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Karens Literary Term
Karen's Literary Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| allegory | a narrative technique in which characters representing tings or abstract ideas are used to convey a message or teach a lesson |
| alliteration | a poetic device where first consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in words or syllables are repeated. and in guise all of green, the gear and the man |
| allusion | a reference to a familiar literary or historical person or event. describing someone as a "Romeo" |
| apostrophe | a statement, question, or request addressed to an inanimate object or concept or to nonexistent or absent person. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, |
| aside | a comment made by a stage performer that is intended to be heard by audience but supposedly not by other characters |
| assonance | the repetition of similar vowel sounds in poetry |
| conceit | a clever and fanciful metaphor, usually expressed through elaborate and extended comparison |
| conflict | the issue to be resolved in the story. |
| connotation | the impression that a word gives beyond its defined meaning. horse and steed |
| denotation | the definition of a word, apart from the impressions or feelings it creates in the reader. |
| Deus ex machina | god out of a machine |
| dialogue | conversation between people in a literary work. characters debate an issue or idea |
| diction | the selection and arrangement of words |
| fable | a prose or verse narrative intended to convey a moral. animals or inanimate objects with human characteristics often serve as characters in fables. |
| fairy tales | short narratives featuring mythical beings such as fairies, elves, and spirits. |
| flashback | scene relived in a character's memory. |
| first person narrator | a story in which the narrator is a participant in the action. Refers to himself or herself as "I" |
| epic | a long narrative poem usually composed in an elevated style tracing the adventures of a legendary or mythic hero. |
| end rhyme | Rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines. |
| eye rhyme | rhyme in which the spelling of the words appears alike, but pronunciations differ, sew:blew, brow:crow, said:laid, dough:rough, laughter and daughter, idea and flea |
| fiction | contain factual information but made up by author. |
| figure of speech | an expression or comparision that relies not on its literal meaning, but rather on its connotations and suggestions. "He's dumber than dirt" |
| flat character | describes a character with only one outstanding trait. Stay the same throughout the story. |
| foreshadowing | arranging events and information in such a way that later events are prepared for or shadowed, beforehand. |
| form | the way the author expresses meaning rather than the content of that meaning. |
| free verse | poetry that organizes its lines without meter. Usually not rhymed. No organizing |
| genre | conventional combination of literary form and subject matter, usually aimed at creating certain effects. |
| hexameter | a verse meter consisting of sex metrical feet, or six primary stresses, per line |
| imagery | collective set of images in a poem or other literary work. |
| In medias res | in the midst of things. Author starts the in the middle of the story. |
| Irony | when a writer says one thing but means something quite the opposite. Discrepancy of meaning. |
| metaphor | a statement that one thing is something else, which it is not. "Richard is a pig." |
| metonymy | figure of speech in which the name of a thing is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. "The White House decided," meaning the president decided. |
| monologue | an extended speech by a single character. |
| moral | a paraphrasable message or lession implied or directly stated in a litereary work. |
| motif | a n element that recurs significantly throughout a narrative. An image, idea, theme, situation, or action. A beautiful lady who turns out to be an evil fairy. |
| motivation | what a character in a story or drama wants. |
| Onomatopoeia | represent a thing or action by the word that imiates the sound associated with it. "crash, bang, pitter-patter." |
| parable | a brief, usually allegorical narrative that teaches a moral. |
| persona | "mask" fictitious character created by an author to be the speaker of a poem, story, or novel. Persona is always the narrator of the work and not merely a character in it. |
| personification | a figure of speech in which a thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with humane characteristics. |
| plot | the particular arrangement of actions, events, and situations that unfold in a narritave. |
| protagonist | the central character in a literary work. |
| antagonist | conflict with the protagonist |
| sestet | a poem or stanza of six lines. |
| setting | the time and place of a literary work. |
| simile | a comparision of two things, indicated by some connective, usually like, as, than, or a verb such as resembles. "Cool as cucumber" |
| soliloquy | a speech by a character alone onstage in which he or she utters his or her thoughts aloud. |
| sonnet | popular for love poetry. fourteen lines, |
| octave | the first eight lines |
| quatrain | a stanza consisting of four lines. |
| stock character | A common or stereotypical character that occurs frequently. The mad scientist, the battle-scared veteran, or the strong but silent cowboy. |
| style | all the distinctive ways in which an author genre, movement, or historical period uses language to create a literary work. |
| symbol | a person, place or thing in a narrative that suggests meanings beyond its literal sense. |
| tercet | a group of three lines of verse, usuallu all ending in the same rhyme. |
| theme | a generallu recurring subject or idea conspicuously evident in a literary work. |
| third person narrator | a type of narration in which the narrator is a nonparticipant. Referred to as "he," or "she," or "they." |
| tone | the attitude toward a subject conveyed in a literary work. |
| tragedy | serious and important actions that lead to a disastrous end for the protagonist. |
| tragic flaw | a fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that brings him or her to a bad end. |
| tragic irony | a form of dramatic irony that ultimately arrives at some tragedy. |
| tragicomedy | a type of drama that combines elements of both tragedy and comedy |
| trimeter | a verse meter consisting of three metrical feet, or three primary stresses, per line. |
| understatement | an ironic figure of speech that deliberately describes something in a way that is less than the true case. |
| verbal irony | a statement in which the speaker or writer says the opposite of what is really meant. When someone says "How grageful you are!" after you have just tripped on something. |
| verse | single line in poetry or composition in lines of more or less regular rhythm. |
| slate rhyme | a rhyme in which the final consonant sounds are the same but the vowel sounds are different, as in letter and litter, bone and bean. |
| censorship | the control of speech and other forms of human expression; it is often (but not necessarily) implemented by government intervention. The visible motive of censorship is often to stabilize or improve the society that the government would have control over. |
| eye rhyme | rhyme in which the spelling of the words appears alike, but pronunciations differ, as in laughter and daughter, idea and flea |
| slate rhyme | rhyme in which the final consonant sounds are the same but the vowel sounds are different, as in letter and litter, bone and bean. |
| sestet | six lines |
| sonnet | love poetry, fourteen lines |
| round character | described in depth and detail in a narrative |
| stock character | popular character in a story does not have to be discribed. Common or stereotypical character that occurs frequently in literature. |
| flat character | character with only one outstanding trait. Stay the same throughout the story |
| monologue | an extended speech made by a single character |
| dialogue | a conversation between two or more people |
| libel | written defamation. radio, television broadcasts |
| slander | spoken defamation. words, signs or gestures |
| propaganda | Dissemination of information to manipulate public opinion. |
| eye rhyme | spelling alike but pronunciation differs. laughter/daughter, flea/idea |
| exact rhyme | identical sounds. go/slow, follow/hollow, disband/his hand |
| Haiku | form that has three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. |
| tercet | three lines of poetry |
| couplet | a pair of lines of verse that form a unit. aa, bb, cc, dd, ee...I think I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree. |
| quintain | five line stanza |
| quatrain | four line stanza |
| bias | rejection of ideas based on preconceptions rather than facts. |
| short story | detailed scenes, well developed characters, realistic |
| tale | summerized scenes; undeveloped characters/ usually lacks a clear moral |
| oxymoron | loving hate, cold fire, sick health, beautiful tyrant. |
| irony | form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. Brutus is an honorable man... Irony is that Brutus is not an honorable man. |
| Characterization | The techniques a writer uses to create, reveal, or develop the characters in a narrative. |
| Hyperbole | Exaggeration used to emphasize a point |
| Epiphany | A moment of insight, discovery, or revelation by which a character's life is greatly altered. Generally occurs near the end of a story |
| Soliloquy | In drama, a speech by a character alone onstage in which he or she utters his or her thoughts aloud |
Created by:
khmalone
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