| Term | Definition |
|---|
| active voice | the action is performed by the subject of the sentence, not the object |
| abstract | thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances |
| adjectives | the part of speach that modifies a nown or other substance |
| adverbs | the part of speech that modifies a verb |
| allegory | a story or narrative, often told at some length, which has a deeper meaning; ex. Animal Farm |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line or succeeding lines of verse |
| allusion | an indirect or oblique referernce within a text to another text or work |
| ambiguity | the expression of an idea in such a way that more than on meaning is suggested |
| anecdote | a brief story used in an essay to illustrate a point |
| antagonist | the force or person working against the protagonist; the villam |
| antecedent | the word for which the pronoun stands |
| antithesis | the second sentence or part thus set in opposition |
| aphorism | a brief, sometimes clever saying that expresses a principle, truth or observation about life |
| apostrophe | a literary device in which the speaker directly addresses someone dead, someone missing, an abstract quality, or something non human as if he/she/it were present |
| archetype | a model or first form |
| atmosphere | the prevailing mood created by a piece of writing |
| audience | the persons reached by a piece of theatrical or literary work |
| characterization | the process by which the writer reveals the personalities of the people of the work |
| characters | a fictional person portrayed in a piece of literary work |
| chiasmus | a crossing parallelism, where the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part |
| clause | a sentence construction containing a subject and predicate adn forming part of a sentence or constitution a whole simple sentence |
| climax | the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something |
| colloquialism | pertaining to words or expressions more suitable for speech than writing |
| complex sentence | a sentence containing one or more dependent clause in addition to the main clause |
| compound sentence | a sentence containing two or more coordinate independent clauses, usually joined by one or more conjunctions, but no dependent clause |
| conceit | an elaborate, extended and sometimes surprising comparison between things that, at first sight, do not have much in common |
| concrete | resembles something found in the physical world |
| conflict | the tension created in the story by the struggle or outcome of thes struggleoone of the narrative devices to address when analyzing the tone of the passage |
| connotation | words which have implied meaning emphasizing the feelings or subjectivity that surrounds the word |
| dash | a punctuation device used to denote an abrupt break, pause in a sentence, or hesitation in an utterance |
| declarative sentence | a sentence (in the indicative mood) that makes a declaration |
| denotation | these words have literal, dictionary meaning, emphasizing an objective tone |
| dialogue | conversation between two or more persons |
| diction | word choice used by the author to persuade or to convey tone, purpose, or effect |
| didactic | a type of writing that is preachy or bossy or teaching |
| duality | a dual state or quality |
| euphemism | the substitution of a mild or less negative word for a harsh or blunt one |
| exaggeration | th act of exaggerating or overstating |
| exclamatory sentence | a sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation |
| existentialism | a philosophy that emphasizes the uniquness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe |
| extended metaphor | a metaphor that is extended through a stanza or entire poem |
| figurative language | speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning |
| flashback | a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc. by which an event or scene is taking place before teh present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work |
| foreshadowing | a literary technique in which the author gives hints about future events |
| genre | a collective grouping or general category of literary works |
| homiliy | a sermon, usually on a Biblical topic and usually of nondoctrinal nature |
| hyperbole | the author exagerates to accomplish some purpose |
| imagery | diction that describes the five senses |
| imperative sentence | a sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or a command |
| inference | the act or process of inferring |
| interrogative sentence | a sentence that questions |
| invective | the act or process of inferring |
| inversion | Reversing the normal subject-verb-compliment order |
| irony | a subtle form of sarcasm |
| juxtaposition | placing 2 items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish a purpose |
| literal | true to fact; not exagerated; actual or factual |
| litotes | understatement, esp. that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary |
| loose sentence | understatement, esp. that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary |
| magical realism | a style of painting and literature in which fantastic or imaginary and often unsettling images or events are depicted in a sharply detailed, realistic manner |
| metaphor | a direct comparison in which an unknown item is understood by directly comparing it to a known item |
| metonomy | a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related |
| mood | a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude |
| monologue | a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker |
| motif | a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., esp. in a literary, artistic, or musical work |
| narrative | a story or an account of events, experiences, or the like, weather true or fictitious |
| narrator | someone who tells a story |
| onomatopoeia | using a word that emits the sound of the word |
| oxymoron | a juxtaposition of 2 unlike things to create ambiguity through contradiction |
| paradox | a statement that seems contradictory, un believable, or absurd |
| parallelism/parallel structure | recurrent syntactical similarity. In this structural arrangement several parts of a sentence or several sentences are developed and phrased similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance |
| parody | a literary or artistic work that mimics in an absurd of ridiculous way the conventions and style of another work |
| passive voice | the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb |
| parenthesis | used by the writer to whisper a witty aside to the reader |
| pedantic | overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching |
| periodic sentence | a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense |
| personification | metaphorically represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes of form, character feelings, behavior, and so on |
| point of view | a specified or stated manner of consideration or appraisal; standpoint |
| omniscent | the capacity to know everything infinitely |
| pronouns | the part of speech that substitues for nouns or noun phrases |
| protagonist | the main character or speaker in a poem, monologue, play, or story |
| pun | a play upon words based upon the multiple meanings of words |
| punctuation | everything in written language other than the actual letters or numbers |
| requiem | a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person |
| rhetorical question | a literary device in which a question is asked that requires no answer |
| repetition | a device usued by a writer to emphasize an important character trait, to reinforce a theme, to create parallel structure, etc. |
| rhetoric | the undue use of exaggeration or display |
| rhetorical modes | based on the ways human brains process information |
| sarcasm | harsh or bitter derision or irony |
| satire | a genre or mode that expresses and ridicules human vice and folly |
| semantics | the study of meaning |
| setting | the time and location of the story |
| shift | to move from one place position, dirction, etc., to another |
| simile | an indirect comparison using like or as |
| simple sentence | a sentence having only one clause |
| soliloquy | an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself |
| style | the author's use of figurative language, diction, sound effects and other literary devices |
| subordinate clause | a dependent clause begining with a subordinating conjunction |
| subplot | a secondary or subordinate plot, as in a play, novel, or other literary work; under plots |
| surrealism | a 20th century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconsious and its characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter |
| symbolism | an object, sign, or image that is used to stand for something else |
| syntax | the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language |
| theme | concerns itself with a work's message or contains the general idea of a work |
| tone | created through the combined efforts of a number of features |
| tragedy | drama or film portraying the doomed struggle and eventual down fall of an admirable but flawed hero |
| understatement | a statement that says less than what itmeans |
| universality | a statement that says less than what it means |
| verb | the part of speech that expresses exixtence, action, or occurrence in most languages |
Combine with other sets
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