Crabtree's Lit Terms
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Created by:
Nickpatton on January 2, 2011
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78 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Words that are not concrete. | Abstract Language |
| A narrative or description in which the characters or events primarily stand for something other than what they literally are, and in which the second meaning carries most of the interest. | Allegory |
| Repetition of initial consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words in poetry. | Alliteration |
| A literary device which creates interests through a brief, indirect reference (not a quotation) to another literary work, usually for the purpose of associating the tone or theme of the one work with the other. | Allusion |
| The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage., a diction-based rhetorical strategy that capitalizes on the multiple meanings of a word, phrase, sentence, or apssage, implying that serveral meanings could potentially be correct. | Ambiguity |
| Drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect | Analogy |
| A critical or explanatory note or comment, especially for a literary work | Annotation |
| The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. | Antecedent |
| The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance | Antithesis |
| A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. | Aphorism |
| A noun or noun phrase that renames the noun it follows: Mrs. R, my teacher, ... | Appositive |
| A technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent. | Apostrophe |
| The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene | Atmosphere |
| A point of view; state of mind; way of thinking or feeling | Attitude |
| An expression including a subject and predicate but not constituting a complete sentence | Clause |
| a trite or obvious remark | Cliche |
| Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing | Colloquialism |
| A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects | Conceit |
| Details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events | Concrete Detail |
| Refers to the implied or suggested meanings associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition | Connotation |
| The dictionary definition of a word | Denotation |
| A clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb | Dependent Clause |
| The manner in which something is expressed in words | Diction |
| Intended to instruct | Didactic |
| A statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth | Equivocation |
| An inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive | Euphemism |
| The comparison between two things is continued beyond the first point of comparison. This extends and deepens a description. | Extended Metaphor |
| Writing or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things, [examples are metaphor, simile, and personification. | Figurative Language |
| A kind of literary or artistic work | Genre |
| A noun formed from a verb (such as the '-ing' form of an English verb when used as a noun) | Gerund |
| A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor | Hyperbole |
| The ability to form mental images of things or events | Imagery |
| The reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation | Inference/Infer |
| Abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will | Invective |
| A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject | Inversion |
| Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs | Irony |
| A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses | Loose Sentence |
| A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity | Metaphor |
| A characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling | Mood |
| A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work | Motif |
| consisting of or characterized by the telling of a story | Narrative |
| A conclusion that does not follow from the premises | Non Sequitur |
| Using words that imitate the sound they denote | Onomatopoeia |
| Conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') | Oxymoron |
| A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. | Paradox |
| Sentence construction which places equal grammatical construction near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. | Parallelism/Parallel Structure |
| Humorous or satirical mimicry | Parody |
| Marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects | Pedantic |
| A complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by the subordinate clause | Periodic Sentence |
| Representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature | Personification |
| The perspective from which a story is told | Point of View |
| Tells what the subject is or does | Predicate |
| Ordinary speech or writing without rhyme or meter; referring to speech or writing other than verse | Prose |
| Prove to be false or incorrect | Refute |
| The repeated use of the same word or word pattern as a rhetorical device | Repetition |
| Study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking) | Rhetoric |
| Witty language used to convey insults or scorn | Sarcasm |
| Form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly | Satire |
| The study of language meaning | Semantics |
| A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as') | Simile |
| The continuous flow of ideas and feelings that constitute an individual's conscious experience | Stream of Consciousness |
| A way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period | Style |
| A clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb | Subordinate Clause |
| Deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises | Syllogism |
| Anything that stands for or represents something else | Symbol |
| Figure of language in which a part represents the whole. | Synecdoche |
| The grammatical arrangement of words in sentences | Syntax |
| A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work | Theme |
| A treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research | Thesis |
| The quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author | Tone |
| A passage that connects a topic to one that follows | Transition |
| A statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said | Understatement |
| The grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes | Voice |
| In modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. Usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement. | Wit |
| Elements of language that contribute to style such as diction, syntax, attitude, figures of speech, connotation, repetition, and point of view. | Stylistic Devices |
| All the elements of language that are often used to analyze nonfiction instead of fiction or to look at rhetorical aims of a work of fiction. | Language Devices |
| The tools of the storyteller, such as ordering events so that they build to a climatic moment, or withholding information until a crucial or appropriate moment when revealing it will create a desired affect. They include organizational strategies, emphasis on detail, descriptive language, connotation - any of the language or stylistic devices used within the narrative. | Narrative Devices |
| Any devices that help a writer to achieve his purpose. These strategies place emphasis on language used to persuade but may apply to fiction as well as nonfiction. They include language devices, rhetorical aims and argumentation, and also an understanding of how a passage is constructed to achieve the purpose. | Rhetorical Strategies |
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