Unit 5: Part 4 Literary Terms

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stanza
    a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
    Stanzas, for instance, are repeated groupings of two or more verse lines with a definite pattern of line length, rhythm, and, frequently, rhyme.
  2. irony
    incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
    While stanza structure creates an expectation of a regular pattern, irony challenges expectations by creating a contradiction between reality and appearance or between what is said and what is meant.
  3. rhythm
    alternation of stressed and unstressed elements in speech
    Poetry with a regular rhythm, or movement, is metrical verse, which is divided into combinations of syllables called feet.
  4. meter
    a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse
    Poetry with a regular rhythm, or movement, is metrical verse, which is divided into combinations of syllables called feet.
  5. metrical
    relating to the rhythmic arrangement of syllables
    Poetry with a regular rhythm, or movement, is metrical verse, which is divided into combinations of syllables called feet.
  6. foot
    a group of syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
    Poetry with a regular rhythm, or movement, is metrical verse, which is divided into combinations of syllables called feet.
  7. iambic
    of metrical units having an unstressed/stressed pattern
    • Iambic: unstressed, stressed, as in the time
  8. trochaic
    of or consisting of trochees
    • Trochaic: stressed, unstressed, as in grandeur
  9. tetrameter
    a verse line having four stressed feet
    Lines with three, four, and five feet are trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter, respectively.
  10. pentameter
    a verse line having five metrical feet
    Lines with three, four, and five feet are trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter, respectively.
  11. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
    In an analogy, the relationship between two words is compared to the relationship between two other words.
  12. comparative
    involving the examination of similarities and differences
    Write a comparative analysis in which you examine the ways in which the speakers in these poems feel about an absence and succeed or fail in handling it.
  13. active voice
    when the subject of a sentence performs the action
    A verb is in the active voice when the subject is the doer of the action.
  14. passive voice
    when the subject of a sentence is a recipient of the action
    A verb is in the passive voice when it receives the action of the verb.
  15. stereotype
    a conventional or formulaic conception or image
    They have found that the way groups are portrayed in the media can create stereotypes, assumptions about race, gender, or religion that influence a person's attitude and behavior toward individuals who belong to certain groups.
  16. special effect
    an effect used to produce scenes that cannot be achieved by normal techniques (especially on film)
    • Special Effects—technological tricks of sight and sound that produce images, such as flying superheroes and roaming dinosaurs
  17. sequence
    arrange in a series
    • Sequencing—the arrangement of a story's events, such as chronological order or a series of flashbacks
  18. idiom
    expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from its words
    Idioms are figurative expressions that do not mean what the words literally say.
  19. context
    discourse that surrounds and helps explain a word or passage
    Context clues are words or phrases that help readers clarify the meanings of unfamiliar words in a text.
Created on Fri Oct 23 13:48:23 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Feb 18 11:14:45 EST 2021)

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