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Lit Terms!
Lit terms to know
81
English
11th Grade
05/09/2013

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Term
Abstract Language
Definition
Language that signifies a concept, quality, or abstract idea
Term
Allegory
Definition
A work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning
Term
Alliteration
Definition
Initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or vowel, are repeated in close succession
Term
Allusion
Definition
A brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage
Term
Ambiguity
Definition
Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation
Term
Anadiplosis
Definition
The rhetorical repetition of the last word or words of one phrase or sentence at the beginning of the next
Term
Analogy
Definition
In rhetoric, reasoning or explaining from parallel cases
Term
Anaphora
Definition
The use of the same word or phrase at the beginning of severasl successive clauses, sentences, lines, or verses, usually for emphasis or rhetorical effect
Term
Anecdote
Definition
A short personal account of an incident or event
Term
Annotation
Definition
Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give biographical data
Term
Antimetabole
Definition
repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order
Term
Antithesis
Definition
The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences
Term
Aristotelian Triangle
Definition
Aristotle believed that from the world around them, speakers could observe how communication happenes and use that understanding to develop sound and convincing arguments. In order to do that, speakers needed to look at three elements, graphically represented by what we no call the rhetorical triangle
Term
Assonance
Definition
Teh repetition of identical or simiilar vowel sounds in neighboring words
Term
Asyndeton
Definition
Commas uses (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words, resulting in the following pattern: x,y,z
Term
Author's Purpose
Definition
The reason why a particular work is written
Term
Balance
Definition
A setting of clauses phrases, ideas, etc. in parallel constructions
Term
Catachresis
Definition
The inappropriate use of one word for another, or an extreme, strained, or mixed metphor, often used deliberately
Term
Chiasmus
Definition
The order of the words in the second of two paired phrases is the reverse of the order in the first
Term
Concrete Language
Definition
Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities
Term
Connotation
Definition
Implied additional meaning: an additional sense or senses associated with or suggested by a word or phrase
Term
Consonance
Definition
Repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession
Term
Cumulative
Definition
Begins wit ha subject and a predicate and then adds a series of phrases or clauses that amplify or explain the idea in the independent clause.
Term
Deduction
Definition
A conclusion drawn from available information
Term
Denotation
Definition
The explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression
Term
Diction
Definition
Choice and use of words in speech or writing
Term
Didactic
Definition
A term used to describe fiction or non-fiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral
Term
Dramatic Irony
Definition
The audience knows more than the characters in the play, so that words and action have additional meaning for the audience
Term
Elliptical
Definition
Sentence structure which leaves out something in the second half
Term
Epigraph
Definition
A quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, or section of a book, usually related to its theme
Term
Equivocation
Definition
The use of vague or ambiguous and sometimes misleading language
Term
Example
Definition
Something that is representative by virtue of having typical features of the thing it represents
Term
Explication
Definition
To make clear or explicit (something obscure or implied); explain fully
Term
Figurative Language
Definition
Uses figures of speech to describe or discuss a concept, as opposed to literal language, which has a concrete meaning
Term
Figure of Speech
Definition
An expression or use of language in a non-literal sense in order to achieve a particular effect
Term
Freight Train
Definition
A sentence consisting of three or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunctions
Term
Homily
Definition
A sermon, especially one intended to edify a congregation on a practical matter and not intended to be a theological discourse
Term
Hortatory
Definition
Author tires to gt the reader to react or believe in a certain way
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
Exaggeration, often extravagant; it may be used for serious or for comic effect
Term
Idiom
Definition
A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings
Term
Imagery
Definition
Use of descriptive and figurative language to create a picture in the reader's mind's eye
Term
Induction
Definition
Constructs or evaluates general propositions that are derived from specific examples
Term
Inference
Definition
Act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true; The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence
Term
Inversion
Definition
Syntactic reversal of teh normal order of teh words and phrases in a sentence
Term
Irony
Definition
The discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is expected or intended and what happens, what is meant or said and what others understand
Term
Juxtaposition
Definition
Placing of verbal elements side-by-side, leaving it up to the reader to establish connections and impose a meaning
Term
Litotes
Definition
figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical effect, principally via double negatives
Term
Metaphor
Definition
A comparison of two dissimilar things which does NOT use "like" or "as"
Term
Metonymy
Definition
A figure of speech in which an attribute of something is used to stand for the thing itself
Term
Mood
Definition
The atmosphere that pervades a literary word with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience
Term
Moral
Definition
A message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event
Term
Negative-Positive
Definition
Sentence that begins by stating what is not true, then ending by stating what is true
Term
Objectivity
Definition
Looking at something without bias
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
A word whose sounds seem to duplicate the sounds they describe
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
A statement with two parts which seem contradictory
Term
Paradox
Definition
A statement whose two parts seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought
Term
Parallelism
Definition
Sentence construction which places in close proximity two or more equal grammatical constructions.
Term
Parody
Definition
An exaggerated imitation of a usually more serious work for humorous purposes. The writer of a ______ uses the quirks of style of the imitated piece in extreme or ridiculous ways
Term
Periodic
Definition
Places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements.
Term
Persona
Definition
A writer often adopts a fictional voice to tell a story. _____ or voice is usually determined by a combination of subject matter and audience
Term
Personification
Definition
treating abstractions or inanimate objects as human, that is, giving them human attributes, powers, or feelings
Term
Point of View
Definition
The perspective from which the story is told, position, attitude
Term
Polysyndeton
Definition
Sentence which uses and or another conjunction, with no commas, to separate the items in a series, usually appearing in the form "X and Y and Z," stressing equally each member of the series. It makes the sentence slower and the items more emphatic than in the asyndeton.
Term
Rhetoric
Definition
The art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. Rhetoric focuses on the interrelationship of invention, arrangement, and style in order to create felicitous and appropriate discourse.
Term
Rhetorical Modes
Definition
Describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. Four of the most common rhetorical modes and their purpose are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration
Term
Rhetorical Question
Definition
A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point; no answer is expected
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
Kind of irony; it is praise which is really an insult; sarcasm generally involves malice, the desire to put someone down
Term
Satire
Definition
Exposure of the vices or follies of an individual, a group, an institution, an idea, a society, etc., usually with a view to correcting it
Term
Simile
Definition
A comparison of two dissimilar things using "like" or "as"
Term
Situational Irony
Definition
Expectations aroused by a situation are reversed
Term
Style
Definition
Manner of expression; how a speaker or writer says what he says
Term
Symbol
Definition
A thing, event, or person that represents or stands for some idea or event. Symbols also simultaneously retain their own literal meanings. A figure of speech in which a concrete object is used to stand for an abstract idea
Term
Syntactic Fluency
Definition
The writer's ability to create a variety of sentence structures (appropriately and/or simple and varied in length)
Term
Syntactic Permutation
Definition
Sentence structures that are extraordinarily involved and complex, often making it difficult f or a reader to follow - lawyers and lawmakers are known for this type of writing, in particular
Term
Syntax
Definition
Sentence structures utilized by the writer (including the length of sentences and the use of clauses in the sentences); often punctuation is an indicator of syntax
Term
Tone
Definition
the writer's attitude toward the material and/or readers
Term
Tricolon
Definition
Series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses
Term
Unity
Definition
A work of fiction or nonfiction is said to be unified if all the parts are related to one central idea or organizing principle. Thus, unity is dependent upon coherence
Term
Verbal Irony
Definition
When the reader is aware of a discrepancy between the real meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the writer's words
Term
Voice
Definition
A writer's use of language that allows a reader to "hear" a human personality in his or her writing. The elements of style that determine a writer's voice mainly include sentence structure, diction, and tone. Good writers strive for voice in their writing, leaving a distinct, and hopefully accurate, impression upon the reader about the writer
Term
ZEUGMA
Definition
The writer uses one word to govern several successive words of clauses
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