| 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 soucre 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 | brief, clearly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. |
| appositive | noun phrase thst 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 | the writer's approach/feeling towards the 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. |
| concrete detail/concrete language | specific details/examples |
| 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 insruct |
| equivocation | ambiguous, vague, intentionally evasive. |
| euphemism | substitutes a more agreeable word for an unpleasant one (passed on/died) |
| extended metaphor | comparison of unlike things (long term comparison) |
| figurative language | describes one thing in terms of another |
| genre | literary type or class |
| gerund | the "ing" form of a verb, but used as a noun (running is a great sport) |
| hyperbole | exaggeration for emphasis |
| imagery | literal (concrete)/ figurative (figures of speech) |
| inference/ infer | to draw a conclusion from |
| 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 said and what really happened..situtational- what appeared to be and the real thing |
| loose sentence | main idea at the beg. of the sentence and then adds on more detail |
| metaphor | comparison between 2 unlike things by saying one IS the other-does not use "like" or "as" |
| mood | feeling the author is trying to make |
| motif | recurring element that unifies, a part of the main theme- may be a character a recurrent image or a verbal pattern |
Combine with other sets
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