Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
202 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Historical Criticism
|
uses history to understand works along with social and intellectual currents in which the author wrote
|
|
|
Ethno Linguistics
|
a study of how language determines and reflects worldview of people
|
|
|
Tone
|
a literary element that reveals the author's attitude toward the writing, the reader, the subject, and/or the people, places, and events in a work; those feelings may be any thoughts or attitudes humans experience; the style reveals those attitudes to the reader. Types of this element are as follows: condescension, didacticism, irony, humor, parody, and sentimentality.
|
|
|
Condescension
|
a literary element in which the author talks down to the reader as if they are beneath him or her in age, class, or knowledge
|
|
|
Irony
|
the incongruity between what one expects and what actually happens
|
|
|
Verbal Irony
|
a contrast between what is said and what is meant (Ex: "The water is as clear as mud." --The speaker is saying that the water is not really clean.)
|
|
|
Situational Irony
|
a discrepancy between what happens and what the reader expects to happen (Ex: a vegan who eats something with meat because they are hungry)
|
|
|
Integral Setting
|
a setting that is essential to the plot
|
|
|
Round Character
|
a character who is fully developed
|
|
|
Flat Character
|
a character who is not fully developed
|
|
|
Dynamic Character
|
a character who develops or changes throughout a work
|
|
|
Tragedy
|
a dramatic work that presents the downfall of a hero, usually his/her death; this bad ending is the hero's own fault.
|
|
|
Short Story
|
a prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that generally describes just one event or a tightly constructed series of events; it must contain a beginning, middle, and end
|
|
|
Limerick
|
a humorous verse composed of five anapestic lines with the rhyme scheme of aabbaa, popularized by Edward Lear (Ex: There was an Old Man of Nantucket...)
|
|
|
Elegy
|
a poem with a mournful lament for the dead
|
|
|
Trochee
|
a foot that has two syllables in which the first long or stressed, and the second syllable is short or unstressed (Ex: from Macbeth--"DOUble, DOUble, Toil and TROUble..."
|
|
|
Octet
|
a group of 8 lines in poetry that share a rhyming pattern
|
|
|
Sestet
|
a group of 6 lines in poetry that share a rhyming pattern
|
|
|
Extended Metaphor
|
a metaphor introduced and then further developed throughout all or part of a literary work, especially a poem (Ex: Robert Frost's use of two roads in "The Road Not Taken.")
|
|
|
Transcendentalism
|
a religious and philosophical movement that was developed during the late 1820's and 1830's in the Eastern region of the U.S. as a protest against the general state of spirituality; writers include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
|
|
|
Antithesis
|
a person or thing that is opposite of another person or thing; a contrast or opposition between two things
|
|
|
Analytic Language
|
language that uses very few bound morphemes (i.e. -es, -ing, -ed). Example: the English language
|
|
|
Morpheme
|
the smallest grammatical unit in language
|
|
|
Haiku
|
an unrhymed 3-line lyric poem, usually focused on images from nature, in which lines 1 and 3 have five syllables and line 2 has seven syllables (think 5-7-5)
|
|
|
Imagery
|
descriptive language that creates word pictures (Ex: "A thick-yellow haze hung over the city blocking out buildings, blinding the sun."
|
|
|
Biographical Criticism
|
uses knowledge of the author's life experiences to gain a better understanding of the work
|
|
|
Cultural Criticism
|
focuses on social, historical, and economical contexts of a work
|
|
|
Affixation
|
adding a prefix or suffix to a word
|
|
|
Compounding
|
joining two or more words (Ex: "whitewash" and "skateboard")
|
|
|
Conversion
|
using a word of one category in another category without change (Ex: using the noun "comb" also as then verb "comb")
|
|
|
Stress Shift
|
changing the stress from one syllable to another changes the meaning and the pronunciation (Ex: "record" as a noun and "record" as a verb)
|
|
|
Allegory
|
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically moral or political
|
|
|
Metaphysical Poetry
|
a kind of poetry exhibiting a highly intellectual style, which is witty, subtle, and somewhat fantastic; poets include John Donne, George Hebert, Andrew Marvell, Abraham Cowley, John Cleveland, Richard Crashaw, Thomas Trahane, and Henry Vaughan
|
|
|
Analogy
|
a figure of speech used to compare one thing to another using similes and metaphors (Ex: comparing the world to a stage or the heart to a pump)
|
|
|
Blending
|
combining two words, such as "breakfast" and "lunch" to form "brunch" and "smoke" and "fog" to form "smog"
|
|
|
Anapest
|
a foot consisting of 3 syllables in which the first two are short or unstressed and the third is long or stressed (Ex: "in the FIRE" or "Twas the NIGHT before CHRISTmas, when ALL through the HOUSE...."
|
|
|
Prose
|
ordinary grammatical structure with no rhythmic pattern; natural flow of speech
|
|
|
Menippean Satire
|
a type of modern fiction which allows the reader to see the world through the eyes of another; characterized by attacking mental attitudes instead of specific individuals (EX: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
|
|
|
Monosyllabic
|
a word consisting of one syllable; also describes a person using brief short words to signify a reluctance to conversation
|
|
|
Meter
|
rhythmic patterns built on the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in poems
|
|
|
Backformation
|
when a suffix identifiable from other words is cut off of a base which has previously not been a word; that base is then used as a root, and becomes a word through widespread use (Ex: "self-destruct" from "self-destruction" and "burger" from "hamburger")
|
|
|
Anastrophe
|
changing the subject, verb, and object order in a sentence; also known as inversion
|
|
|
Synecdoche |
a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something (Ex: "coke" for all carbonated drinks, "suits" referring to businessmen, "gray beard" refers to an old man) |
|
|
Modernism
|
literary movement occurring during the first decades of the 20th century; typical is experimentation and the realization that knowledge isn't absolute; common themes are a loss of a sense of tradition and the dominance of technology; influential theories were Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, Max Planck's quantum theory, and Sigmund Freud's theory of the unconscious
|
|
|
Metonymy
|
a figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated (Ex: "The White House is concerned with terrorism" where White House represents workers rather than the architectural structure
|
|
|
Comedy
|
characters start at a sad beginning and progress to a happy ending
|
|
|
Drama
|
theater; genre; realistic characters dealing with emotional issues
|
|
|
Zeugma
|
a figure of speech in which a word applies to two different senses (Ex: "John and his license expired last week."/"You are free to execute your laws and your citizens as you see fit."
|
|
|
Confession
|
a type of modern fiction in which the reader knows the thoughts and feelings of the main character but not the other characters (Ex: The Hunger Games, The Little House Series)
|
|
|
Romance
|
a type of modern fiction that while it may or may not involve a love story, it always contains fantasy; an idealized version of life
|
|
|
Novel
|
a type of modern fiction that recounts realistic stories that could or could not have happened; believable characters with believable setting
|
|
|
Static Character
|
a character who does not change
|
|
|
Cliches
|
phrases that have become meaningless because of their frequent use; a writer may use this element to show that a character is shallow, has difficulty expressing thoughts, or does not think before speaking
|
|
|
Italian Sonnet
|
lines are divided into a group of 8 (octet) and group of 6 (sestet); the fist 8 lines are set up with an "abba abba" rhyme scheme, and the second 6 lines are set up with a "cdcdcd" or "ceded" rhyme scheme
|
|
|
Understatement
|
a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is
|
|
|
Sentimentality
|
a type of tone that involves excessive use of feeling or emotion
|
|
|
Parody
|
a type of tone that is a humorous or ridiculing imitation of something else
|
|
|
Humor
|
a type of tone that conveys fun
|
|
|
Dramatic Irony
|
a contrast between what the character believes or says and what the reader believes to be true (Ex: Macbeth appears to be loyal to Duncan, but he is planning Duncan's murder. Duncan doesn't know Macbeth's plans, but the audience know what is going happen.)
|
|
|
Motif
|
a recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story
|
|
|
Parable
|
a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson (Ex: stories told by Jesus like "The Good Samaritan" and "The Lost Coin"
|
|
|
Ode
|
a long lyric poem on a serious subject usually written in precise structure
|
|
|
Simile
|
comparing unlike things using "like" or "as"
|
|
|
Denotation
|
the literal meaning of a word
|
|
|
Consonance
|
the repetition of final consonant sounds in stressed syllables with different vowel sounds (Ex: The king sang a song.)
|
|
|
Connotation
|
the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning; contains an emotional association
|
|
|
Blank Verse
|
poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter; Shakespeare writes in this form
|
|
|
Ballad
|
a song-like narrative poem, usually written in rhymed stanzas of 4 to 6 lines that feature repetition and strong meter; typically anonymous and often a love story
|
|
|
Assonance
|
the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables (Ex: The green leaves fluttered in the breeze.)
|
|
|
Alliteration
|
the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words Ex: The snake sneaked past the snail.)
|
|
|
Burlesque
|
a drama or musical performance that uses caricatures and mockery intended to cause laughter
|
|
|
Clipping
|
shortening words, as in "math" for "mathematics" and "doc" for "doctors"
|
|
|
Terza Rima
|
a 3-line stanza using chain rhyme in the pattern aba-bcb-cdc-ded; first used by Italian poet Dante Alighieri
|
|
|
Closet Drama
|
a play that is not intended to be performed on stage, but read by a solitary reader or a small group aloud
|
|
|
Catharsis
|
the process of releasing strong emotion; person is relieved after the release
|
|
|
Caesura
|
a complete pause in a line of poetry or music; this pause can be in the form of a dropped syllable
|
|
|
Caricature
|
a grotesque or exaggerated likeness of striking qualities in persons and things
|
|
|
Omniscient Point of View
|
"all knowing"; narrator knows and shares about all characters' thoughts and actions
|
|
|
Voice
|
describes the writer's individual writing style and the author's use of dialogue, diction, alliteration, and other devices; the "fingerprint" of the writer
|
|
|
Dialect
|
a subdivisions of language that are related to regional differences and/or to social class; they may differ in sound (phonology), in vocabulary, and in grammar from the original language
|
|
|
Formal Verse
|
poetry that follows fixed patterns
|
|
|
Free Verse
|
a type of poetry that exhibits language but does not follow fixed patterns; flows rhythm of natural speech; employed by Emily Dickinson
|
|
|
Literary Criticism
|
defines, classifies, analyzes, interprets, and evaluates literature; types include historical, textual, feminist, biographical, cultural, and formal
|
|
|
Archetype
|
original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based
|
|
|
Strophe
|
a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying line length; also the movement of the chorus across the stage from right to left
|
|
|
Stock Character
|
a stereotypical character, easily recognized by the audience
|
|
|
Sprung Rhythm
|
poetic rhythm designed to imitate natural speech; the first syllable is stressed followed by variable unstressed syllables; poet Hopkins gets credit for the rhythm
|
|
|
Soliloquy
|
the act of speaking one's thoughts aloud by oneself
|
|
|
Scansion
|
a practice used to describe rhythmic patterns in a poem, the metrical feet, counting the syllables, marking the accents, and indicating the caesuras
|
|
|
Iambic Pentameter
|
refers to a certain kind of line poetry, and has to do with the number of syllables in the line and emphasis placed on those syllables; a line consists of 5 feet, each consisting of one short or unstressed syllable followed by one long or stressed syllables (Ex: "Two HOUSEholds BOTH aLIKE in DIGniTY.)
|
|
|
Anticlimax
|
a disappointing end to a series of exciting events
|
|
|
Rhyme Royal
a-b-a-b-b-c-c |
a stanza consisting of 7 lines in iambic pentameter;
|
|
|
Myth
|
a traditional story concerning the history of early people or civilizations or explaining some natural phenomenon involving supernatural beings or events
|
|
|
Folktale
|
a tale or legend originating and traditional among people, especially one forming part of the oral tradition
|
|
|
Fairy Tale
(Ex: "Cinderella," Snow White," and "Repunzel") |
a narrative made up of fantastic characters and creatures; they often follow a certain pattern and present an "ideal" to the listener or reader (i.e. a beautiful, kind and long-suffering woman waits for her prince to come and save her from any disappointment or disaster that may occur)
|
|
|
Doublespeak
|
the misuse of language, often in a deliberate and even calculating way in order to mislead (Ex: "persuasion" for "torture" or "preowned" instead of "second-hand" or "used")
|
|
|
Homonym
|
one of a group of words that share the same spelling and pronunciation but may have different meanings (Ex: "bark" can mean the outer layer of a tree trunk or the sound a dog makes)
|
|
|
Homophone
|
a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning and may differ in spelling (Ex: "rose" can American Modernist; the past tense of "to rise" to the flower; also "carrot," "carat," and "caret")
|
|
|
Tetrameter
|
a line of 4 metrical feet
|
|
|
Trimeter
|
a line of 3 metrical feet
|
|
|
Pentameter
|
a line of 5 metrical feet
|
|
|
Conceit
|
a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the use of similes and metaphors; an elaborate metaphor
|
|
|
Exposition
|
a comprehensive description or explanation of an idea or theory; literary device used to introduce characters, background, setting, etc
|
|
|
Discourse
|
denotes language in actual use within its social and ideological contexts (i.e. communication)
|
|
|
Memoir
|
an historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special resources
|
|
|
Catastrophe
|
the "turning downward" of action in a tragedy; an event causing great and often sudden damage
|
|
|
Iambic Unit
|
a foot of 2 syllables which consists of an unstressed or short syllable followed by a stressed or long syllable (Ex: goodBYE)
|
|
|
Lyrical Poem
|
a type of poem that is not clearly narrative and where a single speaker conveys a thought, emotion, or sensory impression; originally meant to be sung, the poem can be of any length
|
|
|
Pastoral
|
literature portraying an idealized notion/picture of country life
|
|
|
Epic
|
a long, narrative poem featuring adventures of gods, and/or heroes which is typically derived from oral tradition
|
|
|
Backdrop Setting
|
a setting that in not essential to the plot; a figurative setting that could have been anywhere and the story would still work
|
|
|
Setting
|
the time or place the story takes place; along with the plot, this element makes up the "structure" of the plot
|
|
|
Episodic Plot
|
features individual chapters or episodes that are related (containing the same character, setting, theme) to each other but which include stories unto themselves
|
|
|
Progressive Plot
|
requires the reader to read the entire book or story to find the answer to the questions
|
|
|
Dactyl
|
a foot of 3 syllables in which the first is long or stressed, and the next 2 are short or unstressed (Ex: "TAKE her up TEN-der-ly...")
|
|
|
Formal Criticism
|
focuses on formal elements of the work such as language, structure, and tone, plot, characterization, and narrative technique, etc.
|
|
|
Satire
|
an artist critique, sometimes heated, on some aspect of human immorality or absurdity
|
|
|
Third Person Point of View
|
a narrator who doesn't participate in action but can reveal thoughts and actions of characters; employs he, she, it, they, and them
|
|
|
Second Person Point of View
|
a narrator who employs "you"
|
|
|
First Person Point of View
|
the story unfolds through the eyes of one central character; the story may be biased; uses, I, me, and my
|
|
|
Objective Point of View
|
a narrator who tells the happenings without opinion; does not share thoughts or feelings of characters
|
|
|
Limited Omniscient Point of View
|
narrator who does not share all information about characters' thoughts and/or actions
|
|
|
Fable
|
a fictional story in prose that usually involves animals, mythical creatures and/or forces of nature that are given human qualities and that teach moral lessens
|
|
|
End Rhyme
|
rhyming words that fall at the ends of 2 or more lines (Ex: crawls, walls, and falls)
|
|
|
Slant Rhyme
|
words that end in similar but not exact sounds (Ex: prove and love)
|
|
|
Exact or True Rhyme
|
words that end in both the same vowel and the same consonant sounds (Ex: sun and run)
|
|
|
Rhyme Scheme
|
a set pattern of rhyme; types include true rhyme, slant rhyme, end rhyme, and internal rhyme
|
|
|
Rhyme
|
the repetition of alike sounds in poetry
|
|
|
Existentialism
|
a literary movement of the 19th and 20th centuries that emphasized individual existence, freedom, and choice; members contend that there is no objective, rational basis for moral choice; writers include Sorn Kierkegaard, Blaise Pascal, Friederick Nietzsche, Martin Heideggar, and Jean-Paul Sartre
|
|
|
Surrealism
|
a literary movement of the 20th century in which works feature the elements of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions, and non-sequiturs; it was aimed to free people from false rationality and restrictive customs and structures
|
|
|
Symbolism
|
a literary movement (beginning in France) in which writers aimed to evoke, indirectly, and symbolically, an order of being beyond the material world of the 5 senses; the aim was to express in words the highly complex feelings that grew out of everyday contact with the world (i.e. flags representing a nation, empty cupboards suggesting hopelessness, poverty, and depression); writers include Charles Baudelaise, Arthur Rimbauld, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot
|
|
|
Realism
|
a literary movement which was a 19th century reaction to Romanticism; the novel gained popularity during this time; the movement embraced a true-to-life approach to subject matter--focussing on everyday life; writers include Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, George Eliot, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Mark Twain
|
|
|
Romanticism
|
a literary movement that "emphasized imagination, fancy, and freedom, emotion, wildness, beauty of the natural world, the rights of individual, the mobility of the common man, and the attractiveness of pastoral life"; writers include William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Victor Hugo
|
|
|
Noodle-head Tale
|
a type of humorous folk tale; has characters whom the listener can out smart
|
|
|
Metaphor
|
comparing unlike things; primarily used when comparing things which are not literally applicable (Ex: the air was a wet wool, heavy and warm)
|
|
|
Personification
|
giving non-human things human qualities (Ex: Her life passed her by.)
|
|
|
Onomatopoeia
|
the use of words to imitate sounds (Ex: the bees buzzed, and the brook gurgled)
|
|
|
Internal Rhyme
|
rhyming words placed with in a line (Ex: The mouse in the house woke the cat.)
|
|
|
Legends
|
stories--usually exaggerated--about people, places, and things (Ex: Paul Bunyan: he may have been a lumberjack, but it is doubtful that he had a blue ox or was as big as they say.)
|
|
|
Figurative Language
|
language not meant to be interpreted literally (i.e. a way of adding information to the writing and of encouraging the reader to think about the text)
|
|
|
English Sonnet
|
a 14-line lyric poem consisting of 3 quatrains and a couplet and written in iambic pentameter; usually rhymed abab cdcd efef gg;
|
|
|
Dramatic Poetry
|
a poem that presents the speech of one or more speakers in a dramatic situation
|
|
|
Aphorism
|
a concise statement that is truthful
|
|
|
Superego
|
the part of the personality representing the conscience, the one that holds morals
|
|
|
Symbol
|
a thing that stands for an idea
|
|
|
Stream of Consciousness
|
interior monologue, abandons rules of grammar, logic, etc.
|
|
|
Epilogue
|
a section at the end of a book or play that concludes the story further or connects on the story
|
|
|
Diction
|
the choice and use of words and phrases in a speech or writing
|
|
|
Denouement
|
the final moment of a plot where everything is revealed and explained
|
|
|
Types of Traditional Literature
|
fable, folklore, myth, legend, fairy tale, parable, noodle-head tale
|
|
|
Picaresque Theme
|
an episodic form of fiction which deals with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero (Ex: The Pickwick Papers and Don Quixote)
|
|
|
Reversal of Fortune Theme
|
a form of fiction that usually includes a change or a complete transformation of a character in situation and/or attitude
|
|
|
Theme
|
the main idea or central meaning of the book
|
|
|
Survival of the Fittest Theme
|
when characters are faced with many life-threatening situations (Ex: Treasure Island)
|
|
|
Euphemism
|
the substitution of less-offensive words for words considered explicitly offensive (Ex: "passed away" for "died")
|
|
|
Ambiguity
|
the use of words that allows alternative interpretations; while it can expand the literal meaning of a passage, it may promote errors in understanding
|
|
|
Narrative Poem
|
a poem that tells a story
|
|
|
Paradox
|
a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet seems to be true; sometimes invalid logic, but provides space for critical thinking
|
|
|
Oxymoron
|
a statement that contradicts itself (Ex: "jumbo shrimp")
|
|
|
Couplet
|
a grouping of 2 lines of poetry with the same rhyme
|
|
|
Quatrain
|
a grouping of 4 lines of poetry with alternating rhyme
|
|
|
Hyperbole
|
an exaggeration to make a point or to emphasize (Ex: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!)
|
|
|
Allusion
|
a reference to a historical, literary, or otherwise generally familiar character or event that helps make an idea understandable (Ex: "This place is like the Garden of Eden." / "Don't act like a Romeo in front of her."
|
|
|
Plot
|
the story line and usually the element that keeps one reading; involves conflict, has definitive order, has a pattern, and may be of 2 types: chronological (or sequential) or random order
|
|
|
Style
|
enhances the flow of words to make writing more appealing and clarify the meaning; types are denotation, connotation, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, and rhythm
|
|
|
Rhythm
|
the flow or cadence of words
|
|
|
Feminist Criticism
|
understanding from a woman's point of view; seeks to correct or supplement what os regarded as a predominantly male-dominated critical perspective with a formal consciousness
|
|
|
Textual Criticism
|
either uses recension (the selection of the most trustworthy evidence on which to base a text) or emendation (the effort to eliminate all errors in even the best manuscript
|
|
|
Villanelle
|
a 19-line poem with 2 rhymes throughout, consisting of 5 tercets and a quatrain, with the first and third lines of the opening tercet recurring alternately at the end of the other tercets and with both repeated at the end of the concluding quatrain
|
|
|
Anaphora
(ex: as the repetition of "one hundred years later" in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech) |
a rhetorical term for the repetition of a word phrase at the beginning of several clauses
|
|
|
Anecdote
|
a brief story that illustrates or makes a point
|
|
|
Anthropomorphism
(ex: Puss in Boots, veggies in "Veggie Tales", M&M characters, and attributes to the diety like "His eye upon you..." |
a device on which the writer attributes human characteristics to an animal being or inanimate object
|
|
|
Cadence
|
the natural rhythmic rise and fall of language as it is normally spoken
|
|
|
Canon
(ex: the Western canon includes works from Homer, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Faulkner, Frost, Dickinson, etc.) |
a group of literary works considered by some to be central or authoritative to the literary tradition
|
|
|
Dialogic
|
a literary theory term that advances the idea that works of literature carry on a dialogue with other works of literature and other authors
|
|
|
Archaic
(ex: thee, thy, and thou) |
old-fashioned words that are no longer used in common speech
|
|
|
Colloquialisms
(ex: "wicked awesome," "wanna," "go nuts," and "buzz off") |
expressions that are usually accepted in informal situations or regions
|
|
|
Enjambment
(ex: the first line of one of Thoreau's poems is "My life has been the poem I would have writ," and the second completes the meaning--"but I could not both live and utter it." |
also known as a run-on line in poetry; occurs when one line ends and continues onto the next line to complete the meaning
|
|
|
Epithet
(ex: "the father of psychology" refers to Sigmund Freud) |
a descriptive phrase or word frequently used to characterize a person or thing
|
|
|
Foot
|
one stressed syllable and a number of unstressed syllables; in a line, eight are possible
|
|
|
Monometer
|
one foot
|
|
|
Dimeter
|
two feet
|
|
|
Frame Story
|
a literary device in which a story is enclosed in another story
|
|
|
Genre
|
a category of literature defined by its style, form, and content
|
|
|
Heroic Couplet
|
a pair of lines of poetic verse written in iambic pentameter
|
|
|
Hermeneutics
|
the art and science of text interpretation
|
|
|
Hubris
|
the flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero
|
|
|
Idiom
(Ex: "bought the farm" and "jump the gun") |
an expression specific to a certain language that means something different from the literal meaning
|
|
|
Incongruity
|
the intentional joining of opposites
|
|
|
Malapropism
(Ex: "The police are not here to create disorder; they are here to preserve disorder.") |
a type of pun or play on words that results when two words become mixed up in the speaker's mind
|
|
|
Mood
|
a feeling that evokes the reader such as sadness, tranquility, or elation
|
|
|
Pathetic Fallacy
(Ex: the somber clouds darkened our moods) |
the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals
|
|
|
Pun
|
a play on words based on multiple meanings or on words that sound alike but have different meanings
|
|
|
Refrain
|
the repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals, particularly at the end of each stanza
|
|
|
Rhetoric
|
persuasive writing
|
|
|
Rhetorical Question
|
a question that is posed but does not actually require an answer
|
|
|
Spondee
|
a metrical foot consisting of two syllables, both of which are stressed
|
|
|
Synesthesia
(Ex: from Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale"--"Tasting of Flora and the green country..." where visual and gustatory senses are triggered) |
the juxtaposition of one sensory image with another that appeals to an unrelated sense
|
|
|
Epistrophe
|
the repetition of a words or phrases at the end of successive clauses or sentences; typically appeals to the emotions of the audience
|
|
|
Transcendentalist Writers
|
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Louisa May Alcott, George Ripley, William Ellory Channing
|
|
|
Naturalism
|
sought to identify the underlying cause for a person's actions or beliefs; writers include Edith Wharton, Frank Norris, Emile Zola, Stephen Crane, Jack London, John Steinbeck, Ellen Glasgow, Richard Wright
|
|
|
Ad Hominem
|
a type of fallacy that involves commenting on or against a person to undermine him instead of his arguments; literally means "against the man"
|
