Terms : Hide Images
| 15452878558 | absolute | unqualified in extent or degree; total (The only escape; no way out; everybody has one) | 0 | |
| 15452886259 | ad hominem | appealing to personal considerations rather than logic or reason "to the man" | 1 | |
| 15452901552 | allegory | symbolic representation of another event (Animal Farm = Russian Revolution) | 2 | |
| 15452907019 | anachronism | something out of time and place (clocks in Julius Caesar) | 3 | |
| 15452913342 | analepsis | flashback; depiction of earlier story points after later events have been revealed | 4 | |
| 15452939176 | anaphora | repetition of word or phrase at the beginning of verses, clauses, or paragraphs | 5 | |
| 15452945060 | anecdote | short, humorous story | 6 | |
| 15452949266 | antithesis | direct contrast; opposition; juxtaposition of opposite thoughts or images (It was the best of times...) | 7 | |
| 15452958439 | aphorisms | brief statement of truth or principle (Ben Franklin's early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy...) | 8 | |
| 15452974567 | aposiopesis | speaker stops in the middle of a sentence - usually denotes strong emotion | 9 | |
| 15459543785 | apostrophe | addressing an absent person or object (Oh, Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?) | 10 | |
| 15459554559 | aside | dialogue not heard by other characters onstage | 11 | |
| 15459568951 | asyndeton | omission of conjunctions where they would normally occur (I came, I saw, I conquered) | 12 | |
| 15459575349 | atmosphere | mood | 13 | |
| 15459578050 | catharsis | purifying or cleansing of emotions at the end of tragic drama | 14 | |
| 15459587365 | chiasmus | inversion of 2nd of 2 parallel structures (What trade, thou knave? Thou naughty knave, what trade?) | 15 | |
| 15459597537 | colloquial language | conversational writing | 16 | |
| 15459621091 | conceit | extended metaphor | 17 | |
| 15459625195 | connotation | meanings or feelings associated with a word - beyond literal meaning | 18 | |
| 15459628804 | denotation | direct or specific meaning of a word | 19 | |
| 15459632392 | denouement | final resolution of the plot | 20 | |
| 15459635723 | deus ex machina | "God in the machine" Unexpected, improbable character introduced into a work to influence outcome | 21 | |
| 15459668639 | dialect | regional language | 22 | |
| 15459668640 | double entendre | word or expression designed to have two meanings | 23 | |
| 15459672887 | elevated diction | formal or lofty speech | 24 | |
| 15459676028 | ellipsis | omission of a word or phrase necessary for grammatical construction in order to convey rhetorical effect | 25 | |
| 15459685450 | ennui | feeling of world weariness | 26 | |
| 15459688055 | epigram | short, witty poem expressing a single observation | 27 | |
| 15459698637 | epilogue | short section at end of work spoken to audience to outline characters' future | 28 | |
| 15459703116 | ethos | persuasive appeal based on the speaker's ethics (trust me, I'm a doctor... I'm the President; I wouldn't lie) | 29 | |
| 15459728182 | euphemism | substituting a mild term for a harsh term (grandma passed away; she's pleasantly plump) | 30 | |
| 15459736130 | fable | short story involving animals used to teach a lesson | 31 | |
| 15459738784 | farce | humorous play having highly improbable plot and exaggerated characters | 32 | |
| 15459746207 | framework story | a story in which one or more other stories are told (Frankenstein; The Princess Bride; The Canterbury Tales) | 33 | |
| 15459770567 | foil | a secondary character whose personality contrasts with and highlights the main character's: Tom is a foil for Huck | 34 | |
| 15459802858 | hamartia | character flaw leading to tragedy (Brutus' honor in Julius Caesar) | 35 | |
| 15459822348 | hubris | excessive pride or arrogance (King Creon in Antigone) | 36 | |
| 15459831053 | hyperbole | exaggeration | 37 | |
| 15459835007 | litotes | understatement with negative balanced by positive (not that bad; no small problem) | 38 | |
| 15459841722 | logos | persuasive appeal to logic (common sense approach; facts and figures, etc.) | 39 | |
| 15459848474 | metaphor | comparison without the words like or as | 40 | |
| 15459853861 | metonymy | word or phrase substituted for another closely associated word or phrase | 41 | |
| 15459860329 | non-sequitur | logic does not follow | 42 | |
| 15459867246 | onomatopoeia | words which imitate the sound with which they are associated (buzz, flick, beep) | 43 | |
| 15459877759 | parable | short story teaching a moral or religious lesson | 44 | |
| 15459890769 | paradox | seemingly contradictory statement which in nonetheless true (F451 - The more you drink, the thirstier you are) | 45 | |
| 15459898451 | pathos | persuasive appeal to sympathy and emotion (Feed the Children ads, MDA telathon, etc.) | 46 | |
| 15459910100 | periodic sentence | meaning suspended until the end of the sentence | 47 | |
| 15459913094 | personification | inanimate objects are given human qualities | 48 | |
| 15459916804 | polysyndeton | repetition of conjunctions for rhetorical effect (Last night I ate pizza and ice cream and chips and fudge.) | 49 | |
| 15459931685 | pun | play on words with different meanings (soul/sole in Julius Caesar) | 50 | |
| 15459937822 | sarcasm | cutting, ironic remark intended to wound | 51 | |
| 15459941209 | satire | attacks human vice or folly through wit | 52 | |
| 15459944114 | simile | comparison using like or as | 53 | |
| 15459948332 | soliloquy | character reveals thoughts while alone onstage | 54 | |
| 15459952630 | syllogism | three point logical deduction (Major premis, minor premis, deduction) | 55 | |
| 15459958389 | synecdoche | part stands for the whole (Lend me a hand) | 56 | |
| 15459962724 | synesthesia | description of one sense by words generally used to describe another (hungry eyes) | 57 |
