Literature and Composition Final Exam Review

Allusion

a reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Static Character

a character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

Dynamic Character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

Internal Conflict

a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character

External Conflict

a problem or struggle between a character and someone or something outside of the character

Dialect

the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people

Setting

The time and place of a story

Exposition

introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation

Rising Action

A series of events that builds from the conflict. It begins with the inciting force and ends with the climax.

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Falling Action

events after the climax, leading to the resolution

Flashback

a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present

Foreshadow

gives clues that suggest what might happen in the future

Inference

logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience

Situational Irony

occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected

Verbal Irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Dramatic Irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't

First Person Point of View

the narrator is a character in the story and used words like I, me, we

Second Person Point of View

The narrator tells the story using the pronouns "You", "Your," and "Yours" to address a reader or listener directly

Third Person Point of View

narrator outside the story sees the world through one character's eyes and reveals only that character's thoughts.

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work

Symbol

something that stands for or represents something else

Theme

The main idea of the story

Tone

The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters

Noun

a person, place, thing, or idea

Pronoun

a word that takes the place of a noun

Verb

A word that expresses action or state of being

Adjective

Describes or modifies a noun or pronoun

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

Preposition

word used to show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence. Examples: in, under, near, behind, to, from, over

Conjunction

The part of speech that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Interjection

an exclamation; an interruption

Direct Object

noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb; tells who or what receives the action; example: Bobby loved his PARENTS.

Indirect Object

comes after the verb, but before the direct object. Names the person or thing that receives something, or for which something is done.

Object of Preposition

the noun, pronoun, phrase, or clause to which the preposition refers

Predicate Nominative

a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject

Predicate Adjective

an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of a sentence; includes forms of taste, look, feel, smell, appear, seem

Simple Sentence

one independent clause

Compound Sentence

two or more independent clauses

Complex Sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Compound-Complex Sentence

two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Apostrophe

a technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Didactic Poem

a poem which is intended primarily to teach a lesson

Extended Metaphor

a metaphor which extends over several lines or an entire poem

Metaphor

a figure of speech comparing to unlike things without using like or as

Simile

a comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Irony

the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

Free Verse

consists of lines of poetry that do not have a regular rhythm and do not rhyme

Imagery

language that appeals to the senses

Hyperbole

an exaggeration

Narrative Poem

a poem that tells a story and has a plot

Onomatopoeia

a word that imitates the sound it represents

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Quatrain

a stanza or group of four lines of poetry

Refrain

a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song

Stanza

a group of lines in a poem

Understatement

a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants

impasse

a problem or predicament with no obvious resolution

wunderkind

one who excels in a difficult field at an early age

acumen

ability to discern or discriminate; shrewdness

nanotechnology

the use of single atoms and molecules to construct microscopic devices

notarize

to certify legally

piquant

a strong, stimulating taste

malodorous

having an offensive odor

pungent

a sharp taste; acrid

erroneous

incorrect; mistaken

concurrent

happening at the same time

negligible

of little importance; insignificant

renege

to break a promise or obligation; to revoke

precept

a rule of action; a principle to live by

visage

a face; a facial expression

irrevocable

impossible to retract or revoke; irreversible

confute

to argue or point out error

meritorious

deserving of an award or honor

mezzanine

the lowest balcony in a theater; a partial story between main stories in a building

tribulation

an affliction, trouble, or difficult experience

recumbent

resting or lying down

dynasty

a succession of rulers from the same family or group

purport

to claim; to have or to give the false impression of being

forte

an area of expertise or strength

kleptomania

a continual urge to steal regardless of economic motive

renown

state of being well known and honored; fame

ineffable

too sacred or great to be described; indescribable

fortitude

strength in adversity

botch

to ruin through clumsiness; to bungle

perennial

lasting indefinitely

brinkmanship

pushing dangerous situations to the edge of disaster rather than conceding