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Lit Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Word free from limitations | Absolute |
| a familiar proverb or saying | adage |
| argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position on an issue | Ad Hominem Argument |
| a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent words | allegory |
| the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words | alliteration |
| a comparison of wo different things that are similar in some way | analogy |
| the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences | anaphora |
| brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event | anecdote |
| the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers | antecedent |
| a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced | antithesis |
| a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or edia, often using rhyme or balance | aphorism |
| a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction | apostrophe |
| 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 | archetype |
| a statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work | argument |
| a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjuctions | asyndeton |
| insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity | bathos |
| a statement consisting of two paralel parts in which the second part is sructurally reversed.(Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary) | Chiasmus |
| an expression that has benn overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off | Cliche |
| the point of highest interest in a literary work | climax |
| informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing | colloquialism |
| a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause | complex sentence |
| a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions | compound sentence |
| a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor | conceit |
| details that relate to or descrive actual, specific things or events | concrete details |
| the implied or associative meaning of a word | connotation |
| a sentence that makes a statement or declaration | declarative sentence |
| reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying to a specific case | deductive reasoning |
| the literal meaning of a word | denotiation |
| a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region | dialect |
| conversation between two or more people | dialogue |
| the word choices made by a writer | diction |
| having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing | didactic |
| a situation that requires a person to decide between two wqually attractive or equally unattractive alternatives | dilemma |
| harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds | dissonance |
| a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme | elegy |
| the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be duduced from the context | ellipsis |
| a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of caharacters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation | epic |
| a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying | epigram |
| 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 | epigraph |
| a moment of sudden revelation or insight | epiphany |
| an inscription on a tombstone or burial place | epitaph |
| a term used to point out a characteristic of a person | epithet |
| a formal speech praising a person who has died | eulogy |
| an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant | euphemism |
| a sentence expressing strong feeling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark | exclamatory sentence |
| an interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes, a profanity | expletive |
| a brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as charactors | fable |
| a story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters | fantasy |
| language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc) | Figurative Language |
| the insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative | flashback |
| a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story | flat character |
| the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work | foreshadowing |
| a story within a story | frame device |
| a major category or type of literature | genre |
| a sermon, or moralistic lecture | homily |
| excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy | hubris |
| intentional exaggeration to create an effect | hyperbole |
| a question that raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition | hypothetical question |
| 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 | idiom |
| the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses | imagery |
| a suggestion an author or speaker makes without stating it directly | implication |
| deriving general principles from particular facts | inductive reasoning |
| a conclusion one draws based on premises or evidence | inference |
| an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack | invective |
| the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs | irony |
| the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession | jargon |
| placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast | juxtaposition |
| a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements | legend |
| a poem consisting of five lines of regular rhythm | limerick |
| 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 one character | limited narrator |
| deviation from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect | literary license |
| a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negationg its opposite, it was not a PRETTY picture | litotes |
| the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar, the doctor wrote a subscription | malapropism |
| a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage | maxim |
| a direct comparsion of two different things | metaphor |
| substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it, the pen is mightier than the sword | metonymy |
| the motional atmosphere of a work through the writer | mood |
| a standard theme, element, or dramatic situtaion that recurs in various works | motif |
| a character's incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a character to act | motivation |
| a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events | myth |
| a story or narrated account | narrative |
| the one who tells the story; may be first or third person, limited or omniscient | narrator |
| narration where you know everything about everyone, all knowing | omniscient narrator |
| a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds | onomatopoeia |
| an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined | oxymoron |
| a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lessons | parable |
| an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth | paradox |
| the use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms I like TO swim, TO hike, and TO sleep. (important) | parallelism |
| a statement of a text in your own words | paraphrase |
| a humorous imitation of a serious work | parody |
| a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain | parenthietical |
| the quality in a work that prompts the reader to feel pity | pathos |
| characterized by an excessive display of learning or scholarships | pedantic |
| endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics | personification |
| a strong verbal denunciation. | philippic |
| the action of a narrative or drama | plot |
| the vantage point from which a story is told | point of view |
| the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural | polysyndeton |
| a play on words | pun |
| the falling action of a narrative | resolution |
| art of persuasion | Rhetoric |
| a question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer | Rhetorical Question |
| literary techniques the author uses to make his speech sound better, (style analyze essay) | Rhetorical Devices |
| question or puzzle requiring thought | riddle |
| came in the late 18th century, book about individual that dealt with emotion | Romantic |
| complex character who changes in a story | Round Character |
| harsh, cutting language or tone intended to ridicule | Sarcasm |
| the use of humor to emphasize human or imperfections in social institutions | Satire |
| someone to take the blame/archetype | Scapegoat |
| the time, place, and environment in which action takes place | scene |
| comparison of two things using like or as | simile |
| time and place | setting |
| a sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause | simple sentence |
| nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules, same like literary license | solecism |
| the arrangement or framework of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work | structure |
| the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work | style |
| a construction in which one word is used in two different senses (After he threw the ball, he threw a fit | syllepsis |
| object that represents something else | symbol |
| using one part of an object to represent the entire object (nice wheels) | synecdouche |
| describing one kind of sensation in terms of another (a loud color, a sweet sound) | synesthesia |
| the manner in which words are arranged into sentences | syntax |
| needless repetition which adds no meaning or understanding (free gift) | tautology |
| a central idea of a work | theme |
| the primary position taken by a writer or speaker | thesis |
| the attitude of a writer | topic |
| the subject treated in a paragraph or work | topic |
| a work in which the protagonist; a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction | tragedy |
| a work in 3 parts, each of which is a complete work in itself | trilogy |
| overused and hackneyed | trite |
| the point in a work in which a very significant change occurs | turning point |
| the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it actually is; a deliberate under-emphasis | understatement |
| the customary way language or its elements are used | usage |
| everyday speech of an area or region | vernacular |
Created by:
Law1995
Popular English Vocabulary sets