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| 2695046241 | allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one | 0 | |
| 2695046242 | allusion | a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text. | 1 | |
| 2695046526 | ambiguity | a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning. Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor. For instance, it is ambiguous to say "I rode a black horse in red pajamas," because it may lead us to think the horse was wearing red pajamas. The sentence becomes clear when it is restructured "Wearing red pajamas, I rode a black horse." | 2 | |
| 2695046527 | apostrophe | In literature, apostrophe is a figure of speech sometimes represented by exclamation "O". A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech. It is important not to confuse the apostrophe which is a figure of speech and the apostrophe which is a punctuation mark ('). It shows possession or a mark to indicate omission of one or more letters (contractions) while apostrophe used in literature is an arrangement of words addressing a non-existent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and capable of understanding feelings. | 3 | |
| 2695047221 | attitude | 4 | ||
| 2695047222 | connotation | refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal meanings or denotations. For instance, "Wall Street" literally means a street situated in Lower Manhattan but connotatively it refers to "wealth" and "power". | 5 | |
| 2695047223 | convention | a practice or device which is accepted as a necessary, useful, or given feature of a genre, e.g., the proscenium stage (the "picture-frame" stage of most theaters), a soliloquy, the epithet or boast in the epic (which those of you who took Core Studies 1 will be familiar with). | 6 | |
| 2695047607 | denotation | generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings. Let us try to understand this term with the help of an example. If you search for meaning of the word "dove" in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is "a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs." In literature, however, you frequently see "dove" referred to as a symbol of peace. | 7 | |
| 2695047608 | details | 8 | ||
| 2695047976 | devices of sound | 9 | ||
| 2695047977 | diction | the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing | 10 | |
| 2695047978 | didactic | Intended or inclined to teach, preach, or instruct, often excessively. Noun: didacticism. Didactic writing often makes use of the second-person point of view. Highly regarded writers of didactic essays from the Victorian era include Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859), Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859), and John Ruskin (1819-1900). (See Examples and Observations, below.) | 11 | |
| 2695048310 | digression | While reading a narrative, a reader comes across several sudden interruptions in the main action of the story, which provides him background information, establish his interest, describe character's motivation and build suspense, etc. These interruptions are called digressions. A digression is a stylistic device authors employ to create a temporary departure from the main subject of the narrative to focus on apparently unrelated topics, explaining background details. However, after this temporary shift, authors return to the main topic at the end of the narrative. | 12 | |
| 2695048311 | epigram | A concise, clever, and sometimes paradoxical statement or line of verse. Adjective: epigrammatic. A person who composes or uses epigrams is an epigrammatist. Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oscar Wilde are all known for their highly epigrammatic writing styles | 13 | |
| 2695048799 | euphemism | 14 | ||
| 2695048800 | figurative language | a word or phrase that departs from everyday literal language for the sake of comparison, emphasis, clarity, or freshness. Metaphor and simile are the two most commonly used figures of speech, but things like hyperbole, synecdoche, puns, and personification are also figures of speech | 15 | |
| 2695050410 | grotesque | 16 | ||
| 2695050411 | hyperbole | derived from a Greek word meaning "over-casting" is a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say, "Ages have passed since I last saw you". You may not have met him for three or four hours or a day, but the use of the word "ages" exaggerates this statement to add emphasis to your wait. Therefore, a hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation | 17 | |
| 2695050423 | imagery | visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work | 18 | |
| 2695052120 | verbal irony | A trope (or figure of speech) in which the intended meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. | 19 | |
| 2695052121 | situational irony | Situational irony occurs when the final outcome is contradictory to what was expected. Usually, the episodes in the plot of a story will lead the audience to expect a particular resolution or ending. If such an expected outcome fails and instead another contrary outcome occurs, the absurdity is termed situational irony. Such a form of irony is the result a discrepancy in perspective, such that what is known and expected at one moment differs with what is known later on. Some might only consider situational irony to be ironic rarely if at all. Rather, in most cases, it seems more like coincidence. | 20 | |
| 2695052335 | dramatic irony | an important stylistic device that is commonly found in plays, movies, theaters and sometimes in poetry. Storytellers use this irony as a useful plot device for creating situations where audience knows more about the situations, the causes of conflicts and their resolutions before leading characters or actors. That is why the readers observe that the speech of actors takes on unusual meanings. For instance, the audience knows that a character is going to be murdered or making a decision to commit suicide; however, one particular character or others may not be aware of these facts. Hence, the words and actions of characters would suggest a different meaning to the audience from what they indicate to the characters and the story. Thus, it creates intense suspense and humor. This speech device also emphasizes, embellishes and conveys emotions and moods more effectively. ex. Romeo and Juliet | 21 | |
| 2695052336 | jargon | a literary term that is defined as a use of specific phrases and words by writers in a particular situation, profession or trade. These specialized terms are used to convey hidden meanings accepted and understood in that field. Jargon examples are found in literary and non-literary pieces of writing. The use of jargon becomes essential in prose or verse or some technical pieces of writing when the writer intends to convey something only to the readers who are aware of these terms. Therefore, jargon was taken in early times as a trade language or as a language of a specific profession, as it is somewhat unintelligible for other people who do not belong to that particular profession. In fact, specific terms were developed to meet the needs of the group of people working within the same field or occupation. | 22 | |
| 2695052337 | literal | taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory | 23 | |
| 2695053106 | lyrical | expressing the writer's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way | 24 | |
| 2695053107 | metaphor | figurative language, comparing two things without using like or as | 25 | |
| 2695053388 | metonymy | Metonymy in literature refers to the practice of not using the formal word for an object or subject and instead referring to it by using another word that is intricately linked to the formal name or word. It is the practice of substituting the main word with a word that is closely linked to it. Example: When we use the name "Washington D.C" we are talking about the U.S' political hot seat by referring to the political capital of the United States because all the significant political institutions such as the White House, Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and many more are located her. The phrase "Washington D.C." is metonymy for the government of the U.S. in this case. | 26 | |
| 2695053389 | monologue | Monologue comes from Greek word monos means alone and logos means speech. It is a literary device, which is the speech or verbal presentation that a single character presents in order to express his/her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud. Often this character addresses directly to audience or another character. Monologues are found in the dramatic medium like films, plays and also in non-dramatic medium such poetry. In interior monologue, a character externalizes his thoughts, so that audience could witness the experiences, which might otherwise be remained internal. Often found in plays, movies and novels, this technique is also called as stream of consciousness. It has further two categories, direct and indirect. In direct interior monologue, an author does not show his presence and directly reveals his character, while in an indirect interior monologue, an author appears as a commentator, guide, presenter and selector. In this type of monologue, a character speaks to the silent listener. This type has theatrical qualities. Hence, it is known as dramatic monologue, and is frequently used in poetry. Monologue and soliloquy are similar as both are speeches presented by a single person. But a major difference between them is that, in monologue, a speaker reveals his thoughts to the audience or any other character, whereas in a soliloquy, the speaker expresses his thoughts to himself/herself, and it does not involve any other characters. | 27 | |
| 2695053390 | narrator | a person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem. | 28 | |
| 2695053643 | oxymoron | plural oxymora, is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. The common oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings e.g. "cruel kindness" or "living death". However, the contrasting words/phrases are not always glued together. The contrasting ideas may be spaced out in a sentence e.g. "In order to lead, you must walk behind." | 29 | |
| 2695053644 | parable | A parable is a realistic, simple and short narrative story which is meant for conveying a moral or religious lesson by the help of comparisons. It is a type of an allegory It was mostly used by Jesus Christ to make his disciples understand what he said. A parable is slightly different from fable which is also a kind of allegory to construct a point whereas parable is composed or told in response to a specific situation and addresses that situation, at least implicitly, in an allegorical manner. | 30 | |
| 2695053645 | paradox | A statement that seems to contradict itself but then turns out to have a rational meaning, as in this "I never found the companion that as so companionable as solitude" | 31 | |
| 2695053646 | parody | an imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect. The humorous effect in parody is achieved by imitating and overstressing noticeable features of a famous piece of literature, as in caricatures, where certain peculiarities of a person are highlighted to achieve a humorous effect. We, in our daily life, can employ the above technique to spoof somebody for the sake of fun. Parody examples are often confused as examples of satire. Although parody can be used to develop satire, it differs from satire to a certain extent. Parody mimics a subject directly to produce a comical effect. Satire, on the other hand, makes fun of a subject without a direct imitation. Moreover, satire aims at correcting shortcomings in society by criticizing them. | 32 | |
| 2695054357 | personification | figurative language, giving human like qualities to something that is not human | 33 | |
| 2695054358 | rhetorical question | A question (such as "How could I be so stupid?") that's asked merely for effect with no answer expected. The answer may be obvious or immediately provided by the questioner. A rhetorical question can be "an effective persuasive device, subtly influencing the kind of response one wants to get from an audience" (Edward P.J. Corbett). See Examples and Observations, below. In English, rhetorical questions are commonly used in speech and in informal kinds of writing (such as advertisements). | 34 | |
| 2695054359 | satire | Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer in a satire uses fictional characters, which stand for real people, to expose and condemn their corruption. A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country or even the entire world. Usually, a satire is a comical piece of writing which makes fun of an individual or a society to expose its stupidity and shortcomings. In addition, he hopes that those he criticizes will improve their characters by overcoming their weaknesses. | 35 | |
| 2695054699 | setting | used to identify and establish the time, place and mood of the events of the story. It basically helps in establishing where and when and under what circumstances the story is taking place. | 36 | |
| 2695054700 | simile | form of figurative language, compare two things using like or as | 37 | |
| 2695055342 | soliloquy | A soliloquy is a popular literary device often used in drama to reveal the innermost thoughts of a character. It is a great technique used to convey the progress of action of the play by means of expressing a character's thoughts about a certain character or past, present or upcoming event while talking to himself without acknowledging the presence of any other person. Sometimes soliloquy is wrongly mixed up with monologue and aside. These two techniques are distinctly different from a soliloquy. Although, like soliloquy, a monologue is a speech, the purpose and presentation of both is different. In a monologue, a character usually makes a speech in the presence of other characters, while in a soliloquy, the character or speaker speaks to himself. By doing so, the character keeps these thoughts secret from the other characters of the play. An aside on the other hand, is a short comment by a character towards the audience for another character usually without his knowing about it. | 38 | |
| 2695059289 | stereotype | A character who is so ordinary or unoriginal that the character seems like an oversimplified representation of a type, gender, class, religious group, or occupation. Cf. stock character, below. ... | 39 | |
| 2695055343 | structure | construct or arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organization to | 40 | |
| 2695055344 | style | The style in writing can be defined as 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. It can also be described as a voice that readers listen to when they read the work of a writer. Expository writing style is a subject-oriented style. The focus of the writer in this type of writing style is to tell the readers about a specific subject or topic and in the end the author leaves out his own opinion about that topic. In descriptive writing style, the author focuses on describing an event, a character or a place in detail. Sometimes, descriptive writing style is poetic in nature in, where the author specifies an event, an object or a thing rather than merely giving information about an event that has happened. Usually the description incorporates sensory details. Persuasive style of writing is a category of writing in which the writer tries to give reasons and justification to make the readers believe his point of view . The persuasive style aims to persuade and convince the readers. Narrative writing style is a type of writing where the writer narrates a story to. It includes short stories, novels, novellas, biographies and poetry. | 41 | |
| 2695055345 | symbol | Use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. | 42 | |
| 2695055353 | synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole (for example, ABCs for alphabet) or the whole for a part ("England won the World Cup in 1966"). Adjective: synecdochic or synecdochal. Synecdoche is often treated as a type of metonymy. | 43 | |
| 2695055719 | theme | a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly. | 44 | |
| 2695058782 | thesis | a statement in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove. One can find examples of thesis statement at the beginning of literary pieces. These thesis statemets are of utmost importance, as they serve as clear indicators as to which directions writers will follow in their work. A thesis statement is carefully chosen by a writer and is marked by vigilant selection of words that will never miss its target. Generally, such a statement shows up in the first paragraph or what is called an introduction. Despite writers' efforts to prove their thesis statements, not all of these statements can be verified for their exactness. Nevertheless, they do develop an argument. | 45 | |
| 2695059290 | tone | an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience. Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject. Every written piece comprises a central theme or subject matter. The manner in which a writer approaches this theme and subject is the tone. The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful or it may be any other existing attitudes. | 46 | |
| 2695059291 | antecedent | In grammar, the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to. More broadly, an antecedent may be any word in a sentence (or in a sequence of sentences) which another word or phrase refers to. | 47 | |
| 2695059565 | clause | A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. Adjective: clausal. A clause may be either a sentence (an independent clause) or a sentence-like construction within another sentence (a dependent or subordinate clause). | 48 | |
| 2695059566 | ellipsis | a literary device that is used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while acting or reading it out. It is usually written between the sentences as "...". Most films have ellipses to omit the sections of a story or event that are not of any significance within the narrative. Apart from being convenient, ellipsis also helps in advancing the story. | 49 | |
| 2695059567 | juxtaposition | a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts. ex. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..." | 50 | |
| 2695060010 | modifier | A word, phrase, or clause that functions as an adjective or adverb to provide additional information about another word or word group (called the head). Modifiers in English include adjectives, adverbs, demonstratives, possessive determiners, prepositional phrases, degree modifiers, and intensifiers | 51 | |
| 2695060011 | parallel structure | Two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form. Also called parallelism. | 52 | |
| 2695060200 | syntax | the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences | 53 | |
| 2695060417 | periodic sentence | A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax. Contrast with loose sentence and cumulative sentence. The distinction between periodic and loose sentences, notes Jeanne Fahnestock, "begins with Aristotle, who described types of sentences on the basis of how 'tight' or how 'open' they sounded" | 54 | |
| 2695060418 | simple sentence | A sentence with only one independent clause (also known as a main clause). | 55 | |
| 2695061117 | compound sentence | A sentence that contains at least two independent clauses. Compound sentences can be formed in three basic ways: (1) using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) to join the main clauses; (2) using a semicolon, either with or without a conjunctive adverb; (3) on occasion, using a colon. | 56 | |
| 2695061123 | complex sentence | a sentence that contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. | 57 |
