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Literary Terms
31-60
30
Literature
12th Grade
02/17/2011

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Term
Connotations
Definition
Associations a word calls to mind
Term
consonance
Definition
same consonant sound in words with different vowel sounds
Term
conventional character
Definition
A character with traits that are expected or traditional
Term
couplet
Definition
Two successive rhyming lines of the same number of syllables with matching cadence
Term
Dactyl
Definition
Food of poetry with three syllables, one stressed, and two short or unstressed. Think of the waltz rhythm
Term
denotation
Definition
the dictionary or literal meaning of a word or phrase
Term
dénouement
Definition
the outcome or clarification at the end of a story or play; the winding down from climax to ending
Term
deus ex machina
Definition
Literally, when the gods intervene at a story's end to resolve a seemingly impossible conflict. Refers to an unlikely or improbable coincidence; a cop-out ending
Term
diction
Definition
The deliberate choice of style of language for a desired effect or tone. Words chosen to achieve a particular effect that is formal, informal, or colloquial
Term
didactic
Definition
A _____ story, speech, essay or play is one in which the author's primary purpose is to instruct, teach, or moralize.
Term
distortion
Definition
An exaggeration or stretching of the truth to achieve a desired effect
Term
enjambment
Definition
In poetry, the running over of a sentence from one verse or stanza into the next without stopping at the end of the first
Term
epigram
Definition
A short, clever poem with a witty turn of thought
Term
epigraph
Definition
a brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of theme
Term
epiphany
Definition
Eureka! A sudden flash of insight. A startling discovery and/or appearance; a dramatic realization
Term
epistolary novel
Definition
a novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters. The novelist can use this technique to present varying first-person points of view and does not need a narrator
Term
essay
Definition
A short composition on a single topic expressing to view or interpretation of the writer on that topic
Term
euphemism
Definition
substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for another that would be harsh, offensive, or embarrassing
Term
euphony
Definition
the quality of a pleasant or harmonious sound of a word or group of words as an intended effect
Term
farce
Definition
A kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or impossible situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience
Term
figurative language
Definition
Unlike literal expression, figurative language uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, and hyperbole
Term
first person
Definition
A character in the story tells the story using the pronoun I.
Term
flashback
Definition
Interruption of a narrative by the introduction of an earlier event or by an image of a past experience
Term
flat character
Definition
A simple, one-dimensional character who remains the same, and about whom little or nothing is revealed throughout the course of the work
Term
foil
Definition
A character whose contrasting personal characteristics draw attention to, enhance, or contrast with those of the main character. A character who by displaying opposite traits, emphasizes certain aspects of another character
Term
foreshadowing
Definition
hints at what is to come.
Term
free verse
Definition
Poetry that does not have regular rhythm or rhyme
Term
genre
Definition
the category into which a piece of writing can be classified
Term
heroic couplet
Definition
In poetry, a rhymed couplet written in iambic pentameter
Term
hubris
Definition
Insolence, arrogance, or pride
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