AP Lit Terms

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant Ex: Saying Kennedy is "no longer with us" instead of saying Kennedy is dead. These are typically used to describe moments, events, needs, or acts that are sometimes viewed as sensitive, crude, or impolite, or personal.

Non Sequitur

An inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, "does not follow"). This term can take on a number of related meanings. Such as: -A statement that has little or no relation to what preceded it; illogical inference -It can also describe a statement that just seems really out of place and doesn't make sense when taken out of context. -It is also an appropriate term to describe a collection of unrelated ideas that are presented together.

Invective

An intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack EXAMPLE: "This is just the sort of blinkered philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage. You sit there on your loathsome spotty behinds squeezing blackheads, not caring a tinker's cuss for the struggling artist. You excrement, you whining hypocritical toadies with your colour TV sets and your Tony Jacklin golf clubs and your bleeding masonic secret handshakes. You wouldn't let me join, would you, you blackballing bastards?!"

Expletive

An interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes (often), a profanity That's f-ing ridiculous. It's a damn shame. It's a friggin' joke.

Didactic

(adj.) having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing in a way that is annoying or unwanted. Could be used to describe a character, his/her actions, or even an entire piece.

Cliche

(noun) an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off Ex: They lived happily ever after. Once upon a time... Loves long walks on the beach

Hubris

Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy often the tragic flaw that leads to a character's downfall. Examples of characters that suffer from the result of this include: -Julius Caesar (at least in Shakespeare's play) -Oedipus (he's above and beyond the most famous example) -Creon and even Antigone -Colonel George Armstrong Custer...(good example of a real, historical figure). (historical/fictional) that has fallen because they believe they are infallible

Balanced Sentence

A ______________________ is made up of two segments which are equal, not only in length, but also in grammatical structure and meaning "Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun"

Attitude

Generally, ______________________is a behavior a person adopts toward other people, things, incidents, or happenings. In literature, ______________________an be referred as perspective or tone of the writer he/she adopts in a certain work. This is very much connected to TONE. Holden's sarcasm Twain's disdain Formal vs Casual

Flat Character

A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story. he/she exists primarily as 2-dimensional ...there's nothing really behind him/her that helps a reader understand what he/she is all about. Another example would be: Carlson from Of Mice and Men...he's pretty much shallow and unaware throughout the entire novel (remember, he's got no problem shooting Candy's dog and at the end of the novel asks "now, what the hell you suppose is eatin' them two?"

Ad Hominem Argument

A common type of logical fallacy. An argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position on an issue: You can't believe Jack when he says the "proposed policy would help the economy." He doesn't even have a job. Jane's proposal about zoning is ridiculous. She was caught cheating on her taxes in 2003." Name-calling is often a part of this type of fallacy

Deus ex Machina

A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object. Latin: God out of the machine. God from the machine. -In the Arabian Nights tale of "The Three Apples, " after discovering the dead body of a young woman, Harun al-Rashid orders Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days or else he will have him executed instead. Ja'far, however, fails to find the murderer before the deadline. Just when Harun is about to have Ja'far executed for his failure, a deus ex machina occurs when the murderer suddenly reveals himself,claiming to be the woman's husband. In The Life of Brian, Brian is 'rescued' from a high fall by a passing space ship.

Conceit

A fanciful, particularly clever and (often) extended metaphor--typically comparing two entities that one would not usually think to compare. EX: "Love is like an oil change" Or from Romeo and Juliet: "Thou counterfeit'st a bark, a sea, a wind; For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea, Do ebb and flow with tears; the bark thy body is, Sailing in this salt flood; the winds, thy sighs; Who, raging with thy tears, and they with them, Thy tempest-tossed body."

Metonymy

A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. Examples: -Referring to power/authority as the "crown" -Let me give you a hand (hand is replacing help) -The press loves a celebrity controversy (printing press to represent all media) -Hollywood is carefully watching this weekend's numbers. -"The pen is mightier than the sword" -"pen" is referring to ideas/writing/words..."sword" is connected and replacing violence and warfare and aggression Referring to any administration by the place they are located. Ex: -Washington is currently terrified over the reality of Trump getting elected. -The homecoming parade was put on hold since the office couldn't get the permits figured out. -Olympia has never been kind to freshman senators. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears" -Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Antony is asking for the people's attention

Genre

A major category or type of literature Examples: Sci-Fi Fantasy Romance Mystery etc. ...not to be confused with: age-level (young adult, kids, adult, etc) or format: (comic book, graphic novel, sonnet, etc.)

Limited Narrator

A narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that one character Typically, what you are going to run into is a 3rd-Person

Rhythm

A recognizable though varying pattern in the beat of stresses or accents, in the stream of speech sounds Ex: I grow old ... I grow old ... I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled

Exclamatory Sentence

A sentence that expresses strong feeling...ends with an exclamation mark.

Motif

A standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works or throughout a specific work. This concept can be a little tricky to fully grasp. The easiest way to understand it is to simply think of it as a recurring pattern or image. For example, in All Quiet, there's definitely a reoccurring _______of trees in the novel. More so than any other symbol in the novel, the trees appear over and over again--each time representing the same thing...home, innocence, the way things were, etc. Trees are thus a _______in the novel just as Paul's regular questioning of "what's he got left to return to" is a thematic ________.

Rhetoric

How writers/speakers/poets/authors/etc get their point across. In it's most basic form, this can often be broken down into 3 different approaches: LOGOS, ETHOS, and PATHOS.

Euphony

A term applied to language that strikes the ear as smooth, pleasant, and musical Ex: Comic book colors on a violin river cryin Leonardo, Words from out a silk trombone. I rang a silent bell, beneath a shower of pearls, In the eagle-winged palace of the queen Chinee...

Epithet

A term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric ________________are often compound adjectives ("swift-footed Achilles") that become an almost formulaic part of a name. These can also be abusive or offensive but are not so by-definition. For example, athletes may be proud of their given theirs ("The Rocket"). Ex: Huge-headed Leslie sat next to weepy-eyed Malone

Paradox

In its simplest form, it is a statement that initially appears to be contradictory but then, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense. John Donne's "Death, thou shalt not die." Oscar Wilde: "I can resist everything except temptation." Twain: "Don't let your schooling interfere with your education" Lewis: "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." "Je ne parle pas Français." While the official definition of a paradox may just be a seemingly contradictory statement. These can be much bigger and describe a whole situation. Example: In the movie The Matrix, it is discovered that life is just a simulation. If that's the case, what's the point of living...of anything? Ultimately, all ____________s do one thing: stop the reader and make them think. They are arresting, puzzling, and force one to be inquisitive, reflective, and often introspective.

Pathos

An appeal based emotion.This type of argument is often dependent on the audience's expected reaction or the ability to connect on a personal level.

Logos

An appeal based on logic or reason. This type of argument is often backed by data, research, and concrete detail.

Ethos

An appeal based on the character of the speaker. This type of argument relies on the reputation of the arguer, the ideas associated with the arguer, and the way the arguer presents herself.

Bildungsroman

In short: a coming-of-age novel. a special kind of novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of its main character from his or her youth to adulthood. a story of the growing up of a sensitive person who looks for answers to his questions through different experiences. Generally, such a novel starts with a loss or a tragedy that disturbs the main character emotionally. He or she leaves on a journey to fill that vacuum. During the journey, the protagonist gains maturity gradually and with difficulty. Usually, the plot depicts a conflict between the protagonist and the values of society. Finally, he or she accepts those values and they are accepted by the society, ending the dissatisfaction.

Colloquialism

Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing Ex: Dude, Man Y'all YOLO

Cacophony

Language which is perceived as harsh, rough, and unmusical. Note: the discordancy/harshness is the effect of not only the sound of the words, but also of their significance. Ex: Rats! They fought the dogs and killed the cats... Split open the kegs of salted sprats, Made nests inside men's Sunday hats; Ex: I shall not lose old strength In the lone frost's black length Strength long since fled!

Repetition

Recurring/repeated language which deliberately used in order to achieve a specific emphasis or certain effect. Ex: who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wonder-ing where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts, who lit cigarettes in boxcars boxcars boxcars racketing through snow toward lonesome farms in grandfather night, who studied ....

Synecdoche

Referring to the whole of something by referencing a (often defining) part of it. Referring to the whole by what it is made of. Examples. Calling someone really tall, "legs." Referring to an individual as "blondie or ginger" based on the color of their hair. "Nice wheels" (when complimenting someone's car) Paying with "plastic." (indicates that you are using a credit card) All hands on deck! (hands being part of the worker/sailor) "Should I be afeared to tell graybeards the truth?" -From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In this line, Caesar is debating whether he should go confront the senate (graybeards).

Verse

Refers to writing that is considered poetry.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere of a work. The ambiance and atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience. In drama/film it may be created by sets and music as well as words; in poetry and prose, it may be created by a combination of such elements as setting, voice, character, tone, theme The __________ evoked by the more popular short stories of Edgar Allen Poe, for example, tend to be gloomy, horrific, and desperate. The _________ of Cormac McCarthy's The Road is bleak, desperate, lost. It's is all about the effect the piece has on the reader/viewer/audience. It is the feeling, ambiance, or atmosphere perceived by the reader. It is the emotions you feel while reading. It indicates a prevailing feeling, or frame of mind...and is often established early, in the exposition of a piece. It can help establish a sense of expectation to readers of what is to follow

Malapropism

The mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar: -The doctor wrote a subscription -I did my geography report on the Soviet Onion Shakespeare loves these. Examples from the character of Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing: "Comparisons are odorous." (instead of odious) "Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons." (instead of apprehended two suspicious persons) This is different than a mispronunciation like: acrost instead of across.

Prose

The most typical form of language. Both non-fiction writing as well as fictional writing is considered this. Pretty much any writing that's not verse.

Ellipsis

The omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context ex: Some people prefer cats. Others, dogs.

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowels—especially in stressed syllables—in a sequence of nearby words. Ex: "Thou still unravished bride of quietness, Thou foster child of silence and slow time" "The early bird gets the worm."

Enjambment

The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation; the opposite of end-stopped.

Jargon

The specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession Gigabyte, RAM, CPU, memory, terabyte, jpeg, pdf ( These are terms that are specific to computing). Carabiner, crux, dihedral, belay, stopper, cam, crimper, sloper, jug, whipper, smear ( These are terms that are specific to rock climbing).

Situational Irony:

What happens is different from what's expected to happen. EX: -It is ironic that Romeo and Juliet, the only children of bitter enemies, meet serendipitously and fall in love. -A bank robber held several people hostage but felt responsible to feed them and ordered pizza. When the pizza arrived, he paid the delivery boy. -O. Henry's short story "The Ransom of Red Chief" presents a third example of irony when the kidnappers pay a ransom to return the bratty Red Chief to his parents. -When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, all of his shots initially missed the President; however, a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof Presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Thus, a vehicle made to protect the President from gunfire was partially responsible for his being shot.

Verbal Irony:

When a character says one thing but means another. It occurs when either the speaker means something totally different than what he is saying or the audience realizes, because of their knowledge of the particular situation to which the speaker is referring, that the opposite of what a character is saying is true. It also also occurs when a character says something in jest that, in actuality, is true. NOTE: Sarcasm, Overstatement, Understatement can all be types of verbal irony.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience or reader is aware of critical information of which the characters are unaware. EX: -Think of a scary movie when the audience knows the killer is in the basement, yet the girl goes down there anyway. -How the audience knows about Romeo and Juliet's love while no one else around them does. There are all sorts of lines throughout the play where only the audience gets the full meaning.

Personification

Where either an inanimate object or abstract concept is spoken of as though it were endowed with life or human attributes or feelings. Ex: Sky lowered, and muttering thunder, some sad drops Wept at completing of the mortal sin

Anecdote

a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event ex: In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul tells the story of Kemmerich's mother crying at the train station as her son is leaving for war.

Epigram

a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying Ex: "I can resist everything except temptation." --Oscar Wilde

Analogy

a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way Metaphors and similes are both types of these. For example: -Diego entered the room like a cat stalking its prey. -Madison is the sole daisy among the field of wilted poppies.

Aphorism

a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance EX: A picture is worth a thousand words." "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." "Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you. "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Maxim

a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage. Just like an adage, an aphorism, and even an epigram...this is a short, catchy statement and tends to typically be one of those phrases that people latch onto--sometimes considered "words to live by." -Never judge a man before you walk a mile in his shoes -Too many cooks spoil the broth -You can't teach an old dog new tricks

Inference

a conclusion one draws based on premises or evidence

Asyndeton

a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions Ex: She ran, jumped, swung, flew.

Caesura

a deliberate middle-of-line pause or break...clearest examples are often associated with epic, Anglo-Saxon poetry like Beowulf. "To be or not to be. That is the question" also contains one.

Dissonance

a deliberate use of inharmonious words, phrases, or syllables intended to create harsh sounding effects. This unpleasant combination of consonants and vowels create an awkward sound, which makes the reading uncomfortable, and adds emotional depth to a situation or moment. ...pretty similar to Cacophony.

Archetype

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response EX: -Odysseus is an archetypal hero. -The tale of Star-crossed lovers is an archetypal story -Good v. Evil is an archetypal theme. -The ugly witch is an archetypal character. So is the wise old man.

Adage

a familiar proverb or wise saying. ex: "the early bird gets the worm."

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction Ex: "O' Romeo, O' Romeo..."(Juliet is addressing a hypothetical Romeo at this point...does not know he's there) Someone shouting toward the sky, cursing Fate...an example like this often employs personification as well.

Elegy

a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme EX: Ginsberg's poem, "Kaddish"...for his mom: Strange now to think of you, gone without corsets & eyes, while I walk on the sunny pavement of Greenwich Village. downtown Manhattan, clear winter noon, and I've been up all night, talking, talking, reading the Kaddish aloud, listening to Ray Charles blues shout blind on the phonograph the rhythm the rhythm--and your memory in my head three years after...

Clause

a group of words containing a subject (noun) and a predicate (the part with the verb) and forming part of a compound or complex sentence

Parody

a humorous imitation of a serious work EX: Any t me Saturday Night Live takes on something well-known, it's a parody--whether it's a humorous "remake" of a movie, a song, or an event...if they make fun of it, it's a ___________. Here's some more examples that might help: -The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are ______ of the national, evening news. -Monty Python's Quest For the Holy Grail is a ______of King Arthur -Scary Movie, Another Teen Movie, etc. all ______a number of well-known works and genres -Don Quixote is a ______of the classic knight/damsel in distress stories. -Anthony Hecht's poem "Dover Bitch" is a famous _______of Matthew Arnold's well-known "Dover Beach."

Allegory

a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions. ex: Animal Farm is a _____________for the Russian Revolution.

Epic

a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation Ex: The Odyssey The Illiad Beowulf

Legend

a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements Atlantis Beowulf The Odyssey The Fountain of Youth King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table Romulus and Remus Robin Hood

Ballad

a narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually having a refrain the meter of these usually consists of quatrains with an aabb or abcb rhyme, lines alternate 4 stresses, then 3 stresses Ex: "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

End Stopped

a poetic device in which a pause comes at the end of a syntactic unit (sentence, clause, or phrase). This pause can be expressed in writing as a punctuation mark, such as a colon, semi-colon, period, or full stop. In short, each line naturally completes a small unit of meaning.

Allusion

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize. ex: In Led Zeppelin's Misty Mountain Hop, the final verse contains the lines: "So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains / where the spirits go now/ over the hills where the spirits fly." This (as well as the actual title of the song itself) is a direct reference to the "Misty Mountains" of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

Chiasmus

a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures and word choice in order to produce an artistic effect. Ex: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You" "Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live." "Do I love you because you're beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you?"

Epigraph

a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work Ex: Remarque's opening to All Quiet. "This book is to be neither an accusation nor an adventure..

Parable

a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson Here's another formal definition: A story or short narrative designed to reveal allegorically some religious principle, moral lesson, psychological reality, or general truth. Rather than using abstract discussion, a ________ always teaches by comparison with real or literal occurrences--especially "homey" everyday occurrences a wide number of people can relate to. Well-known examples include those found in the synoptic Gospels, such as "The Prodigal Son" and "The Good Samaritan." Note: The main difference between a __________ and a fable is that fables tend to have elements of fantasy (talking animals, etc.). These tend to be rooted more in human, realistic events.

Antithesis

a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced Often a type of balanced sentence. Ex: small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.

Argument

a statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work EX: To Kill a Mockingbird shows how one's true character is too often overlooked due to the stereotypes and prejudices of society. NOTE: The term argument is often interchangeable with the term theme. NOTE: Often, argument is used in place of theme when discussing non-fiction works. The argument of Zale's essay, "What's Next for Suburbia?" is that ultimately, greed and consumption will destroy the nuclear family.

Narrative

a story or narrated account. Pretty much every story is considered a _________. The term can often be used as a nice replacement word for: story, tale, plot, account, etc. EX: Throughout Paul's _________, the reader is exposed to the harshness and brutality of the battlefield. However, a ___________ is not a novel or a book. Rather, novels and books often contain _________.

Frame Device

a story within a story...typically used to set up the main narrative. An example is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the pilgrimage to Canterbury. As the pilgrims walk to Canterbury, each has his/her story told. Another example would be Forrest Gump--most of the film is told by Forrest sitting on a park bench, recounting his narrative to the growing crowd around him. Forrest talking to strangers, sitting on the park bench, people gathering around him to hear makes up the story within a story.

Philipic

a strong verbal denunciation. a spoken or written diatribe against whatever it is you feel that strongly about--be it a person, an idea, or a course of action pretty similar to an invective (a strong verbal attack). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout describes how she pulled on one of the townspeople's sleeves to find out what was going on and "received a _______about [her] family's moral degradation." Diatribe, Invective, Verbal Attack

Implication

a suggestion an author or speaker makes without stating it directly.

Absolute

a word free from limitations or qualifications (best, unique, all, perfect) ex: that is the WORST unicorn burrito I have ever eaten.

Onomatopoeia

a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting. For instance, saying, "The gushing stream flows in the forest" is a more meaningful description than just saying, "The stream flows in the forest." The reader is drawn to hear the sound of a "gushing stream" which makes the expression more effective. In addition to the sound they represent, many words of this kind have developed meanings of their own. For example, "whisper" not only represents the sound of people talking quietly, but also describes the action of people talking quietly. The buzzing bee flew away. The sack fell into the river with a splash. The books fell on the table with a loud thump. he rustling leaves kept me awake. The different sounds of animals are also considered as examples. You will recognize the following sounds easily: Meow Moo Tweet Neigh Oink

Eulogy

a written tribute to a person recently deceased. It is a commendation or high praise intended to give honor, generally to a dead family member or loved one, or it is a tribute given to a dead person at his or her funeral.

Idiom

an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect Ex: It's raining cats and dogs. That was a blessing in disguise Whatever, girls like Rosaline are a dime a dozen Go ahead and buy it, but mark my words, that boat's gonna be an albatross around your neck She's the apple of my eye That ostrich is as dead as a doornail Here's some food for thought I'm always putting my foot in my mouth. Until then, my noble friend, chew upon this...

Oxymoron

an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined: ex: Bittersweet Controlled variable Friendly fire Living dead Biggie Smalls Note: many times, these are paradoxical.

Epitaph

an inscription on a tombstone or burial place Ex: "Here Lies Royal O'reilly Tannenbaum: Died tragically rescuing his family from a destroyed, sinking battleship"

Figurative Language

any language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.) This concept is essentially being employed any time an author moves his/her writing beyond literal description...it's a big umbrella term. Julio stared at the bleeding sunset as the waves peeled back from the sticky fingers of the humiliated beach.

Pedantic

characterized by an excessive display of learning or scholarship an to describe something that is trying to come across as overly smart, sophisticated, and learned. For example: A _______way of saying that "you are dim-witted fool," could be: "you are an individual with a cerebral cortex of limited function." Here's a good one. Rather than saying "Your half-assed attempt failed," a ________rephrasing would be "your demi-buttocked endeavor was unsuccessful." Sometimes, an author will create a ________character to make them come across as unlikeable, snobby, etc.

Literary License

deviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect (intentional sentence fragments, run-ons, misspellings, etc.) Pretty much any time an author breaks the normal rules.

Epiphany

hat moment in the story where a character achieves realization, awareness, or a feeling of knowledge, after which events are seen through the prism of this new light in the story.

Surreal

in its simplest form, means: bizarre or dreamlike. Stems from surrealism: an artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control

Hyperbole

intentional exaggeration to create an effect Ex: It is going to take a bazillion years to get through Medical School. I am so hungry I could eat a horse. He's like 900 years old. I've told you a million times, "don't exaggerate." If I don't get these jeans, I will DIE!..literally

Dialect

is the language used by the people of a specific area, class, district, or any other group of people. The term involves the spelling, sounds, grammar and pronunciation used by a particular group of people and it distinguishes them from other people around them.

Tautology

needless repetition which adds no meaning or understanding Typically refers to a simple, redundant phrase or combination of words. EX: Free gift Those ones Short summary Over-exaggerate

End Rhyme

occurs when the last syllables or words in two or more lines rhyme with each other.

Juxtaposition

placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast. ex: -A picture of a fluffy kitten sitting on a pile of broken glass -An old woman holding a newborn baby.-Big guy on a small bike. -An innocent and pure character being thrust into a dark and twisted world.

Consonance

refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. This repetition often takes place in quick succession, such as in "pitter, patter."

Anachronism

something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time ex- A movie set in the old west where a character forgets to remove their digital watch -An airplane visible in a movie set in Biblical times -Shakespeare referring to clocks sounding in ancient Rome -Referencing a modern idea or event in a piece of art set in an earlier time.

Connotation

the implied or associative meaning of a word Swine = someone awful

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word Swine = a pig

Climax

the part of the plot where the tension or action hits the highest point

Deductive Reasoning

the process of reasoning from one or more statements (premises) to reach a logically certain conclusion. Ex: All men are mortal. (First premise) Socrates is a man. (Second premise) Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (Conclusion)

Alliteration

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words ex: the big ball bounced by Bob's bagel bakery. Just another Alaskan attempt at answers.

Anaphora

the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences Here's an example from Lord Byron's Marino Faliero: Strike as I would Have struck those tyrants! Strike deep as my curse! Strike! and but once Also an example: MLK's "I have a Dream":

Polysyndeton

the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural: Ex: We ran, and jumped, and flew, and swam, and lived, and laughed, and loved. We could go to the store, or to the mall, or to the beach, or to a movie, or to a coffee shop. adds emphasis and weight and importance to each topic

Antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. He=Doug She=Nancy It= Traci's 1974 Ford Mustang Them=The Atwater family etc.

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter.