English Quiz Personification - Wit

personification

A type of figurative language where the writer gives an inanimate or nonliving thing human characteristics. The tree branches waved and the leaves laughed.

persuasion

The act of trying to convince a person of a particular point of view, using a combination of logic, reason, and emotion.

persuasive essay

Essay that attempts to convince the reader through the use of a strong voice, the writer's conviction, vivid example and illustration to support the stated position taken by the essay.

persuasive technique

Refers to the strategies used to change or confirm an audience's thinking about an issue or subject. Strategies may include logic and reason, a strong appeal to the emotions, examples and illustrations, and citing personal experience.

plot

The structure of a story; the sequence of events that happen in a story. Plot elements include the initial incident, rising action, the climax, falling action, and resolution.

point of view

The voice or speaker in a story; a story can be told in the first person (when a character tells the story from his or her perspective—this is indicated by "I") or a story can be told in the third person, telling things from the perspective of an onlooker; the third-person point of view can be omniscient (where the author reveals everything), or limited omniscient (where an author will select what to reveal, often only the point of view of one character).

prologue

An introductory section or scene in a literary work that often provides information about events that took place before the work begins.

propaganda

Information or ideas that are spread for the purpose of promoting some person or group's opinions. Propaganda is usually misleading as no other perspectives are considered.

protagonist

The central or main character in a story; all that happens in a story revolves around the protagonist.

proverb

A short statement or saying that offers a general truth or piece of advice. A faithful friend is medicine for life.

purpose

The anticipated outcome that drives your course of action. In writing, your purpose may be to inform or persuade your audience about a given topic.

pun

An amusing play on words where humour arises from double meanings. What's black and white and red (= read) all over? A newspaper.

quarain

See Stanza.

question and answer

a. Assessment style where questions are posed and students demonstrate knowledge through their answers. b. A rhetorical style in which a writer poses questions and provides answers as a means to convey information.

refrain

The line or lines that are repeated in poetry or music. In songs, we commonly refer to the refrain as the chorus.

repetition

A literary device that involves the repeating of words, phrases, or structures for a desired effect. I came, I saw, I conquered.

research

A systematic form of study used to establish a fact or revise a theory.

resolution

The point in the story where the conflict is resolved.

rhetorical question

A question asked for a dramatic effect and to which no answer is expected.

rhyme

The repetition of similar sounds at the end of two or more lines of poetry. I think that now is the time / For you to understand rhyme.

rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhymed words at the end of the lines of a poem. Each new rhyme sound is assigned a letter from the alphabet beginning with "a." This poem has an abcb rhyme scheme. Roses are red a, Violets are blue b, Sugar is sweet c, And so are you b.

rhythm

Think of rhythm as the music or beat of a poem. Often poems have a rhythm or beat that is consistent throughout the poem.

rising action

The events that occur before the climax of a story where the conflict in the story increases and action intensifies. The events that take place between the exposition and the climax of the story.

round character

See Character.

sarcasm

A form of irony whereby a person or writer says or writes the opposite of what is meant. "That was fun!" (When the speaker means the event was boring)

satire

A way of writing to make fun of a person or topic or human quality by making it appear ridiculous. This often involves the use of irony or sarcasm.

sestet

See Stanza.

setting

The time and place or the when and where of a story. Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy during the Middle Ages.

simile

A type of figurative language where the writer compares two essentially unlike things using like, than, or as; a simile is an indirect comparison. She is like the sunshine of my life. He is as strong as an ox.

slang

Words that are used popularly, or in a particular class of society, but are not generally acknowledged as correct English. Calling a car a "beater" is slang and means that it is old and undependable.

soliloquy

In drama, lines spoken by a character to him or herself rather than to another character. The character is "thinking aloud" in order to reveal information about him/herself or an event that the audience needs to know.

sonnet

A fourteen-line, lyric poem that focuses on a specific theme and is written in iambic pentameter. The two most traditional sonnet structures are the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet and the Shakespearean (English) sonnet. The Petrarchan is divided into the eight-line octave and the six-line sestet. The rhyme scheme of the octave is usually abba abba; the rhyme scheme of the sestet is either cde cde cde or cd cd cd. The octave often asks a question or states a problem while the sestet provides the answer or solution. The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three four-line quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The usual rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Each quatrain usually develops a variation of the main theme. The rhyming couplet usually provides a summary or conclusion.

speaker

An imaginary voice taken on by a poet to tell you a poem. Do not assume that the speaker of a poem is the author—it is rarely the case.

stanza

A "paragraph" of poetry or a group of lines sectioned off in a poem. If a poem you are reading has three stanzas, each "section" will be distinct and separated from the other by a blank line; you will easily be able to see and count each stanza. Stanzas are named according to the number of lines found in them. For example: couplet—two-line stanza, quatrain—four-line stanza, sestet—six-line stanza, octave—eight-line stanza.

statistical evidence

The use of statistics or numeric principals to support a theory or thesis.

stereotyped (stock) character

A character that is immediately identified with a group. A stereotypical character is one we are immediately familiar with because we have seen the type before. The smart geek, the absent-minded professor, the evil step-mother.

style

A distinctive way in which a writer uses language, both choice and arrangement of words. Style is the way authors express what they have to say. Style can be formal or familiar, plain, or complex.

subjective (language, tone)

A style of writing that reveals opinions, thoughts, and feelings of the speaker rather than presenting objective evidence or facts.

surprise ending

An ending that the reader did not anticipate.

suspense

A feeling of curiosity or expectation about events to follow or an outcome in a story. The tension an author creates in a story or narrative poem. As a reader, you want to know what will happen next.

symbol / symbolism

An object that represents or stands in for a more abstract idea—for example, a dove is a symbol for peace. The colour white might symbolize peace, purity, or surrender.

synecdoche

A figure of speech based on the association of ideas where a part stands in or represents a whole. I have five mouths to feed. Mouths represent people. Check out my new wheels. Wheels represent a car.

theme

The main idea that an author develops in a story or poem. A theme can usually be summarized in one sentence and is universal. One possible theme for Romeo and Juliet is that "Romantic love is the most important aspect of life and that it should conquer all."

thesis/thesis statement

A written statement in an essay that outlines the purpose or topic of the paper. See Point of View.

tone

Expresses the author's attitude toward his or her subject; the tone of a story might be angry, or the tone of a poem might be bitter; the words a writer carefully uses will help you identify tone.

tragedy

A story or play in which the main character is brought to death or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a result of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or an inability to manage bad circumstances. Shakespeare's plays, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth.

understatement

A statement that lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant. If you were in the desert and it was 45 degrees Celsius, you might say, "It's rather warm outside today."

voice

The dominant tone of a literary work that underlies the character or narrator.

wit

A clever and often humorous use of words. Many puns are a form of wit