AS english lit key words

I am studying 'the road', 'the great gatsby' and works by W H Auden and Robert Frost. These are key words relevent to the texts that will make you rwriting more fluent and sophisticated. 

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  • Created by: eleanor
  • Created on: 18-04-13 17:40
Atavistic
A reappearance of an earlier characteristic.
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Dystopia
An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad.
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Pastiche
A piece of creative work in literature that imitates and often satirizes another work or style.
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Motif
In narrative, a motif is a recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative aspects such as a theme.
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Nebulous
Unclear, vague, or ill-defined.
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Olfactory Imagery
Imagery dealing with scent.
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narrative gaps
Things that are left out of the narrative. These gaps may be filled by the reader.
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Omniscience
The state of being omniscient; having infinite knowledge.
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Modernism
Modern character or quality of thought, expression or technique.
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Parable
A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.
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Lexis
Vocabulary or word choices. the narrator voice may use one kind of lexis while characters may use another.
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Focaliser
The character from whose point of view the action is being seen.
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Meta-narrative
Any story told to justify another story; a story about oneself that provides a view of one's experiences.
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Exposition
The part of the book that introduces the theme, setting, characters and circumstances at the story's beginning.
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Closure
The sense of completion or resolution at the end of a literary work.
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Denouement
The final part of the narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are resolved.
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Exophoric
Language that points to something outside of the text, which is understood in the context.
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Macabre
Suggesting the horror of death and decay.
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Peregrination
Traveling or wandering around.
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Trope
Metaphorical use of a word or expression.
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Sibilance
A consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh).
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Post-modernism
A departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.
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Endophoric
Words or phrases like pronouns are endophora when they point backwards or forwards in the text.
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Anti-Hero
A protagonist who lacks any heroic virtues or qualities (such as being morally good, idealistic, courageous, noble and possessing fortitude).
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Juxtaposition
Placing two contrasting objects, images or ideas together, so that the differences between them are emphasized.
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Flat characters
A minor character in a work of fiction who does not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story.
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Ubiquitous
Present, appearing or found everywhere: "his ubiquitous influence" "Starbucks is so ubiquitous"
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Vicariously
Living as if through someone else or acting for someone else.
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Aural Imagery
Images created through sound, by the use of techniques such as alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.
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Conventions
A characteristic of a literary genre (often unrealistic) that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique.
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Round character
A character that has been fully developed so the reader has a good picture of their looks and personality.
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Second person address
A narrative voice that directly addresses the reader as 'you'. Whole texts do not usually do this.
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Phalanx
A group of people, or things of a similar type, forming a compact body or brought together for a common purpose.
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Spirituality
A person not concerned with material values or pursuits/ having a relationship based on a profound level of mental or emotional communion: "he never forgot his spiritual father".
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Allusion
A reference in literary work to a person, place or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well known characters or events.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Dystopia

Back

An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad.

Card 3

Front

Pastiche

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Motif

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Nebulous

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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Comments

Jamie Lappin-Place

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Few points I'd like to make, atavistic is so much English based as social/biological. Dystopia isn't just imagined, but can be a physical thing as well. And it's not just where everything is unpleasant or bad, but where everything is tightly controlled and regimented. Think of it as a sort of 'perfect' dictatorship.

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