Terms : Hide Images
| 6605056001 | allusion | a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art within a piece of literature | 0 | |
| 6605056002 | aphorism | a general truth or observation about life, usually stated concisely and pointedly | 1 | |
| 6605056003 | apostrophe | when an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed. | 2 | |
| 6605056004 | archetype | the term applied to an image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke profound emotion because it touches the unconscious memory and thus call into play illogical but strong responses(see the archetype handout for specifics) | 3 | |
| 6605056005 | colloquialism | an expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing. It lies between the upper level of dignified formal, academic, or "literary" language and the lower level of slang (y'all, buzz off, wanna, gonna) | 4 | |
| 6605056006 | connotation | all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests (as opposed to denotation) | 5 | |
| 6605056007 | denotation, | the dictionary definition of a word (as opposed to connotation) | 6 | |
| 6605056008 | deus ex machina | the employment of some unexpected and improbable incident in a story or play to make things turn out right | 7 | |
| 6605056009 | details | the facts given by the author or speaker as support for the attitude or tone | 8 | |
| 6605056010 | euphemism | a device where an indirect expression replaces a direct one for the purpose of eliminating unpleasantness | 9 | |
| 6605056011 | flat character | has only one or two personality traits. S/he is one-dimensional and can be summed up by a single word or phrase. | 10 | |
| 6605056012 | round character | has more dimensions to his or her personality. S/he is complex and multi-faceted, like real people. | 11 | |
| 6605056013 | dynamic character | undergoes change during the work | 12 | |
| 6605056014 | static characters | stays the same throughout the work | 13 | |
| 6605056015 | foil | any person or sometimes an object that through strong contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another | 14 | |
| 6605056016 | idiom | a use of words, a grammatical construction peculiar to a given language or an expression that cannot be translated literally into a second language (it's raining cats and dogs) | 15 | |
| 6605056017 | juxtaposition | placing two or more things side by side for comparison or contrast: not in parallel structure | 16 | |
| 6605056018 | litote | a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite (EX: a million dollars is not a little amount) | 17 | |
| 6605056019 | metonymy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Example: pen is mightier than the sword | 18 | |
| 6605056020 | motif | a recurring element in a work that supports the narrative elements | 19 | |
| 6605056021 | paradox | apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny. The purpose of a this is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought | 20 | |
| 6605056022 | pathos | the quality in a work of literature that arouses a feeling of pity, tenderness, or sorrow in a reader | 21 | |
| 6605056023 | persona | literally, a mask. The term is widely used to refer to a "second self" created by an author and through whom the narrative is told. It may be a narrator as in Huckleberry Finn. | 22 | |
| 6605056024 | rhetorical shift | a change from one tone, attitude, etc. Look for key words like but, however, even though, although, yet, and so on. | 23 | |
| 6605056025 | synaesthesia | is the mixing of the senses. | 24 | |
| 6605056026 | synechdoche, | part of something is used to stand for the whole thing. Example: "Check out my new wheels!" | 25 | |
| 6605056027 | vernacular | the everyday spoken language of people in a particular locality, and writing that imitates or suggests such language; word choice | 26 | |
| 6605056028 | zeugma | when two different words that sound exactly alike are yoked together; when a preposition or verb has two or more objects on different levels EX: He had holes in his jeans and holes in his confidence. | 27 | |
| 6605056029 | absolute | is a group of words consisting of a noun or pronoun, and "ing" or "ed" verb form, and any related modifiers. They modify the whole sentence rather than a particular part of it. They are always set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or pair of commas (or dashes) because they are parenthetical elements. | 28 | |
| 6605056030 | 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 | 29 | |
| 6605056031 | antithesis | involves a direct contrast of structurally parallel word groupings, generally for the purpose of contrast Example: "We think in generalities, but we live in details." (Alfred North Whitehead) | 30 | |
| 6605056032 | asyndeton | a condensed form of expression in which elements customarily joined by conjunctions are presented in series without the conjunctions. Example: Caesar's "Veni, vedi, vici"—"I came, I saw, I conquered." | 31 | |
| 6605056033 | balanced sentence | a sentence in which the clauses are parallel—that is matched in grammatical structure. When used carefully, they can be especially effective in alerting readers to a strong comparison between two ideas. Example: Scratch a lover, and find a foe. Dorothy Parker | 32 | |
| 6605056034 | chiasmus | A verbal pattern (a type of antithesis) in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. Example: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." Shakespeare | 33 | |
| 6605056035 | cumulative (loose sentence) | it begins with the main clause and then adds more modifiers to explain, amplify or illustrate. They parallel the way we naturally think. Cumulative They accumulate information as they proceed. Loose because they are not tightly structured. Example: Education has no equal in opening minds, instilling values, and creating opportunities. | 34 | |
| 6605056036 | periodic sentence | Opposite of the cumulative sentence. Saves the main clause for just before the end(the period) of the sentence. This sentence creates suspense for the reader by reserving the important information for the end. Example: In opening minds, instilling values, and creating opportunities, education has no equal. | 35 | |
| 6605056037 | polysyndeton | the use of sentences, clauses, phrases, or words in coordinate constructions and linked by coordinating conjunctions. Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm | 36 | |
| 6605056038 | syntax | the arrangement of words in a sentence; sentence structure | 37 | |
| 6605056039 | blank verse | verse written in unrhymed, iambic pentameter | 38 | |
| 6605056040 | couplet | two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. | 39 | |
| 6605056041 | free verse | unrhymed poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter. It seeks to capture the rhythms of speech | 40 | |
| 6605056042 | sonnet | a fourteen-line lyric poem usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter a. Shakespearean/English sonnet—a sonnet which consists of three quatrains and a couplet. The most common rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. b. Petrarchan/Italian sonnet—a sonnet which consists of an octave and a sestet with the rhyme scheme being abbaabba cdecde. There is usually a pronounced tonal shift between the octave and sestet as well. | 41 | |
| 6605056043 | lyric poem | verse that expresses the personal observations and feelings of a single speaker | 42 | |
| 6605056044 | open form | basically free verse, no rhyme or rhythm | 43 | |
| 6605056045 | closed form | must have rhyme and/or rhythm | 44 | |
| 6605056046 | enjambment | the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction of a verse or couplet on to the next verse or couplet. In other words, the line is not end-stopped, but wraps around to the next line. | 45 | |
| 6605056047 | inversion | a change in normal word order (The Yoda syntax) | 46 | |
| 6605056048 | cacophony | a harsh, unpleasant combination of sound. | 47 | |
| 6605056049 | euphony | pleasing sounds. | 48 | |
| 6605056050 | Telegraphic sentence | Short, concise sentence with no frills. Example: Truth prevails. Love wins. | 49 | |
| 6605056051 | Omniscient point of view | A type of third-person narration where the narrator knows and sees multiple perspectives | 50 | |
| 6605056052 | alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds Example"Silence surged softly..." | 51 | |
| 6605056053 | assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables Examples: "purple curtain," "young love" | 52 | |
| 6605056054 | cacophony | the opposite of euphony; a harsh, unpleasant combination of sound. Cacophony may be an unconscious flaw, or it may be used consciously for effect, as Browning and Hardy often used it. | 53 | |
| 6605056055 | consonance | the repetition in two or more words of final consonants in stressed syllables Example: "east and west" | 54 | |
| 6605056056 | euphony | pleasing sounds. Opposite of cacophony. | 55 | |
| 6605056057 | meter | a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry | 56 | |
| 6605056058 | Feet | are the individual building blocks of meter. | 57 | |
| 6605056059 | What does an Iambic foot sound like | duh-DUH, as in "above" | 58 | |
| 6605056060 | What does Anapest sound like | duh-duh-DUH as in "but of course" | 59 | |
| 6605056061 | What does Dactyl sound like | DUH-duh-duh, as in "honestly" | 60 | |
| 6605056062 | What does Trochee or trochaic sound like | DUH-duh, as in "pizza" | 61 | |
| 6605056063 | How can poets build a line of verse | Stringing together feet: To build a line of verse, poets string together repetitions of one of1 foot: monometer2 feet: dimeter 3 feet: trimester 4 feet: tetrameter 5 feet: pentameter 6 feet: hexameter | 62 | |
| 6605056064 | Iambic pentameter | duh-DUH (five iambic feet in one line...Shakespearean sonnets) | 63 | |
| 6605056065 | rhyme | the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem | 64 | |
| 6605056066 | Approximate/slant rhyme | two words are alike in some sounds, but do not rhyme exactly (Example: now and know) | 65 | |
| 6605056067 | End rhyme | occurring at the ends of lines (the most common type of rhyme) | 66 | |
| 6605056068 | Internal rhyme | occurring within a line | 67 | |
| 6605056069 | rhyme scheme | the pattern of end rhymes, labeled with capital letters for the purpose of analysis | 68 | |
| 6605056070 | rhythm | the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into a pattern | 69 | |
| 6605056071 | ballad | a song or poem that tells a story of tragedy, adventure, betrayal, revenge, or jealousy... from the oral tradition | 70 | |
| 6605056072 | blank verse | verse written in unrhymed, iambic pentameter | 71 | |
| 6605056073 | dramatic monologue | a poem in which a character speaks to one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed | 72 | |
| 6605056074 | elegy | a poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual | 73 | |
| 6605056075 | epic | a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society | 74 | |
| 6605056076 | epitaph | an inscription on a gravestone or a commemorative poem written as if it were for that purpose | 75 | |
| 6605056077 | free verse | unrhymed poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter. It seeks to capture the rhythms of speech | 76 | |
| 6605056078 | heroic couplet | 2 lines of poetry that rhyme and are in iambic pentameter | 77 | |
| 6605056079 | limerick | a humorous, rhyming five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme | 78 | |
| 6605056080 | lyric poem | verse that expresses the personal observations and feelings of a single speaker | 79 | |
| 6605056081 | narrative poem | a poem that tells a story | 80 | |
| 6605056082 | ode | a complex and often lengthy lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some lofty or serious subject, addresses a subject Example ode to my coffee | 81 | |
| 6605056083 | sonnet | a fourteen-line lyric poem usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter | 82 | |
| 6605056084 | Shakespearean/English sonnet | a sonnet which consists of three quatrains and a couplet. The most common rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. | 83 | |
| 6605056085 | Petrarchan/Italian sonnet | a sonnet which consists of an octave and a sestet with the rhyme scheme being abbaabba cdecde. There is usually a pronounced tonal shift between the octave and sestet as well. | 84 | |
| 6605056086 | sestina | a poem that consists of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy. It makes no use of refrain. The form is usually unrhymed; rather it has a fixed pattern of end-words which demands that these end-words in each stanza be the same, though arranged in a different sequence each time. 123456 615243 364125 532614 451362 246531 (62) (14) (53) Examples: check out McSweeney magazine web version-- they only publish sestinas. Also, check out "Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop for an example of the form | 85 | |
| 6605056087 | villanelle | a poem that has 19 lines, 5 stanzas of three lines and 1 stanza of four lines with two rhymes and two refrains. The 1st, then the 3rd lines alternate as the last lines of stanzas 2,3,and 4, and then stanza 5 (the end) as a couplet. It is usually written in tetrameter (4 feet) or pentameter. "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop is an example; so is "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas | 86 | |
| 6605056088 | caesura | (or cesura) A pause or break in a line of verse. Originally, in CLASSICAL literature, the caesura characteristically divides a FOOT between two words, usually near the middle of a line. Some poets, however, have sought diversity of rhythmical effect by placing the caesura anywhere from near the beginning of a line to near the end. | 87 | |
| 6605056089 | closed form | must have rhyme and/or rhythm | 88 | |
| 6605056090 | couplet | two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. Heroic couplet is also in iambic pentameter. | 89 | |
| 6605056091 | enjambment | the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction of a verse or couplet on to the next verse or couplet. In other words, the line is not end-stopped, but wraps around to the next line example . https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/glossary-terms/detail/enjambment | 90 | |
| 6605056092 | inversion | a change in normal word order Example: "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" from Frost's "Mending Wall" makes more sense when you say "There is something that doesn't love a wall." | 91 | |
| 6605056093 | open form | basically free verse, no rhyme or rhythm | 92 | |
| 6605056094 | refrain | a word, phrase, line, or group of lines repeated regularly in a poem, usually at the end of each stanza | 93 | |
| 6605056095 | stanza | a group of lines in a poem, considered as a unit, like a paragraph in prose Examples of types of stanzas Couplet, two lines that rhyme Tercet- 3 lines quatrain 4 lines, Cinquain- 5 lines, sestet 6 lines Septets- 7 lines, octaves 8 lines | 94 | |
| 6605056096 | allusion | reference to a well-known person, text, historical event, etc. Example Shakespearean and Biblical allusions | 95 | |
| 6605056097 | apostrophe | when an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed. | 96 | |
| 6605056098 | conceit | unconventional/unexpected and imaginative metaphors..the metaphysical poets used these (ie. John Donne. in "Valediction Forbidding Mourning" compares lovers to twin compasses "If they be two, they are two so As stiff Twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do." | 97 | |
| 6605056099 | metaphor | unexpected comparison between two unalike things | 98 | |
| 6605056100 | extended metaphor | a metaphor carried throughout the text or poem | 99 | |
| 6605056101 | personfication | giving human qualities to an inanimate object or force | 100 | |
| 6605056102 | connotation | all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests | 101 | |
| 6605056103 | denotation | dictionary definition of a word | 102 | |
| 6605056104 | diction | word choice. To discuss a writer's diction is to consider the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words, the vividness of the language, and the accompanying connotations of a specific word choice | 103 | |
| 6605056105 | metonymy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Example: The soldier led with his gun. | 104 | |
| 6605056106 | synechdoche | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Example: The soldier led with his gun. | 105 | |
| 6605056107 | synaesthesia (also spelled synesthesia) | from the Greek (syn-) "union", and (aesthesis) "sensation"; is the mixing of the senses Examples: Sound that smells of Granny's brownies and tastes like the toil of a dancer. | 106 | |
| 6605056108 | imagery | the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader as well as any descriptions that appeal to the senses: sight (visual), hearing (auditory), touch (tactile), taste (gustatory), or smell (olfactory) | 107 | |
| 6605056109 | figurative language | writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally (similes, metaphors, etc.) | 108 | |
| 6605056110 | Envoi | The concluding remarks in a poem--explanatory or commendatory | 109 | |
| 6605056111 | Terza rima | Arrangement of triplets usually in iambic pentameter-- where one end rhyme for forward to the next stanza : like aba, bcb, cdc | 110 |
