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Literature
WGU - Literature terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Understatement | An ironic figure of speech that deliberately described something in a way that is less than the true case. |
| Tone | The attitude toward a subject conveyed in a literary work. |
| Theme | A central idea or statement that unified & controls an entire literary work. Author's way of communicating & sharing ideas, perceptions & feelings. |
| Synecdoche | The use of a significant part of a thing to stand for the whole of it or vice versa. |
| Symbol | A person, place, or thing in a narrative that suggests meanings beyond its literal sense. |
| Style | All the distinctive ways in which an author, genre, movement, or historical period uses language to create the literary work. |
| Soliloquy | In drama, a speech by a character alone onstage in which he or she utters his or her thoughts aloud. |
| Simile | A comparison of two things using a connective word such as "like" or "as". |
| Setting | The time and place of a literary work. |
| Monologue | An extended speech by a single character. |
| Metonymy | Figure of speech in which the name of a thing is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. |
| Metaphor | A statement that one thing is something else, which (in a literal sense) it is not. |
| Irony | A literary device in which a discrepancy or meaning is masked beneath the surface of the language. Saying one thing & meaning another. |
| Moral | A lesson or principle contained in or taught by a fable, a story, or an event. |
| Motif | An element that recurs significantly throughout a narrative. |
| Motivation | What a character in a story or drama wants. |
| Onomatopoeia | A literary device that attempts to represent a thing or action by the word that imitates the sound associated with it. |
| Persona | Latin for "mask". A fictitious character created by an author to be the speaker of a poem, story, or novel. |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which a thing, an animal, or an abstract term is endowed with human characteristics. |
| Denotation | The literal, dictionary meaning of a word. |
| Connotation | An association of additional meaning that a word, image, or phrase may carry, apart from its dictionary definition. |
| Conflict | The central struggle between 2 or more forces in a story. |
| Characterization | The technique a writer uses to create, reveal, or develop the characters in a narrative. |
| Assonance | The repetition of 2 or more vowel sounds in successive words, which creates a kind of rhyme. |
| Aside | In drama, a few words or short passage spoken in an undertone or to the audience. |
| Apostrophe | A direct address to someone or something. In poetry, often addresses something not ordinary spoken to (O, Mountain!) |
| Allusion | A brief (and sometimes indirect) reference in a text to a person, place, or thing - fictitious or actual. |
| Alliteration | The repetition of 2 or more consonant sounds in successive words in a line of verse or prose (useful for emphasis). |
| Allegory | A narrative in verse or prose in which the literal events (persons, places, & things) consistentlyy point to a parallel sequence of symbolic ideas. |
| Genre | A conventional combination of literary form & subject matter, usually aimed at creating certain effects. |
| Foreshadowing | A technique of arranging events & information in such a way that later events are prepared for beforehand. |
| Flashback | A scene relived in a character's memory. |
| Epiphany | A moment of insight, discovery, or revelation by which a character's life is greatly altered. |
| Diction | Refers to a class of words that an author decides is appropriate to use in a particular work. |
| Dialogue | The direct representation of the conversation between 2 or more characters. |
| Deus ex machina | Refers to the Greek playwrights' frequent use of a god, mechanically lowered to the stage to resolve human conflict with judgments & commands. |
| Hyperbole | An exaggeration, often extravagant; it may be used for serious or for comic effect. |
| Imagery | The collective set of images in a poem or other literary work. |
| In media res | Refers to a narrative device of beginning a story midway in the events it depicts. (A Latin phrase meaning "in the mist of things"). |
| Slander | damaging defamation by spoken words, or by looks or gestures |
| Libel | written or published; public defamation of a person or entity; can include published photographs |
| Plagiarism | unauthorized use or for or against one side in a disput; close imitation of language & thoughts of another author as one's own original work without indicating the source via explanation or citation |
| Censorship | deleting parts of publications or correspondence or theatrical performances; suppression of sensitive or offensive material |
| Bias | a personal & often unreasoned judgment; to favor or disfavor one side against another in a dispute, competition, etc.; a prejudice |
| Protagonist | main character of a narrative; central character who engages reader's interest & empathy |
| Antagonist | the character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the main character & gives rise to the conflict of a story; villain who causes conflict |
| Stock Character | appears repeatedly |
| Round Character | depicted with such psychological depth & detail that he/she seems like a "real" person |
| Flat Character | a simplified character who does not change or alter his/her personality over course of a narrative (also called "static character") |
| Hero | the principal male character or the one whose life is the theme of the story |
| Antihero | principal character who either lacks the conventional qualities of a hero or whose circumstances do not allow for any kind of heroic action |
| Parable | simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson |
| Short Story | a short piece of prose fiction; having few characters & aiming at unity of effect, tend to be more concise & to the point |
| Tale | something told or related; relation or a recital of happenings; a story or account of true, legendarym, or fictitious events |
| Fable | a fictitious story mean to teach a moral lesson; the characters are usually talking animals |
| Low Comedy | consists of silly, slapstick physicality, crude pitfalls, violence, scatology, & bodily humor |
| High Comedy | elegant comedies characterized by witty banter & sophisticated dialogue |
| Comedy of the Absurd | a modern form of comedy dramatizing the meaninglessness, uncertainty, & pointless absurdity of human existence |
| Comedy of Humors | a Renaissance drama in which numerous characters appear as the embodiment of stereotypical types of people, each character having the physiological & behavior traits associated with a specific humor in the human body |
| Comedy of Manners | where attitudes & customs of a society are critiqued & satirized according to high standards of intellect & morality; dialogue is usually clever & sophisticated |
| Satire | an attack on or criticism of any stupidity or vice in the form of scathing humor; used as a mirror to reflect society |
| Slapstick | humor depends almost entirely on physical location & sight gags |
| Tragicomedy | usually ends with exile, death, or similar resolution |
| Tragedy | a serious play in which the chief figures, by some peculiarity of character, pass through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe |
| Commedia Dell' Arte | a genre of Italian farce from 16th century characterized by stock characters, stock situations, & spontaneous dialogue; plot is an intrigue plot |
Created by:
sflippo842
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