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Antagonist

answer

Any force aligned against the protagonist

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Catharsis

answer

Purification that brings emotional relief or renewal

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Climax

answer

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

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Conflict

answer

Opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)

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Denouement

answer

The final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work

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Deus ex Machina

answer

In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem. An unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, esp. as a contrived plot device in a play or novel

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Genre

answer

A major category or type of literature

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Hubris

answer

The possession of excessive pride, which often surfaces in a character's defiance of authority or the gods

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Narrator

answer

The person telling the story

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Protagonist

answer

The main character embroiled in conflict

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Setting

answer

Where and when the story takes place

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Structure

answer

The arrangement or framework of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work; For a poem, how it is organized with rhyming patterns, meter, grammar, and imagery.

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Style

answer

The choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work

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Theme

answer

The main idea or meaning of a text

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Allegory

answer

A narrative or description having a second, deeper meaning beyond the surface layer. There is a literal meaning to the narrative or description, which also represents a higher meaning often relating to a system of principles or ideas

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Alliteration

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The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a word Examples: mirror, moon, money

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Allusion

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A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

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Apostrophe

answer

Addressing someone absent or dead or something inhuman as if it were alive and present and could reply

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Assonance

answer

Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words

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Blank Verse

answer

Unrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter)

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Cacophony

answer

A harsh, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

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Cadence

answer

Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

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Conceit

answer

Extended metaphor or simile, often yoking together two apparently unconnected, highly dissimilar ideas

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Connotation

answer

The implied emotional meaning of a word

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Consonance

answer

The repetition of consonant sounds at the end of a word Examples: spook, plague, sticker

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Dirge

answer

A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

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Dissonance

answer

Unpleasant or inharmonious combination of sound

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Elegy

answer

A mournful poem

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End-Stopped Line

answer

A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation

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Epic

answer

A long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds

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Euphony

answer

Any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds

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Foot

answer

One accented syllable with one, two, three or zero unaccented syllables Basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry, formed by a combination of two or three syllables, either stressed or unstressed.

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Free Verse

answer

Unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern or rhyme sceme

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Heroic Couplet

answer

Couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentamenter and written in an elevated style

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Iamb

answer

Metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

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Imagery

answer

Language in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses (sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell)

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Internal Rhyme

answer

A rhyme between words in the same line

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Irony

answer

A contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or occurs

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Lyric

answer

A type of poem that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world; Poem that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker; Different types include elegies, odes, and sonnets

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Meaning

answer

The idea that is intended

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Measure

answer

A particular metrical unit or group; The rhythm of a piece of poetry

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Metaphor

answer

A figure of speech indirectly comparing two unlike things; Does NOT use "like" or "as" to compare

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Meter

answer

Consistent rhythm The organization of stressed and unstressed syllables

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Ode

answer

A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject; A lyrical poem of elaborate metrical form and expressing enthusiastic emotion

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Onomatopoeia

answer

Word that imitate sounds it describes

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Pentameter

answer

A verse line having five metrical feet

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Persona

answer

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

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Quatrain

answer

A stanza of four lines

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Refrain

answer

A repeated work, phrase, or line or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanzas

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Repetition

answer

Repeating words or phrases for a stronger emphasis

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Rhythm

answer

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

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Simile

answer

A direct comparison of two unlike things, using the words "like" or "as."

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Sonnet

answer

14-line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter that focuses on single theme

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Soliloquy

answer

A speech given by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is unaware of anyone present who may be listening It is a way of letting the audience know the character's true thoughts.

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Stress

answer

The relative prominence of a syllable

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Symbol

answer

Something that has literal meaning and meaning beyond literal

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Tone

answer

The attitude an author conveys about the subject he is writing about

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Trochee

answer

A metrical foot consisting of one accented (stressed) syllable followed by one unaccented (unstressed) syllable

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Attitude

answer

An author belief toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience

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Sound Devices

answer

Elements such as rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and onomatopoeia - gives poetry a musical quality

question

Diction

answer

Choice of words an author uses to create an intended response and to reflect a particular style

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Euphemism

answer

A type of understatement replacing an offensive term with a milder one that is less likely to offend or be thought of as harsh

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Hyperbole

answer

An exaggeration used to emphasize

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Litotes

answer

A type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite

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Syntax

answer

The arrangement and grammatical relationship of words, phrases, and clauses in sentences; the ordering of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

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Mood

answer

The overall pervading feeling or emotion of the poem itself that is intended to influence the reader's emotional response. The feeling the reader receives when reading a work

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Narrative Techniques

answer

Methods of telling a story - point of view, argument, allegory, description, exposition, monologue, interior monologue, dialogue, stream of consciousness, manipulation of time

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Point of View

answer

Refers to a story's type of narration; the perspective/angle from which a story is told

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Rhetorical techniques

answer

The devices used in effective or persuasive language

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Satire

answer

Humorous writing or speech that is meant to point out the errors, lies, foibles, or failings. Its purpose is to inform and reform human behavior or society and its social institutions; The intention is to bring about reform

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Ambiguity

answer

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

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Convention

answer

A set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria (customs) of a particular world

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Denotation

answer

The literal definition of a word

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Didactic

answer

Any text whose main purpose is to teach or instruct

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Enjambment

answer

The employment of run-on lines, which carry the completion of a statement from one line to another without rhetorical pause

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Epigram

answer

A witty saying; A pithy, sometimes satiric couplet or quatrain which was popular in classic Latin literature and in European and English literature of the Renaissance and the neo-Classical era

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Literal

answer

Without interpretation or embellishment; the denotative meaning of something

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Lyrical

answer

Songlike; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.

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Metonymy

answer

A figure of speech characterized by substituting an aspect or detail from the experience, or closely related to the experience, to represent the whole experience; Figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea

question

Oxymoron

answer

A combination of contradictory terms

question

Parable

answer

A short, simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson

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Paradox

answer

A contrasting statement or phrase which illuminates a truth or insight

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Parody

answer

Humorous or satirical mimicry

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Personification

answer

Giving human qualities to an inanimate object

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Stereotype

answer

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image

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Thesis

answer

The primary position taken by a writer; serves as the author's point of view on a topic

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Verbal Irony

answer

Saying one thing but meaning the opposite

question

Situational Irony

answer

Where there is a disparity between appearance and reality; When a disparity exists between an actual situation and what is appropriate; When there is a situation with a recognizable oddity

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Dramatic Irony

answer

When the audience knows something the character does not

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Frame Story

answer

Story that Encloses series of frames/short stories

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Round

answer

A complex character with many qualities and traits

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Flat

answer

A simple character with only few traits

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Static

answer

A character that remains the same throughout a plot; doesn't experience change or grow as an individual

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Dynamic

answer

A changing character; one who undergoes awakening of some kind of grains insight

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Direct

answer

Characterization that occurs when the author tells us information about the character

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Indirect

answer

Characterization that occurs when the author shows the reader the character, and some determination of inference about the character is made by the reader

question

Stichomythia

answer

Line-for-line, verbal fencing match between two principal characters, used to retort sharply to each other in lines that echo the opponent's words and figures of speech

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Stream of Consciousness

answer

A literary technique presenting the thoughts of a character as they occur

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First Person

answer

Point of View that utilizes character to personally tell us about characters & actions

question

Second Person

answer

Point of View that uses a narrator who refers to you, the reader, as a character in the story

question

Third Person Limited

answer

Point of View that describes a narrator guide who is on the outside of the story; tells readers what characters do and say and creates meaning by detailing the thoughts, opinions, motives, inner feelings, etc. of one character

question

Third Person Omniscient

answer

The all-knowing point of view; The author knows everything the characters are thinking and feeling, and can relate any piece of information desired to the reader; Creates meaning by providing the reader with all the information available

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Third Person Objective

answer

Point of View in which reader observes action and hears dialogue but without the input of a narrator; like a self-guided tour

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Tercet

answer

A group of three lines of verse, often rhyming together or with another triplet

question

Foil

answer

A minor character whose situation or actions parallel a major character's

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Villanelle

answer

Fixed form poem consisting of 19 lines; 5 stanzas of 3 lines each and closing w/ stanza of 4 lines; The form includes repeating refrain, and the rhyme scheme depends on only two rhyming sounds

question

Syllogism

answer

Logical argument where the conclusion is inferred from 2 previous truths that this structure employs; "If only x were reality, but y is reality; therefore, we have z."

question

Iambic Pentameter

answer

A rhythmical pattern of syllables consisting of poetic lines of five feet of unstressed and stressed syllables

question

Rhyme Scheme

answer

The pattern of rhyming words in a stanza

question

Anachronism

answer

Something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time

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Analogy

answer

A comparison of similar things, often to explain something unfamiliar with something familiar

question

Anaphora

answer

Repetition of an opening word or phrase in a series of lines

question

Aside

answer

A combination of a monologue and a soliloquy in which a character reveals his or her thoughts as if there were no other characters on stage. The character speaks to the audience, but the other characters are not meant to hear what is said.

question

Ballad

answer

A form of narrative poetry that presents a single dramatic episode, which is often tragic or violent

question

Caesura

answer

A pause within a line of poetry. Usually a dash or comma will indicate the reader should pause

question

Characterization

answer

The creation and development of the people who take part in the story; Includes appearance, personality, behavior, beliefs, relationships

question

Colloquial

answer

Language that is conversational or informal. May contain slang or non-standard grammar usage.

question

Man Vs. Man

answer

Where the conflict is between people

question

Man Vs. Himself

answer

Where conflict is psychological; Character grapples with his/her values/morals or some situation affect his/her life

question

Dialogue

answer

Conversation between characters in a play or poem; Helps to develop a character

question

Drama

answer

Compositions in prose or verse to narrate a story involving conflict between one or more characters and internal or external forces, or both

question

Realistic Convention

answer

In drama, it is a convention which preserves the illusion of actual, everyday life

question

Non-Realistic Convention

answer

In drama, it is a convention which departs from preserving the illusion of actual, everyday life

question

Envoi

answer

Part of a complex poem that ends with 3 lines which include repeated end words sprinkled in the middle of the lines and then concluding the lines using some of the same 6 end words

question

Figurative Language

answer

Words that aren't used in their ordinary meaning (such as similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, understatement, etc.)

question

Flashback

answer

Action that shows better understanding by interrupting to show an event that happened in the past

question

Foreshadowing

answer

Method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come

question

Auditory

answer

Imagery of a sound

question

Olfactory

answer

Imagery of a smell

question

Gustatory

answer

Imagery of a taste

question

Tactile

answer

Imagery of a touch

question

Organic

answer

Imagery of an internal feeling

question

Kinesthetic

answer

Imagery of movement or tension in the muscles

question

Italian Sonnet

answer

A sonnet that has: 1 eight line octet and 1 6 line sestet Typically, octet poses dilemma that is answered in sestet Rhyme Scheme: ABBA CDDC CDECDE

question

Monologue

answer

A speech given by one person often alone on the stage. The actor speaks directly to the audience and is conscious of having a listener.

question

Motif

answer

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object or situation that appears in various works or throughout the same work

question

Overstatement

answer

Exaggeration of language in order to reveal a truth

question

Plot

answer

The sequencing of events in a piece of fiction

question

Realism

answer

A method or technique in fiction which provides an accurate portrayal of life

question

Regionalism / Local Color

answer

Stories refer to works recognizing the differences of specific areas of the country by focusing on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other particular features of the region

question

Scene

answer

Minor division of a play

question

Shift

answer

A change in perspective OR moving from one line of thought to another often signaled by words like: if, but, however or therefore.

question

Understatement

answer

A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or saying what one means with less force than the situation requires in order to reveal a truth

question

Universality

answer

How the theme of a novel or play applies to individuals, transcending race, class, gender, and other systems which tend to segregate individuals

question

Verisimilitude

answer

Creating an accurate and truthful portrayal of something

question

Voice

answer

The relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active and passive); OR The total "sound" of a writer's style based on diction, syntax, and figurative language

question

Commercial Fiction

answer

Fiction meant to entertain and meet the demands of audiences whose pocketbooks drive the production of such works

question

Literary Fiction

answer

Fiction created to express artistic intent and insight into important aspects of life

question

Reliable

answer

Narrator who is considered trustworthy

question

Unreliable

answer

Narrator who is NOT considered trustworthy; untrustworthy

question

Naive

answer

Narrator who is uncomprehending (child, simple-minded adult); he or she narrates the story without realizing its true implications

question

Intrusive

answer

Narrator who keeps interrupting the narrative to address the reader

question

Rising Action

answer

The part of a plot that leads through a series of events of increasing interest and power to the climax or turning point

question

Malapropism

answer

The comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound, but different in meaning. Functions to make characters look ignorant or amusingly uneducated

question

Pseudonym

answer

Fictitious name assumed by a writer who wished to remain anonymous or who chooses not to use her/his real name professionally

question

Romanticism

answer

Literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form. Characteristics: individuality, subjectivity, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary life vs. life in society, the belief that imagination is superior to reason, devotion to beauty, worship of nature, fascination with the past, etc

question

Sarcasm

answer

Harsh, cutting, personal remarks to or about someone, not necessarily ironic

question

Surrealism

answer

Employs illogical, dreamlike images and events to suggest the unconscious

question

Reliability

answer

The extent to which a narrator can be trusted or believed. The closer the narrator is to the story, the more his judgment will be influenced by forces in the story.

question

Aphorism

answer

A terse statement of a principal or truth which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation

question

Kenning

answer

A metaphoric compound word or phrase used as a synonym for a common noun

question

Proverb

answer

A short saying that expresses some commonplace truth or bit of folk wisdom

question

Synaesthesia

answer

The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another "He is wearing a loud shirt."

question

Synecdoche

answer

Figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole

question

Couplet

answer

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and that are written to the same meter, or pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

question

In medias res

answer

Latin for "the middle of things." The term describes the narrative practice of beginning a story in the middle of the action to involve the reader, and then using one or more flashbacks to fill in what led up to that point

question

Antecedent

answer

The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers

question

Asyndenton

answer

Conjunctions are omitted, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose

question

Parallelism

answer

Expressing similar or related ideas in similar grammatical structure; repetition of words, phrases, sentences that have the same grammatical structure or that restate a similar idea

question

Man vs. Nature

answer

Where the conflict is between a person and natural forces/elements outside of human creation/control

question

Comedy

answer

Drama that is meant to amuse the audience through wit, humor, subtlety, character

question

Poetry

answer

Literature that is written with regular rhythm and is usually expressive, imaginative, and relevant to the life and experience of the reader/listener

question

Prose

answer

Literature that's not written with a regular rhythm. Includes novels, novellas, short stories, plays, essays

question

Tragedy

answer

Drama that is meant to show the darker aspects of human existence that occur through nature of their own flaws

question

Stock Character

answer

a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics

question

Hamartia

answer

Also known as tragic flaw Character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall

question

Vernacular

answer

Everyday speech of the people

question

Roman a clef

answer

Novel in which actual persons & events are disguised as fictional characters

question

Pastoral

answer

Of, relating to, or being a literary or other artistic work that portrays or evokes rural life, usually in an idealized way

question

Polemic

answer

A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine.

question

Naturalism

answer

describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. implies a philosophical position

question

Minimalism

answer

Works that use short descriptions and simple sentences

question

Inversion

answer

Reversal of normal order of words for dramatic effect

question

Idiom

answer

Specialized vocabulary used by group of people

question

Homily

answer

Inspiration saying or platitude

question

Anecdote

answer

A very short tale told by a character in a literary work

question

Anti-hero

answer

protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of a hero

question

Archetype

answer

A term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader

question

Epigraph

answer

Brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a literary work

question

Epithet

answer

a word of phrase preceding or following a name which serves to describe the character

question

Farce

answer

type of comedy based on a humorous situation

question

Anapest

answer

Unstressed/unstressed/stressed

question

Dactyl

answer

Stressed/unstressed/unstressed

question

Spondee

answer

Stressed/stressed

question

Juxaposition

answer

Deliberately placing dissimilar things side by side for comparison

question

English Sonnet

answer

Sonnet that has: 3 four line quatrains, and 1 two line couplet Typically, a couplet that reverses, alters, or challenges the meaning of the preceding 12 lines in an ironic twist Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

question

Spenserian Sonnet

answer

A sonnet that is a variant on the Shakespearean sonnet, with 4 quatrains with interlocked rhyme scheme Rhyme Scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

question

Prose Poem

answer

Form of free verse that lacks the formal shape of poetry

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