Vocab Terms & Literary Terms

Contains both K. Rod's Literary & Vocab words

Round Character

Multiple personality traits

Flat Character

Single personality trait

Dynamic Character

Multiple characteristics

Static character

Single characteristic

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word

Conotation

Implied meaning of a word

Syntax

Sentence structure

Prose

Any writing that is not poetry

Clause

a group of words with a subject and a verb

Dependent Clause

A phrase that can't stand alone as a complete sentence.

Independent Clause

A clause that can stand alone as a sentence

Simple Sentence

One independent clause (complete sentence)

Compound Sentence

two or more independent clauses

Complex Sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clause

Compound-Complex Sentence

One or more dependent clauses and two or more independent clauses

Periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.

Cumulative Sentence

An independent clause followed by one or more modifier

Rhetoric Triangle

Speaker, audience, subject

logical appeal

Method of persuasion based on evidence and reasoning

Ethos

Ethical appeal (credibility)

Pathos

Appeal to emotion

Logos

Appeal to logic

deductive reasoning

Proving hypothesis for reasoning

inductive reasoning

Specific to general

Meter

Number in types of stresses in a rhyme

Foot

the basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds

Near/Slant rhyme

words that almost rhyme

End rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines of poetry

Eternal rhyme

When words rhyme in the words

Apostrophe

address to an absent or imaginary person

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem

Quatrain

Four line stanza

Tropes

A plot structure or device that is used in storytelling

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Schemes

A creative alteration in the usual order of words

Chiasmus

a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases

Antithesis

Direct opposite

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it

Intercalary Chapters

A chapter in a novel that is relevant to the theme

Motif

A repeated pattern: an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and again

Theme

A central topic, subject, or message within a narrative

First-Person Limited

A narrator that uses "I" or "we" and only has access to the character's thoughts and experiences

First-Person Omniscient

The narrator is a character in the story, but also knows the thoughts and feelings of all other characters

Third-Person Limited

The POV that uses a narrator with access to only one character’s perspective, a limited perspective

Third-Person Omniscient

A point of view where the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters

Third-Person Objective

A narrator that simply describes what is happening in the story

Personification

The act of giving human qualities or characteristics to something non-human

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

Metaphor

A comparison of words which are not literally true

Hyperbole

A purposeful exaggeration not meant to be taken literally

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, character, place, or event that a writer makes to deepen the reader’s understanding of their work

Paradox

A statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true

Aphorism

A brief statement that expresses a general truth or principle about life

Rhetoric

The art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or influence people

Blanch

To take the color out

Auspicious

Favorable; promising

Courtesan

A prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele

Benign

Kind and gentle

Mollify

To calm or soothe

Raffish

Marked by a flashy vulgarity or crudeness (sometimes a positive for some people)

Attenuate

Reduce the force, effort, or value of

Dubious

Doubtful; of unlikely authenticity

Implicit

Implied, though not plainly expressed

Apprehensive

Anxious or fearful that something bad or unpleasant will occur

Indubitably

Unquestionable; Without doubt

Spurious

Not genuine

Astute

Shrewd; Clever

Clandestine

Secretive

Smolder

Burn slowly with smoke but not flame

Methodical

Done according to a systematic or established form of procedure

Improvident

Not having or showing foresite; spendthrift

Gaudy

Extravagantly bright or showy

Spasmodic

Done in brief irregular bursts

Auxiliary

Providing additional or supplemental support

Pun

A play on words off how a word sounds or plays off another word

Double Entendre

A type of pun; saying something that has a second & sexual meaning

Euphemism

Lowering the harshness of a sentence by saying something nice

Disingenuous

Not straightforward; crafty

Ruse

A crafty trick

Promulgate

Promote or to make widely known

Surreptitiously

Done by secretive means

Endow

Provide with an asset

Lurid

Presented using very vivid details, especially giving explicit details of crime or sexual exploits

Feign

Pretend to be impacted by something

Ambivalent

Simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain

Dissonant

Lacking harmony

Baying

To bark or howl loudly

Capricious

Impulsive and unpredictable

Stolid

Calm, dependable, showing little emotion or animation

Coquettish

Flirtatious; behaving in a way to show playful sexual attraction

Affectation

Behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress

Whimsical

Playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way

Antithetical

Directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible

Ignominy

Public shame and disgrace