Terms : Hide Images
| 10473805345 | Flat Characterization | a character who does not change in personality over the course of the story and is relatively uncomplicated. | 0 | |
| 10473805346 | Round Characterization | A character who undergoes some form of significant character development and are generally much more complex. | 1 | |
| 10473805347 | Indirect Characterization | Indirect characterization reveals the personality of a character, but not explicitly. Instead, the personality is revealed through speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks. | 2 | |
| 10473805348 | Direct Characterization | Direct characterization reveals the personality of a character directly, explicitly stating it within the text. | 3 | |
| 10473805349 | Protagonist | The protagonist is the character which the audience follows, and is often the hero of the story (although he or she does not have to be). | 4 | |
| 10473805350 | Antagonist | The antagonist is the character in conflict with the protagonist of the story. | 5 | |
| 10473805351 | Foil Character | In literature, a foil character is a character whose personality contrasts with that of the protagonist, helping to highlight that particular quality of the protagonist. | 6 | |
| 10473805352 | Bildungsroman | A bildungsroman is a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education. This is the period of time that deals with that person's psychological development. | 7 | |
| 10473805353 | 1st Person Singular Perspective | A perspective in which the narrator relays events from his or her own point of view. It uses words such as "I". | 8 | |
| 10473805354 | 1st Person Plural Perspective | A perspective still in the first-person, except no individual speaker is identified. It uses words such as "we". | 9 | |
| 10473805355 | 3rd Person Omniscient Perspective | A perspective where the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story. It is important not to confuse this perspective with "head-hopping". | 10 | |
| 10473805356 | 3rd Person Limited Perspective | A perspective in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of one character, and that one character is often the protagonist of the story. | 11 | |
| 10473805357 | 2nd Person Perspective | A perspective in which the narrator tells the story to another character. It uses the word "you" to achieve this point of view. | 12 | |
| 10473805358 | Foreshadowing | Refers to the use of word or phrases that are hints which set the stage for a story to unfold. Foreshadowing gives the reader a hint of something that will happen later. | 13 | |
| 10473805359 | In Media Res | "In Media Res" is latin for "into the middle of things" and refers to a narrative that begins in the middle of a story rather than the beginning. | 14 | |
| 10473805360 | Internal Monologue | Internal monologue refers to a person's inner voice that provides a running monologue. In literature, this refers to the "thinking" of the narrator that other characters do not hear. | 15 | |
| 10473805361 | Stream of Consciousness | The stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind. | 16 | |
| 10473805362 | Theme | A literary theme can be either direct or indirect. It refers to the main idea underlying the entire work, or some special meaning revealed through the text. | 17 | |
| 10473805363 | Motif | A motif is a recurring image, idea, or symbol that helps to develop the theme of the work. | 18 | |
| 10473805364 | Allusion | An allusion is an expression designed to call another literary work to mind without mentioning it explicitly. It is sort of like an indirect reference. | 19 | |
| 10473805365 | Dramatic Irony | Dramatic irony is irony in which the audience knows about the ironic situation taking place, but the characters in the story do not. | 20 | |
| 10473805366 | Situational Irony | Situational irony is irony in which the audience expect one thing to happen, but then a completely different thing takes place. Unlike dramatic irony, the twist was not known. | 21 | |
| 10473805367 | Sarcasm | Sarcasm is an ironic tool in which text appears to be praising someone, but is actually insulting or taunting that person. | 22 | |
| 10473805368 | Juxtaposition | Juxtaposition is placing two elements or words side by side in order to let the reader compare them. Juxtaposition can be excellent at displaying irony, humor, or sadness. | 23 | |
| 10473805369 | Catharsis | Catharsis is an emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal, or at least achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress. | 24 | |
| 10473805370 | Pathos | Pathos refers to writing which appeals to the reader's sense of emotion. | 25 | |
| 10473805371 | Satire | Satire is a genre of literature in which vices and follies are held up to ridicule. It is meant to emphasize the foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society. | 26 | |
| 10473805372 | Parody | Parody is a form of satire in which the text is written in a similar manner to the character that the writer intends to expose. The physical writing parodies a similar type of writing. | 27 | |
| 10473805373 | Invective | Invective is abusive, reproachful, or venomous language used to express blame or censure. The term refers to speech which aims to attack or insult some person or organization. | 28 | |
| 10473805374 | Verisimilitude | Verisimilitude describes the extent to which the literary text is believable or the extent to which it imitates reality. It is the likeness to which the text exemplifies truth. | 29 | |
| 10473805375 | Connotation | Connotation refers to the meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. It is the actual meaning of a word or phrase, not the given form. | 30 | |
| 10473805376 | Metaphor | A metaphor makes a comparison between two things without using the words "like" or "as" in order to make that connection. | 31 | |
| 10473805377 | Simile | A simile makes a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as". | 32 | |
| 10473805378 | Conceit | Conceits are a type of metaphor that compare two very unlike things in an extremely clever way. Most of the time, conceits take the form of extended metaphors. | 33 | |
| 10473805379 | Analogy | An analogy is a comparison in which an idea or physical object is described in terms of another object, which is often quite different then that idea or physical object. | 34 | |
| 10473805380 | Euphemism | Euphemism refers to polite or indirect expressions which are used to replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite. | 35 | |
| 10473805381 | Imagery | Imagery is text which appeals to the reader's sense of smell, sight, taste, touch, or even hearing. Imagery is often used in conjunction with other devices, such as similes or metaphors. | 36 | |
| 10473805382 | Non Sequitur | Non Sequitur is the use of statements, statements, sayings, or conclusions in literature which do not follow the fundamental principles of logic or reasoning. Non Sequitur means "it does not follow." | 37 | |
| 10473805383 | Oxymoron | An oxymoron occurs when two contradictory words are together in one phrase. This is different from a fallacy in that the definitions of the words themselves are opposite. | 38 | |
| 10473805384 | Paradox | A paradox is a statement which appears nonsensical at first, but which nonetheless has some truth behind it. Paradoxes contradict themselves and appear impossible. | 39 | |
| 10473805385 | Symbolism | A figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another deeper meaning other than its literal meaning. Often, that meaning connects back to the theme of the work. | 40 | |
| 10473805386 | Dramatic Monologue | A poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character which includes a lot of psychological insight into that character. It involves an imagined speaker addressing a listener. | 41 | |
| 10473805387 | Sonnet | A fourteen-line poem often written in iambic pentameter. The poem is often written in either a CDCDCD or CDEEDE rhyme scheme, but the exact rhyme scheme does not matter. | 42 | |
| 10473805388 | Free Verse | A poem free from the limitations of a regular meter or rhythm. The poem contains no specific guidelines for its lines, allowing for a lot of artistic expression. | 43 | |
| 10473805389 | Blank Verse | A poem written with a regular meter (often iambic pentameter) but unrhymed lines. | 44 | |
| 10473805390 | Ode | A formal, ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea. It is typically written in first person, and expresses personal emotions and feelings. | 45 | |
| 10473805391 | Elegy | An ancient Greek poem that usually responds to the death of a person or organization. Elegies are often depressing in nature and include details about that person's life. | 46 | |
| 10473805392 | Pastoral | An older genre of poetry which deals with the lives of shepherds. The pastoral tradition refers to works which idealize rural life and landscapes. | 47 | |
| 10473805393 | Ballad | A poem written like a plot-driven song, with one or more characters hurriedly unfurling events to a dramatic conclusion. It flows like a chain of events, constructed with quatrain stanzas. | 48 | |
| 10473805394 | Epic | A long, book-length narrative written in verse form that retells the heroic journey of an individual. Famous examples include Odyssey and Iliad. | 49 | |
| 10473805395 | Panegyric | A formal public speech written in verse form, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. It is related to a eulogy, but not expected to be critical. | 50 | |
| 10473805396 | Stanza | A stanza is a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from other stanzas by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas may have rhyme schemes, but are not required to. | 51 | |
| 10473805397 | Refrain | A refrain is a phrase, line, or stanza repeated at multiple intervals throughout a poem. It is most recognizable in songs, but many poems contain some sort of recurring line. | 52 | |
| 10473805398 | Couplet | A two-line stanza, often written with the lines in the same meter. | 53 | |
| 10473805399 | Quatrain | A four-line stanza, often written with the lines in the same meter. | 54 | |
| 10473805400 | Setset | A six-line stanza, often written with the lines in the same meter. | 55 | |
| 10473805401 | Octave | A eight-line stanza, often written with the lines in the same meter. | 56 | |
| 10473805402 | Anaphora | Anaphora is the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect. It is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of clauses. | 57 | |
| 10473805403 | Apostrophe | An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the poet addresses an absent person, a thing, or an abstract idea. It is often used to address a dead or absent person. | 58 | |
| 10473805404 | Caesura | A caesura is a "natural" pause in a line that is formed by the rhythms of speech rather than meter. Often, caesuras are found in the middle of a line of poetry, but can occur elsewhere. | 59 | |
| 10473805405 | Enjambment | Enjambment is the running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next without the use of terminal punctuation. The meaning carries from the first to the second line. | 60 | |
| 10473805406 | Metonymy | Metonymy is the use of a linked term to stand in for an object or concept. It is a figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself. | 61 | |
| 10473805407 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole. Put in other terms, one aspect of an object or person is used to refer to the entire entity. | 62 | |
| 10473805408 | Onomatopoeia | Onomatopoeia is the use of words and text that portray a certain sound. Bam! | 63 | |
| 10473805409 | Carpe Diem | Carpe diem means "seize the day" in Latin. A frequent theme of love poems, carpe diem expresses the fleeting nature of life and the need to embrace its pleasures with haste. | 64 | |
| 10473805410 | Soliloquy | A soliloquy is a monologue in which a character in a play expresses thoughts and feelings while being alone stage. Soliloquies tend to be longer than asides and go on for some time. | 65 | |
| 10473805411 | Iamb | A word in which the first syllable is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed. | 66 | |
| 10473805412 | Trochee | A word in which the first syllable is stressed and the second syllable is unstressed. | 67 | |
| 10473805413 | Spondee | A word in which the first syllable is stressed and the second syllable is equally stressed. | 68 | |
| 10473805414 | Dactyl | A word in which the first syllable is stressed, and the last two syllables are unstressed. | 69 | |
| 10473805415 | Anapest | A word in which the first two syllables are stressed, and the last syllable is unstressed. | 70 | |
| 10473805416 | Renaissance | rebirth of classical ideas and artistic works, praising of the old | 71 | |
| 10473805417 | Transcendentalism | divinity pervades all nature and humanity, going beyond the human-self | 72 | |
| 10473805418 | Victorian | earnest writings, serialized novels, devoid of any satire | 73 | |
| 10473805419 | Gothic | emphasis on the dark-side of humanity, horror and gloom | 74 | |
| 10473805420 | Romanticism | emotional writings, not necessarily love, heavy inspiration from nature | 75 | |
| 10473805421 | Realism | represent familiar things as familiar things, based entirely in reality | 76 | |
| 10473805422 | Magic Realism | expressing a primarily realistic view on the world while incorporating fantasy | 77 | |
| 10473805423 | Harlem Renaissance | emphasized the culture of African Americans, no societal norms | 78 | |
| 10473805424 | Modernism | self-conscience break from the traditional ways of writing, new styles | 79 | |
| 10473805425 | Postmodernism | reliance on fragmentation, paradox, unreliable narrators, and impossible plots | 80 | |
| 10473805426 | Existentialism | emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice | 81 | |
| 10473805427 | Theatre of the Absurd | focuses on the fact that the human situation is absurd and devoid of purpose | 82 | |
| 10473805428 | Avant-Garde | refers to works that are experimental and which push the known boundaries (modern) | 83 | |
| 10473805429 | New Critic | New Criticism emphasizes close reading (usually of poetry) in order to discover how a particular work of literature functioned as a self-contained aesthetic object | 84 | |
| 10473805430 | Structuralist | Structuralism aims to relate a work of literature to a larger structure, which might be a particular genre, a range of connections, or a pattern of certain themes and motifs. | 85 | |
| 10473805431 | Post-Structuralist | Poststructuralism is based on the idea that every aspect of human experience depends on language and the text which we utilize to explain our ideas. Reality is created through text. | 86 | |
| 10473805432 | Deconstructionist | Deconstructionism is a critique of the relationship between text and meaning. The theory is "ruthless" to a certain degree and aims to reveal the contradictions in weak arguments. | 87 | |
| 10473805433 | Feminist | Feminism aims to understand the connections between women's place in society and how women are portrayed in literature. The Feminist theory aims to point out flawed social norms. | 88 | |
| 10473805434 | Psychoanalytic | A psychoanalytic approach to studying text expresses the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author. It argues that literature is a manifestation of the author's true feelings. | 89 | |
| 10473805435 | Marxist | Marxist literary criticism based on socialist and dialectic theories. Marx believed that whenever an author wrote a work of literature, he or she was doing so to promote some cause. | 90 | |
| 10473805436 | Post-Colonialist | Postcolonialism emphasizes the effect that colonization and imperialism has had on literary works. Its about the anguish of the colonized who have to deal with the aftermath of it. | 91 | |
| 10473805437 | Minority Discourse | Often associated with minority groups within a more dominant cultural tradition. The theory emphasizes a movement away from differences between different cultures. | 92 |
