Glossary of Literary Elements Flashcards
(95 cards)
1
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a character, action, or situation that is a prototype, or pattern, of human life, occurring over and over agin in literature, such as a quest, an initiation, or an attempt to overcome evil. Two common types involve setting and character
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archetype
2
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Two common types of archetypes involve
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setting and character
3
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A common archetypal setting is the desert, which is associated with spiritual ______ and ________ because it is devoid of many amenities and personal comforts.
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sterility and barrenness
4
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Characters that embody a certain kind of universal experience. Examples: damsel in distress, the mentor, the old crone, the hag, witch, and the naive young man from the country, the hero, the scapegoat, the outcast, and star-crossed lovers.
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archetypes
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A character that purposely lures men to disaster through her beauty
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femme fatale, siren, or temptress
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Examples: the quest, the task, the initiation, the journey, and the fall
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Archetypal situations
7
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People or animals who take part in the action of a literary work
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characters
8
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In what ways do readers learn about characters? (5)
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- Whey they say (dialogue)
- What they do (actions)
- What they think (inner monologue)
- What others say about them
- Through the author’s direct statement
9
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The central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem.
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protagonist
10
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The adversary of the protagonist.
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antagonist
11
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A character in which the author chooses to emphasize a single important trait
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flat character
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A character in which the author chooses to present a complex, fully-rounded personality
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round character
13
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A character who changes little over the course of a narrative. Things may happen to these characters, but little happens in them.
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static character
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A character who changes in response to the experience through which he or she passes
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dynamic character
15
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A character’s reason for doing or saying something
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motivation
16
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A character, usually minor, designed to highlight qualities of a major character. They are often similar to the characters they highlight, but they differ in at least one major trait or choice, which causes them to be in opposition with the main character.
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foil
17
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The facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose.
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details
18
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The word choice intended to convey a certain effect. This is when the denotative and connotative meanings of words must be considered. (Why did the author choose this word?)
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diction
19
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The meaning of a word that is its explicit definition as listed in a dictionary
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denotative
20
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The meaning of a word that is the association or set of associations that a word usually brings to mind
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connotative
21
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The speech of a particular region of group as it differs from those of a real or imaginary standard speech
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dialect
22
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The use of a word or phrase that is less expressive or direct but considered less distasteful or offensive than another: If someone says, “he won’t be with us much longer,” he/she means that person is dying.
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euphemism
23
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An accepted phrase or expression having a meaning different from the literal. If someone says, “Penny for your thoughts,” they aren’t actually going to give you a penny, but they are asking you to share your thoughts of the moment.
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idiom
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Consists of words or phrases appealing to the senses-the descriptive diction-a writer uses to represent people, actions, objects feelings, and ideas. Images help to set the mood of a piece of literature.
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imagery
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The emotional atmosphere in a literary work
mood
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The sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem.
plot
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The author lays the groundwork for the reader by revealing the setting, the relationships between the characters, and the situation as it exists before the conflict begins.
exposition
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Interrupts the harmony and balance of the situation, and one or more of the characters comes into conflict with an outside force, with his or her own nature, or with another character.
initial incident
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During the plot events that arise during the _______ _____, the things that happen build toward an irreversible _______, or _________ _______, after with the _________ _______ leads inevitable toward a revelation meaning that occurs at the ________ and ________ (unraveling) of the problem set up by the initial incident.
rising action, climax or pivotal point, falling action, resolution and denouement
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a term that describes the tension between opposing forces in a work of literature and is an essential element of plot. The main types of ______ involve man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, and man vs. fate (or other supernatural elements).
conflict
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a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event
flashback
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the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action
foreshadowing
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the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events
suspense
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the perspective from which a narrative is told. The main ______ ___ _____ include 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, and 3rd person omniscient (all knowing)
point of view (POV)
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refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, character, or the reader.
rhetorical shift
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the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place
setting
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refers to the writer's characteristic manner of using language
style
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the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The _______ is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work may have more than one ______, and most _______ are not directly stated but are implied. An example of a ______ on the subject of pride might be that pride often precedes a fall
theme
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the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and it is conveyed primarily through the author's choice of diction, imagery, figurative language, details, and syntax. It may be serious, sarcastic, humorous, indignant, etc.
tone
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______ _____ or ________ _______ reveal changes in attitude or create new attitudes
tone shift or multiple tones
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words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else. They always involve some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not meant to be taken literally, they are used to produce images in a reader's mind and to express ideas in a fresh, imaginative, and vivid way. The most common examples are similes, metaphors, and personification.
figures of speech
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a form of personification in which the absent, or dead, are spoken to as if present, and the inanimate as if animate.
apostrophe
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a comparison of two unlike things not using like or as
metaphor
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differs from a regular metaphor in that it is sustained for several lines or sentences or throughout a work
extended (controlling) metaphor
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a form of metaphor in which the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated. For example, "There was a struggle for the crown." It is not the object which is the source of the struggle, but the power it represents.
metonymy
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a form of a paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression. For example, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," or "It was only a cold fire." They often express mixed emotions.
oxymoron
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occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other. Although the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a bidder truth. Anne Bradstreet writes, "[...]that when she live no more / we may live ever." She refers to the concept of eternal life after death.
paradox
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a kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics. For example, "The wind howled around the house, venting its fury against the inhabitants inside." They help you the understand what is happening.
personification
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a play on words that are either identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings. They may have serious as well as humorous uses. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, after having been fatally stabbed in a sword fight, jokes, "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man."
pun
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a comparison of two different things or ideas using like or as. It is a definitely stated comparison in which the author says one thing is like another. Forrest Gump's is one of the most famous examples: "Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get."
simile
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a form of metaphor that has four main types:
The first is a form in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. For example, a captain who yells, "All hands on deck!" wants all the people on deck, not just their hands.
The second is a form in which the whole represents a part. We use this type mostly when using the country or region name to refer specifically to sport teams or governments. For example, "Canada played the U.S. in the Olympic hockey finals." Also, "Israel is in talks with Jordan."
The third is a form in which a container represents the thing being contained. For example, "The pot is boiling."
The fourth is a form in which the material from which an object is made is used to represent the object itself. For example, "The quarterback pitched the pigskin to the running back."
Synecdoche
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stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound
sound devices
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the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same consonant sound. In the movie V for Vendetta, the masked figure makes a long speech which begins, "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate."
alliteration
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the repetition of a vowel sound in a series of words. It is a type of incomplete rhyme. For example, the words "cry" and "side" have the same vowel sound and are said to be in ________.
assonance
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the repetition of a consonant sound within or at the end of a series of words to produce a harmonious effect. There are two instance of _________ in the following: "And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds."
consonance
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the measured, patterned arrangement of syllables according to stress and length in a poem. Authors often provide variations in rhythm and _____ to keep poems from being too repetitious or too predictable.
meter
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the use of words that mimci the sounds they describe: "hiss," "buzz," "bang." When __________ is used on an extended scale in a poem it is called imitative harmony.
onomatopoeia
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When onomatopoeia is used on an extended scale in a poem it is called _________ _________.
imitative harmony
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the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem. They may enhance the experience of reading a poem and may promote memory through a pattern of sounds.
rhyme
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_____ _______ occurs at the end of lines.
End rhyme
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_______ _____ occurs within a line of poetry.
internal rhyme
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A _____ ______ is the pattern of end rhymes: ABAB, ABBA, etc. Each letter used represents a different sound.
rhyme scene
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the varying speed, intensity, elevation, pitch, loudness, and expressiveness of speech, especially poetry.
rhythm
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the natural rhythm of the English language and possesses a smooth, flowing feel. (unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable)
Iambic rhythm
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the release of emotion (pity and fear) from the audience's perspective. After watching Antigone, the audience feels pity for the tragic deaths and fear for themselves because the same thing could happen to them if forced to choose between two opposing forces.
catharsis
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the tragic flaw that leads to the tragic hero's downfall. For example, Creon's tragic flaw of holding himself above the prophets and the laws of the gods dooms him.
hamartia
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excessive pride or arrogance. Creon's pride and arrogance cause his downfall.
hubris
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occurs as the hero meets his catastrophe, at which point he recognizes his flaw and the reason he must die (or fall from his high point). Creon acknowledges his responsibility for the deaths of his family and confesses that he was too proud.
recognition
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occurs when the opposite of what the hero intends is what happens. Creon thinks he is doing the right thing in imprisoning Antigone, but this leads to the suicides of Eurydice and Haemon
reversal
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a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, event, or thing. For example, many Western authors use references to people or pleas in the Bible or in Greek or Roman mythology.
allusion
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a contrast or opposition. Usually it is a direct juxtaposition (putting two opposing things side by side) of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast. For example, Brutus explains his part in Caesar's assassination by saying, "Not that I love Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
antithesis
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functions by convincing or persuading an audience, or by proving or refuting a point of view or an issue. It uses induction, deduction, logos, pathos, and ethos.
argumentation
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moving from observation about particular things to generalizations
inductions
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moving from generalizations to valid inferences about particulars
deductions
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logical evidence
logos
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emotional evidence
pathos
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ethical evidence
ethos
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consists of arguing from the presence or absence of the cause to the existence or nonexistence of the effect or result. Conversely, one may argue from an effect to its probably cause(s).
cause/effect
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one of the traditional ways of thinking about a subject, identifies the subject as part of a larger group with shared features.
classification
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a traditional rhetorical strategy based on the assumption that a subject may be shown more clearly by point out ways it is similar to something else. The two subjects may each be explained separately, and then their similarities noted.
comparison
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a tradition rhetorical strategy based on the assumption that a subject may be shown more clearly by pointing out ways in which it is unlike another subject.
contrast
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the act of creating or developing a character
characterization
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the author directly states a character's traits
direct characterization
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the author uses what the character says or does and what others say about the character to help the reader understand that character's traits
indirect characterization
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a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration. It may be used for either serious or comic effect. For example, "The shot heard 'round the world." "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
hyperbole
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occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has a different meaning from what he thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implication of the speech or action. (Basically we know something the character does not.) For example in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus curses the murderer of Laius, not knowing that he himself is the murderer and is therefore cursing himself.
dramatic irony
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occurs when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect-though the twist is often oddly appropriate. For example, a deep sea diver drowns in a bathtub.
situational irony
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occurs when a speaker of character says one thing while meaning the opposite. For example, in Julius Caesar, Mark Antony says, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man," yet his meaning is obviously the opposite. This is also an example of sarcasm.
verbal irony
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a specific type of verbal irony in which one appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it.
sarcasm
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a term that describes a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism (basically a recurring image or symbol) in a work of literature. For example, fire recurs throughout Lord of the Flies.
motif
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refers to the use of devices like irony, understatement, and exaggeration to highlight a human folly or a societal problem. The purpose of ______ is to bring the flaw to the attention to the reader in order that it may be addressed, remedied, or eradicated. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is filled with _______, ridiculing hypocrisy in religion and social issues.
satire
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the use of any object, person, place, or action that not only has a meaning in itself but also stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value. There are two basic types universal and contextual
symbolism
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a symbol that is common to all mankind
universal symbolism
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a symbol that is used in a particular way by an individual author
contextual symbolism
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the opposite of a hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is. For example, I think I might be able to live on an income of $2 million, maybe.
understatement
