Set: Literary Terms/Elements

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All 56 Terms

Term Definition
alliteration The repetition of the initial sounds or stressed sylables in neighboring words (ex: "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free")
analogy a similarity in certain respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar; shows relationships
allusion a brief reference to a historical, mythological, or literary person, place, thing, or event
antonym a word meaning the opposite of another word
audience the specific person or group from whom a piece of writing, a spoken message, or a visual representation is intended
bias a personal and largely unreasoned judgment either for or against a particular person, position, or thing; a prejudice
characterization the representation of an individual human personality in a literary work; can be either direct or indirect
connotation the implicit meaning of a word, consisting of the suggestions, associations, and emotional overtones attached to the word
denotation the most specific or literal meaning of a word
euphemism the substitution of a mild and pleasant expression for a harsh and blunt one (ex: "to pass away" for "to die")
extended metaphor a metaphor that is carried throughout the text
foreshadowing the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action
homonym words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different meanings (ex: bear, meaning an animal, and bear, meaning "to support")
hyperbole overstatement; the figure of speech that is a conscious exaggeration for the purpose of making a point
idiom words used in a special way that may be different from their literal meaning (ex: "it's raining cats and dogs")
intonation the distinctive pattern in the pitch of the voice that contributes to the meaning of a spoken phrase or sentence (ex: "Stop!" vs. "Stop?")
irony the discrepancy between what one says and what one means, what a character believes and what a reader knows, or between what occurs and what one expects to occur
verbal irony a form of irony; involves a contrast between what is said or written and what is actually meant
situational irony a form of irony; occurs when what happens is very different from what we expect to happen
dramatic irony a form of irony; occurs when the audience or the reader knows something a character does not know
metaphor a device of figurative language that direction compares two unlike things (ex: "Her anger was a storm")
onomatopoeia the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning (ex: "rattle", "murmur", "crash", "bog", "buzz", "boink", "grrr")
oxymoron A figure of speech that places two contradictory words together for a special effect (ex: jumbo shrimp, old news)
paradox a statement that is true even thought it seems to be saying two opposite things (ex: "the more free time you have, the less you get done")
parallelism the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical structures
personification the figurative device in which nonhumans (animals, objects, abstractions) are represented as being human or as having human attributes
point of view the perspective or vantage point from which a literary work is told
first person a point of view; uses the pronoun "I"
third person omniscient a point of view; a third-person narrator functioning as an all-seeing, all-hearing, all-knowing speaker who reads the thoughts and feelings of any and all characters
third person limited ominiscient a point of view; told by a third-person narrator whose omniscience is restricted to a single character
repetition the recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas used for emphasis in writing
setting the time and place where the action in a literary work occurs
similie a device of figurative language thta is a stated comparision between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as"
symbolism the author's use of an object, person, place, or event that has both a meaning in itself and stanes for something larger than itself
synonym a word whos meaning is the same or almost the same as that of another word
theme the major idea of an entire work of literature; can be stated or implied
thesis the subject or main argument of a piece of writing
tone the writer's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience conveyed through the choice of words and details; the emotional state of mind expressed in writing
word choice the effective use of words to enhance style, tone, or clarity in writing
argument the logical, systematic presentation of reasoning and supporting evidence that proves the validity of a statement or position
dialect a regional variety of a particular language (also called "local color")
flashback the technique of disrupting the chronological flow of a narrative by interjecting events that have occurred at an earlier time
figurative language the nonliteral use of language; language that must be read and interpreted beyond the literal level; figures of speech (ex: metaphors, similes, hyperboles, personification)
imagery the use of language to create a sensory impression within the reader's mind; creates an "image" of something that can be percieved by one of the five senses
satire the literary form that uses ridicule or scorn, often in a humorous or witty way, to expose vices and follies
semantics the meaning of words or the process of interpreting the meaning of words
structure the order or arrangement of the parts of a piece of writing to form a coherent, unified whole; internal, external, logical, mechanical
syntax word order; the logical arrangement of words into phrases and clauses that comprise the structure of coherent sentences
inversion reversal of the usual or natural order of words
peroration the concluding part of writing in which the writer recapitulates the principal points and urges them with greater earnestness and force
periodic sentence a sentence that leaves the completion of its main clause at the end and produces an effect of suspense
metonymy consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related (ex: “scepter” for “sovereignty,” “the bottle” for “strong drink,” “count heads" for “count people.”
conceit an elaborate, fanciful metaphor, especially of a strained or far-fetched nature.
synecdoche a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part (ex: "ten sails" instead of "ten ships")
diction style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words; the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability
anecdote a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical

Set Information

Terms 56
Creator idkmaibffrach
Created May 16, 2008
Groups None
Tag ap english vocabulary terminology
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Description

Terms from the glossary and 5 Steps to a 5 book for Mrs. Murray's final exam :)

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idkmaibffrach : this isn't done yet... i still need to add the stuff from the 5 steps book later :[
Last Message: 4 months ago

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