1258952
Description
Flashcards by mrdonkodonson, updated more than 1 year ago
|
Created by mrdonkodonson
over 9 years ago
|
|
| Question | Answer |
| Abstract | Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence |
| Acronym | An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word |
| Act | One of the main divisions of a play |
| Allegory | A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. |
| Alliteration | The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. |
| Allusion | Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. |
| Ambiguity | Vagueness |
| Anachronism | Something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time |
| Analysis | A detailed examination of something |
| Analogy | A comparison of two things based on their being alike in some way |
| Anecdote | A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person |
| Antagonist | A person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary. |
| Antecedent action | The part of the characters' experience which comes before the events of the story. |
| Anticlimax | A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events |
| Antithesis | A rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect |
| Antonym | A word opposite in meaning to another |
| Apathy | Absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. |
| Aphorism | A statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner |
| Archetype | A character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature. |
| Artistic Unity | The condition of a successful literary work whereby all of its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose. |
| Aside | An aside is a part in a play when a character's dialogue is spoken but not heard by the other actors on the stage |
| Assonance | When two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds |
| Atmosphere | Mood/Emotional Situation |
| Attitude | Tone. The manner in which a writer approaches a theme and subject. |
| Ballad | A form of verse, often a narrative set to music |
| Blank Verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter/verse |
| Cacophony | The use of words and phrases that imply strong, harsh sounds within the phrase |
| Cadence | Cadence refers to the rhythmic or musical elements of a poem |
| Catastrophe | Denouement. Conclusion after the climax. |
| Catharsis | Cleansing through emotional discharge |
| Character | A person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story |
| Characterization | Characterization is a literary device that is used to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story. |
| Chronology | The order in which events happen |
| Cliffhanger | A cliffhanger is a device in which the ending is abrupt with no resolution in order to create suspense. |
| Cliche | An expression that has been overused to the extent that it loses originality |
| Climax | Point in a narrative at which the conflict or tension hits the highest point |
| Coherence | Writing that is logically layed out and connected. |
| Colloquialism | Colloquialism is the use of informal words in a piece of writing |
| coincidence | A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned |
| Comic relief | Including a humorous character, scene, or dialogue in order to relieve tension |
| Conflict | A literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces |
| Connotation | A meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly |
| Caesura | A grammatical pause or break in a line in writing |
| Concrete | Existing in physical form, not abstract |
| Consonance | Repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase |
| Convention | A practice or device which is accepted as a necessary feature of a genre |
| Couplet | 2 lines of verse ususally in the same meter and joined by rhyme |
| Crisis | The turning point of tension resulting from earlier conflict in a plot. |
| Criticism | The practice of judging the qualities and character of literary works. |
| Denotation | The minimal, strict definition of a word, disregarding any historical or emotional connotation. |
| denouement | The final part of a play with the resolution of the conflict in plot |
| deus ex machina | A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an intervention of a new character, event, object. |
| dialect | The language used by the people of a specific area |
| dialogue | The lines spoken by a character or characters in a play |
| Diction | The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing |
| dicdactic | refers to literature that is instructional or informative |
| dilemma | A problem which has no desirable solution |
| dirge | A lyric poem or song commemorating a death and expressing grief |
| discrepancy | A conflict or variation, as between facts, figures, or claims |
| dissonance | The use of discordant sounds to create an unpleasant effect |
| dramatic irony | Irony where the reader knows more than the characters do |
| dramatic monologue | A literary device that is used when a character reveals his or her thoughts and feelings through a poem or a speech |
| dynamic character | A character who undergoes a fundamental personality change as a result of the conflicts he or she has endured |
| elegy | A type of literature, song or poem, that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died |
| empathy | Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives. |
| epiphany | The moment in the story where a character achieves realization or awareness. |
| Epic | A long narrative poem, often written about heroes |
| epigram | A short poem or verse that seeks to mock a thought or event |
| epilogue | a chapter at the end of a work of literature which concludes the work |
| epitaph | The final statement spoken by a character before his death |
| esoteric | taught to or understood by members of a special group |
| exoteric | suitable to be imparted to the public |
| episodic | Occurring in a long string of short, individual scenes, rather than focusing on the sustained development of a single plot |
| essay | A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject |
| eulogy | A speech or piece of writing in which you praise someone or something |
| euphemism | polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite |
| euphony | words and phrases that have a melody or loveliness in the sounds they create |
| excerpt | A passage or segment taken from a longer piece of writing |
| exposition | A literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters to the audience or readers |
| fable | a concise and brief story intended to provide a moral lesson at the end |
| falling action | Parts of a story after the climax and before the very end of the story |
| fantasy | Any literature that is removed from reality |
| fallacy | faulty reasoning dependent an unsound argument |
| fiction | literature in the form of prose that describes imaginary events and people |
| figurative | Departing from a literal use of words, metaphorical |
| first person narration | when the story is from the point-of-view of a character |
| flashback | Flashbacks are interruptions to include past events in order to provide background to the current events of a story |
| flat character | a flat character is a simplified character who does not change his or her personality over the course of a story |
| foil character | A character that serves by contrast to highlight opposing traits in another character |
| foreshadowing | a literary device in which a writer gives a hint of what is to come later in the story |
| free verse | poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme |
| genre | A category of literary composition |
| hamartia | the tragic flaw of the protagonist that brings his/her downfall |
| hubris | extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his/her downfall |
| Iambic pentameter | A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet where each foot consists of an unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable |
| imagery | use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas so it appeals to physical senses. |
| imitative harmony | A group of words whose sound imitates that which they are describing |
| implication | something implied as naturally to be understood |
| Inference | deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true |
Want to create your own Flashcards for free with GoConqr? Learn more.