English II Honors Final Exam Vocabulary

Flashcards for English II Honors Final Exam Review

Epic

A long narrative poem celebrating the deeds of legendary or traditional heroes.

Epic Hero

The protagonist of an epic poem who embodies the values of their culture.

Invocation

A formal plea for aid, typically to a deity or Muse, at the beginning of an epic.

Monomyth

A recurring pattern or cycle of heroic journeys, also known as the hero's journey.

Muse

A source of inspiration, especially a guiding spirit.

Lyric Poetry

A type of poetry that expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.

Pastoral Poetry

Poetry that depicts rural life in an idealized manner.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem using iambic pentameter and a specific rhyme scheme.

Villanelle

A nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain, with two rhymes throughout the poem.

Act

A major division in a play.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in close proximity.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person or a personified object, quality, or idea.

Caesura

A pause or break within a line of poetry.

Comic Relief

Humorous scenes, incidents, or speeches that are included in a serious drama to provide a reduction in emotional intensity.

Epithet

An adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

Foil

A character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character.

Homeric Simile

An extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration.

Hubris

Excessive pride or self-confidence.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Iambic Pentameter

A line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.

In Medias Res

A narrative that begins in the middle of the story.

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.

Mood

The atmosphere or emotional state created in a literary work.

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Rhyme

The correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.

Off Rhyme

A rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match. Also called slant rhyme.

Scene

A sequence of continuous action in a play, film, opera, or book.

Scop

An Old English bard or poet.

Tone

The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

Tragic Flaw

A trait in a character leading to their downfall.

Weregild

In ancient Germanic law, the value set upon a person's life, payable as compensation to the family or lord by someone killing or injuring that person.

Xenia

The ancient Greek concept of hospitality; the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship.

Abase

To behave in a way that degrades or demeans someone.

Ad Infinitum

To continue endlessly.

Annex

To add as an extra part, especially to a document or territory.

Appropriation

The action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission.

Avert

To turn away (one's eyes or thoughts).

Bona Fide

Genuine; real.

Boorish

Rough and bad-mannered; coarse.

Buoyant

Able to stay afloat or rise to the top of water or air; cheerful and optimistic.

Cleave

To adhere firmly to; to split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.

Clique

A small, exclusive group of people.

Cornerstone

An important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.

Devitalize

To deprive of strength and vigor.

Dormant

Having normal physical functions suspended or slowed down for a period of time; inactive.

Dubious

Hesitating or doubting; not to be relied upon; suspect.

Glib

Fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow.

Harry

To persistently annoy or harass.

Impenitent

Not feeling or expressing remorse for one's sins or misdeeds.

Improvise

To create and perform spontaneously or without preparation.

Influx

An arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things.

Legion

A vast number.

Perverse

Showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable; contrary.

Plaintiff

A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Prelude

An action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.

Probe

To physically explore or examine (something) with the hands or an instrument; to investigate thoroughly.

Profuse

Plentiful; abundant.

Quarry

A place, typically a large, deep pit, from which stone or other materials are or have been extracted; an animal pursued or hunted; prey.

Reconcile

To restore friendly relations between.

Rustic

Relating to the countryside; rural.

Sever

To divide by cutting or slicing, especially suddenly and forcibly.

Shackle

A pair of restraints connected together, used to fasten someone's ankles or wrists; to restrain.

Sordid

Involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.