Praxis II - 5154 Language Arts

theme

Central idea of a work of literature

conflict

A struggle between opposing forces

characterization

Actions, dialogue, and narrative description that reveal a sense of a character's personality to the reader.

symbolism

A person, place or object which has a meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well

Setting

time and place in a piece of literature

Tone

The author's attitude towards what they are writing that translates into your attitude

style

the way the writer chooses to arrange his sentence structure as well as the words he chooses

figurative language

A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words.

metaphor

direct comparison

simile

indirect comparison that uses "like" or "as"

allusion

a reference to another literary, artistic work, or cultural icon/event.

irony

A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

verbal irony

In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning

dramatic irony

In this type of irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work

situational irony

Irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

cosmic irony

Type of irony where it seems that God or fate is manipulating events so as to inspire false hopes, which are inevitably dashed.

allegory

A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions

assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

apostrophe

A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply

fable

A brief story with a moral; often uses animals that act and speak like human beings

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

bandwagon

propaganda technique;

"most people have this or are doing this, so you should too"

loaded words

propaganda technique;

using words that have strong emotions

testimonials

propaganda technique; using an expert or celebrity to sell or support

name calling

propaganda technique; saying bad things about your competitor

plain folk

propaganda technique; using ordinary people or trying to sound ordinary to sell/persuade/support something

glittering generalities

propaganda technique; employing vague, sweeping statements using language associated with values and beliefs deeply held by the audience without providing supporting info or reason

stereotype

A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

assumptions

"Taken for granted" statements that explain the nature of the concepts, definitions, purpose, relationships, and structure of a theory.

biases

a prejudice towards one particular point of view or ideology.

fallacies

An often plausible argument using false or invalid inference; a false or mistaken idea.

poetry

A kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagination.

drama

major literary genre; any text meant to be performed rather than read

non-fiction

writing that tells about real people, places, and events

prose

One of the major divisions of genre, this refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all it's forms.

fiction

A literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact

media

Any work that doesn't exist primarily as a written text; movies and films, websites, commercials, billboards, radio programs.

folklore

The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.

folk tales

stories that focus on human or animal heroes

hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor

idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.