Literary
Terms and Elements_____________________________
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1. prose |
language that is
not in verse |
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2. diction |
word choice |
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3. denotation |
the dictionary
definition of a word |
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4.
connotation |
the emotional
associations or overtones of a word |
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5. syntax |
sentence structure
[loose, parallel, cumulative, periodic, inverted, interrupted] |
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6. coherence |
cohesiveness,
connectedness |
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7. a dialect |
a regional variety
of a language, with a distinctive accent, grammar, and lexicon |
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8. lexicon |
vocabulary |
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9. colloquial |
extremely casual or
informal in expression |
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10. ambiguous |
expressing more
than 1 meaning |
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11. bland |
lacking in color,
liveliness, or individuality |
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12. euphony |
pleasing sounds
[adj "euphonious"="agreeable to the ear"] |
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13 cacophony |
disagreeable
sounds, discord |
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14. imagery |
language that
awakens the 5 senses [sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell] |
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15. tone |
emotional attitudes
of speaker/narrator/author toward the subject of a poem/story |
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16. figurative language |
(figures of speech)
language that can't be taken literally |
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17. a
metaphor |
f.o.s. (figure of
speech): an implied comparison between unlike things |
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18. a simile |
f.o.s.: an explicit
or stated comparison between unlike things |
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19. personification |
f.o.s. in which
something not human is given human qualities |
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20. a paradox |
f.o.s: statement
that is self-contradictory yet true [e.g., that the disobedience of Adam and
Eve was a "fortunate fall"] |
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21. an
oxymoron |
f.o.s: a briefly
stated paradox, e.g., ~jumbo shrimp," "the Fortunate
Fall" |
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22. hyperbole |
f.o.s.: deliberate
exaggeration or overstatement |
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23.
understatement |
f.o.s.:
deliberately restrained or subdued language (opposite of hyperbole) |
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24-26. irony |
(l) VERBAL IRONY
(f.o.s.): the speaker says the opposite of what she means; |
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27. sarcasm |
bitter, cutting
ridicule (sometimes ironic) |
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28. a symbol |
a concrete object
that has abstract meaning [a wedding ring is a symbol of love, commitment,
and union] |
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29. an
allegory |
a story in which
characters, events, and objects become symbols in a universal, mythic, or
religious narrative (e.g., "the Fisher King" undertakes a
"quest" to "the "Chapel Perilous" to recover the
"Holy Grail"). |
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30. an
allusion |
a passing reference
to another piece of writing |
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31. an
apostrophe |
an exclamatory
address to an imaginary or absent person. |
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32. a
monologue |
a speech or writing
with one speaker [cf. "dialogue"] |
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33. a
soliloquy |
a monologue spoken
alone on stage |
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34. a moral |
a simple uplifting
or warning lesson expressed in a literary work |
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35. a theme |
a complex truth or
mystery about life expressed in a literary work |
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36. the
protagonist |
the leading character |
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37. the
antagonist |
the character
opposing the protagonist |
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38. point of
view |
perspective of the
person telling the story (first-person narration, omniscient narrator,
limited omniscience, etc.) |
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39. a tragedy |
a literary work in
which persons of greatness are destroyed, in part because of their
greatness |
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40. a comedy |
a literary work
treating serious subjects in a light manner and ending happily |
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41. a satire |
a work that
ridicule vices and follies for the purpose of trying to reform people |
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42. a parody |
a humorous
imitation of a serious work |
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43.
sentimental |
excessively
emotional, weepy, sappy |
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44. to scan |
to find the meter
of a poem |
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45. meter |
a set rhythm, a
repeated pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem |
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46. free
verse |
poetry without
meter or rhyme |
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47. iambic
pentameter |
"5-foot
meter," each foot "iambic," i.e., having 1 unstressed and 1
stressed syllable (the most common meter in English poetry: da Da / da DA /
da DA / da DA / da DA) |
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48. blank
verse |
unrhymed iambic
pentameter [Shakespeare's usual meter] |
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49. English
sonnet |
14-line iambic
pentameter poem, 3 quatrains+couplet usu. rhyming abab/cdcd/efef/gg. |
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50-2. Italian
sonnet |
14-line iambic
pentameter poem, 2 quatrains (an 8-line octave) + a 6-line sestet rhyming
"abbaabba/cdecde"; "abbaabba/cdcdcd," etc. |
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53.
alliteration |
the repetition of
the initial sounds of words |
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54. assonance |
the repetition of
vowel sounds |
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55.
onomatopoeia |
use of a word that
sounds like the denoted noise (e.g., boom, clang, tweet) |
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56. fable |
a simple narrative
illustrating a truth about human nature or life in general |
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57. denouement |
the final
resolution or "untying" of a plot |
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58. hubris |
excessive pride |
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59. catharsis |
the purging of
emotions in an audience |
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60. novel |
a fictional prose
narrative |
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61. plot |
the structure of
action as presented in fiction or drama |
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62. foil |
a character whose
traits serve to contrast and set off traits of another character |