lit and rhetorical devices

active voice

the subject of the sentence performs the action

ex- “anthony drove while toni searched for the house”

allusion

indirect reference to something

alter-ego

character used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts

author speaks directly to the audience through a character

anecdote

brief recounting of relevant episode

way if developing a point or injecting humor

antecedent

word phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun

classicism

art / literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; stick to trad themes and structures

comic relief

humorous scene is inserted into a serious story in order to lighten the mood

diction

word choice — element of style

formal, informal, ornate, plain

colloquial

conversation

connotation

implied meaning rather than literal meaning

denotation

literal, explicit meaning of a word

jargon

diction used by a group which practices similar profession/ activity

“medical ____”

vernacular

lang dialect of particular country, region, / every day speech

AAVE

didactic

term used to describe fiction, nonfiction/ poetry that teaches specific lesson/ moral