|
|
biographical criticism
|
an approach to literature which suggest that knowledge of the author's life experiences can aid in the understanding of his or her work
|
|
blank verse
|
unrhymed iambic pentameter
|
|
cacophony
|
language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce
|
|
caesura
|
a pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line
|
|
canon
|
those works generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study, which collectively constitute the "masterpieces" of literature
|
|
carpe diem
|
the Latin phrase meaning "seize the day". This is a very common literary theme, especially in lyric poetry, which emphasizes that life is short, time is fleeting, and that one should make the most of present pleasures
|
|
catharsis
|
meaning "purgation" catharsis describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy
|
|
Character, characterization
|
a character is a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, and characterization is the process by which a writer makes the character seem real to the reader
|
|
Chorus
|
In Greek tragedies, a group of people who serve mainly as commentators on the characters and events
|
|
cliche
|
an idea or expression that has become tired and trite from overuse, its freshness and clarity having worn off
|
|
climax
|
the moment of greatest emotional tension in a narrative, usually marking a turning point in the plot at which the rising action reverses to become the falling action
|
|
closet drama
|
a play that is written to be read rather than performed onstage
|
|
colloquial
|
refers to a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions
|
|
comedy
|
A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and that ends happily for the ain characters
|
|
comic relief
|
a humorous incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise serious work
|
|
conflict
|
the struggle within the plot between opposing forces
|
|
connotation
|
associations and implications that go beyond the literal meaning of a word, which derive from how the word has been commonly used and the associations people make with it
|
|
consonance
|
A common type of near rhyme that consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds
|
|
contextual symbol
|
a setting, character, action, object, name, or anything else in a work that maintains its literal significance while suggesting other meanings
|
|
controlling metaphor
|
a metaphor that runs through an entire work and determines the form or nature of that work
|
|
convention
|
a characteristic of a literary genre that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique
|
|
conventional symbol
|
symbols that have meanings that are widely recognized by a society or culture
|
|
cosmic irony
|
irony that occurs when a writer uses God, destiny or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character or of human kind in general
|
|
couplet
|
two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter
|
|
crisis
|
a turning point in the action of a story that has a powerful effect on the protagonist
|
|
cultural criticism
|
an approach to literature that focuses on the historical as well as social, political, and economic contexts of a work
|
|
dactylic meter
|
one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones
|
|
deconstructionism
|
an approach to literature which suggests that literary works do not yield fixed, single meanings, because language can never say exactly what we intend it to mean
|
|
Denotation
|
the dictionary meaning of a word
|
|
denouement
|
A French term meaning "unraveling" or "unknotting" used to describe the resolution of the plot following the climax
|
|
dialect
|
a type of informational diction. dialects are spoken by definable groups of people from a particular geographic region, economic group, or social class
|
|
dialogue
|
the verbal exchanges between characters
|
|
diction
|
a writer's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning
|
|
didactic poetry
|
poetry designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson
|
|
Doggerel
|
A derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed
|
|
drama
|
derived from the Greek word dram, meaning "to do" or "to perform," the term drama may refer to a single play, a group of plays, or to all plays
|
|
dramatic irony
|
creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true
|
|
dramatic monologue
|
a type of lyric poem in which a character addresses a distinct but silent audience imagined to be present in the poem in such a way as to reveal a dramatic situation and, often unintentionally, some aspect of his or her temperament or personality
|
|
dynamic character
|
a character that undergoes some kind of change because of action in the plot
|
|
editorial omniscience
|
refers to an intrusion by the narrator in order to evaluate a character for a reader
|
|
electra complex
|
the female version of the Oedipus complex
|
|
elegy
|
a mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation
|
|
end rhyme
|
rhyme at the end of the lines
|
|
end-stopped line
|
a poetic line that has a pause at the end
|
|
English sonnet
|
also known as a Shakespearian sonnet, is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg
|
|
enjambment
|
in poetry, when one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning
|
|
Envoy
|
a three line concluding stanza
|
|
epic
|
A long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style, that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation
|
|
epigram
|
A brief, pointed, and witty poem that usually makes a satiric or humorous point
|
|
epiphany
|
In fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself; a truth which is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment
|
|
escape literature
|
also known as formula literature it follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations
|
|
euphony
|
refers to language that is smooth and musically pleasant to the ear
|
|
exact rhyme
|
rhymes that share the same stressed vowel sounds as well as sharing sounds that follow the vowel
|
|
exposition
|
a narrative device, often used at the beginning of the work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances
|
|
extended metaphor
|
a sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors
|
|
eye rhyme
|
words that are not spelled the same way or that look alike, but still rhyme
|
|
falling action
|
the third part of the plot, which is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications
|
|
falling meter
|
refers to metrical feet which move from stressed to unstressed sounds, such as the trochaic foot and the dactylic foot
|
|
farce
|
A form of humor based on exaggerated, improbable incongruities.
|
|
feminine rhyme
|
s rhymed stressed syllable followed by one or more identical unstressed syllables, as in butter, clutter, gratitude, attitude, quivering, shivering
|
|
feminist criticism
|
an approach to literature that seeks to correct or supplement what may be regarded as a predominantly male-dominated crucial perspective with a feminist consciousness
|
|
figures of speech
|
ways of using language that deviate from the literal, denotative meanings of words in order to suggest additional meanings or effects
|
|
first-person narrator
|
the I in the story presents the point of view of only on echaracter
|
|
fixed form
|
A poem that may be categorized by the pattern of its lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas
|
|
flashback
|
A narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work
|
|
flat character
|
a character that embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary
|
|
foil
|
a character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of antoerh character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character
|
|
foot
|
the metrical unit by which a line of poetry is measured
|
|
foreshadowing
|
the introduction early in a story of verbal and dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later
|
|
form
|
the overall structure or shape of a work, which frequently follows an established design
|
|
formal diction
|
diction that consists of a dignified, impersonal, and elevate use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone
|
|
formalist criticism
|
an approach to literature that focuses on the formal elements of a work, such as its language, structure, and tone
|
|
formula literature
|
often characterized as "escape literature," formula literature follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations
|
|
found poem
|
An unintentional poem discovered in a nonpoetic context, such as a conversation, news story, or advertisement
|
|
free verse
|
also called open form poetry, free verse refers o poems characterized by their nonconformity to established patters of meter, rhyme, and stanza
|
|
Gay and Lesbian criticism
|
an approach to literature that focuses on how homosexuals are represented in literature, how they read literature, and whether sexuality, as well as gender, is culturally constructed or innate
|
|
gender criticism
|
an approach to literature that explores how ideas about men and women -- what is masculine and feminine -- can be regarded as socially constructed by particular cultures
|
|
genre
|
a French word meaning kind or type
|
|
haiku
|
a style of lyric poetry borrowed from the Japanese that typically presents an intense emotion or vivid image of nature, which, traditionally, is designed to lead to a spiritual insight
|
|
hamartia
|
a term coined by Aristotle to describe "some error frailty" that brings about misfortune for a tragic hero
|
|
hero,heroine
|
often called the protagonist, is the central character who engages the reader's interest and empathy
|
|
heroic couplet
|
a couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter
|
|
high comedy
|
refers to verbal wit, such as puns
|
|
historical criticism
|
An approach to literature that uses history as a means of understanding a literary work more clearly
|
|
hubris or hybris
|
excessive pride or self-confidence that leads a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or to violate an important moral law
|
|
hyperbole
|
A boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true
|
|
iambic meter
|
meter that consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, is the most common meter in English poetry
|
|
iambic pentameter
|
a metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambi feet per line. or one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
|
|
image
|
a word, phrase, or figure of speech that addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures or sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions
|
|
implied metaphor
|
a more subtle comparison; the terms being compared are not so specifically explained
|
|
in media res
|
a term used to describe the common strategy of beginning a story in the middle of the action
|
|
informal diction
|
diction that represents the plain language of everyday use, and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contractions, and many simple, common words
|
|
internal rhyme
|
rhyme that places at least one of the rhymed words within the line
|
|
irony
|
a literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true
|
|
Italian sonnet
|
also known as Petrarchan sonnet, is divided into an octave, which typically rhymes abbaabba, and sestet, which may have varying rhyme schemes
|