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Literary Terms 6
Definitions
30
English
12th Grade
04/13/2010

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Term
resolution
Definition
the denouement or unknotting of the conflict or catastrophe of the plot
Term
reversal
Definition
a point in the falling action of a drama where the protagonist loses power
Term
rhyme
Definition
the repetition of identical or similar stressed sound or sounds
Term
rhythm
Definition
meter in poetry, recurring at even and regular intervals
Term
rising action
Definition
the exposition and complication in drama on its way to crisis or climax
Term
romance
Definition
a direct descendant of the epic; tales of adventures, strange lands, lovers, with an emphasis on the unusual -- the adventure itself is more important than the character
Term
run-on line
Definition
a line which has its sense carried over into the next line of poetry without pause; the same thing as enjambment
Term
sarcasm
Definition
verbal irony which is crude and heavy-handed rather than clever
Term
satire
Definition
a literary work ridiculing aspects of human behavior and seeking to arouse contempt for the object -- satire aims to correct by ridiculing
Term
scansion
Definition
the marking of foot and meter in a line or poetry -- to "scan" a line
Term
scene
Definition
a smaller unit of an act in drama or opera
Term
sestet
Definition
the last 6 lines of a sonnet, rhyming in a set pattern
Term
setting
Definition
the locale which contributes to atmosphere
Term
simile
Definition
a figure of speech which makes an explicit comparison between 2 essentially unlike things, and using the words "like" or "as" in making that comparison
Term
slapstick
Definition
farce that relies on physical contact and assault
Term
soliloquy
Definition
a speech in drama where a character speaks thoughts aloud while alone on stage
Term
sonnet
Definition
a 14 line formal poem, comprised of an octave (which sets up a problem or poses a question) and a sestet (which responds to the problem or question) and following very set rules of meter and rhyme
Term
sprung rhythm
Definition
a foot having 1 stressed syllable and any number of unstressed syllables following
Term
stanza
Definition
a unit or "paragraph" in poetry comprising a group of lines
Term
stock character
Definition
a conventional character of a TYPE, a stereotype that recurs in works (like the braggart soldier, the pious hypocrite, the imposter, the dazed/foolish lover, etc.)
Term
stream of consciousness
Definition
a literary device or novel type characterized by the flux of thought/mental activity ranging from complete consciousness to unconsciousness with lots of interior monologue
Term
stress
Definition
the "pitch" or accent on a syllable done by voice
Term
strophe
Definition
a part of a choral ode in ancient Greek drama wherein the chorus dances and sings a certain patter
Term
subjective
Definition
emotional, personal (but not too idiosyncratic) emphasis; interpretive
Term
surrealism
Definition
a movement to go beyond the "real" to the "super-real' which includes the unconscious, dreams, subjectivity, etc.
Term
suspense
Definition
uncertainty (often with anxiety) in writing; tension
Term
symbolism
Definition
a sign of something other than its literal meaning -- that image which stands of another or "higher" meaning than the literal one
Term
sympathy
Definition
empathy and pathos
Term
synecdoche
Definition
a figure of speech wherein the part is substituted for the whole, or the whole is used in place of one of its part: i.e. "I spy a sail" is synecdouche for "I see a ship,"
Term
synesthesia
Definition
a description of one sensory experience in terms of another -- "a fly's blue buss," "the smell of death," "I hear your eyes' message"
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