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American Lit EOC Prep Vocabulary

Terms in this set (17)

A comparison of two unlike things without using like or as. Commonly found with metaphors: is, was, are.
Example: His anger was a smoldering volcano, waiting to explode.
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things using like or as.
Example: She was a fragile as spun glass.
Simile
A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.
Ex: Langston Hughes's poem Mother to Son is an extended metaphor comparing life to a staircase.
extended metaphor
Extreme exaggeration for effect.
Ex: "If I told you once, I have told you a thousand times..."
Hyperbole
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Ex: Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore.
Alliteration
A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.
Example: She was wearing her Mona Lisa smile.
Allusion
A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization of information.
Tone words from the author help set the mood.
tone
Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader
Mood
A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events.
Flashback
A warning or indication of a future event
Foreshadowing
Conveys a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. There are 3 types of irony: dramatic, situational, verbal.
Irony
A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant. (Sarcasism)
Example: I just love getting sick and going to the hospital. It's the best.
verbal irony
An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected or some action that you don't expect.
Example: a fire house burning down or a cat chasing a dog
situational irony
Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.
Example: Scary movies...we (the audience) know not to go in the basement or outside.
Or we know that the partner is not going to propose because they are cheating, but the other partner is expecting a ring or proposal.
dramatic irony
A struggle between opposing forces
Conflict
man vs. man; man vs. self; man vs. nature; man vs. society; man vs. technology
Types of conflict
the perspective from which the story is told
Example: first person: I
second person: you (usually giving directions)
third person: they, he, she, it
third person omniscient
point of view
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