Word to definition and example
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| 4802520087 | Allegory | a narrative, either in verse or prose, in which character, action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart for the literal meaning of a story EX: The Scarlet Letter, Animal Farm | 0 | |
| 4802528013 | Analogy | a process of reasoning that assumes if the two subjects share a number of specific observable qualities then they may be expected to share qualities that have not been observed. EX: "He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks." - Samuel Jackson | 1 | |
| 4802545697 | Anaphora | one of the devices of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. EX: "What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness." -Robert F. Kennedy | 2 | |
| 4802557629 | Anastrophe | the inversion of the usual order of the parts of a sentence. EX: "Ready are you? My own counsel will keep on who is to be trained!" - Yoda | 3 | |
| 4802752424 | Antithesis | A direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words. phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast. EX: "We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change."- John F. Kennedy | 4 | |
| 4802762726 | Aphorism | a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words. EX: "Life is short, art is long, opportunity is fleeting, experimenting dangerous, reasoning difficult." | 5 | |
| 4802770290 | Apostrophe | a figure of speech in which someone (usually, but not always absent), some abstract quality or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present. EX: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel./ Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him. | 6 | |
| 4802781708 | Archetype | a character, action, symbol, or situation which represents universal patterns of human nature; Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist, argued that the root of an archetype is in the "collective unconscious" of mankind. The phrase "collective unconscious" refers to experiences shared by a race or culture. | 7 | |
| 4802792256 | Assonance | The repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words. EX: The words "cry" and "side" have the same vowel sound | 8 | |
| 4802796904 | Asyndeton | The deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses. EX: Be one of the few, the proud, the Marines." -Marine Corps Advertisement | 9 | |
| 4802810178 | Cacophony | the use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious sounds primarily those of consonants to achieve desired results. The use of such words allows readers to picture and feel the unpleasantness of the situation the writer has described through words. EX: My sticky fingers click with a snicker" -John Updike | 10 | |
| 4802821446 | Chiasmus | A type of balance in which the second part of the sentence is balanced against the first but with the part reversed (from the Greek letter chi [X]); also known as antimetabole EX: "My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington." -Obama EX: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country"-JFK | 11 | |
| 4802865088 | Colloquial Expression | Words or phrases characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation | 12 | |
| 4802865089 | Connotation | the emotional implications that words may carry | 13 | |
| 4802865090 | Denotation | the specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or associations | 14 | |
| 4802867181 | Diction | the choice of words in a work of literature and an element of style important to the work's effectiveness- military diction, humorous diction, somber diction, harsh diction | 15 | |
| 4802880924 | Ellipsis | The omission of a word or words necessary for a complete construction but understood in the context. EX: "The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages." | 16 | |
| 4802890906 | Epistrophe | Figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more ties at the end of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases. EX: "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham Lincoln | 17 | |
| 4802912293 | Ethos | (Greek, "character")- establishing one's credibility with the audience by appearing knowledgeable and interested the well-being of the audience; ethical appeal | 18 | |
| 4802918268 | Euphemism | the substitution of an inoffensive, indirect, or agreeable expression for a word or phrase perceived as socially unacceptable or unnecessarily harsh. EX: "overweight" rather than "fat" | 19 | |
| 4802933685 | Irony | Cicero "saying one thing and meaning another." Verbal irony (also called sarcasm) is a trope in which a speaker makes a statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply from the meaning that the words ostensibly express. Dramatic irony (the most important type of literature) involves a situation in a narrative in which the reader knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know. Situational irony (also called cosmic irony) is a trope in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked. However, both the victim and the audience are simultaneously aware of the situation situational irony- which is not the case of dramatic irony. | 20 | |
| 4802960531 | Jargon | refers to a specialized language providing a shorthand method of quick communication between people in the same field. EX: The basis of assessment for Schedule D Case I and II, other than commencement and cessation, is what is termed a previous year basis. (legal jargon) | 21 | |
| 4802968901 | Juxtaposition | The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development. EX: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" -A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens | 22 | |
| 4802983299 | Litotes | understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed. EX: A few unannounced quizzes are not inconceivable | 23 | |
| 4802988929 | Logos | (Greek, "logic") using facts, statistics, historical references, or other such proofs in order to convince the audience of one's position; logical appeal | 24 | |
| 4802993871 | Loose Sentence | A sentence grammatically complete at some point (or points) before the end; opposite of a periodic sentence | 25 | |
| 4802997954 | Metonymy | A figure of speech characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word itself. EX: "The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings." (suits and Wall Street are both examples of metonymy) | 26 | |
| 4803010259 | Mood | the overall atmosphere of a work | 27 | |
| 4803010260 | Motif | images, words, objects, phrases, or actions that appear throughout a work and contribute to developing its overall meaning or theme | 28 | |
| 4803018815 | Paradox | is from the Greek word "paradoxon" that means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted traditional ideas. A paradox is often used to make a reader think over an idea in innovative way. EX: "I can resist anything but temptation." Oscar Wilde | 29 | |
| 4803030043 | Parallelism | the use of components in a sentence (or passage of text) that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter; the use of parallel structure in speech or writing allows speakers and writers to maintain a consistency within their work and to create a balanced flow of ideas. Moreover, it can be employed as a tool of persuasion as well because of the repetition it uses. | 30 | |
| 4803044606 | Pathos | (Greek, "emotion"): a writer or speaker's attempt to inspire an emotional reaction in an audience- usually a deep feeling of suffering, but sometimes joy, pride, anger, humor, patriotism, or any of a dozen other emotions; emotional appeal | 31 | |
| 4803050635 | Periodic sentence | a sentence not grammatically complete before its end | 32 | |
| 4803052630 | Polysyndeton | The repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect EX: "Here and there and everywhere." | 33 | |
| 4803055130 | Rhetorical fragment | incomplete sentence used deliberately for persuasive purpose | 34 | |
| 4803057660 | Rhetorical question | a question asked solely to produce and effect and not to elicit a reply | 35 | |
| 4803065219 | Satire | The use of mockery, irony, humor, and/or wit to attack or ridicule something, such as a person, habit idea, institution, society, or custom that is, or is considered to be, foolish, flawed, or wrong. | 36 | |
| 4803080105 | Shift or Turn | a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader | 37 | |
| 4803083650 | Style | the way a writer writes and it is the technique which an individual author uses in his writing. It varies from author to author and depends upon one's syntax, word choice, and tone | 38 | |
| 4803087142 | Syllogism | a particular kind of argument containing three categorical propositions, two of them premises, one a conclusion. Logical form allows one to substitute subjects and predicates for letters (variables). EX: If all humans are mortal, and all Greeks are humans, then all Greeks are mortal. | 39 | |
| 4803097208 | Synecdoche | a type of figurative language in which the whole is used in place of the part or the part is used in place of the whole EX: "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11/ In this case, the part (bread) stands for the whole (food or perhaps other necessities in life) | 40 | |
| 4803104613 | Syntax | the pattern or structure of the word order in a sentence or phrase; analyzing syntax involves noticing how the author manipulates sentence structure for rhetorical effect and to produce a desired reaction form the audience | 41 | |
| 4803111463 | Tone | attitude of the writer toward his subject | 42 | |
| 4803112848 | Vernacular | a language or dialect specific to a region or group of people; the normal spoken form of language | 43 | |
| 4803114820 | Voice | An author's distinctive literary style, basic vision and general attitude toward the world | 44 | |
| 4803117216 | Zeugma | a device in which unexpected items in a sentence are linked together by a shared word EX: The runner lost the race and his scholarship | 45 |
