Advanced Glossary Flashcards
Accumulation
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
Adynaton
A form of hyperbole which involves magnification of an event by reference to the impossible or unattainable
Allegory
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
Alliteration
The repetition of a single consonant sound at either the beginning of words or on stressed syllables
Allusion
An implicit reference to another work of literature or art, to a person, to an event, or tao a modern meme.
Amblysia
A noticeable modification of language to prepare for the announcement of something tragic, alarming, or shocking
Amphiboly
An ambiguity in the meaning of a sentence caused by grammatical looseness to produce a double meaning
Anachronism
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.
Anacoluthon
A sentence that is begun in one way, but then ended in a different way, usually with a hypen linking two disparate clauses
Anadiplosis
The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause
Analogue
A word or thing that is similar or parallel to another, to the point that most salient features are alike
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses
Anastrophe
An inversion of the normal word order, where elements of a sentence are completely back to front from convention
Anecdote
A brief account of, or a story about, an incident, usually used with the rhetorical intent of reinforcing a point.
Anesis
A rhetorical device in which a concluding sentence, clause, or phrase is used to deliberately diminished or discredit the previous statement
Antanaclasis
The usage of a word multiple times, where each usage uses a different denotation of the word
Anthropomorphism
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
Anthimeria
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
Antipophora
A character asks a question of themself, and then answers by themself
Antimetabole
The repetition of words successive clauses in reverse grammatical order
Antiphrasis
The use of the word in the opposite sense to its proper denotation
Antithesis
A set of contrasting ideas sharpened by the use of the opposite or noticeably different meaning
Antonomasia
The substitution of a proper noun for an epithet, title, occupation associated with that object or person
Aphorism
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
Aposiopesis
The abrupt breaking off of speech with the sentence being left unfinished, and is not continued, unlike anacoluthon
Apostrophe
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.
Archaism
A word, phrase, or idiom which is old or obsolete at its time of usage
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds close together in order to achieve a form of euphony
Asyndeton
The omission of conjunctions, articles, and often pronouns for the sake of speed and economy
Aside
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.
Bathos
A sensation achieved when the writer strives at the sublime and overreaches himself and topples into the absurd, either deliberately or accidentally
Black Comedy
A form of humour which uses the shocking, horrific or macabre to create comedy, often with undertones of disillusionment and cynicism
Blank verse
Verse which consists of unrhymed five stress lines in iambic pentameter
Blazon
Verses of an overall work which dwell on and describe in detail the various parts of a woman’s body
Bombast
The use of inflated or extravagant language
Burlesque
A derisive imitation or exaggerated ‘ sending up’ of a literary or musical work, usually stronger and broader in tone and style than parody
Cacophony
the effect achieved through the use of harsh or contrasting sounds which sound mildly unpleasant
Caesura
A break or pause in a line of poetry dictated by the natural rhythm os the language, or enforced by punctuation.
Catachresis
The misapplication of a word or metaphor, particularly when used in mixed metaphor
Catalexis
The omission of the last syllable or syllables in a regular metrical line
Catharsis
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
Chiasmus
A reversal of grammatical structure in subsequent clauses or phrases with different words
Circumlocution
In speech, the use of many words where a few will suffice to make a roundabout point
Cliché
An expression which has become formulaic and stale through overuse and repetition throughout history
Conceit
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
Connotation
The suggestion or implication evoked by a word or a phrase, over and above what the literal denotation is defined as
Consonance
The repetition of identical consonant sounds before or after different vowels
Couplet
Two successive rhyming lines
Defamiliarisation
The modification of a reader’s habitual perceptions by drawing attention to the artifice of the text, or the peculiarities of the writing itself
Denotation
The most literal and limited meaning of a word, regardless of any additional feelings or connotations that have evolved for it
Depitation
The use of overly complex words in order to appear more intelligent, rather than to actually imply additional meaning
Dissonance
The arrangement of cacophonous sounds in words or rhythms for effect
Double entendre
A word of expression used to have two meanings, one of which is usually frivolous or bawdy
Dramatic irony
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
Dysphemism
The use of a phrase which emphasises negative qualities, unpleasantness, or defects. The opposite of a euphemism.
Ecphonema
An exclamation of joy, woe or amazement
Ekphrasis
The intense pictorial description of an object
Elegy
A poem or prose passage which mourns for an individual or lament a tragic event
Elision
The omission or slurring of a syllable, usually to preserve the meter of a line in verse
Ellipsis
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.
Enjambment
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
Epanados
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and middle, or middle and end of a sentence
Epanalepsis
The repetition of words or a phrase after other words have come in between them
Epexegesis
An explanation of what has been siad in the immediately preceding statements
epideictic oratory
A rhetorical device which praises or blames somebody or something in public
Epistrophe
The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Epitasis
The section of a story or narrative where the climax is approaching and when the plot thickens
Epizeuxis
The repetition of a word or phrase emphatically to produce a special effect
Euphemism
The substitution of a mild and palatable expression for a harsh and blunt one
Euphony
The use of pleasing, mellifluous sounds, usually produced by a long vowels rather than consonants, though liquid consonants can also be used.
Farce
A style of work which provokes mirth of the simplest and basic kind, usually through rather crude, low humour
Feminine rhyme
A rhyme between two words with more than one syllable when all syllables rhyme and the final syllable is unstressed
Flyting
A curing match in verse between two characters who hurl abuse at each other
Foreshadowing
The arrangement of events and information in such a way as to prepare the responder for later events
Free verse
Verse which has no regular meter, line length or rhyme, and depends on natural speech rhythms and opposition of stressed and unstressed syllables
Hamartia
A fatal flaw or error which causes a character’s downfall
Hemistich
A term for half of a metrical line which has been divided by a caesura
Hendiadys
An idea which is expressed through the use of two substantive or a substantive and noun joined by a conjunction
Homonym
A word written in the same way as another, but with a different origin and meaning
Homophone
A word pronounced the same way as another, but with a different spelling and meaning
Hubris
Excessive pride which is brought about by a shortcoming or a defect in the hero, which eventually leads to his downfall
Hypallage
An epithet which is transferred from one noun to modify another related noun to which it does not really belong
Hyperbaton
The transposition of words out of their conventional grammatical order
Hyperbole
Exafferation of a situation or quality for emphasis
Hypocorism
The use of familiar or endearing terms in place of proper nouns
Hypostatisation
A form of personification in which an abstract quality is spoken of as something human
Hypotyposis
An object or person is represented as if it were present through description by a character or other message
Hypozeuxis
The repetition of the same verbs with different nouns and the same subject
Idiom
A form of expression construction or phrase peculiar to the language ad often possessing a meaning other than its logical one
Invective
A tone of speech or writing which is denunciatory, abusive or vituperative
Inversion
In prosody, reversing the stress of a syllable by substitution
Invocation
a call for help given by a character to a supernatural being for aid
Isocolon
A sequence of clauses of identical length
Jargon
A set of words of phrases which use vocabulary that is peculiar to a particular profession or trade
Kenning
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
Light rhyme
A rhyme where one or both of the rhyming syllables are unstressed
Litotes
A descriptive statement that deliberately understates something in order to emphasise it, usually with a negative connotation
Malapropism
The unintentional incorrect use of complex words by a character
Masculine rhyme
A single monosyllabic rhyme at the end of a line
meiosis
A statement which understates for emphasis and the attainment of simplicity rather than the extravagant, usually understating a positive
melodrama
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
metalepsis
A form of metonymy in which the general idea substituted is considerable removed from the particular fetail
meter
the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse
metonymy
a substitution of the name or attribute of a thing with the thing itseld
Monologue
A single speaking alone with or without an audience, of which there are several forms:
monologue - soliloquy
a monologue which expresses a character’s inner thoughts, feelings or motivations
monologue - dramatic
Monologue where an imaginary speaker addresses an imaginary audience
Motif
A dominant idea in a work of literature which represents the main theme, usually consisting of a recurrent image or verbal pattern
Mythopoeia
The creation of a realm of mythical material or a ‘private’ mythology in a work of fiction
Neologism
A newly coined word or phrase in a text
nonce-word
a word which is created for one sole use, a form of neologism which is effectively useless
oxymoron
A combination of incongruous and contradictory words and meanings for effect
Palilogy
A deliberate repetition of words throughout a passage
Paradox
A statement which is inherently self-contradictory, rather than the combination of two or more concepts as in oxymoron
Paralipsis
A deliberate exclusion of a topic speech or writing in order to draw attention to it
Parallelism
Constructing consecutive sentences in a similar style in order to balance each other
Parataxis
Co-ordination of clauses close together without use of conjunctions, only through punctuation
Parenthesis
Exclusion of words from the main body of a clause of sentence through parentheses, hyphens, dashes, or commas
Paronomasia
A play on words which uses similar sounds between words for effect
Pathetic fallacy
A belief that the nature or emotion of events is reflected in the natural world as an expression of pathos by nature
Periphrasis
The usage of many words in order to express a simple idea usually used to characterise a character as comic or overly officious
Platitude
A dull and commonplace remark which is trite and obvious
Polyptoton
The repetition of a word but with a different grammatical form each time
polysyndeton
the repetition of conjunctions in order to link clauses and sentences
prolepsis
A segment of a narrative which portrays future events before they have happened with reference the main sequence of the story
prodiorthosis
A statement intended to prepare the audience for a shocking offensive statement succeeding the current one
Repartee
A witty or cleer rejoinder
Rhythm
In verse or prose, the movement or sense of movement communicated by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables
sentence structure
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
Loose sentences
The main clause comes first and is followed by its dependent clauses
Periodic sentences
the main clause comes last, with dependent clauses preceding
Balanced sentences
A sentence made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure
Stichomythia
Alternating single lines of dialogue in drama indicating verbal sparring
Stream of consciousness
A writing style which seeks to depict the flow of thoughts and feelings through the mind
Synaesthesia
The displacement and confusion of the sense in descriptive language, or the response of several sense to the stimulation of one
Syncope
the omission of a letter or a syllable within the middle of a word
Synecdoche
A substitution where a part of an object stands for the whole
Tapinosis
A figurative device which belittles by exaggeration
Tmesis
The separation of the parts of a word though the insertion of another word
Topothesia
A description of an imaginary place
Verisimilitude
The appearance of being true even when clearly related to the fantastic
Voice
The viewpoint of the narrator of the story. The main kinds are:
- 1st person
- 2nd person
- 3rd person omniscient
- 3rd person limited
1st person - voice
The story is told from the perspective of one of the characters
2nd person - voice
The reader is the primary agent in the story
3rd person omniscient - voice
the narrator has access to all characters and situations in the story
3rd person limited - voice
The narrator tells the story of one character using information limited to that character
Zeugma
A verb or noun which joins two or more clauses in a sentence. Main variations are:
- prozeugma
- mesozeugma
- hypozeugma
- Diazeugma
- Syllepsis
prozeugma
A verb at the beginning of the sentence governs several later parallel clauses
mesozeugma
A verb in the middle of a sentence governs several parallel adjacent clauses
hypozeugma
A verb at the end of the sentence governs parallel preceding clauses
Diazeugma
Two or more verbs are governed by one noun
Syllepsis
A zeugma where the clauses disagree in grammar or semantics
Logos
logic, reasoning
(The argument itself; the reasoning the author uses; logical evidence)
eg. facts, statistics, quotes, definitions, etc
Ethos
Character, ethics
how a writer builds credibility and trustworthiness
Pathos
Emotion
words or passages an author uses to activate emotions
