| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ad Hominem Argument | Attacks the opposing speaker or another person rather than addressing the issues at hand |
| Allegory | Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts |
| Alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse |
| Allusion | A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person |
| Ambiguity | Uncertain or indefinite; subject to more than one interpretation |
| Analogy | The correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different |
| Anecdote | A short story used to illustrate a point the author is making |
| Antecedent | Every pronoun refers back to a previous noun or pronoun |
| Antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses |
| Aphorism | A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle |
| Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker |
| Appositive | A word or phrase that follow a noun or pronoun for emphasis or clarity |
| Assonance | A type of internal rhyming in which vowel sounds are repeated |
| Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb |
| Colloquialism | The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing |
| Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects |
| Connotation | The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. |
| Denotation | The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. |
| Diction | An author's choice of words |
| Didactic | Writing which has the purpose of teaching or instructing |
| Elegy | A work that expresses sorrow |
| Ethos | Refers to generally ethics, or values |
| Euphemism | A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea |
| Exposition | Writing or speech that is organized to explain |
| Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid |
| Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits |
| Homily | Any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice |
| Hyperbole | A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement |
| Imagery | A mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations |
| Inductive Argument | Creating a case by providing specific examples and drawing a conclusion based on the evidence they provide |
| Inference | To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented |
| Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language |
| Irony | The contrary between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant |
| Juxtaposition | When two contrasting things are placed next to each other for comparison |
| Logos | The use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument |
| Loose Sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it |
| Mood | The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event |
| Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events |
| Onomatopoeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words |
| Oxymoron | Two contradictory words in one expression |
| Paradox | A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth |
| Parallelism | A literary technique that relies on the use of the same syntactical structures |
| Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule |
| Pathos | A sympathetic feeling of pity or compassion evoked by an artistic work |
| Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish |
| Periodic Sentence | Presents the main clause at the end of the sentence, for emphasis |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which ideas or objects are described as having human qualities or personalities |
| Point of View | The particular perspective from which a story is told |
| Prose | One of the major divisions of genre, _____ refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech |
| Repetition | The reiteration of a word or phrase for emphasis |
| Rhetoric | The principles of governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively |
| Rhetorical Strategy | The way an author organizes words, sentences, and overall argument in order to achieve a particular purpose |
| Rhetorical Devices | The specific language tools that an author uses to carry out a rhetorical strategy (diction, imagery, or syntax) |
| Satire | To ridicule or mock ideas, persons, events, or doctrines |
| Simile | A commonly used figure of speech that compares one thing with another using the words "like" or "as" |
| Subordinate Clause | This type of clause cannot stand alone; it doesn't express a complete thought |
| Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning in which two premises lead to a sound conclusion |
| Symbol | Anything that represents or stands for something else |
| 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 or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion |
| Understatement | When an author assigns less significance to an event or thing than it deserves |
Combine with other sets
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