IB English vocab terms flashcards

For final

Allegory

A narrative that has two separate meanings

Bias

Promoting one, specific point of view in a text and deliberately excluding others

Editorial

The article in a newspaper or journal which expresses the publication's opinions on the news

Embody

To represent something in a clear and obvious way; be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to (an idea, quality, or feeling)

Poignant

Evoking a keen sense of sadness and regret

Critique

A reasoned criticism of a piece of writing

Text type

The terms used to describe a non-literary genre

Text

Any verbal or visual production conveying meaning

Work

\n A literary text

Genre

The word used to describe a literary text type

Logical appeal

Supporting a position with evidence, facts, or statistics

Emotional appeal

A method of persuasion that's designed to create an emotional response

Ethical appeal

Establishes the writer/speaker as sincere and qualified to make such remarks

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

Layout

The way a text is presented on a page (applies to media rather than literary texts)

Exuberant

Full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness

Somber

\n Dark or dull in color or tone

Characterization

The way a writer creates a character in order to convince the reader

Verse

This can be either one stanza in a poem, or it can refer to the entirety of poetry

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels

Figurative speech

Speech that communicates meaning beyond a literal interpretation of its words

Analogy

\n Illustrating the subject under discussion by making a parallel comparison

Colloquial

Informal language; often specific to particular social, local or age-related groups

Pastoral

Describing a rural scene in an idealized, simple way; attribution idyllic qualities to the countryside and innocence to those who live there

Form

In poetry, usually the arrangement of lines and stanzas

Soliloquy

A dramatic convention in which one person, alone on the stage, speaks their thoughts aloud

Hypophora

The speaker first asks a question then answers it

Epitomize

To be the perfect example or representation of (something)

Commentary

Close detailed description of a literary or non-literary text

Pithy

Vigorously expressive and terse (sparing in the use of words, abrupt)

Homonym

A word with more than one meaning, often used in puns

Assonance

Where two or more similar vowel sounds within words occur in sequence

Dramatic Irony

Occurs in plays when the audience knows more about the events than the characters do, and so can understand the implications of the characters' thoughts and actions while the characters cannot

Tricolon

A list of three; A sentence in which there are three parts or clauses; Has a powerful effect on audience

Polysyndeton

A kind of tricolon using the words 'and' in between each and every item listed whereas it is only necessary to use 'and' before the last item; Used to stress the importance of every item

Monologue

A piece of writing which is meant to be spoken by (only) one person

Tragedy

A technical term applied to drama, but which more broadly applies to other literary forms; a play in which the main character makes a mistake, realizes their mistakes and pays for it, usually with death

Nostalgia

A sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past

Motif

A recurring idea or image in a text

Rhyme

The repetition of similar or identical sounds at the end of, or within, lines of poetry

Atmosphere

A general way of describing mood

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration

Dispassionate

Not influenced by strong emotion, and so able to be rational and impartial

Parody

An imitation of a person intending to ridicule them

Encapsulate

To show or express the main idea or quality of (something) in a brief way

Vernacular

The language of a local context

Parallelism

Writing /speaking in structures that are grammatically parallel; Helps listener/reader understand points better by making them flow smoothly

Narrative

A spoken or written account of connected events; a story

Ambiguity

When a word has a double meaning

Sensationalize

Describing something in an exaggerated way to shock and engage the reader, frequently a characteristic of journalistic writing

Dialogue

A conversation between two or more people

Innuendo

An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one

Microcosmic

Encapsulating in miniature the characteristics of something much larger

Anecdote

The recounting of a small incident to illustrate a point; sometimes humorous

Lyrical

Song-like effect, expressing the ideas of the author in an imaginative and beautiful way

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Quatrain

A four line stanza

Melancholy

A feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause

Sinister

Looking likely to cause something bad, harmful, or dangerous to happen

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

Ethos

Trustworthiness of speaker or writer; Need to establish credit with the audience and feel confident of their right to deliver the speech to that audience

Imagery

Words that create a picture in the reader's mind, to make the thing described clearer or more vivid

Rhythm

A pattern of strong and weak beats

Antithesis

Used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect

Bleak

Charmless and inhospitable; Cold and forbidding; Not hopeful or encouraging, unlikely to have a favorable outcome

Pedantic

Excessively concerned with minor details or rules; over scrupulous

Irreverent

Showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously

Theme

The underlying meaning or idea in a text

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work

Homophone

A word that sounds the same as another word but is spelled differently

Understatement

The presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is; Making shocking statements seem casual to emphasize how common the practice has become

Alliteration

Where two or more words begin with the same sound and occur in sequence

Cacophony

A harsh discordant mixture of sounds; an unpleasant, inharmonious sound effect

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds at the end of the word, often found in poetry and in advertisements

Metaphor

A comparison in which the thing being described is said to be something else to make the description more vivid (not using "like" or "as")

Oxymoron

A description of something which appears to be its opposite, or impossible (jumbo shrimp)

Elevated Diction

Diction of a high intellectual or moral level and a high rank or social standing

Simile

A comparison in which the thing being described is said to be like another in order to make it more vivid (uses "like" or "as")

Pun

A play on words

Syntax

Choice and organization of words in sentences

Burlesque

Ridiculous exaggeration in language or performance which makes the discrepancy between the words and the situation or the character silly

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Comedy

A broad literary genre which ends happily or satisfactorily

Onomatopoeia

Where a word sounds like the sound it is describing

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

Dissonance

The use of harsh-sounding, unusual, or impolite words in poetry to create a disturbing effect or to catch the reader's attention by interrupting a smooth flow of words (the opposite of assonance)

Whimsical

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

Redolent

Full of fragrance or color; Causing thoughts or memories of something

Personification

Giving human characteristics to something which is not human

Stereotype

The attribution of certain characteristics to a specific group of people, often the product of prejudiced ideas

Catharsis

The cleansing of emotions of the characters; Any radical change that leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects

Conventions

The particular aspects of language us that typify a text type; Aspects of language use you would expect to find in a given text type

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Vulgar

Lacking sophistication or good taste; Making explicit and offensive reference to sex or bodily functions; coarse and rude

Refrain

A repeated section, usually in poetry

Tautology

Saying the same thing twice in different words, unnecessarily

Resonant

Having the ability to evoke enduring images; memories or emotions

Assertive

Having or showing a confident and forceful personality

Paradox

A statement which seems to be self-contradictory but upon reflection is logical