Literary and Rhetorical Terms Flashcards

Atmosphere

The mood or feeling created by a literary work, often established through setting, tone, and imagery.

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, often using figurative language and rhetorical devices.

Expository

Writing that explains or informs using facts, logic, and examples.

Generic Conventions

Features and characteristics commonly found within a particular genre.

Rhetorical Modes

Patterns of writing: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation.

Adage

A short, traditional saying that expresses a general truth.

Allegory

A narrative in which characters and events symbolize broader moral or political meanings.

Aphorism

A brief, witty statement that reveals a truth or principle.

Apologia

A formal defense of one's beliefs or actions, often in writing.

Criticism

The analysis and interpretation of literature or art.

Elegy

A poem of mourning or lament, often about death.

Epigram

A concise, witty, and often paradoxical statement or poem.

Exemplum

A short tale or anecdote used to illustrate a moral point.

Farce

A humorous play or story with exaggerated characters and absurd situations.

Homily

A sermon or speech offering moral or spiritual guidance.

Parable

A simple story used to teach a moral or religious lesson.

Pastoral

Literature that romanticizes rural life and nature.

Proverb

A common saying expressing a practical truth or piece of advice.

Tall Tale

A humorously exaggerated story featuring larger-than-life characters.

Vignette

A short, descriptive literary sketch capturing a moment or scene.

Anachronism

Something placed in the wrong time period (e.g., a smartphone in ancient Greece).

Archetypes

Universal symbols or character types found in myths and storytelling (e.g., hero, mentor).

Bathos

A sudden drop from the serious to the silly or trivial in tone.

Denouement

The final resolution or outcome of a narrative.

Deus Ex Machina

A sudden and improbable solution to a complex problem in a story.

Narrative Pacing

The speed and rhythm at which a story unfolds.

Antithesis

A rhetorical contrast of ideas in a balanced structure (e.g., "give me liberty or give me death").

Conceit

An extended or elaborate metaphor that links two very different ideas.

Kenning

A compound expression used metaphorically (e.g., "battle-sweat" for blood).

Metonymy

Replacing the name of something with something closely related (e.g., "The White House" for the U.S. government).

Mixed Metaphors

The blending of incompatible metaphors that confuse meaning.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but reveals a deeper truth.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole (e.g., "wheels" for "car").

Antonomasia

Replacing a proper name with a title or nickname (e.g., "The King of Pop" for Michael Jackson).

Circumlocution

Talking around a subject instead of stating it directly.

Homage

A respectful tribute or acknowledgment to someone or something.

Litotes

Understatement using a negative to affirm a positive (e.g., "not bad" means good).

Metanoia

A rhetorical device that involves self-correction (e.g., "He's the best—no, the greatest—leader ever").

Wit

Clever, humorous, and intellectually sharp language.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses.

Anthimeria / Antimeria

Using one part of speech as another (e.g., "text me" uses a noun as a verb).

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words (e.g., "Go and mow the lawn").

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds at the end or middle of words (e.g., "pitter-patter").

Invective

Harsh, abusive, or insulting language.

Malapropism

A humorous misuse of a word that sounds similar to the intended one.

Pedantic

Overly concerned with minute details or rules; overly academic.

Polyptoton

Repetition of a word in different forms (e.g., "strong strength" or "judge and judgment").

Enjambment

When a sentence or phrase continues beyond the end of a poetic line.

Foot

A basic unit of meter in poetry, made up of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Heroic Couplet

Two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter.

Iambic Pentameter

A line of poetry with five iambs (unstressed-stressed syllable pairs).

Internal Rhyme

Rhyming words within the same line of poetry.

Meter

The rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem, typically in iambic pentameter, with a specific rhyme scheme.

Proponent

Someone who supports or argues in favor of something.

Synthesis

Combining different ideas, sources, or arguments to create a cohesive whole.