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Details Title: English Description: Literary Terms Total Flash Cards: 34 Created: 08/21/2004 08:47:14	To study from this set of flash cards, or to create your own your own study flash cards, register HERE. If you are already a registered user, CLICK HERE.
Cards Term Alliteration Definition The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables. Ex: “on scrolls of silver snowy sentences” Term Allusion Definition A reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned; a covert indication; indirect reference; a hint. Ex:When a story mentions Eden, we are supposed to know what that means. Term Ambivalence Definition The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea. Ex: I hate everything about this man, and yet I adore him. Term Ambiguity Definition An expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context.Unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning. Ex: The two masons in "The Cask" Term Characterization- Antagonist Definition The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama. Ex: Montresor in "The Cask" Term Characterization- Protagonist Definition The main character in a drama or other literary work. Ex: Fortunato in "The Cask" Term Conflict- Man vs. Man Definition When two people are opposed of each other. Ex: Fortunato and Montresor in "The Cask" Term Conflict- Man vs. Self Definition When a character is dealing with himself; problems that are within him. Ex: A psycho man. Term Conflict- Man vs. Nature Definition When the character(s) are battling against nature. Ex: A storm that destroys a ship. Term Conflict- Man vs. Society Definition When the character is pressured and hated by all other people. Ex: When the brother of Doodle doesn't want to be known as the brother of a cripple in TSI. Term Flashback Definition A literary or cinematic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative. Ex: TSI's whole story is mainly a flashback. Term Foreshadowing Definition The act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand. Ex: "I shall not die of a cough." Term Hyperbole Definition A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. Ex: This book weighs a ton! Term Verbal Irony Definition A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant. Ex: The two masons in "The Cask" Term Situational Irony Definition An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected, the difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does. Ex: "I shall not die of a cough." He actually dies from being closed in a wall. Term Dramatic Irony Definition Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Term Local Color Definition The use of regional detail in a literary or an artistic work. Term Metaphor Definition A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison. Ex: Term Motif Definition A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. A dominant theme or central idea. Term Onomatopoeia Definition The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. Term Oxymoron Definition A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined. Ex: Jumbo Shrimp Term Personification Definition A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form. Ex: The flowers fragrence drifted through each room, whispering the names of our dead. Term Point of View- 3rd person omniscient Definition Having total knowledge; knowing everything. Ex: A fairy tale Term Point of View- 1st person Definition Where the main character is telling the story. Ex: The Cask of Amontillado Term Pun Definition A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words. Ex: Moose in Black Term Simile Definition A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as. Ex: Rocking back and forth like an empty cradle. Term Suspense Definition Anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation. Ex: Poe uses suspense in "The Cask" to get us to keep reading in order for us to find out what happens to Fortunato. Term Understatement Definition Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect. Ex: "Everything's gonna be okay." Term Paradox Definition A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true. Ex: Standing may be more tiring than walking. Term Protagonist Definition The main character or hero of the story. Ex: Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird Term Foil Character Definition Someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character. Ex: Joe is Pip's foil character in Great Expectations. Term Imagery Definition Words or phrases a writer selects to create a certain picture in the reader's mind. Term Mood Definition The feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader. Ex: Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations sets a mood of horror and fear. Term Setting Definition The time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs.