American Literature EOCT review

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of identical beginning consonant sounds. You may have been introduced to alliteration with the tongue twister, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." The repetition of the consonant p makes this line memorable.

Flashback

the author interrupts the scene of a narrative to tell about earlier events.

Foreshadowing

An author often gives hints or clues as to what will happen in a story.

Hyperbole

emphasis or humorous effect. The sentence "She tramped through the house like an elephant thundering through the jungle" is an example of
It creates a vivid but exaggerated picture of how a girl moves through a house.

Irony

When things happen that are in direct contrast to what we expect (or would like to happen), When people say
one thing but mean the opposite
when the reader knows something the character doesn't

Metaphor

compares two things directly

Extended metaphors

continue the comparison throughout the work.

Onomatopoeia

Splash, fizz, honk, whoosh, buzz�

Paradox

a statement that at first seems self-contradictory but that upon reflection makes sense

Personification

gives human characteristics to animals, objects, or ideas

Pun

plays on words that have similar meanings, as in the following example: "When you step on a scale and discover you have gained ten pounds, it's time to scale back your eating habits.

Refrain

a word, phrase, or series of lines that is repeated, adding rhythm and emphasis to a song

Repetition

the act of repeating words and phrases throughout a work

Simile

uses explicit words to make the comparison, such as like or as.

Symbol

a person, place, or object that has significance beyond its surface meaning

Tone

emotion created by the author's use of language or by a character's words and actions

Understatement

the opposite of hyperbole. It minimizes or lessens the importance of what is meant

Genres

fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, etc.

Rhyme

the repetition of sounds, most commonly heard at the ends of lines in poetry

Rhyme scheme

the pattern of rhymes in a poem

Allusion

implied or indirect reference to pop culture, a person, place, or thing that is fictitious, historical, or real

Conceit

An elaborate or extended simile or metaphor

Metonymy

figure of speech where the name of a thing is being substituted for another word or term closely associated with it

Synecdoche

figure of speech closely related to metonymy. A part is used to represent the whole or vice versa.

Drama

two most common types are tragedies and comedies.

Theme

central idea of a text

Denotation

the dictionary definition of a word

connotation

meaning or idea associated with the word

reference books

thesaurus, dictionary, encyclopedia

Narration

tells a story

Description

uses language to describe a person, place, or thing

allegory

A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself.