Literary Terms Flashcards
(109 cards)
1
Q
Alliteration
A
The repetition of initial consonant sounds
2
Q
Analogy
A
A comparison between two or more things that are similar in some ways but otherwise unalike
3
Q
Anecdote
A
A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event
4
Q
Antagonist
A
A character or force in conflict with the main character
5
Q
Atmosphere
A
Mood
6
Q
Autobiography
A
The story of the writer’s own life, told by the writer
7
Q
Biography
A
A form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person
8
Q
Character
A
A person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work
9
Q
Main/Major Character
A
The most important character in a story
10
Q
Minor Character
A
A character who takes part in the action but is not the focus of attention
11
Q
Flat Character
A
A character that is one-sided and often stereotypical
12
Q
Round Character
A
A character who is fully developed and exhibits many traits–often both faults and virtues
13
Q
Dynamic Character
A
A character who changes or grows during the course of the work
14
Q
Static Character
A
A character who does not change
15
Q
Characterization
A
The act of creating and developing a character
16
Q
Climax
A
Turning Point
17
Q
Comedy
A
A literary work, especially a play, which is light, often humorous or satirical, and ends happily
18
Q
Concrete Poem
A
A poem with a shape that suggests its subject
19
Q
Conflict
A
A struggle between opposing forces
20
Q
External Conflict
A
A conflict in which a character struggles against some outside force
21
Q
Internal Conflict
A
A conflict that takes place within the mind of a character
22
Q
Connotations
A
The set of ideas associated with a word it in addition to its explicit meaning
23
Q
Denotation
A
The dictionary definition of a word
24
Q
Description
A
A portrait, in words
25
Development
The increasing of the conflict in the plot
26
Dialect
The form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group
27
Dialogue
A conversation between characters
28
Drama
A story written to be performed by actors that is divided into acts, which are divided into scenes
29
Essay
A short nonfiction work about a particular subject
30
Informal Essay
An essay that uses casual or conversational language
31
Historical Essay
An essay that gives facts, explanations, and insights about historical events
32
Expository Essay
An essay that explains an idea by breaking it down
33
Narrative Essay
An essay that tells a story about a real-life experience
34
Informational Essay
An essay that explains a process
35
Persuasive Essay
An essay that offers an opinion and supports it
36
Exposition
The introduction, or the part of the work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation
37
Expository Writing
Writing that explains or informs
38
Fable
A brief story or poem, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson, or moral, which is usually stated at the end of the fable
39
Fantasy
Highly imaginative writing that contains elements not found in real life
40
Fiction
Prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events
41
Figurative Language
Writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally
42
Figure of Speech
A type of figurative language, which is writing that is not meant to be taken literally
43
Flashback
A scene within a story that interrupts the sequence of events to relate events that occurred in the past
44
Folk Tale
A story composed orally and then passed from person to person by word of mouth
45
Foot
A group of weak and strong stresses in a meter divided by vertical lines
46
Foreshadowing
The author's use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story
47
Free Verse
Poetry not written in a regular, rhythmical pattern, or meter
48
Genre
A division or type of literature, the three major ones being poetry, prose, and drama
49
Haiku
A three-line Japanese verse form, where the first and third lines each have five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the poem is generally of a scene from nature
50
Hero/Heroine
A character whose actions are inspiring, or noble
51
Historical Fiction
A literary work where real events, places, or people are incorporated into a fictional or made-up story
52
Images
Words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses, and writers use images to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell
53
Imagery
The use of images, which are words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses, and writers use images to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell
54
Irony
Literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions
55
Journal
A daily, or periodic, account of events and the writer's thoughts and feelings about those events
56
Legend
A widely told story about the past--one that may or may not have foundation in fact
57
Letters
Written communication from one person to another
58
Limerick
A humorous, five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme, the rhyme scheme being aabba
59
Lyric Poem
A highly musical verse that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker
60
Media Accounts
Reports, explanations, opinions, or descriptions written for television, radio, newspapers, and magazines
61
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else, where it works by pointing out a similarity between two unlike things
62
Meter
The rhythmical pattern of a poem
63
Mood
Atmosphere
64
Moral
A lesson taught by a literary work, which is usually directly stated at the end of a fable
65
Motivation
A character's motivation can be needs, such as food and shelter, or feelings, such as fear, love, and pride, and a motive is a reason that explains or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech
66
Motive
A reason that explains or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech, which can be needs, such as food and shelter, or feelings, such as fear, love, and pride
67
Myth
A fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the origins of the elements of nature
68
Narration
Writing that tells as story
69
Narrative
A story that can be either fiction or nonfiction
70
Narrative Poem
A story told in verse that often has all the elements of short stories
71
Narrator
A speaker or character who tells a story, and the narrator can be from the first-person or third-person point of view
72
Nonfiction
Prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events
73
Novel
A long work of fiction
74
Novella
A fiction work that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel
75
Onomatopoeia
The use of words that imitate sounds
76
Oral Tradition
The passings of songs, stories, and poems from generation to generation by word of mouth
77
Personification
A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics
78
Perspective
The perspective is the point of view, or vantage point, from which the story is told, which can be third-person, where the narrator is outside of the story, or first-person, where the narrator is a character in the story
79
Persuasion
Writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader or listener to adopt a particular opinion or course of action
80
Playwright
A person who writes plays
81
Plot
The sequence of events
82
Poetry
One of the three main types/genres of literature, the others being prose and drama
83
Point of View
The point of view is the perspective, or vantage point, from which the story is told, which can be third-person, where the narrator is outside of the story, or first-person, where the narrator is a character in the story
84
Problem
A conflict, or a struggle between opposing forces
85
Prose
The ordinary form of written language, and also one of the three main types/genres of literature, the others being poetry and drama
86
Protagonist
The main character in a literary work
87
Refrain
A regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song
88
Repetition
The use, more than once, of any element of language--a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence
89
Resolution
The outcome of the conflict in the plot
90
Rhyme
The repetition of sounds at the ends of words
91
Rhyme Scheme
A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem, an example being abab, where the first and third lines rhyme with each other and the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other
92
Rhythm
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in spoken or written language
93
Scene
A section of uninterrupted action in the act of a drama
94
Science Fiction
The combination of elements of fiction and fantasy with scientific fact, and many science fiction stories are set in the future
95
Sensory Language
Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the five senses
96
Setting
The time and place of the action of a literary work
97
Short Story
A brief work of fiction
98
Simile
A figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas
99
Speaker
The imaginary voice a poet uses when writing a poem
100
Stage Directions
Notes included in a drama to describe how the work is to be performed or staged
101
Staging
The setting, the lighting, the costumes, special effects, music, dance, and so on that go into putting on a stage performance of a drama
102
Stanza
A group of lines of poetry that are usually similar in length and pattern and are separated by spaces
103
Surprise Ending
A conclusion that is unexpected
104
Suspense
A feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work
105
Symbol
Anything that stands for or represents something else
106
Theme
A central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work
107
Tone
The writer's attitude toward their audience and subject
108
Tragedy
A work of literature, especially a play, that ends in catastrophe for the main character
109
Turning Point
Climax
