English 10 Literary Terms Final Test

Allegory

a story in which people, things, and actions represent generalizations about life, often with a moral or message

Analyze

the use of reasoning to interpret and examine ideas or issues of a specific topic

Anaphora

repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses

Antagonist

the most prominent of the characters who oppose the protagonist; the antagonist is most often a villain seeking to hinder a hero/heroine

Archetypes

a character type, a pattern, or model of an action or an image that recurs consistently enough in literature to be considered universal (hero, outsider, etc)

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

Characterization

The creation of a character's appearance and personality

Dramatic irony

Occurs when the reader or audience knows something important that the character does not

Dynamic Character

a character who changes

Flat Character

a character who can be described in one or two traits

Hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration for the sake of emphasis

Motif

an often repeated idea or theme in a piece of literature

Onomatopoeia

words whose sounds are suggestive of their meanings

Parallelism

Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical structure or state a similar idea

Persona

a character assumed by an author

Personification

a literary device in which nonhuman things are given human qualities and characteristics

Protagonist

the central character in a story who initiates or drives the action

Round Character

a character that is complex and well-developed

Simile

the comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"

Situational Irony

an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected

Static Character

a character who remains unchanged or little changed throughout the course of a story

Summarizing

taking larger pieces of text and reducing them to their bare essentials or most important points in your own words

Theme

the central idea or insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

Verbal Irony

when a character says one thing but means the opposite (sarcasm)

Works Cited

the page/section of an essay that lists all of the sources referenced in the text

Allusion

a reference to a historical event, person, place, or artistic work that the author assumes the reader will understand

Anachronism

Event or detail that is inconsistent or inappropriate for the time period.

Analogy

A comparison made between two things to show they are alike.

Anecdote

a brief story told to show a point

Climax

the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action

Coherence

the arrangement of ideas in such a way that the reader can easily follow from one point to the next

Conflict

the opposition of persons or forces that give rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction

Connotation

All meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

Diction

word choice intended to convey a certain effect

Elaboration

to expand in detail

Exposition

introduces the setting, the characters, and their conflicts

Figurative Language

language that goes beyond the meaning of the words used

Flashback

going back to an earlier time in or before the story for the purpose of making something in the present clearer

Foil

A character who serves as a contrast to another character

Falling Action

actions that lead to the resolution of the conflicts

Foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the plot

Idiom

an expression, particular to a certain language that means something different from the literal definition of the phrase

Imagery

language that appeals to any of the five senses

Memoir

a type of autobiography that often focuses on a specific time period or historical event and the author’s personal interpretation of experiences

Metaphor

an implied comparison of two unlike things, without the use of “like” or “as”

Mood

the feeling of a piece of literature

Myth

a traditional story that attempts to explain a natural phenomenon or justify a belief in society

Oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines opposites or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

Paraphrasing

to use one’s own words to restate another author’s idea; the original source must be cited appropriately

Plagiarism

the unethical act of presenting someone else’s ideas as your own (without proper citation).

Ad Hominem

Attacks the personality of the individual instead of dealing with arguments and issues

Ad Populum

Logical fallacy that tries to prove something by showing that some sector of the public agrees with you

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas in a balanced structure

Apostrophe

the narrator addresses an absent or dead person, or something nonhuman as if it were present and could reply

Aphorism

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life

Begging the Question

also called Circular Reasoning-logical fallacy that assumes something to be true that needs proof

Critique

A critical evaluation in the form of an essay, article, evaluation, or review

Denotation

the precise, literal meaning of the word

Dialect

the version of a language spoken by people of a particular region or social group

Either/Or Reasoning

logical fallacy in which the argument or issue uses two polar opposites, ignoring any alternatives

Emotional Appeal(pathos)

an appeal that evokes a sense of pity or compassion from the audience

Ethical Appeal(ethos)

Establishes the credibility of the speaker

Generalization

a logical fallacy in which an assumption is made about a whole group based on a small sample

Literary Criticism

the evaluation, analysis, or interpretation of literature

Logical Fallacy

an incorrect reasoning in argumentation resulting in a misconception

Logical Appeal(logos)

an appeal to the audience’s logic or reason

Non Sequitur

Latin for “It does not follow.” Logical fallacy in which one statement is not logically connected to the next

Overstatement

hyperbole; extreme exaggeration

Primary Source

material that is closest to the person, idea, information, or time period being studied

Rhetoric

The art of communicating ideas effectively

Rhetorical Question

a question posed for emphasis of a point, not for the purpose of getting an answer

Satire

a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change

Secondary Source

a source of research or writing that other authors have published about the primary source or a related subject

Symbolism

using a person, place, thing, or event to represent something greater than itself

Understatement

a figure of speech that consists of saying less than what one means

Aside

A character’s comment that is heard by the audience but no by some of the characters

Blank verse

poetic lines written in unrhymed iambic pentameter (still has a rhythm)

Couplet

two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Free Verse

poetry that is free of rhyme and meter

Iambic pentameter

five groups of syllables consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, making ten beats per line

Monologue

an extended speech delivered by one person in a literary work (to others)

Meter

the patterned repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

Paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals some kind of truth

Plot

the events that make up the action of the story

Point of View

the vantage point from which the writer constructs a story

Pun

a play on words based on multiple meanings of a single word

Refrain

a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated several times in a poem

Repetition

A rhetorical device that restates an idea using the same words over and over again

Resolution

when the problems are resolved and the story concludes

Rhyme Scheme

the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or a song

Rising Action

The stage of the plot that adds complications to problems and increases interest in the story

Setting

the time and place in which a literary work ocurs

Soliloquy

a speech delivered by a character who is alone on stage to express his innermost thoughts

Stage Directions

a set of instructions given in a play that defines/explains actions taken by the characters

Stanza

a division of poetry like a paragraph in prose

Third Person Limited

story is told through the eyes of a narrator who focuses on the thoughts and feelings of just one character

Third Person Omniscient

story is told through the eyes of a narrator who knows about the characters and their problems

Tragic Hero

A noble character who suffers a downfall because of a flaw in his personality (tragic flaw)

First Person

a character tells the story

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sound