literary terms Word Scramble
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Question | Answer |
ad hominem | an argument made that (A.) appeals to a person's feelings or prejudices rather than intellect or (B.) is marked by an attach on an opponent's character rather than his contentions/arguments |
allegory | a story in which objects, characters, and actions are symbols of something oustide the narrative ex: NARNIA! |
alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds rachel relishes red roses :) |
allusion | a reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. Ex: Author Herman Melville names a ship that Pequod in Moby Dick. The Pequod trip is extinct, and this foreshadows the vessel's own extinction |
anachronism | something out of its normal time |
anastrophe | inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence Ex: yoda talk, and "yet never a breeze up blew" weird speak... |
analogy | a comparison that explains or describes one subject by pointing out its similarities to another subject |
aphorism | a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words ex: "life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting." |
apostrophe | a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person or personified quality |
apposition | the placing next to a noun another noun or phrase that explain it ex: Rachel, the coolest girl ever, went to axiom. |
asyndeton | condensed form of expression in which a series is presented without conjunctions. ex: her relatives encouraged me; competitors piqued me;she allured me. |
bathos | when a writer, striving at the sublime, overreaches himself and topples in to the absurd. the writing becomes melodramatic |
categorical assertion(or claim) | states how one thing relates to another in its entirety ex: EVERY flower is a thing of beauty. NO man is an island. ALL parents worry about their children. |
climax | when a writer arranges ideas in order of importance ex: i spent the day cleaning the house, reading poetry, and putting my life in order. |
connotation | the set of associations that occur to people when they hear or read a word ex: the word home evokes feeling of warmth, house does not have the same effect |
consonance | repetition of consonant sounds ex: evEN, heavEN, strivEN |
denotation | the dictionary meaning of a word ex: house means dwelling or abode |
details | the facts given by the author or speaker as support for the attitude or tone |
dialect | the form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group (pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure) |
dialogue | a conversation between characters |
diction | (word choice) to discuss a writer's diction is to consider the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language |
direct characterization | the author directly states a character's traits |
dramatic irony | a contradiction between what a character thinks and what he reader or audience knows to be true |
epanalepsis | repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurs at the beginning ex: blood hath brough blood and blows brought blows |
extended metaphor | it differs from a regular in that several comparisons are made and are extended throughout the passage |
first-person narrator | a character in a story who is telling the story; readers see only what this character sees, hears, etc |
figurative language | writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally ex: simile, metaphor, personification |
flashback | a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time |
foreshadowing | the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur |
hubris | derived fro mthe greek word hybris means "excessive pride" in greek tragedy, hubris often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero |
hyperbole | a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement ex: the story is as old as time |
image | a word or phrase that appeals to one or more of the five senses |
imagery | the descriptive of figurative language used in literature to appeal to one or more of the five senses "the sky was dark and gloomy, the air was damp and raw, the streets were wet and sloppy." |
indirect characterization | the conclusions a reader draws about a character based on the appearance, behavior, speech, private thoughts, effect he/she has on other characters |
irony | the general name given to literary techniques that involve differences between: a. appearances and reality b. expectation and result c. meaning and intention |
literal language | uses words in their ordinary senses (opposite of figurative language) |
litotes | (opposite of hyperbole) an understatement usually through a form of negation ex: "she is not unmindful" meaning "she gave careful attention" |
metaphor | a comparison between two unlike things not using like or as or then or resembles |
monologue | a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem in which he/she has listeners who do not speak |
mood | the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage |
motif | a simple device that serves as a basis for an expanded narrative... the motif is a recurring feature in the work |
motivation | the reason that explains or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or behavior |
non sequitur | a logical fallacy, a comment which has no relation to the comment it follows ex: she is thin; therefore, she is hungry (more on page) |
omniscient narrator | an all-knowing 3rd person narrator... this type of narrator can reveal to readers what the characters think and feel |
onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds "buzz" |
paradox | a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses truth ex: "for when i am weak, then i am strong" 2 corinthians |
pathetic fallacy | a form of personification where human traits are attributed to nature or inanimate objects having to do with feeling ex: cruel wind, angry clouds |
personification | giving human characteristics to nonhuman subject (any quality) |
pun | a play on words based on different meanings of words that sound alike ex: "son" and "sun" "I" and "eye" |
repetition | the use, more than once, of any elemnt of language a sound a word a phrase, a clause, or a sentence |
sarcasm | a type of irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it |
similie | a comparison between two unlike things using words such as: as, like, than, or resembles |
situational irony | an event occurs that directly contrasts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience |
style | a writers' distinctive mode of expression |
syllogism | a formula for presenting an argument logically.. it affords a method of demonstrating logic thorough analysis. it consists of 3 divisions: major premise, minor premise, and conclusion ex: maj-all libraries should serve the people min-this is a public li |
symbol | anything that stands for or represents something else... and object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but it also represents abstract ideas |
syntax | the physical arrangement of words in a sentence |
theme | a central message or insight into life revealed throughout the literary work... a generalization about human beings or about life that the lit. work communicates (it must be expressed in sentence form.) |
third person narrator | the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of only one character (limited) |
tone | the writer's attitude toward his/her audience and subject |
tongue-in-cheek | characterized by sincerity, irony, whimsy. if you say something tongue-in-cheek, what you have said is humerous, perhaps sarcastic, although at face value it appears to be serious ex: and we all know how devoted i am to extreme sports |
understatement | (see litotes) saying less than is actually meant, generally in an ironic way ex: when someone says pretty fair but means splendid |
verbal irony | the type of irony in which words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant |
anaphora | repetition when it is specifically used at the beginning of tow or more lines, clauses, or sentences ex: i have a dream... |
antithesis | involves a direct contrast of structurally parallel word groupings, generally for the purpose of contrast ex: it was the best of times it was the worst of times |
archetype | applied to image descrip detail plot pattern, character type frequently in literature; believed evokes profound emotion bc touches the unconscious memory & calls into play illogical but strong responses ex:rebel,womanizer,conquering hero,country bumpkins |
assonance | repitition of vowel sounds ex: the bOWS glided dOWN |
catharsis | moral and spiritual cleansing; an emphatic identification with others ex: watching a protagonist overcome great odds to survive can create this |
chiasmus | figure of speech where you reverse: ex: pleasure's a sin, sin's a pleasure |
deus ex machina | person or thing that suddenly appears, providing a solution to a diffucult problem. the person or thing is lowered to the stage by means of crane in classic drama |
ellipsis | deliberate omission of word or words which are readily implied by the context; it creates an elegant or daring array of words ex: this room was chill, because it seldom had a fire; it was silent, becuase remote from the nursery kitchens; solemn, bc... |
epiphany | a sudden change or realization which prior to this was not thought of or understood |
epistrophe | repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses (opposit of anaphora) ex: i'll have my bond! i need my bond! my love is my bond! |
epitaph | an inscription used to mark burial places |
epithet | word or phrase used in place of a person's name; it is charateristic of that person ex: Alexander the Great, Material Girl, Ms. Know-It-All |
euphemism | device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid unpleasantness ex: pass away instead of died |
homily | form of oral religious instruction given by a minister to a church congregation (usually gives practical moral counsel rather than discussion of doctrine) |
imperitive | command or order |
inversion | a change of normal word order |
juxtaposition | poetic/rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another |
loose sentence | follows the basic subject,verb, complement patter ex: a car hit him, just as he bent over to tie his shoelace |
malapropism | type of pun that results when two words become jumbled in the speakers mind ex: as headstrong as an allegory (speaker means alligator) on the banks of the Nile |
maxim | (similar to aphorism) an adage, concise statement, usually drawn from experience and inculcating some practical advice ex: win in doubt win the trick?? |
metonymy | figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it ex: the gov't is sometimes represented as the "white house" |
narrator | speaker or character who tells a story, could be a character or outside observer |
parallelism | repitition of grammatical structure, constists of phrases or sentences of similar construction and meaning placed side by side balancing eachother out |
parenthesis | insertion of words, phrases, or a sentence that is not syntactically related to the rest of the sentence. it is set off by dashe or parentheses ex: he said it was going to rain-i could hardly disagree- before the game |
periodic sentence | (opposite of loose sentence) sentence withholding its main idea until the end ex: just as he bent over to tie his shoelace, a car hit him. (main idea being that the car hit him) |
point of view | perspective from which a story is told |
polysyndeton | (opposite of asyndeton) deliberate use of many conjunctions for special emphasis-to hilight quantity or mass of detail or to create a flowing continuous sentence patter; it slows the pace of the sentence |
rhetorical shift | change of tone, attitude, etc. look for key words like but, however, even though, although, yet etc. |
soliloquy | a speech delivered by a character when he or she is alone on stage |
suspense | a feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work |
synecdoche | form of metaphor in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole thing ex: to stick your neck out for someone isn't just risking your neck but you as a person(whole) |
zeugma | object-taking word has tow or more objects on different levels: concrete and abstract, figurative and literal etc OR with tow different concrete verbs |
Created by:
lbanana217