Kerala Plus Two English Literature (DHSE) flashcards

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

Inference

A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text rather than stated directly; readers combine clues, context, and logic to answer implicit questions.

Fact versus opinion

A fact can be verified by evidence; an opinion expresses judgement, belief, or feeling and often uses evaluative adjectives, modal verbs, or phrases like 'I think'.

Context clue

A word or phrase near an unfamiliar word that hints at its meaning, such as a synonym, antonym, definition, example, or cause-effect relationship.

Topic sentence

The sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that states the paragraph's main point and controls the details that follow.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line or stanza without a pause, creating flow, suspense, or a conversational rhythm.

Dramatic monologue

A poem in which a single speaker addresses a silent listener at a critical moment, revealing character and situation through speech.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates or suggests the sound it describes, such as buzz, hiss, crash, or murmur, adding auditory imagery.

Volta

The turn of thought or argument in a sonnet, often marked by words like 'but' and occurring between the octave and sestet or at the final couplet.

Thesis statement

A sentence that states the central claim of an essay and previews the line of reasoning the body paragraphs will develop.

Rhetorical appeals

Ethos, pathos, and logos: persuasive strategies based on the speaker's credibility, the audience's emotions, and logical reasoning respectively.

Anecdote

A short, often personal story used in an essay or speech to illustrate a point, create interest, or establish a connection with readers.

Tone

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject and audience, conveyed through diction, sentence length, punctuation, and imagery.

Foreshadowing

A hint or early clue about events that will happen later, building suspense and making the outcome seem plausible when it arrives.

Epiphany

A sudden moment of insight in which a character understands a truth about self, others, or life, often changing the story's direction.

Third-person limited

A narrative point of view in which the narrator uses he, she, or they but reports only one character's thoughts and perceptions.

Rising action

The section of a plot after the exposition where complications and conflicts develop, increasing tension before the climax.

Soliloquy

A speech in which a character alone on stage reveals private thoughts to the audience, not to other characters.

Dramatic irony

A situation where the audience knows more than a character does, so the character's words or actions carry a meaning they do not intend.

Hamartia

A tragic hero's error, flaw, or misjudgement that contributes to the hero's downfall, often combined with fate or circumstance.

Aside

A brief remark spoken by a character to the audience or another character that other characters on stage are not meant to hear.

Précis

A concise summary of a passage in the writer's own words, usually about one-third of the original length, preserving the main ideas.

Notice

A short formal announcement displayed publicly or circulated, giving the what, when, where, who, and why of an event or instruction.

Byline

The line in a newspaper or magazine article that names the writer, usually placed just below the headline.

Letter of complaint

A formal letter that states a problem with a product or service, gives evidence, and requests a specific remedy politely.

Passive voice

A clause construction in which the object of an action becomes the grammatical subject, formed with a form of be plus the past participle.

Reported speech

Indirect speech that reports what someone said without quoting exact words, often shifting tense, pronouns, and time or place words.

Relative clause

A dependent clause introduced by who, which, that, whose, or where that modifies a noun and may be defining or non-defining.

Conditional sentence

A sentence expressing a condition and its result, usually with if; the four types differ in time and likelihood.

Portmanteau

A word formed by blending the sounds and meanings of two words, as in smog from smoke and fog.

Idiom

An expression whose meaning cannot be predicted from the literal meanings of its individual words, such as 'kick the bucket'.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole or the whole for a part, as in 'all hands on deck'.

Collocation

A habitual combination of words that native speakers use together, such as 'make a decision' rather than 'do a decision'.