IB English Vocab/Literary Elements

Provocative

causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction (often sexual), especially deliberately

Extol

to praise highly

Quell

to calm, pacify

Brawn

muscular strength

Efface

to erase

Plaintive

sounding sad or mournful

Veneration

great respect; reverence

Brazenly

doing something in a bold and shameless way

Copious

abundant, plentiful

Artisan

someone in a skilled trade, specially with their hands

Furtive

attempting to avoid notice or attention

Glutton

someone who consumes too much food or drink

Ardent

enthusiastic, passionate

Engender

to create; to cause

Delineate

to describe accurately

Nefarious

extreme wickedness

Querulous

grumbling; grumpy

Labyrinthine

irregular and twisting

Pugnacious

eager to fight

Flat character

character that has only 1 characteristic

Round character

character that has multiple characteristics

Dynamic character

character that can change

Static character

character that stays the same

Diction

author's choice of words

denotation

literal definition of a word

connotation

the motions and ideas associated with a word

syntax

the arrangement of words in a sentence

prose

the ordinary form of writing (not drama or poetry nor any form of writing with meter in it)

clause

has a subject with a verb; cannot stand on its own; dependent on the sentence

independent clause

has a subject and a verb; can stand by itself

simple sentence

formed by 1 independent clause

compound sentence

2 or more independent clauses

complex sentence

1 independent clause and 1 or more dependent clauses

compound-complex sentence

2 or more independent clauses and 1 or more dependent clauses

periodic sentence

complex sentence but the independent clause is closest to the end

cumulative sentence

complex sentence but the dependent clause is closest to the end

ethos

appeal to credibility

pathos

appeal to emotions and ideas/motions

logos

appeal to logic; counterarguments

persona

 characteristics/identity the speaker adopts

Meter

the number and types of stresses in a line

Foot

the basic unit of measurement of poetry

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of adjacent or closely associated words.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words or phrases in poetry and lyrics

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words and phrases in poetry and lyrics

Apostrophe

A direct address to an absent human being or a personified object (like the sun)

Internal rhyme

rhyme occurring within the line

End rhyme

rhyme occurring at the end of line

Near/slant rhyme

rhyme where words sound the same but do not rhyme perfectly

Antithesis

when there are parallel structures that contrast ideas

Chiasmus

parallel structures where elements are reversed

Anaphora

repetition of words, phrases, or clauses, at the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, paragraphs

Synecdoche

when part of the whole is used to represent the whole

Metonomy

when something closely associated, but not part of the whole, is used to represent the whole

disingenuous

not straightfoward; crafty

ruse

a crafty trick

promulgate

promote or make widely known

surreptitously

done by secretive means

endow

provide with an asset

lurid

presented using very vivid details, especially giving explicit details of crime or sexual exploits

feign

pretend to be impacted by something

ambivalent

simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain

dissonant

lacking harmony

baying

to bark or howl loudly

capricious

impulsive and unpredictable

stolid

calm, dependable, showing little emotion or animation

coquettish

flirtatious; behaving in a way to show playful sexual attraction

affectation

behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress

whimsical

playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way

antithetical

directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible

ignominy

public shame and disgrace

enmity

mutual hatred

xenophobic

a fear or dislike of anything foreign

zeal

great enthusiasm for an object or cause