English Final

allusion

an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or work of art/literature without explicitly naming it

tropes

recurring, conventional themes, devices, or character types widely recognized in storytelling

irony

a contrast between expectation and reality; can be verbal, situational, or dramatic

onomatopoeia

words that phonetically imitate the sound they describe

symbolism

the use of objects, people, or events to represent larger abstract ideas or concepts

flashback

a scene that interrupts the present narrative to depict events from the past, providing backstory or context

alliteration

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words

epistolary elements

narrative techniques that use letters, diary entries, documents, or correspondence to tell a story

allegory

a story in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract ideas or moral/political meanings beyond the literal narrative

foreshadowing

hints or clues planted early in a narrative that suggest what will happen later

simile

a direct comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”

personification

giving human qualities, emotions, or actions to non-human things

hyperbole

deliberate, dramatic exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect

imagery

vivid, descriptive language that appeals to the five senses to create mental pictures for the reader

tone

the author’s attitude toward their subject matter or audience, conveyed through word choice and style

sensationalism

the use of shocking, dramatic, or exaggerated content designed to provoke a strong emotional reaction, often at the expense of accuracy or nuance

theme

the central, underlying message or universal idea explored in a work of literature

prose

ordinary written or spoken language with natural sentence structure and no formal metrical pattern

poetry

a compressed, structured form of writing that uses rhythm, meter, line breaks, and heightened language to convey meaning and emotion

archetype

a universally recognized character type, symbol, or situation that recurs across cultures and literature

epithet

a descriptive word or phrase closely associated with a person or thing, used in place of or alongside their name

analogy

an extended comparison between two things to explain or clarify a concept, highlighting how they are alike

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for rhetorical effect