Survey of English & American Literature Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering literary terms, historical periods, notable authors, and social concepts from the lecture notes.

Irony

A literary device in which the intended meaning is opposite to the literal meaning or to what actually happens.

Situational Irony

A form of irony that occurs when the outcome of a situation is opposite to what was expected.

Dramatic Irony

A form of irony where the audience knows information that the character does not.

Verbal Irony

A form of irony (often sarcasm) in which a speaker says the opposite of what they mean.

Old English Period (450-1066)

Also called the Anglo-Saxon Period; oral tradition, epic poetry, heroism—e.g., Beowulf.

Middle English Period (1066-1500)

Era of religious writings and the rise of vernacular literature such as Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.

Renaissance / Golden Age (1500-1660)

Age of Shakespeare; lyric poetry, prose, and drama influenced by humanism.

Romantic Period (1785-1830)

Emphasized emotion, nature, individualism, and saw the birth of Gothic literature.

Victorian Period (1837-1901)

Literature shaped by the Industrial Revolution, moral earnestness, and social reform.

Modern Period (c. 1914-1945)

Literature responding to World War I; experimentation with form and a sense of disillusionment.

Post-Modern Period (1945-present)

Literary movement after World War II characterized by fragmentation, metafiction, and skepticism of grand narratives.

Native American Literary Period (early 1960s)

American writings rooted in natural and spiritual themes, giving voice to Indigenous perspectives.

Colonial Period (1607-1776)

Early American literature influenced by Puritanism and religious themes.

Revolutionary Period (1765-1790)

Era focusing on patriotism, democracy, and foundational U.S. political documents.

American Renaissance (1828-1865)

Age of Transcendentalism and a flowering of distinctly American literature.

Realistic Period (1865-1900)

Post-Civil-War literature depicting everyday life and reacting to industrialization.

American Modernist Period (1914-1939)

Break with tradition; disillusionment from world wars—authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

Contemporary Period (1939-present)

Diverse voices and styles in American literature, including writers such as Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou.

William Shakespeare

English playwright and poet; works include Hamlet, Macbeth, and Sonnet 18.

Jane Austen

English novelist renowned for social commentary and irony; author of Pride and Prejudice.

Charles Dickens

Victorian novelist known for social critique; works include Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.

George Orwell

British author famous for political allegory; wrote 1984 and Animal Farm.

Virginia Woolf

Modernist British writer noted for stream-of-consciousness; works include Mrs. Dalloway and A Room of One’s Own.

Edgar Allan Poe

American writer of Gothic tales and poems such as The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart.

Mark Twain

American realist humorist; author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

American Modernist novelist best known for The Great Gatsby.

Harper Lee

American author of the civil-rights classic To Kill a Mockingbird.

Maya Angelou

American poet and memoirist; wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Gender Roles

Socially constructed guidelines for expected behaviors of men and women.

Stereotype

A generalized, often inaccurate belief about a group, assigning traits to individuals without knowing them.