english honors midterm vocab

absolve

to pronounce free from or give absolution for a penalty, blame, or guilt; (pardon)

adversity

unfavorable circumstances

anomalous

deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected

apparel

clothing worn on the body

ardor / arduous

great forcefulness or intensity of feeling or expression; passion; desire

avarice

an excessive or inordinate desire for wealth, possessions or power

aversion

a strong feeling of dislike or abhorrence for something; (distaste)

calamity

disaster

constitution

physical makeup

copious

profuse, abundant, or vast in quantity or number

decorum

behavior that is in keeping with good taste and propriety; (rightness)

discord

a lack of harmony or concord

eloquence

fluent or persuasive speaking or writing

entreat

to make a request or suggestion; to ask someone earnestly or to beseech

entreaty

an earnest or humble request

extort

To obtain money or favors by intimidation, violence, or the misuse of authority

induce

influence / persuade

insidious

lament

to feel or express regret, grief or disappointment

manifold

many and various

martial

relating to fighting or war; military

mediator

one who settles a dispute

munificent / munificence

very liberal in giving or bestowing (generous)

omnipotent

all-powerful

ordinance

an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority; a traditional or accepted way of behaving, specific to a particular society, place, or time

ostentatious

characterized by pretentious or showy displays

parsimony

extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources; careful management of available resources

pensive

having the appearance of being in deep thought

perpetual

enduring, lasting for an eternity; (constant)

persevere

to persist steadfastly in pursuit of a goal, especially despite challenges; to deal with something, such as pain or misfortune, without complaining

pilfer

steal, typically things of relatively little value

posterity

the future descendants of a person or group

prevalent

widespread in a particular area or at a particular time

profuse

plentiful or abundant in amount; occurring or found on a regular basis

propitious

auspicious, likely to prove to be favorable

prudence / prudent

good judgement

recompense

compensation or reward given for loss or harm suffered or effort made

relent

become more merciful

solace

comfort or consolation in a time of great distress or sadness

squander

to use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose; to cause to scatter or disperse

superfluous

time consuming; unnecessary excess

tempest

a windy, and sometimes violent, storm

treacherous

guilty of or involving betrayal or deception

tyranny

a government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power

valor

the quality that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness

wretched

feeling, deserving of, or characterized by, severe unhappiness or sadness

oral tradition

stories told verbally only

origin myth

explains the beginning of the world or people, they differ between cultures, civilizations and their beliefs

archetype

elements of literature that are showcased in many stories

metaphor

the use of a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn’t, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described

anaphora

repetition of phrase

restatement

repetition of a point that is paraphrased

parallelism

repeated opposite

repetition

repeated sentence

antithesis

contrasting / opposite words

charged words

words that have weight behind it

rhetorical question

question that does not need to be answered

exclamation

a sudden cry or remark expressing surprise, strong emotion, or pain

pathos

appeals to emotion

logos

appeals to logic

ethos

appeals to higher authority

tone

the way the narrator/author speaks/feels

mood

the way a text makes the reader feel

author’s purpose

reason for the author writing the work

narrative pov

refers to who is telling or narrating the story

• 1st person (I, me, we)

• 2nd person (you)

• 3rd person (he, she, they)

apostrophe

something spoken to a specific audience

extended metaphor

the entirety of the work is a metaphor

paradox

statement that contradicts itself (highlights 2 conflicting ideas)

inversion

changes up the order of words so that particular qualities or terms can be emphasized

analogy

creates a relationship based on parallels or connections between two ideas

sermon

religious speech

allusion

implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text

• ex.) If it doesn’t stop raining, I’m going to build an ark.

heroic couplet

a rhyming couplet, or pair of lines with end rhymes in iambic pentameter

satire

a way of writing about a flaw or failure in society by inflating it to absurdity

romanticism

to regard something as special or ideal, especially unjustifiably

allegory

a form of narrative that uses plot, setting, or character to stand for a message that has a larger moral or lesson or makes a far-reaching commentary on real-world issues

ambiguity

the quality of being open to multiple interpretations

parable

a short tale that illustrates a universal truth

Frame Story

a narrative that frames or surrounds another story or set of stories

• ex.) Titanic: begins with Old Rose, then shows her in the past for the majority of the movie, then shows Old Rose again (full circle)

transcendentalism

an intellectual movement that emphasizes the dignity of the individual and advocated a simple, mindful life; a form of philosophical idealism

refrain

a line, phrase, or single word that is repeated periodically within the poem to build up drama, emphasis, or rhythm (in poetry)

meter

describes the rhythm (or pattern of beats) in a line of poetry