Studied by 17 people
Watertown High School
Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Antagonist
A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
Brevity
Succinct, brief, to-the-point
Cacophony
Harsh sounds
Conceit
Elaborate metaphor, fanciful, over-the-top, runs through the whole piece
Denouement/Resolution
The conclusion, falling action, or resolution of a story; French for "unraveling;" mysteries are unraveled, conflicts are solved, questions raised by plot are answered
Diction
Word choice
Archaic
Old-fashioned, no longer sound natural in conversation
Colloquialism
A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y'all, ain't)
Dialect
A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.
Jargon
Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.
Profanity
Speaking disrespectfully about something that is sacred or treating it with disrespect
Slang
An informal, often short-lived kind of language used in place of standard words
Trite
Expressions that lack depth or originality, are overworked and not worth mentioning in the first place
Vulgarity
Language widely considered crude, disgusting, and oftentimes offensive, but occasionally adds elements of realism to the piece.
Euphony
Soft, pleasing sounds
Figures of speech
Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
Metaphor
A comparison without using like or as, both are unlike one another
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it (suit instead of business executive, the pen is mightier than the sword)
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Simile
A comparison of two unlike things using like or as
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword), ABCs for alphabet, or saying new set of wheels for a car
Understatement/Litotes
The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is (not a bad singer)
Flashback
A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events
Foils
Opposites in one or more characteristic ways
Foreshadowing
A warning or indication of a future event, a hint
Hubris
Exaggerated pride or self-confidence resulting in retribution
Imagery
Description that appeals to the senses, creates "pictures" in the reader's mind (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality, what is expected to happen does not
Juxtaposition
Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts
Loose sentence
A complex sentence in which the main clause comes EARLY and the subordinate clause follows
Periodic sentence
A complex sentence in which the main clause comes at the END and is preceded by the subordinate clause (main clause is closer to the period)
Motif
A recurring theme, subject or idea
First-person
"I" and "me" standpoint, personal perspective
Second-person
"You" and "your" standpoint, speaking to someone
Third-person
"He," "she," and "they" perspective point of view in which the narrator is outside of the story - an observer, objective point of view
Limited omniscient narrator
A third person narrator who generally reports only what ONE character sees and thinks
Omniscient narrator
A narrator with unlimited awareness, understanding, and insight of ALL characters, setting, background, and other elements of the story
Narrative pace
The speed at which an author tells a story; the movement from one point or section to another.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase (jumbo shrimp)
Paradox
A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd in common sense but in reality is actually true (good loss; the more love I share, the more love I have)
Parallel structure
Same pattern of words, phrases repeated for effect
Parody
A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect, mockery, and/or ridicule
Pathos
Suffering, a character's actions elicit pity or sorrow from the reader
Pedantic
An insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting their small errors and emphasizing their own expertise in some small or boring subject area
Poetic justice
When characters "get what they deserve" in the end of a story
Prose
Any writing that is not poetry
Protagonist
Main character or hero in a story
Rhetoric
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques
Rhetorical questions
A question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer
Satire
A work that targets human vices and weaknesses or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule
Shift
A change in tone or style in a text
Symbol
A person, place, thing, or event that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract (dove=peace, heart=love, character=evil or good)
Syntax
Word order and placement (how words/phrases are PLACED to create meaning)
Theme
The message of the author in a text
Tone
The author's attitude that is evident in the text, created through word choice
Tragic hero
A character who experiences an inner struggle because of a character flaw
Trope
A figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds (beautiful blue blanket)
Apostrophe
Addressing someone or something that is not present as though they actually are
Assonance
Partial rhyme/repetition of vowel sounds (made a cake)
Ballad
A story/narrative in verse form that is meant to be sung
Caesura
A natural pause or break in a line of poetry
Consonance
Partial rhyme/repetition of consonant sounds within words (little battle, with this)
Couplet
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
Enjambment
The running over of a sentence or thought from one line of poetry to another
Figurative language
General name for many devices or techniques, it creates comparisons by linking concrete sensory details with abstractions
Free verse
Poetry that does NOT have a regular meter or rhyme scheme, irregular pattern
Heroic couplet
A couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter
Internal rhyme
A rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next
Inversion
Flipping a line of poetry (usually for effect or to make a rhyme work)
Onomatopoeia
A word that reflects their meaning and sound (buzz, hiss, meow)
Refrain
Repeated lines of poetry (chorus)
Sonnet
Strict poetic form, written in 14 lines in iambic pentameter
Stanza
A unit or group of lines in poetry that are separated by spaces
Volta
Turn/shift within a POEM
Note
Flashcard