Literature Final – Flashcards
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myth
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A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.
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cosmogonic
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pertaining to the branch of astronomy dealing with the origin and history and structure and dynamics of the universe
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puritanism
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the beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects)
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polemic
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An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion
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stanza
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A group of lines in a poem
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couplet
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A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.
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iamb
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A metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambic feet per line. (an iamb, or iambic foot, consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.)
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protagonist
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Main Character
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enjambment
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A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.
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voice
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(linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes
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blank verse
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Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
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alliteration
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Repetition of initial consonant sounds
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transcendentalism
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A philosophy pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1830's and 1840's, in which each person has direct communication with God and Nature, and there is no need for organized churches. It incorporated the ideas that mind goes beyond matter, intuition is valuable, that each soul is part of the Great Spirit, and each person is part of a reality where only the invisible is truly real. Promoted individualism, self-reliance, and freedom from social constraints, and emphasized emotions.
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gothic
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(adj). characterized by or emphasizing a gloomy setting and grotesque or violent ends; such a literary or artistic style; a type of medieval architecture SYN: sinister, eerie
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tone
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A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.
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prose poem
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usually a short composition having the intentions of poetry but written in prose rather than verse
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antithesis
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Direct opposite
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Romanticism
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19th century artistic movement that appealed to emotion rather than reason
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Free Verse
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Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
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Antihero
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A protagonist (main character) who is markedly unheroic: morally weak, cowardly, dishonest, or any number of other unsavory qualities.
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Personification
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A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
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Slant Rhyme
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rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme
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Dialect
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A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.
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Hyperbole
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purposeful exaggeration for effect
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Realism
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A 19th century artistic movement in which writers and painters sought to show life as it is rather than life as it should be
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Irony
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A contrast between expectation and reality
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Marxist Theory
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a theory that government is merely a reflection of underlying economic forces
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Allusion
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A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
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Metaphor
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A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.
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Modernism
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A cultural movement embracing human empowerment and rejecting traditionalism as outdated. Rationality, industry, and technology were cornerstones of progress and human achievement.
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Assonance
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Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity
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Setting
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The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.
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Plot
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Sequence of events in a story
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Tableau
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vivid description, striking incident or scene
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Tragedy
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A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character
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Theory of Omission
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the writing technique where the author only includes the certain details in his writing forcing the readers to slow down and make inferences
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Harlem Renaissance
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..., a period in the 1920s when African-American achievements in art and music and literature flourished
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Surrealism
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A genre of theatre that emphasizes the subconscious realities of the character, usually through design, and often includes random sets with dreamlike qualities.
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Magical Realism
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A genre of fiction in which elements of fantasy, myth, or the supernatural are included in a narrative that is otherwise objective and realistic.
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Spectacle
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An object, phenomenon, or event that is seen or witnessed, especially one that is impressive, unusual, or disturbing.
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Allegory
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A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions
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Metonymy
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A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
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Anaphora
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A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.
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Polysyndeton
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Deliberate use of many conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. Hemingway and the Bible both use extensively. Ex. "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"
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Elegy
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a sorrowful poem or speech
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Symbol
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A thing that represents or stands for something else, esp. a material object representing something abstract.
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Epic
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A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society
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Creative Nonfiction
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genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives
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Memoir
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Taken from a private diary or journal, it is the day-to-day record of events in a person's life, written for personal use and pleasure. It tells of the people and events that the author has known or witnessed.
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Motif
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A recurring theme, subject or idea
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Frontier Novel
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characteristics: brave fearless hero, loyal Indian companion, tests of bravery, and a last minute rescue
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Epigram
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A brief witty poem, often satirical.
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Narrative Arc
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Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution
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New Journalism
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mixing fiction techniques with nonfiction
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Intertextuality
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Conversation between texts
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Into The Wild
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Jon Krakauer
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Sexy
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Jhumpa Lahiri
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Fun Home
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Alison Bechdel
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Recitatif
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Toni Morrison
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Diving into the Wreck
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Adrienne Rich. "I am she: I am he"
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Howl
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Allen Ginsberg
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Battle Royal
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Ralph Ellison
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A Streetcar Named Desire
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Tennessee Williams. Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski represent Williams's two visions of the South: declining "old romantic" vs. the harsh modern era. Blanche is a Southern belle who lost the family estate, and is forced to move into her sister Stella's New Orleans apartment. Stella's husband Stanley is rough around the edges, but sees through Blanche's artifice; he ruins Blanche's chance to marry his friend Mitch by revealing to Mitch that Blanche was a prostitute. Then, after Blanche confronts Stanley, he rapes her, driving her into insanity.
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The Swimmer
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John Cheever
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The Negro Speaks of Rivers
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Langston Hughes
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Song for a Dark Girl
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Langston Hughes
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The Weary Blues
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Langston Hughes
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The Snows Of Killimanjaro
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A Rose for Emily
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William Faulkner
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Winter Dreams
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F. Scott Fitzgerald; Dexter Green works as a caddy and is skiing across the snowed in golf course. He meets a young girl who wants him to be her caddy. Upon his refusal, she throws a fit and hits her nurse with clubs. When his manager orders him to work for her, Dexter quits. He moves on to college and starts the most successful laundry chain in the Midwest. After selling the chain, he moves to NYC. We learn more about his climb to success... he fell in love with Judy, became engaged to another woman named Irene, and eventually betrays Irene with Judy. Things do not work out with Judy either. Exasperated, he sells the business and enlists in the military. After fighting in WW1, he returns to the city and discovers that Judy has married a man who cheats on her and leaves her at home to tend to the children. Dexter also learns that she has lost her beauty. Dexter mourns this loss as the final disconnection from his childhood.
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The Gilded Six Bits
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Zora Neale Hurston
