English - Final Exam Terms to Know

The following link is very helpful: Examples Glossary from Your Dictionary Alliteration
In alliteration, the first consonant sound is repeated in several words. A good example is wide-eyed and wondering while we wait for others to waken. Alliteration can be fun, as in tongue twisters like: Kindly kittens knitting mittens keep kazooing in the king's kitchen 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Alices aunt ate apples and acorns around August. Beckys beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy. Carries cat clawed her couch, creating chaos. Dans dog dove deep in the dam, drinking dirty water as he dove. Erics eagle eats eggs, enjoying each episode of eating.

Examples of Alliteration

Allusion
I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchios. This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi. When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasnt necessary. Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. I thought the software would be useful, but it was a Trojan Horse. This refers to the horse that the Greeks built that contained all the soldiers. It was given as a gift to the enemy during the Trojan War and, once inside the enemy's walls, the soldiers broke out. By using trickery, the Greeks won the war. He was a real Romeo with the ladies. Romeo was a character in Shakespeares play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet. Chocolate was her Achilles heel. This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel.

Assonance
"Try to light the fire" In this example by Carl Sandburg, in Early Moon, the long o sounds old or mysterious. Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came. "It beats . . . as it sweeps . . . as it cleans!" - slogan for Hoover vacuum cleaners Examples of Assonance

Blank Verse
Verse written in iambic pentameter, without rhyme

William Shakespeare are written in blank verse; this example is from Macbeth: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Cliche
As old as the hills: This describes someone very old Fit as a fiddle: This describes someone in great shape Without a care in the world: This describes someone who is not plagued by problems or worries A diamond in the rough: This describes someone who has a great future. Brave as a lion: This describes a very brave person. Weak as a kitten: This describes a very weak person.

Consonance
"The repetition of final consonant sounds, as in 'First and last,' 'odds and ends,' 'short and sweet,' 'a stroke of luck,' or Shakespeare's 'struts and frets' is CONSONANCE." T was later when the summer went Than when the cricket came, And yet we knew that gentle clock Meant nought but going home. T was sooner when the cricket went Than when the winter came, Yet that pathetic pendulum Keeps esoteric time. (Emily Dickinson, "T was later when the summer went")

Couplet
"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall/Humpty Dumpty had a great fall/All the king's horses and all the king's men/Couldn't put Humpty together again!" - Famous nursery rhyme "So precious are true friends who lend their ears/and give their time to wipe away sad tears." - Joy Saunders ".. Nodding perfume. In my garden birds sing,/Roses bloom, and I am remembering." Josie Falla

"When Silly Sally irons her clothes, they come out looking awful./She did not read the label and her iron was meant to waffle." - Denise Rodgers "Oh my!" the portly gent called out. "I cannot find my hair./I washed and put it out to dry, and now it isn't there!" - Denise Rodgers

Foreshadowing
Definition: Foreshadowing is the presentation in a work of literature of hints and clues that tip the reader off as to what is to come later in the work.

Free Verse
After the Sea-Ship by Walt Whitman After the Sea-Shipafter the whistling winds; After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes, Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks, Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship: Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying, Waves, undulating wavesliquid, uneven, emulous waves, Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves, Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface;

Hyperbole
I am so hungry I could eat a horse. I have a million things to do. I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill. I had a ton of homework. If I cant buy that new game, I will die. He is as skinny as a toothpick. This car goes faster than the speed of light. That new car costs a bazillion dollars. We are so poor; we dont have two cents to rub together. That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur. They ran like greased lightning. He's got tons of money. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Her brain is the size of a pea. He is older than the hills

Iambic Pentameter
Iambic Pentameter has: Ten syllables in each line Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables The rhythm in each line sounds like: ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM

Most of Shakespeares famous quotations fit into this rhythm. For example: If mu- / -sic be / the food / of love, / play on Is this / a dag- / -ger I / see be- / fore me? Each pair of syllables is called an iambus. Youll notice that each iambus is made up of one unstressed and one stressed beat (ba-BUM).

Imagery
Imagery poems are found in poems where the writing appeals to the senses. Imagery is one of the seven categories of figurative language. Imagery Poems: Words with Impact Imagery intensifies the impact of the poets words as he shows us with his words rather than just telling us what he feels. Song lyrics are full of imagery. Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed The wingd seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave,until Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and odours plain and hill: Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and Preserver; hear, O hear!

Internal Rhyme
There are three types of internal rhymes: Two or more rhyming words occur within the same line

Rhyme in the Same Line

I went to town to buy a gown. / I took the car and it wasnt far. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary - Edgar Allen Poe ( The Raven). I had a cat who wore a hat. / He looked cool but felt the fool. I lost my dog in the midst of fog. / He found his way home, he doesn't like to roam. Two or more rhyming words will appear in the middle of two separate lines or sometimes in more A word at the end of a line rhymes with one or more in the middle of the following line

Rhyme in Separate Lines

I see a red boat that has a red flag. / Just like my red coat and my little red pail. I wore a shiny new bow upon my head. / I began to grow and it fit me no more. I'd like to jump into the ocean. / But don't dump me in instead.

Word at the End and Word in the Middle The snowflakes are dancing, floating, and falling. / The church bells are calling, but I will not go. The sky was a clear, rich shiny blue. / I knew it was true but I stayed inside. It is fallible men who make the law. / This may be a flaw, but there's no other way.

Irony
Situational Irony This type of irony may occur when the outcome of a certain situation is completely different than what was initially expected. It is often referred to as an irony of events. Examples of irony in the situational category include a contradiction or sharp contrast. Example: A person who claims to be a vegan and avoids meat but will eat a slice of pepperoni pizza because they are hungry. It may not make sense, but it is an illustration of irony. Example: A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets. Example: An ambulance driver goes to a night time bike accident scene and runs over the accident victim because the victim has crawled to the center of the road with their bike .

Lyric
So what is a lyric poem? A lyric poem is a relatively short, non-narrative poem that expresses emotions or personal feelings. A lyric can be an ode or even a sonnet, but does not have to be set to music. Lyric poems are often very moving and they can be quite beautiful. How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith I love thee with a love I seem to love With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

Metaphor
A metaphor sounds like a false statement, until you realize the similarities between the two things being compared. These would be phrases like: Time is money Time is a thief You are my sunshine He has a heart of stone America is a melting pot

Narrative
A narrative poem is one that tells the story of a series of events and makes use of a range of poetic devices. Short stories are often very similar to narrative poems.

Ode
Poetry odes started back with the Greek poet Pindar, who invented them. The word ode comes from the Greek word oide meaning to sing or chant. There are three types of odes and they are usually written about someone or something the poet admires or loves.

Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that sound mimic sounds, or sound like what they mean.These add a level of reality to a poem. These can be words like: smash, wham, quack, meow, oink, whoosh, swish, zap, zing, ping, munch, gobble, and crunch. "Onomatopoeia every time I see ya My senses tell me hubba And I just can't disagree. I get a feeling in my heart that I can't describe. . . It's sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whine Sputter, splat, squirt, scrape Clink, clank, clunk, clatter Crash, bang, beep, buzz Ring, rip, roar, retch Twang, toot, tinkle, thud Pop, plop, plunk, pow Snort, snuck, sniff, smack Screech, splash, squish, squeak Jingle, rattle, squeal, boing

Honk, hoot, hack, belch." (Todd Rundgren, "Onomatopoeia")

Oxymoron Personification
Personification is giving human characteristics to objects, animals, or ideas. This can really add to a readers enjoyment of a poem as it changes the way he looks at things. Examples are: The sun played hide and seek with the clouds Opportunity knocked on the door The vines wove their fingers together to form a braid

Quatrain
A quatrain is a stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines of verse.

Rhyme
The word rhyme can be used in a specific and a general sense. In the specific sense, two words rhyme if their final stressed vowel and all following sounds are identical; two lines of poetry rhyme if their final strong positions are filled with rhyming words. A rhyme in the strict sense is also called a perfect rhyme. Examples are sight and flight, deign and gain, madness and sadness.

Rhyme Scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines. Bid me to weep, and I will weep While I have eyes to see; And having none, and yet I will keep A heart to weep for thee. A B A B

Examples of Rhyme Scheme Rhythm

Rhythm, in poetry, the patterned recurrence, within a certain range of regularity, of specific language features, usually features of sound. Although difficult to define, rhythm is readily discriminated by the ear and the mind, having as it does a physiological basis. It is universally agreed to involve qualities of movement, repetition, and pattern and to arise from the poems nature as a temporal structure. Rhythm, by any definition, is essential to poetry; prose may be said to exhibit rhythm but in a much less highly organized sense. The presence of rhythmic patterns heightens emotional response and often affords the reader a sense of balance. Metre, although often equated with rhythm, is perhaps more accurately described as one method of organizing a poems rhythm. Unlike rhythm, metre is not a requisite of poetry; it is, rather, an abstract organization of elements of stress, duration, or number of syllables per line

into a specific formal pattern. The interaction of a given metrical pattern with any other aspect of sound in a poem produces a tension, or counterpoint, that creates the rhythm of metrically based poetry. Compared with the wide variety of metrical schemes, the types of metrically related rhythms are few. Duple rhythm occurs in lines composed in two-syllable feet, as in Shakespeares line

In metrical schemes based on three-syllable feet, the rhythm is triple:

Rising rhythm results when the stress falls on the last syllable of each foot in a line:

The reverse of this is falling rhythm:

Simile A simile is used to compare two things using the words like and as. Examples include: As dry as a bone As easy as shooting fish in a barrel They fought like cats and dogs Stand out like a sore thumb Sonnet The sonnet is a type of lyric poetry that started in Europe. After the 13th century, it began to signify a poem that had 14 lines which has an iambic pentameter meter: Iambic means that the first syllable is not stressed in each of the "feet," the groups of syllables in poetry. The second one is stressed. Pentameter means there are five of these feet. Meter is the rhythm of the poem. The word sonnet means little song or little sound. The following English sonnet was written by William Shakespeare and is number 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Speaker Versus Author

The writer is the author of the poem. Take a Robert Frost poem. Robert Frost wrote the poem, but it might be from a woman's point of view, so we know that the speaker is NOT Frost. The speaker is a she, for example. The speaker is the person/thing talking to you through the poem.

Symbol
Symbols are concrete objects or explicit acts that retain their real nature while standing for ideas or values that do not have material existence.

Stanza
There are many different types of stanzas. Some of which are: Couplets (stanza with two rhyming lines) Tercets (stanzas with three lines that may or may not rhyme) Quatrains (stanzas with four lines that may or may not rhyme) Remember that in poetry you can identify a stanza by the number of lines that it has and its rhyme scheme or pattern.

Theme

A theme is the main idea, or message, of an essay, paragraph, or a book. The message may be about life, society, or human nature.

Tone
Tone gives shape and life to literature, because it is through tone that the attitude and mood of a work are created and presented. Tone gives voice to the characters, both literally and figuratively. Through tone, the reader is able to learn about a character's personality and disposition. However, the tone also shapes the work as a whole, and whether the piece should be read as a serious, funny, dramatic or upsetting. Tone examples are present everywhere in media and in real life. However, the term "tone" is

most frequently associated with literature.

Tone in Poetry Citing one brief example from Robert Frost's famous "The Road Not Taken" sums up a great deal of information not only about the poem, but also about the effect of tone in general. Let's look at the last stanza: "I shall be telling this with a sigh/Somewhere ages and ages hence:/Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,/I took the one less traveled by,/And that has made all the difference." To an extent, reading literature is a subjective process because different pieces of writing can be interpreted in different ways by the reader. In this example, Frost is commonly interpreted as looking back on his experience with joy. That is true, if he were to speak those lines cheerfully. However, imagine that he actually sighs when he says "sigh" and he appears sullen when he says "And that has made all the difference." The entire meaning of the poem is changed, and Frost is, indeed, not thrilled with the choice he made in the past.