Unit 1 English Literary Terms

Transcendentalism

movement of writers that promotes intuitive, spiritual thinking over scientific based thinking; appreciation of nature; spiritual perfection

dark romantics

sub-genre of Romanticism; fascination with the supernatural

aphorism

A short, memorable statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle. Often used to convey wisdom or provoke thought.

catalog

a systematic list or inventory of items, often with vivid descriptions and categorization, used to enhance imagery, rhythm, and thematic exploration within a poem.

Iambic Pentameter

each line has five pairs of syllables; each pair has unstressed and stressed syllable; "The Psalm of Life” and Thanatopsis

meter

the repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry

rhythm

the pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

scansion

the analysis of a poem's meter, which involves identifying and marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. It helps to determine the rhythmic pattern and structure of a poem.

metric foot

a unit that has one stressed syllable and either one or two unstressed syllables

simile

a figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common, using words like or as

personification

a figure of speech in which an object, animal, or idea is given human characteristics

imagery

the author's use of description and vivid language by appealing to the senses

speaker

the voice of the poem / the narrator

stanza

a well-defined group of several lines of poetry having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme

blank verse

poetry that doesn’t rhyme, but uses meter (iambic pentameter)

rhyme scheme

a poet's deliberate pattern of lines that rhyme with other lines in a poem or a stanza

elements of romanticism

• Values Imagination/Intuition over reason (shift from rationalism)

• Profound love of Nature

• Focus on the Individual over society

• 5 I’s: Individuality, Intuition, Inspiration, Imagination, and Idealism

allegory

An extended metaphor in which the characters, places, and objects in a narrative carry figurative meaning

omniscient narrator

the all-knowing voice in a story

characterization

the revealing of a character’s significant traits throughout literary work

situational irony

opposite of what is expected actually happens

stock character

a stereotypical character easily recognized by audiences from reoccurring appearences in literature

static/flat character

character with no personality and no change view or ideals throughout the story; only there to serve the plot

symbol

a person, object, place, event, or action that suggests more than its literal meaning

Faust Legend

a guy who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and riches

Parable

a short tale that illustrates a universal truth

dynamic/round character

a literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude (ex: Ebenezer Scrooge)

theme/ moral message

an element of moral content, something to be conveyed by the author to the reader, and the meaning contained in a work

tone

conveys the author’s attitude toward the subject, speaker, or audience

mood

the emotional undertone that an author conveys in a work

single effect

a felt sense, where a particular emotion is created in the reader

elements of transcendentalism

• Each individual has potential for spiritual perfection

• Commune with nature/follow your “inner light”

• If each indiv. achieves perfection, then the world will be perfect

• Don’t let the world (day-to-day) get in the way.

Brook Farm

an attempted Transcendentalist Utopia (A perfect town); one of many experiments in communal living that took place in the United States during the first half of the 19th century

rhetoric

language designed to motivate, persuade, or inform

emotional appeal

“Pathos”; to attempt to persuade the audience by evoking certain emotions

logical appeal

to attempt to persuade an audience through the use of logic, reason, data, and facts

paradox

a statement that appears to contradict itself, but upon further rumination, either reveals a deeper meaning or actually makes sense

inductive reasoning

drawing conclusions by going from specific facts to general statements

deductive reasoning

logical drawing of conclusions from general ideas to specific

metaphor

a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn't literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison

repitition

a literary device in which a word or phrase is used multiple times

catalog

a collection of people, objects, ideas, and other elements in list form within poetry or prose

parallelism

a poetic technique where writers repeat grammatically similar words or parts of a sentence

free verse

doesn’t use consistent meter, rhyme, or any rhythmic pattern

slant rhyme

a rhyming scheme with words that sound similar but not exactly the same

style/ experimental structure

the way in which an author uses language to convey their ideas and create a unique voice and tone; might break away from the traditional norms of poetry