Studied by 41 people
Decorum
a character's speech that must be styled according to their social station and the occasion
Diction
The author's choice of words
Dirge
A song for the dead. Typically slow, heavy, and melancholic
Dissonance
The grating of incompatible sounds
Doggerel
A crude, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that the characters in the drama don't
Dramatic Monologue
When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience
Elegy
A poem on death in general. Often use the recent death of a loved one as a start, also memorialize dead people
Elements
The basic techniques of each genre of literature (Short story: characters, plot, setting, theme, etc.)
enjambment
the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause
Epic
A very long narrative poem on a serious theme in a dignified style. Typically deals with glorious or profound subject matter. (War, heroic journey, fall of man)
epitaph
Lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place.
euphemism
A word or phrase that takes the place of a harsh, unpleasant, or impolite reality
Euphony
When sounds blend harmoniously
explicit
Directly and clearly stated
Farce
In modern terms: Extremely broad humor In past terms: A funny play, a comedy
Feminine Rhyme
Lines rhymed by their final two syllables. Last two syllables go stressed-unstressed
First person narrator
Narrator who is a character in the story and tells the tale from their perspective.
Foil
A secondary character used to highlight qualities in the main character through contrast
Foot
The basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry. Formed by a combination of two or three syllables, either stressed or destressed.
Foreshadowing
An event or statement that suggests a larger, more important event comes later.
Free Verse
Poetry written without a regular rhyme scheme or metrical pattern
Genre
A sub-category of literature
Gothic
The sensibility derived from novels of this genre. (gloomy castles on stormy nights, paintings with eyes that follow you)
Hubris
the excessive pride or ambition that leads to a character's downfall
hyperbole
exaggeration or deliberate overstatement
Implicit
Suggests and implies something, but never directly says it
In media res
When a story begins in the middle of the action, Latin for "in the midst of things"
interior monologue
writing that records the mental talking that goes on inside a character's head, more coherent speech than stream of consciousness. Used in novels and poetry, not dramatic literature
Inversion
Switching the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase.
Irony
A statement whose meaning slides against the literal meaning of the words
Lament
A poem of sadness or grief over the death of a loved one or over some other intense loss
Lampoon
A satire
Loose sentence
A sentence that is grammatically complete before its end
Lyric
A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world.
Masculine Rhyme
A rhyme ending on the final stressed syllable
Meaning
What is important. Can be literal and emotional
Melodrama
Overly dramatic
Metaphor
Comparison that says one thing is another
Syntax
The chosen order of words in a sentence
Periodic Sentence
A sentence that is not grammatically complete until its end
Simile
A softened metaphor, usually uses like or as
Note 
Flashcard (51)