English 1 AAC Literary Terms

Allusion

a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.

Argument Ad hominem

an argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position or on an issue.

Argument Ad misericordian

an argument appealing to the pity/mercy of the hearers.

Antagonist

the character or force opposing the protagonist; a rival.

Anaphora

the deliberate repetition of the first part of a sentence in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect.

Appostrophe

a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate if animate. (Hello, darkness my old friend)

Appositive

a noun or pronoun- often with modifiers-set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. (My brother's car, a sporty red convertible with bucket seats, is the envy of my friends.)

Cacophony

a harsh discordant combination of sounds; usually to create tension, confusion, or anxiety. Ironically, it can create a harmonious effect if used correctly. (Ex: Poe's poem, The Raven "what is grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore...nevermore")

characterization

the way a writer created and develops characters' personalities: physical description; narrator's direct comments; and character's own thoughts, speech, and actions.

Indirect characterization

author reveals information about a character and his personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him.

Direct characterization

Author makes direct statements about a character's personality and tells what the character is like.

characters

individual who participate in the action of a literary work

cliche

an expression that has been overused (what goes around comes around)

coloquialisms

informal

conflict

A struggle between two opposing forces (man vs man, man vs nature, man vs self, man vs society)

connotation

the emotions associated with a word

denotation

the dictionary meaning of a word

dialect

a version of a language with its own vocabulary and grammatical features

diction

word choice used to convey a certain effect

ellipsis

the deliberate omission of a word or words that are readily implied by the context

epanalepsis

repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause; it tends to make the sentence or clause in which it occurs stand apart from its surroundings.

epistrophe

the repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of a successive clauses; it sets up a pronounced rhythm

ethos

the rhetorical appeal to ethics (right or wrong)

figurative language

language that communicates meanings beyond the literal meanings of words. (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole)

flashback

a scene that interrupts the chronological action to provide information about the past.

foil

a character that provides a striking contrast to another character. By using a foil, a writer can call attention to certain traits possessed by a main character or simply enhance a character by contrast.

foreshadowing

the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future actions.

historical context

the moods, attitudes, and conditions that existed in a certain time (since the voting rights act was passed in 1920, a book was written before 1920 would not contain female characters voting.)

hubris

exaggerated pride or self confidence, many times toward god(s)

hyperbole

a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement ( i'm so hungry i could eat a horse)

idiom

an accepted phrase or expression having a different meaning from the literal (cat's got your tongue)

imagery

descriptive words used by an author to appeal to the 5 senses (the giant tree was on fire with beautiful colors of red, orange, and yellow as the season began to turn)

indirect characterization

the author reveals information about a character and his/her personality through the character's thought, words, and how other characters respond to them

irony

a disconnection between appearance and reality; the opposite of what is expected; unexpected twist

verbal irony

when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite

situational irony

when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect- though the twist is oddly appropriate

dramatic irony

when a character or speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he or she thinks it means, though the audience is and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action.

juxtaposition

placing two or more ideas of concepts side by side to create a contrasting effect

logos

the rhetorical appeal to reason or logic

logical fallacy

error in reasoning that makes your argument less effective and convincing.

metaphor

an implied comparison between two seemingly two unlike things as if they are equal.

mood

the atmosphere in a literary work; the way a reader feels while reading

motif

a recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story(usually connect to theme subject or topic.)

non seguitur

an inference that does not follow logically from the premises

oxymoron

a phrase that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single expression. (jumbo shrimp)

parallelism/parallel structure

a grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence. It involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally developed and similarly phrased.

paradox

occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other through the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals the hidden truth.

pathos

the rhetorical appeal to emotions

periodic sentence

a sentence which has its main clause at the end of the sentence. it forces the reader to retain information from the beginning of the sentence and often builds to a climactic statement with meaning unfolding slowly

personification

a type of figurative language that gives nonliving objects or abstract ideas human characteristics

plot

the sequence of events including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

point of view

the perspective from which a narrative is told

protagonist

the central character; usually the good guy but not always

pun

a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings. puns can have serious as well as humorous uses.

red herring

making an argument with the intention of distracting from the real issue at hand which leads the listener away from the main point of the argument.

repetition

the deliberate use of any element of language more than once- sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern

rhetorical question

a question that requires no answer. It is used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a direct statement.

rhetorical shift

change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, character, or reader.

rhyme

the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem

internal rhyme

rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry

end rhyme

rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines of poetry

simile

the comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words like or as. It is a definitely stated comparison in which the writer/poet says one thing is like another.

suspense

quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience

symbol

an object, person, place, or action that represents an abstract concept

synecdoche

form of a metaphor, a part of something is used to signify the whole. (can you lend me a hand?)

syntax

the way in which a sentence is arranged

theme

the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a motif or subject, which can be expressed in a word or two(such as courage, survival, war, love, etc) this is the idea the author wishes to convey about the motif or subject.

thesis

a statement of purpose; a claim; the argument. In order to complete it must answer the given prompt, briefly reveal claims that prove answer, and explain the significance of answer.

tone

the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and is conveyed through the author's choice of words and detail. I.e. compassionate, sarcastic, cautious, etc.

voice

writer's unique use of language that allows a reader to hear a human personality in the writer's work.