Prose and Poetry Terms – Flashcards
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Plot
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a sequence of events in a narrative that is carefully constructed by the author for artistic purpose
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Simple narrative account
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a chronological description of real events
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exposition
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background information on the characters, setting, and other events necessary for understanding the story are given
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complication
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the conflict is developed, suspense is created, and foreshadowing may be used
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conflict
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the interplay between opposing elements
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internal conflict
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protagonist vs. self
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external conflict
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protagonist vs. other(s)
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external conflict
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protagonist vs. environment
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technical climax
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the turning point in the plot at which the outcome of the action is determined
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resolution
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the events following the technical climax in which the outcome is actually worked out
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conclusion
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the final event of a story's plot
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dramatic climax
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the point of greatest interest or intensity to the story
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plotless short story
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a very modern creation that is pleasurable to read as it describes characters in a situation, but does not employ the development or the resolution of a conflict
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setting
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the represented time and place of events in a literary work
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character
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a fictional personality created by an author
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characterization
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the technique a writer uses to create and reveal characters in a work of fiction
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expository
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telling the reader about a character in a straightforward manner
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dramatic
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showing the reader what a character is like through descriptions of thought, dialogue, action, etc.
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motivation
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the reasons that cause characters to act as they do
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protagonist
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the central character in a work of fiction about whom the audience is most concerned
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antagonist
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the principal opponent of the main character
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round
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a character who is well described and whose thoughts and actions are revealed during the development of the story
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flat
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a character who is not well developed in a story, but who represents a type rather than an individual
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dynamic
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a character who grows, learns, or changes in some significant way throughout the story
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static
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a character who resists change or refuses to change during the school
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foil
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a character that contrasts in some important way with a more important character
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consistent
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a character whose speech, thoughts, and actions are what the reader has been lead to expect from that particular character
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stock
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a TYPE of character that is usually found in a particular literary form
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stereotyped
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a character created according to widely held, often narrow-minded, ideas
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point of view
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the physical and psychological relationship between the narrator and the story's characters and events
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narrator
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the teller of the story
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first person
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the narrator is a character in the story
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third person objective
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the narrator is not a character in the story and reports only what can be seen and heard
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third person limited
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the narrator is not a character in the story and reports not only what can be seen and heard, but also the thoughts and feeling of a few characters
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third person omniscient
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the narrator is not a character in the story and report what can be seen and heard, along with the thoughts and feelings of all the characters
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theme
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the controlling idea of a literary work that is a general truth or commentary about life, people, the work that is brought out in the story
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mood
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describes the reader's state of mind after finishing the story
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atmosphere
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describes the general feeling of the story itself
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style
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the distinctive handling of language by a writer through the purposeful selection of words and sentence structure
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diction
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selection of words
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syntax
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sentence structure
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tone
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the author or speaker's attitude toward the characters, events, or audience
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symbolism
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the use of something concrete to represent something abstract
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irony
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contrast between the way things are and the way they appear to be
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verbal irony
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a discrepancy between the literal meaning of a work and the meaning actually conveyed
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dramatic irony
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a discrepancy between knowledge held by the reader and a character's ignorance of that knowledge
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situational irony
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a discrepancy between the expected outcome of a situation and the actual outcome
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poetry
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a rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to emotion and imagination
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narrative
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a story told in verse form
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lyric
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a brief, personal poem that is especially musical and filled with emotion
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ballad
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a type of poem that is meant to be sung and is both lyric and narrative in nature
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simile
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two dissimilar things that are compared using words such as "like, "as", "than", or "resembles"
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metaphor
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two dissimilar things that are compared without using words such as "like", "as", "than", or "resembles"
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direct metaphor
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directly compares two things with a verb such as "is"
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implied metaphor
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suggests a comparison without using "is"
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extended metaphor
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a metaphor that is developed over several lines of writing
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personification
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giving human or animate qualities to nonhuman or inanimate things
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apostrophe
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addressing something nonhuman as if it were human
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literary allusion
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a reference to a person, place, or thing from previous literature
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hyperbole
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exaggeration for the sake of effect, for emphasis, not to be taken literally; overstatement
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irony
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saying the opposite of what is true
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antithesis
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balancing or contrasting one thing against another for effect
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synecdoche
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using a part of something to represent the whole thing
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metonymy
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the substitution of one word for another closely associated word
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paradox
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an apparent contradiction which proves, upon examination, to be true
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alliteration
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the repetition of the initial consonant sound in two or more words in a line of verse
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consonance
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the repetition of consonant sounds that are NOT at the beginning of words in a line of verse
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assonance
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the similarity or repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words with different consonant sounds
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onomatopoeia
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the use of words that imitate the sounds they define
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repetition
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repeating a word or a phrase within a poem
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refrain
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the repetition of one or more phrases or lines at definite intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza
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stanza
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a group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit
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couplet
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a 2 line stanza
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triplet
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a 3 line stanza
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quatrain
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a 4 line stanza
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quintet
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a 5 line stanza
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sestet
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a 6 line stanza
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octave
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an 8 line stanza
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rhyme
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the similarity or likeness of sound in 2 or more words
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perfect rhyme
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rhyme involving sounds that are exactly the same
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imperfect rhyme
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rhyme involving words that sound similar, but are not exactly the same
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eye rhyme
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rhyme that depends on spelling rather than sound
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end rhyme
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rhyme that occurs between words found at the ends or two or more lines in a poem
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internal rhyme
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rhyme between words that occurs within a single line of poetry
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rhyme scheme
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the pattern or sequence in which end rhyme occurs throughout a poem
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rhythm
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the patter of stressed and unstressed syllables in words in a line of poetry
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meter
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a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
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foot
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a unit of meter
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scansion
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the process of marking lines of poetry to show the type of feet and the number of feet they contain
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iambic
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u /
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trochaic
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/ u
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spondaic
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/ /
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pyrric
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u u
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anapestic
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u u /
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dactylic
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/ u u
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monometer
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one foot per line
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dimeter
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2 feet per line
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trimeter
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3 feet per line
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tetrameter
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4 feet per line
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pentameter
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5 feet per line
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hexameter
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6 feet per line
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heptameter
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7 feet per line
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octameter
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8 feet per line
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rhymed verse
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consists of a verse with end rhyme and regular meter
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blank verse
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consists of unrhymed iambic pentameter
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free verse
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consists of lines of poetry that do not have a regular rhythm and do not rhyme
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tragedy
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a drama in which the larger-than-life protagonist's actions lead him to commit an injustice which eventually causes disaster, often including his own death
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tragic hero
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a man of noble stature, with extraordinary qualities, passion or nobility of mind. he is basically good, but not perfect. must have a fall often ending in the hero's death. before dying, he gains self-knowledge
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hamartia
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a criminal act committed in ignorance of some material fact or even for the sake of a greater good
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tragic flaw
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a character fault: can be the result of an excess of a virtue
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catharsis
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the audience's reaction to the protagonist's fall
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propaganda
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a misleading persuasive argument
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ad hominem
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attacking the opponent personally instead of their ideas
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glittering generality
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a generally accepted virtue or "God-term" is usually employed to stir up favorable emotions
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card stacking
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emphasizes only the favorable points of a product or idea and does not mention the unfavorable aspects
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fancy figures
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using statistics to impress or overwhelm the consumer
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repetition
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tireless repetition of an idea/slogan
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appeal to fear
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threatening someone that something bad will happen if they dont agree
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appeal to prejudice
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based on race, ethnicity, social-class
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bandwagon
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reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning side
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testimonial
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celebrity endorsement of a philosophy, movement or candidate
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transfer
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shows important people to support a position, idea, argument, or course of action
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plain folks
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the "common man" approach attempts to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the common sense of the people
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logical fallacy
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one can usually draw a conclusion from one or more established premises; the premises may be accurate but the conclusion not
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sonnet
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14 lined poem written about love
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ode
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classical form with heightened, impassioned language, apostrophe where speaker invokes an object and develops a relationship with it
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meditative poem
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sounds like a person musing
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byronic hero
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an idealized but flawed character
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communism
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a totally classless society
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satire
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form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly
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allegory
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pretend to discuss a different topic than which is implied
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understatement
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reduction ad absurdum (shrink excessively)
