Terms : Hide Images
| 7404284221 | Absolute | a word free from limitations or qualifications ("best," "all," "unique," "perfect") | 0 | |
| 7404284222 | Chiasmus | a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed a. "Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary" | 1 | |
| 7404284842 | Bathos | insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity | 2 | |
| 7404284843 | Ad hominem argument | an argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position on an issue | 3 | |
| 7404285690 | Deductive reasoning | reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case a. "The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning." | 4 | |
| 7404285691 | Ellipsis | the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context a. "Some people prefer cats; others, dogs") | 5 | |
| 7404286567 | Inductive reasoning | deriving general principles from particular facts or instances a. "Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals." | 6 | |
| 7404286568 | Malapropism | the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar a. "The doctor wrote a subscription." | 7 | |
| 7404287513 | Non-sequitur | an inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, "does not follow") | 8 | |
| 7404287514 | Solecism | nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules | 9 | |
| 7477415455 | Adage | a familiar proverb or wise saying | 10 | |
| 7477423671 | Epithet | a term used to point out the characteristic of a person a. Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives ("swift-footed Achilles") that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Epithets can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition. For example, athletes may be proud of their given epithets ("The Rocket"). | 11 | |
| 7477423672 | Cumulative sentence | a sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases | 12 | |
| 7477424636 | Allegory | a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions | 13 | |
| 7477424637 | Limited narrator | a narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that character | 14 | |
| 7477425390 | Juxtaposition | placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast | 15 | |
| 7477425391 | Hubris | excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy | 16 | |
| 7477426011 | Literary license | deviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect a. For example, the use of intentional sentence fragments for emphasis. | 17 | |
| 7477426012 | Maxim | a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage | 18 | |
| 7477427878 | Romantic | a term describing a character or literary work that reflects the characteristics of Romanticism, the literary movement beginning in the late 18th century that stressed emotion, imagination, and individualism | 19 | |
| 7554064056 | Colloquialism | informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing | 20 | |
| 7554064057 | Alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words | 21 | |
| 7554066948 | Frame device | a story within a story a. An example is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the "frame story" of the pilgrimage to Canterbury. | 22 | |
| 7554066949 | Omniscient narrator | a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters | 23 | |
| 7554069571 | Metonymy | substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it a. "The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]" | 24 | |
| 7554069572 | Genre | a major category or type of literature | 25 | |
| 7554071914 | Dilemma | a situation that requires a person to decide between two equally attractive or equally unattractive alternatives | 26 | |
| 7554071915 | Parenthetical | a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain | 27 | |
| 7554074244 | Syllepsis | a construction in which one word is used in two different senses a. "After he threw the ball, he threw a fit." | 28 | |
| 7554074245 | Surrealism | an artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control | 29 | |
| 7704188851 | Aphorism | a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance | 30 | |
| 7704190299 | Epigraph | a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work | 31 | |
| 7704190300 | Epic | a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation | 32 | |
| 7704192326 | Homily | a sermon, or a moralistic lecture | 33 | |
| 7704192327 | Synesthesia (or synaesthesia) | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another a. "A loud color," "a sweet sound," | 34 | |
| 7704193876 | Tragedy | a work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle which ends in ruin or destruction | 35 | |
| 7704195633 | Motivation | a character's incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a character to act | 36 | |
| 7704195634 | Flat character | a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story | 37 | |
| 7704197061 | Jargon | the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession | 38 | |
| 7704197062 | Limerick | light verse consisting of five lines of regular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each consisting of three feet) rhyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet) rhyme | 39 | |
| 7855272102 | Declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a statement or declaration | 40 | |
| 7855272103 | Climax | the point of highest interest in a literary work | 41 | |
| 7855273796 | Archetype | a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response | 42 | |
| 7855273797 | Litotes | a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite a. Describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, "It was not a pretty picture." | 43 | |
| 7855275582 | Idiom | an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect | 44 | |
| 7855275583 | Motif | a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works | 45 | |
| 7855277096 | Implication | a suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies) without stating it directly (NOTE: the author/sender implies; the reader/audience infers) | 46 | |
| 7855277097 | Inference | a conclusion one draws (infers) based on premises or evidence | 47 | |
| 7855278851 | Syllogism | a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise a. "All gods are immortal; Mr. Pagtakhan is a god. Therefore, Mr. Pagtakhan is immortal." | 48 | |
| 7855278852 | Synecdoche | using one part of an object to represent the entire object a. For example, referring to a car simply as "wheels" | 49 |
