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Literary Terms

121 cards · 🇺🇸 English

Essential literary and poetic terminology.

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Abecedarius

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  1. 1Abecedarius
    A special type of acrostic in which the first letter of every word, strophe or verse follows the order of the alphabet
  2. 2Acrostic
    A poem in which the first letter, syllable, or word of each line, paragraph, or recurring feature spells out a word or message
  3. 3Act
    A major division of a theatre work (play, film, opera, musical), consisting of one or more scenes
  4. 4Adage
    A saying that expresses a well-known and simple truth in a few words
  5. 5Adjective
    Any word or phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun, used to describe, identify, or quantify
  6. 6Adverb
    A descriptive word used to modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb, typically ending in -ly
  7. 7Allegory
    A type of writing in which settings, characters, and events stand for other specific people, events, or ideas
  8. 8Alliteration
    Repetition of the initial sounds of words (e.g., 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers')
  9. 9Allusion
    A figure of speech that makes a reference to people, places, events, literary works, myths, or art, directly or by implication
  10. 10Anachronism
    The erroneous use of an object, event, idea, or word that does not belong to the same time period as its context
  11. 11Anadiplosis
    The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause
  12. 12Anagnorisis
    The point in a plot at which a character recognizes the true state of affairs
  13. 13Analepsis
    An interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time (also called flashback)
  14. 14Analogy
    A comparison between two things that are otherwise unlike
  15. 15Anapest
    A metrical foot in which the first two syllables are unstressed, followed by a stressed syllable
  16. 16Anecdote
    A short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature
  17. 17Antagonist
    The adversary of the hero or protagonist (e.g., Iago in Othello)
  18. 18Anthology
    A collection of selected literary pieces or passages
  19. 19Antihero
    A protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities
  20. 20Antithesis
    The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases
  21. 21Aphorism
    A concise statement of a truth or principle
  22. 22Apothegm
    A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism
  23. 23Aposiopesis
    A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished
  24. 24Apostrophe (literary)
    A figure of speech where a speaker breaks off to address a third party, sometimes absent from the scene
  25. 25Archetype
    A story element (idea, symbol, pattern, or character-type) that appears repeatedly in stories across time and space
  26. 26Asyndeton
    The omission of conjunctions between successive clauses
  27. 27Aubade
    A monologue expressing the regret of parting lovers at daybreak
  28. 28Ballad
    A narrative poem or song, often of folk origin
  29. 29Bard
    A distinguished poet, especially one serving in official capacity to celebrate national events in Celtic cultures
  30. 30Bathos
    An abrupt transition from a lofty style to a common or vulgar one (rhetorical anticlimax)

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