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English lit > homework flashcards > Flashcards

homework flashcards

1
Q

adventure

A

an unusual and exciting or daring experience

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2
Q

allegory

A

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

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3
Q

allusion

A

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

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4
Q

amplification

A

the action of making something more marked or intense.

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5
Q

anadiplosis

A

a device in which the last word or phrase of one clause, sentence, or line is repeated at the beginning of the next.

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6
Q

anaphora

A

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

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7
Q

analogy

A

a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

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8
Q

anastrophe

A

the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses

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9
Q

anecdote

A

a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.

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10
Q

anthropomorphism

A

the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object

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11
Q

antithesis

A

a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else

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12
Q

aphorism

A

a pithy observation which contains a general truth

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13
Q

aposiopesis

A

the device of suddenly breaking off in speech

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14
Q

archetype

A

a very typical example of a certain person or thing

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15
Q

asyndeton

A

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence, as in I came, I saw, I conquered

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16
Q

authorial intrusion

A

literary device that occurs when the writer inserts their opinion, commentary, or judgments into a story

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17
Q

bildungsroman

A

coming of age story

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18
Q

cacophony

A

a harsh discordant mixture of sounds

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19
Q

catachresis

A

the use of a word in an incorrect way

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20
Q

characterisation

A

the creation or construction of a fictional character.

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21
Q

chiasmus

A

a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order

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22
Q

conflict

A

a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one

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23
Q

connotation

A

a word associated with another

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24
Q

denotation

A

the literal meaning of a word

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25
Q

deus ex machina

A

a person or thing that appears or is introduced into a situation suddenly and unexpectedly and provides an artificial or contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.

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26
Q

diacope

A

a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of words, separated by a small number of intervening words

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27
Q

diction

A

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

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28
Q

doppelganger

A

an apparition or double of a living person

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29
Q

epanalepsis

A

Figure of emphasis in which the same word or words both begin(s) and end(s) a phrase, clause, or sentence

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30
Q

epilogue

A

a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.

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31
Q

epistrophe

A

the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

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32
Q

epizeuxis

A

a form of repetition in which a word is repeated immediately for emphasis

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33
Q

euphemism

A

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

34
Q

flashback

A

looking back in time at a certain event prior to that point in the novel

35
Q

foil

A

character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character

36
Q

folklore

A

the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people;

37
Q

foregrounding

A

make (something) the most prominent or important feature

38
Q

foreshadowing

A

hinting to something that’ll happen later on in the text

39
Q

hendiadys

A

the expression of a single idea by two words connected with

40
Q

hubris

A

excessive pride or self-confidence.

41
Q

hyperbaton

A

an inversion of the normal order of words, especially for the sake of emphasis,

42
Q

hyperbole

A

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

43
Q

imagery

A

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work

44
Q

in medias res

A

into the middle of a narrative

45
Q

irony

A

a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.

46
Q

isocolon

A

a rhetorical scheme in which parallel elements possess the same number of words or syllables

47
Q

juxtaposition

A

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect

48
Q

litotes

A

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

49
Q

malapropism

A

the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect

50
Q

metaphor

A

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

51
Q

metonymy

A

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant

52
Q

mood

A

the atmosphere or pervading tone of something

53
Q

motif

A

a decorative image or design, especially a repeated one forming a pattern

54
Q

oxymoron

A

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

55
Q

paradox

A

a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true

56
Q

pathetic fallacy

A

when the weather reflects the mood

57
Q

periphrasis

A

the use of indirect and circumlocutory speech or writing

58
Q

personification

A

giving an inanimate object life or personality

59
Q

plot

A

the main events of a story

60
Q

point of view

A

the position from which something or someone is observed.

61
Q

polyptoton

A

a figure of speech that involves the repetition of words derived from the same root

62
Q

polysyndeton

A

a list or series of words, phrases, or clauses that is connected with the repeated use of the same conjunction

63
Q

portmanteau

A

a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others

64
Q

prologue

A

a separate introductory section of a literary, dramatic, or musical work

65
Q

puns

A

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings.

66
Q

satire

A

the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

67
Q

setting

A

the surroundings in which the events take place

68
Q

simile

A

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

69
Q

spoonerism

A

a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect

70
Q

stream of consciousness

A

a narrative mode or method that attempts “to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind” of a narrator.

71
Q

suspense

A

a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.

72
Q

symbol

A

a thing that represents or stands for something else

73
Q

synecdoche

A

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

74
Q

synaesthesia

A

the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body

75
Q

syntax

A

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

76
Q

theme

A

the subject of a talk, piece of writing, exhibition, etc

77
Q

tone

A

the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation

78
Q

tragedy

A

a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

79
Q

understatement

A

the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is

80
Q

verisimilitude

A

the appearance of being true or real.

81
Q

zeugma

A

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses

English lit (4 decks)

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