Term | Definition | Example |
Definition of Terms | A word or expression that has a specific meaning. | Using specific or real-world examples or utilizing theoretical ideas. |
Allusion | A reference to a well-known person, event, or work, assuming that the audience is already familiar with the context. | Mentioning Shakespeare while discussing literature to draw comparisons. |
Ambiguity (Purposeful) | An author’s intentional lack of clarity, prompting the audience to engage with the text to derive meaning. | Presenting multiple viewpoints without clear support for one, requiring analysis to uncover hidden meanings. |
Antithesis & Juxtaposition | Antithesis: Directly contrasting ideas represented within the same sentence. Juxtaposition: Placing opposing symbols, ideas, or characters side by side to highlight differences. | Comparing light and darkness in literature to emphasize themes. |
Assonance & Consonance | Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. Consonance: The recurrence of consonant sounds in close proximity. | Assonance Example: "Mike likes his new bike." Consonance Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." |
Chiasmus | The inversion of words or concepts in a sentence for rhetorical effect. | "Home is where the great are small, and the small are great." |
Colloquialism/Dialect | Colloquialism: Informal language characteristic of a specific region or group. | Variations in English, such as "bin" vs. "can" for garbage containers. |
Connotation & Denotation | Denotation: The literal dictionary definition of a word. Connotation: The emotional or cultural implications associated with a word. | The word “aroma” has a pleasant connotation, while “stench” is negative. |
Epithet | A descriptive term or label for a person or thing, indicating the author's attitude. | Calling someone who enjoys mathematics a "nerd" reflects a bias. |
Euphemism | A softer phrase used to replace a blunt or harsh statement. | Saying “We are going to let you go” instead of “You are fired.” |
Hyperbole/Understatement | Hyperbole: Extreme exaggeration for emphasis. Understatement: Minimizing something to make it less serious. | Hyperbole Example: “I’m never talking to you again.” Understatement Example: Referring to a significant injury as “just a scratch.” |
Idiom | A phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal definitions of the words alone. | “It's raining cats and dogs!” conveys a heavy downpour of rain. |
Imagery (5 Kinds) | Types of Imagery: Visual: Description of sights. Auditory: Description of sounds. Olfactory (smell): Description of scents. Tactile (touch): Description of textures. Gustatory (taste): Description of flavors. | Visual Example: “The green, flowering garden.” Auditory Example: “The sharp ring of the bell.” Olfactory Example: “The rotten fruit smell of the trash.” Tactile Example: “The sandpaper-like texture.” Gustatory Example: “The lemon-sour taste of the candy.” |
Irony (Dramatic/Situational/Verbal) | Dramatic Irony: Audience knows more than the character. Situational Irony: Unexpected outcomes occur. Verbal Irony: Saying the opposite of what one means. | "What lovely weather we’re having" during a storm. |
Litotes | An understated way of expressing a positive idea through negative phrasing. | “That wasn’t half bad.” |
Simile | A comparison between two things using “like” or “as.” | “She’s as graceful as a swan.” |
Mood/Tone | Mood: The atmosphere created in a story through description and setting. Tone: The author’s attitude towards the subject, expressed through their word choice and style. | - |
Motif | A recurring symbol or idea within a work. | The use of red to symbolize danger in a narrative. |
Onomatopoeia | Words that phonetically imitate sounds. | “Boom!”, “Splash!”, “Swoosh!” |
Oxymoron/Paradox | Oxymoron: A two-word phrase with contradictory terms. Paradox: A statement that appears self-contradictory but may reveal a deeper truth. | Oxymoron Example: “Bittersweet.” Paradox Example: “Less is more.” |
Parallelism | The use of similar grammatical structures throughout a passage. | “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” |
Personification | Assigning human qualities to inanimate objects. | “The wind howled.” |
Pun | A humorous play on words exploiting different meanings. | “What do you call sourdough made in a zoo? Bread in captivity.” |
Symbol | An object or action that represents a larger concept | The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom. |
Theme | The underlying message or central idea in a piece of literature. | - |
Sic/Id est (i.e.) | Sic: Indicates a transcription error from the original text. Id est (i.e.): Provides clarification. | “I saw many tree (sic)” or “Odd days contain my favorite class (i.e.) AP Lang.” |
Ibidem (ibid) & Et alli (et al.) | Ibidem (ibid): Refers to a source already mentioned. Et alli (et al.): Refers to additional authors contributing to a work. | “(Dobbs, Almond, Chen, et al., 2009).” |
Et cetera (etc.) & Exempli gratia (e.g.) | Et cetera (etc.): Means “and others.” Exempli gratia (e.g.): Means “for example.” | “The farm contained pigs, cows, goats, etc.” “We can visit different countries, e.g., France and Italy.” |
Magnum Opus | An artist’s or author’s foremost achievement. | “The Grapes of Wrath is often cited as Steinbeck’s magnum opus.” |
Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds in close succession. | “In Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen.” |
Metaphor | A direct comparison between two unrelated things. | “All the world’s a stage.” |
/