English Mid-Terms

Exposition

The book’s introduction in which characters, setting, and primary conflict are introduced

Rising Action

The first incidents which spark the conflict in the story as it rises towards the climax

Climax

The turning point where the conflicts are at the peak

Falling Action

The part where conflicts begin to resolve based on the lessons learned in the climax

Resolution/Denouement

The part of the story where the conflicts resolve, and the effect of the main conflict is seen

Simile

A phrase that compares two or more similar things in order to describe something (often use words such as like or as)

Metaphors

A phrase that LITERALLY compares two things by using words such as IS

Symbolism

The use of physical things to represent larger ideas such as peace

Personification

The use of human characteristics with non-human nouns

Caesura

A pause that occurs in a line of poetry

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or phrase from a line of poetry to the next

Meter

The rhythm of a line or stanza in poetry

Rhythm

The repeated pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the flow of a piece of literature

Chorus

A part of literature in which that is repeated following each verse

Acts and Scenes

Acts are the divisions used in plays while scenes are their subdivisions

Stage Directions

Instructions written into a play that detail the movement of things and people

Aside

A short address in which a character directly addresses the audience

Soliloquy

A speech in which a character separately expresses him or herself to the audience

Monologue

An extended speech by one person in a piece of literature

Fate

A conflict or struggle between a character and his or her destiny

Determinism

A theme in literature in which a character(s) does not have free will over his or her destiny

Prophecy

A prediction that causes itself to come true

Protagonist

The leading character in a piece of literature

Antagonist

The leading opposition to a story’s protagonist

Drama

A form of literature meant to be performed as a play

Tragedy

A form of drama in which a character struggles against evil forces and conflicts

Comedy

A form of drama that is very lighthearted and cheerful

Setting

The time, place, and environment that something takes place

Conflict

Struggles between opposing forces in literature that guide the plot

Hubris

Pride

Peripety/Peripeteia

A plot twist that occurs during or after the climax

Hamartia

The fatal flaw of a main character

Catharsis

The process by which a character cleanses or purifies their emotions or feelings

Vehicle

Word used to describe the tenor

Tenor

Thing being described