English Final Vocab 2011-2012
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78 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 allegory | a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions |
| parody | a composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way |
| internal conflict | a problem or struggle within a character |
| external conflict | a character struggles against some outside force: another character, society as a whole, or some natural force |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot |
| setting | the context and environment in which something is set |
| mood | the overall emotion created by a work of literature |
| satire | form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly |
| plot | the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc. |
| narrator | someone who tells a story |
| round character | "fleshed out" - more sides and dimensions; varied and sometimes contradictory traits; complex, many different traits |
| flat character | "paper doll" - only 1 or 2 traits; can be described in 1 sentence |
| prose | any writing that is not poetry; resembles ordinary language |
| tone | the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author |
| myth | A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society. |
| biography | a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person |
| foil character | a character that shares a theme with another character, yet differs in the way it is represented. |
| aside | a line spoken by an actor to the audience or to another actor but not intended for others on the stage |
| paraphrasing | rewriting or restating another person's ideas or thoughts into your own words |
| paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| symbol | a term, name, or picture in daily life that implies more than its apparent meaning ex. a cross |
| metaphor | a comparison between two different things without using "like" or "as" |
| extended metaphor | metaphor that is extended, A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. |
| hyperbole | extreme exaggeration |
| simile | comparison between two different things using "like" or "as" |
| Homeric simile | simile that refers to everyday common events so many people can relate |
| dramatic irony | irony where the audience knows some crucial piece that the , occurs when another character(s) and/or the audience know more than one or more characters on stage about what is happening |
| verbal irony | A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| autobiography | Story of a person's life written by that person |
| protagonist | the main character |
| stage directions | notes included in a drama to describe how the work is to be performed or staged |
| imagery | language that appeals to the senses |
| connotation | what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression |
| denotation | the literal meaning of a word |
| personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| figurative language | writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid |
| rhyme scheme | the pattern of rhyme in a poem |
| onomatopoeia | a word that imitates the sound it represents |
| oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| alliteration | the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words |
| diction | the author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning |
| speaker | the voice that communicates with the reader of the poem or play; the voice that talks to the audience |
| audience | one's listener or readership; those to whom a speech or piece of writing is addressed |
| antagonist | the character who works against the protagonist in the story |
| catharsis | a release of emotional tension |
| couplet | a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse, two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry |
| allusion | reference to another work of literature, event, person |
| soliloquy | in drama, a character speaks alone on stage to allow his/her thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience |
| tragedy | A work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction |
| tragic hero | A literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy |
| sonnet | a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme |
| monologue | long speech by one person with events still occurring in the background |
| archetype | an original model or pattern |
| motif | A recurring theme, subject or idea |
| aphorism | short, witty statement about some truth or insight |
| style | a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period |
| epic | long narrative poem expressing details of a hero's adventures |
| drama | story written to be acted for an audience; action is usually by a character who wants something and takes steps to get it; OR a serious play that is neither comedy nor tragedy |
| comedy | in general, a story that ends happily |
| sign | abbreviations, acronyms, trademarks, badges, product names, etc. that have a meaning given by society for common usage/intention; only signify objects they refer to ex. Band-aid |
| appositive/appositive phrase | word or phrase placed beside a noun or pronoun to explain or identify it |
| memoir | an account based on the author's personal experiences |
| Deductive reasoning | Take known information, generalize, and apply Large claim -> Apply to specific |
| Inductive reasoning | Take evidence, generalize, and conclude Evidence -> Generalization |
| blank verse | not rhyming lines in iambic pentameter (5 units/feet) |
| sonnet | 14-line poem of rhymed iambic pentameter (5 units/feet) |
| juxtaposition | pitting of 2 sides, concepts, objects, next to each other in order to analyze |
| interior monologue | 2 perspectives of the same event placed together in contrast |
| syntax | affects whole piece, often deals w/ punctuation; "word order" |
| free associative thought | all thoughts and ideas connect without discrepancy/discrimination or knowing why, just flowing thought, can be incomplete |
| creative nonfiction | no restrictions other than stay generally true to fact stylistic freedom;uses literary techniques of fiction |
| literary journalism | truth, strict guidelines, goes into the action, emotions, culture, everyday people, the humanity immersion, accuracy, symbolism, voice, structure |
| Biographical, Historical, New Historical Criticism | Contextual meaning, look at author's life, time |
| Gender Criticism | Based on reader's gender/attitude towards gender; feminist view; highlight differences between men and women; see gender of author/characters and their roles; stereotypes |
| Reader Response | Reader's own response, personal meaning and interpretation of text |
| Class/Social Power Theory; Marxist | Society through economic factors; characters: economic statuses, roles, effects? |
| Psychological | Analyze minds of author/characters |
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