Untitled Flashcards Set

1. Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase beyond the end of a line, verse, or stanza without a pause or break.

2. Scansion: The analysis of a poem's meter, identifying its rhythm, syllabic patterns, and stress, usually denoted through symbols.

3. Metonymy: A figure of speech where something is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it (e.g., "the crown" for royalty).

4. Synesthesia: A literary device where one sense is described in terms of another (e.g., "a loud color" or "sweet sound").

5. Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers").

6. Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words (e.g., "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain").

7. Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity, usually at the end or middle of words (e.g., "He struck a streak of bad luck").

8. Cacophony: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds, often used to convey chaos or tension.

9. Euphony: The opposite of cacophony, referring to pleasing, harmonious sounds (e.g., "The lullaby of the wind in the trees").

10. Iamb: A metrical foot consisting of two syllables, where the first is unstressed and the second is stressed (e.g., "be-LIEVE").

11. Trochee: A metrical foot with two syllables, where the first is stressed and the second is unstressed (e.g., "TA-ble").

12. Anapest: A metrical foot with three syllables, where the first two are unstressed and the third is stressed (e.g., "in-ter-VENE").

13. Dactyl: A metrical foot with three syllables, where the first is stressed and the next two are unstressed (e.g., "EL-e-phant").

14. Spondee: A metrical foot consisting of two stressed syllables (e.g., "dead END").

15. Masculine Rhyme: A rhyme where the final stressed syllable of the rhyme is at the end of the line (e.g., "star" / "far").

16. Feminine Rhyme: A rhyme where the stress is on the second-to-last syllable of the rhyme (e.g., "dancing" / "chancing").

17. Shakespearean (English) Sonnet: 4-4-4-2: A sonnet structure of three quatrains (4 lines each) followed by a couplet (2 lines), typically using iambic pentameter.

18. Italian Sonnet (Petrarchan): 8-6: A sonnet with an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines), typically following a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA for the octave, with a variety of schemes for the sestet.

19. Sestina: A complex form of poetry with six stanzas of six lines each, followed by a three-line envoi. The end words of each stanza follow a fixed pattern.

20. Villanelle: A 19-line poem with a fixed rhyme and repeating lines. The first and third lines are alternately repeated throughout the poem in a specific pattern.

21. Elegy: A poem or song written in honor of someone who has passed away, often reflecting on loss and mourning.

22. Ode: A type of lyrical poem expressing praise or admiration for a subject, often with elevated language and tone.

23. Ballad: A narrative poem, often set to music, that tells a story of love, tragedy, or adventure, typically in short stanzas.

24. Lyric: A short, personal poem expressing feelings, thoughts, or emotions, often in first person.

25. Dramatic Monologue: A type of poem where a single character speaks to a silent audience, revealing their inner thoughts and feelings.

26. Epistle: A poem or work written in the form of a letter, often addressed to a specific person or group.

27. Aubade: A poem or song about the morning or about lovers parting at dawn.

28. Concrete Poetry: A type of poetry in which the arrangement of the words on the page is as important as the content of the poem itself.

29. Allegory: A narrative in which characters and events symbolize abstract ideas or moral qualities, often with a deeper, hidden meaning.

30. Anthropomorphism: The attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities, animals, or objects.

31. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of two opposite or contrasting ideas, often used to highlight differences (e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times").

32. Aphorism: A brief, concise statement expressing a general truth or principle (e.g., "Actions speak louder than words").

33. Chiasmus: A rhetorical device where two phrases or clauses are balanced against each other in reverse order (e.g., "Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you").

34. In Media Res: A narrative technique where the story begins in the middle of an action or event, rather than at the beginning.

35. Kenning: A figurative expression used in Old Norse and Old English poetry, often a two-word phrase substituting a more concrete noun (e.g., "whale-road" for the sea).

36. Stock Epithet: A descriptive phrase or adjective repeatedly used to characterize a person or thing (e.g., "swift-footed Achilles").

37. Verisimilitude: The appearance of being true or real in a work of art or literature.

38. Third-Person Omniscient: A narrative point of view where the narrator knows all the thoughts, feelings, and actions of all characters.

39. Third-Person Subjective: A narrative point of view where the narrator has insight into the thoughts and feelings of one specific character, but not others.

40. Third-Person Objective: A narrative point of view where the narrator only reports what is observable and does not delve into the thoughts or feelings of any character.

41. Epistolary Narrative: A narrative told through a series of letters, diaries, or other forms of correspondence.

Drama and Literary Terms:

42. Catharsis: The emotional release or purging that the audience experiences after the climax of a tragedy, especially in Greek drama.

43. Hamartia: A tragic flaw or error in judgment that leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy.

44. Hubris: Excessive pride or self-confidence, often leading to a character’s downfall.

45. Peripeteia: A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, often in a tragedy.

46. Soliloquy: A speech in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage, revealing inner feelings or motives.

47. Beatnik: A member of the countercultural movement in the 1950s, particularly focused on rejecting conventional society and exploring alternative lifestyles, often through art and literature.

48. Bildungsroman: A coming-of-age novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.

49. Comedy of Manners: A type of comedy that satirizes the manners and affectations of a particular social class, often the upper class.

50. Fable: A short narrative that conveys a moral lesson, often featuring animals as characters.

51. Memoir: A nonfiction work that provides a personal account or story of a specific period or event in the author’s life.

52. Novella: A short novel or long short story, typically focusing on a single character or event.

53. Satire: A genre of literature that uses humor, irony, or ridicule to criticize or mock societal norms, politics, or individuals.