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IB English > Advanced Glossary > Flashcards

Advanced Glossary Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Accumulation

A

A listing of words embodying similar qualities either physical or abstract with the intent of emphasising to the reader the quality that they hold in common

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2
Q

Adynaton

A

A form of hyperbole which involves magnification of an event by reference to the impossible or unattainable

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3
Q

Allegory

A

A story in prose or in verse which has one surface or literal meaning co-existing with metaphorical interpretations. The allegory must be consistent throughout the story

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4
Q

Alliteration

A

The repetition of a single consonant sound at either the beginning of words or on stressed syllables

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5
Q

Allusion

A

An implicit reference to another work of literature or art, to a person, to an event, or tao a modern meme.

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6
Q

Amblysia

A

A noticeable modification of language to prepare for the announcement of something tragic, alarming, or shocking

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7
Q

Amphiboly

A

An ambiguity in the meaning of a sentence caused by grammatical looseness to produce a double meaning

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8
Q

Anachronism

A

The misplacement of an action, character, phrase, or setting in time. It may be used deliberately to distance events and to underline a universal verisimilitude and timelessness.

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9
Q

Anacoluthon

A

A sentence that is begun in one way, but then ended in a different way, usually with a hypen linking two disparate clauses

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10
Q

Anadiplosis

A

The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause

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11
Q

Analogue

A

A word or thing that is similar or parallel to another, to the point that most salient features are alike

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12
Q

Anaphora

A

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses

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13
Q

Anastrophe

A

An inversion of the normal word order, where elements of a sentence are completely back to front from convention

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14
Q

Anecdote

A

A brief account of, or a story about, an incident, usually used with the rhetorical intent of reinforcing a point.

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15
Q

Anesis

A

A rhetorical device in which a concluding sentence, clause, or phrase is used to deliberately diminished or discredit the previous statement

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16
Q

Antanaclasis

A

The usage of a word multiple times, where each usage uses a different denotation of the word

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17
Q

Anthropomorphism

A

The attribution of human characteristics to anything which is non-human, usually distinct from personification in that it is more a structural feature rather than metaphorical

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18
Q

Anthimeria

A

The substitution of one part of speech for another in the sense of making the prose more decorative, as in adjective as nouns or nouns as verbs

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19
Q

Antipophora

A

A character asks a question of themself, and then answers by themself

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20
Q

Antimetabole

A

The repetition of words successive clauses in reverse grammatical order

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21
Q

Antiphrasis

A

The use of the word in the opposite sense to its proper denotation

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22
Q

Antithesis

A

A set of contrasting ideas sharpened by the use of the opposite or noticeably different meaning

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23
Q

Antonomasia

A

The substitution of a proper noun for an epithet, title, occupation associated with that object or person

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24
Q

Aphorism

A

A terse statement of a truth or dogma; a pithy generalisation, which may or may not be witty. An aphorism exposes and purports to give insight into a universal truth

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25
Q

Aposiopesis

A

The abrupt breaking off of speech with the sentence being left unfinished, and is not continued, unlike anacoluthon

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26
Q

Apostrophe

A

A figure of speech in which a thing, place, abstract quality, idea, dead or absent person is addressed as if they were present and capable of understanding.

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27
Q

Archaism

A

A word, phrase, or idiom which is old or obsolete at its time of usage

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28
Q

Assonance

A

The repetition of similar vowel sounds close together in order to achieve a form of euphony

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29
Q

Asyndeton

A

The omission of conjunctions, articles, and often pronouns for the sake of speed and economy

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30
Q

Aside

A

A few words or a short passage spoken in an undertone or to the audience. It is a theatrical convention that the words are presumed inaudible to other characters on stage, unless of course the aside is between two characters and therefore clearly not meant for anyone else present.

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31
Q

Bathos

A

A sensation achieved when the writer strives at the sublime and overreaches himself and topples into the absurd, either deliberately or accidentally

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32
Q

Black Comedy

A

A form of humour which uses the shocking, horrific or macabre to create comedy, often with undertones of disillusionment and cynicism

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33
Q

Blank verse

A

Verse which consists of unrhymed five stress lines in iambic pentameter

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34
Q

Blazon

A

Verses of an overall work which dwell on and describe in detail the various parts of a woman’s body

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35
Q

Bombast

A

The use of inflated or extravagant language

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36
Q

Burlesque

A

A derisive imitation or exaggerated ‘ sending up’ of a literary or musical work, usually stronger and broader in tone and style than parody

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37
Q

Cacophony

A

the effect achieved through the use of harsh or contrasting sounds which sound mildly unpleasant

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38
Q

Caesura

A

A break or pause in a line of poetry dictated by the natural rhythm os the language, or enforced by punctuation.

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39
Q

Catachresis

A

The misapplication of a word or metaphor, particularly when used in mixed metaphor

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40
Q

Catalexis

A

The omission of the last syllable or syllables in a regular metrical line

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41
Q

Catharsis

A

A mode of writing in which the composer writes to gain a sense of relief from tension for therapeutic effect, or similarly when the effect is created in the responder

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42
Q

Chiasmus

A

A reversal of grammatical structure in subsequent clauses or phrases with different words

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43
Q

Circumlocution

A

In speech, the use of many words where a few will suffice to make a roundabout point

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44
Q

Cliché

A

An expression which has become formulaic and stale through overuse and repetition throughout history

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45
Q

Conceit

A

An elaborate figurative device of a fanciful kind which can incorporate metaphor, simile, or hyperbole which is intended to surprise or delight through ingenuity. An conceit which lasts for the entire story is an allegory

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46
Q

Connotation

A

The suggestion or implication evoked by a word or a phrase, over and above what the literal denotation is defined as

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47
Q

Consonance

A

The repetition of identical consonant sounds before or after different vowels

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48
Q

Couplet

A

Two successive rhyming lines

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49
Q

Defamiliarisation

A

The modification of a reader’s habitual perceptions by drawing attention to the artifice of the text, or the peculiarities of the writing itself

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50
Q

Denotation

A

The most literal and limited meaning of a word, regardless of any additional feelings or connotations that have evolved for it

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51
Q

Depitation

A

The use of overly complex words in order to appear more intelligent, rather than to actually imply additional meaning

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52
Q

Dissonance

A

The arrangement of cacophonous sounds in words or rhythms for effect

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53
Q

Double entendre

A

A word of expression used to have two meanings, one of which is usually frivolous or bawdy

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54
Q

Dramatic irony

A

the effect created when the audience understand the implication and meaning of a situation in a text, or what is being said, but the characters do not

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55
Q

Dysphemism

A

The use of a phrase which emphasises negative qualities, unpleasantness, or defects. The opposite of a euphemism.

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56
Q

Ecphonema

A

An exclamation of joy, woe or amazement

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57
Q

Ekphrasis

A

The intense pictorial description of an object

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58
Q

Elegy

A

A poem or prose passage which mourns for an individual or lament a tragic event

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59
Q

Elision

A

The omission or slurring of a syllable, usually to preserve the meter of a line in verse

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60
Q

Ellipsis

A

The omission of several words from a sentence, usually at the end, for effect not necessarily indicated by punctuation, though commonly done through the use of three dots.

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61
Q

Enjambment

A

The spacing of lines of verse so that the ends of sentences d not stop at the ends of lines, but flow immediately on to the next without pause

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62
Q

Epanados

A

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and middle, or middle and end of a sentence

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63
Q

Epanalepsis

A

The repetition of words or a phrase after other words have come in between them

64
Q

Epexegesis

A

An explanation of what has been siad in the immediately preceding statements

65
Q

epideictic oratory

A

A rhetorical device which praises or blames somebody or something in public

66
Q

Epistrophe

A

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences

67
Q

Epitasis

A

The section of a story or narrative where the climax is approaching and when the plot thickens

68
Q

Epizeuxis

A

The repetition of a word or phrase emphatically to produce a special effect

69
Q

Euphemism

A

The substitution of a mild and palatable expression for a harsh and blunt one

70
Q

Euphony

A

The use of pleasing, mellifluous sounds, usually produced by a long vowels rather than consonants, though liquid consonants can also be used.

71
Q

Farce

A

A style of work which provokes mirth of the simplest and basic kind, usually through rather crude, low humour

72
Q

Feminine rhyme

A

A rhyme between two words with more than one syllable when all syllables rhyme and the final syllable is unstressed

73
Q

Flyting

A

A curing match in verse between two characters who hurl abuse at each other

74
Q

Foreshadowing

A

The arrangement of events and information in such a way as to prepare the responder for later events

75
Q

Free verse

A

Verse which has no regular meter, line length or rhyme, and depends on natural speech rhythms and opposition of stressed and unstressed syllables

76
Q

Hamartia

A

A fatal flaw or error which causes a character’s downfall

77
Q

Hemistich

A

A term for half of a metrical line which has been divided by a caesura

78
Q

Hendiadys

A

An idea which is expressed through the use of two substantive or a substantive and noun joined by a conjunction

79
Q

Homonym

A

A word written in the same way as another, but with a different origin and meaning

80
Q

Homophone

A

A word pronounced the same way as another, but with a different spelling and meaning

81
Q

Hubris

A

Excessive pride which is brought about by a shortcoming or a defect in the hero, which eventually leads to his downfall

82
Q

Hypallage

A

An epithet which is transferred from one noun to modify another related noun to which it does not really belong

83
Q

Hyperbaton

A

The transposition of words out of their conventional grammatical order

84
Q

Hyperbole

A

Exafferation of a situation or quality for emphasis

85
Q

Hypocorism

A

The use of familiar or endearing terms in place of proper nouns

86
Q

Hypostatisation

A

A form of personification in which an abstract quality is spoken of as something human

87
Q

Hypotyposis

A

An object or person is represented as if it were present through description by a character or other message

88
Q

Hypozeuxis

A

The repetition of the same verbs with different nouns and the same subject

89
Q

Idiom

A

A form of expression construction or phrase peculiar to the language ad often possessing a meaning other than its logical one

90
Q

Invective

A

A tone of speech or writing which is denunciatory, abusive or vituperative

91
Q

Inversion

A

In prosody, reversing the stress of a syllable by substitution

92
Q

Invocation

A

a call for help given by a character to a supernatural being for aid

93
Q

Isocolon

A

A sequence of clauses of identical length

94
Q

Jargon

A

A set of words of phrases which use vocabulary that is peculiar to a particular profession or trade

95
Q

Kenning

A

The use of two nouns together to describe a single thing. One noun is usually abstracted while the other has a direct relation to the object being described

96
Q

Light rhyme

A

A rhyme where one or both of the rhyming syllables are unstressed

97
Q

Litotes

A

A descriptive statement that deliberately understates something in order to emphasise it, usually with a negative connotation

98
Q

Malapropism

A

The unintentional incorrect use of complex words by a character

99
Q

Masculine rhyme

A

A single monosyllabic rhyme at the end of a line

100
Q

meiosis

A

A statement which understates for emphasis and the attainment of simplicity rather than the extravagant, usually understating a positive

101
Q

melodrama

A

A form of sensational entertainment in which the main characters are excessively virtuous or exceptionally evil, with a large focus on action and thrills in order to emotionally appeal to an audience

102
Q

metalepsis

A

A form of metonymy in which the general idea substituted is considerable removed from the particular fetail

103
Q

meter

A

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse

104
Q

metonymy

A

a substitution of the name or attribute of a thing with the thing itseld

105
Q

Monologue

A

A single speaking alone with or without an audience, of which there are several forms:

106
Q

monologue - soliloquy

A

a monologue which expresses a character’s inner thoughts, feelings or motivations

107
Q

monologue - dramatic

A

Monologue where an imaginary speaker addresses an imaginary audience

108
Q

Motif

A

A dominant idea in a work of literature which represents the main theme, usually consisting of a recurrent image or verbal pattern

109
Q

Mythopoeia

A

The creation of a realm of mythical material or a ‘private’ mythology in a work of fiction

110
Q

Neologism

A

A newly coined word or phrase in a text

111
Q

nonce-word

A

a word which is created for one sole use, a form of neologism which is effectively useless

112
Q

oxymoron

A

A combination of incongruous and contradictory words and meanings for effect

113
Q

Palilogy

A

A deliberate repetition of words throughout a passage

114
Q

Paradox

A

A statement which is inherently self-contradictory, rather than the combination of two or more concepts as in oxymoron

115
Q

Paralipsis

A

A deliberate exclusion of a topic speech or writing in order to draw attention to it

116
Q

Parallelism

A

Constructing consecutive sentences in a similar style in order to balance each other

117
Q

Parataxis

A

Co-ordination of clauses close together without use of conjunctions, only through punctuation

118
Q

Parenthesis

A

Exclusion of words from the main body of a clause of sentence through parentheses, hyphens, dashes, or commas

119
Q

Paronomasia

A

A play on words which uses similar sounds between words for effect

120
Q

Pathetic fallacy

A

A belief that the nature or emotion of events is reflected in the natural world as an expression of pathos by nature

121
Q

Periphrasis

A

The usage of many words in order to express a simple idea usually used to characterise a character as comic or overly officious

122
Q

Platitude

A

A dull and commonplace remark which is trite and obvious

123
Q

Polyptoton

A

The repetition of a word but with a different grammatical form each time

124
Q

polysyndeton

A

the repetition of conjunctions in order to link clauses and sentences

125
Q

prolepsis

A

A segment of a narrative which portrays future events before they have happened with reference the main sequence of the story

126
Q

prodiorthosis

A

A statement intended to prepare the audience for a shocking offensive statement succeeding the current one

127
Q

Repartee

A

A witty or cleer rejoinder

128
Q

Rhythm

A

In verse or prose, the movement or sense of movement communicated by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

129
Q

sentence structure

A

Sentences can be constructed in different ways by changing the position of the clauses and the traditional grammatical structure

  • Loose sentences
  • Periodic sentences
  • Balanced sentences
130
Q

Loose sentences

A

The main clause comes first and is followed by its dependent clauses

131
Q

Periodic sentences

A

the main clause comes last, with dependent clauses preceding

132
Q

Balanced sentences

A

A sentence made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure

133
Q

Stichomythia

A

Alternating single lines of dialogue in drama indicating verbal sparring

134
Q

Stream of consciousness

A

A writing style which seeks to depict the flow of thoughts and feelings through the mind

135
Q

Synaesthesia

A

The displacement and confusion of the sense in descriptive language, or the response of several sense to the stimulation of one

136
Q

Syncope

A

the omission of a letter or a syllable within the middle of a word

137
Q

Synecdoche

A

A substitution where a part of an object stands for the whole

138
Q

Tapinosis

A

A figurative device which belittles by exaggeration

139
Q

Tmesis

A

The separation of the parts of a word though the insertion of another word

140
Q

Topothesia

A

A description of an imaginary place

141
Q

Verisimilitude

A

The appearance of being true even when clearly related to the fantastic

142
Q

Voice

A

The viewpoint of the narrator of the story. The main kinds are:

  • 1st person
  • 2nd person
  • 3rd person omniscient
  • 3rd person limited
143
Q

1st person - voice

A

The story is told from the perspective of one of the characters

144
Q

2nd person - voice

A

The reader is the primary agent in the story

145
Q

3rd person omniscient - voice

A

the narrator has access to all characters and situations in the story

146
Q

3rd person limited - voice

A

The narrator tells the story of one character using information limited to that character

147
Q

Zeugma

A

A verb or noun which joins two or more clauses in a sentence. Main variations are:

  • prozeugma
  • mesozeugma
  • hypozeugma
  • Diazeugma
  • Syllepsis
148
Q

prozeugma

A

A verb at the beginning of the sentence governs several later parallel clauses

149
Q

mesozeugma

A

A verb in the middle of a sentence governs several parallel adjacent clauses

150
Q

hypozeugma

A

A verb at the end of the sentence governs parallel preceding clauses

151
Q

Diazeugma

A

Two or more verbs are governed by one noun

152
Q

Syllepsis

A

A zeugma where the clauses disagree in grammar or semantics

153
Q

Logos

A

logic, reasoning
(The argument itself; the reasoning the author uses; logical evidence)

eg. facts, statistics, quotes, definitions, etc

154
Q

Ethos

A

Character, ethics

how a writer builds credibility and trustworthiness

155
Q

Pathos

A

Emotion

words or passages an author uses to activate emotions

IB English (2 decks)

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