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Semester 1 Final - Lit. Terms

Semester 1 Final Lit Terms for AP English 11 with Mrs. Schaefer.

Terms

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allegory
a story or poem in which characters, settings, and even events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.
alliteration
the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together
allusion
a reference to someone or something known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture.
ambiguity
a technique by which a writer deliberately suggests two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work.
analogy
a comparison made between two things to show how they are alike.
anecdote
a very brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something.
anti-transcendentalism
the opposite (somewhat) of transcendentalism
aphorism
a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.
apostrophe
a technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent.
blank verse
poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
caesura
a pause or break within a line of poetry
conceit
an elaborate metaphor or other figure of speech that compares two things that are startlingly different
connotation
the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in action to its strict dictionary definition
dialect
a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area.
epistle
A poem addressed to a patron, friend, or family member, thus a kind of "letter" in verse
foil
a character who acts as a contrasts to another character
foot
a metrical unit of poetry
foreshadowing
the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot
free verse
poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme
hyperbole
a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement for effect.
iamb
a metrical foot in poetry that has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word protect
iambic pentameter
a line of poetry that contains five iambic feet
imagery
the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience
internal rhyme
rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry or within consecutive lines
inversion
the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase
irony
in general, a discrepancy between appearances and reality
lyric poem
a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of a speaker
metaphor
a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles
meter
a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
naturalism
a nineteenth-century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was.
octave
an eight line people, or the first eight lines of a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet.
parable
a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson, about how to lead a good life.
paradox
a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth
parallelism
the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structure
personification
a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
plain style
a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression
pun
a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things
quatrain
a poem consisting of four lines or a four line poem that can be considered as a unit
rationalism
a literary movement that was based on reason and intuition rather than spiritual aspects
realism
a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or romanticizing
regionalism
literature that emphasizes a specific geographic settings and that reproduces the speech, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region
rhetorical question
a question asked for an effect, not actually requiring an answer
romance
in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful
romanticism
a revolt against rationalism that affected literature and the other arts, beginning in the late eighteenth century and remaining strong through most of the nineteenth century
satire
a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or instructions in an attempt to bring about a change
sestet
six lines of poetry, especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan, or Italian sonnet
simile
a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.
symbol
a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself
transcendentalism
a nineteenth-century movement in the Romantic tradition, which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reason and sensory experience.
understatement
a statement that says less than what is meant

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