Terms : Hide Images
| 2090667324 | Allegory | A narrative, either in verse or prose, in which character, action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of the story | 0 | |
| 2090667615 | Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds. | 1 | |
| 2090668242 | Allusion | A reference to another work of literature, person, or event | 2 | |
| 2090669519 | Ambiguity | An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. | 3 | |
| 2090672390 | Analogy | A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way | 4 | |
| 2090673561 | Antecedent | A word, phrase, or clause to which a following pronoun refers. Ex: Iris tried, but she couldn't find the book. (Iris is the antecedent.) | 5 | |
| 2090673764 | Antithesis | A contrast or opposition | 6 | |
| 2090674006 | Aphorism | A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. | 7 | |
| 2090674678 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. | 8 | |
| 2090677520 | Atmosphere | An emotional response stimulated by the author's descriptions of setting. | 9 | |
| 2090678774 | Caricature | A portrait (verbal or otherwise) that exaggerates a facet of personality. | 10 | |
| 2090679951 | Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. | 11 | |
| 2090680058 | Colloquial | Characteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing. | 12 | |
| 2090680208 | Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. | 13 | |
| 2090680848 | Connotation | An idea that is implied or suggested | 14 | |
| 2090681195 | Denotation | Literal meaning of a word | 15 | |
| 2090681371 | Diction | A speaker or writer's choice of words (formal, informal, colloquial, full of slang, poetic, ornate, plain, abstract, concrete, etc.); diction has a powerful effect on tone | 16 | |
| 2090684242 | Didactic | A term used to describe writing that teaches a specific lesson or moral. | 17 | |
| 2090684478 | Euphemism | An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant | 18 | |
| 2090685397 | Extended Metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. | 19 | |
| 2090685536 | Figurative Language | Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling. | 20 | |
| 2090686251 | Figure of Speech | A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Examples are apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonomy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. | 21 | |
| 2090686639 | Generic Conventions | This term describes traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example, they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing. | 22 | |
| 2090687614 | Genre | A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter | 23 | |
| 2090688067 | Homily | a sermon or morally instructive lecture, a platitude | 24 | |
| 2090689863 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor | 25 | |
| 2090690365 | Imagery | Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) | 26 | |
| 2090690868 | Inference | A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience. | 27 | |
| 2090693006 | Invective | (n.) a strong denunciation or condemnation; abusive language; (adj.) abusive, vituperative | 28 | |
| 2090693007 | Irony | An unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen. It involves dialogue and situation, and it can be intentional or unplanned. Dramatic irony centers around the ignorance of those involved while the audience is aware of the circumstance. | 29 | |
| 2090693502 | Litotes | A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. | 30 | |
| 2090695722 | Loose Sentence | A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows | 31 | |
| 2090695990 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. | 32 | |
| 2090696991 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it | 33 | |
| 2090697198 | Mood | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader | 34 | |
| 2090697799 | Narrative | A rhetorical strategy that recounts a sequence of events, usually in chronological order. | 35 | |
| 2090698187 | Onomatopoeia | A word that imitates the sound it represents. | 36 | |
| 2090698471 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. | 37 | |
| 2090698998 | Paradox | A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. | 38 | |
| 2090699198 | Parallelsim | the repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns | 39 | |
| 2090699555 | Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. | 40 | |
| 2090699635 | Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. | 41 | |
| 2090699788 | Periodic Sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. The independent clause is preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone. The effect is to add emphasis and structural variety. | 42 | |
| 2090699883 | Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes | 43 | |
| 2090699884 | Point of View | the perspective from which a story is told | 44 | |
| 2090699987 | Prose | One of the major divisions of genre, ___ refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech. | 45 | |
| 2090700136 | Repetition | Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis | 46 | |
| 2090700361 | Rhetoric | From the Greek for "orator," this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively. | 47 | |
| 2090700422 | Rhetorical Modes | This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purpose of the major kinds of writing. The four most common of these include exposition, argumentation, description, and narration. | 48 | |
| 2090700488 | Sarcasm | Bitter or cutting speech; speech intended by its speaker to give pain to the person addressed. | 49 | |
| 2090700906 | Satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals. | 50 | |
| 2090701310 | Semantics | The analysis of the meaning of language, especially of individual words. | 51 | |
| 2090701447 | Style | An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices OR Classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors. | 52 | |
| 2090701778 | Subject Complement | Noun or adjective that renames or modifies the subject; connected by a linking verb | 53 | |
| 2090703047 | Subordinate Clause | A clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb | 54 | |
| 2090703681 | Syllogism | A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. | 55 | |
| 2090703907 | Symbol | A thing that represents or stands for something else, esp. a material object representing something abstract. | 56 | |
| 2090704196 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword). | 57 | |
| 2090704346 | Synesthesia | A phenomenon in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as the hearing of a sound resulting in the visualization of a color. | 58 | |
| 2090712874 | Syntax | The arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences. One of the three steps of language formation along with Phonology and Morphology, which helps define linguistics | 59 | |
| 2090713263 | Theme | A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work. | 60 | |
| 2090713438 | Thesis | In expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position. Expository writing is usually judged by analyzing how accurately, effectively, and thoroughly a writer has proven the thesis. | 61 | |
| 2090713608 | Tone | A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels. | 62 | |
| 2090714268 | Transition | A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph | 63 | |
| 2090714358 | Understatement | A statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant. | 64 | |
| 2090714764 | Wit | In modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. | 65 |
