Harlem Renaissance
A literary, artistic, and intellectual movement from the 1920-1930s that kindled a new black cultural identity
Imagism
Poetic movement focused on hard, clear expression, concrete images, and the language of everyday speech
Modernism
a literary movement in which writers captured the essence of modern life in both the form and content of their work
realism
a literary movement in which writers sought to portray life as faithfully and accurately as possible, focusing on ordinary people suffering the harsh realities of everyday life
Naturalism
a literary movement in which writers showed people succumbing to forces beyond their control
Regionalism
a literary movement in which writers depicted the unique qualities of a geographical area and its people
southern gothic
a style of writing practiced by many writers of the american south whose stories set in the region are characterized by grotesque, macabre (disturbing), or fantastic incidents
grotesque
distorted, exaggerated description (of ten of the human body)
allegory
a story in which all the literal elements are also symbols
catalog
list of things, people, places, actions, etc
dramatic monologue
speaker of the poem is a character who addresses the reader like a character in a play might speak to the audience
syntax
the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentneces in a language
ex- subject + verb + object → the clilmbs the tree
free verse
a poem that does not have a particular rhyme scheme or meter
hyperbole
exaggeration
imagery
descriptive writing that appeals to the senses
situational irony
when something happens in a way that is opposite of what’s expected
dramatic irony
when the reader knows something that a character does not
verbal irony
when someone says the opposite of what they mean
narrative poem
a poem that tells a story
paradox
a statement that at first appears to be contradictory, but upon closer inspection turns out to make sense
parallelism
a balance within one more sentences of similar phrases that have the same grammatical structure
refrain
a phrase, line, or set of lines that is repeated at regular intervals
metaphor
a comparison of two unlike things
simile
comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”
slant or near rhyme
the sounds are almost but not exactly alike
spirituals
folk songs often sung by enslaved African Americans
stream of consciousness
writing that presents thoughts and ideas the way the human experiences them- in short bursts, without full sentences, and often without clear or logical connections
third person limited narration
when a story is restricted to the perspective of one particular character with the use of he/she pronouns
third person omniscient narration
an all-knowing narrator who is not a character in a story
allusion
an implied or indirect reference to a person, event or thing (like to the bible or story)
irony
situation where a contrast between reality and expectations
onomatopoeia
using words that create or imitate a sound
understatement
literary device used to downplay a situation as less serious, significant or smaller than it is