English Vocab and Grammar test review

Allusion

A brief or indirect reference to a well known person place or figure

Cosmic Irony

Higher power/fate works against human intentions resulting in outcomes that are the opposite of what is to be expected EX. Titanic

Hyperbole

exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally

Litotes

Opposite of the contrary of what you are trying to say EX. “You won’t be disappointed"

Periphrasis

Round about, indirect way of saying things Ex. The sun being described as “The radiant ball of light that brings warmth to the planet”

Metonym

Calls something by something that is closely related to it Ex. “The Crown” for the monarchy

Synecdoche

Calls something by its part Ex. Saying “Those wheels” while referring to a car. The difference between Synecdoche and Metonym is that Synecdoche is a literal part of the object.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows some crucial piece of information that the main character does not Ex. Romeo and Juliet, we know that Juliet isn’t dead but Romeo doesn’t know that

Juxtaposition

Putting two extremes together to compare For instance, if you put a king next to a beggar that would be an example of Juxtaposition, or Good and bad, or elephant and an ant and so on.

Anaphor

When the same word is repeated at the beginning of each line

Epistrophe

When the same word is repeated at the end of each line

Apostrophe

Addressing something that cannot respond Ex. Talking to Death

Oxymoron

Two things that should not go together Deafening Silence

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Allegory

Where a story symbolizes larger ideas (Tortoise and the Hare)

Asyndeton

Lack of conjugations I came, I saw, I conquered (Opposite of Polysyndeton)

Didactic

Writing meant to teach a moral lesson

Catharsis

Emotional reaction in audience

Hubris

Excessive pride leading to one’s downfall

Harmatia

A tragic hero’s fatal flaw

Meter

the overall rhythmic pattern of the poem

Couplet

two verses that have same meter joined by rhyme, forms unit

Conceit

Unusual comparison, complicated

Sibilance

repetition of s or sh sounds.

Caesura

A pause in a line or verse, often found in breaks between paragraphs

Enjambment

The running over of sentences without a grammatical pause

Lyric Poem

Short poem about mood of speaker, first person, invented character

Sonnet

Short lyric poem, 14 lines

Didactic Poem

Poem meant to instruct the reader

Narrative Poem

Poem that tells a story through