vocab and literary terms

indolent

wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy

pragmatic

dealing with things in a realistic / practical way

hostile

openly angry toward someone / something

points of view

1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person, omniscient narrator, 3rd person narrator, objective narrator (trustworthy; no ulterior motive), subjective narrator (has skin in the game, axe to the grind; has an agenda and may not be trustworthy)

symbolism

a concrete object that represents an abstract idea / concept

abate

to lessen intensity; to become smaller

auspicious

to be likely to lead to success; to be favorable

anguished

to be in extreme pain or distress

tone

attitude of the author or speaker toward his or her subject matter that directs a reader's response toward characters, actions, and situations as extended through the speaker / narrator and as conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of

mood

the emotional reaction readers or audience members have to an author's or speaker's words

culpable

deserving of blame or to be considered responsible for something bad

paragon

a person or thing viewed as a model of excellence or perfection

incredulous

unwilling or unable to believe something

metaphor

figurative language that makes an implicit comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics; when an author portrays a person, place, thing, or idea as being something else

imagery

this is an author's appeal to the reader's five senses: smell, sound, touch, sight, and taste; author's achieve imagery largely achieved through diction

venerate

to honor with the utmost respect and devotion

flagrant

openly offensive

laudatory

expressing praise

denotation

when a writer / speaker uses words, those words are chosen for their meaning - what's in the dictionary

connotation

when a writer / speaker is trying to express a particular tone and create a particular mood for his / her readers / listeners, then he / she employs words' connotations; a connotation is the emotional reaction that is evoked by particular words - some are

gregarious

sociable; enjoying the company of others

nefarious

evil or wicked

nostalgic

characterized by looking back on the past fondly; reminiscent

verbal irony

what a writer or speaker says is the exact opposite of what they he / she truly means

situational irony

what is expected to happen is the opposite of what occurs

dramatic irony

the reader or audience knows something a character or characters do not

poignant

evoking a strong sense of sadness or regret

reticence

the quality of being reserved in emotion

obsequious

obsessively obeying or being servile to someone else in the hopes of reward

juxtaposition

it is the placement of opposite ideas side by side or near to one another to contrast the sharp differences between the ideas
Example; Better late than never. All's fair in love and war. Beggars can't be choosers.

antithesis

it is the placement of opposite ideas one after the other in a grammatically similar pattern
Example; Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Grendel kills people, Beowulf rescues them.

castigate

to subject to severe criticism or rebuke

implore

to beg

triumphant

celebratory of victory / triumph

anaphora

the repetition of the same word / words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

epistrophe

the repetition of the same word / words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

malady

an illness / disease that affects one mentally or physically

avarice

quality of being extremely greedy

contemptuous

showing contempt or scorn for anything or anyone

hyperbole

over-exaggeration for effect, usually humorous, but not always

meiosis

understatement for effect

sovereignty

ultimate power or authority

duress

using threats against someone to get them to do something against their will or better judgement

bewildered

perplexed; confused; or puzzled

alliteration

the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words that are close together; consonantal alliteration is the same consonant sound; vowel alliteration is the same vowel sound

assonance

the repetition of the same vowel sound within words that are close together