Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

From Flashcardlet > elements of fiction and literary terms > Flashcards

elements of fiction and literary terms Flashcards

0
Q

Blank verse

A

Unrhymed verse lines, often in iambic pentameter (entire play)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Aside

A

Lines supposedly not heard by the other characters on stage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Comic relief

A

A humorous incident introduced into a serious literary work to relieve tension or heighten emotional impact (e.g. The nurse’s scenes)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Figurative language

A

Any language that is not meant to be interpreted in a strict literal sense

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Metaphor

A

A comparison between two unlike things (e.g. Juliet is the sun)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Simile

A

A comparison between two unlike things using “like”, “as”, “so”, “just so”, “than”, “as if”, “such as” that makes and explicit comparison

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Personification

A

A figure of speech in which human form or characteristics are given to animal,s objects, or ideas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Foil

A

S character who provides a contrast for another character so as to highlight that character’s distinctive characteristics (e.g. Benvolio and Tybalt)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Heroic couplet

A

Two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme with each other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Monologue

A

A long speech by one character, often to monopolize a conversation (e.g. Queen Mab speech)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Oxymoron

A

A figure of speech in which contradictory terms are combined (e.g. “sweet sorrow”)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Prologue

A

A introduction or preface to a play

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Pun

A

A play on words, sometimes on different senses (meanings) of the same word and sometimes on different words that sound similar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Soliloquy

A

A speech made by a character alone on stage (or unaware of the presence of others) in which s/he reveals private thoughts or feelings.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Sonnet

A

A 14 line poem, famously practiced by Shakespeare

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Tragedy

A

A dramatic or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Plot

A

A series of related events, each of which hooks curiosity and pulls forward to the next event, usually through conflict and struggle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

External conflict

A

Character vs. character
Character vs. group (society)
Character vs. non-human (environment, fate, monster, animal, weather)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Internal conflict

A

Character vs. self (struggle within a character’s mind/heart)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Exposition

A

Basic situation:
Elements of setting introduced
Principal characters introduced
Possible planting of seeds of conflict

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Rising Action

A

Complication
“Hook and pull” of events and their obstacles as they build up toward the climax
Reader becomes more engaged and emotionally involved in the story
Anxiety and investment build
Conflict becomes more urgent; character(s) take(s) some actions to resolve it but complications, tension increases

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Climax

A

Turning Point

Moment of highest tension in plot development

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Denouncement

A

Falling action

“Fall-out” or consequences of climax worked out

23
Q

Resolution

A

“And they lived happily ever after…”

24
Q

Flashback

A

Scene that interrupts the present action of the plot to flash backward and tell what happened at an earlier time

25
Q

Foreshadowing

A

The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot, often used to increase suspense
(Or: Foreshadowing is a dramatic device in which an important plot point is mentioned early in the story to return later in a more significant way.)

26
Q

Flash-Forward

A

A scene that interrupts the resent action of the plot to shift into the future

27
Q

Character

A

Person(s) in a story, poem, or play

-may also be animals, divinities, superheroes, non-human entities

28
Q

Characterization

A

Process of revealing personality of a character in fiction

29
Q

External realities

A

Speech (how they speak and what they say)
Actions (what they do, motivation)
Appearance (physical description, clothing, presentation)
Interactions with other characters (conversations, shared experiences, how they talk to/ treat others, relationships)

30
Q

Dialect

A

Way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people

31
Q

Motivation

A

Fears, conflicts, or needs that drive a character

32
Q

Internal reality

A

Private thoughts (thoughts, attitudes, feelings, ideas)

33
Q

Direct characterization

A

We are told directly by the narrator what the character is like

34
Q

Indirect characterization

A

We have to use our own judgement to decide what a character is like, based on evidence the writer gives us according to the realities

35
Q

Flat character

A

Has only one or two traits that can be described in a few words
No depth; little complexity
Like a piece of cardboard

36
Q

Round character

A

Has many different traits
Sometimes contradict one another, as in the case of a real person
Defies simple analysis or description
Fully developed

37
Q

Static character

A

Does not change throughout the story

38
Q

Dynamic character

A

Changes as a result of the story’s events

Undergoes significant development or change during the story

39
Q

Protagonist

A

Character who is engaged in central conflict of the story (sometimes called the hero/heroine)
Most are round, dynamic characters who change in some important way by the end of the work

40
Q

Antagonist

A

Character or force that blocks the protagonist; often, but not always, the villain

41
Q

Stock

A

A stereotypical character that appears repeatedly in a particular literary genre (ie dumb blonde, mean stepmother, jester, mysterious old Asian man)

42
Q

Foil

A

A character who enhances or clarifies the features of, usually, the protagonist, by providing direct, distinctive contrast to the main character

43
Q

Setting

A

Where and when a story takes place

Can include: locale, wether, time of day, time period, people’s customs, background

44
Q

Functions of Setting

A 
Revelation of characters, their motivations, and actions
Creation of mood, atmosphere, and emotional effect
Enhancement of (or contribution to) conflict
45
Q

Narration

A 
How the story is told- narrator controls everything we know about characters and events:
First Person (credible or unreliable) or third person (omniscient or limited)
46
Q

First Person Credible

A

“I”

Narrative voice that is believable- may be in action or an observer

47
Q

First Person Unreliable

A

Narrative voice that is not believable; narrator might be lying, naive, inexperienced, or mentally unstable- may be involved in action or an observer

48
Q

Third Person Omniscient

A

“She” “he” “they”
Moves at will through time, across space, and into the mind of each character to tell us anything we need to know ro understand the story
“Godlike”
Usually assumed to be the author, but not always
Plays no part in the story

49
Q

Third Person Limited

A

“He” “she” “they”
Point of view limited to experiences, perceptions of one character in the story
Reader does not know everything, but rather, only what the character knows or is able to learn
Plays no part in the story

50
Q

Tone

A

Attitude a writer takes toward a subject, character, or the audience expressed in the narration

51
Q

Voice

A

Variety of verbal strategies that establish mood, atmosphere, or emotional coloring of the story: diction, sentence structure, imagery, symbolism, etc

52
Q

Irony

A

The difference between what is represented or perceived and reality
Lifelike
Verbal, dramatic, situational

53
Q

Verbal irony

A

Difference between what is said and what is meant

54
Q

Dramatic irony

A

Difference between what the reader or audience knows and what a character knows

55
Q

Situational irony

A

Difference between expected outcome and what actually occurs

56
Q

Theme

A

The controlling idea or meaning of a work of art
Author’s message to the world
Sit above plot- universal truths

From Flashcardlet (27 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions