English Flashcards
Allegory
noun
a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events.
EX: The Lion King
Middle English
Alliteration
noun
a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.
EX: American Apparel
Medieval Latin
Allusion
noun
a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance; does not describe in detail
EX: “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.”
Late Latin
Analogy
noun
a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar.
EX: Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.
Latin
Ambiguity
noun
a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.
EX: “A good life depends on a liver” – Liver may be an organ or simply a living person.
Late Middle English
Antithesis
noun
literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
EX: Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
Latin
Antecedent
noun
an earlier clause, phrase or word to which a pronoun, another word or a noun refers back to.
EX: “Jane lost a glove and she can’t find it.” Jane is the antecedent of she and glove is the antecedent of it.
Middle English
Aphorism
noun
a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. The term is often applied to philosophical, moral and literary principles.
EX: The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
French
Apostrophe
noun
the sign ('), as used: to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o'er for over, to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s, 3's.
EX: O holy night! The stars are brightly shining!
Middle French
Atmosphere
noun
the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel
EX: It is an unspoken hunger we deflect with knives – one avocado between us, cut neatly in half, twisted then separated from the large wooden pit. With the green fleshy boats in hand, we slice vertical strips from one end to the other. Vegetable planks. We smother the avocado with salsa, hot chiles at noon in the desert. We look at each other and smile, eating avocados with sharp silver blades, risking the blood of our tongues repeatedly.
New Latin
Caricature
noun
a device used in descriptive writing and visual arts where particular aspects of a subject are exaggerated to create a silly or comic effect.
EX: The woman raised her hands and stared at them; stared through them.
Her voice was soft but tense. “Blood on his hands.” Her own hands were clean and pale.
Earlier(?)
Clause
noun
a collection of words that has a subject that is actively doing a verb.
EX: She laughs at different men.
Middle English
Conceit
noun
a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors.
EX: Marriage is like getting a root canal.
Middle English
Colloquial
adjective
the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing.
EX: wanna – want to
1745-1755
Connotation
noun
refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly.
EX: “Halloween” - candy, trick-or-treat, ghosts
Late Middle English
Denotation
noun
generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings.
EX: A dove is used to suggest peace or gentility.
Latin
Diction
noun
style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer.
EX: It is more formal to use “adieu” than to say “goodbye”.
Late Middle English
Didactic
adjective
teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.
EX: All animals are equal but a few are more equal than others.
Greek
Euphemism
noun
refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant.
EX: It may be in the form of abbreviations e.g. B.O. (body odor), W.C. (toilet) etc.
Greek
Extended Metaphor
noun
a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.
EX: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”
Latin
Figurative Language
noun
using figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and impactful.
EX: Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, allusions go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give the readers new insights.
Middle English
Figure of Speech
noun
a phrase or word having different meanings than its literal meanings.
EX: Personification, Hyperbole, Simile, Metaphor, Etc.
Middle English
Generic Conventions
noun
the features shown by texts that allow them to be put into a specific genre.
EX: Almost all Westerns use the Iconography of cowboy hats, six shooters, horses and spurs to place them in their genre.
Late Middle English
Genre
noun
Genre means the type of art, literature or music characterized by a specific form, content and style.
EX: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction
French
