What Is the Horror Genre? Vocabulary

Question-and-answer study flashcards covering key literary concepts, vocabulary, and suspense techniques from the 'What Is the Horror Genre?' lecture notes.

What is a convention?

A way in which something is usually done

What does it mean to predict?

To guess about something that will happen in the future

What is psychology?

The study of the human mind

What is a technique?

A way of carrying out a specific task

What is secret keeping in suspense literature?

A suspense technique when one character knows something another character does not

What is dramatic irony?

A suspense technique when the reader or audience knows something the characters do not

What is foreshadowing?

A suspense technique that hints at a forthcoming event

What is suspense?

A literary technique authors use to build tension, fear, and excitement

What is shock?

A literary technique authors use to give an immediate feeling of fear

What does it mean to summarize?

When you briefly restate all the text's central ideas and most important details in your own words

What are central ideas?

The most important ideas about a topic in a text. Can be as large as the whole text, or as small as a paragraph from the text

What does dissimulation mean?

To hide one's true feelings

What is sagacity?

Sound judgment

What is suavity?

Graceful politeness

What are gesticulations?

Energetic movements of hands or arms

What does it mean to conceive?

To think of a new idea

What does it mean to vex someone?

To bother or annoy a person

What does it mean to stifle something?

To smother something

What does it mean to do something vehemently?

To do something with intense emotions

What is derision?

Jeering (rude) laughter or ridicule

What does hypocritical mean?

To act in a way that suggests one person is above another

What is tone in literature?

How the author sounds

What is mood in literature?

How the reader feels