| Term | Definition |
|---|
| parody | humorous imitation of another work or type of work |
| fable | brief tale that points out a moral truth and usually features animals |
| social commentary | writing that offers insight into society, its values, its customs |
| caesura | rhythmic breaks in the middle of lines |
| kennings | 2 word poetic renamings of people, places, and things |
| assonance | repetition of vowel sounds in unrhymed stress syllables |
| alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds |
| heroic poetry | recounts the achievements of warriors |
| epic | long narrative poem that celebrates the deeds of the legendary or heroic figure |
| elegiac poetry | laments the deaths of loved ones and the loss of the past |
| romances | adventure stories that feature kings, knights, and damsels in distress and tell of quests, battles, and doomed love |
| lyric poem | expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker |
| archetype | literary work with 2 or more levels of meaning |
| climax | high point of interest or suspense in a literary work |
| dialect | form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group |
| dramatic irony | general name given to literary techniches that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions |
| external conflict | struggles between opposing forces (between characters) |
| internal conflict | struggle between opposing force within a character |
| folk ballad | song that tells a story |
| imagery | descriptive language used in the literature to recreate sensory experiences |
| legend | widely told story about the past that may or may not be based in fact |
| pastoral poem | refers to literary works that deal with works that deal with the simple rural life or with escape to a similar place and time |
| soliloquy | long speech in a play or prose;work made by a character who is alone and reveals private thoughts and feelings to audience or reader |
| sonnet | 14 line lyric poem with a single theme |
| tragedy | type of drama or literature that shows the downfall or destruction of a noble or outstanding person |
| tragic flaw | weakness in a hero; usually causes his downfall |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter; invented during English Renaissance to reflect natural speech |
| ANAPESTIC FOOT | a foot with 2 unstressed syllables followed by 1 stressed syllable |
| IAMBIC FOOT | a foot with 1 unstressed syllable followed by 1 stressed syllable |
| TROCHAIC FOOT | a foot with 1 stressed syllable followed by 1 unstressed syllable |
| comic relief | a humorous break from a tense mood |
| prose | ordinary form of written language |
| tragic impulse | shows the tragic hero confronting his limits in a noble way |
Combine with other sets
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