Lit Terms Flashcards

Question

What is Colloquialism?

Answer 1

A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but inappropriate for formal situations. ## Footnote Example: 'He's out of his head if he thinks I'm gonna go for such a stupid idea.'

Answer 2

The struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.

Answer 3

Conflict that exists between two people, between a person and nature or a machine, or between a person and a whole society.

Answer 4

A character that has more dimensions to their personalities---they are complex, just as real people are

Answer 5

A conflict that involves opposing forces within a person's mind.

Answer 6

The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.

Answer 7

The repetition of similar consonant sounds anywhere within words that are placed close together. ## Footnote Example: The mother hen checked on the chick with a click of her beak.

Answer 8

A story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.

Answer 9

A more micro level variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular area, community or group, often with relatively minor differences in vocabulary, style, spelling and pronunciation. ## Footnote Example: A person from the North East might say, 'hello.' A Southerner might say, 'hey y'all.' A person from Texas might say, 'howdy.'

Answer 10

A speaker or writer's choice of words.

Answer 11

A form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Answer 12

A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

Answer 13

An adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality. ## Footnote Examples: 'Father of our country' and 'the great Emancipator.' The Homeric version is a compound adjective used with a person or thing: 'swift-footed Achilles' and 'rosy-fingered dawn.'

Answer 14

a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

Answer 15

one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop a fair and balanced yet effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way

Answer 16

an appeal that relies more on emotionally charged language than on facts

Answer 17

an appeal to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way.

Answer 18

a form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument.

Answer 19

one of the four major forms of discourse that uses language to describe things as vividly as possible.

Answer 20

one of the four major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or “set forth.”

Answer 21

one of the four major forms of discourse that tells about a series of events.

Answer 22

The act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Answer 23

A great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.

Answer 24

Agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words.

Answer 25

A very short story told in prose or poetry that uses anthropomorphism and/or personification to teach a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.

Answer 26

A type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, exaggerated situations.

Answer 27

Words that are inaccurate when interpreted literally. Used to describe

Answer 28

A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.

Answer 29

A character who acts as contrast to another character, often a funny sidekick to the plot.

Answer 30

A negative term that implies both arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence, and a lack of important perception or insight due to pride in one's abilities.

Answer 31

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement for effect. ## Footnote Example: 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times....'

Answer 32

The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience.

Answer 33

A discrepancy between appearances and reality.

Answer 34

Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.

Answer 35

Takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

Answer 36

Is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows otherwise.

Answer 37

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a story.

Answer 38

A form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form.

Answer 39

A term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape.

Answer 40

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things.

Answer 41

A metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.

Answer 42

A metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid.

Answer 43

A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it.

Answer 44

An internal feeling that is created either in the reader or in the characters by a writer's diction and the details selected.

Answer 45

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work, unifying the current situation to previous or new ideas to the theme. ## Footnote Example: Kurt Vonnegut uses 'So it goes' throughout Slaughterhouse-Five to remind the reader of the senselessness of death.

Answer 46

The reasons for a character's behavior.

Answer 47

The use of words whose sounds echo their sense.

Answer 48

A metaphor that does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison.

Answer 49

A metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible.

Answer 50

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. ## Footnote Examples: "Jumbo shrimp," "Pretty ugly," "Bitter-sweet".

Answer 51

A relatively short story that teaches a moral or lesson without the use of anthropomorphism or personification.

Answer 52

A statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.

Answer 53

A work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style.

Answer 54

A figure of speech in which human specific characteristics are attributed to inanimate objects. ## Footnote Example: "The lightning danced across the sky."

Answer 55

The series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline.

Answer 56

Introduces characters, situation, and setting

Answer 57

complications in conflict and situations (may introduce new ones as well)

Answer 58

that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. Also called “turning point”

Answer 59

the point in the plot where the conflicts begin to resolve

Answer 60

the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled; often called the denouement.

Answer 61

the vantage point from which the writer tells the story.

Answer 62

one of the characters tells the story. (typically uses first person pronouns: I, me, my, us, we,…)

Answer 63

the narrator instructs the reader as if they are telling the reader what they are to experience. (typically uses 2nd person pronoun: you)

Answer 64

an unknown narrator, tells the story, but this narrator usually zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character (limited). (typically uses 3rd it, they, them…)

Answer 65

an omniscient or all-knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator, instead of focusing on one character only, often tells us everything about many characters.

Answer 66

A narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events.

Answer 67

The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero. ## Footnote In a tragic hero, like John Proctor of The Crucible, there is always a hamartia, or tragic flaw in his character which will lead to his downfall.

Answer 68

A 'play on words' based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things.

Answer 69

The art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.

Answer 70

A question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer.

Answer 71

A story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful.

Answer 72

A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.

Answer 73

A specific type of alliteration that is characterized by a hissing sound.

Answer 74

A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles.

Answer 75

A fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices.

Answer 76

A style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.

Answer 77

The distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax.

Answer 78

A feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story.

Answer 79

A person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and for something more than itself.

Answer 80

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. ## Footnote 'If you don't drive properly, you will lose your wheels.' The wheels represent the entire car.

Answer 81

An outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable.

Answer 82

The insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work.

Answer 83

The attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

Answer 84

A story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end.

Answer 85

A fatal weakness or ignorance in a character that brings them to their end. Also known as hamartia.

Answer 86

A statement that says less than what is meant. ## Footnote Example: During the second war with Iraq, American troops faced a sandstorm that made even the night-vision equipment useless. A British commando commented about the storm: "It's a bit breezy."

Answer 87

A narrator who, intentionally or unintentionally, relates events of a story in a subjective and distorted manner.

Answer 88

The macro level language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality. The vernacular of the United States is English.

Answer 89

A figure of speech in which animal-specific characteristics are attributed to humans. ## Footnote Example: I can't help myself, I always wolf-down my pizza.

Answer 90

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.

Answer 91

A fancy word for inversion in sentence structure.

Answer 92

Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.

Answer 93

Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.

Answer 94

Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first. ## Footnote Example: "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Answer 95

Constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance.

Answer 96

A device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence. ## Footnote Example: Voltaire: "Common sense is not so common."

Answer 97

A device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences (it is the opposite of anaphora).

Answer 98

A sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them. ## Footnote Example: I am tired because it is hot.

Answer 99

The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase.

Answer 100

A poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit. ## Footnote Example: Martin Luther King: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Answer 101

The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.

Answer 102

A sentence that simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences.

Answer 103

A sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements.

Answer 104

A sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z... Polysyndeton results in X and Y and Z...

Answer 105

Ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length.

Answer 106

The manner in which words are arranged to form sentences.

Answer 107

Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow.

Answer 108

A sentence shorter than five words in length.

Answer 109

A sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses.

Answer 110

Unified parts of the writing are related to one central idea or organizing principle. Unity is dependent on coherence

Answer 111

The major structural division in a drama. They are divided into scenes. They may contain shifts in time and place.

Answer 112

In drama, a few words or short passage spoke in an undertone or to the audience. By convention, other characters onstage are deaf to it.

Answer 113

The purging of the feelings of pity and fear. According to Aristotle the audience should experience this catharsis at the end of a tragedy.

Answer 114

In a classical drama, this is a group of characters placed on stage to comment upon the action and express traditional wisdom. It is employed most often in traditional Greek drama.

Answer 115

The imaginary wall that separates the spectator/audience from the action taking place on stage. In a traditional theatre setting (as opposed to a theatre in the round) this imaginary wall has been removed so that the spectator can “peep” into the fictional world and see what is going on. If the audience is addressed directly, this is referred to as “breaking the ________.”

Answer 116

A speech by a single character without another character's response. The character however, is speaking to someone else or even a group of people.

Answer 117

A traditional segment in a play. They are used to indicate (1) a change in time, (2) a change in location, (3) provides a jump from one subplot to another, (4) introduces new characters (5) rearrange the actors on the stage. Traditionally plays are composed of acts, broken down into these.

Answer 118

a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage.

Answer 119

A playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers (as well as actors and directors) with information about the dialogue, setting, and action of a play. Modern playwrights tend to include substantial amounts of these, while earlier playwrights typically use them more sparsely, implicitly, or not at all.

Answer 120

A postwar European genre of drama that depicts the grotesque common plight of human beings thrown by accident into an irrational and meaningless world. **Footnote Ex. Waiting for Godot

Answer 121

A pause within a line of poetry. They usually appear in the middle of a line with the use of a comma or period.

Answer 122

In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed. In prose this is called antimetabole.

Answer 123

an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.

Answer 124

a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet’s life.

Answer 125

Two rhymed lines that contain and independent and complete thought or statement. **Footnote EX. “I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.” (Eliot)

Answer 126

two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry. **Footnote EX. “This day, whate’er the fates decree./ Shall still be kept with joy by me…” (Swift)

Answer 127

A poem written as a speech made by a character. Typically the persona will reveal private desires, weaknesses, crimes, or maybe in wrongdoings.

Answer 128

a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.

Answer 129

A line of poetry or verse that ends in a full pause usually indicated by a mark of punctuation.

Answer 130

A line of poetry that does not end will a full pause (punctuation) which should then be read in conjunction with the next line of poetry without pausing.

Answer 131

a long narrative poem, written in heightened language , which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.

Answer 132

poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Answer 133

a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker. A ballad tells a story.

Answer 134

The count of rhythmic patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

Answer 135

A meter consisting of one metrical foot per line

Answer 136

A meter consisting of two metrical feet per line

Answer 137

A meter consisting of three metrical feet per line

Answer 138

A meter consisting of four metrical feet per line

Answer 139

A meter consisting of five metrical feet per line

Answer 140

A meter consisting of six metrical feet per line

Answer 141

A meter consisting of seven metrical feet per line

Answer 142

A meter consisting of eight metrical feet per line

Answer 143

The basic unit of measurement of metrical poetry that counts the stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. This is combined with meter.

Answer 144

A metrical foot that contains two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable- “on a boat”

Answer 145

A metrical foot that contains one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables- “Bat-ter-y

Answer 146

A metrical foot that contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable- “ex-it and be-long”

Answer 147

A metrical foot that contains two stressed syllables and is used generally for emphasis- “good men”

Answer 148

A metrical foot that contains one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable- “sum-mer and chor-us”

Answer 149

four lines of a poem that can be considered as a stanza or a poem consisting of four lines.

Answer 150

a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem.

Answer 151

a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language. If this is fixed in a poem it is considered a meter.

Answer 152

Two or more words that contain an identical or similar sounds that are repeated.

Answer 153

Rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines of poetry rather than within.

Answer 154

Rhyme that consists of words that are identical in sound- go/slow

Answer 155

A rhyme of two or more syllables with a stress on a syllable other than the last: tur-tle and fer-tle

Answer 156

Rhyme that occurs within lines of poetry rather than at the end

Answer 157

Rhyme that consists of stressed syllables- either one syllable words “fox and socks” or words whose final syllable is stressed “con-trive and sur-vive”

Answer 158

A rhyme in which the final consonant sounds are the same but the vowels are slightly different- “letter and litter" or "bone and bean”

Answer 159

The method used to determine the rhythm or meter in a poem. This is done by counting meter and metrical feet.

Answer 160

Six lines of a poem that can be considered as a stanza or a poem consisting of six lines

Answer 161

Three lines of a poem that are formed into one stanza that usually rhymes.

Lit Terms Flashcards

(185 cards)