AP Lang Literary Terms

euphemism

"good speech" --> a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. ex. saying "earthly remains" rather than "corpse"

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. ex. "He was a real Romeo with the ladies." Romeo was a character in Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.

clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause, cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. The point that you want to consider is the question or what or why the author uses subordination. ex. "When I reached the station" is a dependent clause because it needs to be completed by an independent clause. "The train had left" is an independent clause because it can stand alone. The full clause statement should be "when I reached the station, the train had left."

cliché

An expression that has been used so often it has lost its freshness and precision. ex. "all for one, and one for all" or "sent a shiver down my spine"

thesis

In expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position. Expository writing is usually judged by analyzing how accurately, effectively, and thoroughly a writer has proven the thesis. ex. Thesis: "Romeo and Juliet, including teenagers in general, could be characterized as immature, unpredictable, and emotionally intense people." Now the three body paragraphs can go on explaining how Romeo and Juliet are just like adolescents; how are they immature, unpredictable, and emotionally intense people?

deus ex machina

In modern drama and fiction, any forced or artificial device introduced by an author to solve some difficult problem with the resolution of a plot. ex. a last minute reprieve saves the hero from wrongful execution

verisimilitude

The appearance of truth, actuality, or reality; what seems to be true in fiction. An aspect of a fiction work that seems true. "realistic fiction" ex. Mark Twain in "Adventure of Huckleberry Fin" successfully achieves verisimilitude or resemblance to a reality by to showing realistically how the "negroes" [Black Americans] talked in real life: "I didn't want to go back no more. I had stopped cussing, because the widow didn't like it; but now I took to it again because pap hadn't no objections... But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick'ry, and I could't stand it. I was all over with welts. He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in. Once he locked me in and was gone three days. It was dreadful lonesome."

colloquial

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects. ex. "y'all - you all" or "look blue -look sad"

figure of speech

a device used to produce figurative language ex. hyperbole, irony, oxymoron

simile

a figure of speech that uses "like," "as," or "as if" to compare two essentially different objects, actions, or attributes that share some aspect of similarity. (direct comparison) ex. "she's as tall as the tree"

paradox

a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense BUT upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. ex. In George Orwell's Animal Farm, one part of the cardinal rule is the statement, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". This statement seems to not make any sense. However, on closer examination, it gets clear that Orwell points out a political truth. The government in the novel claims that everyone is equal but it has never treated everyone equally. It is the concept of equality stated in this paradox that is opposite to the common belief of equality.

aphorism

a terse statement of a principle or truth, usually an observation of life; a maxim ex. The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. [William Faulkner] In life, you have to get through the small obstacles to reach your goals.

anaphora

repetition, the intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect. ex. "My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration."

repetition

the exact duplication of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. ex. Bill Clinton: "When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it."

anachronism

"against time" --> an event, object, custom, person, or thing that is out of its natural order of time ex. "Brutus: Peace! Count the clock. Cassius: The clock has stricken three." The time this play depicts is a point in history dating back to 44 AD. Mechanical clocks referred to in the above-mentioned dialogue had not been invented at that time but were present in Shakespeare's time. Thus, the mention of a clock in this play is an anachronism.

parallelism

"beside one another" --> grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give STRUCTURAL SIMILARITY. ex. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of believe, it was the epoch of incredulity..." (Charles Dickens)

metonymy

"changed label" or substitute name" --> a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. ex. a news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "the President declared"

leitmotif

"guiding motif" --> the repetition of a significant word, phrase, theme, or image throughout a novel or play, which functions as a unifying element. ex. Schindler's List movie, the little blonde girl in the red coat (keep in mind that this was a black and white movie) was shown throughout several instances in the movie representing the millions that died in the holocaust

in media res

"in the middle of things" --> the term describes the narrative practice of starting a story in the middle of the action to involve the reader, and then using one or more flashbacks to fill in what led up to that point (foreshadow). ex. Deadpool movie w/ Ryan Reynolds- The advantage of starting a story in the middle, and then doubling back to the same point is the ability to hook the audience immediately, without any exposition, plopping him down right in the middle of the action.

rhetoric

"orator" --> this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively. ex. "Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."—Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream speech

hyperbole

"overshoot" --> a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperboles often have a comic effect; however, a serious effect is also possible. Often, hyperbole produces irony. The opposite of hyperbole is understatement. ex. "my grandmother is as old as the hills" or "your suitcase weighs a ton"

oxymoron

"pointedly foolish" --> a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a condensed paradox. ex. "jumbo shrimp" or "cruel kindness"

syllogism

"reckoning together" --> a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (major & minor) that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. (hint: think of the transitive property in geometry if that helps, A --> B, B --> C, therefore A --> C) ex. major premise: "All men are mortal," minor premise: "Socrates is a man," conclusion: "Socrates is mortal"

homily

"sermon" --> can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. ex. "Perhaps many of you grew up during the depression. If so, you know what it means to be poor. I did not grow up during the depression, but I grew up in a poor family. I can remember one Christmas when both of my parents were out of work, and we had no money. Concerned parishioners brought Christmas baskets to our house. It was a humbling and difficult experience for my parents. The year before, my father had helped to distribute baskets to other poor people. Now it was our turn." (Father Bill Messenger from Eugene's Parish 1984) The priest is sharing his personal experience to allow the readers understand the meanings of his scripture.

semantics

"significant" or "having a meaning" --> the branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another. ex. consider the word "white." The word probably conjures up a color without hue. But there are numerous uses of the word white in which the sense of "white" is relative to other things. Here is a short list of ways in which we use the word white: White wine White skin White noise White lie "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita." (Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov) The opening lines to Vladimir Nabokov's creepy masterpiece Lolita are an excellent semantic example in which the narrator Humbert contemplates the different names both he and the world give his young lover. Her given name is Dolores ("on the dotted line"), and she has different names at school and with Humbert. Each of these names is a different representation of her personality.

zeitgeist

"spirit of the age" --> the moral, emotional, or intellectual climate or tendency characteristic of a period or era. ex. moral earnestness, restraint, respectability, smugness, and hypocrisy could be said to constitute the zeitgeist of Victorian England.

didactic

"teaching" --> didactic words have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles ex. In the poem "If," Rudyard Kipling lays out the different ways that his son can become a man, and to live well in the world. The final stanza, in which Kipling brings his lesson to a close, provides the strong conclusion for both his son and any readers that if they just follow these guidelines they will have a good life, by Kipling's standards. This is a didacticism example because it presents a clear message about how to live morally, at least in Kipling's views.

invocation

"to summon" or "to call upon" --> at the beginning of an epic, an appeal to a god or goddess for inspiration. ex. Homer's Odyssey, for instance, begins "Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven far journeys, after he had sacked Troy's sacred citadel. Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea, struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions."

pedantic

"to teach or to act as pedagogue" --> an adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. ex. Mr. Smith talked for the whole class period about the article about his experiment that he was having published in a magazine. His students yawned and fought off sleep as he bored them with the importance and extreme details of all the action steps of his experiment.

sarcasm

"to tear flesh" --> involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone of something. It may use irony as a device, BUT NOT ALL ironic statements are sarcastic (that is, intended to ridicule) Good sarcasm can be witty and insightful, while bad sarcasm can be simply cruel. ex. President Barack Obama used sarcasm to mock the rapper Kanye West's announcement that he wants to run for president. However, he didn't just mock Kanye; in the following joke, his sarcasm is targeted only at those who said Obama could never be president: "Do you really think this country is going to elect a black guy from the south side of Chicago with a funny name to be president of the US?"

loose sentence

(non-periodic sentence) a type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses ex. Lewis and Clark finally made it to the Pacific coast, after bitter winters and a close call with the Sioux Indians.

diction

(related to style) refers to the writer's word choices , especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. ex. "Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu." It is more formal to use "adieu" than to say "goodbye"

antithesis

1. a figure of speech in which opposing or contrasting ideas are balanced against each other in grammatically parallel syntax ex. -Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness. -It was the best of times, it was the worst of times 2. in reasoning by means of argument, known as dialect, the antithesis is the statement of the opposing viewpoint ex. Thesis: the money should be spent on a new gymnasium Antithesis: no, the money should be spent on an auditorium Synthesis: let's build a new gymnasium and make the old gym into an auditorium

voice

A term used in literary criticism to identify the sense a written work conveys to a reader of its writer's attitude, personality, and character. As is the case with the closely related term tone, voice reflects the habit of thinking of writing as a mode of speech. Inexperienced writers are often instructed to "get more of your own voice into your writing." ex. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, is a very good example of a character's voice, in which a character, Scout narrates the whole story. Though she is an adult, she tells her story from her childhood's point of view. When she grows older, her language becomes more sophisticated. Scout uses first person narrative to create a realistic sense, as audience notices the child grows up. Her dialogue allows readers to hear the language of younger Scout. Also, it enables the readers to feel the voice of an adult in her actions as well thinking.

symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else. Usually, it is something concrete -- such as an object, action, character, or scene - that represents something more abstract. However, symbols and symbolism can be much more complex. 1) natural symbols: objects and occurrences from nature to symbolize ideas commonly associated with them ex. rose symbolizing love 2) conventional symbols: invested with meaning by a group ex. religious symbols such as a cross or Star of David; national symbols such as a flag or an eagle; or group symbols, such as a skull and crossbones for pirates or the scale of justice for lawyers 3) literary symbols: sometimes also conventional in the sense that they are found in a variety of works and are more generally recognized, but it is usually a symbol that is displayed throughout the book. ex. the jungle in Heart of Darkness letter A (adultery) in The Scarlet Letter

ethos

In rhetoric, ethos represents credibility or an ethical appeal which involves persuasion by the character involved. ex. "Doctors all over the world recommend this type of treatment." People tend to believe the opinions of doctors in the matter of medical treatments.

anecdote

a brief narrative of an entertaining and presumably true incident; a story ex. "Sarah is sitting at her kitchen table, filling out her fifth college application. She already knows the basic routine of filling out the application. Then comes the part that makes her want to roll into a ball like an armadillo; submitting her standardized test scores. Her scores were not as decent as she had wanted, but after several failed attempts to try and improve them, these results were all she had. As she slips her application papers into the large yellow envelope, a thought runs through her head: "I am so much more than a bunch of bubbles filled in with a No. 2 pencil!" Feeling bereft and tentative, she drops the envelope into the blue mailbox outside the post office. The threat of rejection hung in the air like a dense fog." (taken also retouched from my standardized test speech)

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part. (DIFF FROM METONYMY) ex. to refer to a boat as a "sail"; to refer to a car as "wheels"; to refer to violins, violas, etc. in an orchestra as "the strings"

onomatopoeia

a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. ex. buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, murmur

personification

a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, abstract ideas, plants, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. ex. Taken from Act I, Scene II of "Romeo and Juliet": "When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads." There are two personification examples here. April cannot put on a dress, and winter does not limp and it does not have a heel on which a month can walk. Shakespeare personifies the month of April and the winter season by giving them two distinct human qualities.

apostrophe

a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction. It addresses to someone or something that cannot answer. ex. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky." In the above nursery rhyme, a child addresses a star (an imaginary idea).

metaphor

a figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things of the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. ex. Her voice is music to his ears. (This implies that her voice makes him feel happy)

chiasmus

a form of antithesis (a grammatically balanced statement of contrasting or opposing ideas) in which the second half of the statement inverts the word order of the first half, as in: ex. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Note that antithesis refers to contrasting ideas, whereas chiasmus refers to inverting the actual words.

litotes

a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite. (opposite of hyperbole) sounds like "little tee" ex. to say "not a bad idea" instead of "good idea" or "not many" instead of "few" or "she is no fool" instead of "she is wise"

pun

a form of wit, not necessarily funny, involving a play on a word with two or more meanings. ex. Romeo: "Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles; I have a soul of lead" (Romeo and Juliet) (sole + soul = homophones)

logos

a literary device that can be defined as a statement, sentence or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic. ex. "Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation". (Of Studies by Francis Bacon) Bacon argues that a reader is better than those who cling to what they already know. He uses logic that reading is necessary because it improves the skills

extended metaphor

a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work ex. "Shall I Compare Thee to a summer's Day" (William Shakespeare) "Sonnet 18," also known as "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day," is an extended metaphor between the love of the speaker and the fairness of the summer season. He writes that "thy eternal summer," here taken to mean the love of the subject, "shall not fade."

ambiguity

a negative term applied to a vague or equivocal expression when precision would be more useful. However, it can be a powerful device that could open up multiple possible meanings. ex. It's ambiguous to say "I rode a black horse in red pajamas," because it may lead us to think the horse was wearing red pajamas. The sentence becomes clear when it is restructured "Wearing red pajamas, I rode a black horse."

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action idea, object, or situation (in literature & film) that appears in various works (refers to a recurrent theme) or throughout the same work (refers to a leitmotif sometimes). ex. The central idea of the co-existence of good and evil in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird" is supported by several motifs. Lee strengthens the atmosphere by a motif of Gothic details i.e. recurrent images of gloomy and haunted settings, supernatural events, full moon etc. Another motif in the narrative is the small town life of Maycomb, which depicts goodness and pleasantness in life.

periodic sentence

a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end (opposite of loose sentences). This independent clause in preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone. ex. After bitter winters and a close call with the Sioux Indians, Lewis and Clark finally made it to the Pacific coast.

analogy

a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them ex. Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.

persona

a term used in literary criticism to refer to the voice (or mask), created by the author, through which a story is told. The persona is NOT the author (the person who sits down to write), but a "second self," an artistic creation through whom the author speaks. ex. An excerpt from "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad: "Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration...., and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, 'When I grow up I will go there...... Well, I haven't been there yet, and shall not try now. The glamour's off.... well, we won't talk about that......" Here, Conrad (author) is telling us through Marlow (character in book) about his own visit to the Congo and his experiences of sailing to distant places and his boyhood ambition of sailing. Hence, Marlow is used as a persona in this novel.

equivoque

a type of pun involving a word being used so that it means two different things at once (ambiguous) ex. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says as he dies, "Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man."

caricature

a verbal description, the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics. "exaggeration of the natural features" ex. The pupils of her eyes are small; like a pebble of sand floating atop a can of blue paint.

flashback

a way of presenting (fiction and film) scenes or incidents that took place before the opening scene ex. "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem's fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury." (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) Harper Lee's masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird is told entirely in flashback from the main character Scout's perspective. Lee opens the novel with this flashback example, and immediately sets the reader in the mindset of a child, especially Jem's worries about being able to play football or not.

transition

a word or a phrase that links different ideas, used especially in expository and argumentative writing (effectively signals a shift from one idea to another) ex. furthermore, consequently, nevertheless, likewise, etc.

parody

a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. ex. TV series Family Guy <-- several characters and even episodes are parodies.

satire

a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. can be recognized by the following devices: irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement, and sarcasm. ex. John Oliver's Tonight Show shows good satire (often humorous) w/ a bit of both Horatian and Juvenile. Horatian satire- gentle, amused, and mildy corrective Juvenile satire- harsh, biting, bitter, full of moral indignation and contempt

invective

an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language; lacks the wit of satire. ex. Shakespearean writing in The Tragedy of King Lear. Scene II of King Lear, in which Kent declares that Oswald is: "A knave, a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave... and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch..."

naïve narrator

an uncomprehending character in a work of fiction (a child, a simple-minded adult) who narrates the story w/o realizing its true implications. The reader knows more about what is actually going on than the narrator does; the effect is often a sense of irony or pathos. ex. the Catcher in the Rye by Holden Caulfield or Room by Emma Donoghue (completely narrated by a five year old child)

point of view

in literature, the perspective from which a story is told. 1) first-person narrator: tells the story with the first person pronoun, "I," and is a character in the story. (can be protagonist, a secondary character, or an observing character). ex. "I felt like I was getting drowned with shame and disgrace." 2) third-person narrator: relates the events with the third person pronouns, "he," "she," and "it." ex. "Mr. Stewart is a principled man. He acts by the book and never lets you deceive him easily." a. third-person omniscient: the narrator, with godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters. ex. The narrator in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, is an omniscient one, who scrutinizes the characters and narrates the story in a way that shows the readers that he has more knowledge about characters than they have knowledge about themselves. Though narrator is an omniscient one, however, he is also a subjective narrator, meaning the readers form their own opinions about the things that take place. b. third-person limited omniscient: narrator presents the feelings and thoughts of ONLY one character, presenting ONLY the actions of all the remaining characters. ex. "Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous ...but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly...The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high?" (An Excerpt from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling) Rowling employs omniscient limited narrator in which readers see what Harry observes, and know what he feels and thinks. They, however, are unable to follow what Dursleys feel or think about Harry, though can clearly see what Harry thinks and feels about them.

wit

in modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. A witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the speaker's verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks. Wit usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement. ex. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." ~Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is a delicate exotic fruit, touch it and the bloom is gone." ~The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

prose

one of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction (novels) and non-fiction (biographies & essays), including all its forms. In prose the printer determines the length of the line; in poetry, the poet determines the length of the line. ex. Poem Form: Read this from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" written by Robert Frost. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep." Prose Form: "The woods look lovely against the setting darkness and as I gaze into the mysterious depths of the forest, I feel like lingering here longer. However, I have pending appointments to keep and much distance to cover before I settle in for the night or else I will be late for all of them." The above paragraph is conveying a similar message but it is conveyed in ordinary language, without a formal metrical structure to bind it.

tone

similar to mood and voice, tone describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author's tone. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, somber, etc. ex. Father: "We are going on a vacation." Son: "That's great!!!" The tone of son's response is very cheerful.

theme

the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. Usually theme in unstated in fictional works, but in nonfiction, the theme may be directly stated, especially in expository or argumentative writing. ex. Love and friendship are frequently occurring themes in literature. They generate emotional twists and turns in a narrative and can lead to a variety of endings: happy, sad or bittersweet. The following are famous literary works with love and friendship themes: -Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare -Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen -Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

consonance

the close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds ex. "leave/love" or "short/shirt" pingpong, fulfill, tiptop

assonance

the close repetition of middle vowel sounds between different consonant sounds. ex. Men sell the wedding bells." The same vowel sound of the short vowel "-e-" repeats itself in almost all the words excluding the definite article. The words do share the same vowel sounds but start with different consonant sounds UNLIKE alliteration that involves repetition of the same consonant sounds.

malapropism

the comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound but quite different in meaning. ex. Mrs. Malaprop said, "Illiterate him quite from your memory" (obliterate) and "She's as headstrong as an allegory" (alligator).

style

the consideration of style has two purposes: 1) An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices. We can analyze and describe an author's personal style and make judgments on how appropriate it is to the author's purpose. Styles can be called flowery, explicit, succinct, rambling, bombastic, commonplace, incisive, laconic, etc. ex. A drop fell on the apple tree, Another on the roof, And made the gables laugh, The breezes brought dejected lutes, And bathed them in the glee; And signed the fete away. (Summer Shower by Emily Dickinson) This poem is giving an example of descriptive style. Emily gives a description of a summer rainstorm in detail and visualizes with images so that the readers could visualize this storm in their own minds as if it is actually happening. 2) Classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors. By means of such classification and comparison, we can see how an author's style reflects and helps to define a historical period, such as the Renaissance or the Victorian period, or a literary movement, such as the romantic, transcendental, or realist movement. ex. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, two transcendentalists, express their similar feelings towards realism and how society corrupts good values of the young, etc.

irony

the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. 1) verbal irony- (sarcasm) when the words literally state the opposite of the writer's meaning ex. Saying "Oh, fantastic!" when the situation is actually very poor 2) situational irony- when events turn out the opposite of what was expected, when what the characters and readers think ought to happen is not what does happen. ex. A man who's in need of medical assistance is run over by the ambulance. 3) dramatic irony- when facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of function but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work. ex. In a scary movie, the character walks into a house and the audience knows the killer is in the house. 4) Socratic irony- the feigned ignorance of another's point of view in order to draw that person out and refute his/her arguments. One who pretends a willingness to learn for the sake of exposing an opponent's errors. ex. when a person pretends to be completely ignorant about a topic in an argument just to get an upper hand in the argument (gets what he/she wants).

atmosphere

the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. ex. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore - While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door - "Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door - Only this and nothing more." (The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe) In this excerpt, the experience of readers is suspenseful and exciting while anticipating horror due to feelings within the narrative. As we see a character hears tapping on the door and when opens it, he finds nobody there except darkness; making the atmosphere fearful.

understatement

the ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and emphatic. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. ex. "Oh, I mean I guess it happened but seriously it's no big deal"

genre

the major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama. However, genre is a flexible term; within these broad boundaries exist many subdivisions that are often called genres themselves. ex. -prose can be divided into fiction (novels and short stories) or nonfiction (essays, biographies, autobiographies, etc.). -poetry can be divided into lyric, dramatic, narrative, epic, etc. -drama can be divided into tragedy, comedy, melodrama, farce, etc.

connotation

the non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning, involving ideas, emotions, or attitudes. ex. the word "mother" literally means "a female parent," but it connotes warmth, love, sympathy, security, and nurture.

mood

the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. Setting, tone, and events can affect the mood. Similar to tone and atmosphere. ex. Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in his novel "Pickwick Papers": "The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on."

pathos

the quality in a work of art or literature that arouses feelings of sympathy, pity, or sorrow in the viewer or reader. ex. In chapter 8 of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer: "He had meant the best in the world, and been treated like a dog—like a very dog. She would be sorry someday—maybe when it was too late. Ah, if he could only die TEMPORARILY!" Tom arouses feelings of pity in readers' minds by telling how the girl, whom he loved, treated him like an animal despite his honest feelings for her. He wishes he had died and then she would feel sorry for him.

alliteration

the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words. ex "sally sells seashells by the seashore"

imagery

the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses: visual (sight), auditory (hear), tactile (touch), gustatory (taste) , and olfactory (smell). On a broader or deeper level, however, one image can represent more than one thing. ex. a rose may present visual imagery while also representing the color in a woman's cheeks and/or symbolizing some degree of perfection.

denotation

the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. ex. the word "gold" may suggest riches, power, and greed, its denotative meaning is precisely, "a malleable, ductile, yellow trivalent and univalent metallic element."

foreshadow

the technique of (literature and film) giving hints or clues that suggest or prepare for events that occur later in the work ex. "Life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love" In the balcony scene, Juliet is concerned about Romeo's safety as she fears her kinsmen may catch him. Romeo says, in the above lines, that he would rather have her love and die sooner than not obtain her love and die later. Eventually, he gets her love and dies for her love, too.

narrative

the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events. ex. "Don Quixote" by Miguel Cervantes is a parody of Romance narratives that dealt with the adventures of a valiant knight.

speaker

the voice of a poem. The poet may be speaking as himself or herself or taking on the role of a fictional character, an animal, or even an object.

syntax

the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as GROUPS OF WORDS, while diction refers to the INDIVIDUAL WORDS. ex. Incorrect - Did you ever speak to him? Yes, I was speaking to him yesterday. Correct - Did you ever speak to him? Yes, I spoke to him yesterday.

antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun ex. Tom Brady plays football in Gillette Stadium. All the teammates have gathered there. "Gillette Stadium" ----> "there"

rhetorical modes

this flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. 1) The purpose of exposition (or expository writing) is to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion. 2) The purpose of argumentation (or persuasive writing) is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader. Persuasive writing is a type of argumentation having an ADDITIONAL aim of urging some form of action. 3) The purpose of description (or descriptive writing) is to recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place, event or action so that the reader can picture that being described. Sometimes an author engages all five senses in description; good descriptive writing can be sensuous and picturesque. Descriptive writing may be straightforward and objective or highly emotional and subjective. 4) The purpose of narration (or narrative writing) is to tell a story or narrate an event or series of events. This writing mode frequently uses the tools of descriptive writing.

generic conventions

this term describes traditions for each genre; certain features shown in texts that can be placed into a specific genre (help to define each genre). for example, they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing. ex. almost all western movies consist of cowboy hats, rifles, and horses to place them in their genre. almost all action movies consist of explosions.

inference

to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. ex. doctor performs a surgery ---> you can infer that the surgery will be a successful outcome because after all he/she is a doctor and it's his/her job to save the patient's life.

allegory

using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. ex. "Animal Farm" uses animals on a farm to describe the overthrow of Russian Tsar Nicholas II & Communist Revolution of Russia before WWI Mr. Jones = Tsar Nicholas II Boxer (horse) = laborer classes, etc.

fable

usually a short and fairly simple story designed to illustrate a moral lesson. The characters are often animals who exhibit human frailties ex. "Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies... and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end.... No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery...." (Animal Farm by George Orwell) Here old Major is speaking to other animals. It is presented as the story of the development and emergence of Soviet communism through an animal fable. He advises the animals to struggle against the humans, telling them that rebellion is the only feasible way out to their miserable situation.

foil

usually, a character who, by contrast, points up the qualities or characteristics of another character. ex. a foolish character (unferth) sets a wise character's wisdom (beowulf) in a stronger light. unferth, who is jealous of beowulf's feats, makes himself look weak and scrawny, making beowulf look big, strong, and heroic.

synesthesia

when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another. In literature, synesthesia refers to the practice of associating two or more different senses in the same image. ex: the phrase "loud colors" or Emily Dickinson in her poem Dying: "With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz, Between the light and me; And then the windows failed, and then could not see to see." She added a visual element of the sound "buzz" by describing it as having blue color.

figurative language

writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid ex. "time is money" <-- metaphor "busy as a bee" <-- simile "the sky misses the sun at night" <-- personification