Study English Literary Terms Flash Cards

 
Pile Management Card
English Literary Terms

loading
Epigram
A witty saying
Freytag’s Pyramid/Triangle
1. exposition- provides the background information needed to properly understand the story
2. rising action- the basic conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist’s attempt to reach their goal
3. climax (or turning point)- marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs.
4. falling action- the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist.
5. dénouement (comedy) or catastrophe (tragedy)-the protagonist is better off than at the story’s outset. The tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is worse off than at the beginning of the narrative.
Epitaph
A commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
Ambiguity
Uncertainty of meaning, usually caused by words or phrases that convey more than one meaning.
Verbal Irony
Figure of speech in which the speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says
Tone
The attitude of the writer towards the subject
Theme
An abstract idea or concept that occurs frequently in literature
Suspense
1) a feeling of uncertainty and interest in the outcome of certain events (10/6), 2) the growing of excitement felt by an audience or individual while awaiting the climax of a story due mainly to its concern for the welfare of a character they sympathize with, or the anticipation of a violent act
Soliloquy
A speech delivered by a character when he or she is alone on the stage.
Situational Irony
When the character/reader expects one thing to happen, and then another unexpected thing actually occurs
Round Character
A life-like, three-dimensional character. This character is believable enough to have actually lived.
Romance
Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental
Roman A Clef
A novel in which actual persons, places, or events are depicted in fictional guise.
Pseudonym
A fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role
Picaresque Novel
A popular subgenre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts in realistic and often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.
Persona
An actor's portrayal of someone in a play
Pastoral
A literary work stressing rural events and characters.
Paradox
A statement that contradicts itself
Parable
A short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
Novella
A written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.
Motif
A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
Mood
Atmosphere of a certain scene or setting
Melodrama
A play characterized by stereotypical characters, exaggerated emotions, and simplistic conflict.
Malapropism
The unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar: “Lead the way and we'll precede.”
Local Color/Regionalism
Fiction or poetry that focuses on specific features - including characters, dialects, customs and topography - of a particular region. Since the region may be a recreation or reflection of the author's own, there is often nostalgia and sentimentality in the writing.
Jargon
Language that is used or understood only by a select group of people.
Gothic Novel
Elements include setting in a castle, an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, an ancient prophecy, omens/portents/visions, supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events, high or even overwrought emotion, women in distress, women threatened by a powerful/impulsive/tyrannical male, elements of doom/gloom/horror, vocabulary of the gothic
Frame Story
A narrative structure containing or connecting a series of otherwise unrelated tales OR a secondary story or stories embedded in the main story.
Foreshadowing
A literary device in which the author provides subtle hints or clues that will occur later on in the story
Folklore
The traditional customs, beliefs, stories, etc. of a people, country, or region
Flat Character
Character with only one or two sides of a personality and can be summed up in one or two sentences. This character, or caricature, lacks surprises or complexity.
Flashback
A literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order
Farce
A light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character.
Fabliau
A medieval verse tale characterized by comic, ribald treatment of themes drawn from life.
Fable
A short moral story
Explication
To explain meticulously or in great detail
Euphemism
The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”
Epithet
A word or phrase that expresses a character trait of someone or something
Epiphany
A literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.
Epigraph
A motto or quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme.
Epic
A long narrative poem about a mythical or historic event (i.e. The Iliad, The Odyssey)
Elegy
A mournful poem
Dramatic Monologue
A poem that dramatizes someone's thoughts and actions; the persona of the poem talks directly to "us" or an unseen other.
Dramatic Irony
Situation in which the audience knows information that the character(s) do not know
Drama
A literary work in which the characters experience some sort of internal or external conflict.
Dirge
A funeral song or tune, or one expressing mourning in commemoration of the dead.
Diction
Choice of words
Deus Ex Machina
Resolution of the plot by the appearance of a new character or a god
Denotation
A word that names or signifies something specific: “Wind” is the denotation for air in natural motion.
Courtly Love
An idealized and often illicit form of love celebrated in the literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in which a knight or courtier devotes himself to a noblewoman who is usually married and feigns indifference to preserve her reputation.
Context
The set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event. This includes the political, social, historical, psychological and institutional factors that shape the way we understand the event
Connotation
The emotional response associated with a word as opposed to a word’s literal meaning.
Conflict
1) A struggle between opposing forces, 2) Driving force of the story (10/2), Different kinds of conflicts: man v. man, man v. society, man v. nature, man v. God/fate, man v. self
Comedy
A type of drama, opposed to tragedy, usually having a happy ending.
Colloquialism
A word, phrase, or form of pronunciation that is acceptable in casual conversation but not in formal, written communication.
Cliché
An overused word or phrase.
Characterization
1) Descriptions of a character that are based upon one’s interpretations (9/15); 2) The methods used by a writer to develop a character, which include (1) showing/detailing the character’s appearance, (2) displaying the character’s actions, (3) revealing the character’s thoughts, (4) allowing the character to speak, and (5) revealing the reactions, thoughts, or comments of others towards the specific character
Character Sketch
A brief narrative that reveals a fictional (or real) character’s traits or personality.
Canon
1) A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field; 2) The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.
Bildungsroman
A coming of age novel (i.e. Catcher in the Rye)
Ballad
A narrative poem that tells a story.
Aside
A literary device in which a character speaks to the audience (or another character), but is not heard by anyone else.
Archaic
The use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current.
Aphorism
A brief statement containing an important truth or fundamental principle. (i.e. Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see. –Mark Twain)
Anecdote
A brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience's attention or to support a generalization of claim.
Allegory
1) A representation of an abstract or spiritual meeting through concrete or material form; 2) A form of extended metaphor in which objects and actions in a narrative are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious or political significance and characters are often personification of abstract ideas. Thus, an allegory is a story with two meanings: a literal and a symbolic.
Allusion
A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some particular body of knowledge.
Place this card into pile: