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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abstraction
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a concept or value that cannot be seen (ex. love, honor) and which the writer illustrates by comparing it metaphorically to a known, concrete object.
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absolute phrase
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group of words which is almost a complete sentence and which adds information to the sentence; can be made into a sentence by adding was or were.
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ad hominem argument
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an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feelings rather than intellect (from the Latin meaning "to or against the man.")
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allegory
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a verse or prose narrative in which the characters,action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of the work.
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alliteration
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repetition of initial sounds (often consonant sounds)
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allusion
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reference to artistic, literary, scientific, or historical people, places or things to convey tone, purpose, or effect.
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ambiguity
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expression of an idea in such a way that suggests more than one meaning.
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analogy
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a comparison of two things to show how something unfamiliar is like something widely known.
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anapest
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a metrical foot that has two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
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anecdote
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a brief story that illustrates a point.
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antagonist
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the force or person working against the protagonist; the villain
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antithesis
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a contrast of ideas expressed in grammatically balanced statement.
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antecedent
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the word to which a pronoun refers
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aphorism
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a brief, clever saying that expresses a principle, truth, or observation about life
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appositive
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a noun which restates the noun preceding it
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apostrophe
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directly addressing someone dead, someone missing, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if he/she/it were present.
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approximate rhyme
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using words that have some sound correspondence but imperfect rhyme.
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archetype
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a character, situation, or symbol that is familiar to people from all cultures because it occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore.
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aside
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private words by a character on the stage so that the audience hears the words but the other characters do not.
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assonance
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repetition of vowel sounds.
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atmosphere
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the mood of a work partly established through description of setting and partly through the objects chosen to be described.
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attitude
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the author's way of looking at a subject, implicit in the mode (tragedy, comedy, satire, romance) and essential to meaning.
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ballad
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a narrative poem with songlike qualities written in quatrains with the rhyme scheme abcb, usually in iambic pentameter.
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blank verse
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unrhymed iambic pentameter
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cacophony
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succession of harsh, discordant sounds in prose or verse to achieve a specific effect.
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caesura
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a pause in a line of verse, usually near the middle of the line.
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characterization
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the process by which the writer reveals the personalities of the characters; direct statement, physical description, dialogue, thoughts and feelings, actions, effect on others, others' reactions.
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clause
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a group of words with a subject and a verb; may be independent (main) or dependent (subordinate); a subordinate one may function as noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.
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climax
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the decisive or turning point in a story or play when the action changes course and begins to resolve itself.
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closed couplet
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two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and represent a complete thought.
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colloquialism
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the use of slang or informalities in speech and writing; not generally acceptable in formal writing; should create a conversational tone.
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comic relief
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something said or done that provides a break from the seriousness of the work.
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conceit
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a juxtaposition that makes a surprising connection between two seemingly different things.
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conclusion
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a reaffirmation or restatement of the thesis; also expresses a final though about a subject, summarizes main points, uses a quotation, predicts an outcome, makes an evaluation, or recommends a course of outcome.
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confessional poetry
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poetry that uses intimate and painful, disturbing or sad material from the poet's life.
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conflict
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internal of external tension created by the struggle or by the outcome of the struggle.
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connotative language
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words which have an implied meaning, emphasizing feelings or subjectivity that surrounds the word.
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contrast
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a literary technique in which the author examines two opposites to create an attitude, to accomplish a purpose or affect, or to make an assertion.
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control of a wide range of the elements of writing
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mature diction, varied syntax, and effective organization to convey a clear and insightful evaluation, analysis, impression, or assertion.
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couplet
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two lines of poetry
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dactyl
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a metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
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deduction
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deriving at a conclusion by making an inference from the premise
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denotative language
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the literal, dictionary definition of a word, emphasizing an objective tone
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denouement
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resolution of the plot
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description
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using vivid words to create a dominant impression of what the five senses are experiencing
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dialogue
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conversation between two or more characters.
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diction
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word choice.
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didactic
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a work in which the author's primary purpose is to instruct, teach or moralize.
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digression
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use of material unrelated to the subject of the work.
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dilemma
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a type of conflict in which both choices have negative connotations.
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dramatic monologue
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a poem in which the speaker addresses one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed.
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economy
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a style of writing characterized by brevity and conciseness.
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elegy
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a solemn, reflective poem, usually about death, written in a formal style.
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ellipsis
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omission of an element from a sentence so that the grammatical structure is incomplete but the meaning is clear; often appears in aphorisms, epigrams, proverbs, and maxims.
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end-stopped lines
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lines of poetry that end with punctuation marks.
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enjambment
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in poetry, the running over of a sentence from one verse or stanza to the next without stopping at the first.
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epic
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long narrative poem dealing with heroes and adventurers; having a national, world-wide, or cosmic setting; involving supernatural focuses, and written in a deliberately ceremonial style.
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epigram
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a short witty verse or saying, often ending with a wry twist.
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epigraph
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a motto or quotation at the beginning of a story, novel, or chapter, often indicating theme.
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epistolary novel
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a novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters.
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euphemism
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describing something distasteful in a positive way.
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euphony
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a choice and arrangement of words creating a pleasant sound.
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exemplum
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a short medieval story illustrating a moral.
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exposition
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one of the four major types of writing which explains; in drama, it is the initial part of the play when the background information is presented to the audience.
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fable
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brief tale which teaches a moral truth and which contains characters who are often animals.
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figures of speech
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imaginative comparisons (ex. metaphors, similes, personification, etc.) to convey tone, purpose, or effect.
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fixed form
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poems which have specific rhyme, meter, and/or stanza arrangement.
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flashback
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going back in time to reveal past history that is important to the work.
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flat character
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a one-dimensional character who remains the same throughout the work and about whom little is revealed.
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foil
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a character who contrasts another character.
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foot
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a unit of meter that contains a measure of syllables (ex. anapest, dactyl, iamb, spondee, trochee)
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form
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external pattern of the poem (ex. continuous form, stanzaic form, free verse, fixed form, blank verse)
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foreshadowing
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a literary technique in which the author gives hints about future events.
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frame
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a narrative device presenting a story or group pf stories within the context of a larger work.
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free verse
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poetry with no set rhyme and no set meter.
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