| Term | Definition |
|---|
| naturalism | term often used as synonym for realism; also a view of experience that is generally characterized as bleak and pessimistic |
| non sequitur | statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before |
| objective | of or relating to facts and reality, as opposed to private and personal feelings and attitudes |
| ode | lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward subject |
| Old English | anglo-saxon language spoken from appx. 450 to 1150 a.d |
| omniscient narrator | narrator with unlimited awareness, understanding, and insight of characters, setting, background, and all other elements of story |
| onomatopoeia | use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning. ex: bubbling, murmurin brooks |
| oxymoron | term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create paradoxical effect. ex: loud silence, jumbo shrimp |
| parable | story consisting of events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derived |
| paradox | statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true |
| parallel structure | structure required for experiencing two or more grammatical elements of equal rank. coordinate ideas, compared and contrasted ideas, and correlative constructions call for parallel construction. ex: colleges favor applicants with good academic records, varied interests, and high scores |
| parody | an imitation of a work meant to ridicule its style and subject |
| paraphrase | version of a text put into simpler, everyday words |
| pastoral | work of literature dealing with rural life |
| pathetic fallacy | faulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects |
| pathos | that element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow |
| pedantic | narrowly academic instead of broad and humane; excessively petty and meticulous |
| periodic sentence | sentence that departs from usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main though only at the end. in other words, the particulars in the sentence are presented before the idea they support |
| persona | the role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader or other audience |
| personification | a figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics |
| plot | interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolutin |
| point of view | the relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to a subject of discourse. A matter discussed in the first person has an internal point of view; an observer uses an external point of view |
| predicate | part of sentence that is not the grammatical subject. It often says something about the subject. ex: Harold is COURAGEOUS |
| prose | any discourse that is not poetry. A prose poem is a selection of prose that, because of its language or content, is poetic in nature |
| proverb | short pithy statement of general truth, one that condenses common experience into memorable form |
| pseudonym | false name or alias used by writers |
| pulp fiction | novels written for mass consumption, often emphasizing exciting and titilating plots |
| pun | humorous play on words, using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest differet meanings |
| realism | depiction of people, things, and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect |
| rebuttal or refutation | the part of discourse wherein opposing arguments are anticipated and answered |
| reiteration | repetition of an idea using different words, often for emphasis or other effet |
| repetition | reuse of same words, phrases, or ideas for rhetorical effect, usually to emphasize a point |
| retraction | withdrawal of a previously stated idea or opinion |
| rhetoric | language of a work and its style; words, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway an audience |
| rhetorical mode | general term tat identifies discourse according to its chief purpose. includes exposition, argumentation, description, narration |
| rhetorical question | question to which the audience already knows the answer; a question asked merely for effect with no answer expecte |
| rhetorical stance | language that conveys a speaker's attitude or opinion with regard to a particular subject |
| rhyme | repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals, used mostly in poetry |
| rhythm | pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up speech and writing |
| romance | extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places |
| sarcasm | sharp, caustic attitude conveyed in words through jibes, taunts, or other remarks |
| satire | literary style used to poke fun at, attack, or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for purpose of inducing change |
| sentence structure | arrangement of parts of a sentence. it may be simple, compound, or complex |
| sentiment | synonym for view or feeling; also a refined and tender emotion in literature |
| sentimental | term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experience; also nauseatingly nostalgic and mawkish |
| setting | an environment that consists of time, place, historical milieu, and social, political, and even spiritual circumstances |
| simile | a figurative comparison using the words like or as |
| stream of consciousness | a style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind |
| style | manner in which an author uses and arranges words, shapes ideas, forms sentences, and creates a structure to convey ideas |
| stylistic devices | general term referring to diction, syntax, tone, figurative language, and all other elements that contribute to the "style" or manner of a given piece of discourse |
| subject complement | name of a grammatical unit that is comprised of predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives |
| subjective | or or relating to private and personal feelings and attitudes as opposed to facts and reality |
| subtext | implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of an essay or other work |
| syllogism | form of deductive reasoning in which given certain ideas or facts, other ideas or facts must follow ex. all men are mortal: mike is a man; therefore, Mike is mortal |
| symbolism | use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of original object ex. american flag may symbolize freedom, the fifty states, and american way of life |
| synecdoche | figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole (fifty masts for fifty ships) or whole signifies the part ( days for life) |
| syntax | organization of language into meaningful structure, pattern of words |
| theme | main idea or meaning, often an abstract idea upon which an essay or other form of discourse is built |
| thesis | main idea of a pice of discourse; statement or proposition that a speaker or writer wishes to advance, illustrate, prove, or defend |
| tone | author's attitude toward the subject being written about. |
| tragedy | form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw and by a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguish |
| transition | stylistic device used to create a link between ideas. |
| trope | generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, simile |
| understatement | restrained statement that departs from what could be said; studied avoidance of emphasis or exaggeration, often to create a particular effect |
| verbal irony | discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words |
| verse | synonym for poetry; also a group of lines in a song or poem |
| verisimilitude | similar to the truth; quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is |
| voice | real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker |
| whimsy | object, device, or creation that is fanciful or rooted in unreality |
| wit | quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace