CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 2023/2024

Accentual meter - stressed rythmic structure of poetic lines Agon - "struggle" portagonist/antagonist a formal debate (comedy) Alexandrine - 12 syllable line written in iambic hexameter Allegorical - a narrative that is an extended metaphor the elements of the narrative carry significance on a literal and a figurative level alliteration - repetition of initial consonants in consecutive words or in words close to each other allusion - a reference to a person,place, or thing from another literary work or from history anapest - metrical foot used in poetry consisting of two short syllables followed by a long syllable each line has three syllables (two unstressed and one stressed) antagonist - the one who struggles against the protagonist -can be an individual or an obstacle or a challenge apostrophe - direct adress to someone or something that is not present, such as an imaginary person or an abstract quality ie Oh love if only you would arise argumentative - describes writing that establishes a position and supports it with evidence assonance - repetition of vowel sounds more common in verse than prose aubade - a morning love song opposite of a serenade a song to a sleeping woman also refers to a song evoking daybreak ballad - a narrative folk song or a narrative set to music ballad stanza - a four line stanza consisting of alternating four and three stress lines 8 and 6 beat -the second and fourth lies rhyme (abcb) bathos - abruspt change in style going from exalted to mundane, producing a ludicrous effect blank verse - unrythmed iambic pentameter caesura - a complete pause in a line of poetry usually right in the middle catastrophe - final resolution in a poem or narrative that unravels the plot and concludes the work the misfortune experienced by the tragic hero catharsis - "cleansing" "purging" in a tragedy, the moment for purging or relieving of emotions for the audience climax - turning point in a story the point where, the main character experiences a change, and the action stops building and begins falling closed form - poetry conforming to prespecified requirements of rhyme, meter, line length, and number of lines; two examples are haiku and sonnet complication - element introduced into the plot to alter its course conceits - extended metaphor governing an entire passage or poem conclusion - final division of a discourse or literary work that brings the work to a close 5th part of plot structure connotation - emotional association that accompanies a certain word or phrase often described as positive or negative consonance - repetition of a consonant sound in short succession conventional - following accepted standards a well understood interpretation stock couplet - two consecutive lines in poetry usually with the same meter and rhyming crisis - turning point in a story culmination of the events of the plot right before the climax where it seems like the hero will not make it dactyl - a foot in a meter of poetry