Literary Terms 1-12 Flashcards
Acronym
A word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words and pronounced as a separate word, as WAC from Women’s Army Corps. MASH means Making Academic Success Happen
Allegory
A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. Take for instance, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
Alliteration
Using two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group as in from stem to stern
Allusion
A passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication. The act or practice of making a casual or indirect reference to something.
For example: The novel’s title is an allusion to a Bible verse: I Will Feel No Evil
Ambiguity
Doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention. An unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, ect.
The philosopher’s advice was so full of ambiguity
Anagram
A word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters: angel from glean
Analogy
A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based; for instance, between a heart and a pump
Anecdote
A short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature
Antagonist
A person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary
Antithesis
Opposition; contrast; the direct opposite of.
The behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly
Aphorism
A terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation, as “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Apostrophe
A digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as “O Death, where is thy sting?”
