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Unit 2 Ac Vocab
academic vocabulary for English 3 Honors, Unit 2
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Allegory | a story that has both a literal and a symbolic meaning. In an allegory, characters or objects often embody abstract ideas (e.g., John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress or George Orwell’s Animal Farm). |
Archetype | a model image, personage, or theme that recurs in stories and myths throughout history and literature |
Aside | words spoken by an actor on stage that is intended to be heard only by the audience and not by the characters on the stage |
Author’s Craft | intentional and deliberate use of organizational patterns, text and graphic features, syntax, devices, and diction to create an effective written work; author’s craft may vary by genre |
Author’s Purpose | the reason an author writes about a particular topic (e.g., to persuade, to entertain, to inform, to explain to analyze, etc.); the reason an author includes particular details, features, or devices in a work |
Characterization | the way an author constructs a character explicitly stating aspects of personality and appearance (direct characterization) or by revealing aspects of a character through their actions, thoughts, speech, other characters, etc. (indirect characterization) |
Citation | a reference to the author’s name, title of work, date published, publisher, and/or page numbers of quoted or paraphrased text in a shortened in-text notation or in a longer bibliographic entry |
Collaboration | the process of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing wherein each member speaks, is heard, and takes ownership of the resulting product or activity |
Commentary | written/spoken explanations or interpretations that further develop an idea |
Conflict | the opposition of persons or forces that brings about dramatic action central to the plot of a story. Conflict may be internal, as a psychological conflict within a character, or external (e.g., man versus man, man versus nature, or man versus society). |
Connotative meaning | the emotions or set of associations attached to a word that is implied rather than literal (e.g., feeling blue) |
Context | the words, sentences, or passages that precede or follow a specific word, sentence, or passage |
Denotative meaning | the dictionary definition of a word; the literal or cognitive meaning |
Dialogue | the lines spoken between characters in fiction or a play; Dialogue in a play is the main way in which plot, character, and other elements are established. |
Diction | Choice of words in speaking or writing for clear and effective expression |
Drama | literary works written in a stage play format which includes dialogue and stage directions that is intended to be performed |
Dramatic irony | a dramatic device in which a character says or does something that he or she does not fully grasp but is understood by the audience |
Figurative Language | language not intended to be taken literally but layered with meaning through the use of imagery, metaphors, and other literary devices |
Genre | the type or class of a work, usually categorized by form, technique, or content |
Graphic feature | picture or other image within a text |
Irony | a literary technique used to create meaning that seems to contradict the literal meaning or events |
Literary Analysis | a close examination and interpretation of a literary work that analyzes the author’s use of language, devices, and genre characteristics to convey meaning |
Literary Device | a specific convention or structure—such as imagery, irony, or foreshadowing—that is employed by the author to produce a given effect. |
Literary Element | the basic components of most literary works such as setting, plot, characterization, point of view, theme, tone, etc. |
Literary Text | written works that are generally recognized as having artistic value. Basic forms of literary texts include prose, fiction, drama, poetry, and literary non-fiction. |
Meter | the basic rhythmic structure in verse, composed of stressed and unstressed syllables |
Mood | the atmosphere or feeling created by the writer in a literary work or passage; mood can be expressed through imagery, word choice, setting, voice, and theme. For example, the mood evoked in Edgar Allan Poe’s work is gloomy and dark. |
Motif | the recurring or dominant structure of a literary work; the intentional repetition of a word, phrase, event, or idea as a unifying theme |
Paradox | a seemingly contradictory statement that on closer scrutiny reveals a deeper truth (e.g., life is but a dream) |
Personal narrative | an expressive literary piece written in first person that centers on a particular event in the author’s life and may contain vivid description as well as personal commentary and observations |
Plot | the basic sequence of events in a story that includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution |
Poetic form | a distinctive poetic structure with distinguishable characteristics based on meter, lines, stanzas, and rhyme schemes such as a sonnet, blank verse, ballad, haiku, epic, lyric, etc. |
Poetry | literary works focused on the expression of feelings and ideas through a distinctive style that is often rhythmical and may have elements such as meter, rhyme, and stanzas |
Rhyme scheme | the pattern of rhyming lines (e.g., ABAB, ABBA) |
Sarcasm | a bitter form of irony, intended to taunt or hurt |
Satire | the use of humor, ridicule, and/or over exaggeration as a form of social commentary; the use of humorous criticism or exaggeration to accentuate a character’s faults or ignorance |
Setting | the time and place in which a narrative occurs. Elements of setting may include the physical, psychological, cultural, or historical background against which the story takes place. |
Soliloquy | a dramatic convention in which a speech is given by a character while or as if alone; literally, "talking to oneself" |
Stage directions | descriptions or instructions in a play that provide information about characters, dialogue, setting, and actions |
Stage directions | descriptions or instructions in a play that provide information about characters, dialogue, setting, and actions |
Style | the unique characteristics that describe a writer’s use of language; diction, syntax, sentence fluency, figurative language, and voice all contribute to a writer’s style |
Suspense | the sustained interest created by the buildup of events and delayed resolution of the plot’s conflict |
Syntax | the arrangement and sequence of words in sentences, clauses, and phrases |
Synthesize | to combine elements and parts to form a coherent whole |
Text Evidence | paraphrased or directly quoted detail(s) from a text that supports a reader’s claim, thought, inference, or analysis about the text |
Theme | the central or universal idea of a literary work that often relates to morals and/or values and speaks to the human experience/ condition' an opinion about a topic that can apply to people and life in general, and which can be supported by the text |
Tone | the author’s particular attitude, either stated or implied in writing |
Voice | an author’s unique articulation or expression of language created by stylistic elements such as syntax, diction, and figurative language |
Word Choice | the author’s thoughtful use of precise vocabulary to fully convey meaning to the reader |