| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ad hominem | "to the man" argument which addresses personality over issues |
| allusion | reference to another work |
| allegory | a symbolic representation- Animal Farm |
| ambiguity | multiplicity of meanings, more than confusion |
| antecedent | going before, preceding |
| antithesis | it was the best...it was the worst/ fair is foul and foul. direct contrast |
| attitude | the state of mind of the speaker |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| claim | to state, to be true |
| colloquial | informal in diction or style of expression |
| conceit | extended, elaborate, or surprisingly unusual metaphor |
| couplet | 2 successive lines of verse w the same |
| circumlocution | elaborately constructed phrasing |
| diction | word choice |
| didactic | instructing tone |
| ellipsis | omission of words |
| enjambment | carrying the syntax over to the next line in verse |
| epic | an extended narrative poem such as Beowolf celebrates peoples heroic tradition |
| grotesque | characterized by distortion or incongruity |
| hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| iambic | consisting of iambs, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. |
| iambic pentameter | a line of verse "when i hav seen by Time's fell hand defaced" |
| imagery | vivid descriptions that produce mental images composed of 5 metrical feet |
| invective | verbal denunciation wth strong, abusive language. |
| irony | the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning: verbal, situational and _____ |
| juxtaposition | 2 things placed back-to-back for effect |
| meter | measured rhythm of verse |
| metaphor | comparison to unlike objects (not using like or as) |
| narrative technique | style of telling the story; order of events; exposition, conclusion |
| non-seqitur | "it does not follow", an utterence that is unreasoned or illogical |
| ode | poem written to something |
| onomatopoeia | word that sounds like what it means |
| paradox | seeming self-contradiction; ironic; results from antithesis; from juxtaposition; statement that seems contradictory |
| parallelism | sentence structure in which the _______ elements are similar |
| pentameter | 5 feet UIUIUIUIUI |
| personification | to give an inanimate object human characteristics |
| pathetic fallacy | allows us to anthropomorphize, employing personification |
| qualify | to make less harsh, reduce |
| quatrain | group of 4 lines |
| rhetoric | principles of writing effectively, eloquently and persuasively |
| rhetorical strategy | plan and arrangement of language for a desired effect |
| rhyme scheme | pattern of how lines rhyme ABAB CDCD |
| sarcasm | biting, obvious irony |
| satire | biting irony, used to expose a vice |
| sardonic | darkly ironic; cynically ironic |
| sestet | group of 6 lines |
| simile | comparison of unlike objects using 'like' or 'as' |
| soliloquy | speech given by a single character on stage, talking to himself |
| sonnet | 14 line poem, ABABCDCDEFEFGG iambic pentameter |
| syntax | sentence structure, word ender |
| syllogism | logical statement dependent on premises |
| trope | use of word or expression, figurative sense |
| tone | style or manner of expression |
| tetrameter | 4 feet UIUIUIUI |
| villanelle | short french poem, 5 stanzas, 3 lines each, stanza, only 3 rhymes |
| warrant | call for |
| wit | intellectually amusing language |
| zeugma | figure of speech in which single modifier (v or adj) applies to 2 or more word, only 1 logically connected: the sky was blue but she was not |
Combine with other sets
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