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active voice
when the subject of the sentence performs the action -- more direct and preferred style of writing
passive voice
when the subject of the sentence receives the action -- often overused, resulting in lifeless writing
allusion
an indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar (like other texts, songs, plays, or historical events)
alter-ego
a character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character
anecdote
a brief recounting of a relevant episode
antecedent
the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun -ex. in "I would not pay such a price for it", the antecedent would be what "it" is referring to
classicism
art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures
comic relief
when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story in order to lighten the mood
diction
word choice, particularly as an element of style -- different types of words have significant effects on meaning; selection of individual words
colloquial diction
ordinary or familiar type of conversation
colloquialism/adage/aphorism
a common or familiar type of saying
connotation
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning
denotation
the actual, dictionary definition of a word
jargon
the diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity (ex. lawyer diction)
vernacular
language or dialect of a particular country, regional clan, or group
didactic
used to describe writing that teaches a specific lesson or moral, or provides a model of correct behavior/thinking
allegory
a story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts (ex. Animal Farm)
ellipsis
the deliberate omission of a word/phrase from prose (not the same as an ellipse)
ellipse
this is the three dots used to show omitted text in a quotation
euphemism
a less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words/concepts (ex. "vertically challenged" instead of "short"
figurative language
writing that is not meant to be taken literally
analogy
a comparison of two things to another parallel group of two things
hyperbole
extreme exaggeration
idiom
an often used expression that makes zero sense if taken literally
metaphor
making a comparison without using "like" or "as"
conceit
a particularly long and elaborate extended metaphor
metonymy
replacing an actual word/idea with a related word/idea ex. "I could not understand his tongue" is referring to his speech
synecdoche
a kind of metonymy when a whole item is represented by its parts ex. "check out my new wheels" is referring to the car as a whole
simile
using words like "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two things
synesthesia
a description involving a "crossing of the senses" -- more than one scent used: ex. "a purplish scent filled the room"
personification
giving human-like qualities to something that is not human
foreshadowing
when an author gives hints about what will occur later
genre
the major category into which a literary work fits
gothic
writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear, and/or death
imagery
words that create a picture in the reader's mind
invective
a long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language
irony
when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens
verbal irony
when you say something and mean the opposite of what you say
dramatic irony
when the audience of a drama, play, or movie knows something that the character doesn't
situational irony
irony present in the plot of a text
juxtaposition
placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison and to make a point
mood
the atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)
motif
a recurring idea in a piece of literature; brought up many times over the course of a text
oxymoron
when contradictory terms are grouped together, suggesting a paradox
pacing
the speed or tempo of an author's writing ex. fast, sluggish, stabbing, vibrato, staccato
paradox
a seemingly contradictory statement that is actually true ex. "you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job"
parallelism/balanced structure
sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns
anaphora
repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row ex. "I came, I saw, I conquered"
chiasmus
when the same words are used twice in a row, but the order is reversed ex. "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"
antithesis
two contrasting words/clauses with parallel structure ex. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"
zuegma/syllepsis
when a single word modifies 2+ other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for the other word(s) ex. "I quickly dressed myself and the salad"
parenthetical idea
parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence -- considered an 'aside' or 'whisper'
parody
an exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes
persona
the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story
alliteration
repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words
assonance
the repetition of identical/similar-sounding vowel sounds
consonance
the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words
onomatopoeia
the sound of the word is the noise that it makes
internal rhyme
when a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line
slant rhyme
almost a rhyme but not really
end rhyme
what you'd expect a rhyme to be; the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme
rhyme scheme
ex. ababcdcd
meter
a regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry
free verse
poetry that doesn't have much meter or rhyme
iambic pentameter
10 syllable per line, alternating stressed/unstressed syllables
sonnet
14 lines, written in iambic pentameter
polysyndeton
when a writer creates a list of items, all separated by conjunctions; you do this a lot when you verbally communicate a laundry list of things you need to do for homework -- "I need to do bio, and I need to do chem, and I need to do apush..."
pun
we all know what this is
rhetoric
the art of effective communication
rhetorical question
a question not asked for information, but rather for effect
romanticism
art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature; does not rely on traditional themes and structures
sarcasm
a generally bitter comment that is ironically/satirically worded
satire
a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life; appears as humorous, but the overall intent of the work is not humorous
appositive
a word/group of words placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning
clause
a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb (make sure you know diff btwn independent and dependent clauses)
compound sentence
two independent clauses -- no dependent clauses
complex sentence
one independent clause and at least one dependent clause
cumulative sentence/loose sentence
when the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate/dependent elements
periodic sentence
when the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence
style
the choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes
symbol
anything that represents something else
syntax
grammatical arrangement of words; grouping of words
theme
the central idea/message of a work
tone
a writer's attitude toward his subject matter
understatement
the ironic minimizing of fact; when someone is presented as less significant than it actually is
litotes
a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (like a double negative)
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