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Literary Terms
for Gunderson AMLIT honors
58
Literature
11th Grade
08/31/2010

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Cards

Term
antagonist
Definition
the villain or "bad guy" of a story
Term
antihero
Definition
a hero or protagonist who lacks stereotypically heroic attributes (Like Batman)
Term
antithesis
Definition
the placing of two opposite ideas together in order to show contrast (Give me liberty or give me death)
Term
analogy
Definition
a similarity-based comparison of two things (the human heart as a pump)
Term
anapest
Definition

A 3-syllable sequence of two short or unstressed syllables, followed by one long or stressed syllable

Term
anecdote
Definition
a short, often biographical account of an important or amusing event
Term
alliteration
Definition
repetition of sounds in writing
Term
allusion
Definition
reference to other literature
Term
anachronism
Definition
something in the incorrect historical or chronological time period (someone using a sword in modern warfare)
Term
trochee
Definition
a foot of two syllables, one long or stressed followed by one short or unstressed
Term
synecdoche
Definition
a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part (Saying "count heads" when you mean "count people")
Term
spondee
Definition
a foot of two long or stressed syllables
Term
Italian sonnet
Definition

a poem which expresses a single, complete idea in 14 lines: 

Specifically, 8 lines followed by 6 lines

Term
English sonnet
Definition

a poem which expresses a single, complete idea in 14 lines:

Specifically, 3 quatrains, then a couplet

Term
soliloquy
Definition
when a character in a play talks to himself as if thinking
Term
shift
Definition
a change or a system of parallel changes
Term
satire
Definition
comedy involving irony, sarcasm and ridicule to poke fun at human vices and faults
Term
refrain
Definition
the portion of a poem or song that is repeated
Term
quatrain
Definition
a 4-line stanza
Term
pun
Definition
a joke involving a play on words
Term
protagonist
Definition
the main character, hero, or "good guy" of a story
Term
personification
Definition
giving human qualities to nonhuman things
Term
pathos
Definition
a literal quality that evokes pity
Term
pastoral
Definition
as simple, charming and pleasant as rural life
Term
parallelism
Definition
a parallel or comparison
Term
paradox
Definition
when something that seems self-contradictory and impossible is a reality
Term
onomatopeoia
Definition
the formation of a word based on the sound that is made
Term
narrative poem
Definition
a poem that has a plot and tells a story
Term
metonymy
Definition
A figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related. (Such as using 'the crown' to mean 'royalty')
Term
metamorphosis
Definition
any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
Term
lyric poem
Definition
a short poem of songlike quality ("The Wrong Company")
Term
inversion
Definition
reversal of usual/natural order of words (usual/natural reversal of order words)
Term
internal rhyme
Definition
a rhyme of two or more words in the same line
Term
iamb
Definition
a foot of two syllables
Term
hyperbole
Definition
obvious, intentional exaggeration 
Term
hubris
Definition
arrogance, excessive pride
Term
free verse
Definition
poetry that doesn't follow a mixed metrical pattern
Term
foil
Definition
a character who contrasts with the protagonist in order to highlight an aspect of the protagonist's character
Term
euphemism
Definition
making bad things sound not quite so politically incorrect (sex is referred to as 'making love')
Term
epiphany
Definition
a great realization
Term
epigram
Definition
any witty, ingenious or pointed saying tersely expressed
Term
epigraph
Definition
an applicable quote at the beginning of a literary work
Term
elegy
Definition
a mournful, melancholy poem
Term
distortion
Definition
giving a false, perverse, disproportionate meaning to something
Term
denouément
Definition
the resolution of a plot
Term
denotation
Definition
the actual definition of a word
Term
dactyl
Definition
3 syllables, one long followed by two short or one stressed before two unstressed
Term
couplet
Definition
two-line poetry, each line has the same number of syllables and rhymes
Term
consonance
Definition
correspondence of sounds
Term
connotation
Definition
the second, unofficial definition of a word
Term
colloquial
Definition
informal, casual
Term
catharsis
Definition
the purging of emotions/relieving of tension through arts
Term
cacophony
Definition
harsh dissonance of sound
Term
blank verse
Definition
unrhymed verse
Term
ballad
Definition
a story told through song stanzas
Term
assonce
Definition
vowel rhyme: vowel sounds are repeated
Term
archetype
Definition
the original pattern or model off which all others are based
Term
apostrophe
Definition
the punctuation mark used in contractions
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