ROYAL LITERARY TERMS VOCAB QUIZ :)

Allegory

A story in which characters and events stand for abstract ideas or moral concepts

ex. "Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey"

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or sentences

ex. "I Have a Dream" speech from MLK

Apostrophe

A punctuation mark OR when a person directly addresses someone absent, dead, or a personified inanimate object or abstract concept

ex. Cailey starts venting to her pencil pouch (inanimate object) out of stress

Antithesis

The contrast of two opposite ideas in a balanced or parallel structure

ex. "love is the antithesis of selfishness"

Archetype

A universal symbol, character type, or pattern found across literature and cultures

ex. the Hero, the Mentor, the Villain, and the Innocent

"the archetype of a villain is Darth Vader"

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, event, or work of art, literature, or history

ex. calling someone a "Scrooge" to describe their stinginess which alludes to the character from "A Christmas Carol" (haha get it cause we read it)

Analogy

A comparison to explain something unfamiliar

ex. "Life is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're gonna get."

Blank Verse

unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter

ex. "to be or not to be, that is the question:" basically most of Shakespeare's works

Couplet

two rhyming lines in a row

ex. "Good night! Good night! Parting is such a sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Conceit

An extended or unusual metaphor

ex. "the idea of the wind's singing is a prime romantic conceit"

Dynamic character

A character who grows and changes during the story

ex. Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" (hes like lowkey a hater and then he gets a redemption arc and stuff)

Round character

A fully developed, complex character

ex. Harry Potter (well-developed personality, motivation, and histories)

Static character

A character who does not change (opposite of dynamic character)

ex. Scar from "The Lion King" because he's a hater and stays a hater

Flat character

A one-dimensional/undeveloped character

ex. Draco Malfoy from "Harry Potter"- because he does lowkey change but he stays arrogant and prideful

Dramatic irony

When the audience/reader knows something but the character doesn't

ex. In "Romeo and Juliet", the audience knows that Juliet is alive and only in a deep sleep, but Romeo thinks she is dead

Situational irony

When the opposite of what's expected happens

ex. A fire station burns down??

Verbal irony

Saying one thing but meaning another

ex. "Great weather we're having here!" In the middle of a thunderstorm

Connotation

The emotional or cultural meaning of a word

ex. "Home" connotes warmth + comfort

External conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force

ex. Harry Potter vs. Voldemort (yes ik im putting too many HP refs but theyre the most well known)

Internal conflict

A struggle within a character's mind

ex. Fear vs. Duty, Desire vs. Values, Past vs. Present

Dialogue

Conversation between characters

ex. "What you doing?" "About to die because of Royal homework"

Paradox

A statement that seems impossible but reveals truth

ex. "Less is more", "I must be cruel, only to be kind"

Free Verse

Poetry with no rhyme or rhythm

ex. this is pretty self explanatory

Epilogue

A section at the end of a story that provides closure

ex. A book showing the young characters as adults at the end of the story

Diction

The author's word choice

ex. "I hate you!" and "I love you so much." and "This is so nasty, ew."

Double Entendre

A phrase with two meanings, one usually humorous or suggestive (THE EXAMPLE IS REALLY SUGGESTIVE BUT ITS SO YOU GET THE POINT OKAY)

ex. "It's so long" "That's what she said"

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration

ex. "I've told you a billion times!"

Motif

A recurring element or symbol in a story

ex. The mockingjay in "The Hunger Games" serves as a recurring symbol of rebellion/revolution

Metonymy

Substituting a related word for the things meant

ex. "The White House issued a statement." (Meaning the U.S. president)

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions for speed/emphasis

ex. "I came, I saw, I conquered"

Polysyndeton

The use of many conjunctions for effect

ex. "He ran and jumped and laughed for joy."

Gerund

A verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun

ex. "Running is my favorite hobby"

Prose

Ordinary written/spoken language (not poetry)

ex. Novels, essays, short stories

Rhetoric

The art of using language persuasively

ex. Advertisements use rhetoric to convince buyers

Satire

Writing that uses humor of irony to criticize society or people

ex. "Animal Farm" or "The Daily Show"

Synecdoche

Using a part to represent the whole

ex. "All hands on deck" (hands=sailors)

In Media Res

Starting a story in the middle of the action

ex. "The Odyssey" begins after the Trojan War

Vignette

A short, descriptive scene focusing on one moment or impression

ex. "musty books and old upholstery" when describing the setting of a comforting room

Jargon

Specialized language for a particular group or field.

ex. lingo, slang, etc. "stat" meaning immediately "bug" meaning error in a program

Slang

Informal words used by certain groups, mostly youth

ex. cmon yall we know this. "lit" "sybau" "rizz"

Colloquialism

Everyday speech or regional expression

ex. "Y'all" "Gonna"

Palindrome

A word or phrase that reads the same backward and forward

ex. "Madam" "Racecar"

Anecdote

A short, amusing or interesting personal story

ex. A teacher telling a funny story about their first day

Litotes

Understatement using a negative

ex. "Not bad" (meaning good)

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words side by side

ex. "Pretty ugly" "open secret" "awfully good"

Idiom

A phrase whose meaning isn't literal

ex. "Break the ice" "Kick the bucket"

Vernacular

Everyday language of ordinary people in a particular community (very similar to colloqualism, don't get confused!!)

ex. Dialect spoken by people in a REGION - "fancy a cuppa?" for British, "ain't nobody got time for tha'." southern american vernacular

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without pause beyond a line of poetry

ex. "I caught a tremendous fish. / and held him beside the boat. / half out of water, with my hook / fast in a corner of his mouth"

Euphony

Pleasant, harmonious sounds

ex. "murmur" "lullaby"

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant sounds (opposite of euphony!!)

ex. "The clash, clang and crack of steel."