Terms to Know - English

Anastrophe
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Terms in this set (60)
Anastrophe
When words appear in unexpected order
Asyndeton
When the conjunctions (such as "and" or "but" or
"I") that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are omitted from a sentence
Chiasmus
A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.
chiasmus example
"Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You."
Caesura
a pause in a line of poetry that is formed by the rhythms of natural speech rather than by metrics
caesura example
Mozart- oh how your music makes me soar!
Polysyndeton
Deliberate use of many conjunctions
polysyndeton example
I wore a sweater, and a hat, and a scarf, and a pair of boots, and mittens.
rhetorical question
A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer
Colloquialism
A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y'all, ain't)
colloquialism exampleY'all, gonna, wanna, papa, granny, I wasn't born yesterday. Hit the nail on the head. Bite the bullet Let's break the ice Let's take a rain checkConnotationan idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.connotation exampleThe connotations of comfort that surrounded that old chair A possible connotation of "home" is "a place of warmth, comfort, and affection." The word "lady" has connotations of refinement and excessive femininity that some women find offensive.Denotationthe literal meaning of a worddenotation example-"Wind" is the denotation for air in natural motion. -"Poodle" is the denotation for a certain breed of dog. -The purposeful play between "Blond" and "Blonde" marks the masculine and feminine denotations of the words.Jargonspecial words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.jargon example"Bang for the buck"- A term that means to get the most for your money. "Drill down"- To look at a problem in detail.pedantictending to show off one's learningpedantic exampleThe student annoyed his friends by constantly lecturing them about every subject imaginable, clearly assuming he was better informed than they. A person who corrects small spelling mistakes while annoying the other person about it. Someone who talks about a boring subject or matter while trying to show off their knowledge Someone who that gives too much attention to formal rulesanecdotea short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or personanecdote exampleConversation with a group of students talking about tests with one person talking about the time they didn't study for a test and they failed because it was very hard. A group of friends talking about basketball and one of the friends talks about an amazing game he watched last night with a buzzer beater finish.AphorismA brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.aphorism exampleIf it isn't broken, don't fix it Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. Actions speak louder than words.EpithetA descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or somethingepithet exampleRomeo and Juliet: A pair of star-cross'd lovers The Fellowship of the ring: "Radagast the Bird-Tamer! Radagast the Simple! Radagast the Fool!" Famous Epithets: "The King" (Elvis Presley), "The People's Princess" (Diana of Wales), "Alexander the Great" (Alexander III of Macedon)EuphemismAn indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasanteuphemism examplepassed away (instead of) Died -Let go (instead of) Fired -You have an interesting point of view (instead of) You're an idiotirony example(In a Thunderstorm) "Wonderful weather we're having" - (When something bad is happening) "Oh, Fantastic!" (In Hansel and Gretel) The witch wants to cook the children but at the end of the story ends up in the oven herselfMetonymysubstituting the name of one thing for another that is closely associated with itmetonymy exampleRoyalty being referred to as the crown. You must swear fealty to the crown. Someone's love being referred to as their heart. You are the holder of my heart. The President being referred to as the White House.synecdochea single word or small phrase is used to represent the whole of something or to represent a bigger group (figure of speech).synecdoche exampleSuits being used to refer to business men Wheels referring to cars "Nice Wheels" Offer your hand in marriage Hungry mouths to feed Lend me your earsUnderstatement example"It rained more than usual" (the area is flooded) "It's only a small scratch" (the car is totaled) "It is a bit colder today" (the temperature is well below 0)allegoryA story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.Allegory exampleThe fable of the Tortoise and the Haire: a race between a tortoise and Haire but the moral of the story is don't mock people for going at their own pace "slow and steady wins the race" Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss: Is about a turles who yearns for too much power but the hidden meaning is about Adolf Hitler and the how bad totalitarianism isanalogy exampleJust as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer. White is to black as up is to down. (They're both opposites)extended metaphorA comparison between two different things that continue throughout a sequence of sentences in paragraphs or lines in a poem.extended metaphor exampleSaying, "You are a snake. Everything you hiss out of your mouth is a lie." and "The dark is an unknown and scary black blanket. It's a place of nightmares and where horror resides," are both extended metaphors.JuxtapositionThe act of placing two or more things next to each other to contrast the differences between them.juxtaposition example"All's fair in love and war, "A butler spends his days in a beautiful mansion dressed in a tuxedo, but returns home to a closet sized apartment in a rundown part of town."OxymoronA figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in conjunctionoxymoron examplebittersweet awfully good alone together old newsAntithesisA figure of speech in which a contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are opposites from each other.antithesis exampleIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times Hope for the best, prepare for the worst" "Money is the root of all evil: poverty is the fruit of all goodness"anaphorarepeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clausesanaphora example"Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed." (Martin Luther King Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."paradoxa statement that seems contradictory but is actually trueparadox exampleLess is more winners know how to lose Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it"SyllogismA form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. three-part deductionSyllogism ExampleAll men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. Rocks are hard, hard things shouldn't be chewed, therefore rocks shouldn't be chewed.AnadiplosisRepetition of the last word of a clause in the beginning of the next clauseanadiplosis exampleFear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. She opened a restaurant, a restaurant that changed her life. The leg bone is connected to the knee bone, the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone."Epistrophethe repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentencesepistrophe example"I'll have my bond! Speak not against my bond! I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond!" (The Merchant of Venice, III, iii, 3-4) government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." If you had known the virtue of the ring, Or half her worthiness that gave the ring, Or your own honour to contain the ring, You would not then have parted with the ringParodyA work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.Parody ExampleCat in the hat, The Cat not in the Hat Jaws, PawsPolyptotonrepetition of words derived from the same rootPolyptoton exampleYou're so full of trickery! Playing tricks on me! In this example, the root "trick" is repeated with "trickery" and "tricks." The Greeks are strong and skillful to their strength. Fierce to their skill and to their fierceness valiant; Uses polyptoton three timesSatireThe art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble or discredit their target.Satire ExamplePolitical cartoons- Satirizes political events and/or politicians Shrek- Movie that satirizes fairy tales