 | Term | Definition |
| |
Active Voice |
When the person/subject is acting |
| |
Allegory |
A story with a hidden second distinct meaning |
| |
Alliteration |
reoccuring initial consonant sounds |
| |
Allusion |
The nature of the reference is not explained because the writer rilies on the reader's familiarity with it |
| |
Anachronism |
A person,place or event which appears out of order. eg. flashback |
| |
Analogy |
A comparison between things intended to show the similarities between them |
| |
Anecdote |
A brief story of an interesting incident |
| |
Antagonist |
A force or person opposing the protagagonist |
| |
Antecedent Action |
An action that takes place before the story line begins |
| |
Apathy |
A lack of interest |
| |
Aside |
A remark that is intended to be heard by the audience but is supposed to be unheard by the other characters |
| |
Assonance |
Repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds |
| |
cacaphony |
the use of harsh or unmusical sounds (eg. cataract) |
| |
consonance |
The repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words |
| |
Diction |
A writer's choice of words, particularly in terms of clarity and precision |
| |
Direct Presentation |
The reader is told exactly what the character is like (eg. she is a very caring person) |
| |
Discrepency |
Distinct difference between two things that should not be different, or that should correspond |
| |
Dissonance |
Harsh sound or discordance |
| |
Dramatic irony |
A situation where a reader or an audience becomes aware of something that a character in the story or play does not know |
| |
Dramatic monologue |
A form of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose replies are not given |
| |
Epiphany |
A moment of significant illumination or insight |
| |
Epigram |
A short, witty statement |
| |
Euphemism |
indirect word substituded for another word considered blunt or harsh |
| |
Euphony |
Sounds which are pleasing to the ear |
| |
Fable |
short story told to present a moral or practical lesson |
| |
Farce |
type of comedy based on ridiculous statements, often with stereotyped characters |
| |
Hyperbole |
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect. |
| |
Idiom |
not literal. group of words natural to a language. (eg. over the moon = happiness) |
| |
Imagery |
words or phrases create pictures or images in the reader's mind |
| |
Imitative harmony |
A series of words that seem to imitate the sounds to which they refer. |
| |
Internal rhyme |
Rhyme within ONE line |
| |
Juxtaposition |
The deliberate contrast of characters, settings, or situations for effect |
| |
Melodrama |
containing stereotypical characters (all-good hero agaist all-evil villain) |
| |
metaphor |
comparison between two things that are fundamentally dissimilar |
| |
Metonymy |
repaces the name of one thing with the name of something closely associated (eg. the White House can replace the American government) |
| |
Monologue |
only one person speaks |
| |
Onomatopoeia |
words that seem to imitate the sounds to which they refer, such as "buzz", "bang" |
| |
oxymoron |
"truthful lies","the living dead" |
| |
parable |
A short, often simple story that teaches or explains an lesson, often moral or religious lesson |
| |
Paradox |
An apparent self-contradictory statement that is in fact true |
| |
Personification |
the giving of human attributes to inanimate objects |
| |
protagonist |
the central character |
| |
Pun |
A humoorous expression that depends on a double meaning between different senses of the same word or two similar sounding words |
| |
satire |
synynom for ridicule |
| |
simile |
a comparison of two things through the use of a specific word of comparison, such as like, as, than or resembles |
| |
Syllogism |
A form of logical argument that derives a conclusion from two premises (eg. All men must die. Socrates is a man. Therefore, socrates will die.) |
| |
syntax |
the way the words of a sentence are organised and arranged, using the laws of grammar |
| |
understatement |
the presentation of something as being smaller, less good, or less important than it really is |
