Terms:
Semester 1:
Semester 2:
Semester 1:
- Origin Myth- a traditional story that explains how life began
- Oral Tradition-America's earliest form of literature; often used by the Native Americans to pass down stories.
- Great Awakening- waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and late 19th century
- The Enlightenment- era in Western Europe that emphasized reason and individualism
- Romanticism- an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century
- Transcendentalism-branch of Romanticism; focused on nature, transcending the 5 senses, and an "Over-Soul"
- Realism-literary movement that developed towards the end of the Civil War and stressed the actual as opposed to the imagined or fanciful
- Naturalism- depicted real people in real situations like Realism, but believed that a force larger than the individual shaped individual destiny (nature, fate)
- Themes- main idea or central message of a literary work
- Archetypes- Symbols, patterns, or character types that are universal
- Rhetoric-the art of persuasive writing
- Logos- rhetorical device appealing to reason and logic
- Ethos- rhetorical appeal establishing credibility
- Pathos- rhetorical appeal appealing to the audience's emotion
- Literacy- making meaning from letters and symbols
- Political Document- Document that defines the organization and practices of a particular political organization
- Symbol- any person, place, or object that represents something else
- Exploration Narratives- Firsthand accounts of the travels of Europeans who first came to the Americas
- Author's Purpose- the author's main reason for writing their work; to inform, persuade, entertain
- Audience- Readers of the particular work
- Puritan Plain Style- early Puritan's style of writing; not exaggerated, short simple sentences
- Syntax- Sentence structure
- Metaphor- Figure of speech in which two very different subjects are compared
- Conceit- Extended metaphor
- Apostrophe- when the author addresses something absent or non-human as if it were alive and present
- Stanza- A group of consecutive lines that form a unit
- Speech- A work that is delivered orally to an audience
- Sermon- Speech given intended to provide religious instruction
- Orator- Formal public speaker
- Political Speech- A speech focusing on an issue relating to government usually given by a politician
- Address- A formal speech prepared for a special occasion
- Rhetorical Devices- Patterns of words and ideas that are used to create emphasis, clarify meaning, and stir listener's emotions
- Restatement- A way of expressing the same ideas using different words
- Rhetorical Questions- Questions asked for effect rather than for answers; used to encourage the audience to reflect on an idea
- Repetition- Restating an idea using the same words
- Parallelism- similar grammatical structure
- Persuasion- Trying to get some to think the same way as you
- Allusions- brief reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance
- Dramatic Poetry- poetry written in verse form meant to be recited
- Lyric Poetry- Expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker; written in song-like form
- Sound Devices-devices used to reinforce the meaning of a poem through sound
- Rhyme- Repetition of sounds at the end of words
- Consonance- Repetition of final consonant sounds
- Assonance- Repetition of similar vowel sounds
- Alliteration- Repetition of initial identical consonant sounds in accented syllables
- Simile- Figure of speech used to compare two different things using "like" or "as"
- Exact Rhyme- the repetition of the same stressed vowel sounds as well as consonant sounds
- Slant Rhyme- Final sounds are similar but not identical
- End Rhyme- when the last syllables of a verse rhyme
- Iambic Pentameter- A meter in which five unstressed syllables are followed by five stressed syllables
- Autobiography- a personal account of someone's life story
- Aphorisms- statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise or witty way
- Slave Narrative-an autobiographical account written by a former slave
- Characterization- the development of a character throughout a work
- Direct Characterization- an author directly telling something about a character
- Indirect Characterization- The writer reveals a character's personality through the character's speech, thoughts, actions, appearance, and other characters' reactions
- Parable- a story that teaches a moral lesson
- Gothic Literature-a genre that combines fiction, horror, and Romanticism
- Single Effect- a work where all elements are contributing to one single emotion from the reader
- Figurative Language- language that is meant figuratively, not literally
- Imagery- created pictures through word choice
- Author's Style- the way an author writes and presents their work
- Tone- the author's attitude toward his or her subject
- Analogy- a comparison of two unlike things
- Paradox-a statement that is seemingly contradictory but is actually true
- Epic Poetry- long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet
- Free Verse- poetry that has no set meter or style
- Diction- the author's word choice
- Onomatopoeia- words that imitate sounds
- Thesis- the statement or thing the author is trying to defend or prove in their work
- Point of View-the perspective from which the story is told
- Omniscient Point of View- the narrator is outside of the story; knows all the details of the story as well as outside details
- Limited Third-Person Point of View- the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character
- Diaries/Journals-the personal reflections of someone on their daily life and events
- Charged language- words or phrases meant to stir an emotional response from the audience
- Personification-giving human-like qualities to something not inanimate
- Eponym- a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc is named or thought to be named
- Anecdote- a short story about a real incident or person
Semester 2:
- Allegory- a story in which all of the literal elements are also symbols
- Author's Purpose- to inform, entertain, or persuade
- Spirituals- folk songs that were often sung by enslaved African Americans
- Social Commentary- commentary on social issues or society
- Dialect- a particular form of language specific to a certain region or social group
- Internal Conflict- a psychological struggle occurring in the mind of a character
- External Conflict-a struggle between a character and outside forces
- Irony- discrepancy in what is stated or meant and what actually happens; often times in a humorous manner
- Dramatic Irony- a contradiction between what the character thinks and what the reader knows to be true
- Verbal Irony- when someone says something that contradicts what the person actually means
- Situational Irony- occurs when the expected outcome does not happen
- Rhyme Scheme- a specific pattern used in a poem that determines which words rhyme
- Speaker- the voice that tells the story
- Dramatic Monologue-a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character
- Imagism- a type of poetry that sought to capture one single image
- Images- words or phrases that appeal to the senses
- Refrain- a word, phrase, line, or group of lines repeated at regular intervals.
- Existentialism- a philosophical theory that emphasizes the existence of the person responsible of determining their own development through acts of will.
- Humor- writing intended to amuse
- Hyperbole- an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally
- Characters- the people represented in a story
- Static Characters- characters that do not change throughout the story.
- Dynamic Characters- characters that develop and change throughout the story
- Ballad- a song or song-like poem that tells a story
- Satire- writing that ridicules the faults of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity at large
- Resolution- when the conflict ends and the outcome is revealed
- Flashback- interruptions in which earlier events are described
- Blank Verse- a poem with no rhyme, but does have iambic pentameter
- Pastorals- portrays an idealized view of country life
- Parody- comic piece of writing that mocks the characteristics of a specific work
Ex.) Changing the lyrics of a song to make fun of it is an example of a parody.
- Memoir-a collection of memories written by an individual
- Social Context- attitudes, customs, and beliefs of the culture in which the writer lived
Ex.) The social context of the 1920's was materialism and depravity.
- Disillusionment- the feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be
- Fragmentation- writing which causes confusion by being sporadic; not smooth and flowing
- Development- when conflict increases
- Epiphany- sudden striking realization
- Foreshadowing- clues that hint at what is to come in the story
- Falling Action- the events of the story that follow the climax
- Rising Action- events that lead up to the climax
- Extended Metaphor-comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences or lines.
- Pun- a joke that makes a play on words
- Organizational Structure- how the work is organized