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AP English IV- Parr > Literary Terms And Techniques > Flashcards

Literary Terms And Techniques Flashcards

(83 cards)

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1
Q

Alliteration

A

The repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Ex. Silence surged softly

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2
Q

Allusion

A

A reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.

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3
Q

Anachronism

A

Something out of its normal time period.

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4
Q

Analogy

A

A comparison that explains or describes one subject by pointing out its similarities to another subject.

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5
Q

Anecdote

A

A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event. It is told to entertain or to make a point

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6
Q

Antagonist

A

A character or force in conflict with a main character or protagonist.

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7
Q

Antithesis

A

Involves a direct contrast of structurally parallel word groupings, generally for the purpose of contrast.
Ex. Sink or swim

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8
Q

Aphorism

A

A general truth or observation about life, usually stared concisely and pointedly.
Ex. A penny saved is a penny earned

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9
Q

Apostrophe

A

A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person or a personified quality.
Ex. Oh Death, where is thy sting?

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10
Q

Archetype

A

The term is applied to an image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore and is, therefore believed to evoke profound emotion because it touches the unconscious memory and thus calls into play illogical but strong responses.

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11
Q

Aside

A

Words spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character, that are not supposed to be overheard by the others on stage in a scene.

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12
Q

Assonance

A

The repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables
Ex. Purple curtain; young love

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13
Q

Character

A

A person, animal, or a natural force presented as a person appearing in a literary work.

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14
Q

Dynamic character

A

Undergoes change

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15
Q

Static character

A

Stays the same

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16
Q

Flat character

A

Has only one or two personality traits. He or she is one dimensional and can be summed up by a single phrase

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17
Q

Round character

A

Has more dimensions to his or her personality. He or she is complex and multi faced, like real people.

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18
Q

Climax

A

The point of greatest emotion or suspense in a plot; the high point.

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19
Q

Colloquialism

A

An expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing. A colloquialism lies between the upper level of dignified formal, academic, or “literary” language and the lower level of slang.
Ex. Yeah

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20
Q

Conflict

A

A struggle between opposing forces or characters in a literary work.

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21
Q

External

A

Conflict between persons, between a person and nature, between a person and society.

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22
Q

Internal

A

Conflict within a person struggling for mastery within a person’s mind
Ex. Conscience

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23
Q

Consonance

A

The repetition in tow or more words of final consonants in stressed syllables.
Ex. East and west

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24
Q

Controlling image

A

An image or metaphor which runs throughout the work.

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25
Coupiet
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.
26
Denouement
All the problems or mysteries of the plot are unraveled; resolution.
27
Description
A portrait in words of a person, place, or object.
28
Details
The facts given by the author or speaker as support for the attitude or tone.
29
Dialect
The form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group. Pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure are affected by dialect to give a story “local color”.
30
Narrator
A speaker or character who tells a story. The narrator may be either a character in the story or an outside observer.
31
First person narrator
A character in a story who is telling the story. Readers see only what this character sees, hears, etc.
32
Omniscient narrator
An all-knowing third-person narrator. This type of narrator can reveal to readers what the characters think and feeling.
33
Onomatopoeia
The use of words that imitate sounds
34
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas Ex. Jumbo shrimp; big baby
35
Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses the truth
36
Parallelism
The repetition of grammatical structure
37
Personification
A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given a human characteristics
38
Plot
The sequence of events or actions in a literary work
39
Point of view
The vantage point from which a story is told
40
First person POV
The story is told by one of the characters in his or her own words, and the reader is told only what this character knows and observes
41
Third person POV
The narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of just one character
42
Omniscient
All knowing observer who describes and comments on all the characters and actions in a story
43
Protagonist
The central character of a drama, novel, shirt story, or narrative poem
44
Pun
A play on words based on different meanings of words that sound alike
45
Quatrain
A stanza or poem made up of four lines, usually with a definite rhythm and rhyme scheme
46
Refrain
A word, phrase, line, or group of lines repeated regularly in a poem, usually at the end of each stanza
47
Repetition
The use, more than one, of any element of language— a sound, a word, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence
48
Rhetoric
The art of using words effectively in speech or writing
49
Rhetorical shift
A change form one tone, attitude, etc. | look for keywords like but, however, even though, although, yet, etc.
50
Rhyme
The repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem
51
Approximate/Slant rhyme
Two words are alike in some sounds, but do not rhyme exactly | Ex. Now & know
52
End rhyme
Occurring at the ends of lines
53
Internal rhyme
Occurring within a line
54
Rhyme scheme
The pattern of end rhymes
55
Rhythm
The arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into a pattern
56
Sarcasm
A type of irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it
57
Sensory language
Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the senses
58
Setting
The time and place of the action of a literary work
59
Simile
A figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects Ex. She is as flighty as a sparrow
60
Soliloquy
An extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage
61
Stanza
A group of lines in a poem, considered as a unit
62
Subplot
A second, less important plot within a story
63
Surprise ending
A conclusion TVs violates the expectations of the reader but in a way that is both logical and believable
64
Symbol
Anything that stands for at represents something else. An object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but it also represents abstract ideas Ex. Rose=love; flag=country
65
Synecdoche
A form of metaphor in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole thing Ex. Star and stripes=flag
66
Concrete poem
A poem with a shape that suggests its subject
67
Dramatic dialogue
A poem which contains dialogue
68
Dramatic monologue
A poem in which a character speaks to one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed
69
Dramatic poetry
Poetry that involves the techniques of drama
70
Elegy
A poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual
71
Epic
A long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger than life hero who embodies the values of a particular society
72
Epitaph
An inscription on a gravestone or a commemoration poem written as if it were for that purpose
73
Free verse
Unrhymed poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern to meter. It seeks to capture the rhythms of speech
74
Haiku
A three line Japanese verse form typically containing 17 syllables
75
Limerick
A humorous rhyming five line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme
76
Lyric poem
Verse that expresses the personal observations and feelings of a single speaker
77
Narrative poem
A poem that tells a story
78
Ode
A complex and often lengthy lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some lofty or serious subject
79
Sonnet
A fourteen line poem usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter
80
Shakespeare/ English sonnet
Consists is three quatrains and a couplet. The most common rhyme scheme being: abab cdcd efef gg
81
Petrarchan/ Italian sonnet
Consists of an octave and sestet with the rhyme scheme being: abbaabba cdecde
82
Spenserian sonnet
Consists of three quatrains and a couplet but it uses a rhyme scheme that links the quatrains: abab bcbc cdcd ee
83
Spiritual
A folk song usually on a religious theme

AP English IV- Parr (1 decks)

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