AICE English Language - Literary Terms

Allusion

a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event -- real or fictional

Genre

a category of artistic composition, as in film or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content

Extended Metaphor

a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, the whole for a part, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or even the material for the thing made from it

Understatement

a figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common

Personification

a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities

Hyperbole

a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side

Metonymy

a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated with (e.g. "crown" for "royalty)

Simile

a figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as"

Idiom

a figure of speech that, when translated to another language, does not maintain its culturally/socially accepted meaning

Parody

a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule

Sarcasm

a mocking, often ironic or satirical remark

Symbol

a person, place, action, or thing that represents something other than itself

Ethos

a persuasive appeal based on the projected character of the speaker or narrator

Rhetorical question

a question asked merely for effect with no answer expected

Comparison

a rhetorical strategy in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or objects

Hypophora

a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a question and then immediately answers it

Apostrophe

a rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing

Flashback

a shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts from the normal chronological development of a story

Paradox

a statement that appears to contradict itself

Aphorism

a tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; a brief statement of a principle

Satire

a text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity

Chiasmus

a verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the reversed

Pun

a word employed in two senses, or a word used in a context that suggests a second term sounding like it. Puns are usually used for comic effect

Tone

a writer's attitude toward the subject and audience. It is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality

Repetition

an instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage -- dwelling on a point

Colloquial

characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English

Invective

denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something

Logos

employs logical reasoning, combining a clear idea with well-thought-out and appropriate examples and details. These supports are logically presented and rationally reach the writer's conclusion

Didactic

intended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively

Figurative Language

language in which figures of speech (e.g. metaphors, similes, and hyperbole) freely occur

Climax

mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events

Style

narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing

Prose

ordinary writing (fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse

Juxtaposition

placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast

Analogy

reasoning or arguing from parallel cases

Meiosis

the Greek term for understatement of belittling; a rhetorical figure by which something is referred to in terms less important than it really deserves

Diction

the choice and use of words in speech or writing; a way of speaking, usually assessed in terms of prevailing standards of pronunciation and elocution

Denotation

the direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings

Connotation

the emotional implications and associations that a word may carry

Onomatopoeia

the formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to

Assonance

the identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words

Antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases

Thesis

the main idea of an essay or report, often written as a single declarative sentence

Pathos

the means of persuasion that appeals to the audience's emotions

Asyndeton

the omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses

Refutation

the part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view

Conjunction

the part of speech that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences

Point of View

the perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information

Mood

the quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject; the emotion evoked by a text

Voice

the quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active) or is acted upon (passive); the distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator

Epiphora (epistrophe)

the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses

Alliteration

the repetition of an initial consonant sound

Anaphora

the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses

Parallelism

the similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Jargon

the specialized language of a professional, occupation, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders

Rhetoric

the study and practice of effective persuasion in speaking or writing

Syntax

the study of the rules that govern the way words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences; the arrangement of words in a sentence

Euphemism

the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit

Irony

the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea

Figures of Speech

the various uses of language that depart from customary construction, order, or significance

Imagery

vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses