AcDec (25/26) Lit Terms

alliteration

The use of the same letter/sound at the beginning or a string of closely related words.

anaphora

the repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

chiasmus

a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. ‘Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.’

colloquialism

the use of ordinary or common language in formal writing.

complacent

showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.

condescending

having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority.

Consonance

the recurrence of similar sounds, especially consonants, in close proximity (chiefly as used in prosody).

didactic

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

euphemism

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

histrionic

acting in overt dramatics, almost acting theatrically.

interrogative sentences

a sentence posing a question, often ending in a question mark.

juxtaposition

the posing of 2 or more ideas next to one another for comparison and contrast.

litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad ).

metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

onomatopoeia

the use of the sound of an action, “bam!” “wham”, “thud” for effect. Think comic books using artsy words depicting actions

parallel grammatical structure

In grammar, parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure. The application of parallelism affects readability and may make texts easier to process.

parenthetical expression

expressing thoughts or ideas in between sets of commas, dashes, or parenthesis, to deepen the sentence/add personality or effect/add more to the point.

polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is the deliberate insertion of conjunctions into a sentence in order to slow the rhythm of the prose so as to produce an impressively solemn note. In grammar, a polysyndetic coordination is a coordination in which all conjuncts are linked by coordinating conjunctions.

syndeton

Syndeton or syndetic coordination in grammar is a form of syntactic coordination of the elements of a sentence with the help of a coordinating conjunction. For instance, in a simple syndeton, two conjuncts are joined by a conjunction: "I will have eggs and ham".

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”).

synesthesia

Synesthesia is a term for both a neurological experience and a literary device where two senses are blended together or experienced simultaneously.

tmesis

the separation of parts of a compound word by an intervening word or words, heard mainly in informal speech (e.g., a whole nother story ; shove it back any-old-where in the pile ).