IB Lang Lit

Allegory

A narrative that has two separate meanings.

Alliteration

Where two or more words begin with the same sound and occur in sequence.

Allusion

A reference to something completely separate from the text in which it appears.

Ambiguity

When a word or phrase has a double meaning.

Ambivalence

Having mixed feelings about something.

Analogy

Illustrating the subject under discussion by making a parallel comparison.

Analysis

The detailed study and explanation of a text.

Anecdote

The recounting of a small incident to illustrate a point; sometimes humorous.

Anthropomorphism

Talking or writing about animals as though they were human beings.

Aphorism

A pithy observation which contains a general truth. For example "the child is father to the man." or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Proverb

a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice.

Epigram

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.

Appeal

An appeal is a text, usually part of a campaign, most often aiming to fundraise.

Association of ideas

When one idea calls to mind another, often used in advertising.

Assonance

Where two or more similar vowel sounds within words occur in sequence. For example "with wise lies lure me."

Atmosphere

A general way of describing mood.

Ballad

A long, narrative poem characterised by regularity of rhythm and rhyme.

Bathos

Comic device where a climax is met with something unimportant and anticlimactic.

Bias

Promoting one specific point of view in a text and deliberately excluding others.

Cacophony

Unpleasant, inharmonious sound effect.

Caesura

A pause or break in the middle of a line of verse

Campaign

A series or collection of different text types with one specific aim, frequently used in fundraising and in advertising.

Caption

Brief text accompanying and explaining and image.

Caricature

An exaggerated depiction of a person.

Catharsis

The effect on the audience of the downfall of the tragic hero/ine; a feeling of relief or pity.

Characterisation

The way a writer creates a character in order to convince the reader.

Colloquial

Informal language; often specific to a particular social, local or age-related group.

Comedy

A broad literary genre which ends happily or satisfactorily.

Comic exaggeration

Exaggeration for humorous effect.

Commentary

Close, detailed description of a literary or non-literary text. This can be either written or oral and in both cases is structured as an essay.

Connotation

The connotations of a word are its secondary meanings, overtones and implications.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds at the end of a word often found in poetry and in advertisements.

Conventions

The particular aspects of language use that typify a text type are called its language conventions. They are the aspects of language use you would expect to find in a given text type. For example, persuasive devices in an advertisement.

Consistency

Using idea that a good intelectual position cannot be contradictory.

Critique

A reasoned criticism of a piece of writing.

Dialogue

A conversation between two people.

Diction

Choice of vocabulary and phrases; for instance, can be conversational, rhetorical, formal or informal.

Dissonance

Organisation of words that is not harmonious but discordant.

Dramatic irony

Occurs in plays where the audience knows more about the events than the characters do. As such the characters do not understand the magnitude of what they are saying, but the audience does.

Editorial

The article in a newspaper or journal which expresses the publication's opinions on the news.

Elegy

A formal literary tribute to someone who has died.

Emotive

Creating emotion in the reader; not simply describing emotion.

End rhyme

Where rhyme occurs at the end of lines of verse.

Enjambement

Where one line of poetry runs into the next.

Ethos

Authoritative observation and opinion. - References to reliable sources to support and argument.

Eye rhyme

Where words look the same but sound different.

Fable

A story with a moral, intending to teach a lesson. George Orwell called Animal Farm a fable.

Figurative language

Language that is not literal.

Flashback

Event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.

Foreshadowing

Writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

Form

In poetry, usually the arrangement of lines and stanzas.

Genre

The word used to describe a literary text type.

Historical allusion

Reference to historical information (citing, referring to facts, or interpretations)

Homonym

A word with more than one meaning, often used in puns.

Homophone

A word that sounds the same as another but is spelt differently.

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration.

Iambic metre

A rhythmical pattern of two syllables with emphasis on the second. One unit of iambic metre is called a foot.

Iambic pentameter

Five iambic feet

Imagery

Words that create a picture in the reader's mind, to make the thing being described clearer or more vivid.

Inclusive/ exclusive language

Encouraging the reader to identify with (inclusive) or want to separate from (exclusive) particular ideas.

Internal rhyme

Where rhyme appears in the middle of lines.

Interpretation

An understanding of the meaning of a text.

Irony

Saying one thing and meaning another.

Layout

The way a text is presented on a page (applies to media rather than literary texts).

Lexical set

Repeated reference to one kind of imagery to create an overall effect.

Lexis

Vocabulary

Liturgical

Language typical of prayer and religion

Lyrics

The words of a song

Lyrical

With song-like effect. (Expressing writer's emotions in imaginative/beautiful way)

Lyricism

Artist's expression of emotion in an imaginative and beautiful way

Metaphor

A comparison in which the thing being described is said to be something else to make the description more vivid.

Metre

Rhythm or beat

Monologue

A piece of writing which is meant to be spoken by one person.

Mood

The feeling that is created in a text.

Motif

A recurring idea or image in a text.

Narrative

A story

Narrative technique

Provide deeper meaning for the reader and help the reader use imagination to visualize situations

Narrative verse

Poetry that tells a story

Narrative voice

The point of view in which the plot is narrated.

Narrator

The person who tells the story.

Onomatopoeia

Where a word sounds like the sound it is describing

Oxymoron

A description of something which appears to be its opposite, or impossible. e.g. an open secret.

Paradox

A statement which seems to be self-contradictory but upon reflection is logical - e.g. there's no success like failure.

Parody

An intimidation of a person intending to ridicule them.

Pastoral

Describing a rural scene in an idealised, simple way; attributing idyllic qualities to the countryside and innocence to those who live there.

Pathos

Emotional appeal. When a feeling of pity is created in a visual or written text.

Personification

Giving human characteristics to something which is not human. Example: The sunlight danced on the rippling water

Persuasive language

Language used to encourage the reader to think or act in a particular way.

Plot

The plan and development of a narrative

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work

Pun

A play on words.

Quatrain

A four-line stanza.

Rationale

A reasoned explanation of a text.

Reciprocity

Appealing to justice by arguing that obligations should be mutual.

Refrain

A repeated section, usually in poetry.

Repetition

Saying or writing something more than once for a specific effect.

Rhetoric

The conventions of speaking for an audience

Rhetorical questions

Asking questions without expecting answers to emphasise a point. - make reader reflect

Rhyme

The pattern of rhyme in a poem, usually at the end of the lines.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhyme in a poem, usually at the end of the lines