| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Abstract/Concrete | ideas or concepts; they have no physical referents/objects or events that are available to the senses |
| Simple/Erudite | plain, basic, or uncomplicated in form/having or showing great knowledge or learning |
| Sincere/Artificial | earnest and free of deceit/insincere |
| Informal/Formal | having a relaxed, friendly, or unofficial style, manner, or nature/done in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette |
| Diction/Register | choice of words in oral and written discourse |
| Low/Informal (Slang) | a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal |
| Colloquial | denoting a manner of speaking or writing that is characteristic of familiar conversation; informal |
| Formal | done in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette |
| Denotative | the dictionary definition of a word |
| Connotative | the suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase |
| Dialect | spoken by definable groups of people from a particular geographic region, economic group, or social class to contrast and express differences in education, class, and regional backgrounds of the characters |
| Point of View | the relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem |
| Stream of Consciousness (Interior Monologue) | a style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind |
| Third Person Omniscient | the point of view of a storyteller who plays no part in the story but knows all the facts, including the characters' thoughts |
| Third Person Limited | when the point of view is from one single character's thoughts, and the reader is only limited to what that character thinks and feels |
| Third Person Objective | tells a story without describing any character's thoughts, opinions, or feelings |
| Second Person | the narrator refers to the focal character(s) as "you", therefore making the reader feel as if he or she is a character within the story |
| Objective/Subjective | the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue/focuses on a specific character's thoughts and allows the reader to hear the feelings and thoughts of the character |
| Alliteration | the repetition of one or more initial consonants on a groups of words, lines of poetry, or prose |
| Assonance | the repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines of poetry and prose |
| Consonance | the repetition of two or more consonant sounds in a groups of words or a line of poetry |
| Onomatopoeia | the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning; he use of words that mimic sounds |
| Pun | a humorous play on words, using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest different meanings |
| Cacophony | grating, inharmonious sounds |
| Euphony | pleasing, harmonious sounds |
| Sibilant/Guttural | sounded with a hissing effect/produced in the throat; harsh-sounding |
| Rhythmic | the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry |
| Simile | a comparison using the words "like" or "as" |
| Metaphor | compares unlike objects |
| Personification | objects and animals are given human characteristics |
| Apostrophe | a locution that addresses a person or personified thing not present |
| Hyperbole | overstatement; exaggeration for rhetorical effect |
| Understatement/Litotes | a form of understatement in which Th. Negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity |
| Antithesis | a rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences |
| Metonymy | uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated |
| Synecdoche | figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies a part |
| Irony | a mode of expression in which the intended meaning os the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm |
| Verbal | a discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words |
| Situational | when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control |
| Dramatic | a circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character |
| Oxymoron | a term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create a paradoxical effect |
| Paradox | a statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true |
| Inversion | the syntactic reversal of the normal order of the words and phrases in a sentence |
| Satire | a literary style used to poke fun at, attack or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for the purpose of inducing change |
| Sarcasm | a sharp, caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt |
| Syntax | the organization of language into meaningful structure |
| Simple/Compound/Complex | an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought/contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator/has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses |
| Rhetorical Questions | a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply |
| Telegraphic | omission of many function words to increases ambiguity |
| Declarative/Interrogative/Imperative/Interrogative | form a statement/attempt to evoke powerful feelings, or emotions/make a command or request/asks a quesiton |
| Parallel Structure | using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance |
| Coordination/Subordination | the process of combining ideas of equal importance by means of coordination conjunctions or correlatives/ideas considered less important than the main idea of the sentence are expressed in modifying or dependent constructions |
| Mood | the emotional tone in a work of literature |
| Somber/Forbidding | gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted/grim; unfriendly; hostile; sinister |
| Bright/Cheerful | characterized by or expressive of good spirits; pleasant |
| Misleading or Ironic | deceptive/poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended |
| Anticipatory | happening, performed, or felt in anticipation of something; expecting |
| Gloating | dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness |
| Angry/Threatening | having a strong feeling of or showing annoyance, displeasure, or hostility |
| Mysterious | of obscure nature, meaning, origin, etc.; puzzling; inexplicable |
| Dark/Evil/Ominous | giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening |
| Jovial | cheerful and friendly |
| Tone/Attitude | the authors attitude toward the subject being written about; the tone is the characteristic emotion the pervades a work or part of work |
| Serious/Passionate/Urging | showing or characterized by deep thought/having or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid |
| Humorous/Amused | characterized by humor; funny; comical |
| Mocking/Bitting/Satiric | to treat with ridicule or contempt; deride |
| Detached/Objective | not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased |
| Didactic/Dogmatic | instructive/asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated |
| Questioning/Curious | eager to know or learn something |
| Bombastic/Superior/Righteous | high-sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people |
| Emotional/Subjective | placing emphasis on one's own moods, attitudes, opinions, etc. |
| Imagery (Sensory) | the formation of mental images or figures |
| Setting | the total environment for the action in a novel or play; includes time, place, historical milieu, and social, political, and even spiritual circumstances |
| Literary Allusions | a reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea |
| Flashbacks/Dreams | a return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances |
| Motifs/Symbolism | a phrase, idea, or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature/the use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object |
| Author's Purpose | author's reason for writing the work of literature |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace