| Term | Definition |
|---|
| allegory | metaphor where something in the narrative is equated with something outside of the narrative which is generally much larger (heaven, ect.); teaches a moral lesson |
| analogy | comparison of two unlike things; if things are alike in some respects, they must be alike in others |
| apostrophe | literary device used when a speaker speaks to an inanimate object, an absent person, a deceased person, or an abstract idea or value |
| argument | contains facts that support one's position |
| persuasion | contains a position and a call to action |
| logos | logic (appeal to reasoning) |
| ethos | ethics (moral appeal) |
| pathos | emotions (patriotism, fears, or sypathies) |
| cause/effect | shows why something happens and its consequences; relied on in historical writing |
| literary conceit | compares two completely different things |
| conflict | man vs. himself, man vs. society, man vs. nature, and man vs. the universe |
| description | uses action verbs, figurative language, and adverbs to paint a picture for the reader |
| diction | clear, concise, correct, formal, informal, slang, colloquial, ect. |
| syntax | sentence length, variety, periodicity, or looseness |
| dramatic situation | the interaction of setting, conflict, and character in a literary work; resolution of these conflicts often points to theme |
| epic | a long narrative poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero |
| inductive/deductive reasoning | specific to general/general to specific |
| genres | three main are prose, poetry, and drama |
| hyperbole | exaggeration for emphasis |
| complex imagery | when a single image has multiple meanings |
| irony | a contrast between expectation and reality |
| verbal irony | when someone says one thing but means another |
| situational irony | when the outcome of the situation is the opposite of what someone expected |
| dramatic irony | when the reader knows something that the characters do not know |
| literary movement | works classified together because they share a common theme |
| classicism | concerned with universality, noble ideas, dignified language, restraint, clarity, objectivity, the importance of structure, and an edifying purpose (Plato, Homer, The Bible) |
| expressionism | concerned with subjective responses, inner reality, abstract and mythical ideas, symbols and masks, man and society in chaos, and creation of new worlds |
| impressionism | concerned with an appeal to the senses, mood, and effects, vagueness and ambiguity, momentary insights, impressions of setting, plot character, an emphasis on color and light, emotions and feelings, and sensations into words (Kate Chopin, Henry James) |
| naturalism | concerned with realism to its extreme, fact and detail, social awareness and reform, a broad spectrum of both positive and negative subjects, man as animal in society, and scientific impartiality |
| realism | concerned with truth and actuality, detail, character portal, psychology, objectivity, and lack of sentimentality |
| romanticism | concerned with emotions and passion, imagination and wonder, the variety and power of nature, the individual, freedom and revolution, dreams and idealism, mystery and supernatural experimentation with form, and spontaneity (Shakespeare, Hawthorne) |
| litotes | understatement for emphasis; assertion of an idea by denying its opposite |
| metonymy | one word used in place of something else usually associated with it ("She reads Jane Austen" refers not to the author but to her works) |
| mood | feeling/atmosphere experienced by the reader of a story (joyous, depressing, romantic) |
| tone | author's attitude towards the subject |
| narration | the telling of a sequence of events |
| organization | chronological, spatial, inductive, deductive, least to most important, most to least important, flashback or flash forward, contrast/comparison, and cause/effect |
| oxymoron | opposites placed together (jumbo shrimp) |
| style | organization of textual elements (diction, syntax, tone, figures of speech, point of view, organization, selection of detail and pacing); created by author's use of diction and syntax |
| synecdoche | the part stands for the whole ("wheels" is sometimes used in place of "car") |
| theme | author's message |
| thesis | the controlling statement in a written work |
| verisimilitude | a fictional work that has the quality of realism, due to the inclusion of details that accurately reflect the human experience and/or a historical period |
| vignette | a short essay which often expresses a writer's personal thoughts and experiences |
| voice | the total "sound" of a piece of writing, which is created by a writer's distinctive style |
| active voice | when the subject performs an action (the bear caught a salmon) |
| passive voice | when the action is performed on the subject (the salmon was captured by the bear) |
| lyric poetry | reflects an emotion or attitude |
| narrative poetry | tells a story and includes the narrative elements of plot, characters and setting, as well as poetic elements |
| dramatic poetry | reflects a dramatic interaction between characters who may or may not actively converse |
| meiosis | understatement |
Combine with other sets
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