Beland NEW Terms

discourse

1. thoughts, statements, or dialogue of individuals especially characters in a literary work
2. the language in which a subject or area of knowledge is discussed

cartharis (noun) cathartic (adjectve)

the emotional effect a drama has on its audience / the purging of emotions or relieving emotional tensions especially through certain kinds of art like drama and music

epiphany

insight or revelation gained when one suddenly understand

epitaph

an inscription on a tomb to commerorate the deceased

sententia

fancy term for a quotation of life saying

maxim

wise saying

analogy

a comparison of the similar characteristics of two unlike things

antagonist

character who opposes protagonist

apostrophe

adressing or speaking to some abstract quality or non-human entity

archetype

story or pattern repeated from generation to generation

i.e. searching for the fountain of youth, selling your sould to the devil

assonance

repitition of vowel sounds

colloquial

language that is informal or amiliar to a group of people

consonance

where a poet repeats the identical consonant sounds typically in the last syllable of words

doppelganger

a German phrase that assers that for each person there exists an exact replica, a shadow image

elegy

a poem that reflects upon death

enjambment

occurs when a poet continues that grammatical sentence into the next line

enpanalepsis

repitition of the beggining at the end of a clause or sentence

i.e. Blood hath brough blood, and blows have answered blows

hubris

a Greek term that means excessive pride

juxtaposition

the placement of items close together often for purposes of constrasting or comparison

stance

attitude author has toward the audience

chiasmus (a.k.a inverted paralellism)

a figure of speech in which a grammatical structure is repeated but in inverse order/ a reversal of ideas expressed in parallel clauses or phrases

i.e. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country

situational irony

contrast between what you think will happen and what actually happens

dramatic irony

the audience knows something the characters do not

verbal irony

contrast between what is stated and what is meant

pedantic

overly concerned in one’s learning

euphemism

substitution of words that sound not as harsh

ex. He “passed away” instead of he “died”

anachronism

something or someone not in correct time period (dinging clock in Julius Caesar)

colloquialism

informal speech or expression

ex. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

invective

insulting or abusice words or expressions

discernible

distinguishable

ambiguity

unclear; doubtful

nostalgic

sentimental yearning for the happieness felt in a former time, place, or situation

similie

comparing two things to clarify how they are alike… uses words like or as

metaphor

comparing two things without using like or as

red herring

meant to deter or throw off readers or speakers/ occurs when the writer creates a distraction

exordium

latin word for beginning/ introduction to an essay

peroratio

brings the essay to a close

claim

assertion or proposition

claim of fact

assers if something is true or not true

claim of value

aregues if something is good or bad

claim of policy

proposing a change

\*\*to develop a claim into a thesis statement, you have to be more specific about what you intend to argue

closed thesis

statement of the main idea of the argument that ALSO previews that major point the write tends to make

open thesis

the main idea of an argument but does not list all the points the write intends to cover

counterargument thesis statement

this statement usually contains an although or a but BEFORE the writer’s opinion

ex. Although the Harry Potter series may have some literary merit, it popularity has to do less with storytelling and more with merchandising

logical fallacies

potential weaknesses in an argument

fallacies of relevance

using evidence that is not relevant to the claim

ad hominem

tatic of switching from the topic at hand to attacking the CHARACTER of the other

fallacies of accuracy

using information that is inaccurate (straw man fallacy - suing an oversimplified in order to ridiucle an opponent’s view)

ex. Canidate A wants continue to fund space exploration. Canidate B mocks him for “looking for little green men”

fallacies of insuffciency

hasty generalizations/ not enough evidence to support/ circular reasoning is repeating bad evidence resulting in no evidence at all

satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’ stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contempoary policis and other topical issues in order to raise awareness or to bring about change; ridiculing something in attempt to bring about change or to raise awareness

D in DIDLS Prose Analysis Method

Diction - What words does the author choose? Consider his/her words choice compared to another. Why did the author choose that particular word? What are the connontatios of that word choice?

I in DIDLS Prose Analysis Method

Images - What images does the author use? What does he/she focus on in a sensory way? The kinds of images the author puts in or leaves out reflect his/her style? Are they vibrant? Prominent? Plain? NOTE: Images differ from detail in the degree to which they appeal to the senses.

D (2) in DIDLS Prose Analysis Method

Details - What details does the author choose to include? What do they imply? What does the author choose to exlude? What connotations of their choice of details? PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts or fact-lets. They differ from images in that they don;t have a strong sensory appeal.

ex. An author describing a battlefielf might include details about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not.

L in DIDLS Prose Analysis Method

Language - What is the overal impression of the language the auhtor uses? Does it reflect education? A particular profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figuarative? Poetic

S in DIDLS Prose Analysis Method

Sentence Structure - What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do they have multiple phrases? Are they choppy? Flowing? Sinous like a snake? Is there antithesis, chiasmus, parallel contruction? What emotional impression do they leave? If we are talking about poetry, whati s the meter? Is there a rhyme scheme?

warrant

the general, hypthetical and often implicit lofical statemnts that serve as bridges between the claim and the data

qualifier

statements that limit the strengths of the argument or statements that propose the conditions under which the argument is true

rebuttal

counterarguemnts or statements indicating circumstances when the general argument does not hold true

backing

statements that serve to support the warrants

syllogism

a logical structure that uses major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion

Rogerian arguments

based on the assumption that having a full understanding of an opposing position is essential to refuting in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating

post hoc ergo propter hoc

correlation does not imply causation/ incorrect to claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier

NOTE: italcize foreign words or underline them when you use them in your writing

bathos

insincere pathos

ad populum

bandwagon appeal

SOAPStone

subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone

rhetorical triangle

a diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining text (p. 4 Bedford) ALSO called Arisotelian triangle.

nominalization

the process of changing a verb into a noun

ex. Discuss become discussion. Depend become dependence

enthymeme

one of the premises is implied (taken for granted that it’s understood)

ex. You should take her class because I learned so much from her last year

What’s implied? If you take the class, you will learn a lot too

Juvenalian satire

characterized by its bitter and abrasive nature. A Juvenalian satirist is much more likely to see the targets of his satire as evil or activley harmful to society, and to attack them with serious intent to harm their reputation or power. While Jevenialian satire often attack individuals on a personal level, its most common objective is social criticism

Horatian satire

utilizes a much gentler form of riducleto highlight folly or oddity

Menippean satire

The genere of Menippean satire is a form of satire, usually in prose, which has a length and structure similar to a novel and is characterized by attacking mental attitudes rather than specific individuals or entities.

anaphora

the repition of word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

ibid

***i****n the same source (used to save space in textual references to a quoted work which has been mentioned in a previous reference).*

et al

*short for the Latin term “et alia,” which means “****and others****.”*

e.g.

The abbreviation e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which translates literally as “for the sake of an example”-but you can really just cut out the stuff in the middle and read it as “for example.” 

i.e.

The abbreviation i.e. stands for id est, which translates literally as “that is.” Sometimes it might be more useful, however, to translate it as “what that means is” or “that is to say.” This abbreviation is used to clarify the preceding idea by restating it more simply or in different terms. It might be useful to think of i.e. as representing an equal sign (=). This will help you remember that i.e. stands for a strict equivalence.

N.B.

The abbreviation N.B. stands for nota bene, which literally translates as “note well,” although in practice you can read it as “pay attention.”

Cf.

stands for the Latin word confer which means “compare.” It is primarily used in endnotes or footnotes to point readers to works that the author recommends referencing in comparison with the work at hand. Therefore, it might be more useful to read cf. as “but compare this to.” 

Sic.

means “thus” or “so” and is used in quotations to indicate that any strange aspects of a piece of text, such as errors in grammar\[sic\], spelling, or word choice, are part of the original text and not a typo. Therefore, it could be more appropriately translated as “yes, that’s actually what it says.” 

circa

translates as “around” or “approximately,” usually appears with dates.