English Literature - Terminology

Flashcards summarizing key literary terminology and their definitions as presented in the lecture notes.

Adjective

Describes a noun, gives more information about it (e.g. beautiful, stunning, disgraceful, angry).

Adverb

Describes a verb, gives more information about it (e.g. angrily, happily, joyfully).

Allegory

A type of writing in which the settings, characters, or events stand for other, larger ideas (e.g. Animal Farm represents ideas about revolution and politics).

Alliteration

The same letter or sound at the beginning of words close to each other (e.g. Brilliant birds, Slithering snake).

Allusion

Making reference to people, places, events, literary works, myths, or works of art (e.g. 'Don’t be such a Scrooge').

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses (e.g. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’).

Antithesis

A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else (e.g. Love is the _____ of hate).

Assonance

When two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound (e.g. We light fire on the mountain).

Caesura

A break or pause in the middle of a line of verse/poetry (e.g. ‘To be or not to be, that is the question’).

Characterisation

How a character is introduced and developed through what the writer informs us about them (e.g. ‘the noble Harry Potter’).

Cliché

A phrase or opinion that is overused and shows a lack of original thought (e.g. Time heals all wounds).

Colloquialism

The use of informal words or phrases (e.g. Wanna, Gonna).

Connotation

The feelings or associations suggested by words/phrases (e.g. 'Discipline' has unhappy ________).

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows something that the characters don’t (e.g. in Romeo and Juliet).

Dramatic monologue

A poetic form that presents the speech or conversation of a person dramatically (e.g. ‘My Last Duchess’).

Enjambement

Where one line in poetry continues to the next line without any punctuation (e.g. ‘We were running To find what had happened’).

Figurative language

Using figures of speech to be more effective and impactful (e.g. metaphors, similes).

Foreboding

When it is implied that something bad will happen (e.g. Dark clouds).

Foreshadowing

Suggesting what is to come later in a piece of writing (e.g. ‘take care of yourselves’).

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration often used to persuade (e.g. ‘I’ve told you a thousand times’).

Imagery

Visually descriptive language ('painting a picture with words').

Irony

Using language that signifies the opposite of what you mean for humorous effect (e.g. saying ‘Don’t go overboard with gratitude’ to someone who hasn’t thanked you).

Juxtaposition

Two contrasting ideas placed close together (e.g. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’).

Metaphor

Saying something is something else; a direct comparison not meant literally (e.g. ‘He is winter’).

Noun

Names people, places, or things (e.g. Fay, London, table).

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from an associated sound (e.g. Bang, Crash).

Oxymoron

A phrase using contradictory terms (e.g. organised mess).

Pathetic fallacy

Using weather to express emotions of a scene (e.g. ‘In thunder, lightning or in rain’).

Personification

Using human characteristics to describe something non-human (e.g. “The clock face stared at me”).

Prefix

Added at the beginning of a word to change its meaning (e.g. Un- in unlucky).

Pronoun

Replaces a noun or noun phrase (e.g. I, you, we).

Repetition

Repeating a sound, word, phrase, or stanza for effect (e.g. ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’).

Rhetorical question

A question which does not require an answer (e.g. ‘How many times have I told you?’).

Semantic field

A group of words that link to an overall theme (e.g. flowers, plants in nature).

Simile

The comparison of one thing with another using 'like' or 'as' (e.g. As bright as a button).

Soliloquy

An extended speech by one character when they are alone (e.g. Lady Macbeth receiving a letter).

Sonnet

A 14-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme, often about love (e.g. ‘Ozymandias’).

Suffix

An ‘ending’ added to a word (e.g. -ment in embarrassment).

Syllable

Sounds like a beat in a word (e.g. ha-ppy has 2 _____).

Symbolism

Using a physical object to represent deeper meanings or themes (e.g. Harry Potter’s scar as a symbol of bravery).

Syntax

The arrangement of words to create well-formed sentences (e.g. The boy jumped happily).

Verb

A ‘doing word’ or action (e.g. walks, sashays).