Literacy Terms 1

Antithesis

balancing words phrases or ideas, strongly contrasted

Allegory

story or poem in which characters settings and events stand for other people or events

alliteration

Repetition of same or similar constant sounds

Allusion

indirect reference to something or someone known from somewhere

Ambiguity

suggesting two or more different and conflicting meanings in a work

Analogy

comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

anaphora

repetition of a word phrase or clause beginning of two or more sentences in a row

Anastrophe

inversion of the normal or logical order of parts of a sentence

anecdote

brief story told to illustrate a point or serve as it is an example

antagonist

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero

Antimetabole

repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order

antihero

character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heros

anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inhuman object

aphorism

brief, cleverly worded statement

apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person

Apposition

Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, words are together

asyndeton

commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally

balance

constructing a sentence so that both halves are the same length and importance

characterization

process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character

indirect characterization

the author reveals what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, hearing what character says, private thoughts and feelings

direct characterization

tells the reader directly what the character is like

static character

one who does not change much in the story

dynamic character

one who changes in some important ways as a result of the story’s action

flat character

only one or two personality traits

round character

more dimensions to their personalities, they are complex

chiasmus

rhetorical balance in which the second part is balanced against the first part

cliche

word or phrase, that has become lifeless because of overuse

colloquialism

word or phrase in everyday conversation and informal writing

comedy

story that ends with a happy resolution

conceit

an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different

Confessional Poetry

describe poetry that uses intimate material from poet’s life

conflict

the struggle between opposing forces or characters

external conflict

conflict between two people, a person, nature

internal conflict

a conflict with opposing forces within a persons mind

connotation

associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its dictionary definition

Couplet

two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry

dialect

a way of speaking of a social group or geological area

diction

a speakers choice of words

didactic

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral, provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

elegy

a poem of mourning usually about someone who has died

epanalepsis

device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at both the begging and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence

epic

a long narrative poem

epigraph

a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

epistrophe

device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the end of two or more lines

epithet

an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality

essay

a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

argumentation

form of discourse uses logic, ethics and emotional appeals to develop effective means to convince reader

persuasion

relies more on emotional appeals than on facts

argument

form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of emotion

casual relationship

form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another

description

a form of discourse that uses language to create a mood or emotion

exposition

one of the four major forms of discourse, something is explained or set fourth

narrative

form of discourse that tells about a series of events

explication

act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to

fable

a very short story told in prose of poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life

farce

a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotypes characters involved in silly, far-fetched situations

figurative language

words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe

flashback

scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that has happened earlier in time

foil

a character who acts as a contrast to another character

foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

free verse

poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

hyperbole

figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement for effect

hypotactic

sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them

imagery

use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, or experience

inversion

the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

irony

a discrepancy between appearances and reality

verbal irony

occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else

situational irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen or what would be appropriate to happen and what really does happen

dramatic irony

it so called because it is often used on stage, character thinks one thing is true but audience knows better

juxtaposition

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words or phrases are placed next to one another creating an effect of surprise and wit

litotes

form of understandment in which the positive form is emphasized through the negotiation of a negative form

local color

term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape

loose sentence

one in which the main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units

lyric poem

a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of a speaker

metaphor

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than or resembles

implied metaphor

does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison

extended metaphor

metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it

dead metaphor

metaphor that had been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid

mixed metaphor

metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes it terms so that they are visually and imaginatively incompatible

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing that is referred to by something closely associated with it

mood

an atmosphere created by a writers diction and the details selected

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object or situation used throughout a work, unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme

motivation

the reasons for a characters behavior

onomatopoeia

the use of words whose sounds echo their sense

oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

parable

a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory

parallel structure

the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures

koan

is a paradox used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge

paratactic sentence

simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences

parody

a work that makes fun of another person work by imitating some aspect of the writers style

periodic

sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements

personification

a figure or speech in which an object or animal is given human, feelings thoughts or attitudes

plot

the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline

exposition

introduces characters, situation, and setting

rising action

complications in conflict and situations(may introduce new ones as well)

climax

that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. Also called "turning point"

resolution

the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled; often called the denouement

point of view

the vantage point from which the writer tells the story