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CLEP Vocab Words
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP Prep
169
Literature
9th Grade
09/25/2012

Additional Literature Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Accentual meter
Definition
Stressed rhythmic structure of poectic lines
Term
Allegorical
Definition
A narrative  that is an extended metaphor; the elements of the narrative carry significance on a literal and figurative level
Term

 

 

ALLITERATION

Definition

the repetition of consonants at the beginning of words that are next door to each other or close by.

Always try to understand the reason for alliteration.  Does it speed or slow rythm? Emphasis? What does poet want you to focus on?

Term
Anapest
Definition

A metrical foot used in poetry consisting of two short syllables followed by a long syllable

 

Term
Antagonists
Definition
The one who struggles againts or contends with the protagonist; the antagonist may be another individual or an obstacle or challenge, such as fear or death
Term

 

 

APOSTROPHE

Definition

 

the direct address of someone or something that is not present.  Many odes begin this way.

 

EXAMPLE:  "Oh Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers."

Term
Argumentative
Definition
Describes writing - usually an essay - that establishes a position and supports it
Term

 

 

 

ASSONANCE

Definition

 

the repetition of vowel sounds usually internally rather than initially.

 

Example:  Her goodly eyes likesapphires shining bright

Term

 

 

 

BATHOS

Definition

deliberate anticlimax to make a definite point or draw attention to a falseness.

 

Example: Here great Anna who three realms obey,

Dost sometimes counsel take - and sometimes tea


 

The humor or emphasis is in the fact that Anna (Queen of England) holds important meetings in the same room that she also takes tea (pronounced w/ long a sound) as in upper crust England.

Term
Blank verse
Definition
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Term
Climax
Definition
Turning point in a story; the point where the main characters  experiences a change, and the action stops building and begins falling
Term
Complication
Definition
Element introduced into the plot to alter its course
Term
Conclution
Definition
Final divition of a discourse or literary work that brings the work to a close; fifth part of plot structure
Term
Dactyl
Definition
A foot in meter in poetry; in Greek or Latin verse, is a long syllable followed by two short syllables; in English verse, it is a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
Term
Denouement
Definition
The conclustion of the story; includes the events between the falling action and the last scene of a narrative or drama
Term
Dimeter
Definition
A line containing only two metrical feet
Term
Dynamic
Definition
A character whose personality changes over the course of a narrative or who has the ability for such change.
Term
End rhyme
Definition
Repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, found in the final syllable(s) of the lines of poetry
Term
Exposition
Definition
The author's explanation of background information about characters and setting at the beginning of the plot; writing with a primary purpose of imforming, clarifying, or explaining.
Term
Expository
Definition
Writing or discourse with the primary purpose of information clarifying, or explaining; background information shared by the author
Term
Expressionism
Definition
Subjective depiction of the real world through imagination, the abstract, and symbols.
Term
Falling action
Definition
Moment following the climax where the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is resolved
Term
Feminine rhyme
Definition
Two or more syllables match in the rhyming words; the final syllable or syllables are unstressed
Term
Fiction
Definition
imaginary naritive; the information or events are created by the author
Term
Foils
Definition
A character who highlights through contrast opposite characteristics in another character
Term
Foot
Definition
Basic unit of meter consisting of a set number of stressed and unstressed syllables
Term
Free verse
Definition
Poetry using natural rhythms of words and phrases instead of required metrical feet
Term
Heptameter
Definition
Line wiith 7 metrical feet
Term
Hexameter
Definition
line with six metrical feet
Term
Hyperbole
Definition

Exaggeration or overstatment

 

 

Term
Iambic meter
Definition
See iambic foot
Term
Iambic pentameter
Definition
Line of five feet, each with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Term
Ibamic rhythm
Definition
Rising and falling rhytm in poetry from alternating stressed and unstressed syllables
Term
Impressionism
Definition
Subjective or personal literary style that relies on associations; style adapted to writing from nineteenth century school of painters, including Monet and Renoir.
Term
Introduction
Definition
First stage in plot which the author establishes the situation and shares background information.
Term
Invective
Definition
Writing that attacks a person or idea through emotional language.
Term
Inversion
Definition
Doing or saying the opposite or unexpected ued in irony
Term
Irony
Definition
Discrepancy between what is said or done and what is meant
Term
Irony
Definition
Discrepancy between what is said or done and what is meant
Term
Masculine rhyme
Definition
A rhyme that matches just one syllable, often a stressed syllable found at the end of the lines
Term
Meter
Definition
Basic rhythmic structure for lines in poetic verses
Term
Mode
Definition
A broad literary method not tied to one specific form of genre, such as irony or satire
Term
Mofit
Definition
An object, concept, or sturcture repeated in a literary work, thereby giving it symbolic significance in the story
Term
Monometer
Definition
A line of verse with one foot
Term
Narrator
Definition
An individual who tells or speaks the story
Term
Narritive
Definition
The events that tell the story
Term
Naturalism
Definition
Literary movment that depicts life as accurately as possible, illustrating transformation in society  throught environment and hereditary.
Term
Neo-Classical
Definition
A style of prose an poetry from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reviving a classical style from Greek and Roman cultures.
Term
Nonfiction
Definition
writing that delivers factual events and observations
Term
Novel
Definition
an extended fiction narrative written in prose that includes characters, plot, and setting
Term
Octameter
Definition
A line in poetryof eight metrical feet
Term
Parody
Definition
A work that mocks an original work, character, or style through humorous imitation.
Term
Phonic
Definition

pertaining to sound from speech

 

Term
Point of View
Definition
The perspective or vatage point from which the authour chooses to tell the truth
Term
Prose
Definition
The most commen form of written language following natural speech patterns and gramatical structure.
Term
Protagonists
Definition
Main character in a literary work; literally, one who struggles toward or for something
Term
Realism
Definition
delivering subject from third-person objective point of view with no added interpretation or elaboration
Term
Reversal
Definition
Doing or saying the opposite or unexpected; used in irony
Term
Rhyme Scheme
Definition
Pattern of repetition of rhyme within a poem designated by aabb where a marks the first line and all other lines rhyming with it
Term
Rising Action
Definition
Introduction of conflict into the plot, bringing tension that continues throughout the story line
Term
Romance
Definition
longer prose narrative, originally in the associated with the legendary, imaginative, and poetic
Term
Romanticiam
Definition
An artistic and literary movement originating in the second half of Europe, emphaizing emotions, idealism, adventure, and chivalry.
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
Harsh or biting verbal irony
Term
Satire
Definition
literary form that ridicules human vices or shortcomings
Term
Slant rhyme
Definition

Repetition of final consonant only in two word; also referred to as "near rhyme" or "off rhyme"; it is consonance in the final consonants of the rhyming words such as all and bell or mirth and heart

 

Term
Speculative
Definition
Writing or discourse that explores ideas.
Term
Stanzas
Definition
In poetry, a group of lines set off by space; also referred to as a verse
Term
Static
Definition
A character who stays the same throuhout a literary work
Term
Stereotype
Definition
A popularly held belife about a specific group or type of individuals.
Term
Stock
Definition
A well-understood and accepted interpretation of an image, symbol, or character; a character who exists for necessity of plot
Term
Structure
Definition
Organization of a literary work
Term
Style
Definition
How an author writes; incorporates diction, stanx, use of narration and dialouge, choice of point of view, and description
Term
Tetrameter
Definition
A line ofr four metrical feet
Term
The How
Definition
Author's style incorporating choices in dictation, syntax, point of view, description, narration, and dialouge
Term
The When
Definition
Setting of story within time
Term
The Where
Definition
Physical setting of the story
Term
The Who
Definition

 Characters in the story

 

Term
The why
Definition
Theme or main idea of the story
Term
Thought
Definition
idea the essayist is conveying
Term
Tone
Definition
The attitude toward the subject conveyed by the author
Term
Tone
Definition
The attitude toward the subject coveyed by the author
Term
Topic
Definition
Phrase stating subject or theme of a work or speech
Term
Trimeter
Definition
In poetry, a line with three metrical feet
Term
Trochee
Definition
A metrical foot in poetry of a unstressed syllable followed by an unstressed one
Term
Understatment
Definition
Expression of an idea with less force or strength than expected for the sake of humor
Term
Voice
Definition
The speaker. In non-fiction, the author; in fiction the narrator; may also refer to the style chosen by the write, such as formal or informal
Term
Wit
Definition
Intelectual humor; in poetry, wit works through word play to emphasize concepts
Term
Connotation
Definition
Emotional association that accompanies a certain word or phrase; often described as positive or negative depending on the emotional connection.
Term
Denotation
Definition
A word that names or signifies something specific: "Wind" is the denotation for air in natural motion. "Poodle" is the denotation for a certian breed of dog.
Term
Figurative
Definition
Deviation from usual meaning of a word or group of words; the final syllable or syllables are unstressed.
Term
Literal
Definition
The meaning of a word or phrase according to the dictionary; denotative
Term
Metaphor
Definition
Comparison of two unlike items
Term
Simile
Definition
Comparison of two unlike items using like, as, or as if
Term
Allusion
Definition
In a literary work, a refrence to a person, place, or thing from another literary work or from history.
Term
Personification
Definition
Figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to inanimate objects
Term
image
Definition
Word picture painted by the writer
Term
Imagine
Definition
To visualize the picture(s) evoked by the writer through thye senses
Term

Figurative Image

 

Definition

Picture painted by the writer, usually a poet

 

Term
Imagism
Definition
Term coined by Ezra Pound for free imagery, open to many interpretations
Term
Symbol
Definition
An object, image, word, or feeling that represents something greater.
Term
Stock
Definition
A well-understood and accepted interpretation of an image, symbol, or character; a character who exists for necessity of plot
Term
Conventional
Definition
Following accepted standards; a well-understood interpretation; see stock
Term
Alliteration
Definition
Repeition of initial consonants in consecutive words or in words close to each other
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
Direct address to someone or something not present suchas an imaginary person or an abstract quality; often introduced by the exclamation, "O."
Term

Assonance

 

Definition
Repetition of vowel sounds; more common in verse than in prose
Term
Bathos
Definition
Abrupt change in style going from exalted to mundane, produceing a ludicrous effect.
Term
Caesure, Cesure
Definition
A complete pause in a line of poetry.
Term
Conceits
Definition
Extended metaphor governing an entire passage or poem
Term
Consonance
Definition
Repetition of a consonant sound in short succession
Term
Diction
Definition
Word choice
Term
Enjambment
Definition
A line of having no end punctuation so that the meaning continues uninterrupted to the next line
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
Exaggeration or overstatement
Term

Metonym

 

Definition
A figure of speech in which an idea or thing is referenced by a name closely associated with it; litterally means "a change of name"
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
Use of a word that suggests or mimics it meaning through sound, such as roar or whistle.
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
A figure of speech where two words opposite in meaning are placed next to each other, such as bittersweet
Term
Paradox
Definition
A statement that seems absurd or contradictory but is true; juxtaposition of incongruous ideas to invoke insight
Term
Pun
Definition
A play on the meaning of a word or of similar-sounding words for an intended effect; usually humorous
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
Harsh or biting verbal irony
Term
Synecdoche
Definition
Specific type of metaphor  in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for the part
Term
Synatax
Definition
Sentence construction or sentence structure
Term
Dramatic Monologues
Definition
Speech delivered by a single character who addresses the reader or an internal listener nand reveals his or her innermost thoughts and feelings
Term
Form
Definition

Pattern or design of a poem; see open form and closed form

Term
Closed Form
Definition
Poetry conforming to presepecified requirements of rhyme, meter, line lenght, and number of lines; two examples are haiku and sonnet
Term
Open Form
Definition
Poetry the does not follow a predetermind form; freedom in the form of a poem
Term
Sonnet
Definition
Specified poetic pattern of fourteen lines arranged in a set rhyme scheme; two common sonnets are Italian or Petrarchan, with a rhyme scheme of abba, abba, cdecde, and English or Shakespearnean , with abab, cdcd, efef, gg
Term
Fixed Form
Definition
 Anyone of three fourteenth- and fifteenth-century French poetic forms: the ballad, the virelai, and rondeau
Term
Octave
Definition
Poetic verse of eight lines of iambic pentameter, usually with a rhyme scheme of abba abba
Term
Quatrains
Definition
Four lines of verse making up a stanza or a poem
Term
Couplet
Definition
Two consecutive lines in poetry, usually with the same meter and often rhyming
Term
Heroic couplet
Definition
Two successive lines of iambic oentameter with the second lines usually ending with a stop
Term
Alexandrine
Definition
A twelve-syllable line written in ibamic haxameter
Term
Mock-heroic
Definition
Satire or parody that mocks the Classical stereotype of a hero or heroic literature, usually through exaggeration or absurdity
Term
Epic
Definition
A long narrative poem written in elevated language and style about the exploits of a hero or heroine.
Term
Ballad
Definition
A narrative folk song or a narrative set to music
Term
Ballad Stanza
Definition
Four-line stanza (quatrain) consisting of alternating four- and three-stress lines; usually second and fourth line rhyme (abcb)
Term
Literary Ballad
Definition
Four rhyming lines, abcb, with lines 1 and 3 having eight syllables and lines 2 and 4 having six
Term
Lyric
Definition
A poem sharing personal emotions; in Classical poetry, accompanied by a lyre
Term
Elegy
Definition
A sorrowful, melancholic poem, such as a funeral song or lament for the dead
Term
Ode
Definition

Lyrical verse or poem with a serious topic and tone

 

Term
Villanelle
Definition
A poem consisting of nineteen lines: five tercets followed by one quatrain
Term
Tercets
Definition
Thre lines of poetry that form a stanza or a complete poem
Term
Sestina
Definition
Poem of six, six-line stanzas with six end words that are repeated in a closing tercet
Term
Epigram
Definition
An inscription on a building or tomb or a short verse apperaring at the beginning of a longer work (novel, chapter, or poem) to set mood or reveal theme.
Term
Doggerel
Definition
Derogatory term for verse with little literary value
Term
Limerick
Definition
A five-line humorous or non-sensical poem in which the first two lines are anapestic tirmeter, the next two are anapestic dimeter, and the last line is trimeter; rhyme scheme is aabba
Term
Audabe
Definition
A morning love song; opposite of a serenade; literally, a song to a sleeping woman; also refers to a song-evoking daybreak
Term
Blank Verse
Definition
unrhyme iambic pentameter
Term
Enacted
Definition
Preformed by an actor or actors
Term
Mimesis
Definition
In Greek, "imitation"; mimetic theory from Aristotle held that successful imitation in art portrayed reality as closely as possible
Term
Plot
Definition
 The series of events that make up the story
Term
Exposition
Definition
The author's explanation of background information about characters and setting at the beginning of the plot; writing with a primary purpose of informing, clarifying, or explaining
Term
Complication
Definition
elemant introduced into the plot to alter its course
Term
Crisis
Definition
Turning point in a story; culmination of the events in the plot
Term
Resolution
Definition
Point of final conflict in the plot between the protagonist and antagonist where one emerges as the categorical winner
Term
Theme
Definition
Statement summarizing the message or big idea of a story
Term
High Comedy
Definition
Comedy carried out by characters that are true to life, realistic
Term
Low Comedy
Definition
Humor with absurdities, horseplay, and exaggerations, depicting an urefuned life
Term
Farce
Definition
Comedy the entertains the audience through absurdity, improbabilities, exaggeration, and verbal humor
Term
Satire
Definition
Literary form that ridicules human vices or shortcomings
Term
Tragi-comedy
Definition
Fictional work combining characteristics of tragedy and comedy, such as a somber play with a happy ending
Term
Tragic Hero
Definition
Noble, good protagonist in a tragedy who experiences adversity or misfortune
Term
Hamartia
Definition
A tragic flaw within a character; in Greek, means "to miss the mark."
Term
Catastrophe
Definition
Final resolution in a poem or narrative that unravels the plot and concludes the work; misfortune experienced by tragic hero.
Term
Hubris
Definition
Excessive pride adversely affecting the protagonist's judgment; most common tragic flaw
Term
Catharsis
Definition
 Form Greek, meaning "cleansing" or "purging"; in tragedy, a moment for purgin or relieving of emotions for the audience
Term
Naturalism
Definition
Literary movement that depicts life as accurately as possible, illustrating transformation in society through environment and hereditary
Term
Realism
Definition
Delivering subject from third-person objective point of view with no added interpretation
Term
Expressionism
Definition
Subjective depiction of the real world through imagination, the abstract, and symbols
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