CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Iambic pentameter

A line of five iambic feet, each foot an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, producing ten syllables total; common in English sonnets and blank verse.

Blank verse

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter; widely used in dramatic and reflective poetry because it approximates natural English speech rhythm.

Free verse

Poetry without a fixed meter or rhyme scheme; it relies on line breaks, rhythm, imagery, and syntax rather than regular pattern to create effect.

Shakespearean sonnet

A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter divided into three quatrains and a concluding couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg; the couplet often delivers a turn or summary.

Petrarchan sonnet

A fourteen-line poem split into an octave (abbaabba) and a sestet (often cdecde); the volta typically occurs between octave and sestet, shifting argument or mood.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or phrase past the end of a line without a syntactic pause; it creates momentum and can emphasize the first word of the next line.

Caesura

A pause or break within a line of verse, often marked by punctuation; it can slow rhythm, create emphasis, or mimic speech.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly states one thing is another, implying comparison without using like or as; it can be extended across a passage.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as; it makes an abstract or unfamiliar idea concrete.

Personification

A figure of speech giving human qualities, actions, or emotions to nonhuman things, animals, or abstract ideas.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words, often used to create rhythm, emphasis, or a memorable phrase.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words, especially in stressed syllables; it can create internal rhyme or musicality without full rhyme.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates or suggests the sound of what it names, such as buzz or hiss; it adds sensory immediacy to description.

Volta

A turn or shift in argument, mood, or perspective in a poem, especially a sonnet; in Italian sonnets it often falls between octave and sestet.

First-person point of view

Narration using I or we, in which the narrator is a character within the story and reports events through personal, limited knowledge and bias.

Third-person omniscient

A narrator outside the story who knows the thoughts, feelings, and pasts of multiple characters and can move freely among them.

Third-person limited

A narrator outside the story who reports only one character's thoughts and perceptions, creating intimacy while restricting information.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which a speaker says one thing but means the opposite, often for humorous or critical effect; tone and context signal the inversion.

Situational irony

An outcome that sharply contrasts with what was expected or intended, highlighting absurdity, injustice, or the limits of human planning.

Dramatic irony

A situation in which the audience or reader knows something a character does not, creating tension, humor, or tragic foreboding.

Tone

The author's or speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through diction, syntax, imagery, and detail; it differs from mood.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere a text evokes in the reader, created by setting, imagery, diction, and rhythm; it differs from the author's tone.

Memoir

A nonfiction narrative focused on a particular period, theme, or relationship in the author's life, emphasizing reflection rather than a full life account.

Autobiography

A nonfiction account of a person's entire life written by that person, typically tracing development from childhood to the present.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal based on the speaker's credibility, character, or authority; established through expertise, fairness, and shared values.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal to the audience's emotions, values, or sympathies, often achieved through vivid anecdotes, connotative language, and imagery.

Logos

A rhetorical appeal to logic and reason through evidence, facts, statistics, examples, and structured argument.

Hamartia

The tragic flaw or error in judgment that leads a tragic protagonist to downfall; it is not necessarily a moral defect but a misstep.

Catharsis

The emotional purging or release experienced by an audience at the end of a tragedy, often through pity and fear for the protagonist.

Soliloquy

A speech in which a character alone on stage reveals inner thoughts and feelings to the audience rather than to other characters.

Aside

A brief remark by a character that the audience hears but other characters on stage do not, often revealing private motives or creating irony.

Foil

A character who contrasts with another, usually the protagonist, to highlight specific traits, values, or weaknesses by comparison.