| A | B |
|---|
| homily | Literally means sermon. It can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. |
| hyperbole | Using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Often has a comic effect. Often produces irony at the same time. |
| imagery | "Senses"; sensory details of language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On broader/deeper level, one image can represent more than one thing. Can apply to the total of all the images in a work |
| inference/infer | To make a judgement; To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. |
| invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. |
| irony/ironic | Contrast between what is stated explicitly & what is really meant; difference between what appears to be & what actually is true. Used for many reasons, but frequently used to create poignancy or humor. |
| verbal irony | sarcasm; words literally state the opposite of writer's /speaker's true meaning. |
| situational irony | Events turn out the opposite of what was expected. |
| dramatic irony | Facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to reader & audience. |
| juxtaposition | Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. Comparing things that are not alike. |
| metaphor | A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one or the other, suggesting some similarity. Makes wtiting more vivid, imaginative, thought provoking, and meaningful. |
| metonymy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. |
| narrative | the art of story telling; or an account of an event or series of events. |
| onomatopoeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words: buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, and murmur. |
| oxymoron | A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. i.e., "jumbo shrimp, or cruel kindness." |
| paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opoposed to common sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. i.e. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair..." Macbeth |
| parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic efxfect &/or ridicule.Distorts or exaggerates features of the original. i.e., scary movies. |
| pedantic | Overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. |
| personification | The author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. Used to make these abstractions , animals, or objects appear more vivid to the reader. |
| point of view | The perspective from which a story is told. On essay portion of exam, assess the author's attitude. |
| first-person narrator | Tells the story with the first person pronoun, "I", & is a character in the story. |
| third-person narrator | Relates the events with the third-person pronouns, "he, she, it". |
| third-person ominiscient | The narrator with godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts & actions of any or all characters. |
| third-person limited ominiscient | Presents the feelings & thoughts of only one character, & only the actions of all remaining characters. |
| prose | One of the major divisions of genre, because they are written in ordinary language. Anything not poetry or drama. |
| repetition | Duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. If well done, it links & emphasizes ideas while allowing the reader the comfort of recognizing something familiar. |
| rhetoric | From the Greek word "orator". Describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, & persuasively. The Art of Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos or Logic, emotions, & credibility. |
| rhetorical appeal | Writer tries to sway the audience's attention & response to any given work. Logos, Ethos, & Pathos. |
| rhetorical modes | Flexible term describes the variety, conventions, & purposes of major kinds of writing. |
| exposition | Expository writing: to explain & analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, & appropriate discussion. |
| argumentation | Thesis: to prove the validity of an idea, point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, thoughtful discussion & insightful argument that thoroughly convinces the reader. |
| description | Recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that being described. Senses narration. May be straightforward & objective or highly emotional & subjective. |
| narration | Tell a story or narrate an event or series of events. |
| rhetorical question | A question that is asked merely for effect & does not expect a reply. The answer is assumed. |
| satire | "The Simpsons." targets human vices & follies for reform or ridicule. |
| simile | An explicit comparison, normally using "like", "as", or if. |
