English Vocab Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within the same sentence or line.
Anthropomorphism
Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a
story as people, such as by walking, talking, or being given arms, legs, facial features, human locomotion or other anthropoid form.
often confused with personification
Hyperbole
A description which exaggerates, usually employing extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive or negative attribute; “hype.”
Metaphor
A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another.
Oxymoron
A contradiction in terms.
Ex. “act naturally” “seriously funny” “deafening silence”
Personification
Giving human traits (qualities, feelings, action, or
characteristics) to non-living objects (things, colors, qualities, or ideas).
* Often confused with Anthropomorphism*
Simile
An indirect relationship where one thing or idea is described as being similar to another. Similes usually contain the words “like” or “as,” but not always.
Ex. “like a dream” “as bright as a button”
Creative license
Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or reality, for the purpose of enhancing meaning in a fictional context.
Often confused with hyperbole
Onomatopoeia
Where sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe.
Ex. “pow” “crack” “zap” “woof” “gurgling rattle”
Literary genre
A loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition. Genres can be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the
case of fiction) length. The most general genres in literature are Prose and Poetry (cards seen separately)
Prose
Writing that resembles everyday speech. Prose generally lacks the formal structure of meter or rhyme that is often found in poetry. It can be subdivided into two categories, fiction and non-fiction.
Fiction
Literary works of imagination: novels and stories that describe imaginary people and events.
Ex. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, etc.
Non-fiction
Writing that uses real people, settings, and plots to convey actual events.
Ex. Walt Disney biography, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Tuesdays with Morrie, etc.
Poetry
Verse that uses sounds, rhythm, and word choice to convey ideas.
Epic
Long narrative poem
Ex. Beowulf
Sonnet
Fourteen-line rhyming poem with set structure.
Haiku
Short Japanese poem (often about seasons or nature)
Acrostic
Written lines containing word.
-a number of lines of writing, especially a poem or word puzzle, in which particular letters in each line spell a word or phrase.
Comedy (play)
Comic works, especially plays, considered as a literary genre. In these plays, the protagonist usually resolves the conflict within the storyline successfully.
Ex. The Merchant of Venice
