Honors English 9 Vocabulary List 21

Allusion

a reference to a well known piece of history or literature

Mood

the emotional quality or character of a literary work

Situational irony

when what happens is the opposite of what is expected

Tone

the author’s attitude towards the subject

Oxymoron

a phrase comprised of two contradictory words

Dynamic character

a character who goes through inner change throughout the story

Static character

a character who goes through little or no change throughout the story

Simile

an indirect comparison using like or as

Metaphor

a direct comparison of two unlike things

Personification

giving human qualities to nonhuman things

Hyperbole

an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally

Claim

the main argument supported by evidence and reasoning

Transitional phrases

words or a group of words that connects ideas showing the relationship between them

Commentary

a set of explanatory notes on a text

Supporting evidence

facts, statistics, or examples used to back up a claim

Run on sentence

two independent clauses jammed together without the correct punctuation

Fragment

an incomplete thought passed off as an independent clause

Dramatic irony

when the reader knows more than the characters do

Foil

a character who has the opposite traits of the protagonist

Thesis statement

concise focused statement that summarizes the main topics of an essay