Allegory
A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself.
Alliteration
the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art without explanation
Ambiguity
The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Analogy
A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.
Anaphora
the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
Antithesis
A direct opposite, a contrast of ideas
Aphorism
A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. A general truth or moral principle.
Apostrophe
address to an absent or imaginary person such as liberty or love
Atmosphere
The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene usually established by the author's choice
Caricature
An exaggerated portrayal of one's features or characteristics
Clause
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
Colloquial
Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing
Conceit
A fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor between seemingly dissimilar objects
Connotation
The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; implied, suggested
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word
Didactic
intended to teach, particularly in having moral or ethical principles
Diction
Word choice, related to style with correctness, clearness or effectiveness
Epistrophe
the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Euphemism
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.
Figurative Language
Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
Figure of Speech
A device used to produce figurative language.
Genre
a major category or type of literature eg. prose, poetry and drama
Generic Conventions
This term describes traditions for each genre, helps us define genre.
Homily
A sermon: serious talk, speech or lecture
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor
Invective
An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.
Irony
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning
1. Verbal
2. Situational
3. Dramatic - when the thing is know by the audience but not the characters
Inference
A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
Imagery
Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) Use to create emotion
Litotes
A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite
Loose Sentence
A long sentence that has the main point at the beginning
Metonymy
the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant
Metaphor
A comparison without using like or as
Mood
Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.
Periodic sentence
A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Paradox
an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth
Parallelism
Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other
Pedantic
boringly scholarly or academic
Parody
A work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner with aim of comic effect
Narrative
The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Point of view
The perspective from which a story is told
Prose
Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure
Pun
A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings.
Rhetoric
The art of using language effectively and persuasively
Rhetorical modes
exposition, description, narration, argumentation
Rhetorical question
A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer
Sarcasm
harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony
Style
the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work
Subordinate clause
Contains both a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone
subject complement
is a word or group of words that follows a linking verb and renames or describes the subject.
Syllogism
A form of deductive reasoning in which pieces of evidence are used to create a new conclusion
Symbol
something that stands for something else
Synecdoche
a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa
Synesthesia
when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another
Satire
A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.
Semantics
the study of meaning of words
Syntax
The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Theme
Central idea of a work of literature, the insight it offers into life
Thesis
The sentence or group of sentences that directly oppress author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position
Transition
a word or phrase that links different ideas
Tone
The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous).
Wit
Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights
Understatement
the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.
Zeugma
A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses