| A | B |
|---|
| allusion | a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known history or literary event, person, or work |
| attitude | a speaker’s, author’s, character’s disposition toward or opinion of a subject |
| details | the items or parts that make up a larger picture or story |
| devices of sound | the techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry. |
| diction | word choice |
| figurative language | writing that uses devices (as opposed to literal language or that which is actual or specifically denoted) such as metaphor, simile, and irony. |
| imagery | the sensory details of a work; the figurative language of a work |
| irony | a figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning |
| metaphor | a figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term like “as,” “like,” or “than.” |
| narrative techniques | the methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts |
| resources of language | a general phrase for the linguistic devices or techniques that a writer can use |
| rhetorical techniques | the devices used in effective or persuasive language. The more common examples include devices like contrast, repetitions, paradox, understatement, sarcasm, and rhetorical questions |
| satire | writing that seeks to arouse the reader’s disapproval of an object by ridicule. It is usually comedy that exposes errors with an eye to correct vice and folly |
| setting | the background to a story; the physical location of a play, story, or novel. It involves both time and place |
| simile | a directly expressed comparison; a figure of speech comparing two objects, usually with “like,” “as,” or “than.” |
| jargon | the special language of a profession or group |
| literal | not figurative; accurate to the letter; matter of fact or concrete |
| oxymoron | a combination of opposites; the union of contradictory terms |
| parable | a story designed to suggest a principle, illustrate a moral, or answer a question. They are allegorical stories |
| paradox | a statement that seems to be self-contradicting but, in fact, is true |
| parody | a composition that imitates the style of another composition normally for comic effect |
| personification | a figurative use of language which endows the nonhuman (ideas inanimate objects, animals, abstractions) with human characteristics |
| reliability | a quality of some fictional narrators whose word the reader can trust |
| rhetorical question | a question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply |
| soliloquy | a speech in which a character who is alone speaks his or her thought aloud |
| stereotype | a conventional pattern, expression, character, or idea. |
| syllogism | a form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them |
| thesis | the theme, meaning, or position that a writer undertakes to prove or support |
| alliteration | the repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginning of words |
| assonance | the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds |
| ballad meter | a four-line stanza rhymed abcb with four feet in lines one and three and three feet in lines two and four |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| dactyl | a metrical foot of three syllables, an accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables. /UU |
| end stopped | a line with a pause at the end. |
| free verse | poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical |
| heroic couplet | two end-stopped iambic pentameter lines rhymed aa,bb,cc with the thought usually completed in the two-line unit |
| hexameter | a line containing six feet |
| iamb | a two-syllable foot with an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. It is the most common foot in English poetry. U/ |
| internal rhyme | me that occurs within a line, rather than at the end |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words whose sound suggests their meaning |
| pentameter | a line containing five feet |
| rhyme royal | a seven-line stanza of iambic pentameter rhymed ababbcc, used by Chaucer and other medieval poets. |
| sonnet | normally a fourteen-line iambic pentameter poem |
| stanza | usually a repeated grouping of three or more lines with the same meter and rhyme scheme |
| terza rima | a three-line stanza rhymed aba, bcb, cdc |
| tetrameter | a line of four feet |
| antecedent | that which goes before, especially the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers |
| clause | a group of words containing a subject and its verb that may or may not be a complete sentence |
| ellipsis | the omission of a word or several words necessary for a complete construction that is still understandable |
| imperative | the mood of a verb that gives an order |
| modify | to restrict or limit in meaning |
| parallel structure | a similar grammatical structure within a sentence or within a paragraph |
| periodic sentence | a sentence grammatically complete only at the end. |
| ambiguity | multiple meanings a literary work may communicate, especially two meanings that are incompatible |
| apostrophe | direct address, usually to someone or something that is not present |
| connotation | he implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning |
| convention | a device of style or subject matter so often used that is becomes a recognized means of expression |
| denotation | the dictionary meaning of a word |
| didactic | explicitly instructive |
| digression | The use of material unrelated to the subject of a work |
| epigram | a pithy saying, often using contrast. a verse form, usually brief and pointed. |
| euphemism | a figure of speech using indirection to avoid offensive bluntness |
| grotesque | characterized by distortions or incongruities |
| hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration, overstatement |
| rhetorical strategy | the management of language for a specific effect. the planned placing of elements to achieve an effect |
| structure | the arrangement of materials within a work; the relationship of the parts of a work to the whole; the logical divisions of a work |
| style | the mode of expression in language; the characteristic manner of expression of an author |
| symbol | something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else |
| syntax | The structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence. |
| theme | the main thought expressed in a work |
| tone | the manner in which as author expresses his or her attitude; the intonation of the voice that expresses meaning |
| allegory | a story in which people, things, and events have another meaning |
