Literary Terms

Vocabulary flashcards for literary terms.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically for explanation or clarification.

Anecdote

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction.

Bias

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way that’s considered unfair.

Climax

The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.

Conflict

A serious disagreement or argument, or a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

Couplet

Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Empathetic

Showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Flashback

A scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story.

Ironic

Using or characterized by irony; happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this.

Morality

Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.

Narrative

A spoken or written account of connected events; a story.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle).

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Persuasive

Good at persuading someone to do or believe something through reasoning or the use of temptation.

Protagonist

The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters to denote corresponding rhymes.

Rhythm

A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.

Theme

The subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.