Ancient Roman Literature and Elements of Literature: Echo and Narcissus

Flashcards covering vocabulary from the myth of Echo and Narcissus, types of literary characters, elements of plot, and modes of public speaking.

Publius Ovidius Naso

Known in English as Ovid, he was one of the three canonical poets of Roman Literature and the author of the narrative poem Metamorphoses.

Metamorphoses

A Latin narrative poem by Ovid that collects mythological and legendary stories told in chronological order from the world's creation to the deification of Julius Caesar.

Tiresias

A famous seer throughout the Aonian cities who provided faultless answers and prophesied that Narcissus would live a long life 'if he does not discover himself.'

Liriope

A dusky Naiad who gave birth to Narcissus after being clasped by the river-god Cephisus.

Narcissus

The child of Cephisus and Liriope who reached the age of $16$ and eventually fell in love with his own reflection as a punishment for his intense pride.

Echo

A nymph who could not speak first nor remain silent when others spoke; she was punished by Juno to only return the last words she hears.

Juno

Also known as Saturnia, she restricted Echo's speech after realizing the nymph purposefully distracted her with long conversations to allow other nymphs to flee from Jupiter.

Rhamnusia

The goddess Nemesis, who answered a prayer from a mocked suitor to make Narcissus fall in love with something he could not command.

Parian marble

The material Ovid uses as a simile to describe Narcissus when he first sees his reflection and hangs motionless like a carved statue.

Stygian waters

The waters Narcissus continued to gaze into even after being received into the 'house of shadows' (death).

Protagonist

The central character in a story whose actions drive the story forward.

Antagonist

The character who opposes or works against the central character, providing conflict in the story.

Backdrop Setting

A type of setting that serves merely as the background of the story and is not important to the plot.

Integral Setting

A type of setting where the specific location is important to the story's development.

Exposition

The stage of the plot, also known as the introduction, where the author introduces the setting, characters' backstories, and preceding events.

Rising action

A series of incidents that builds suspense and tension, setting up the climax of the story.

Climax

The turning point or highest part of the story where a character makes a choice that affects the rest of the plot and the conflict may be resolved.

Denouement

The ending of the story where everything is explained and all loose ends are tied up.

Third-person limited

A point of view where the narrator is outside the story and the reader can access the perspective of only one character.

Theme

The underlying message or central idea of a literary work around which all other elements revolve.

Static Character

A character who stays the same throughout the story, such as Narcissus, whose personality does not change despite his downfall.

Dynamic Character

A character whose personality evolves alongside the conflict and other characters over the course of the story.

News Reports

Informational reports about current events that should be unbiased, giving out facts without adding personal opinions.

Persuasive Speech

A kind of speech where the speaker convinces or sways the audience to accept their point of view.

Informative Speech

A speech that provides relevant details, facts, and data about a specific topic to educate the listener rather than persuade them.

Panel Discussion

A format used in meetings or conferences where a group of experts take turns discussing a topic to provide different perspectives to the audience.