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literary terms

32 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. image
    a visual representation produced on a surface
  2. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  3. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  4. symbol
    something visible that represents something invisible
  5. personification
    attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
  6. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  7. cadence
    the accent in a metrical foot of verse
  8. meter
    a basic unit of length (approximately 1.094 yards)
  9. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  10. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  11. stanza
    a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
  12. couplet
    a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
  13. quatrain
    a stanza of four lines
  14. sestet
    a group of six lines of verse
  15. octave
    a musical interval of eight tones
  16. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  17. tone
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
  18. voice
    the sound made when a person speaks
  19. stance
    a rationalized mental attitude
  20. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  21. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
  22. syntax
    the study of the rules for forming admissible sentences
  23. parallelism
    similarity by virtue of corresponding
  24. subordination
    the state of being lower in rank to something
  25. clause
    a separate section of a legal document
  26. phrase
    an expression consisting of one or more words
  27. participle
    a form of the verb used as an adjective
  28. vignette
    a brief literary description
  29. foreshadowing
    the act of providing vague advance indications
  30. point of view
    a mental position from which things are perceived
  31. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  32. theme
    the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
Created on Mon Oct 05 21:43:28 EDT 2009

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