Vocab 91-120

Gothic

Narrative characterized by an atmosphere of terror created by desolate settings and mysterious events

• Elements of fear, death, and horror

• Dracula, Frankenstein, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Secret History, Edgar Allan Poe

Grotesque

A cross between comedy and horror that includes bizarre and absurdist elements to convey meaning

• Often focuses on aspects of the human body

• Grendel, characters in Alice in Wonderland 

Homily

Generally means a sermon; can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice

• Multiple Scenes from Hamlet

• The Parson’s Tale

Hyperbole

Exaggeration to create an effect, to accomplish a particular purpose, or to reveal an attitude

-My shoes are killing me!

-“Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum” (Hamlet)

Imagery

Diction describing the five senses to convey tone, purpose, and effect

-“The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.” (The Great Gatsby)

Induction

The process of reasoning from a part to a whole or from the general to the particular

-Murder Mysteries!

Inference

A reasonable conclusion drawn from the information presented

• Ms. Stackhouse’s smile began to wain throughout their vocab presentation as she vigorously typed notes onto her computer, and with every word the group said, the class’s mouths opened wider.

  • We can infer that the vocab group’s presentation is not pleasing to Ms. Stackhouse, and probably contains something surprising or offensive, as shown through the expressions of every person in the room.

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry

-With their eyes glazed and hands unraised,

the class had to deal with the random number wheel.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

 Inverted order

 Reversing the usual subject-verb-complement order, often used in poetry to conform to rhyme and rhythm patterns in poetry or for effect in prose

-“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Macbeth)

-“But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Irony, Dramatic

The discrepancy between what a character in a play thinks and what the audience knows to be true

Irony, Situational

The discrepancy between what happens and what is expected to happen

Irony, verbal

The discrepancy between what is said and what is meant (Sarcasm)

-“Brevity is the soul of wit” - Polonius says this as he delivers a very verbose and long-winded statement. (Hamlet)

-“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” (Animal Farm)

Juxtaposition

Placing two persons, places, or things next to each other to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish a purpose

Litotes

Understatement in which the negative of an antonym is used to achieve emphasis and intensity

-“It’s not bad”

-“He’s no fool”

-Phrases add irony or subtlety to language

Local color

Detailed representation in fiction of the dialect, dress, climate, manners, customs, etc. of a certain area

-Songs like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” 

• Describes a culture which enhances a sense of place in West Virginia

Logical fallacies

Errors in reasoning which render an argument invalid

-“If students use calculators in class, they’ll eventually forget basic math and thinking completely”

• Argument assumes that one action will lead to an unlikely outcome

Logical fallacy, Ad hominem

An argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason or intellect

-“He doesn’t like the dark, he shouldn’t be operating on you”

• Argument is based on irrelevant fact

Logical fallacy, Ad populum

The misconception that a widespread occurrence of something makes it true or correct

-“Everyone bought the iPhone 16 so it must be good”

• Popularity doesn’t equal superiority

Logical fallacy, Begging the Question

Taking for granted something that really needs proving

-“The medicine is effective because it works”

• Argument does not provide evidence and restates the conclusion

Logical fallacy, Circular Reasoning

Trying to prove one another idea with another idea that is too similar to the first

-“The law is good because it’s the law”

• Argument doesn’t provide an independent justification without reason

Logical fallacy, Either/Or Reasoning

Seeing an issue as only having two sides

-“You’re either with us or against us!”

Logical fallacy, Hasty Generalization

Drawing a premature conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence

-I've met two people in Greece so far, and they were both nice to me. So, all the people I will meet in Greece will be nice to me.

Logical fallacy, Non-sequitur

An inference or conclusion that does not follow from an established premise or evidence

-Birds have wings, bees have wings, therefore birds are bees.

Logical fallacy, Pedantry

A display of narrow-minded and trivial scholarship; an arbitrary adherence to rules and forms

-“You can't say the Earth's temperature has 'increased significantly' because the data shows a 0.02 degree Celsius rise in the last year, which isn't statistically significant.”

Logical fallacy, Post Hoc, ergo Propter Hoc

Assuming that the incident that precedes an incident is the cause of the second incident (literally, “After this, therefore because of this”)

• Correlation ≄ Causation

-”I ate fish, and then I got sick to my stomach. Therefore, the fish made me sick”

Logical fallacy, Propaganda

Writing that advocates a certain doctrine as the solution to a social or political problem

Language - Connotative

Meanings or associations readers have with a word or an item beyond its dictionary definition. Connotations may reveal another layer of meaning of a piece, affect the tone, or suggest symbolic resonance

-Ex: Blue refers to a color, but “I’m feeling blue” refers to feelings of sadness

• Child means a person who isn’t an adult, but can also be an insult to describe immature behavior

Language - Denotative

The dictionary definition of a word

-Ex:

Left - on, toward, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing that is to the west when the person or thing is facing north.

Table - a piece of furniture with a flat top and one or more legs, providing a level surface on which objects may be placed, and that can be used for such purposes as eating, writing, working, or playing games.

Loose sentence

A sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses to create an informal, relaxed, and conversational tone.

-Ex: Tom chased Jerry around the house, knocking over furniture, and making a mess everywhere