lit quiz 2

antihero

central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. May lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.

anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (deity becomes human, etc)

aphorism

brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle/ accepted general truth

apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person; to a place or thing; or a personified, abstract idea

apposition

placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements; the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together

asyndeton

statement used without conjunctions to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally. ex: i came. i saw. i conquered.

balance

constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length & importance. sentences can be the opposite of this to serve a special effect as well.

bildungsroman

the psychological growth of a character

characterization

the process by which the writer rereads the personality of a character