English flashcards

Question 1

Simile

Answer 1

A figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas.

Question 2

Symbols

Answer 2

Objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Question 3

Hyperbole

Answer 3

A dramatic exaggeration or overstatement, either for comic effect or to express heightened emotion.

Question 4

Repetition

Answer 4

The act of using words or phrases several times for effect

Question 5

Metaphor

Answer 5

A figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else without using “like” or “as.”

Question 6

Extended Metaphor

Answer 6

Figure of speech used to draw a comparison between two subjects over several lines or or passages, not just in one line.

Question 7

Personification

Answer 7

A figure of speech giving human qualities to something nonhuman.

Question 8

Flashback

Answer 8

A device by which an event or scene taking place in the past of the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the story

Question 9

Connotation

Answer 9

The ideas and emotions associated with a word

Question 10

Denotation

Answer 10

Straightforward dictionary definition

Question 11

Imagery

Answer 11

Language that creates a sensory impression within the reader’s mind

Question 12

Idiom

Answer 12

Expressions that develop in a language, region, community, or class of people that cannot be understood literally. (He was saved at the eleventh hour)

Question 13

Alliteration

Answer 13

The repetition of similar consonant sounds within a phrase or sentence.

Question 14

Oxymoron

Answer 14

A phrase that consists of two or more contradictory words used together

Question 15

Euphemism

Answer 15

Using a more socially acceptable word or phrase instead of word or phrase often considered inappropriate.

Question 16

Juxtaposition

Answer 16

The side by side placement of two seemingly opposing concepts

Question 17

Allusion

Answer 17

A reference to a well-known person, event, place, literary work, or work of art

Question 18

Foreshadowing

Answer 18

Clues put into the text to alert the reader of what might happen next in plot

Question 19

Mood

Answer 19

The general atmosphere created by the author’s words. it is the feeling the reader gets from author’s words.

Question 20

Motif

Answer 20

Reoccurring subjects or ideas that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Think of them as the “building blocks” or “pieces” of themes.) Most often, motifs are universal. (Common motifs in literature: journey, love, regret, seasons, colors, trickery, miracles, madness, etc.)

Question 21

Theme

Answer 21

The central message/idea about life revealed in literature. Themes must be universal statement/sentences. (theme of “The Cask of of Amontillado”: Be careful who you offend)

Question 22

Tone

Answer 22

The writer’s attitude toward his/her subject. (The tone can often be playful, bitter or ironic)

Question 23

Characterization

Answer 23

The act of creating and developing a character directly and indirectly.

Question 24

Rhetoric

Answer 24

The art of using words to effectively persuade in writing or speaking.

Question 25

Ethos

Answer 25

(sometimes called the appeal to ethics): a way of persuading an audience via the authority or credibility of the persuader, be it a notable or experienced figure in the field or a popular celebrity

Question 26

Pathos

Answer 26

(appeal to emotion): a way of persuading an audience by creating an emotional response to an impassioned plea or convincing story

Question 27

Logos

Answer 27

(appeal to logic): a way of persuading an audience with reason, using facts

Question 28

Inference

Answer 28

logical conclusions made based on evidence from the text.

Question 29

Context clues

Answer 29

words in sentences before and after an unknown word that help the reader discover what the unknown word means.

Question 30

Dialect

Answer 30

A particular form of language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group. (Ex: “Y’all” is part of the Southern dialect)

Question 31

Diction

Answer 31

an author’s specific word choice

Question 32

Central Idea

Answer 32

the main point of a text (sometimes a text has more than 1); usually associated with informational texts

Question 33

First person of view

Answer 33

A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person such as “I”, “us”, “our” and “ourselves”. It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist, first-person re-teller, first-person witness, or first-person peripheral.

Question 34

second person point of view

Answer 34

The reader is part of the story

Question 35

Third person limited point of view

Answer 35

where the narrator tells the story from the perspective of a single protagonist, referring to them by name or using a third person pronoun such as they/she/he.

Question 36

Third person omniscient point of view

Answer 36

This is a common form of third-person narration in which the teller of the tale, who often appears to speak with the voice of the author himself, assumes an omniscient (all-knowing) perspective on the story being told: diving into private thoughts, narrating secret or hidden events

Question 37

Bias

Answer 37

the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way

Question 38

Thesis statement

Answer 38

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay

Question 39

ambidextrous

Answer 39

Equally skillful with each hand

Question 40

mundane

Answer 40

Found in the ordinary course of events

Question 41

subordinate

Answer 41

An assistant subject subject to the authority or control of another

Question 42

obligatory

Answer 42

required by compulsion or convention

Question 43

Cull

Answer 43

remove something that has been rejected

Question 44

subdued

Answer 44

Restrained in style or quality

Question 45

terse

Answer 45

brief and to the point

Question 46

impromptu

Answer 46

With little or no preparation of forethought

Question 47

prodigious

Answer 47

great in size, force, extent, or degree

Question 48

pragmatic

Answer 48

concerned with practical matters

Question 49

slew

Answer 49

a large number or amount or extent

Question 50

lavish

Answer 50

Very generous