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AP English vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| abstract | unable to be touched; not concrete |
| abstraction | a concept or value that can not be seen (love, courage, death, etc.) which the writer usually tries to illustrate by comparing it metaphorically to a known, concrete object. Sometimes it is a hidden meaning. |
| ad hominem | Latin for "to the man" ; attacking the arguer and not the argument; mud-slinging |
| alliteration | sound device; repetition of initial (beginning) consonant sounds |
| allusion | figure of speech which makes brief reference to an historical or literary figure, event, or object; a reference in one literary work to a character or theme found in another literary work. |
| ambiguity | the expression of a idea in language which gives more than one meaning and leaves uncertainty as to the meaning |
| anachronism | something out of its place in time or history: Julius Caesar riding a motorcycle |
| analogy | the comparison of two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. |
| anapest | meter having two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable |
| anaphora | the repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases for rhetorical or poetic effect |
| antagonist | the character in a narrative or play who is i conflict with the main character; an antagonist may not even be a person--or may be the same person as the main character |
| anticlimax | the intentional use of elevated language to describe the trivial or commonplace, or a sudden transition from a significant thought to a trivial one in order to achieve humorous or satiric effect; an anticlimax also occurs at a climatic conclusion |
| anti-hero | a protagonist who is the antithesis of the hero - graceless, inept, stupid, sometimes dishonest |
| antithesis | figure of speech in which a thought is balanced with a contrasting thought in parallel arrangements of words and phrases |
| aphorism | brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation |
| apollonian | refers to the noble qualities of human beings and nature as opposed to the savage and destructive forces |
| apostrophe | addressing someone or something, usually not present, as though present. Figure of speech wherein the speaker speaks directly to something non-human. Often, apostrophe is to a god, ghost, or some supernatural thing. Can be a person if they are not there. |
| apotheosis | a larger-than-life presence; a godlike paragon worthy of respect and reverence |
| appeal to ignorance | the claim that whatever has not been proved |
| aside | a statement delivered by an actor in such a way that the other characters on stage are presumed to not have heard it |
| arguments | assertions made based on facts, statistics, logical or objective reasoning, hard evidence, etc. |
| assonance | similarity or repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words, especially in a line or verse |
| asyndeton | the omission of conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words and phrases |
| aubade | a poem about morning |
| auditory imagery | word choices that appeal to the ear, that help you "hear" the words |
| autobiography | author's own life story; first-person account |
| ballad | a form of verse to be sung or recited and characterized by a dramatic exciting episode in a fairly short narrative; poem written in a song-like stanza form |
| bathos | anticlimax which is unintentional; an unintentional shift from the sublime to the ridiculous which can result from the use of overly elevated language to describe trivial subject matter, attempt at pathos and becomes ludicrous |
| begging the question | also called assuming the answer:assume the death penalty to end violent crime or I don't like the death penalty because its killing; circular reasoning. A persuasive fallacy in which the writer assumes the reader will automatically accept without support |
| bildungsroman | (German: growth novel) a novel showing the development of its central character from childbirth to maturity...psychological approach and movement toward a goal |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter; metrical verse with no ending rhyme (Shakespeare) |
| bombast | elevated language, often pompous and overdone |
| cacophony | a combination of harsh, unpleasant sounds which create an effect of discordance. Its opposite is euphony. |
| caesura | a pause for effect in the middle of a line of poetry; (period, dash, semicolon, etc.) it may or may not affect the meter. In scansion, a caesura is usually indicated by the following symbol(//). |
| canon | works generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to study or read, which collectively constitute the "masterpieces" or "classics" of literature |
| carpe diem | (latin for "sieze the day") a theme, especially common in lyric poetry, that emphasize that life is short, time is fleeting, and that one should make the most of pleasant pleasures |
| catharsis | Aristotle's word for the pity and fear an audience experiences upon viewing the downfall of a hero |
| cause and effect relationships | a dominant technique (also called rhetorical device) in which the author analyzes reasons for a chain of events. Can be the main method of organization, or one paragragh |
| characterization | the method a writer uses reveal the personality of a character in a literary work. Personality may be revealed (1) by what the character says;(2)by what others say;(3)by the character's own actions |
| chiasmus | repetition in successive clauses which are usually parallel in syntax. An inverted parallelism; the reversal of the order of corresponding words or phrases(with or without exact) in successive clauses which are usually parallel in syntax |
| classicism | an approach to literature which emphasizes reason, harmony; balance, proportion, clarity, and the imitation of ancient writers and philosophers |
| climax | the turning point, or crisis, in a play or other piece of literature |
| colloquial expressions | informal, not always grammatically correct expressions that find acceptance in certain geographical areas and within certain groups of people-ex:Southerners saying "Ya'll" |
| comedy | a work which strives to provoke smiles and laughter |
| comic relief | something of humor interrupts an otherwise serious, often tragic, literary work; a humorous scene or incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise serious work. In any instances these moments enhance the thematic significance of the story |
| complication | the part of the plot in which the entanglement caused by the conflict is developed |
| conceit | an extended metaphor-two unlike things are compared in several different ways |
| concrete poetry | where the actual typeset layout of the poem suggests the topic. For example, a poem about trees might be shaped like a tree on the page |
| conflict | a struggle against opposing forces |
| connotation | the emotional implications that a word may carry; implied or associated meaning for a particular word. compare the connotations and denotations of the word house and home. House is standard, but home as meaning emotionally. |
| consonance | the repetition of constant sounds with differing vowel sounds in words near each other in a line or lines of poetry |
| couplet | a pair of rhyming lines written in the same meter; may be separate stanza |
| crisis | the climax or turning point of a story or play(may be more than one major crisis if a lot of major characters) |
| dactyl | three syllable foot consisting of an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable |
| denotation | the specific, exact meaning of a word; a dictionary meaning |
| denouement | the resolution of a plot after a climax |
| deus ex machina | an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situationor untangle a plot |
| dialect | speech particular to a region;exhibits distinctions between two groups or even two persons. Dialects in this country are particular to various regions--"Eastern" vs. "Southern." |
| dialogue | conservation between two or more characters, usually set off with quotation marks |
| diction | an author's choice of words-i.e., simple, sophisticated, colloquial, formal, or informal |
| didactic verse | a term for a poem that teaches, almost preaches. It often discusses the "proper" way to behave. The lesson being taught is more important to the writer than the artistic quality of work. |
| dionysian | pertaining to the base side of a man |
| drama | story performed by actors on a stage |
| dramatic irony | irony in which the character use which mean one thing to them but another to those who understand the situation better |
| dramatic monologue | a poem that reveals a "soul in action" through the speech of one character in a dramatic situation |
| dystopia | the opposite of a utopia; a controlled world where pain exists instead of pleasure |
| elegy | lyrical poemabout death; a serious poem, usually meant to express grief or sorror. The theme is serious, usually death. |
| empathy | feelings of pity and understanding of a character |
| end rhyme | schematic rhyme that comes t the ends of lines of verse (such as aa,bb or ab,ab) |
| end stop line | line of verse in which both the grammatical structure and the sense reach completion at the end of a line; denoting a line of verse in which a logical or rhetorical pause occurs at the end of the line, usually marked with a period, comma, or semicolon |
| enjambment | line of verse that carries over into the next line without a pause of any kind |
| envelope method (frame) | begins and ends in the same setting and/or narrator(s); middle is flashback |
| epic | a long narrative, usually written in elevated language, which related the adventures of a hero upon whom rests the fate of a nation |
| epigram | a witty saying, usually at the end of a poem, about 2 lines long; a brief witty observation about a person, institution, or expierence |
| epigraph | a brief quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter |
| epiphany | an awakening; a sudden understanding or burst of insight; key moment in Greek plays |
| epitaph | an engraving on a tombstone |
| epithet | nickname or appellation, i.e., "Helen of the white arms" in the Iliad |
| euphemism | substitute word(s) that sounds better than another(lingerie instead of underwear); the use of inoffensive or neutral words to descibe a harsher, more serious concept. It reduces the risk that the listener will be upset or offended. 'pass away' vs. 'die' |
| euphony | a quality of style marked by pleasing, harmonious sounds, the opposite of cacophony |
| existentialism | a term applied to a group of attitudes which emphasize existence rather than the essence, and sees the inadequacy of human reason to explain the enigma of the universe |
| exposiotion | the introductory material which sets the tone, gives the setting, introduces the characters, and supplies necessary facts; may be the first section of the typical plot, in which necessary background is given. |
| eye rhyme | a form of rhyme wherein the look rather than the sound is important. ex: 'cough' and 'tough' they look like they rhyme so it works as end rhymes in poetry |
| fable | a story written to make a moral point, using animals as characters |
| fairy tale | a fictional tale, marked by fantasy and magic, often appealing to the imagination |
| falling action | everything that happens in a plot between the climax or crisis and the denouement |
| false dichotomy | two extremes in a continuum of intermediate possibilities. sure, take his side; my husband's perfect; I'm always wrong. OR either you love your country or you hate it. OR If you'er part of the solution, you're apart of the problem |
| fantasy | imaginative writing; writing in which the author breaks away from reality |
| farce | a totally ridiculous comedy |
| feminine rhyme | double rhyme (feminine rhyme): two syllables rhyme. Ex: resenting/consenting, triple rhyme- 3 syllables rhyme. Ex: pollution/solution |
| figurative language | writing or speech not meant to be taken literally figure of speech; states something that is not literally true in order to create an effect. Similes, metaphors, and personification are figures of speech based on comparisons. |
| first person | subjective point of view when a character relays a narrative using "I" |
| flashback | a device by which an author can present action or scenes that occurred before the opening scene in a work |
| flat character | a character who is not fully developed by an author; character who has only one outstanding trait or feature, or at the most a few distinguishing marks |
| foil | character who provides a contrast to another character, thus emphasizing the other's traits; a character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison |
| folk tale | a story which has been composed orally and then passed down by word of mouth |
| foot | a unit of meter; a metrical foot can have two or three syllables; the basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. In scansion, a foot represents one instance of a metrical pattern and is shown either between or to the left or right of vertical lines. |
| Iamb | a metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable |
| Trochee | A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable |
| Anapest | A metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable |
| Dactyl | A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables |
| Pyrrhic | a metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables |
| Dipod | The basic foot of dipodic verse, consisting (when complete) of an unaccented syllable, a lightly accented syllable, an unaccented ayllable, a heavy accented syllable, in that succession. Can vary. |
| Spondee | A metrical foot consisting of two syallables equally or almost equally accented |
| Monometer | A line of one metrical foot |
| Dimeter | A line of two metrical feet |
| Trimeter | A line of three metrical feet |
| Tetrameter | A line of four metrical feet |
| Pentameter | A line of five metrical feet |
| Hexameter | A line of six metrical feet |
| Foreshadowing | The arrangement and presentation of events and information in such a way that prepare for later events in a work |
| Form | The structure, shape, pattern, organization, or style of a piece of literature |
| Frame | A narrative constructed so that one or more stories are embedded in another story |
| Free verse | unrhymed poetry with lines of carrying lengths, containing no specific metrical pattern |
| Genre | A specific kind or category of literature, e.g., mystery story, sonnet, romance novel |
| Gothic | A form of novel in which magic, mystery, horrors and chivalry abound |
| Grotesque | Focused on physically or mentally (warped, deluded, retarded) impaired characters |
| Haiku | Popular Japanese form of poetry developed in 17th century. It usually had three lines, respectively, with 5, 7, then 5 syllables. Often contrasts two opposing images and presents an implied comment of nature |
| Half rhyme | Occurs when the final consonants rhyme, but the vowel sounds do not |
| Hamartia | A traffic flaw or error in judgement. In literature, the tragic hero's error of judgement or inherent defect of character, usually less literally translated as a "fatal flaw" |
| Hero/heroine | A main character who has strength or moral character, a noble cause |
| Heroic couplet | Two successive lines of rhymed poetry in iambic pentameter |
| Hexameter | A stanza of 6 lines |
| Homily | A long speech denouncing someone or something; a story or lecture on a religious or moral theme; a didactic lecture |
| Hubris | The pride or overconfidence which often leads a hero to overlook divine warning or to break a moral law |
| Humor | Writing whose purpose is to evoke some kind of laughter |
| Hyperbole | Exaggeration for effect and emphasis, overstatement: figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs |
| Iambic | 1 unaccented, 1 accented; very Shakespearean |
| Iambic pentameter | A metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambic feet per line |
| Idioms | Expressions that do not translate exactly into what a speaker means idioms are culturally relevant when a person uses and idiomatic expression he or she truly thinks in the language |
| Imagery | Devices which appeal to the senses: visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, kinetic; a group of words that create a mental picture |
| Auditory imagery | Sound imagery it appeals to the senses of hearing ex: "the Tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a Tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing... As profound and meaning as the sound of bells and a Christian Church community." |
| Gustatory imagery | Imagery appealing to the sense of taste |
| Kinetic energy | Imagery that appeals to movement. Example: the Flies flew around our heads methodically, never ceasing their obnoxious spinning and swirling. |
| Olfactory imagery | Appeals to the sense of smell. Example: the rotten hippo meat filled the jungle air with its sour, putrid smell. |
| Tactile imagery | Type of imagery pertaining the sense of touch. Example: the fuzzy puppies warm wet tongue covered my face |
| Visual imagery | Type of imagery that appeals to the senses sight. Example: from the lighthouse Towers shown a glowing beam that streaked across the black Waters |
| In medias res | The story starts in the middle |
| Intercalary chapters | Expository chapters that come between chapters of plat to relay outside information |
| Internal rhyme | Rhyming with in lines of verse instead of at the ends of lines |
| Inverted sentence | Reversing the normal subject - verb -compliments order. Poets do this sometimes to confirm to normal rhyme and rhyme patterns. Prose writers sometimes do this for emphasis. |
| Irony | Surprising, amusing, or interesting contrast between reality and expectation. And irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. And dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters don't know |
| Juxtaposition | The positioning of ideas or images side-by-side for emphasis or to show contrast - example: in Romeo and Juliet, love and hate are juxtaposed as the two teenagers love is forced into the same Arena as the families hatred. |
| Lampoon | A biting satire that makes its subject appear Ludacris |
| Legend | A widely told Taylor about the past, one that may have a foundation in fact |
| Limerick | A type of poem that consists of two lines of rhymed anapestic trimester, two lines of Rhymes anapestic meter, and an additional line of anapest trimeter, the last word of which is the same as, or rhymes with, the last word of the first line |
| Line | Unit of poetic verse. When writing verse and prose, use a / to indicate When lines change |
| Litotes | Attack of meiosis parentheses understand parentheses in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary, as in "not unhappy" or "a poet of no small stature" |
| Local color | The descriptions of the setting, people, and dialect, Etc., of a particular region |
| Loose or cumulative sentence | Has independent clause first, followed by a series of phrases and clauses - example the family used together around the Hearth, doing such tours when polishing shoes mending ripped close, reading, chatting, always warms by one another's presence |
| Lyric verse | One of the main groups of poetry, the others being narrative, dramatic and diabetic poetry In modern usage the term lyric includes all brief poems in which the authors Arden expression of a emotional element predominates ranging from complex to simple wit |
| Masculine rhyme | Single rhyme last syllable only rhymes. Example crime / grime |
| Mask (Persona) | A character with a distinct identity created by an author to achieve a particular effect of to deliver a particular message which reflect the author's viewpoint |
| Melodrama | A play based upon a dramatic plot in developed sensationally; a type of drama related to a trilogy but featuring Sensational incidents, emphasizing plot at the expense of characterization, relying on cruder conflicts. Having a happy ending good beats evil |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech where in a comparison is made between two unlike qualities without the use of words like or as. Jonathan Edwards, In his sermon "sinners in the hands of an Angry God," has this to say about the moral condition of his parishioners |
| Metaphysical | Up, from, of relating to forces or being outside the natural world |
| Metaphysical poetry | Although sometimes used in a broad sense of philosophical poetry, the term usually applies to the work of 17th century poets. Metaphysical poetry is characterized by the use of conceits, condensed metaphorical language, unusual comparisons |
| Meter | The romantical pattern of a poem; classified according both to its pattern in the number of feet to the line. Meter is a pattern repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. |
| Anapestic | A meter composed of feet that are short-short-long (or unaccented-unaccented-accented) often anapestic meter occurs in light verse such as limericks |
| Dactylic | A meter composed of feet that are long- short-short colon emphasis: jupiner |
| Iambic | A meter composed of feet that are short-long: propose, delete. I am big is the predominant meter of verse written in English |
| Trochaic | A meter composed of feet that are long-short: single, enter. |
| Pyrrhic | Two unstressed syllables: in a, of the. |
| Spondaic | A foot in which both syllables are stressed: taut skin |
| Metonomy | Substituting a word naming an object for another word closely associated with it. Example pay tribute to the crown; figure of speech in which a word represents something else which it suggests |
| Microcosm | A small "world" that stands for the larger one: in The Lord of the Flies, the island is representative of the world's political Realm |
| Mixed metaphor | A metaphor who's elements are either incongruent or contradictory but the use of incompatible identifications, such as"the dog pulled in its horns" or"to take arms against a sea of troubles" |
| Monologue | A written or oral composition presenting the discourse of one speaker only |
| Montage | A series of images that appear one after another |
| Motife (leitmotiv) | A reoccurring concept or story element in literature. It includes Concepts such as types of incident or situation, and his in The Parting of lovers at dawn; plot devices; patterns of imagery; four Arch types and character types |
| Myth | A fictional tale, originally with religious significance, that explains Heroes, Gods, nature, and / or natural phenomenon |
| Narrative | A story |
| Narrative point of view | See Point of View |
| Narrator | Speaker or Persona, the one who tells the story. Reliable narrator reliable narrator: everything this narrator says is true, and the narrator knows everything that is necessary to the story. Unreliable narrator: may not know all the relevant information |
| Naturalism | Writing that demonstrates a deep interest in nature, often sees nature as indifferent to the plight of man. Also used to describe any form of extreme realism |
| Near rhyme (also eye, half, slant, or sight rhyme) | A rhyming which the sounds are similar, but not exact, as in home and come or close and lose. |
| Neoclassicism | Restoration literary movement in which writers turn to Greek / Roman models for inspiration |
| Non-sequitur | Latin for "it doesn't follow" EG "our nation will prevail if we eat more eggs" |
| Novel | An extended prose narrative |
| Octave | An 8 line stanza |
| Ode | A long, formal lyric poem with a serious theme; a form of lyric poetry using elaborate, sophisticated vocabulary in iambic pentameter. It usually focuses upon a single object or person. |
| Omniscient | Narrator point of view |
| Onomatopoeia | The use of a word to represent or to imitate natural sounds. Examples include sizzle, Buzz, pop, hiss |
| Oxymoron | Technique used to produce an effect by a seeming self contradiction. Examples include cruel kindness, make haste slowly |
| Parable | A short story to prove a point with a moral basis example New Testament stories by Christ |
| Paradox | A statement which contains seemingly contradictory elements or appears contrary to Common Sense, yet can be seen as perhaps true when viewed from another angle. Very logical once it is explained |
| Paralipsis | The suggestion, by deliberately concise treatment of a topic, that much of significance is being emitted, as in "not to mention other faults"; withholding to the end- in stories- some piece of information crucial to the reader's understanding |
| Parallel structure | A repetition of sentences using the same structure |
| Parallelism | The repetition of syntactical similarities in passages closely connected for rhetorical effect. The rapid of structure lends which or emphasis to the meanings of the separate Clauses, fuss being particularly effective in antithesis |
| Paraphrase | A restatement of an idea in which a way as to retain the meaning while changing the diction in form |
| Parnassian | Of or related to poetry, after parnassius, a mountain in greece with two summits. was regarded as the seat of poetry and music |
| Parody | Ludacris imitation, usually for Comic effect but sometimes for ridicule, of the style and content of another work. The humor depends upon the readers familiarity with the original. A literary work that imitates the style of another literary work |
| Pastoral | Literary work that has to do with Shepherds and rustic settings |
| Pathetic fallacy | Overdone writing that sees the inadequacy of human reason to explain the ignorant of the universe. Writing that uses cliches the show nature mirroring what happens in real life. Evil always happens or dark and stormy nights, Spring days when lovers meet |
| Pathos | Greek term for deep emotion, passion, or suffering. When applied to literature, its meaning is usually narrow to refer to tragic emotions, describing the language and situations which deeply move the audience or reader by arousing sadness sympathy or pity |
| Pentameter | Poetic line that has 5 metrical feet |
| Periodic sentence | Save the subject and verb of the independent clause until the end of the sentence. Example if you can keep your head when everyone around you is panicking, you probably don't understand the situation |
| Persona | The Mask worn by an actor in Greek drama. In a literary context, the Persona is the character of the first person narrator in verse or prose narrative, and the speaker in a lyric poetry. |
| Personification | Figure of speech in which inanimate objects are given qualities of speech and / or movement. |
| Playwright | A person who writes a play |
| Plot | The structure of a story or the sequence in which the author arranges events. The structure of a five-act play often includes the rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. May have protagonist verse antagonist with conflict. |
| Point of view | The narrator or speaker perspective from which story is told -personal, objective,etc. is the perspective from which a narrative is presented |
| Polysyndeton | The repetition of a number of conjunctions in close succession |
| Post hoc, ergo proper hoc | Latin for "it happened after, so it was caused by. E.g. "I know a 26 year old who looks 60 because she takes contraceptive pills... Or"before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons" |
| Prose | All four of written expression not having a regular rhymithical pattern |
| Protagonist | The main character in a story. More than one character man be important enough to be called the main or no character seems to qualify. |
| Pun | A play on words wearin a word is used to convey two meanings at the same time |
| Pyretic | metrical foot having two unstressed syllables |
| Quatrain | 4 line stanza |
| Quintet | 5 line stanza |
| Realism | Fidelity to actuality in literature |
| Refrain | A freezer line, usually pretended to the central topic, which is repeated at regular intervals throughout a poem, usually at the end of a stanza |
| Resolution | The part of a story or drama which occurs after the climax and which establishes a new norm, and you State of Affairs - the way things are going to be from them |
| Rhetoric | The art of speaking or writing effectively; skill in the eloquent use of language |
| Rhetorical device | Device used to produce effective speaking and writing |
| Rhetorical question | A question solely for a fact, what no answer expected. By the implication that the answer is obvious, it is a means of achieving an emphasis stronger than a direct statement |
| Rhyme scheme | A pattern of rhyming words in a stanza |
| Rhyme | Similarity or likeliness of sound; maybe internal or at the ends of lines of verse in poetry |
| Double rhyme | A rhyme in which the repeated vowels is the second last syllable of the words involved; one form of feminine rhyme |
| End rhyme | Rhymes are end-rhymed when both rhyming words are at the end of lines |
| Feminine rhyme | Rhymes of feminine when the sounds involve more than one syllable. A rhyme in which the repeated accented vowel isn't either the 2nd or 3rd last syllable of the word revolve |
| Identical rhyme | It's a proceeding constant sound is the same, or if there is no proceeding conscious sound in either word, or if the same word is repeated in the rhyming position |
| Internal rhyme | An internal rhyme occurs when both or one rhyming words are within the line |
| Masculine rhyme | Rhymes or masculine when the sounds involve only one syllable. A rhyme in which the repeated acts Annabelle sound is in the final syllable of the words involved |
| Triple rhyme | Doraemon which the repeated accented valves sound as in the third last syllable of the words involved |
| Rhythm | The metrical or rhythmical pattern in a poem |
| Rising action | The development of conflict leading to a crisis. The second section of the typical plot, in which the main character begins to Grapple with the story's main conflict. The rising action contain several events which increase importance |
| Romance | Works having extravagant characters, remote or exotic settings, Adventure, magic, chivalry, and love |
| Round character | A fully developed character. Character who is complex, multi-dimensional, and convincing |
| Run-on-line | The carrying over of sense in grammatical structure from one line to the next |
| Sarcasm | The caustic and heavy use of apparent praise |
| Satire | A piece of literature designed to ridicule the subject of the work. Can be funny, it same is not too amused, but to arouse contempt. Arouses laughter or scorn as a means of ridicule in the region, with the avowed intention of correcting human fault |
| Scan | To mark off lines of poetry into rhythmic units, or feet, so as to show their metrical structure |
| Scansion | A system for describing more of less conventional poetic rhythms by dividing lines in defeat. The process of measuring verse, of marking accented and unaccented syllables, dividing the lines into feet |
| Scene | Short division within an act in a play. A particular setting in any work of literature |
| Second person | The narrator uses "you" as the narrator telling the story which is uncommon |
| Septet | A 7 line stanza |
| Sestet | A six-line stanza |
| Setting | The place and time of the story, including the historical period, social milieu of the characters, geographical location, descriptions of indoor and outdoor locals, excetera |
| Short story | Also called tail. Has many of the same characteristics as the novel but details are arranged to achieve a single effect, with Action Moving rapidly and with minimal complication or detail of setting |
| Simile | A figure of speech which takes the form of a comparison between two unlike quantities for which a basis for comparison can be found, and which uses words like or as |
| Slang | Expressions that are usually fleeting and may or may not be particular to a certain region or group |
| Soliloquy | A long speech by a character who is the one on the stage in which he Reveals His innermost thoughts and feelings |
| Sonnet | Divided into three quatrains and final couplet. The rhyme scheme is iambic pentameter with set rhyme scheme a b a b, CD CD, efef, gg |
| Spenserian sonnet | 9 line stanza, with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the last line in iambic hexameter |
| Sound device | Assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia |
| Spondee | Two stressed syllables. EN: child hood, foot ball |
| Stanza | A related group of lines in a poem, equivalent to a paragraph in prose |
| Stanza forms | The names given to describe the number of lines in a stanzaic unit, such as: couplet (2), tercet (3), quatrain (4), quintet (5), sestet(6), septet(7), and octave(8) some stanzas follow a set rhyme scheme and meter in addition to the number of lines named |
| Static character | A character who is the same sort of person at the end of the story as s/he was at the beginning |
| Statistics of small numbers | A close relative of observational selection e.g., "they say 1 out of every 5 people is Chinese. How is this possible? I know hundreds of people, and none of them are Chinese" |
| Stereotype | A characterization based on conscious or unconscious assumptions that one aspect determines what humans are like and so is accompanied by certain traits, actions, and even value |
| Stock character | Stereotyped character: one whose nature is familiar from prototypes in previous fiction |
| Stream of consciousness | Narrative technique which presents thoughts as if they were coming directly from a character's mind |
| Stress | Sing certain syllables or words in a line with more emphasis or volume |
| Structure | The plant framework for a piece of literature |
| Style | A writer's typical way of expressing him or herself |
| Subtext | A term denoting what a character means by what he or she says when there is a disparity between diction and intended meaning. And irony a character may say one thing and mean something entirely different. The real meaning of the speech and the subject |
| Syllogism | The underlying structure of deductive reasoning, having a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion based on logic. Syllogisms are either valid or invalid |
| Symbol | Anything that stands for or represents anything else |
| Symbolism | Using an image to represent an idea. Example storms are often symbolize impending disaster, red rose equals love, dove equals piece, black cat equals bad luck |
| Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole or the whole for a part, as wheels for automobile or a society for high school |
| Synthesia | The description of one kind of sense impression in words normally used to describe a different sense, like a sweet voice. It can be very effective for creating vivid imagery. One sensory experience described in terms of another sensory experience |
| Syntax | The arrangement of words in a sentence, the grammar of a sentence |
| Tetrameter | Poetic line with for metrical feet |
| Tercet | A three-line stanza in poetry |
| Theatre of the Absurd | Play Written to show the absurdity of Life by having absurd situations |
| Theme | An ingredient of a literary work which gives the author Unity, the theme provides an answer to the question "what is the work about?" Same concerns itself with a Works message or contains the general idea they work and is worded in a complete sentence |
| Third person narration - objective narrator | Not a character in the story, refers to the stories characters as he and she but does not reveal thoughts |
| Limited (partial omniscient) narrator | Can only tell what one person is thinking or feeling |
| Omniscient narrator | Can tell what all characters are thinking and feeling |
| Tone | Expresses the author's attitude towards his or her subject. Since there are as many tones in the literature as there are tones of voice in real relationships, the tone of a literary work maybe one of anger or approval |
| Tragedy | Depicts the downfall or destruction of a character |
| Tragic flaw | The tragic flaw or error in judgment |
| Trimeter | A poetic line with three metrical feet |
| Trochaic | Poetic line created with one accented, one unaccented syllable |
| Trope | Another name for figurative language |
| Understatement | Statement in which the literal sense of what is said fall short of the magnitude of what is being talked about. |
| Verbal irony | A kind of irony in which words are used to suggest the opposite of the actual meaning |
| Verisimilitude | The semblance of Truth, the degree to which a writer creates the appearance of Truth |
| Villanelle | Poem with five triplets in a final quatrain, only to rhyme sounds are permitted in the entire poem, and the 1st and 3rd lines of the first stanza are repeated, as the third line of stanzas until the last, and they appear as the last two lines of the poem |
| Voice | The speaker in a piece of literature |
| Zeugma | Any of several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage of 2 or more parts of speech by another part of speech. That's examples of zeugmatic usage would include 1 subject with 2 verbs, a verb with 2 direct objects |
| Ballad | This is a narrative poem describing a past happening that is sometimes romantic but always ends catastrophically. The Saga described as usually an impression invoice with the speaker some distance from the action |
| Concrete poetry or shaped verse | An attempt to supplement verbal meaning with visual devices from painting and sculpture. An example is a poem in the shape of an apple a bottle |
| Elegy | A poem, usually personal, of grief or Mourning |
| Epic | A long narrative poem about a hero, usually starting with an invocation to the Muse and beginning in medias res (in the middle of the story) |
| Haiku | This form consists of 17 separate syllables arranged in three lines according to a 5 - 7 - 5 pounds. It usually has a plain style and everyday language |
| Occasional poetry | This is poetry written for a particular event or happening, the event being usually ceremonial or honorific |
| Sonnet-Italian | A fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. And Italian salad has an octave with a rhyme scheme of abbaabba and a sestet rhyming variously |
| Sonnet-Shakespearean | A fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. The lines are grouped in three quatrains with alternating Rhymes followed by an heroic couplet that is usually epigrammatic |
| Villanelle | A poem with five triplets and a final quatrain, only to rhyme sounds are permitted in the entire poem, and the first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated, as the third line of subsistence stands as until the last |
Created by:
amber.parker
Popular English Vocabulary sets