English II Final Literary Terms

Harlem Renaissance -

A cultural and artistic movement of the 1920s-1930s celebrating African American literature, music, and identity.

Imagism -

A poetry movement emphasizing clear, precise images and concise language.

Modernism -

A literary movement that broke from traditional forms and explored new ways of representing reality.

Naturalism -

A literary movement portraying humans as controlled by heredity, environment, and fate.

Realism -

A literary movement focusing on everyday life and ordinary people in a realistic manner.

Regionalism -

Writing that emphasizes the customs, dialect, and setting of a specific geographic area.

Southern Gothic -

A genre using dark, disturbing characters and events to explore the culture and problems of the American South.

Grotesque -

A character or image that is strange, distorted, or disturbing.

Catalog -

A long list of people, places, things, or ideas used for emphasis.

Dramatic Monologue -

A poem or speech in which one speaker addresses an audience and reveals their character.

Free Verse -

Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or meter.

Hyperbole -

Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis.

Imagery -

Language that appeals to the senses.

Irony (Situational) -

When the outcome is different from what is expected.

Irony (Dramatic) -

When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Irony (Verbal) -

When a speaker says the opposite of what they mean.

Metaphor -

A comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as."

Narrative Poem -

A poem that tells a story.

Paradox -

A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth.

Parallelism -

The use of similar grammatical structures to show related ideas.

Simile -

A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as."

Slant (Near) Rhyme -

A rhyme in which the sounds are similar but not identical.

Stream-of-Consciousness -

A writing style that presents a character's thoughts as they occur.

Third Person Limited -

A narrator tells the story using "he," "she," or "they" and knows the thoughts of only one character.

Third Person Omniscient -

A narrator tells the story using "he," "she," or "they" and knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.