English Semester 2 Literary Terms

In a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall.

A process by which songs, ballads, folklore, and other material are transmitted by word of mouth.

removal of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music

The turning point in a narrative, the moment when the conflict is at its most intense.

A device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments.

A period featuring a group of American poets and novelists of the 1950s and 60s who rejected social and literary values

In literary criticism, this term denotes the art of ethical persuasion.

A character or figure who uses his ingenuity to defeat enemies and escape difficult situations

A type of character, who is usually the protagonist who typically has traits that earn them the sympathy of the readers

French for “dark”, the writing may be somber or have an overwhelming sense of hopelessness

A subdivision of a poem consisting of lines grouped together often in recurring patterns of rhyme, line length and Meter

A German word meaning "novel of development." a study of the maturation of a youthful character, coming of age

When you introduce an item that doesn't seem important but later takes on an important role and has greater significance

A literary movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A corruption of a French phrase meaning "double meaning." The term indicates something thats deliberately ambiguous

of the 1920s is generally considered the first significant movement of black writers and artists in the United States