| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Personification | The assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts. An example: Wordsworth's "the sea that bares her bosom to the moon." |
| Antithesis | the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by phrase, clause, or paragraphs. "To be or not to be . . ." "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times . . ." "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country . . ." |
| Oxymoron | From the Greek for "pointedly foolish," ___ is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms. Simple examples include "jumbo shrimp" and "cruel kindness." |
| Sarcasm | from the Greek meaning "to tear flesh," ___ involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device. |
| Synecdoche | . a figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. "All hands on deck" is an example. |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement |
| Anaphora | repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent. |
| Euphony | the pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work. |
| Theme | The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. Usually, __ is unstated in fictional works, but in nonfiction, the __ may be directly stated, especially in expository or argumentative writing. |
| Metonomy | a term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name" __ is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. For example: a news release that claims "The White House declared" rather than "The President declared" |
| Paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. |
| Transition | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. |
| Onomatopoeia | a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. Simple examples include such words as buzz, hiss, hum. |
| Cacophony | harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage in a literary word. |
| Metaphor | a direct comparison between dissimilar things. "Your eyes are stars" is an example. |
| Symbol | generally, anything that represents, stands for, something else. Usually, a ___ is something concrete—such as an object, action, character, or scene—that represents something more abstract. |
| Begging the Question | Often called circular reasoning, __ occurs when the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim. |
| Invective | an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. |
| Understatement | the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. |
| Either-or reasoning | When the writer reduces an argument or issue to two polar opposites and ignores any alternatives. |
| Homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. |
| Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. |
| Causal Relationship | In __, a writer asserts that one thing results from another. To show how one thing produces or brings about another is often relevant in establishing a logical argument. |
| Equivocation | When a writer uses the same term in two different senses in an argument. |
| Imagery | The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, __ uses terms related to the five senses; we refer to visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory. For example, a rose may present visual __ while also representing the color in a woman's cheeks. |
| Euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. "He went to his final reward" is a common __ for "he died." They are also used to obscure the reality of the situation. |
| Figure of Speech | A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Examples are apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonomy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. |
| Irony | The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. The difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. |
| Satire | A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and convention for reform or ridicule. Regardless of whether or not the work aims to reform humans or their society, ___ is best seen as a style of writing rather than a purpose for writing. The effect of __, often humorous, is thought provoking and insightful about the human condition. |
| Alliteration | The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." |
| Epigraph | The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Hemingway begins The Sun Also Rises with two. One of them is "You are all a lost generation" by Gertrude Stein. |
| Periodic Sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. The independent clause is preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone. The effect is to add emphasis and structural variety. |
| Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events. |
| Ethos | an appeal based on the character of the speaker. An __-driven document relies on the reputation of the author. |
| Situational Irony | a type of irony in which events turn out the opposite of what was expected. |
| Consonance | Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity. |
| Pathos | an appeal based on emotion. |
| Syllogism | From the Greek for "reckoning together," a __ is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. |
| Logos | an appeal based on logic or reason |
| Verbal Irony | In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning |
| Anecdote | A story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point. |
| Abstract Language | Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places. |
| Ad Hominem | In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas. It comes from the Latin meaning "against the man." |
| Denotation | the literal or dictionary meaning of a word |
| Cumulative | Sentence which begins with the main idea and then expands on that idea with a series of details or other particulars |
| Dramatic Irony | In this type of irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work |
| Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. |
| Connotation | the interpretive level or a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning. |
| Repetition | The duplication, either exact or approximate, or any element of language, such as sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. |
| Syntax | The grammatical structure of prose and poetry. |
| Assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity |
| Voice | can refer to two different areas of writing. One refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active and passive). The second refers to the total "sound" of the writer's style. |
| Infer | To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. |
| Argument | A single assertion or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer |
| Allusion | A reference contained in a work |
| Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. |
| Stream-of-consciousness | This is a narrative technique that places the reader in the mind and thought process of the narrator, no matter how random and spontaneous that may be. |
| Allegory | A work that functions on a symbolic level |
| Explication | The act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. __ usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language. |
| Parallelism | refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity. |
| Semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies that meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another. |
| Rhetorical Modes | The flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. |
| Analogy | a literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison. It is assumed that what applies to the parallel situation also applies to the original circumstance. In other words, it is the comparison between two different items. |
| Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. |
| Example | an individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern |
| Description | The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that being described. Sometimes an author engages all five senses. |
| Narrative Device | This term describes the tools of the storyteller, such as ordering events to that they build to climatic movement or withholding information until a crucial or appropriate moment when revealing in creates a desired effect. |
| Ethical Appeal | When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. |
| Exposition | The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion. |
| Attitude | the relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience |
| Backing | Support or evidence for a claim in an argument |
| Ellipsis | Indicated by a series of three periods, the __ indicates that some material has been omitted from a given text. |
| Argumentation | The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader. |
| Didactic | writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A ___ work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. |
| Ambiguity | an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. |
| Narration | The purpose of this type of rhetorical mode is to tell the story or narrate an event or series of events. |
| Rhetoric | from the Greek for "orator," this term describes the principle governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively. |
| Third Person Limited Omniscient | This type of point of view presents the feelings and thoughts of only one character, presenting only the actions of all remaining characters |
| Third Person Omniscient | In ___, the narrator, with a godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters. |
| Comic Relief | the inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event. |
| Character | those who carry out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are the types. |
| Colloquial | the use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. Huckleberry Finn in written in a __ style. |
| Antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. |
| Style | an evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices. |
| Thesis | The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. |
| Authority | Arguments that draw on recognized experts or persons with highly relevant experience. |
| Chiasmus | Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. It is often short and summarizes a main idea. |
| Deconstruction | a critical approach that debunks single definitions of meaning based on the instability of language. It "is not a dismantling of a structure of a text, but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself." |
| Balance | a situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work. |
| Conflict | a clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self |
| Tone | Similar to mood, __ describes the author's attitude toward his or her material, the audience, or both. |
| 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. |
| Dialect | the recreation of regional spoken language, such as a Southern one. Hurston uses this in Their Eyes Were Watching God. |
| Asyndeton | Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence. X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z. |
| Wit | In modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. Usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement. |
| Point of View | In literature, the perspective from which a story is told. |
| Deduction | The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example. |
| Annotation | explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data. |
| Mood | This term has two distinct technical meanings in English writing. The first meaning is grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speaker's attitude. The second meaning is literary, meaning the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. |
| Diction | the author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning |
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