| Term | Definition |
|---|
| active voice | the action is performed by the subject of the sentence, not the object... the dog jumped on her |
| abstract | thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances |
| adjectives | The part of speech that modifies a noun or other substantive |
| adverbs | the part of speech that modifies a verb.. so, verry, quickly |
| allegory | a story or narrative, often told at some length, which has a deeper meaning below the surface |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line or succeeding lines of verse |
| allusion | an indirect or oblique reference within a text to another text or work |
| ambiguity | The expression of an idea in such a way that more than one 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 villain is an antagonist |
| antecedent | The word for which the pronoun stands |
| antithesis | the second sentence or part thus set in opposition .. To err is human; to forgive, divine. --Alexander Pope |
| aphorism | A brief, sometimes clever saying that expresses a principle, truth or observation about life.. To think on death is misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity,/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss. --Peacham |
| 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 ..With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the skies! --Sidney |
| archetype | a model or first form, .. a steriotype |
| 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, only in reverse order... He labors without complaining and without bragging rests |
| clause | a sentence construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting 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... such as "y'all" or "gonna" or "wanna |
| complex sentence | a sentence containing one or more dependent clauses in addition to the main clause...for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS. |
| compound sentence | a sentence containing two or more coordinate independent clauses, usually joined by one or more conjunctions, but no dependent clause... because, since, after, although, or when, who, or which |
| conceit | an elaborate, extended, and sometimes surprising comparison between things that, at first sight, do not have much in common... Let man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this, |
| conflict | The tension created in the story by the struggle or outcome of the struggleóone 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 | Denotative 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 |
| duality | a dual state or quality- contractions |
| euphemism | The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one ...pass away" instead of "die |
| exaggeration | the act of exaggerating or overstating |
| exclamatory sentence | A sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation |
| existentialism | A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness 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 taking place before the 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 |
| homily | a sermon, usually on a Biblical topic and usually of a nondoctrinal nature |
| hyperbole | A figure of speech in which the author over exaggerates 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...Speech or writing that abuses, denounces, or vituperates against... I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth. -- |
| inversion | Reversing the normal subject - verb - complement order.. Yet know I how the heather looks |
| irony | A subtle form of sarcasm |
| juxtaposition | the positioning of ideas or images side by side for emphasis on contrast |
| literal | true to fact; not exaggerated; actual or factual |
| litotes | understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (as in "not a bad singer" or "not unhappy") |
| loose sentence | This sentence is a basic statement with a string of details added to it. |
| 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 "I am the bread of life." --John 6:35 |
| metonymy | 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... You cannot fight city hall. |
| 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 account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious |
| onomatopoeia | Using a word that emits the sound of the word... The flies buzzing and whizzing around their ears kept them from finishing the test at the swamp. |
| oxymoron | A juxtaposition of two unlike things to create ambiguity through contradiction....He was now sufficiently composed to order a funeral of modest magnificence |
| paradox | A statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd.. war is peace |
| 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... A satiric imitation of a work or of an author with the idea of ridiculing the author, his ideas, or 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... the papper was eatedn by the the dog |
| 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 | additional details are placed before the basic statement, 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 |
| pronouns | The part of speech that substitutes 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 |
| 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 actually requires no answer. |
| repetition | A device used by a writer to emphasize an important character trait, to reinforce a theme, to create parallel structure, to highlight the speaker's attitude, to provide a transition between paragraphs, to maintain an idea of persistence, or to focus the reader's attention on a person, place, thing, or idea |
| rhetoric | the undue use of exaggeration or display,The art of effective expression and the persuasive use of language |
| rhetorical modes | based on the ways human brains process information.. the point of writing a argument, description, narative, fantacy ect |
| sarcasm | harsh or bitter derision or irony |
| satire | a genre or mode that exposes and ridicules human vice and folly |
| semantics | the study of meaning. IN COMMUNICATIONS |
| setting | The time and location of the story |
| shift | to move from one place, position, direction, 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 |
| subordinate clause | A dependent clause that cant stand alone... -because he was sick. |
| subplot | a secondary or subordinate plot, as in a play, novel, or other literary work; underplot |
| surrealism | A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter. |
| symbolism | an object, sign, or image that is used to stand for something else, as a flag may be used to symbolize a nation |
| syntax | the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language |
| telegraphic sentence | a sentence that expresses a straightforward, no-frills idea or action |
| theme | a controlling idea or a subject for philosophical reflection in a literary work |
| tone | created through the combined efforts of a number of features |
| tragedy | drama or film portraying the doomed struggle and eventual downfall of an admirable but flawed hero |
| understatement | A statement that says less than what it means |
| universality | A statement that says less than what it means |
| verb | The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages |
| narrator | someone who tells a story |
Combine with other sets
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