English 2 Metamorphosis Vocab

Thesis

the overall arguable claim of the paper that directly answers all parts of the prompt. Thesis statements must take a position and include TAGs (title, author, genre).

CTA (Close Text Analysis)

strategy for analysis when examining (written or verbal) a complex text. Focuses on the effect of language and how analysis leads to purpose.

Literary Purpose

the goal or aim of a piece of writing. When determining the purpose of the text, consider elements such as theme, setting, tone, characters, etc.

Genre

the specific type or category of work. Examples: poem, novel, short story, song, drama/play, etc.

Formulate

to create a specific idea and express it in a concise way.

Effect

The meaning of what a device is actually doing/the author's purpose for using the specific device. For example, to establish tone/mood, to characterize, to assert/deny, etc.

Social Criticism (in literature)

the examination and critique of the social issues of modern society. It often involves pointing out problems in society and proposing solutions.

Conflict

the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

External conflict

outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a non-human obstacle.

Internal conflict

takes place inside a character's mind.

In media res

Latin phrase for "in the midst (middle) of things" - a narrative work that opens in the midst of the plot.

Tone

the writer or speaker's attitude towards the subject.

Denotation/Connotation

the dictionary definition of the word vs. the ideas/feelings/implied meaning of the word.

Theme

the universal message/deeper meaning of the work that the writer is trying to convey to readers.

Motif

a repeated/recurring word, phrase, image, or topic that appears throughout the work and has a symbolic meaning.

Symbol

an object with a figurative meaning which provides an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant.

Anaphora

a form of syntax in which there is a repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines, clauses, or sentences.

Situational Irony

an incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead.

Existentialism

a human being is 'thrown into' into a concrete, inveterate universe that cannot be 'thought away', and therefore existence ('being in the world') precedes consciousness, and is the ultimate reality.

Kafkaesque

term used to describe a situation that is complex, surreal, disorienting, and thus menacing.

Allusion

a reference within a literary work to a well known literary figure or work, religious figure or event, political movement or leader, pop culture, etc.

Allegory

a work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning -- one literal and one symbolic or metaphorical; a narrative in which abstractions (ideas) are made concrete; characters stand for principles, attitudes, ideas etc. An allegorical figure is a character in an allegory, generally not three-dimensional, but more the representation of an abstraction.