| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Abstract language | language without concrete or specific references such as "beauty" and ugly |
| Allegory | a story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people |
| Alliteration | the repetition of one or more initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words. |
| Allusion | a reference to a person, place, event from history, literature, religion, or other source meant to create an effect or enrich the meaning of the idea. |
| Ambiguity | having two or more different and sometimes conflicting meanings; lack of clarity in a work. |
| Analogy | comparison between two things to show how they are alike. |
| Annotation | the critical commentary or explanatory notes that accompany a text. |
| Antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause that is referred to by a pronoun. |
| Antithesis | direct contrast/opposition |
| Aphorism | a brief, clearly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. |
| Appositive | noun phrase that renames or adds info |
| Apostrophe | a technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent. |
| Atmosphere | the mood and feeling that is evoked |
| Attitude | a writers approach or feeling towards what they are writing |
| Clause | a group of related words that contain both a subject and a verb |
| Cliche | an overused or trite expression |
| Colloquial/Colloquialism | the use of slang or informalities in speech or writings; it gives a work a conversational, familiar tone. |
| Conceit | an elaborate metaphor or figurative device; a fanciful supposition (quite being used in the 17th century - associated usually with poets) |
| Concrete Detail/Concrete Language | specific examples and details |
| Connotation | the suggestion, implication, feelings associated with a word |
| Denotation | the literal meaning - dictionary definition - of a word |
| Dependent Clause | can NOT stand by itself |
| Diction | word choice |
| Didactic | intended to instruct |
| Equivocation | ambiguous, vague, intentionally evasive |
| Euphemism | substitutes a more agreeable word for an unpleasant one (pass on/died) |
| Extended Metaphor | a comparison between two unlike things that is longer than a few sentences |
| Figurative language | describes one thing in terms of another |
| Genre | literary type or class (novel, short story, comedy, tragedy) |
| Gerund | the "ing" form of a verb, but used as a noun. |
| Hyperbole | exaggeration for emphasis |
| Imagery | literal (concrete)/figurative (figures of speech) |
| Inference/Infer | basing a conclusion on what is there |
| Invective | harsh, insulting language; abusive and denunciatory |
| Inversion | the reversal of the normal word order of a sentence |
| Irony / Ironic | verbal, contrast between what is stated and what is meant; situational, contrast between what appears to be and what actually is |
| Loose Sentence | main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then adds on more detail |
| Metaphor | comparison between 2 unlike things by saying one IS the other |
| Mood | feeling that another tries to create |
| Motif | recurring element that unifies, apart of the main theme - may be a character a recurrent image or a verbal pattern |
Combine with other sets
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