Academic Vocab E3H

allegory

work with two levels of meaning- a symbolic and a literal one

analogy

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

anecdote

a short story that focuses on a single episode or moment in a person's life

aphorism

a brief statement that expresses a general principle or truth about life

appeal

the qualities of an argument/piece of work that make something interesting or persuasive to the reader

archetype

pattern in literature that is found in a variety of works from different cultures throughout the ages

creation myth

particular myth that explains how the earth, life on earth and universe began

folklore

the collection of traditional customs and stories passed through the generation by word of mouth

effectiveness

success of meeting the goal of a piece of writing; the outcome to pursuade, to inform, to entertain

gothic literature

Characterized by grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events

symbol

an object, person or event that represents an abstract idea

rhyme scheme

a pattern of ending sounds in a stanza or entire poem

argument

expressing a position on an issue supported with reasoning and evidence

primary source

created by someone who experienced or witnessed a real life event

satire

a work that makes fun of wrong doing or foolisness, usually to bring about change or understanding

hyperbole

a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis

style

distrinctive way in which a work of literature is written; how something is said, including word choice, sentence length, tone and imagery

historical context

the social conditions that inspire or influence a creation of a piece of work

inverted syntax (inversion)

reversal in the expected order of words

oral literature

literature passed from one generation to another by performance or word of mouth

parallelism

the use of similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance

philosophy

activity people undertake when they seek to understand something

hero

The main character in a literary work, typically one whose character or deeds inspire the admiration of the reader.

romanticism

an artistic movement, emphasized imagination, emotion and self expression

Trasncendentalism

a philospohy, emphasized personal conscience and the connection of humankind, nature, and the divine

treatment

how the writer deals with their subject; related to theme and the writers choice of genre or form, tone and voice

organization

a pattern used to arrange ideas and information

sensory details

imagery; appealing to the 5 senses