English 2 Honours Vocabulary Review | All Words

Tragic Hero

the character who exhibits a tragic flaw which eventually leads to his or her demise.

Hamartia (Greek)

a tragic flaw leading to a downfall; a mistake.

Hubris (Greek)

excessive pride or self-confidence leading to a downfall.

Catharsis

to arouse pity and fear in the audience; a release of emotional tension.

Antithesis

a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other.

Paradox

a statement that is seemingly contradictory/opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.

Apostrophe

a figure of speech used when the writer or speaker speaks directly to someone who is not present, or speaks to an inanimate object.

Monologue

an extended speech by one person.

Soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.

Aside

a remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

Dramatic Irony

situations in which the audience knows more about the situations, the causes of conflicts, and their resolutions before the characters.

Tragic Flaw

a trait in a heroic character leading to his downfall. This trait could be the lack of self-knowledge, lack of judgment, and often is hubris (excessive pride).

Turning Point

the point of highest tension in a narrative; it's the most exciting and revealing part of a story. It leads the rising action into the falling action before a story is resolved.

Alliteration

repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

Assonance

repeated vowel sounds.

Cacophony

the grouping together of harsh, discordant sounds (opposite of euphony).

Consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity.

Euphony

the grouping together of harmonic, pleasing sounds.

Metonymy

a figure of speech where one thing is used to represent another that is closely associated with it

Thesis

the overall arguable claim of the paper that directly answers all parts of the prompt.

CTA (Close Text Analysis)

strategy for analysis when examining (written or verbal) a complex text. Focuses on the effect of language and how analysis leads to purpose.

Literary Purpose

the goal or aim of a piece of writing.

Genre

the specific type or category of work.

Formulate

to create a specific idea and express it in a concise way.

Effect

The meaning of what a device is actually doing/the author's purpose for using the specific device.

Social Criticism (in literature)

the examination and critique of the social issues of modern society.

Conflict

the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

External conflict

outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a non-human obstacle

Internal conflict

takes place inside a character's mind

In media res

Latin phrase for "in the midst (middle) of things" - a narrative work that opens in the midst of the plot

Tone

the writer or speaker's attitude towards the subject

Denotation/Connotation

the dictionary definition of the word vs. the ideas/feelings/implied meaning of the word

Theme

the universal message/deeper meaning of the work that the writer is trying to convey to readers

Motif

a repeated/recurring word, phrase, image, or topic that appears throughout the work and has a symbolic meaning

Symbol

an object with a figurative meaning which provides an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant

Anaphora

a form of syntax in which there is a repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines, clauses, or sentences

Situational Irony

an incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead.

Existentialism

a human being is 'thrown into' into a concrete, inveterate universe that cannot be 'thought away', and therefore existence ('being in the world') precedes consciousness, and is the ultimate reality.

Kafkaesque

term used to describe a situation that is complex, surreal, disorienting, and thus menacing.

Allusion

a reference within a literary work to a well known literary figure or work, religious figure or event, political movement or leader, pop culture, etc.

Allegory

a work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning -- one literal and one symbolic or metaphorical; a narrative in which abstractions (ideas) are made concrete; characters stand for principles, attitudes, ideas etc.

Allegorical Figure

is a character in an allegory, generally not three-dimensional, but more the representation of an abstraction.

Zoomorphism

a literary technique in which animal attributes are imposed upon non-animal objects, humans, and events; and animal features are ascribed to humans, gods, and other objects.

Anthropomorphism

the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology; it is more literal.

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. It is more figurative.

Polysyndeton

a construction in which elements are presented in a series using more conjunctions than necessary/natural.

Asyndeton

a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the human senses: Visual: Pertains to sight. Olfactory: Pertains to a scent/smell. Auditory: Pertains to a sound; often coming in the form of onomatopoeia. Gustatory: Pertains to a taste. Tactile: Pertains to a texture or sensation of touch. Kinesthetic: Pertains to movement or action. Organic: Pertains to feelings of the body, including hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

Balanced Syntax

a sentence constructed so that it emphasizes a similarity or contrast between two or more of its parts (words, phrases, or clauses).

Parable

A short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.

Epistolary

A genre in which the work is made up of letters, journals, or diary entries, at least in part, which may involve correspondence or be one-sided.

Synthesis Writing

A combination of multiple sources and ideas where a writer uses information from several sources to create new ideas based on their analysis.

Narrative Structure

The structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative (plot and setting) is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer, including forms like linear, non-linear, and interactive.

Dual Timeline (literature)

A narrative structure in which one cohesive story is told through several time periods and/or perspectives, such as a character experiencing current events and flashbacks revealing their past.

Phonetic

Representing the sounds and other phenomena of speech, constituting an alteration of ordinary spelling that better represents spoken language using characters of the regular alphabet.

Folklore

Traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people, often including unsupported notions or stories widely circulated.

Unreliable Narrator

A first-person narrator in literature, film, or theater who is not trustworthy, leading the reader to question the validity of their story.

Intertextuality

A literary theory stating that all works of literature are a derivation or have been influenced by a previous work of literature.

Nautical Fiction

A genre set at sea that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages, highlighting nautical culture, exemplified by works like Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

Dystopian Fiction

Speculative fiction that critiques the dangerous effects of current political, social, and environmental climates by offering a vision of the future.

Anthropocene

An era in which human activity is the dominant influence on our environment and climate.

Biodiversity

The variety of life on Earth, encompassing all living organisms from genes to species and ecosystems, representing the richness and complexity of life.

Natural Resources

Materials or components that occur naturally and can be used by humans, including renewable, non-renewable, biotic, and abiotic resources.

Credibility

A source created by an organization or person knowledgeable about the subject and concerned with its quality.

Literary Theory

A school of thought or style of literary analysis that critiques the ideas and principles of literature, examining a cross-section of literature from specific eras or backgrounds.

Feminist Theory (lens)

considers how a work portrays the female experience-character and authorship

Authorial Intrusion

when the author penning the story, poem or prose steps away from the text and speaks out to the reader.

Bildungsroman

a literary term describing a formative novel about a protagonist's psychological and moral growth from their youth into adulthood.

Parallelism

a form of syntax in which ideas are arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with another of equal importance/similar wording.

Rhetorical Questions

a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Epistrophe/Epiphora

a stylistic device in which there's repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

Chiasmus

a form of syntax in which grammatical structures or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.

Anadiplosis

a device in which the last word or phrase of one clause, sentence, or line is repeated at the beginning of the next.

Antimetabole

a stylistic device in which there is the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order.

Gothicism

writing characterized by gloomy settings, grotesque action, supernatural, romance and exoticism.

Character Foils

a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist.

Visual Imagery

Pertains to sight.

Olfactory Imagery

Pertains to a scent/smell.

Auditory Imagery

Pertains to a sound; often coming in the form of onomatopoeia.

Gustatory Imagery

Pertains to a taste.

Tactile Imagery

Pertains to a texture or sensation of touch.

Kinesthetic Imagery

Pertains to movement or action.

Organic Imagery

Pertains to feelings of the body, including hunger, thirst, and fatigue.