What is a volta?
A change in mood or focus in a poem
What is hamartia?
The flaw in character which leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy.
What is hubris?
Excessive pride or self-confidence
What is chiasmus?
When words, grammatical constructions or concepts are repeated in reverse order
What is a synecdoche?
A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa
What is polysyndeton?
The overuse of the same connective
What is prolepsis?
Where the order of events in a narrative is disrupted so that a future plot point is told earlier in the narrative than it actually occurs
What is a euphemism?
A word or phrase used to avoid saying an unpleasant or offensive word.
What is metonymy?
A figure of speech that refers to something by using a word that describes its qualities or is closely associated with it
What is litotes?
An understatement used for rhetorical effect.
What is asyndeton?
Where conjunctions are left out between words or parts of a sentence, often creating a list-like style.
What is a tautology?
The use of different words to say the same thing twice in the same statement
What is a malapropism?
The unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one of similar sound, often with humorous results
What is denouement?
The resolution of conflict in a narrative plot structure
What is an omniscient narrator?
A narrator who is all-knowing about the plot and characters.