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lit test
lit test
63
Literature
10th Grade
12/19/2005

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Term
allegory
Definition
the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. in some allegories, for example, an author may intened the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. the allegorical meaning usually deals with mraol truth or a generalization about human existence.
Term
aliteration
Definition
the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words [as in "she sells sea shells"] although the term is not used in the multiple choice secction, you can look for alliteration in any essay passage, the repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and/or supply a musical sound.
Term
allusion
Definition
a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. allusions can be historical, literary, or mythical. there arem of course, many more possibilities and a work may sumultaneously use multiple layers of allusions.
Term
ambiguity
Definition
the mulitple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Term
analogy
Definition
a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them, an analogy can explain something unfamilar by associating it with or pointing out it's similarity to something more familar. analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intelecctually engaging.
Term
antecedent
Definition
the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. the AP language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences
Term
aphorism
Definition
a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle. [if authorship is unkonwn, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb] an aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point
Term
apostrophe
Definition
a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. the effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity.
Term
atmosphere
Definition
the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work established party by the setting and partly by the authors choice of objects that are desribed. even such elements as a descrption of the weather can contribute to atmoshpwhere.
Term
clause
Definition
a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb, an independent, or main cluase expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. a dependend or subordinate cluase cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be acommpanied by an independent clause.
Term
colloquial/colloquialism
Definition
the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational. familar tone. include local or regional dialects.
Term
conceit
Definition
a fanciful expression usually in the form of an extended metaphor or suprising analogy between seemingly dissmilar objects. a conceit displays intellectual coverness due to the unusual comparison being made.
Term
connotation
Definition
the nonliteral, assiciateive meaning of a word: the impired suggested meaning. connotations may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes.
Term
denotation
Definition
the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color.
Term
diction
Definition
related to style, diction refers to the writers word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.
Term
didactic
Definition
from the greek, didactic literally means "teaching" didatic works have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethnical principles.
Term
euphemism
Definition
from the greek for "good speech", they are more agreeable or less offensive stubstitles for a generally unpleseant word or concept
Term
extended metaphor
Definition
a metaphor deveoloped at great length occuring frequently in or throughout a work
Term
figurative language
Definition
writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and viid.
Term
figure of speech
Definition
a device used to produce figurative language. many compare dissimilar things, figures of speech incude, for example, apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonomy, oxymoron, paradox, personification and simles.
Term
generic conventions
Definition
this term describes traditions for each genre. these conventions help to define each genre: for example, they differentiate between an assay and journalistic writing.
Term
genre
Definition
The major catagory into which a literary work fits. the basicdevisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama, however genre is a flexible term with many subdivisions.
Term
homily
Definition
this term literally means "sermon" but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture inv9lving moral or spiritual advice.
Term
hyperbole
Definition
a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. often have a comic effect and often produces irony.
Term
imagery
Definition
the sensory details or figureative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstraction. on a hpisical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses. on a broader and deeper leovel, however, one image can represent more than one thing. for example the rose.
Term
inference/infer
Definition
to draw a resasonable conclusion from the information presnted.
Term
invective
Definition
an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong abusive language.
Term
irony/ironic
Definition
the contrast betwen what is stated explicity and what is really meant. the difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. in general there are three major types of irony used in language: verbal, situational, and dramatic. frequently used to create humor.
Term
loose sentence
Definition
a type of sentence in which the main idea[ independent clause] comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and cluases. if a period wrer placed at the end of an independent clause, the clause would be a complete sentence.
Term
metaphor
Definition
a figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one or the other, suggesting some similarity. metaphorical language makes writing more vivid, imagintive, thought provoking and meaningful.
Term
metonomy
Definition
a term from the greek meaning "changed label" or "substititue name" metonomy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another loosely assciated with it.
Term
mood
Definition
this term has two distinct technical meanings in English writing. the first meaning is grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speakers' attitude. the indicative mood is used only for factual sentences. the imperative mood is used for commands.
Term
narrative
Definition
the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events
Term
onomatopoeia
Definition
a figure of speech in whihc natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. examples include words such as buzz, hiss, hu, crack, whinny and murmer.
Term
oxymoron
Definition
from the greek for "pointedly foolish, an oxymoron is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apperantely contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.
Term
paradox
Definition
a statement that appears to be self contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some dgree of truth or validity.
Term
parallelism
Definition
also referred to as parallel construction or parallel structure, this term comes from greek rootes meaning "Besides one another" it refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to tgive structural similarity.
Term
paraody
Definition
a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.
Term
pedantic
Definition
an adjective that describes words, phrases, or genreal tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.
Term
periodic sentence
Definition
a sentence that presents int's central meaning win a main clause at the end.
Term
personification
Definition
a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes.
Term
point of view
Definition
in literature, the perspective from which a story is told. there are two general divisions and many subdivisons within those. the first persona narrator tells the story with the first person pronoun. the third person narrarter relates the events with the third person prounouns.
Term
predicate adjective
Definition
a type of subject complement- an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb.
Term
predicate nominative
Definition
a second type of subject complement- a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject
Term
prose
Definition
one of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all it's forms because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech
Term
repetition
Definition
the duplication either exact or approximate of any element of language such as a sound, word, hprase, sentence, or phrase.
Term
rhetoric
Definition
from the greek for "orator" this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently and persuasivly.
Term
rhetorical modes
Definition
this flexible term describes the variety, the cenvetions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing. four most common are: exposition, argumentation, description, and narration
Term
sarcasm
Definition
from the greek meaning "to tear flesh," sarcasm infolves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.
Term
satire
Definition
a work that targets human views and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.
Term
semantics
Definition
the branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and phychological developmenat, their connotations, and their relation to one another
Term
style
Definition
the consideration fo style has two purposes: an evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language and other literary devices. and classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors.
Term
subject complement
Definition
the words or clause that follows a linking verb and complements or completes, the subject of the sentence by either renaming it or desecribing it.
Term
subordinate clause
Definition
like all clauses, this word group contains botha subject and a verb, but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand aloe, it does not express a complete thought.
Term
syllogism
Definition
from the greek for "reckoning together" a syllogism is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises [major &minor] that inevidatbly lead to a sound conclusion.
Term
symbom/symbolism
Definition
generally anythign that represents something else. usually it is something concrete like an object or action that represents something more absctracdt, however they can be much more abstract.they are catagorized into three groups : natural, conventional, ad literary.
Term
syntax
Definition
the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. similar to dication, but you can diffrentiate them by thinking of syntax as the group of words while diction refers to ind. words.
Term
theme
Definition
the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.usually the theme is unstated in fictional works but in nonfiction, the theme may be directly stated.
Term
thesis
Definition
in expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group fo sentences that directly express the authors opinion, purpose, meaning or proposition.
Term
tone
Definition
similar to mood, tone describes the authors attitude toward his or her material the audience or both. tone is easeir to determine in spoken language then written.
Term
transition
Definition
a word or phrase that links different ideas. used especially alhtough not exclusively, in expository and argumentative writing, transitions effectively signal a shift from one idea to another.
Term
understatement
Definition
the ironic minimaliing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is
Term
WIT
Definition
in modern usage, intellectually amusing language that suprises and delights. a witty statement is humorous while suggesting the speakers verbgal power in creating ingenrious and persptive remarks.
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