| Term | Definition |
|---|
| allusion | a direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art |
| ambiguity | multiple meanings of a word or phrase |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an imaginary person, or personified object |
| aphorism | a memorable summation of the author's point |
| chiasmus | a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism. ex) ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country |
| conceit | a metaphor or analogy between two objects that seem opposite |
| connotation | the implied meaning of a word |
| ad hominem argument | appeals to emotion rather than reason |
| allegory | characters personify an abstraction such as hope or freedom |
| alliteration | repitition of sounds or consonants in 2 or more neighboring words |
| analogy | a comparison between two different things |
| antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun |
| antithesis | a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction within a balanced sentence. ex) "too black for heaven, too white for hell." |
| caricature | usig figurative language to exaggerate the physical qualities or characteristics of a person to produce a comic effect |
| clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb |
| colloquialism | slang terms, not generally accepted in formal writing |
| denotation | the dictionary definition of a word |
| diction | the words an author uses |
| didatic | instructive |
| euphemism | a less offensive substitute for a more unpleasnt word. ex) "passed away" instead of "died" |
| extended metaphor | a methaphor developed at great length, occuring frequently throughout a work |
| figurative language | imaginative and vivid writing or speech |
| genre | the major category in which a literary work fits |
| homily | a serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement |
| imagery | the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions |
| inference | a conclusion drawn from information presented |
| invective | an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language |
| irony | the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant |
| juxtaposition | placing dissimilar items side by side for comparison or contrast |
| loose sentence | a sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by grammatical units such as phrases or clauses |
| metaphor | an implied comprison of things (DOES NOT USE LIKE/AS) |
| metonymy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. ex) "The White House declared..." and "The President declared..." |
| mood | the speaker's attitude |
| narrative | the telling of a story or an account of an event |
| onomatopoeia | sound words |
| oxymoron | ex) jumbo shrimp, bittersweet |
| paradox | a statement that appears to be contradictory, but upon closer examination constains some degree of truth. ex) "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." |
| parallelism | the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words to give structural similarity. ex) "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." |
| parody | a work that humorusly imitates another work. makes fun of the original work. |
| pedantic | a phrase that is overly scholarly |
| periodic sentence | a sentence that presents its central meaning at its end. |
| personification | giving human characteristics to inatimate objects or animals |
| point of view | the perspective from which the story is told |
| predicate adjectives | adjectives that modify or describe the subject |
| predicate nominative | a noun that renames the subject |
| repetition | a duplication of any element of language |
| logos | logical reasoning |
| ethos | establishes credibility in the speaker |
| pathos | plays on the reader's emotions and interests |
| rhetorical question | a question that is asked merely for effect and does not expect a reply |
| sarcasm | involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something |
| satire | a work that targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions, for reform or ridicule |
| simile | a comparison USING LIKE or AS |
| syllogism | a deductive system of reasoning that presents one idea, then a second, and finally makes a conslusion based on those two ideas |
| symbolism | using things to represent or stand for other things or ideas |
| syntax | the way the author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences |
| theme | the central idea or message of a work |
| thesis | the sentence that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, or meaning |
| tone | the author's attitude toward his or her material, audience, or both |
| transition | a word or phrase that links different ideas |
| understatement | presents something as less sigificant than it really is |
| litotes | when an affirmation is made indirectly by denying its opposite |
| meiosis | an understatement or belittling. something is referred to in terms less important than it really deserves. ex) when mercutio calls his mortal wound a "scratch". |
| anaphora | the repitition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses |
| asyndeton | deliberate ommision of conjunctions in a series of related clauses ex) I came, I saw, I conquered. |
| polysyndeton | the use of many conjunctions to highlight quantity or mass of detail. ex) For dinner we had soup and salad and okra and green beans and ham and apple sauce and potatoes and cherry pie and green pickled tomatoes |
| stichomythia | dialogue in which the beginning and ends of each line echo each other, taking on a new meaning with each new line |
| zeugma | the use of a verb that has two different meanings with objects that compliment both meanings. ex) He stole both her car and her heart that fateful night. |
| who | used if the "who" is the subject. ex) Mr. Teacher, who created the test, is my English teacher. |
| whom | used if the "whom" is the receiver of the action |
Combine with other sets
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