English EOC Literary Terms & Rhetorical Devices

Prose

the ordinary form of written language that occurs in two forms

Denouement

any events that occur after the resolution

Theme

central message or insight of life revealed

Thesis

one or more sentences that state the central/main idea or purpose of an essay or other work of nonfiction

Main Idea

the central message, insight, or opinion in a work

Tone

attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a character, or the audience

Mood

the atmosphere or feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage; the way the reader feels while reading the text

Anecdote

a short summary of an event; short stories that illustrate a greater point

Dramatic Irony

there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true. The audience knows something that the character does not. (The reader knows that Juliet is alive; Romeo believes she is dead)

Verbal Irony

words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant/sarcasm. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor says to Fortunato, “I drink to your long life,” when in fact he is about to kill him

Situational Irony

an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience (the bride leaves the wedding with a groomsman; a lady dies at her birthday party)

Allegory

symbolic story structured with at least two levels of meaning

Memoir

a narrative composed from personal experience, often shorter than autobiographies

Primary Source

a firsthand account, such as a speech, an autobiography, or a letter – directly expresses the thoughts and feelings of a writer and may include details that only an eyewitness can provide

Secondary Source

a second-hand account such as history books, biographies, newspapers, magazines, and textbooks – summarizes or analyzes events in which the writers did not participate

Dynamic character

a character who develops or changes through the course of the story.

Round character

a character who shows many different traits, faults as well as virtues

Complex character

also known as a dynamic character or a round character, displays the following characteristics

Soliloquy

when a single character speaks for an extended period of time while alone on stage (a dramatic device)

Symbol/symbolism

literary device where something stands for or represents something else, usually a larger idea in the text

Denotation

the literal, dictionary definition of a word. School

Euphemism the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt – “to pass away” instead of “to die”

Parallel structure

involves two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form – “mary likes hiking, swimming, and biking,” or, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

Juxtaposition

an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together – “Hard on Hector’s heels/kept after him, the way a hound will harry”

Assonance

the repetition of a vowel sound in several words throughout a sentence (the night sky seemed to be crying out with sighs of sadness)

Refrain

in poetry a phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated

Slant rhyme

rhymes that are close but not exact

Concession

acknowledging a point made by one’s opponent

Qualification

acknowledging the limits of your argument; anticipating potential objections