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Literary Criticism > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

0
Q

Simile

A

A figure in which a similarity between two objects is directly expressed. Most are introduced by as, like, than, liken, or resemble.

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1
Q

Elegy

A

A sustained formal poem setting forth meditations on death or another solemn theme.

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2
Q

Metaphor

A

An analogy identifying one object with another and ascribing to the first object one or more qualities of the second.

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3
Q

Heteromerous Rhyme (Mosaic Rhyme)

A

A fairly rare species of multiple rhyme where one word is forced into a rhyme with to or more words. Ex. “Intellectual” with “you all”

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4
Q

Senryu

A

A form of Japanese poetry that states- in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables- a different spirit, relying on humor or satire rather than related to the seasons.

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5
Q

Sigmatism

A

Frequent use of the “s” sound or a faulty enunciation.

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6
Q

Sonnet

A

A poem of 14 lines following one of several set rhyme schemes.

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7
Q

Elision

A

The omission of part of a word. Ex. “Th’ orient” for “the orient”

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8
Q

Rhyme Scheme

A

The pattern in which rhyme sounds occur in a stanza.

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9
Q

Feminine Ending

A

An extra metrical unstressed syllable added to the end of a line in iambic or anapestic rhyme.

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10
Q

Sestet

A

The second, six-lined division of an Italian Sonnet. Technically, any six-line poem or stanza.

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11
Q

Masculine Ending

A

A line of verse that ends on a stressed syllable, as does any regular iambic line.

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12
Q

Connotation

A

The emotional implications and associations that words may carry.

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13
Q

Tautology

A

The use of repetitious words. Repeats an idea without adding force or clarity. Ex. “Completely empty” or “ wholly devoid”

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14
Q

Couplet

A

Two consecutive lines of verse with end rhymes.

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15
Q

Denotation

A

The basic meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or associations.

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16
Q

Ploce

A

A kind of repetition whereby different forms and senses of a word are “woven” through an utterance. Ex. “Mail the mail”

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17
Q

Enjambment

A

The continuation of the sense and grammatical construction of a line on to the next verse or couplet. Also known as run-on line.

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18
Q

Parable

A

An illustrative story teaching a lesson.

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19
Q

Lay

A

A song or short narrative.

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20
Q

Quatrain

A

A stanza of four lines.

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21
Q

Mood

A

The emotional-intellectual attitude of the author toward the subject.

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22
Q

Tercet

A

A stanza of three lines. A triplet.

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23
Q

Volta

A

The turn in thought - from question to answer.

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24
Q

Theme

A

A central idea. Maybe thought of as the general topic of discussion.

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25
Q

Octave

A

An eight lined stanza. Synonym for “octet”

26
Q

Imagery

A

The collection of images in a literary work.

27
Q

Tone

A

The attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work.

28
Q

Polyptoton

A

The repetition in close proximity of words that have the same roots. Ex. The Greeks are strong and skillful in their strength.

29
Q

Masculine Rhyme

A

Rhyme that falls on the stressed concluding syllables of the rhyme words.

30
Q

Anaphora (Parallelism)

A

One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines or clauses.

31
Q

Metonymy

A

The substitution of the name of an object closely associated with a word for the word itself. Ex. “The crown” for a king

32
Q

Alliteration

A

The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in successive or closely associated syllables.

33
Q

Double Entendre

A

A statement that is deliberately ambiguous, one of whose possible meanings is risqué or suggestive of impropriety.

34
Q

Redende Name (Nominal Symbolism)

A

German for “Speaking name”. A name that is significant. Having a character that is a dentist with the name Payne is an example.

35
Q

Analogue

A

A cognate or a word in one language corresponding with another. Ex. Mother in English is mater in Latin.

36
Q

Echo

A

A subtle, complex, and multifarious acoustic phenomenon involving a faint repetition inside a work.

37
Q

Assonance

A

Patterning of vowel sounds without regards to consonants. The patterning may be successive, alternating, or chiastic.

38
Q

Synesthesia

A

The concurrent response of two or more of the senses to the stimulation of one. For example, “a loud shirt” or “ the sweet sound of music”

39
Q

Allusion

A

A figure of speech that makes a brief reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object.

40
Q

Idiom

A

A use of words peculiar to a given language; an expression that cannot be translated literally. Ex. “I’ll be there shortly”

41
Q

Feminine Rhyme

A

A rhyme in which the rhyming stressed syllables are followed by an undifferentiated identical unstressed syllable.

42
Q

Synecdoche

A

A trope in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies the part. Ex. “Wheels” for a car

43
Q

Meter

A

The recurrence in poetry of rhythmic patten or the rhythm established by the regular occurrence of similar units of sound.

44
Q

Prosthesis

A

The addition of a syllable at the beginning of a word. Ex. - “a-cold”

45
Q

Allegory

A

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, places, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings outside the narrative.

46
Q

Inversion

A

The placing of a sentence element out of its normal position. Ex. “House fair” or “lady beautiful”

47
Q

Anastrophe (Hyperbaton)

A

Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence.

48
Q

Paradox

A

A statement that although seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true.

49
Q

Symbol

A

Something that it itself and stands for something else. For example, a flag stands for a particular country.

50
Q

Rebus

A

A text in which ordinary verbal symbols are supplemented by pictures and other devices to suggest total meaning. Ex. - “IOU” for I owe you

51
Q

Antithesis

A

A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas. A balancing of one term against another.

52
Q

Litotes

A

A form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite. For example, “not unbecoming” or “not bad” for good

53
Q

Pun

A

A play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings.

54
Q

Oxymoron

A

A self-contradictory combination of words or smaller verbal units.

55
Q

Haiku

A

A form of Japanese poetry that states- in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables a clear picture designed to arouse a distinct emotion. Usually about nature.

56
Q

Chiasmus

A

A pattern in which the second part is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed. Ex. “Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike”

57
Q

Consonance

A

The relation between words in which the final consonants in the stressed syllables agree but the vowels that precede them differ.

58
Q

Motif

A

A simple element that serves as a basis for expanded narrative; or, less strictly, a conventional situation, device, interest, or incident.

59
Q

Eye Rhyme

A

Rhyme that appears correct from the spelling but is not so from the pronunciation, as “watch” and “match”

60
Q

Apostrophe

A

A figure of speech in which someone (usually absent), some abstract quality, or personage is addressed as though present.

61
Q

Terza Rima

A

A three-lined stanza, supposedly designed by Dante with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc ded and so forth.

62
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

Words that by their sound suggest their meaning. Ex. “Hiss”, “buzz”, and “sizzle”

Literary Criticism (14 decks)

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