English Honors Midterm Review

Text evidence

Information from the literature that an author uses to support their idea or opinion

Thesis

A statement that expresses the central claim or argument that you seek to prove in an essay

Supporting details

Details that support the main idea

Transitions

Words and phrases that provide a connection between ideas, sentences, and paragraphs.

Author's purpose

Author's reason for writing (PIE- persuade, inform, entertain)

Main Idea

The overall message of the text that a writer intends to convey to the audience.

Claim

An argument to support a primary point or position.

Evidence

A literary device that appears in many essays in the form of paraphrase and quotations and presented to persuade readers.

Commentary

Your interpretation of the concrete detail (evidence) as it relates to your topic sentence/thesis statement.

Dialogue

A literary device referring to spoken lines by characters in a story that serve many functions such as adding context to a narrative, establishing voice and tone, or setting forth conflict.

Imagery

Figurative language to evoke a sensory experience.

Figurtive Language

Type of descriptive language used to convey meaning in a way that differs from its literal meaning.

Simile

Literary device that compares two different objects with like or as.

Metaphor

Literary device that uses comparison without using like or as

Personification

A figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human.

Syntax

The way the sentences are constructed.

Irony

A literary device in which contradictory statements or situations reveal a reality that is different from what appears to be true.

Flashback

A device that interrupts the flow of the plot to "show" readers/viewers an event that happened previously.

Symbol

Something representing something beyond literal meaning. It embodies and evokes a range of additional meaning and significance.

Allusion

A reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar.

Character (reveal)

The process of uncovering the traits, motivations, and complexities of a character in a narrative

Parallelism

Grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentences. Involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally developed.

Rhetorical question

Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer

Inference

A conclusion that a person reaches after having a piece of evidence to support it

Detail

Facts included or those omitted.

Language

Characteristics of the body or words use.

Diction

The author's choice of words and their connotations.

Epic

A long narrative poem that is elevated and dignified in theme, tone, and style.

Epic Simile

A comparison of two unlike things over the course of several lines or verses of poetry

Nostos

Greek term for homecoming.

Xenia

Greek term for hospitality.

Epithet

Descriptive phrases such as "long-suffering Odysseus" or "the man of twists and turns" highlight the hero's traits.

Hubris

Greek term for pride.

Kleos

Greek term for glory.

Qualities of an epic

- A physically impressive hero of national or legendary significance (Odysseus is known as a cunning and formidable warrior).
- Vast settings that cover multiple lands and seas.
- Deeds of superhuman courage and valor (Odysseus battling monsters and defying the gods).
- The involvement of supernatural forces (Greek gods like Athena, Poseidon, and Zeus influence the course of events).
- Elevated poetic style and objectivity from the poet.
- In medias res
- Epic simile
- Invocation of a muse

In Medias Res

The narrative starts in the middle of the action.

Traits of an epic hero

- Embodies Greek values like intelligence, bravery, and honor.
- Clever and resourceful, although fallible and capable of error
- Skilled and courageous
- Journey is not just a physical one but a quest for survival, homecoming (nostos), and glory (kleos).
- Despite flaws, masters human traits and lives on long after death

Call to Adventure

The hero receives an invitation to begin a quest or journey

Supernatural aid

A helper or guide appears to assist the hero.

Crossing the threshold

After accepting the quest and being armed for its dangers, the hero is ready to step forward toward his first battle.

Road of trials

After surviving his first major test, the hero is presented with a series of challenges comprising the major weight of his journey.

Atonement with the father/abyss

is portion of the monomyth is concerned with the confrontation with the ultimate force of the tale.

Ultimate Boon

Having risen to the status of godhood, the hero can now access the gifts of the god.

Return

Even after succeeding in his primary task, the hero's journey is far from over.

Master of two worlds

One of the hero's final tasks is to assimilate this new knowledge with his old understandings of the world.

Freedom to live

With the journey complete and the hero integrated back into the world, he or she is now free to live his or her life as he or she sees fit.

Prepositional phrase

A group of words that begin with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

Object of preposition

The noun or pronoun that ends the prepositional phrase.

Subject

A part of a sentence that contains the person or thing performing the action (or verb) (who?)

Helping verb

Helps the main verb express action or a state of being

Action verb

A verb that expresses either physical or mental activity

Linking verb

If you can replace the verb with a form of
the verb "to be" (is, am, are, was, were, be, been or being), the verb in the sentence is a linking verb.

Predicate nominative

Subject complement that describes the subject as a new noun or noun phrase.

Predative adjective

An adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of the sentence

Indirect object

The word or phrase that receives the direct object

Direct object

Receives the verb from the subject

Objective compliment

The word/phrase that precedes or follows the object in the sentence

Compound pred. nom

Can be either simple (one noun / noun phrase) or compound (two or more nouns / noun phrases)