Unit 2 Literary Terms and Vocabulary

Front

Context

Back

Information that clarifies what is happening in a moment or situation

Front

Extended Metaphor

Back

A comparison that is continued over the course of a text with multiple references

Front

Figurative Language

Back

Language that goes beyond the literal meaning of the words (metaphor, simile, symbolism, personification, hyperbole)

Front

Imagery

Back

Vivid description of how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels. Example: “When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; / When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass.” — Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Sympathy”

Front

Juxtaposition

Back

A literary technique where two ideas are placed next to each other to reveal a contrast. Examples: good and evil, war and peace, justice and revenge

Front

Mood

Back

The atmosphere and the emotion in a text; refers to the emotion an author is trying to make their audience feel, like worry, fear, excitement, suspense, or joy

Front

Poetic Structure

Back

Refers to a poem’s form (the number of lines and stanzas it has), rhyme scheme, and rhythm

Front

Repetition

Back

When an author repeats a phrase, a word, or an idea throughout a text. Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Front

Rhetorical Question

Back

A question posed by a writer or speaker that they don’t really expect the audience or reader to answer

Front

Rhyme Scheme

Back

The pattern of rhyme created through the last syllable in each line