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AllegoryThe representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in
narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.
Alliosis-
Presenting alternatives: "You can eat well or you can sleep well." While such a structure
often results in the logical fallacy of the false dichotomy or the either/or fallacy, it can
create a cleverly balanced and artistic sentence.
Alliteration-
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in a line
of poetry. ie.Marilyn Monroe
Ambiguity-
When an author leaves out details/information or is unclear about an event so the reader
will use his/her imagination to fill in the blanks.
Anacoluthon-
Anadiplosis-
Repeating the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause. As Nietzsche
said, "Talent is an adornment; an adornment is also a concealment."
Anaphora-
Anapodoton-
Deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause: "If only you came
with me!" If only students knew what anapodoton was! Good writers never use sentence
fragments? Ah, but they can. And they do. When appropriate.
Anecdote-
A short story or joke told at the beginning of a speech to gain the audiences attention.
Antagonist-
Antanaclasis-
The stylistic scheme of repeating a single word, but with a different meaning each time.
From Shakespeare: "for many a thousand widows/ Shall this his mock mock out of their
dear husbands; Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down."
Anti-climatic-
Antimetabole-
Repetition in reverse order: "One should eat to live, not live to eat." Or, "You like it; it
likes you." The witches in Macbeth chant, "Fair is foul and foul is fair."
Aposiopesis-
A figure of speech wherein a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the
ending to be supplied by the imagination, giving an impression of unwillingness or
inability to continue. An example would be the threat "Get out, or else!" This device
often portrays its users as overcome with passion (fear, anger, excitement) or modesty.
Apostrophe-
Asyndeton
Using no conjunctions to create an effect of speed or simplicity: Veni. Vidi. Vici. "I came.
I saw. I conquered." (As opposed to "I came, and then I saw, and then I conquered.")
Been there. Done that. Bought the t-shirt.
Assonance-
Blank verseare
Climax-
Colloquial-
Connotation-
Convention-
An understanding between a reader and a writer about certain details of a story that
does not need to be explained.
Consonance-
The repetition of consonant sounds in a phrase or line of poetry. The consonant sound
may be at the beginning, middle, or end of the word.
Contraction-
Removes an unstressed syllable and in order to maintain the rhythmic meter of a line.
This practice explains some words frequently used in poetry such as th in place of the,
oer in place of over, and tis or twas in place of it is or it was.
Couplet-
Deus ex machina-
Term that refers to a character or force that appears at the end of a story or play to help
resolve conflict. Word means god from a machine. In ancient Greek drama,
gods were
lowered onto the stage by a mechanism to extricate characters from a
seemingly
hopeless situation. The phrase has come to mean any turn of
events that solve the
characters problems through an unexpected and unlikely
intervention.
Diction-
Denouement-
DoppelgangerRobert Louis
The alter ego of a character-the suppressed side of ones personality that is usually
unaccepted by society. ie. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by
Stevenson- Mr. Edward Hyde (hide) is Dr.Jekylls evil side
Elegy-
Ellipsis-
Omitting a word implied by the previous clause: "The European soldiers killed six of the
remaining villagers, the American soldiers, eight."
Emotive language-
Enallage-
Enjambment-
The continuation of reading one line of a poem to the next with no pause, a run-on line.
Epanalepsis-
Repeating a word from the beginning of a clause at the end of the clause: "Year chases
year." Or "Man's inhumanity to man." As Voltaire reminds us, "Common sense is not so
common." As Shakespeare chillingly phrases it, "Blood will have blood."
Epic-
Epilogue-
A short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a
play, or in a novel the epilogue is a short explanation at the end of the book
indicates what happens after the plot ends.
Sudden enlightenment or realization, a profound new outlook or understanding about the
world usually attained while doing everyday mundane activities.
which
EpiphanyEpistolary-
Used to describe a novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to
another. (Perks of Being a Wallflower)
Epistrophe-
Repetition of a concluding word or endings: "He's learning fast; are you earning fast?"
When the epistrophe focuses on sounds rather than entire words, we normally call it
rhyme.
Euphemism-
The act of substituting a harsh, blunt, or offensive comment for a more politically
accepted or positive one.(short=vertically challenged)
Euphony-
A succession of words which are pleasing to the ear. These words may be alliterative,
utilize consonance, or assonance and are often used in poetry but also seen in
prose.
Expansion-
Adds an unstressed syllable and in order to maintain the rhythmic meter of a line. This
practice explains some words frequently used in poetry such as th in place of the, oer in
place of over, and tis or twas in place of it is or it was.
Fable-
A usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing as
characters animals that speak and act like humans.
Feminine ending-
Term that refers to an unstressed extra syllable at the end of a line of iambic
pentameter.
Figurative language- Speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect
or meaning. Speech or writing employing figures of speech.
Flashback-
When a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the
story
Flat character-
A literary character whose personality can be defined by one or two traits and does not
change over the course of the story. Flat characters are usually minor or
characters.
insignificant
Foil-
Folklore-
The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.
Foot-
Iamb-
The most common feet have two to three syllables, with one stressed.
An iambic foot has two syllables. The first is unstressed and the second is stressed. The
iambic foot is most common in English poetry.
Trochee-
A trochaic foot has two syllables. The first is stressed and the second is unstressed.
Dactyl-
A dactylic foot has three syllables beginning with a stressed syllable; the other two
unstressed.
Anapest-
An anapestic foot has three syllables. The first two are unstressed with the third
stressed.
Foreshadowing-
Clues in the text about incidents that will occur later in the plot, foreshadowing creates
anticipation in the novel.
Free verse-
Type of verse that contains a variety of line lengths, is unrhymed, and lacks traditional
meter.
Genre-
Gothic novel-
A genre of fiction characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, often set in a dark
castle or other medieval setting.
Hendiadys-
The expression of an idea by the use of usually two independent words connected by
and (as nice and warm) instead of the usual combination of independent word and its
modifier (as nicely warm).
Heroine-
A woman noted for courage and daring action or the female protagonist.
Hubris-
Used in Greek tragedies, refers to excessive pride that usually leads to a heros
downfall.
Hypallage-
also known as a transferred epithet, is the trope in which a modifier, usually an adjective,
is applied to the "wrong" word in the sentence. The word whose modifier is thus
displaced can either be actually present in the sentence, or it can be implied logically.
The effect often stresses the emotions or feelings of the individual by expanding them on
to the environment. Ex: restless night, clumsy helmet, happy morning.
Hyperbaton-
A generic term for changing the normal or expected order of words. "One ad does not a
survey make." The term comes from the Greek for "overstepping" because one or more
words "overstep" their normal position and appear elsewhere. For instance, Milton in
Paradise Lost might write, "High on a throne of royal gold . . . Satan exalted sat." In
normal, everyday speech, we would expect to find, "High on a throne of royal gold . . .
Satan sat exalted."
Hyperbole-
Illocution-
Language that avoids meaning of the words. When we speak, sometimes we conceal
intentions or side step the true subject of a conversation. Writing illocution
expresses two
stories, one of which is not apparent to the characters, but is apparent to
the reader. For
example, if two characters are discussing a storm on the surface it
may seem like a
simple discussion of the weather, however, the reader should
interpret the underlying
meaning-that the relationship is in turmoil, chaos, is
unpredictable. As demonstrated the
story contains an underlying meaning or parallel
meanings.
Inversion-
In poetry is an intentional digression from ordinary word order which is used to maintain
regular meters. For example, rather than saying the rain came a poem may say
the rain. Meters can be formed by the insertion or absence of a pause.
came
Ironyeverywhere and
When one thing should occur, is apparent, or in logical sequence but the opposite
actually occurs. Example: A man in the ocean might say, Water, water
not a drop to drink.
Dramatic Irony: When the audience or reader knows something characters do
not know
Verbal Irony: When one thing is said, but something else, usually the opposite, is
meant
Cosmic Irony: When a higher power toys with human expectations
Litotes-
Masculine ending-
Memoir-
Meter-
Metaphor-
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used
to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison; this comparison does
like or as.
not use
Metaplasmus-
(Glendower) proclaims that he "can call spirits from the vasty deep" in 1 Henry IV
(3.1.52).
Metonymy-
Syncope -- deleting a syllable or letter from the middle of a word. For instance, in
Cymbeline, Shakespeare writes of how, "Thou thy worldy task hast done, / Home
art gone, and ta'en thy wages" (4.2.258). In 2 Henry IV, we hear a flatterer say,
"Your lordship, though not clean past your youth, hath yet some smack of age in
you, some relish of the saltness of time" (1.2.112). Here, the -i- in saltiness has
vanished to create a new word. Syncope is particularly common in poetry, when
desperate poets need to get rid of a single syllable to make their meter match in
each line.
Apocope -- deleting a syllable or letter from the end of a word. In The Merchant
of Venice, one character says, "when I ope my lips let no dog bark," and the last
syllable of open falls away into ope before the reader's eyes (1.1.93-94). In
Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare proclaims, "If I might in entreaties find
success--/ As seld I have the chance--I would desire / My famous cousin to our
Grecian tents" (4.5.148). Here the word seldom becomes seld.
The use of a word or phrase to stand in for something else which it is often associated.
ie. Hollywood for US cinema, the Crown for UK government, the White House,
City Hall
Motif-
Narrator-
Novella-
Neutral language-
Oblique rhyme-
Occupatio-
Ode-
A lyric poem of some length, usually of a serious or meditative nature and having an
elevated style and formal stanzaic structure. An ode celebrates something. John
is known for writing odes.
Keats
Onomatopoeia-
The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds
associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
Paradox-
Statement which seems to contradict itself. i.e. His old face was youthful when he heard
the news.
Parataxis-
Parody-
A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for
comic effect or ridicule. i.e. SNL or Weird Al Yankovich.
Personification-
A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human
qualities or are represented as possessing human form.
Poetic justice-
The rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice in the resolution of a plot. The
character, as they say, gets what he/she deserves.
Polysyndeton-
Prequel-
A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a
preexisting work or a sequel.
Prologue-
Prose-
Ordinary speech or writing without metrical structure, written in paragraph form. Novels
and short stories are referred to as prose.
Protagonist-
Pun-
Play on words, when two words have multiple meanings and spellings and are used in a
humorous manner.
Rhyme-
Rhyme scheme-
The act of assigning letters in the alphabet to demonstrate the rhyming lines in a poem.
Rising action-
Rites of passage-
Round character-
A character who is developed over the course of the book, round characters are usually
major characters in a novel. Round characters can also be overweight, like Mr.
Freeburg
Resolution-
Satire-
Corrective ridicule. A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony,
derision, or wit; the goal is to change the behavior/issue. Authors known for satires are
Jonathan Swift and George Orwell.
Schemes-
A rhetorical figure of speech which involves changing the order of words in a sentence.
Includes: alliteration, anaphora, antimetabole, asyndeton, polysyndeton, etc.
Simile-
A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase
introduced by like or as.
Slang-
A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of
short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of
terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
standard
Soliloquy-
Sonnet-
A poem with fourteen lines. An Italian sonnet subdivides into two quatrains and two
tercets; while an English sonnet subdivides into three quatrains and one couplet.
is a sudden change of thought which is common in sonnets.
A volta
Speaker-
The voice used by an author to tell a story or speak a poem. The speaker is often a
created identity, and should not automatically be equated with the authors self.
Style-
Freeburg
Symbolism-
Symploce-
Repeating words at both the beginning and the ending of a phrase: In St. Paul's letters,
he seeks symploce to reinforce in the reader the fact that his opponents are no better
than he is: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they of the
seed of Abraham? So am I."
Syntax-
The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and
sentences.
Terza Rima-
Tragedy-
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme
sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to
cope with unfavorable circumstances. Mr. Freeburgs social life.
Tropes-
Rhetorical figures of speech in which the word is used in a different way from its
accepted or normal form. Includes: metonymy, synecdoche, metaphor, allegory, irony,
antanaclasis.
Tone-
Reflects how the author feels about the subject matter or the feeling the author wants to
instill in the reader.