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Literary Terms Flashcards
for my summer assignments
102
Literature
11th Grade
07/23/2012

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Term
Flat (Characterization)
Definition

 

 a simple character thatis one - dimensional (shows one trait)

 Example:Mr.EwellfromTo Kill a Mockingbird

Term
Round
Definition

 

a complex character that is multi-dimensional (displays many traits)

 Example:Atticus Finch fromTo Killa Mockingbird

Term
Static
Definition

a character that stays the same from the beginning to the end of a work.  

Example:Calpurnia from To Killa Mockingbird

Term
Dynamic
Definition

 

a character that changes from the beginning to the end of a work. 

 Example:Scout Finch fromTo Kill a Mockingbird

Term
Protagonist
Definition

 

the main character of a work

Term
Antagonist
Definition
the character that opposes the main character of a work
Term
Characterfoil
Definition

 

a character that acts as an opposite to another character and, because of this, emphasizes the differences between them

Term
 Narrator
Definition
a story teller of any kind
Term
First person
Definition
his perspective and refers to himself as I the narrator tells astory from
Term
Third person limited
Definition

 

narrator knows the actions,feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters

Term
Third person omniscient
Definition
thenarrator knows all the actions, feelings, and motivations of all the characters
Term
Exposition
Definition
the point in the plot when background information is revealed
Term
Inciting incident
Definition
introduces the major conflict in a work
Term
Risingaction
Definition
the early part of the story which builds momentum and develops the story’s main conflict
Term
Climax
Definition
the moment of highest tension in the story
Term
Falling action
Definition

 

the latter part of the narrative in which the protagonist responds to the events of the climax

Term
Resolution
Definition

 

an ending that satisfactorily answers all the questions raised over the course of the plot

Term
Conflict
Definition

the central struggle that moves the plot forward


 

a.  Internal (man vs. self)                  vs.

b.  External(man vs. man,man vs. nature,man vs. society,man vs.fate/

supernatural/machine)

Term
Irony
Definition

 

technique of detachment that draws awareness to the discrepancies betweenwhat is

and what seems to be

a.  Verbal:the use of a statement that implies its opposit   Example:sarcasm is a type of verbal irony

 

 

 

 

Term
Irony
Definition

c.  Dramatic:a technique in which the author lets the audience or reader in on a character’s situation while the character himself remains in the dark

i.  Example:In Romeo and Juliet, the characters think Juliet is dead, but the audience knows she has just taken the Friar’s sleeping potion.

Term
Irony
Definition

 b.  Situational:atechnique in which one understanding of a situation stands in sharp contrast to another

 i.  Example:A sailor is stranded in a boat, surrounded by water, but he is dying of thirst. We would expect him to have all the water in the world or for a sailor—if he were to die ANY way, by drowning in waterbut, he is actually dying from a lack of drinkable water.

 

Term
Symbol
Definition

 

:  a concrete thing that is used to represent an abstract idea or concept

a.  Example:The American flag (aconcrete object) represents freedom, patriotism, liberty (abstract concepts)

Term
Figures of speech
Definition

 

language not meant to be taken literally

a.  Metaphor:  a direct comparison between two unlike things

i.  Example:ShakespeareAll the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…”

Term
Figures of speech
Definition

 

Simile:  an indirect comparison between two unlike things usinglikeoras”

i.  Example:Carl SandburgLife is like anonion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.

Term
Figures of speech
Definition

 

Personification:giving human attributes to animals, objects, orideas

i.  Example:Emily DickinsonBecause I could not stop for Death, /he kindly stopped for me…”

1.  Giving Death the human characteristic of kindly” stopping

Term
Mood
Definition

 

the atmosphere of a work (as the reader experiences it)

Term
Tone
Definition
a writer’s attitude toward his/her subject
Term
Diction
Definition

awriter’s word choices

 

a.  Denotation:the dictionary definition of a word

i.  Group = more than one; this is a neutral definition and there a real l types of groups

b.  Connotation:the implied, suggested, orloaded” meaning attached to aword.

(Words can have the same denotative meaning, but very different connotative meanings.)

Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
hints about what will happen later in the story
Term
Flashback
Definition
an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative
Term
Setting
Definition
the time and place in which a story occurs
Term
Theme
Definition
the central, universal idea  explored in a literary work
Term
Allegory
Definition

 

a story with multiple levels of meaning – a literal level (what is ACUTALLY happening in the story) and a deeper, more symbolic level (commenting on religion, society, politics, etc.)

Term
Syntax
Definition
the way a writer chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences
Term
Rhetorical question
Definition

 

aquestion asked to emphasize a point, with no answer really expected

Term
.Appeal to ethos
Definition
anappealtoaperson’s character, credibility, sincerity, or trustworthiness
Term
Appeal to pathos
Definition
an appeal to a person’s emotions
Term
Appeal to logos
Definition
anappeal to a person’s sense of logic
Term
 Pathetic fallacy
Definition
when events that are happening in nature (the setting) mimic what is happening in the plot of a story
Term
Analogy
Definition
a comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
the association of two contrary terms side by side
Term
Paradox
Definition
a statement that appears to be contradictory or absurd on the surface, but actually expresses a deeper truth
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
an excessive over statement or exaggeration
Term
 Anachronism
Definition
anything out of its proper historical time
Term
Allusions
Definition

a reference to something that is believed to becommonlyknown

 

a.  Biblical:a reference to the Bible (alsocalled, more generally,religiousallusion)

b.  Classical:areference to GreekorRomanmythology

c.  Historical:a referencetoanimportanthistoricaleventd. Literary: areference toafamous work ofliterature

Term
Rhetoricalmodes
Definition

patterns of organization developed to achieve a specific purpose  Narration:writing that tells a story

b.  Description:writing that describes

c.  Persuasion/argumentation: writing that tries to convince the reader of a particular point

d.  Exposition: writing that explains

Term
 Speaker
Definition
the author, speaker, or person whose perspective (real orimagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing
Term
Persona
Definition

 

the speaker, voice, or character assumed by an author (the mask” the writer wears when telling a story)

Term
 Organization (Poetry)
Definition

 

a.  Stanza:  grouping of lines in a poem

b.  Couplet:two successive rhymed lines that are equa lin length   Quatrain:  a four-line stanza

d.  Sestet:a six-line stanza

e.  Octave:  an eight-line stanza

Term
Sound devices (Poetry)
Definition

 

.  Rhyme scheme:the pattern ofrhyme in a poem
Slant rhyme:an imperfect rhyme
Alliteration:repetition of similar sounds at the beginning of words

Assonance:  repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words


Term
syntacticaldevices
Definition

 

a.  End-stopped line:when there is a break at the end of a line of poetry indicated by a comma, period, semicolon, or other punctuation mark

b.  Caesura: an abrupt break in themiddle of alineof poetry

c.  Enjambment:a line of poetrythat continues into the next linewith no break

d.  Refrain:aphrase or group oflinesthat is repeated at significant moments in apoem

Term
Dialogue
Definition
speech between two or more characters
Term
Monologue
Definition

 

speech from one person

Term
 Interiormonologue
Definition
a record of acharacter’s thoughts
Term
Aside
Definition

 

when a character in a play speaks directly to the audience,but the othercharacters onthe stage cannot hear his words

Term
Soliloquy
Definition
when a character, alone on the stage, speaks her thoughts aloud
Term
Act
Definition
the major (larger) section in to which a playis divided
Term
Scene
Definition
the smaller sections into which an act is divided
Term
Stagedirections
Definition

 

instructions written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions,movements of performers, or production requirements

 

Term
Adonis
Definition

 

a very handsome young man [fromAdonis,the handsome young man lovedby

Aphrodite,goddessoflove)

Term
 Aegis
Definition

 

shield orprotection; sponsorship[from aegis, protective shield ofZeus, king of the

Greek gods]

Term
Amazon
Definition

 

tall, strong,boldwoman[fromtheAmazons, mythologicalraceofwomenwarriors]

Term
Chimerical
Definition
fantastical;unreal;impossible; absurd
Term
Elysian
Definition

delightful,blissful, heavenly

Term
Herculean
Definition

 

very difficult; requiring the strength of Hercules

a.  a hero of superhuman strength

Term
Hermetic
Definition
airtight; secret; mysterious; magical
Term
 Iridescent
Definition
having colors like the rainbow
Term
 Jovial
Definition
jolly; merry; good-humored
Term
Labyrinthine
Definition

 

             ful of confusing passageways; intricate; complicated

 

Term
 laconic
Definition
using words sparingly; concise
Term
lethargic
Definition

 

unnaturally drowsy, sluggish, dull

Term
mercurial
Definition

 

inconstant;unstable;subject to rapid and unpredictable mood changesa.  fromMercury, the messenger god

Term
narcissistic
Definition
in love with oneself; excessively fascinated and gratified by one’s own physical and mental qualities
Term
nemesis
Definition
one who inflicts punishment for evil deeds
Term
odyssey
Definition
 long series of wanderings or travels
Term
paean
Definition
song or hymn of praise, joy, or triumph
Term
 protean
Definition

 

 assuming different forms or shapes

Term
saturnine
Definition
heavy; dull; sullen; gloomy; melancholy
Term
 tantalize
Definition
to tease or excite a hope but prevent its fulfillment
Term
The Muses
Definition
someone’s source of inspiration, especially in artistic, creative endeavors
Term
Prometheus/Promethean
Definition

 

brave resistance to authority or rebellion against the established

order of the universe

Term
DelphicOracle
Definition
a prediction or message that is ambiguous and difficult to interpret
Term
Medusa
Definition

 

refers to a repulsive or terrifying woman

Term
Sisyphus/Sisyphean
Definition

 

a seemingly endless, perhaps useless task

Term
Scylla and Charybdis
Definition
to be caught between two equal dangers in which avoiding one means getting closer to the other
Term
Achilles’heel
Definition
a person’s area of particular vulnerability
Term
Sirens
Definition

 

anything that tempts a person away from safety and toward a destructive path

Term
Icarus/flytoo close to the sun
Definition

 

to fail or be destroyed because of lack of caution and

excessive ambition

Term
 Eos/Aurora
Definition
goddess of the Dawn
Term
Apollo
Definition
god of music and poetry
Term
 Hecate
Definition
goddess of witchcraft
Term
Hebe/Juventas
Definition
goddess of youth
Term
Atlas
Definition

 

a very strong person

Term
Cerberus
Definition

 

a dog with three heads who stood at thegates of the underworld and let dead souls in but not out

Term
The Fates
Definition

 

Three women who had the power to decide how long people would live and what happened to them.

Term
Harpies
Definition

 

a nagging woman

Term
 Laocoon
Definition

 

the priest inTroy during theTrojan War who warned of Greeks bearing gifts (the

TrojanHorse)

Term
Nymphs
Definition

 

 a beautiful woman

Term
Pandora
Definition

 

a curious, gifted woman who opened the box she was supposed to leave shut and let out all the evils of mankind except Hope.

Term
Phoenix
Definition
anyone who rises above severe problems
Term
Titan
Definition

 

any of a group of giants who ruled the universe one at a time. Zeus and some other gods finally ousted them.

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