Literary Elements, Drama, Contexts, and Argumentative Writing

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering character types, plot structure, literary devices, literary contexts, philosophy branches, drama elements, dialogue types, and argumentative essay components.

Narrative poetry

A kind of poetry that tells stories in verse form, using elements like character, conflict, and plot.

Major Character

The central figure or protagonist in a story (e.g., Uning).

Minor Character

A character who appears only once or twice in a story.

Confidante

A character who listens to the main character's thoughts.

Foil

A character who has opposite traits to the main character.

Stock character

A literary archetype, such as a hero or damsel.

Flat Character

A character that lacks depth and shows little development.

Round character

A character that is well-developed and complex.

Static character

A character that remains the same throughout the story (e.g., Cotiling).

Dynamic character

A character that undergoes major change throughout the story (e.g., Uning).

Direct characterization

Characterization where the poet or another character explicitly describes a character.

Indirect characterization

Characterization that is revealed through a character's actions or thoughts.

Conflict

A struggle between 2 forces that drives the story forward, which can be internal (character vs. self) or external (character vs. character, society, nature, technology, or supernatural).

Linear Plot

A plot structure where events follow a chronological order.

Non-linear Plot

A plot structure where events are out of order and may use flashbacks.

Exposition

The first stage of Freytag's Pyramid, involving the introduction of characters and setting.

Rising Action

The stage of Freytag's Pyramid where the initial conflict is introduced.

Climax

The turning point or peak of excitement in a story's plot.

Falling Action

Events in a plot that take place after the climax.

Resolution

The final stage of a plot where loose ends are tied up.

Figure of speech

A rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way; also known as figurative language.

Simile

An expression comparing one thing to another using the words 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor

A comparison of 2 unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Hyperbole

An obvious exaggeration or overstatement.

Personification

A figure of speech where the writer gives human qualities to animals or objects.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Imagery

Language that invokes the senses.

Foreshadowing

Important hints an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound.

Allusion

A casual reference to a famous historical figure or event.

Paradox

A sentence that reveals something true which at 1st seems contradictory.

Symbolism

Using an object or action that means something more beyond its literal definition.

Idiom

An expression with a meaning different from the literal meaning of the words.

Oxymoron

A combination of 2 opposite terms.

Euphemism

A polite word or phrase used in place of one that may be too direct, unpleasant, etc.

Anaphora

The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds, which creates internal rhyming.

Biographical context

The background context considering what biographical facts the author used and insights readers acquire about the author's life (derived from Greek bios meaning life and graphia meaning writing).

Historical context

The context analyzing specific historical events happening when the work was composed and how history influenced the writer's outlook.

Geographical Context

The context examining regionalist writing, dialect, human-environment relations, and spatial organization.

Cognitive Psychological Context

The psychological domain related to thinking, cognitive assumptions, education, and learning ability.

Physical Psychological Context

The psychological domain related to doing, physical activity and ability, habits, preferences, and sensory experiences.

Emotional Psychological Context

The psychological domain related to feeling, psychological state, anxiety, confidence, stress, and desire.

Logic

A branch of philosophy concerned with sound reasoning, formalism, foundations of mathematics, proofs, and sets.

Epistemology

A branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, truth, skepticism, justification, and hypothesis testing.

Metaphysics

A branch of philosophy addressing what exists, ontology, space & time, modality, and conceptual consilience.

Value Theory

A branch of philosophy addressing what is good, ethics, normativity, aesthetics, and social & political theory.

Co-Text

Surrounding words, sentences, or passages that clarify ambiguities, frame interpretation, resolve figurative meanings, and link words to the broader narrative.

Collocation

Habitual pairing of words that naturally go together in natural English, creating cultural or emotional resonance.

One-act play

A play that only has 1 act, usually features 4 or fewer characters developed primarily through dialogue, and is set in a single location over no more than 1 day.

Drama

Derived from the word 'dran' meaning 'to act' or 'to-do'; a story intended to be acted on a stage before an audience.

Spectacle

One of Aristotle's 6 essential elements of drama, referring specifically to the visual element of a play.

Convention

The methods or techniques that a director uses in drama to create a specific style or effect.

Common Dialogue

A type of dialogue where 2 or more characters talk in a scene.

Monologue

A type of dialogue where only 1 character is speaking while the rest are listening, triggered by the scene ('mono' = one, 'logue' = speak).

Soliloquy

A type of dialogue where a character delivers lines while alone on stage, used to express deep thoughts.

Aside

A type of dialogue where a character delivers lines that other characters seem not to hear, directed only to the audience.

Argumentative Essay

An essay designed to persuade the reader to accept or consider the writer's opinion on a controversial topic.

Thesis / claim

An opinion or position on an issue that must be supported with reasons and evidence.

Counterclaim

The opposite side of an argument that argues against a claim to challenge it.

Rebuttal

A turn back to the original position that responds to and refutes issues presented by the counterclaim to disprove or prove it false.