Vocab Flashcards
(135 cards)
1
Q
Abstract
A
Complex style of writing; good and evil
2
Q
Academic
A
Dry and theoretical writing
3
Q
Accent
A
Stressed portion of a word
4
Q
Aesthetic
A
Appealing to senses
5
Q
Allegory
A
Symbolic meaning outside the tale itself
6
Q
Alliteration
A
Repetition of sound
7
Q
Allusion
A
Reference to another work or famous figure
8
Q
Anachronism
A
Misplaced in time
9
Q
Analogy
A
Comparison, two or more symbolic parts
10
Q
Anecdote
A
Short narrative
11
Q
Antecedent
A
Word phrase or clause that a pronoun refers to or replaces
12
Q
Anthropomorphism
A
Inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena are given human characteristics, behavior, or motivation
13
Q
Anticlimax
A
Action produces smaller results than one led to expect
14
Q
Antihero
A
Protagonist (main character) markedly unheroic
15
Q
Aphorism
A
Short witty saying
16
Q
Apostrophe
A
Address someone not present
17
Q
Archaism
A
Use of deliberately old-fashion language
18
Q
Aside
A
Speech (short comment) made by actor to audience, as though momentarily stepping out of action or stage
19
Q
Aspect
A
Trait or characteristic
20
Q
Assonance
A
Repeated use of vowel sounds
21
Q
Atmosphere
A
Emotional tone or background that surrounds the scene
22
Q
Ballad
A
A long, narrative poem
23
Q
Bathos, pathos
A
P: feelings
B: strains from grandeur it can’t support
24
Q
Black humor
A
Disturbing themes in comedy
25
Bombast
Pretentious, exaggeratedly learned language
26
Burlesque
Broad parody, takes style or form, such as tragic drama, and exaggerates it into ridiculousness
27
Cacophony
Using deliberately harsh, awkward sounds
28
Cadence
Beat or rhythm of poetry in a general sense
29
Canto
Section or division in long poetry
30
Caricature
Exaggerated portrait
31
Catharsis
Aristotle writing on tragedy "cleansing of emotion"
32
Chorus
Outside the drama commenting
33
Classic
Typical, accepted masterpiece
34
Coinage (neologism)
New word invented on the spot
35
Colloquialism
Isn't accepted at "schoolbook" English
36
Complex, dense
More than one possible meaning
37
Conceit, controlling image
In poetry, startling or unusual metaphor developed and expanded
38
Connotation, denotation
D: literal meaning
C: everything else the word suggests or implies
39
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within words (not at the beginning)
40
Couplet
Pair of lines that end in rhyme
41
Decorum
Speech styled to social station
42
Diction, Syntax
D- choice of words
| S- order and structure
43
Dirge
Song for dead
44
Dissonance
Grating of incompatible sounds
45
Doggerel
Crude, simplistic
46
Dramatic irony
Audience knows but character doesn't
47
Dramatic monologue
Single speaker speaks to silent audience
48
Elegy
Poem mediates on death
49
Elements
Basic techniques of each genre in literature
Short story, poetry, drama, nonfiction
50
Enjambment
Continuation of syntactic unit from one line or couplet
51
Epic
Long narrative poem, glorious or profound subject
52
Epitaph
Lines commemorate people at burial place
53
Euphemism
Word or phrase that takes the place of harsh, unpleasant, or impolite reality (passed away-->died)
54
Euphony
Sounds blend harmoniously
55
Explicit
Say or write something directly and clearly
56
Farce
Extremely broad humor today; neutral term-->comedy
57
Feminine rhyme
Rhymed by final two syllables
58
First person narrator
See point of view
59
Foil
Secondary character that highlights characteristics of the main
60
Foot
Basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry
61
Foreshadowing
Suggest in miniature, a larger event coming later
62
Free verse
Poetry written without regular rhyme scheme or pattern
63
Genre
Subcategory of literature
64
Gothic (novel)
Sensibly derived from gothic novels (18 century)
65
Hubris
Excessive pride or ambition leads to main characters downfall
66
Hyperbole
Exaggeration or deliberate overstatement
67
Implicit
Say or write something that suggests and implies but never directly
68
In medias res
"In the midst of things"
69
Interior monologue
Term from novels and poetry, not dramatic literature. Refers to writing that records mental talking in characters head
70
Inversion
Switching customary order of elements in sentence or phrase; done badly can be artificial looking
71
Irony
-statement that means the opposite of what it seems
72
Lament
Poem of sadness or grief over death of loved one
73
Lampoon
Satire
74
Loose and periodic sentences
L: Complete before it ends
P: not complete until final phrase
75
Lyric
Poetry that explores personal interpretation
76
Masculine rhyme
Ending on final stressed syllable
77
Means, Meaning
Discovering what's important; literal and emotional meaning
78
Melodrama
Cheesy theater, hero is very good and villain is very bad
79
Metaphor and simile
M: comparison or analogy stats one thing is another
S: like or as
80
Metaphysical conceit
Reserved for metaphysical poems only
81
Metonym
Word that stands for something with similar attributes
82
Nemesis
Protagonist difficulty
83
Neologism
Make up a word on the spot
84
Objectivity and Subjectivity
O: impersonal view
S: interior personal
85
Omniscient narrator
3rd person narrator
86
Onomatopoeia
Word that sound like they mean
87
Opposition
Pair of elements that contrast sharply
88
Oxymoron
Phrase of opposites
89
Parable
Fable or allegory (story to instruct)
90
Paradox
Situation that seems to contradict but doesn't
91
Parallelism
Repeated similarities for effect
92
Paraphrase
Restate in own words
93
Parenthetical phrase
Set off by commas to interrupt flow
94
Parody
Specific work exaggerated to ridiculousness
95
Pastoral
Poem in nature (shepherds)
96
Pathos
Feeling pity and sympathy
97
Periodic sentence
Not complete until final phrase
98
Persona
3rd person novel (non-first)
99
Personification
Inanimate object human characteristics
100
Plaint
Poem or speech of sorrow
101
Point of view
Prospective from which action of a novel is presented (different character or vantage point)
102
Omniscient narrator
Third person sees like God
103
Limited omniscient narrator
Reports only what one character sees
104
Objective, camera-eye
What would be visible by camera
105
First person
Character in the story, their point of view
106
Stream of consciousness technique
Author puts reader in main character
107
Prelude
Introductory poem to longer work of verse
108
Protagonist
Main character of a novel or play
109
Pun
Usually humorous use of word in such a way to suggest 2 or more meanings
110
Refrain
Line or set of lines repeated several times
111
Requiem
Song or prayer for the dead
112
Rhapsody
Intensely passionate verse to love or praise
113
Rhetorical question
Question suggests the answer
114
Satire
Common character flaws to the cold light of humor; improve things by pointing out mistakes
115
Simile
Like or as
116
Soliloquy
Speech by character alone on stage
117
Stanza
group of lines in a verse
118
Stock characters
Standard or clichéd character types: the drunk, miser, foolish girl
119
Stream of consciousness
Reader inside main character
120
Subjective
Interior or personal view
121
Subjective mood
Hypothetical situation, wishful thinking
122
Suggest
Imply, infer, indicate
123
Summary
Simple reselling of what was read
124
Suspension of disbelief
Accept limitations of staging and supplying details with their imaginations
125
Symbolism
Device in literature where an object represents an idea
126
Syntax
Order and structure of words
127
Technique
Method and tools of an author
128
Theme
Main idea of the overall work, central idea
129
Thesis
Main position of an argument
130
Tragic flaw
Weakness of a character in an otherwise good individual that leads to his demise
131
Travesty
Grotesque parody
132
Truism
Way too obvious truth
133
Unreliable narrator
First person narrator is crazy
134
Utopia
Idealized place
135
Zeugma
Use of a word to modify two or more words but used for different meanings
