Key Terminology in English Literature

These flashcards cover key terminology in English Literature to aid in exam preparation.

Allegory

A prose or poetic narrative with characters and settings that symbolize deeper meanings and themes.

Alliteration

The repetition of similar initial sounds in neighboring words, often in stressed syllables.

Allusion

A reference to a literary or historical event, person, or place.

Anapestic

A metrical foot in poetry consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.

Anaphora

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses.

Anecdote

A brief story or tale told by a character in literature.

Antagonist

Any force in opposition to the main character, or protagonist.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel phrases or structures.

Apostrophe

An address to an inanimate object or absent person, treating them as present.

Archetype

Recurrent designs or character types that are identifiable across literature.

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds in closely placed stressed syllables.

Asyndeton

A writing style where conjunctions are omitted for a faster pace.

Attitude

The author's tone and mood toward the subject in a literary work.

Ballad

A narrative poem originally meant to be sung, characterized by repetition and refrain.

Blank verse

Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, resembling common speech.

Caesura

A pause within a line of verse, determined by natural speech patterns.

Caricature

A depiction in which exaggerated characteristics render a character absurd.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech that reverses the order of terms in two parallel clauses.

Colloquial

Ordinary language and vernacular characteristic of a specific region.

Conceit

A comparison of two unlikely things, often an extended metaphor.

Connotation

The implied or suggested meaning of a word beyond its literal definition.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds in proximity but with different intervening vowels.

Couplet

Two rhyming lines of poetry that present a single idea.

Dactylic

A metrical foot in poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Denotation

The explicit, literal meaning of a word.

Denouement

The final resolution of the main conflict in a narrative.

Dialect

The language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area or group.

Diction

The authors' specific choice of words for effect.

Dramatic monologue

A speech delivered by a single character in a dramatic situation.

Elegy

A poem that laments a death, often ending in some consolation.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or thought beyond the end of a line of poetry.

Epic

A lengthy narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and significant cultural events.

Exposition

The part of a narrative that sets up the story by introducing characters and situations.

Extended metaphor

A complex metaphor that is developed over many lines.

Fable

A short moral story often featuring animals as characters.

Falling action

The stage in a narrative where complications are resolved after the climax.

Farce

A comedic style that employs absurd and improbable situations.

Flashback

A narrative technique that interjects past events into the chronological flow.

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues about what will happen later in a narrative.

Formal diction

Lofty, dignified language often used in epics and formal writing.

Free verse

Poetry that lacks a fixed meter or rhyme scheme.

Genre

A category or type of literature.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.

Iambic

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Idyll

A short poem depicting pastoral or rural life.

Imagery

Sensory details or figurative language used to describe and evoke feelings.

Informal diction

Casual language similar to everyday speech.

In medias res

Starting a narrative in the middle of the action.

Irony

A situation characterized by a significant discrepancy between expectation and reality.

Jargon

Specialized language used by a particular profession or group.

Juxtaposition

Placing two elements side by side to highlight contrasts.

Limited point of view

A narrative perspective confined to one character's thoughts and experiences.

Litote

An understatement that expresses a positive statement by negating its opposite.

Loose sentence

A sentence that presents its main idea at the beginning.

Lyric

A type of poetry that expresses personal emotions rather than narrative.

Message

The central idea of a narrative, often misunderstood as a simple statement.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that implies a comparison without using 'like' or 'as'.

Meter

The rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Metonymy

Referring to something by one of its attributes or associated features.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created by a literary work.

Motif

A recurring element that has symbolic significance.

Narrative structure

The organized framework of events in a story.

Narrator

The voice that tells the story in a piece of literature.

Occasional poem

A poem written for a specific occasion.

Ode

A serious lyrical poem often praising an individual or event.

Omniscient point of view

A narrative perspective that provides insight into multiple characters' thoughts.

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds.

Overstatement

Exaggerated claims, often used as a synonym for hyperbole.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.

Parable

A simple story illustrating a moral or lesson.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but may hold a truth.

Parallel structure

Using the same pattern of words to demonstrate equal importance.

Parody

A humorous imitation of a particular style or genre.

Pastoral

A literary work portraying the life of shepherds and rural settings.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that is not complete until the end.

Persona

The voice or character presenting the story, which may differ from the author.

Personification

Giving human traits to non-human entities.

Petrarchan sonnet

A sonnet divided into an octave and sestet, following a specific rhyme scheme.

Plot

The sequence of events that make up a story.

Protagonist

The main character in a story, often facing a conflict.

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines in poetry.

Realism

A literary movement attempting to depict life as it truly is.

Refrain

A repeated line or stanza in a poem or song.

Rhetorical question

A question posed for effect, not requiring an answer.

Rhyme

The similarity of sound between words, especially at the ends of lines.

Rhythm

The pattern of sounds in speech or writing.

Rising action

Development of the plot leading to the climax.

Sarcasm

A form of verbal irony that mocks or conveys contempt.

Satire

A literary work that ridicules human vice or folly.

Scansion

The analysis of verse to understand its metrical structure.

Setting

The time and place of the narrative.

Shakespearean sonnet

A sonnet form with three quatrains followed by a couplet.

Shaped verse

Concrete poetry designed to resemble a specific shape.

Simile

A direct comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'.

Soliloquy

A speech given by a character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts.

Speaker

The voice behind the poem, not necessarily the author.

Stanza

A division within a poem, often defined by consistent line length or rhyme.

Stereotype

A generalized representation of a character based on commonly held assumptions.

Stock character

A character type that appears frequently in literature.

Structure

The arrangement of different elements in a literary work.