Hallford Literary terms Semester 1

Rhetorical Devices

literary techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of expression (e.g. Some: alliteration, allusion, amplification, analogy.)

antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers (e.g. "I told Kevin to bring his book for the next class" < "Kevin" is the antecedent. "The dog wagged its tail" < "its" is the antecedent.)

dialogue

conversation between two or more people (e.g. "Did Hallford really make this quiz?" "Yeah she did," says Adrith.)

dissonance

harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds (e.g. A baby crying, a person screaming and an alarm going off.)

ellipsis

the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context ("Some People prefer cats; others, dogs")

epigraph

a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work (e.g. Red Clowns)

flashback

the insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative (e.g. In Of Mice and Men, Lenny kills a mouse, a puppy, and then later, Curley's wife.)

imagery

the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses (e.g. He could see the boy through streaked glass, flashing with sunlight, blurring his vision.)

motif

a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works (e.g. Green and white in the Great Gatsby)

parallelism (parallel sentence structure)

the use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms (e.g. What You See Is What You Get. To know her is to love her.)

paraphrase

a restatement of a text in a different form or in different words, often for the purpose of clarity (e.g. Rewording bruh)

parenthetical

a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain (e.g. I bought ice cream last night (and it was really good!)

point of view

the vantage point from which a story is told (e.g. First person, second person, third person)

Rhetorical question

a question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer (e.g. What business is it of yours?)

riddle

a question requiring thought to answer or understand; a puzzle or conundrum (e.g. What can run but can't walk?)

sarcasm

harsh, cutting language or tone intended to ridicule (e.g. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?)

setting

the time, place, and environment in which action takes place (e.g. FFA takes place in NYC during the year 1965)

soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play (e.g. Actor talks to ppl, but actors in the book can't hear it)

adage

a familiar proverb or wise saying (e.g. "You will be more blessed to give than to receive.")

allegory

a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions (e.g. hidden messages of the themes in Of Mice and Men, although they weren't "explicitly" stated.)

alliteration

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words (e.g. Black baby bit big black balls.)

allusion

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize (e.g. We heard a kind of war-whoop, such as David might have emitted when he knocked out the champion Goliath.)

analogy

a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way (e.g. What a general is to an army, a CEO is to a company.)

anecdote

a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event (e.g. "When I was a kid, I used to have a dog who happens to be my best friend. I couldn't imagine my life without him." (Usually longer than this).)

appositive

a word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun (e.g. My teacher, Ms. Hallford, is a very interesting character. < "Ms. Hallford" is the appositive)

archetype

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response (e.g. The Mother Figure: Such a character may be represented as Fairy Mother who guides and directs a child.)

cliché

an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off (e.g. and they all lived happily ever after)

climax

the point of highest interest in a literary work (e.g. Macbeth murders Duncan)

colloquialism

informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing (e.g. Ballpark - used to describe something that is close to accurate Bomb - to do terribly on a test Cattywampus - a crooked thing)

complex sentence

a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (e.g. Because the soup was too cold, I warmed it in the microwave.)

compound sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions (e.g. The pirate captain lost her treasure map, but she still found the buried treasure (but = coordinating conjunction).)

concrete details

details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events (e.g. The tree had gnarled branches and deep black holes in its trunk.)

diction

the word choices made by a writer (e.g. Psychotomimetic instead of imitative)

epilogue

a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened (e.g. "A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The Sun with sorrow will not show its head. Go hence, to have talk about more of these sad things; Some will be pardoned, and some punished; For this was never a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo")

epiphany

a moment of sudden revelation or insight (e.g. A student from Ms. Hallford's class thinks deeply about what assignments to do for school, and after 20 minutes remembers there is a 5-page formal essay due today which they have not started on.)

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant (e.g. saying "he passed on" rather than "he died")

exposition

the introduction to a story, including the primary characters' names, setting, mood, and time (e.g. Once upon a time, there were three bears. There was a Daddy.)

fantasy

a story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters; a fantasy may be merely whimsical, or it may present a serious point (e.g. Harry Potter; Tinker Bell)

figurative language

language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, personification, etc.) (e.g. It's raining cats and dogs)

foreshadowing

the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work (e.g. Literary classics)

Genre

A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content. (e.g. Literary Classics)

hyperbole

intentional exaggeration to create an effect (e.g. I'm so hungry I could eat a big horse)

idiom

an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect (e.g. Break a leg)

irony

the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs (e.g. The directions were as clear as mud/ No Shit Sherlock)

litotes (lie-tuh-tees)

a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, "It was not a pretty picture.")

metaphor

a diret comparison of two different things (e.g. The snow is a white blanket.)

mood

the emotional atmosphere of a work (e.g. The mood in toward the end of To Kill a Mockingbird is somber.)

narrator

the one who tells the story; may be first- or third-person, limited or omniscient (e.g. Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games)

onomatopoeia

a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds (e.g. KABOOM! Ka-blast.)

oxymoron

an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined (e.g. "cruel kindness" or "living death")

paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth (e.g. he worked hard at being lazy)

personification

endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics (e.g. The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky. The ocean danced in the moonlight.)

plot

the action of a narrative or drama (e.g. Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.)

resolution

the falling action of a narrative; the events following the climax (e.g. Everyone dies in the end.)

satire

the use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions (e.g. Political cartoons)

scene

a real or fictional episode; a diviosn of an act in a play (e.g. Acts of the play are divided into these.)

simile

a comparison of two things using "like," "as," or other specifically comparative words (e.g. "He is as hungry as a horse")

simple sentence

a sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause (e.g. The mangy, scrawny stray dog hurriedly gobbled down the grain-free, organic dog food.)

Surrealism

an artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control (e.g. A bird wearing a coat, a teacup made of fur, musical instruments that drape like fabric).

symbol

an object that is used to represent something else (e.g. The dove is a symbol of peace.)

syntax

the manner in which words are arranged into sentences (e.g. The boy jumped happily. The boy happily jumped. Happily, the boy jumped.)

theme

a central idea of a work (e.g. Don't judge a book by its cover)

thesis

the primary position taken by a writer or speaker (e.g. "Constant use of computers may disturb family unity and increase divorce in society.")

tone

the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience (e.g. Sardonic, apologetic, light-hearted, somber)

turning point

the point in a work in which a very significant change occurs (e.g. Normal day in Ohio, but then Spiderman sprays his AK-47 on local civilians. Oh no what is happening! Who will come to save the day!?)

understatement

the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it actually is; a deliberate under-emphasis (e.g. "Yeah my bugatti is not that fast," says Andrew Tate.)