Terms : Hide Images
| 13704493599 | Allegory | A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Ex. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a political allegory pertaining to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of communism. It outlines the different classes in society through the depiction of animals. For a deeper dive into Animal Farm, check out | 0 | |
| 13704493600 | Alliteration | The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words. Ex. She sells seashells by the sea-shore. | 1 | |
| 13704493601 | Allusion | A reference to another work of literature, person, or event | 2 | |
| 13704493602 | Amplification | Use of bare expressions, likely to be ignored or misunderstood by a hearer or reader because of the bluntness. Ex.I think I'm getting sick—I've been experiencing terrible headaches and drainage, and I've just begun to develop a sore throat as well. | 3 | |
| 13704493603 | Anagram | A word or phrase made by transposing the letters Ex.J.K. Rowling uses the anagram "I am Lord Voldemort" as an anagram for the Dark Lord's prior name, Tom Marvolo Riddle. | 4 | |
| 13704493604 | Analogy | Is the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites, results of are types of relationships you should find. Ex. Her hair is as dark as the night | 5 | |
| 13704493605 | Anaphora | The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs. One of the devices of repetition, in which the same phrase is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines. Ex. It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place.- Catcher in the Rye | 6 | |
| 13704493606 | Anastrophe | Inversion of the normal syntactic order of words. Ex.Patience I lack. | 7 | |
| 13704493607 | Animism | The religious belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. | 8 | |
| 13704493608 | Anthropomorphism | The act of attributing human forms or qualities to an entities which are not human. Ex. Mickey and Minnie Mouse | 9 | |
| 13704493609 | Aphorism | A brief saying embodying a moral, a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words. Ex.A bad penny always turns up | 10 | |
| 13704493610 | Apostrophe/Authorial Intrusion | When an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed. Ex. "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still." | 11 | |
| 13704493611 | Archetype | The usage of any object or situation as it was originally made - think of it as the biggest cliché ever, but one that never dies Ex. Death and Rebirth - Shows the circle of life | 12 | |
| 13704493612 | Assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds Ex. Try to light the fire | 13 | |
| 13704493613 | Asyndeton | A stylistic scheme in which conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses Ex.We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be," - Winston Churchill | 14 | |
| 13704493614 | Bibliomancy | Prediction based on a Bible verse or literary passage chosen at random. | 15 | |
| 13704493615 | Bildungsroman | A story in which the protagonist undergoes growth throughout the entire narrative, generally starting off by being removed or chased from their home. Their growth is often impeded by opposition of their desires by other characters. Ex. The Catcher in the Rye. | 16 | |
| 13704493616 | Cacophony | Harsh, discordant sounds. Ex. He grunted and in a gruff voice said, "Give me that trash and I'll throw it out!" | 17 | |
| 13704493617 | Caesura | Natural pause or break. Ex. England - how I long for thee! | 18 | |
| 13704493618 | Characterization | The method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others. Ex. Frodo in Lord of The Rings | 19 | |
| 13704493619 | Chiasmus | A type of rhetoric in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first. Ex. Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike. | 20 | |
| 13704493620 | Circumlocution | The use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter form of expression; a roundabout or indirect manner of writing or speaking. Ex.Passed on from this earth | 21 | |
| 13704493621 | Conflict | The struggle found in fiction Ex. A Song of Ice and Fire | 22 | |
| 13704493622 | Connotation | An implied meaning of a word. Ex.Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. | 23 | |
| 13704493623 | Consonance | The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels. Ex. Lady lounges lazily , dark deep dread crept in. | 24 | |
| 13704493624 | Denotation | The literal meaning of a word, the dictionary meaning. Ex. An apple is a fruit we eat | 25 | |
| 13704493625 | Deus ex Machina | An improbable contrivance in a story. The phrase describes an artificial, or improbable, character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot (such as an angel suddenly appearing to solve problems). The term is a negative one, and it often implies a lack of skill on the part of the writer. | 26 | |
| 13704493626 | Diction | The choice of language used by the speaker or writer. Ex. Yo, Hello, Howdy, Hi, Hey | 27 | |
| 13704493627 | Doppelganger | A ghostly double of another character, especially if it haunts its counterpart. | 28 | |
| 13704493628 | Ekphrastic | It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. Ex. Poems written about a painting, but they can also be based on a sculpture, an object, or even architecture | 29 | |
| 13704493633 | Epilogue | Short speech at conclusion of dramatic work Ex. The end of Animal Farm "YEARS passed. The seasons came and went, the short animal lives fled by. A time came when there was no one who remembered the old days before the Rebellion, except Clover, Benjamin, Moses the raven, and a number of the pigs." | 30 | |
| 13704493634 | Epithet | The application of a word or phrase to someone that describes that person's attributes or qualities. Ex. Constantine II of Greece, the King Without a Country | 31 | |
| 13704493635 | Euphemism | An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant Ex. Passed away instead of died. | 32 | |
| 13704493636 | Euphony | Pleasant, harmonious sound Ex. " ...Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."- Macbeth | 33 | |
| 13704493637 | Fable | A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters Ex. The Tortoise and the Hare, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, and The Ant and the Grasshopper. | 34 | |
| 13704493638 | Faulty Parallelism | Occurs when the elements put into pairs and series "go in different directions" because they do not have the same form Ex. Annie likes to rap, nap, and eat snacks | 35 | |
| 13704493639 | Flashback | A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events | 36 | |
| 13704493640 | Foil | A character that contrasts second character that highlights certain qualities of that first character. Ex. In Romeo and Juliet, Paris is a foil to Romeo | 37 | |
| 13704493641 | Foreshadowing | A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. | 38 | |
| 13704493642 | Hyperbaton | An inversion of normal word order Ex. Ever so lost and confused, I felt just then! | 39 | |
| 13704493643 | Hyperbole | Exaggeration Ex. It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing hats and jackets. | 40 | |
| 13704493644 | Imagery | Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) Ex. It was dark and dim in the forest. | 41 | |
| 13704493645 | Internal Rhyme | Rhyming within a line. | 42 | |
| 13704493646 | Inversion | Words out of order Ex. Tomorrow will come the decision. | 43 | |
| 13704493647 | Irony | An implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Ex. A fire station burns down. | 44 | |
| 13704493648 | Juxtaposition | Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts Ex. Beauty and ugliness | 45 | |
| 13704493649 | Kennings | Metaphorical phrases or compound words used to name a person, place, things or event indirectly Ex. battle-sweat (blood) | 46 | |
| 13704493650 | Malapropism | A word humorously misused Ex. Illiterate him quite from your memory | 47 | |
| 13704493651 | Metaphor | A comparison without using like or as Ex. The curtain of night fell upon us | 48 | |
| 13704493652 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it Ex. If we don't get these reports in today, the suits will be after us. | 49 | |
| 13704493653 | Motif | A recurring theme, subject or idea | 50 | |
| 13704493654 | Mood | Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader | 51 | |
| 13704493655 | Negative Capability | John Keats, in a letter of October 27, 1818, suggested that a poet, possessing the power to eliminate his own personality, can take on the qualities of something else and write most effectively about it. Ex. Poems such as Ode on a Grecian Urn and Ode to a Nightingale. | 52 | |
| 13704493656 | Nemesis | Someone or something a person cannot conquer or achieve; a hated enemy Ex. Jafar in Aladin | 53 | |
| 13704493657 | Onomatopoeia | A word that imitates the sound it represents also imitative harmony | 54 | |
| 13704493658 | Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Ex. To make haste slowly | 55 | |
| 13704493659 | Parable (Biblical) | A short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson | 56 | |
| 13704493660 | Paradox | A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Ex. Everything I say is a lie | 57 | |
| 13704493661 | Pathetic Fallacy | The attribution of human traits to nature or inanimate objects. Ex. "I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills," | 58 | |
| 13704493662 | Periphrasis | Substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name or of a proper name for a quality associated with the name Ex. In my humble opinion, I think... | 59 | |
| 13704493663 | Periodic Structure | A sentence in which the main clause or predicate is withheld until the end. Ex. Despite the heavy winds and nearly impenetrable ground fog, the landed safely. | 60 | |
| 13704493664 | Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes Ex. The ocean heaved a sigh | 61 | |
| 13704493665 | Point of View | The perspective from which a story is told Ex. First Person Narrative | 62 | |
| 13704493666 | Plot | The sequence of events in a story, novel, or play | 63 | |
| 13704493667 | Polysyndeton | Deliberate use of many conjunctions Ex. "In years gone by, there were in every community men and women who spoke the language of duty and morality and loyalty and obligation." -William F. Buckley | 64 | |
| 13704493668 | Portmanteau | A new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings Ex. Smog | 65 | |
| 13704493669 | Prologue | A speech, passage, or event coming before the main speech or event Ex. I was hanging out with Sandy and Jim the other night. | 66 | |
| 13704493670 | Puns | A play on words Ex. The two pianists had a good marriage. They always were in a chord. | 67 | |
| 13704493671 | Rhyme Scheme | A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem | 68 | |
| 13704493672 | Rhythm & Rhyme | A pattern of rhymes that is created by using words that produce the same, or similar sounds | 69 | |
| 13704493673 | Satire | A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies. Ex. Political cartoons | 70 | |
| 13704493674 | Setting | The time and place of a story Ex. Westeros in Game of Thrones | 71 | |
| 13704493675 | Simile | A comparison using "like" or "as" Ex. She is as innocent as an angel | 72 | |
| 13704493676 | Spoonerism | An often comical switching of the first sounds of two or more words Ex. You hissed my mystery lecture | 73 | |
| 13704493677 | Stanza | A group of lines in a poem | 74 | |
| 13704493678 | Stream of Consciousness | A style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind. | 75 | |
| 13704493679 | Syllepsis | Use of a word with two others, with each of which it is understood differently Ex. She exercises to keep healthy and I to lose weight | 76 | |
| 13704493680 | Symbol | A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. Ex. A kings crown | 77 | |
| 13704493681 | Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa | 78 | |
| 13704493682 | Synesthesia | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another Ex. "A loud color", "A sweet sound" | 79 | |
| 13704493683 | Syntax | The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. | 80 | |
| 13704493684 | Theme | Central idea of a work of literature. | 81 | |
| 13704493685 | Tone | Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character | 82 | |
| 13704493686 | Tragedy | A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character. Ex. Othello | 83 | |
| 13704493629 | Understatement | Used to understate the obvious Ex. It doesn't look too bad. | 84 | |
| 13704493630 | Verisimilitude | 1. The appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true. 2.Something that has the appearance of being true or real. | 85 | |
| 13704493631 | Verse | A line of poetry. | 86 |
