This site is 100% ad supported. Please add an exception to adblock for this site.

TPS ENGLISH LIT TERMS

Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
Catharsis
A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially
pity and fear
Chorus
The group in a classical Greek drama whose songs and dances present
an exposition of or, in later tradition, a disengaged commentary on the
action.
Episode
An incident or event that is part of a progression or a larger
sequence
Stasimon
a song of the chorus, continued without the interruption of
dialogue
Hamartia
Tragic flaw
Peripetia
A sudden change of events or reversal of circumstances,
especially in a literary work
Anagnorisis
recognition
Hubris
arrogance
In medias res
In the middle of a sequence of events
Epithet
A term used to characterize a person or thing
Xenia
hospitality
Epic poetry
An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language,
celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero
Allusion
indirect reference
Aside
A piece of dialogue intended for the audience and supposedly not
heard by the other actors on stage
Blank verse
Verse consisting of unrhymed lines, usually of iambic
pentameter
Denotation
The most specific or direct meaning of a word
Couplet
A unit of verse consisting of two successive lines, usually rhyming
and having the same meter and often forming a complete thought or syntactic
unit
Foreshadowing
To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand
Imagery
The use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects,
actions, or ideas
Metaphor
Comparison that is not using the words like or as
Mood
A state of mind or emotion
Tone
Manner of expression
Tragedy
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to
ruin or suffers extreme sorrow
Oxymoron
combination of 2 opposite words in a phrase (jumbo shrimp)
Pun
play on words
Rhythm
The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements
Simile
Comparison using like or as
Soliloquy
A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character
talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without
addressing a listener
Symbol
Something that represents something else
Theme
An implicit or recurrent idea; a motif
Personification
giving an inanimate object human characteristics
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or
effect (This book weighs a ton)
Motif
A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work
Exposition
The part of a play that provides the background information
needed to understand the characters and the action
Climax
point of greatest intensity or force
Conflict
disharmony
Iambic pentameter
Consists of one short syllable followed by one long
syllable
Hero (tragic vs. epic)
A person noted for special achievement
Connotation
A defintion of a word other than its dictionary defintion

Deck Info

39

permalink