Weekly Vocabulary
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Week 4
Literary Terms
- allegory: a narrative in which the characters, behavior, and even the setting demonstrate multiple levels of meaning and significance. It is a universal symbol or personified abstraction
- alliteration: the sequential repetition of a similar initial sound, usually applied to consonants, usually in closely proximate stressed syllables
- allusion: a literary, historical, religious, or mythological reference
- anaphora: the regular repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses
- antithesis: the juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, grammatical structure, or ideas
- aphorism: a concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief
- apostrophe: the act of addressing some inanimate abstraction or person that is not physically present: It often helps the speaker to be able to express his or her thoughts aloud
- appeals to...authority, emotion, or logic: rhetorical arguments in which the speaker claims to be an authority or expert in a field, attempts to play upon the emotions, or appeals to the use of reason
- assonance: the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words
- asyndeton: a syntactical structure in which conjunctions are omitted in a series, usually producing more rapid prose
- attitude: the sense expressed by the tone of voice or the mood of a piece of writing; the author’s feelings toward his or her subject, characters, events or theme. It might even be his or her feelings for the reader
- begging the question: an argumentative ploy where the arguer sidesteps the question or the conflict, evading or ignoring the real question
- canon: that which has been accepted as authentic, such as in canon law
- chiasmus: a figure of speech and generally a syntactical structure wherein the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second
- claim: in argumentation, an assertion of something as fact
- colloquial: a term identifying the diction of the common, ordinary folks, especially in a specific region or area
- comparison and contrast: a mode of discourse in which two or more things are compared, contrasted, or both
- conceit: a comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature, in particular an extended metaphor within a poem, but can also be used in nonfiction and prose
- connotation: the implied, suggested, or underlying meaning of a word or phrase. It is the opposite of denotation, which is the “dictionary definition” of the word
- consonance: the repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels such as in pitter-patter, splish-splash, and click-clack. It is not to be confused with alliteration, the repeated consonant sound at the beginning of a word
- convention: an accepted manner, model, or tradition
- critique: an assessment or analysis of something, such as a passage of writing, for the purpose of determining what it is, what its limitations are, and how it conforms to the standard of the genre
- deductive reasoning (deduction): the method of argument in which specific statements and conclusions are drawn from general principles; movement from the general to the specific
- dialect: the language of speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group
- diction: the specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose, or effect
- didactic: (from the Greek, meaning “good teaching”) writing or speech is didactic when it had an instructive purpose or a lesson
- elegy: a poem or prose work that laments, or meditates upon the death of, a person or persons
- epistrophe: in rhetoric, the repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences
- epitaph: writing in praise of a dead person, most often inscribed upon a headstone
- ethos: in rhetoric, the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator (Who is this person saying so, and what makes him able to say so?)
- eulogy: a speech or written passage in praise of a person; an oration in honor of a deceased person
- euphemism: an indirect, kinder, or less harsh or hurtful way of expressing unpleasant information
- exposition: writing that explains its own meaning or purpose
- extended metaphor: a series of comparisons within a piece of writing. If they consistently involve one concept, this is also known as a conceit
- figurative language/figure of speech: figurative (in contrast to literal) language has levels of meaning expressed through figures of speech such as personification, metaphor, hyperbole, irony, oxymoron, litote, and others
- flashback: (also known as retrospection) an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narration
- genre: a type or class of literature, such as epic, narrative, poetry, biography, history
- homily: a sermon, but more contemporary uses include serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual life
- hyperbole: overstatement characterized by exaggerated language, usually to make a point or draw attention
- imagery: broadly defined, any sensory detail or evocation in a work; more narrowly, the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object. It involves any or all of the five senses
- imperative sentence: a type of sentence that gives instructions, advice, or commands
- inductive reasoning (induction): the method of reasoning or argument in which general statements and conclusions are drawn from specific principles; movement from the specific to the general
- inference: a conclusion or proposition arrived at by considering facts, observations, or some other specific data
- irony (ironic): the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. It is often sarcastic. It is used for a variety of reasons, often to create poignancy or humor
- verbal irony: what the author/narrator says is actually the opposite of what is meant
- situational irony: when events end up the opposite of what is expected
- dramatic irony: in drama and fiction, facts or situations are known to the reader or audience but not to the characters
- isocolon: parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only to grammatical structure but also in length
- jargon: specialized or technical language of a trade profession, or similar group
- juxtaposition: the location of one thing adjacent to or juxtaposed with another to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose
- litote: a figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by conscious understatement
- loose sentence: (a term for syntax) a long sentence that starts with its main clause, which is followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases
- metaphor: one thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting likeness or analogy. It is an implicit comparison or identification of one thing with another, without the use of a verbal signal as like or as.
- metonymy: a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something
- mode of discourse: the way in which information is presented in written or spoken form such as narration, description, exposition, argumentation, personal observation, and narrative reflection
- mood: the feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator’s attitude and point of view. It is a “feeling” that establishes the atmosphere in a work of literature or other discourse
- narrative: a mode of discourse that tells a story of some sort. It is based on sequences of connected events, usually presented in a straightforward, chronological framework
- onomatopoeia: a word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes. The purpose of these words is to make a passage more effective for the reader or listener
- oxymoron: a figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements
- paradox: a statement that seems contradictory but is probably true
- parallel structure: the use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases or thoughts. In prose, this is the parallel, recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that their ideas are equal in importance.
- pathos: the element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow. In argument or persuasion, it tends to be evocation of pity from the reader/listener
- periodic sentence: a long sentence in which the main clause is not completed until the end
- personification: treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by endowing it with human features and qualities
- point of view: the relation in which a narrator/author stands to a subject of discourse. Determining this element in nonfiction requires the reader to establish the historical perspective of what is being said
- prose: the ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, in contrast to verse and poetry
- realism: attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail
- rebuttal/refutation: an argument technique wherein opposing arguments are anticipated and countered
- rhetoric: the art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking. All types of writing may seek to persuade
- rhetorical question: a question that is asked simply for the sake of stylistic effect and is not expected to be answered
- sarcasm: a form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually critical. It can be light and gently poke fun at something, or it can be harsh, caustic, and mean
- satire: a literary work that holds up human failings to ridicule and censure
- simile: a direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, usually using the words like or as to draw the connection
- style: the manner in which a writer combines and arranges words, shapes ideas, and utilizes syntax and structure. It is the distinctive manner of expression that represents that author’s typical writing style
- symbolism: use of a person, place, thing, event, or pattern that figuratively represents that author’s typical writing style
- synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole
- syntax: the way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It is sentence structure and how it influences the way the reader receives a particular piece of writing. It is important in establishing the tone of a piece and the attitude of the author/narrator
- theme: the central or dominant idea or focus of a work; the statement a passage makes about its subject
- tone: the attitude the narrator/writer takes toward a subject and theme; the tenor or a piece of writing based on particular stylistic devices employed by the writer. It reflects the narrator/author’s attitude
- voice: the acknowledged or unacknowledged source of the words of the story; the speaker’s or narrator’s particular “take” on an idea based on a particular passage and how all the elements of the style of the piece come together to express his or her feelings
- zeugma: a grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated. It is often used to comic effect