English exam terms

Flashback

Flashback

A plot device where a scene from the fictional past is inserted into the fictional present or is dramatized out of order

Foreshadowing

A plot device in which a hint or clue about a later plot development is given

Subplot

A secondary plot in a work of fiction, one which often mirrors or contrasts the main plot

Conflict

A plot device which represents a struggle between opposing forces

Exposition

A plot device in which basic information such as characters and their situations is established

Complication

A plot device in which conflicted is introduced or intensified

Climax

A plot device in which the outcome of the plot and fate of the characters is established

Epiphany

A sudden revelation of truth, often inspired by a seemingly simple or commonplace event

omniscient narrator

A third person narrator whoo has access to thoughts, perceptions, and experiences of the characters in a story

limited narrator

a third person narrator who relates the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of a single character

objective narrator

a third person narrator who reports only the characters speech and actions

unreliable narrator

a first person narrator whose account is viewed as flawed or suspicious

Foil

A character that serves as a contrast and thereby helps reveal the qualities of another character, usually the protagonist

Round characters

Characters that are complex and multifaceted and so act in unexpected but possible ways

Flat characters

characters that are simple, with few dominant traits and behaving in predictable ways

dynamic characters

characters that change during the story

static characters

characters that do not change during the story

historical fiction

a subgenera of fiction in which the temporal setting is significantly earlier than its author time

spatial setting

the place or places in which the action unfolds

temporal setting

the time period in which action unfolds

author time

the time period in which the fictional text was written

epic

a long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet

ballad

a form of poetry, originally meant to be sung, that alternates lines of four and three beats, often in quatrains, rhyme abab, and often telling a story

dramatic monologue

a poem in which a speaker addresses a silent auditor, in which the speaker"s personality, views and values are revealed

elegy

a lyric that takes death as its primary subject, often focused on the death of a particular person and concerning the speaker's attempts to come to terms with her grief

allusion

a reference to someone or somethings that is known from history, literatures, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture> A reference to another text or some person or entity external to the work

apostrophe

the addressing of a usually absent person or usually personified thing rhetorically. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation

hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect

verbal irony

occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else

situational irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

dramatic irony

is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.

metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. Where a simile compares two items, a metaphor directly equates them

metonymy

a figure of speech in which the name of one thing is used to refer to another associated thing. Example: "The White House promised to veto the bill." "The White House" is a metonym for the President and the executive branch

oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Example: "wise fool"

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth

personification

a figure of speech in which something nonhuman, such as an abstraction, is given human feelings, thoughts or attitudes

simile

a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as "like" or "as"

synecdoche

a type of metonymy in which a part represents the whole. Example: If you don't drive properly you will lose your wheels." The wheels represent the entire car

alliteration

a repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

anaphora

the repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonants sounds especially in words that are together

caesura

a short pause within a line of poetry, often signaled by punctuation

connotation

the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase that are in addition to its strict dictionary definition

consonance

the repetition of certain consonant sounds in words that are in close proximity

denotation

a words direct and literal meaning

onomatopeia

the use of words whose sounds echo their sense

refrain

a word, phrase, line, or group of liens that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem

end rhyme

when the last syllables or words in two or more lines rhyme with each other

internal rhyme

rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines

slant rhyme

a type of rhyme formed by words with similar but not identical sounds