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alliteration
The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words
ex) heaven of heroes
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allusion
- A brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficticious, or to a work of art.
- Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event.
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archetype
The usage of any object or situation as it was originally made.
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internal/external conflict
- The struggle/conflict found in fiction
- Internal: man vs. self
- External: man vs. man, nature, society, machine
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denotation/connotation
- Denotaion: the literary meaning, dictionary definition
- Connotation: the implied meaning of the word
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foil
Two characters that contrast eachother yet are similar because they emphasize eachother's characteristics
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foreshadowing
- The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
- Hinting at things to come
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hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration or overstatement
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imagery
- Writing that creates an image in the reader's mind.
- Author uses all five senses to describe this image, taste, sound, smell, or feeling
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irony
- An implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant
- Three types: dramatic, verbal, situational
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simile/metaphor
- Simile: a comparison using like or as
- Metaphor: a comparison without using like or as
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onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sound it represents
ex) kerplunk, splah, buzz, hush, boom!
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oxymoron
Putting two totally opposite words together
ex) seriously joking, jumbo shrimp, good grief
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personification
Giving human/living qualities to animals or non-living objects
ex) smiling sun, creeping fog
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point of view: omniscent, third person limited, first person
- First person: Narrator is/was in the story, "I, me, my, us, we"
- Third person limited: Narrator is outside the story, only knows one characters thoughts, "Name, he she, they"
- Omniscient: Narrator is outside the story, knows all characters thoughts
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symbol
Using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning
ex) the bird of night (owl is a symbol of death)
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theme
The general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express
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tone/mood
- Tone: the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character
- ex) serious, ironic, humorous
- Mood: the emotional attitude the author takes toward the subject
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allegory
- A form of extended metaphor.
- Underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance.
- Characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as greed or envy.
- A story with to meanings; literal and symbolic
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analogy
The comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship
ex) hot is to cold as fire is to ice
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dramatic irony
When an audience knows more than a character in the piece of literature
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flashback
Action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understand the literature
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motif
- A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work
- A dominant theme or central idea
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symbolism
The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings to objects, events, or relationships
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protagonist/antagonist
- Protagonist: hero or heroine who engages the reader's interest of empathy
- Antagonist: the character, force, or collection of forces that stands directly opposed to the protagonist and creates conflict
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aside
- Words spoken so as not to be heard by others present.
- Said to oneself.
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cliché
A sentence or phrase expressing a popular or common thought or idea that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse
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free verse
Verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern
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genre
A class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, or technique
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monologue
A prolonged speech by a single speaker
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myth
A traditional or legendary story, usually concerning a hero or event
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soliloquy
- The act of talking while or as if alone.
- Being disregardful of any people present.
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plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
- Plot: the sequence of events that occur in a story
- Expo: setting and intro to characters
- Rising Action: conflict(s)
- Climax: turning point, highest point of tension
- Resolution: main conflict resolved
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sonnet
A poem about one specific idea of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter
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dialect
- The way in which people speak
- Accents of a certain language
- Slang
- ex) yal
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diction
The way in which an author places words in literature
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idiom
- Expressions or phrases used to mean something not literal but figurative
- ex) when pigs fly, don't let the cat out of the bag, break a leg
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memoir
- A record of events by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation
- Intimate autobiography
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parallel structure
- Used in a list where all things in that list have the same tense
- ex) I planted a seed, watered the seed, and watched the seed grow
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rhetorical question
A question asked to produce effect but not meant to be answered directly
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figurative language
- Speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning.
- Speech or writing that includes figures of speech.
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stereotype
- Labeling a person, object, or idea by looks as a "type".
- To characterize by what a person looks like or what they do.
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abstract/concrete
- Abstract: noncreative, non-fictional, brings up a general idea or concept but has no specific meaning
- Concrete: detailed writing that puts a specific picture in a reader's mind; referring to definite persons, places, or things
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subjective/objective point of view
- Subjective: often has basis in reality but reflects the speaker's perspective; Cannot be verified by facts
- Objective: a statement that is completely unbiased; Reliable facts you are able to look up; Doesn't include the speaker's experiences, thoughts, or judgements
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