| A | B |
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| 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 |
| Onomatopeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. |
| Metonymy | A term from the greek meaning "changed label" or "subsititute name" |
| Mood | The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a workd. Setting, tone, and events can affect this literary term |
| Paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity |
| Parallelism | Also referred to as parallel construction or parallel structure, this term comes from greek roots meaning "beside one another" |
| Ploce | A rhetorical term for repetition of a word or name with a new or more specific sense. |
| Anaphora | A sub-type of parallelism. When the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. MLK used this literary device in his famous "I have adream speech" in 1963 |
| Parody | A work tht closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. It exploits peculiarities of an author's expression |
| Pathos | An emotional appeal used in rhetoric |
| Polyptoton | A rhetorical term for repeition of words derived from the same root but with different endings. |
| Prose | One of the major divisions of genre, refers to fiction and nonfictions, including all its forms. In this literary device the printer etermines the length of teh line; in poetry, the poet determines the length of the line. |
| Rhetoric | From the greek for "Orator" this term describes teh principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and peruasively |
| Satire | A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. |
| Scesis_Onomaton | Figure of repetition in which a set of two or more diferent words having the same ( or very nearly the same meaning occurs withing the same sentence; a successive series of words or phrases whose meanings are generally equivalent. |
| Semantics | The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historicalk and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another. |
| Sententia | Figure of argument in which a wise, witty , or pithy maxim or aphorism is sued to sume up the preceding material |
| Subject Complement | The word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either renaming it or describing it |
| Style | The consideration of style has two purposes: and evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending dictions, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices |
| Syllepsis | Use of a word with two othersm with each of which it is understood differently. |
| Syllogism | From the Greek for "recokining Together." |
| Symploce | A figure of speech in which several successive clauses have the same first and last words. |
| Synathroesmus | The piling up of adjectives , often in the spirit of being invective |
| Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionalyl, the whole is used to represent a part. Examples: To refere to a boat as a "sail" ; to refere to a car as "wheels"; to refer to the violins, violas etc. |
| Synesthesia | When one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another |
| Transition | A word or phrase that links different ideas. Used especially, although notone idea to another. A few commonly used transitional words or phrases are futhermore, consequently, nevertheless, for example, in addition, likewise, similarly, on the contrary |
| Tricolon | The pattern of three phrases in parallel, found commonly in western writing after cicero |
| Understatement | The ironic minimalizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. |
| Universal Audience | An audience consistion of all humankind (most specifically of adult age and normal mental capacity) |
| Utterance | a complete unit of speech in spoken language. It is generally but not always bounded by silence. |
| Validity | Apprehension over the structure of an argument. It is also largerly synonymous with logical truth, however the term is used in different contexts. |
| Verba | Latin: the part of an argument that advances the subject matter |
| Vir Bonus Beni Dicendi | Latin: The good man speeking well |
| Visual Rhetoric | A theoretical framework describing how visual images communicate, as opposed to aural or verbal messages. |
| Wit | In modern usage, intellectualyl amusing language that surprises and delights. |
| Zeugma | Two different words linked to a verb or an adjective which is strictly appropriate to only one of them |
