IB Lang and Lit Vocab

Figurative Language

language that is meant to be taken imaginatively rather than literally. Examples include devices such as simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and others

Analogy

a comparison that uses something familiar to explain something unfamiliar. Similes and metaphors are types of analogies.

Aphorism

a short statement that expresses a general truth or moral principal. (“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” -Mark Twain)

Apostrophe

speaking directly or calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person OR speaking to a place, a thing, or a personified abstraction (for example, death). It is often used as a dramatic opening or to relate a powerful emotion or thought.

Cliché

an expression used so often it has become stale; often an overused simile or metaphor. (EX: As sharp as a tack, blind as a bat). Basically, if you’ve heard a simile or metaphor before, it’s a cliché.

Conceit

a REALLY long, extended metaphor between two very dissimilar objects

Hyperbole

a figure of speech using deliberate overstatement to make a point

Litotes

an ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary; it will take the form of a double negative (EX: “Good” would become “It’s not bad”; “He’s handsome” would become “he’s not unattractive.”)

Metaphor

a direct comparison between two unlike things made without using “like”, “as” or “than” (EX: All the world’s a stage/ And all the men and women merely players - Shakespeare)

Metonymy

When the name of one object is substituted for another closely associated with it.

Mixed Metaphor

A metaphor that combines two (or more) incompatible images (EX: “These people are the glue that hold together the gears of our society.” ~ Homer Simpson)

Oxymoron

a figure of speech that presents an apparent contradiction that is actually true (EX: living dead, jumbo shrimp, dry ice, virtual reality)

Paradox

a figure of speech that presents an apparent contradiction that is actually true (EX: The pen is mightier than the sword.)

Pathetic Fallacy

a type of personification giving human emotions to nature (EX: “The sea was angry that day.”)

Personification

Giving human OR lifelike characteristics to any inhuman or inanimate thing

Simile

a direct comparison between two dissimilar things using “like”, “as” or “than” (EX: My love is like a red, red rose)

Synesthesia

mingling two senses in a metaphor (EX: “The lilacs have a purple smell”)ynedcoS

Synecdoche

the use of part of something to represent the whole thing

understatement

a statement where less is said than is actually meant (ex: “It’’s just a flesh wound” -Black Knight, after having both of his arms cut off)a

Extended metaphor

a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work

Allusion

a reference to literature, history, events, mythology, art, individuals or places that the reader is expected to recognize. These references evoke emotions, establish character and mood, assist in the setting and convey information not directly explained by the authorA

Atmosphere

the emotional situation created by the entirety of a literacy work, established through setting and details (a synonym for MOOD)

Crisis (Climax)

the point of greatest emotional intensity or suspense in a plot

Narrator

one who tells a story. it is not necessarily the author

Point of view

the position from which a situation is observe

First Person

the narrator is a character in the story and tells the story using “I”

Third Person

The narrator relates events through third person pronouns (he, she, it). The narrator is outside the story.

Omniscient

the narrator is all knowing about all of the characters

Limited Omniscience

the narrator knows all about the emotions, thoughts and actions of one character, and only the actions of the rest

Second Person

The narrator tells the story to another character using “you”; the story is being told through the addressee’s point of view

Mood

the reader’s emotional response to the writing

Juxtaposition

placing two things aide by side for comparison / contrast

motif

an image, word, phrase, action, idea, object or situation that appears repeatedly throughout various works or within the same work (this may also be referred to as an archetype or trope)

setting

the time and location of a narrative

theme

the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express in a literacy work

diction

word choice

concrete words

words denoting objects that can be perceived by the senses (actual tangible things)

abstract words

words denoting intangible concepts like ideas or qualities (love, hate, beauty)

formal diction

language characterized by intellectual vocabulary

informal diction

language closest to everyday conversation (includes colloquialisms, slang, etc)

colloquialism

the use of slang or informal diction in speech and writing

connotation

the nonliteral, implied meanings of a word

denotation

the strict dictionary definition of a word

literal language

words used in their ordinary meanings

monosyllabic

words of one syllable

polysyllabic

words of more than one variable

dialect

A way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people. Dialect is often spelled the way the word is pronounced in a certain region or by a person, as opposed to how the word is actually spelled.

epithet

an adjective or phrase applied to a person to emphasize a personal characteristic or quality

euphemism

greek for “use of good words”; using an indirect statement instead of a direct one in order to avoid being blunt

ambiguity

multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence or passage

idiom

phrases/expressions that aren’t meant to be taken literally

imagery

words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses. Imagery appeals to sight, taste, smell

invective

insulting, abusive, or highly critical language

jargon

the specific language of a group, trade, or occupation (it tends to be complex and difficult to understand)

malapropism

the humorous use of a word that is taken out of context or “mistakenly” used in place of another word

tone

the author’s emotional attitude toward the subject matter. tone determines the words the author will use

onomatopeia

sound words

portmanteau word

in terms, of diction, these are formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meaning (EX: “cosplay” from costume and play)

pun

a play on the multiple meanings of a words or two words that sound alike but have different meanings

sarcasm

bitter, caustic, language meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. it may use irony, but not all irony is sarcastic

slang

very informal, nonstandard word that goes in and out of style rapidly

ballad

a poem in verse that tells a story

blank verse

an unrhymed form of poetry that normally consists of ten syllables in which every other syllable, beginning with the second, is stressed. Since blank verse is often used in very long poems, it may depart from the strict pattern from time to time.

caesura

an audible pause or sudden break in a line of poetry. indicated by the symbol: //

canto

a main division of a long poem

couplet

two lines of verse the same length that usually rhyme

end rhyme

the rhyming of words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry

end stopped line

a line ending at a grammatical break such as a dash or closing parenthesis or with punctuation such as a colon, a semicolon, or a period

enjambment (or enjambed line)

the running over of a sentence or thought from one line of poetry to another

foot

the smallest repeated pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poetic line.

iambic: an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable. EX: repeat

trochaic: a stressed followed by and unstressed syllable. EX: older

spondaic: two stressed syllables. EX: heartbreak

free verse

poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

Heroic Couplet (Closed Couplet)

two successive rhyming lines that contain a complete thought

internal rhyme

when the rhyming words occur in the same line of poetry. (EX: “you break my eyes with a look that buys sweet cake.”

lyric

a short verse that is intended to express the emotions of the author; quite often these lyrics are set to music

meter

pattern of repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

refrain

repetition of a line or phrase at regular intervals, especially at the end of each stanza. A song’s refrain may be called the chorus

repetition

repeating of a word or phrase within a poem or a prose piece to create a sense of rhythm.

rhyme

similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words

rhymed verse

verse with end rhyme that usually has regular meter

rhythm

ordered, or free occurrences of sound in poetry. Ordered or regular rhythm is called meter. Free occurrence of sound is called free verse.

sonnet

poem consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter

stanza

division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains

verse

metric line of poetry

sound devices

audio effects that include alliteration, cacophony, euphony, onomatopoeia, etc. these are used to call attention to the sound of language

alliteration

a specific type of consonance sound device focusing on the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of or within words.

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or sentences.

assonance

close repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close to each other

cacophony

harsh, clashing, discordant, dissonant, unpleasant sounding language

consonance

reputation of consonant sounds in the middles of ends of words

euphony

sweet sounding, musical language

sibilance

specific type of alliteration characterized by, or producing a hissing sound

coordination

grammatical equivalence between parts of a sentence, often through a coordinating conjunction such as and, or but

cumulative / loose sentence

author states the main idea immediately and then adds many examples and details. writing with loose sentences makes the style seem more informal and conversational. the opposite of a periodic sentence.

exclamatory sentence

sentence that expresses strong emotion through the use of an exclamation point at the end or the sentence

imperative sentence

sentence that gives a command or makes a request. the subject “you” is usually used or implied in this type of sentence

inversion / anastrophe

reversing the normal order of parts of a sentence

parallelism

repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence.

periodic sentence

sentence that builds a climatic statement in the final main clause.

polysyndeton

presence of more conjunctions than normal

rhetorical question

question asked that does not expect a reply