Studied by 7 people
oxymoron
technique used to produce an effect by a seeming self-contradiction (ex: cruel kindness)
paradox
a statement or concept that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but that may actually be true in fact (ex: war brings peace)
parallelism
refers to the repeated use of phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar in structure and meaning.
pedantic
teaching; instructive (is usually stuffy and formal)
point of view
the perspective in which a story is told
pun
a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings
rhetorical question
a question that expects no answer. It is used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a direct statement
shift
a change of feelings by the speaker from the beginning to the end, paying particular attention to the conclusion of the literature
situational irony
irony which arises from situations as opposed to verbal irony
static character
a character who remains unchanged by the conclusion of a work
stream of consciousness
narrative technique which presents thoughts as if they were coming directly from a character's mind
symbol
anything that stands for or represents something else
synecdoche
figurative language in which the part stands for the whole (ex: nice wheels!"in commenting on a car)
syntax
the arrangement of words in a sentence
tone
a writer's attitude toward his subject
tragic flaw
an error in judgment
understatement
statement in which the literal sense of what is said falls short of the magnitude of what is being talked about
verbal irony
a kind of irony in which words are used to suggest the opposite of their actual meaning
vernacular
using the native language of a country or place (ex: Huck Finn was written to take place in the South, so characters speak as they did/do in the South)
voice
the "speaker" in a piece of literature
Note
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