ENGLISH 2 HONORS VOCAB

Allegory

a type of story that’s built on an overarching extended metaphor. It appears to be about one thing, but when examined closely, it secretly represents something else

Allusion

a reference to a historical or literary person, place or event with which the reader is assumed to be familiar

Analogy

a point-by-point comparison between two dissimilar things for the purpose of clarifying the less familiar one

Connotation

the emotional response evoked by a word

Couplet

when two successive lines contain end rhyme

Deductive Reasoning

begins with generalization of a subject and then a specific conclusion is drawn. A general principle is applied to a specific case.

Dramatic Irony

when the audience knows something that the characters don’t.

Enjambment

a literary device in which a line of poetry carries its idea or thought over to the next line without a grammatical pause.

Ethos

writers establish credibility or trustworthiness

Imagery

words or phrases that re-create vivid sensory experiences for the reader

Inductive Reasoning

specific examples are given to represent an area being examined, then a general conclusion is drawn

Logos

writers appeal to logic, reasoning, facts etc. to persuade

Logical Fallacy

errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of an argument often involving illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points

Metaphor

a figure of speech that compares two unlike things that have something in common

Mood

overall feeling at the beginning of a story

Motif

a recurring idea in a piece of literature

Narrator

the person who relates or "tells" the events

Objective writing

states facts, avoids bias and opinions.

Parallelism

a literary device that uses similar grammatical structures, word order, or ideas to create a sense of balance, rhythm, and emphasis

Pathos

writers appeal to emotions to persuade the audience

Patterns of Development

how a text is organized or structured (such as analysis, compare/contrast or cause/effect)

Personification

giving human characteristics to an object, idea or animal

Persuasion

swaying readers in a particular direction

Point of View

Point of Viewa person's unique way of looking at things

Prose

ordinary language used in speaking or writing

Resolution

how things are worked out at the end of a story

Rhetorical Question

a question that is designed to produce an effect and not an answer

Rhyme Scheme

the pattern of end rhyme in a poem

Rising Action

the series of events in a literary work which follow the introduction that create suspense, interest, and tension.

Setting

the time, place, and mood at the beginning of a literary work

Simile

comparison between dissimilar things using the words "like" or "as"

Situational Irony

a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens

Style

the way a work of literature is written. Not "what" is said but "how"

Subjective writing

expresses personal feelings, opinions, and preferences.

Symbol

A person, place, or object that represents something beyond itself

Theme

message or meaning that the author attempts to deliver

Time

could be expressed as time of year, day, season etc.

Tone

the attitude that a writer takes toward a subject

Turning Point

the climax or high point of the story where the events change direction

Verbal Irony

a speaker says or writes something that is different from, opposite of, what they actually mean