1st Lit Quiz terms:
1 Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words.
Ex= Little Lizzy, Lady Lucas, Lydia my love
2 Analogy – a comparison made between two items,
situations, or ideas that are somewhat alike but unlike in
most respects.
“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,”
said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen
before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear
interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”
“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument
in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They
have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the
same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my
own fault—because I would not take the trouble of practicing.
It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any
other woman’s of superior execution.”
Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have
employed your time much better. No one admitted to the
priviledge of hearing you can think any thing wanting. We
neither of us perform to strangers.”
(compare= both are lacking competence, but different areas)
3 Antagonist – a character in a story or play who opposes
the chief character or protagonist.
Ex= Mr Collins, Miss Bingley
4 Archetype – a character, an action, or situation that seems
to represent common patterns of human life. Often include
a symbol, a theme, a setting, or a character that have a
common meaning in an entire culture, or even the entire
human race.
Ex= Mr Wickham= the gambler/womanizer, “no good” man
5 Assonance – the repetition of similar vowel sounds
followed by different consonant sounds in stressed syllables
or words.
Ex= “Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight,
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
The poet deliberately uses assonance in the above lines to slow
down the pace of the lines and create a somber mood, as the
subject of the poem is death.
6 Atmosphere (mood) – the mood/ feeling of the literary
work created for the reader by the writer.
Ex= sentimental, romantic, frustrating
7 Blank verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter, a line of five
feet.
Ex from MacBeth:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
8 Allegory – a narrative either in verse or prose, in which
characters, action, and sometimes setting represent
abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of the
story.
Ex:Animal Farm- political allegory
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe= religious allegory
9 Allusion – a brief reference to a person, event, or place in
history, or to a work of art/ literature
Shakespeare Allusion "I have been used to consider poetry as the food
of love," said Darcy." (46)
"Food of love" is a line from William Shakespeare's "Twelfth night".
Elizabeth, the Duke in "Twelfth Night" is too concerned with looks and
first impression. Relates to theme of first impression/prejudice.
Literary work allusion James FORDYCE: Sermons to Young
Women (1766) in chapter 14 Mr Collins reads from this work to
the Bennet family.
10 Anaphora – figure of repetition that occurs when the
first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase
is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of successive
sentences, clauses, or phrases.
Ex: William Wordsworth’s Tinturn Abbey=
“Five years have passed;
Five summers, with the length of
Five long winters! and again I hear these waters…”
11 Apostrophe – a figure of speech in which a speaker
directly addresses an absent person or a personified quality,
object, or idea.
Ex= Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
12 Aside – in drama, a few words or a short passage spoken
by one character to the audience while the other actors on
stage pretend their characters cannot hear the speaker’s
words.
Ex= In Othello, Iago says to himself/us= “With as little a web
as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.”
13 Asyndeton – the omission of conjunctions from
constructions in which they would normally be used.
Ex= from Othello- Call up her father.
Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight,
Proclaim him in the streets. Incense her kinsmen,
14 Ballad – a narrative poem that usually includes a
repeated refrain.
Ex: Oh the ocean waves may roll,
And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
And the land lubbers lay down below.
15 Cacophony – the use of words in poetry that combine
sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious sounds. The
unpleasant sound mimics the unpleasant situation.
Ex: from Coleridge’s Rime to the Ancient Mariner=
“With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call.”
D2M= Black, baked and agape correspond with the severity of
situation faced by the Mariner and other people on board.
2nd Lit quiz terms= all of above plus #16-30:
16 Cliché – an expression or phrase that is over-used as to
become trite and meaningless.
Ex= what goes around comes around
Beat around the bush
Always look on the bright side
Life happens
17 Characterization – the method an author uses to
acquaint the reader with his or her characters.
Ex= not the assessment but WAYS it happens.
Chaucer’s Canterbury tales- most known for this.
2 ways= direct and indirect
Indirect= PAIRS
-physical description
-actions
-inner thoughts
-reactions
-speech/dialogue
18 Chiasmus – A scheme in which the author introduces
words or concepts in a particular order then later repeats
those terms or similar ones in reversed or backwards order.
It involves taking parallelism and deliberately turning it
inside out, creating a “crisscross” pattern.
Ex= "Many who are first shall be last, and the last shall be
first." The Bible
"Foul is fair and fair is foul." Shakespeare's MacBeth
She went to church, but to the bar went he.
19 Catharsis – purification or purging of emotions (pity or
fear)
Ex= Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth expressing everything he was
holding back.
20 Caesura – a pause or break within a line of poetry.
21 Carpe diem – Latin for “seize the day,” the name applied
to a theme frequently found in lyric poetry: enjoy life’s
pleasures while you are able.
Ex= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0Lbjs5ECI
To The Virgins To Make Much Of Time- Robert Herrick
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
22 Character – an imaginary person represented in a work
of fiction (described as a round/flat, protagonist/antagonist,
dynamic/static, etc.)
Ex= main characters representing Bildungsroman idea of
maturation in P&P= Elizabeth and Darcy
23 Climax – as a term of dramatic structure, the decisive or
turning point in a story or play when the action changes
course and, as a result, begins to resolve itself
**Look for the turning point in P&P!!!
24 Dialogue – the conversation between two or more
people in a literary work
Ex= any part of P&P where Elizabeth is talking to someone
else (Darcy, Jane, etc)
25 Conceit- elaborate figure of speech combining possible
metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or oxymoron; in particular an
extended metaphor within a poem
Ex= John Donne’s “The Flea”
“Oh stay! three lives in one flea spare
Where we almost, yea more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage-bed and marriage-temple is”
26 Denouement – the resolution of the plot
27 Conflict-the struggle between two opposing forces
Ex= Mrs Bennett vs Elizabeth, Mr Bingley vs Ms Bingley
28 Connotation – the emotional associations surrounding a
word, as opposed to its literal meaning or denotation
Ex= homeworkDenotation= schoolwork assigned to be done outside the
classroom
Connotation= yuck, that stuff is miserable
29 Couplet – a pair of rhyming lines with identical meter
Ex= Othello, end of Act 1
I have’t. It is engendered. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.
30 Denotation – the strict, literal meaning of a word.
Ex= denotation- the act of being born, bringing forth
offspring
Connotation- creation of the lie that Cassio and Desdemona
are ‘having relations’
3rd Lit quiz= all terms above plus #31-45:
31 Free verse – a type of poetry that differs from
conventional verse forms in being “free” from a fixed
pattern of meter and rhyme.
Ex: Free Verse by Robert Graves
I now delight
In spite
Of the might
And the right
Of classic tradition,
In writing
And reciting
Straight ahead,
Without let or omission,
Just any little rhyme
In any little time
That runs in my head;
Because, I’ve said,
My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed
Like Prussian soldiers on parade
That march,
Stiff as starch,
Foot to foot,
Boot to boot,
Blade to blade,
Button to button,
Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton.
No! No!
My rhymes must go
Turn ’ee, twist ’ee,
Twinkling, frosty,
Will-o’-the-wisp-like, misty;
32 Exposition – the opening section of a narrative or
dramatic structure in which characters, setting, theme, and
conflict can be revealed.
EX=
P&P- Bennett house, find out new person to Netherfield
33 Euphemism – using a mild or gentle phrase instead of a
blunt, embarrassing, or painful one.
Ex: Othello”, Act 1 Scene 1, Iago tells Brabantio:
“I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor
are now making the beast with two backs.”
Techniques to achieve euphemism=
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abbreviations e.g. B.O. (body odor), W.C. (water closet, toilet)
Foreign words replacing an impolite expression= faux (fake), faux pas (foolish error)
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abstractions e.g. before I go (before I die).
indirect expressions replacing offensive direct ones e.g. rear-end, unmentionables
longer words or phrases can also mask unpleasant words e.g. flatulence for farting,
perspiration for sweat
Using technical terms may reduce the rudeness e.g. gluteus maximus.
Deliberately mispronouncing an offensive word e.g. darn, shoot etc.
34 Elegy – a mourning poem of lament for an individual or
tragic event.
Ex: Thomas Gray’s Elegy In A Country Churchyard=
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
----possibly included- destiny/fate, metaphorical connotations on
deeper level, connections to own life, ease suffering, not plot based
35 Diction – the author’s choice of words or phrases in a
literary work.
Ex= ALL words!!
36 Foreshadowing – a hint given to the reader of what is to
come.
Ex= Charlotte’s speech about how “happiness in marriage is
entirely a matter of chance” foreshadows her marriage of
‘convenience’ to Mr Collins
37 Foot - a group of syllables in verse usually consisting of
one accented syllable and the unaccented syllables
associated with it.
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Iamb: Combination of unstressed and stressed syllable – (daDUM)
Trochee: Combination of stressed and unstressed syllables – (DUMda)
Spondee: Combination of two stressed syllables – (DUMDUM)
Anapest: Combination of two unstressed and a stressed syllable – (dadaDUM)
Dactyl: Combination of stressed and two unstressed syllables – (DUMdada)
Amphibrach: Combination of unstressed, stressed and unstressed syllable –
(daDUMda)
Pyrrhic: Combination of two unstressed syllables – (dada)
Ex= The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
dactyl = pattern of stressed, unstressed and again unstressed syllables
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
38 Hamartia – a tragic flaw, especially a misperception, a
lack of some important insight, or some blindness that
ironically results from one’s own strengths and abilities and
brings about the character’s downfall.
Purpose- relate to character b/c we are all a mix of
strengths and weaknesses so we feel sympathy and possible
improvement of our own flaws.
Ex- Hamlet= “To be or not to be, that is the question:”
Hamlet’s indecision leads to inaction, ruined relationship
with his mother, Ophelia’s madness/suicide, many killed.
39 Enjambment – the continuation of a complete idea from
one line of poetry to another, without pause.
EX- Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
40 Dramatic irony - refers to a situation in which events or
facts not known to a character on stage or in a fictional
work are known to another character, the audience, or the
reader.
Ex: “Othello: I think thou dost.
And for I know thou ‘rt full of love and honesty
And weigh’st thy words before thou giv’st them breath…”
**Othello doesn’t know Iago is plotting against him but audience does
Ex:“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.”
**Duncan doesn’t know about the prophecy for MacBeth becoming King.
41 Euphony – attempting to group words together
harmoniously, so that the consonants permit an easy and
pleasing flow of sound when spoken.
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long vowels= more melodious than consonants.
harmonious consonants like “l, m, n, r” and soft “f” and “v” sounds.
soft consonants or semi-vowels “w”, “s”, “y” and “th” or “wh”
Ex= Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.Not one of all the purple host
Who took the flag to-day
Can tell the definition,
So clear, of victory,
As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Break, agonized and clear!
--soft and harmonious consonants to create euphony, “s”, “v” and “f”
sounds, are melodic and produce pleasing sounds.
42 Epistrophe – repetition of a concluding word or word
endings.
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Ex= Shakespeare: "The Ring" from The Merchant of Venice Act 5
Bassanio: Sweet Portia,
If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring
And would conceive for what I gave the ring
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the strength of your displeasure.
Portia: If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to contain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
43 Dramatic monologue- a lyric poem in which the speaker
addresses someone whose replies are not recorded.
Ex= end of “Ulysses” by Tennyson
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are--One equal temper of heroic hearts ,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
44 Epiphany – a revealing scene or moment in which a
character experiences a deep realization about him/
himself.
Ex- At the climax of P&P= Elizabeth’s realization that she
was judging people incorrectly and was totally wrong about
herself.
45 Flashback – interruption of the narrative to show an
episode that happened before that particular point in the
story.
Ex= Elizabeth recalling Wickham’s earlier behavior.
Mrs Gardiner detailing past events with Darcy saving Lydia’s
reputation.