English - Vocab List 1

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

Assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

ex: “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain”

Consonance

occurs when two words have the same consonant sound following different vowel sounds

ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Cacophony

the use of a combination of words with loud, harsh sounds

ex: “What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore”

Euphony

the combining of words to create a pleasing sound

ex: "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

Onomatopoeia

using or creating words that imitate or name a sound

ex: “bam!”

Simile

a comparison between two things, usually using the words 'like' and 'as'

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Extended Metaphor

a metaphor that spans multiple sentences or paragraphs

ex: life is a highway vs. Life is a highway that takes us through green pastures, vast deserts, and rocky mountains

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

ex: "mile-high ice cream cones"

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

ex: the moon was crying

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

ex: “wheels” = car

Metonymy

a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated

ex: crown = monarch/king

conceit

an extended metaphor where the writer sets up and embellishes a comparison between two things. is similar to other comparisons like simile or metaphor, but goes beyond them by establishing multiple points of comparison over an extended amount of writing

ex: “Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head”

metaphysical conceit

compare physical, everyday imagery to that of abstract imagery

ex: “the union between two lovers to the two pointers of a compass”

Allusion

a reference to another literary work, a historical event, or even a philosophical idea

ex: “She had the feeling she had a golden ticket”

Apostrophe

a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object

ex: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Caesura

a poetic device in which there is a pause between a line of poetry

ex: In the following line from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, the comma after "Verona" marks a ______: "In fair Verona, where we lay our scene."

Diction

the linguistic choices a writer makes to effectively convey an idea, a point of view, or tell a story

Didactic Poetry

Poetry that instructs, either in terms of morals or by providing knowledge of philosophy, religion, arts, science, or skills.

Lyric Poetry

expresses a person's state of mind or attitude

ex: "Go, lovely Rose —

Tell her that wastes her time and me,

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee (Edmund Waller, Go Lovely Rose)

Narrative Poetry

type of poetry that tells a story

ex: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is narrated by a grieving man who, over the course of 18 stanzas, describes his mysterious confrontation with a raven and his descent into despair

Elegy

a form of poetry in which the poet or speaker expresses grief, sadness, or loss

or

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead

Dirge

A brief hymn or song of lamentation and grief; it was typically composed to be performed at a funeral

End-stopped line

would be a complete thought or phrase appearing on a single line

ex: “I drew thee to my Valentine”

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next

ex:

Meter

the rhythm (or pattern of beats) in a line of poetry

Imagery

Elements of a poem that invoke any of the five senses to create a set of mental images

ex: The air smelled salty, reminding me that the beach is nearby

Poetic Foot

(basic unit of measurement of a meter) repeated sequence of rhythm comprised of two or more stressed and/or unstressed syllables

iamb

a unit, usually of two syllables, containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

ex: deLAY or da DUM

Iambic

the pattern of a poetic line made up of iambs

ex: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?

trochee

a two-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which a stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed syllable

ex: Poet = PO-et

trochaic/trochaic meter

having a rhythm with one long or strong syllable and one short or weak syllable

or

a line of poetry composed of trochees

ex: "ONCE up-ON a MID-night DREA-ry, WHILE I PON-dered, WEAK and WEA-ry"

Anapest

a three-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable

ex: "understand" = un-der-STAND

anapestic

a metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable

dactyl

is an example of a poetic foot, which is a collection of syllables with a specific pattern of stress and unstress. is a three-syllable foot in which the pattern is one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

ex: MEL-o-dy

dactylic

A metrical foot consisting of an accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables

Pyrrhic

a metrical foot of two unaccented syllables

ex: TO A green thought

IN A green shade

Spondee

a two-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which both syllables are stressed

ex: DOWN-TOWN

Spondaic

A metrical foot consisting of two accented syllables

ex: Break, break, break,

On thy cold grey stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me.

Refrain

a line, phrase, or single word that is repeated periodically within the poem to build up drama, emphasis, or rhythm

ex: Twinkle, Twinkle, little star

Repetition

repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas

Anaphora

a poetic technique in which successive phrases or lines begin with the same words

Rhythm

the recurrence of specific sounds based on long and short patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables

Scansion

visual cues to show which syllables are weak and which syllables are strong

Monometer

a line of verse consisting of a single metrical foot

ex: Thus I

Pass by,

And die:

As One,

Unknown

Dimeter

a line of verse consisting of two metrical feet

Trimeter

a meter of three metrical feet per line

Tetrameter

line of poetic verse that consists of four metrical feet

Pentameter

the repetition of a pattern of syllables five times in the same line

Hexameter

a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet

Heptameter

a type of meter where each line of verse contains seven metrical feet

Octameter

a line of verse that contains sixteen syllables or eight metrical feet

Style

the way in which a writer writes. It takes into account literary devices like diction, tone, figurative language, and word choice and creates a 'voice' for the writer

Syntax

word order, tense, subject-verb agreement and even sentence length. The way words are put together in a sentence affect the tone and meaning of a piece of writing

Theme

the message an author wants to communicate through the piece

or

a universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature

Symbol

a person, object, place, event, or action that suggests more than its literal meaning

Tone

a literary device that conveys the author's attitude toward the subject, speaker, or audience of a poem

Irony

a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality

ex: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth – The speaker——— finds company in solitude through the vision of daffodils

Verbal Irony

when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean

ex: someone saying “Just what I needed”, after spilling coffee on their shirt

dramatic Irony

a literary and theatrical device in which the reader or audience knows more than the characters they are following

ex: In the classic myth of Oedipus, Oedipus leaves his family because it has been foretold that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus doesn't know, however, that he was adopted

sonnet

A 14-line poem with a variable rhyme scheme

or

it has fourteen lines of iambic pentameter linked by an intricate rhyme scheme

or

a poem of 14 lines that reflects upon a single issue or idea

(sonnets are associated with desire)

Blank Verse

poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines, almost always iambic pentameter

Couplet

a unit of poetry containing two lines of verse that form a singular thought or idea. can be rhymed or un-rhymed

heroic couplet

a rhyming couplet, or pair of lines with end rhymes in iambic pentameter, meaning there are five iambic 'feet' on each line.

is a specific type of couplet that discusses heroic themes and that usually uses iambic pentameter

octave

a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter (in English) or of hendecasyllables (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme for an _______ is ABBA ABBA

Sestet

six lines of poetry forming a stanza or complete poem

ex:

And was going to ask Wimpy if he had bought any spinach.

“M’love,” he intercepted, “the plains are decked out in thunder

Today, and it shall be as you wish.” He scratched

The part of his head under his hat. The apartment

Seemed to grow smaller. “But what if no pleasant

Inspiration plunge us now to the stars? For this is my country.”

Volta

is a rhetorical shift or dramatic change in thought and/or emotion

quatrain

is a four-line stanza of poetry. It can be a single four-line stanza, meaning that it is a stand-alone poem of four lines, or it can be a four-line stanza that makes up part of a longer poem

ryhme

the repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

end rhyme

rhymes that occur in the final words of lines of poetry

ex: "The ladies men admire, I've heard, / Would shudder at a wicked word."

Eye Rhyme

an imperfect rhyme in which two words are spelled similarly but pronounced differently

ex: move and love

Half rhyme

two words that have only their final consonant sounds and no preceding vowel or consonant sounds in common

ex: (such as stopped and wept, or parable and shell

feminine ryhme

a rhyme involving two syllables

ex: (as in motion and ocean or willow and billow)

masculine rhyme

When two words rhyme at the end of two lines of poetry, and when those words' final syllables are stressed. For instance, keep/deep

Internal Rhyme

a rhyme that occurs in the middle of lines of poetry, instead of at the ends of lines

ex: "I drove myself to the lake / and dove into the water."

Cadence

The patterning of rhythm in natural speech, or in poetry without a distinct meter

ex:

Understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

ex: "It seems to be raining a little," in the middle of a hurricane

Catalogue

verse that presents a list of people, objects, or abstract qualities

ex: Glory be to God for dappled things—

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;

And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

Aubade

A love poem or song welcoming or lamenting the arrival of the dawn

Blazon

catalogues the physical attributes of a subject, usually female

ex:

anti-blazon

relies on negations and negatives to describe the female, as William Shakespeare did, insisting his mistress' eyes were “nothing like the sun.”

Ode

A formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea

Limerick

• closed-formed poem with a light and humorous subject matter

• consists of five lines

• the first four set up the joke

• the final line delivers the punch line

Villanelle

a fixed-form poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain and also follows a specific rhyme scheme using only two different sounds

or

A French verse form consisting of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas

ex: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Ballad

a poem with a musical quality