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