APLIT FLASHCARDS I

1-100

literary forms

poetry, fiction, and drama; divisions of imaginative literature

novels

a long form fictional narrative; complex writing

short story

fiction writing that can be read in one sitting

novella

length is shorter than a novel, but longer than a short story

poetry

aesthetic and rhythmic writing that expresses emotion and ideas

epic

long narrative poem on a serious and exalted subject; combine oral history; guide future generation

dramatic poetry

the writer creates the voice of the invented characters; like a monologue

lyric poetry

individual speaker expresses what he or she feels, perceives, and thinks

dramatic monologue

a poem spoken by the fictional narrator that reveals their thoughts and experiences; often spoken to another character

epigram

a witty saying in a verse or prose, often satiric, comes from Greek word “inscription”

aphorism

a terse statement of general truth about a serious subject

satire

a genre of comedy that is directed at ridiculing human vices, exposes faults

direct satire/formal satire

first-person narrator addresses a specific audience while expressing certain views

indirect satire

used in plays and works of fiction; the indictment of the characters’ voices is implied by simply representing their thoughts

juvenalian satire

harsh and censorious, bitterly condemning vices, inciting the audience to feelings of indignation and disgust

fiction

any narrative about invented characters and events

nonfiction

writings about history, biographies, and real world events

novel

fictional writing greater in length and scope than a short story

novel of incident

main focus is on the course and outcome of events in the plot

novel of character

main focus is on the protagonists thoughts, feelings, and motives

realistic novel

fictional world that closely resembles the events and encounters of everyday life

romance

characters are more likely to be depicted as heroic/villanous, protagonist has bold goals

Bildungsroman

German for a novel about character formation; depicts the emotional and intellectual development of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood

historical novel

set in a time and place removed from a specific period or location, past setting and historical influence

epistolary novel

comprised of a series of letters between characters

antinovel

a work that derives its effects from avoiding typical features of the genre, such as character development and coherent plot

metafiction

the author creates the work and the ways that the reader responds to it; alludes to artificiality and does parody

drama

presents characters directly to the audience, written to be performed in theaters by live actors

playwright

maker of the play

play

individual dramatic work

closet drama

drama intended to be read rather than performed

comedy

tone is light, main effects are to engage and amuse the audience, happy resolution

high comedy

verbal wit, sophisticated and clever characters, appeals to a cultivated audience

low comedy

slapstick humor, fast-paced action, ridiculous caricatures

farce/farcical

entertains the audience with exaggerated and absurd spectacles of humora

romantic comedy

center on a love affair between a beautiful maiden and a worthy suitor who must overcome social and personal obstacles to arrive at a joyous resolution

comedy of manners

depicts young lovers in a more sophisticated tone, outlook is more worldly

stock characters

typical and predictale characters like the interfering father, the rival, etc

tragedy

serious and somber tone, strongly moves the audience, outcome is disastrous for the protagonist, involves death

classical tragedy

Greek, downfall of a noble character due to a fatal flaw

tragic hero

protagonist of a tragedy

hamartia

fatal flaw, Greek word

hubris

excessive pride

anagnorisis

the turning point in which the main character realizes another characters true identity

peripeteia

sudden change, negative for the protagonist

catharsis

an arousal of pity or fear that culminates in an uplifting emotional release or cleansing

senecan tragedy

ten ancient Roman tragedies written by Seneca

revenge tragedy

Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights; getting revenge

domestic tragedy

tragedy that focuses on low/middle class people and their misfortunes

tragicomedies

fall in the middle of tragic/comic spectrum

romance

Shakesperean tragedies that end happily; focus on human flaws and royal families

theater of the absurd

questions the meaning of life in a universe seen as godless; rejection of traditional narratives

Ancient Greek drama

5th century BCE; Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; tragedies

Roman drama

tragedy and comedy; Seneca - 1st century CE, Plautus and Terence - 3rd, 1st century BCE

English medieval drama

divided into morality plays and mystery plays; anonymous authors

Elizabethan

1559-1603 during Queen Elizabeth’s reign; popular theatrical productions; Shakespeare

Restoration

1660-1700; plays written during the Restoration Period; dramatic

Modern drama

began with Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen; late 19th to 20th century; realism

Morality plays

allegories that depicted abstractions of human qualities, usually engaged in a struggle for the soul’s salvation

Mystery plays

designed to illustrate narratives from the Old and New Testaments

Jacobean

1603-25; during the reign of King James I; follows themes of injustice and social upheavel

Eighteenth-century

1700-85; flourishing popularity of theater; comedies and tragedies

figurative language

inclusive term for words that are used in ways that depart conspicuously from their literal applications, so as to achieve special meanings of effects

literal language

standard meanings of words, essential to all literary genres

figures of thought/tropes

words or phrases used in ways that effect an obvious change in their standard meaning

simile

one kind of thing is compared to a markedly different object, concept, or experience using the words “like” or “as”

metaphor

a word or phrase that in literal use designates one kind of thing is applied to a conspicuously different object, concept, or experience without asserting an explicit comparison

tenor

the literal subject of a metaphor

vehicle

the analogy of a metaphor

mixed metaphor

two or more congruous analogies are applied to the same subject

metaphysical conceit

a specialized form of a metaphor/simile with an ingenious, often far-fetched or startling, vehicle

metaphysical poets

poets who favored strange and jarring comparisons

extended metaphor

a trope that is sustained through several lines, ringing changes on the multiple relevances of the vehicle and the tenor

subtext

underlying meaning or set of meanings that provide one of the chief challenges in literature

personification

an abstract concept is treated as though it is alive or had human attributes

allegory

an abstract concept is presented as though it were a character who speaks and acts as an independent being

pathetic fallacy

inanimate aspects of nature, such as the landscape, the season, or the weather, are represented as having human qualities or feelings

Synecdoche

the term for part of something is used to represent the whole

Metonymy/Metonymic

substitutes the name of an entity with something else that is closely associated with it

Irony

using language that typically signifies the opposite for humorous effect

Verbal irony

implying a meaning that is different from/the opposite of what is explicatly stated

Sarcasm

the taunting use of apparent approval or praise for disapproval or dispraise; used with verbal irony

Structural irony

an implication of alternative or more complex meaning that pervades a work

unreliable narrator

continually interprets events and intentions in ways that the author signals are mistaken

Dramatic irony

the audience is aware to knowledge that one or more characters are lacking

Tragic irony

dramatic irony occuring in tragedies

Cosmic irony

an implied worldview in which characters are led to embrace false hopes of aid or success, only to be defeated by a larger force

Hyperbole/Hyperbolic

a point is stated in a way that is greatly exaggerated

Understatement

a point is deliberately expressed as less in magnitude, value, or importance

Litotes

a point is affirmed by negating its opposite

Paradox/Paradoxical

a statement that appears to be contradictory or impossible turns out to express an often striking truth

Oxymoron

combining two opposite/contrary elements in a way that turns out to make good sense

Periphrasis/Periphrastic

a point is stated by deliberate circumlocution rather than directly; euphenisms

Pun

a play on words that have same sounds or closely similar sounds, but have sharply contrasting meanings; witty or humorous meanings

Equivoque

a special form of the pun; double meanings or multiple interpretations

Figures of speech (schemes)

depend upon a change in the standard syntax of words to create special effects

Apostrophe/Apostrophizes/Apostrophized

an address to a dead or absent person or an inanimate object

Invocation

the speaker adresses an appeal for aid or guidance from a muse or a deity

rhetorical question

a question is posed not to solicit a reply but to emphasize a conclusion

anaphora

intentional repition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines