| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Active Voice | The subject of the sentence performs the action |
| Allusion | An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familier |
| Ambiguity | An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way |
| Analogy | A comparison to a directly parallel case. |
| Annotation | Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, clarify or prompt further thought |
| Attitude of the author | Same as tone |
| Diction | word choice |
| Colloquial (diction) | Ordinary or familiar type of conversation |
| Connotation (diction) | associations suggested by the word |
| Denotation (diction) | Literal meaning of the word |
| Jargon (diction) | Diction used by a group which practices a similar profession |
| Allegory (didactic) | A story fictional or non fictional in which characters represent qualities or concepts. The interactions of these characters/things/events are meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. |
| Ellipsis | Deliberate omission of a word from prose done for effect |
| Euphemism | A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a unpleasant word or concept. For example vertically challenged instead of short |
| Figurative Language | Writing not meant to be taken literally |
| Metaphor (figurative language) | Making an implied comparison not using like or as |
| Simile (figurative language) | Using like or as to make a direct comparison between two different things |
| Personification (figurative language) | Giving human like qualities to something that isn't human |
| Genre | Category into which literary work fits |
| Gothic | Writing characaterized by gloomy, mystery, fear and/or death. Refers to architectural style of the middle ages |
| Irony | When the opposite of what you expect to happen does |
| Verbal Irony | When you say something and mean the opposite |
| Dramatic | When the audience knows something the character doesn't |
| Situation Irony | When something makes you laugh because it's funny how it turned out |
| Juxtaposition | Placing things side by side to compare |
| Oxymoron | contradictory terms are gouped together and suggest a paradox "jumbo shrimp" |
| Paradox | A contradictory statement which is actually true "You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job" |
| Parallelism | Sentences constructed grammatically equal |
| Anaphora (parallelism) | Repetition of a word at the beginning of two sentences or more |
| Antithesis (parallelism) | Two opposite words/phrases with parallel structures "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" |
| Parenthetical Idea | Parentheses used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence |
| Parody | An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous perposes |
| Passive Voice | The subject of the sentences receives the action |
| Rhetorical Question | Questions not meant to be answered but asked for effect |
| Sarcasm | A generally bitter comment that is ironically worded |
| Satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude some ellement of life to a humorous effect |
| Sentence | Group of words that expresses a complete thought |
| Appositive | A word placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning. "Bob, the lumber yard worker, " |
| Clause | Grammatical unit that contains a subject and a verb |
| Simple sentence | one independent clause |
| Compound sentence | Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent |
| compound-complex | Contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent |
| Balanced sentence | Two parallel elements are set off against each other "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich" |
| Loose Sentence | A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows |
| Periodic Sentence | Main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence |
| Declarative sentence | Sates an idea |
| Imperative sentence | Issues a command |
| Interrogative sentence | Asks a question |
| Symbol | Something that stands for something else |
| Syntax | Grammatical arrangement of words |
| Theme | Central idea or message of the work |
| Thesis | The sentence/group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion or purpose |
| Transition | Smooth movement from one paragraph/idea to another |
Combine with other sets
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who is this? marnie?