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| 5299641982 | ab ovo | Latin "from the egg"; narrative that starts at the beginning of the plot and then moves chronologically through events to the tale's conclusion; opposite of in medias res where earlier events are explained via dialogue, memories, or flashbacks | 0 | |
| 5299641983 | amelioration | semantic change in which a word gains increasingly favorable connotation (Ex. Middle English word "knight" used to mean servant. The word grew through amelioration to mean "a servant of the king" and later "a minor nobleman.") | 1 | |
| 5299641984 | pejoration | semantic change in which a word gains increasingly negative connotation (Ex. "lewd" originally referred to laymen as opposed to priests. It underwent pejoration to mean "ignorant," then "base" and finally "obscene.") | 2 | |
| 5299641985 | descent into the underworld | an archetype or motif in folklore, religion, mythology, or literature in which the protagonist must descend into the realm of the dead (usually located beneath the earth) and then return to the realm of the living, often after rescuing a trapped soul or seeking the advice of the dead (Ex. Dante's Inferno) | 3 | |
| 5299641986 | single effect theory | Edgar Allan Poe's theory about what constituted a good short story. According to Poe, a good short story achieved its unity by achieving a single emotional effect on the reader. | 4 | |
| 5299641987 | spiritual autobiography | autobiography that focuses on an individual's spiritual growth; plot focuses on narrator's inner struggles, move from pre-religious life to a psychological crisis followed by a conversion; often concludes with a call for readers to convert (Ex. Saint Patrick's Confession and Saint Augustine's Confessions.) | 5 | |
| 5299641988 | meditation | thoughtful or contemplative essay, sermon, or discussion, especially one that encourages introspection and self-analysis (Ex. In John Donne's "Meditation 17," Donne explores what death means if we truly believe that all human beings are interconnected spiritually.) | 6 | |
| 5299641989 | Renaissance | (rebirth) period of cultural and artistic change in Britain during the late 1500s and early 1600s; rediscovering of classical Greco-Roman culture and break with the days of "ignorance" and "superstition" as represented by the medieval period | 7 | |
| 5299641990 | Medieval Period | ("the in-between age") period of time roughly 1000 years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance; marked by the end of Greco-Roman culture, move of Germanic tribes to western Europe, and conversions to Christianity; time of innovative technology, economic growth, and original theology and philosophy; linked with feudalism, monasticism, guilds, castles and knights | 8 | |
| 5299641991 | Utopian literature | from Greek ("no" + "place") suggests an ideal society yet an impossible one; presents the reader with a perfect society in the physical world as opposed to a perfect society existing in the afterlife (Ex. Plato's Republic) | 9 |
