English Vocab Words Flashcards
Tone
The author’s attitude toward the audience.
- the attitude a writer puts into a subject
- is established by diction (word choice), syntax (order of words), and rhetoric.
- the way the author’a voice sounds
Structure
A specific pattern or plot structure a story falls.
-most common is chronological - beginning to end
-uncommon ones include:
Epistolary Novel: diary or letter form
Ex) The Color Purple
Frame Narrative: a story told within a story ex) Sleepy Hollow
In Medias Res: in the middle of things. Story begins with significant moment and goes back to events leading up to it.
Mood
The overall feeling or emotion the author establishes by the choice of words and language, actions of characters, and setting.
- the feeling the reader experiences from a subject.
- how the atmosphere in the passage feels
Rhetoric
Language choices and techniques used to communicate perspective and to modify the perspectives of others.
-rhetoric is about HOW ideas are presented and HOW messages are delivered.
Theme
The deeper message of the text.
-what you take away from the text.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows more than the characters on stage.
Types of rhyme
- end rhyme
- internal rhyme
- slant rhyme
- consonance (similar consonants)
- assonance (similar vowel sounds)
- alliteration (repetition of initial sound)
Rhyme scheme
The pattern of end rhymes in a poem.
Ex) abab
Or
Aabb
Stanza
Group of lines in a poem.
Arranged in two forms:
- fixed form: most typical type and is written in traditional verse and generally rhymes. Some have specific requirements
- free form: free verse poetry which has no guidelines
Ballad
A narrative poem, often of folk origin, intended to be sung.
-the ballad stanza is a quatrain with the lines ABCB
Lyric poetry
Expresses a person’s thoughts and feelings.
-elegies, odes, and sonnets are examples
Sonnet
A 14-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme
-Petrarchan sonnet:
abbaabba cdecde
-Shakespearean sonnet:
abab cdcd efef gg
Subjective
Every person has his own definition of what something means. Subjective ideas cannot be proven.
Irony
Form of speech intended to convey the opposite of the actual meaning of the words.
- verbal irony: ex) sarcasm
- situational irony: famous composer who loses his hearing
Satire
Form of writing that ridicules or scorns people, practices, or institutions in order to expose failings.
Figurative language
Convey the meaning that goes beyond the literal meaning of the words
Simile
Makes a comparison using linking words like, as, or than.
Metaphor
Same as simile without use of linking word. One thing IS another.
Ex) it’s a jungle out there!
Idiom
A saying or expression specific to speakers of a particular language.
Ex) don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!
Connotation vs denotation.
Denotation: actual dictionary definition
Connotation: a specific meaning or idea a word brings to mind. Could be positive or negative.
Parallelism
Repetition of similar parts of a sentence or several sentences to show that the phrases or sentences are of equal importance
-must share same grammatical structure
Ex) I came, I saw, I conquered
Repetition
Used to emphasize a point
-rhetorical strategy
Analogy
More extensive than metaphor and simile
Helps to convey difficult ideas by comparing them to things or ideas most people know.
Cognates
Words that have the same origin or are related in some way to words in other languages
Ex) night, noche, nuit
Propaganda
A specific type of persuasion used to promote a political, commercial, or civil cause.
Credibility
A credible source is one you can trust to present accurate, unbiased information.
Controlling idea- or thesis
The primary message of a piece of writing.
-found in the title, thesis statement, and/or conclusion.
Subordinate- or supporting ideas
Details that support the controlling idea
-found in the body and:or topic sentence of each paragraph.
Informal vs. Formal language
Ex)
What’s up, man?
Vs.
Hello, how are you?
Anecdotal scripting
A method of organizing info
-recording events of a literary work by keeping a list or timeline of events
Haiku
Short poems that use sensory language. Often write about nature.
-traditionally haikus are 17 syllables divided into three sections: 5, 7, 5
Ode
A poem praising or glorifying a person, place, or thing
Quatrain
A poem consisting of 4 lines of verse with a specific rhyming scheme
Epigram
Short satirical message or statement with either a humorous retort or stinging Punchline.
A witty saying.
Ex) an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind
Epic
A long narrative poem celebrating the adventures and achievements of a hero.
Anthology
Collection of poems
Determine meaning of a word by:
Syntax( order of words and rules surrounding making sentences)
Affixes
Context
Simple sentence
Independent clause.
Subject, predicate, and expresses a complete thought
Predicate
Part of sentence containing a verb
Compound sentence
Contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction
Ex) Alex played football, so Maria went shopping
Conjunctions
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
FANBOYS
Complex sentences
Has an independent clause joined by a dependent/subordinate clause
Ex) I’ll go to the store since I have no milk
**dependent clauses do not express a complete thought and can’t stand alone
Subordinating conjunction
Because, since, after, although, so, until, whenever, when.
They join two clauses to make one grammatically subordinate, or dependent on the other.
Ex) we can’t skate UNTIL the ice is thicker.
Antagonist
The main villain
Protagonist
Main character
Allegory
Parallel story with underlying moral or message. Can be a visual, textual, or musical representation and often has a hidden meaning or message.
Split Infinitive
Puts an adverb between two parts of the full infinitive
Ex) to quickly go or to swiftly run
-A full infinitive is made up of two words with a verb
Ex) to go, to run
Modifier
A word or phrase that adds detail or description
Ex) shopping with Lisa today, I found a great purse.
Everything except I found a purse are modifiers
Misplaced Modifier
The modifier is poorly placed and reader may be unsure of what word the modifier is describing.
Ex) the jacket was just too small in the store.
Relative clause
Cannot stand alone and needs to be attached to a main clause.
It will begin with a relative adjective: who, whom, whose, that, or which
OR
Relative adverb: when, where, or why
Ex) Which Frank did not accept.
Connect this to a main clause to make a complete sentence
Subordinate or Dependent Clause
Begins with a conjunction or relative pronoun.
Ex) After Amy sneezed in the salad.
Must make this a complete sentence.
Dialect
A form of language that is spoken in a particular area with its own words, grammar, phonology, vocabulary.
Elaborated the geographical and social background of a person
Pidgin
A simplified version of a language between two people who do not speak the same language. Made up for basic communication purposes.
Creole
A stable language made from two or more languages
Ex) Spanish and French and African mixture in Louisiana
Regionalism
Language that is not standard for that country but for that particular region.
Gerund
A verb form ending in “ing” and is used in the same way a noun is used.
Ex) cooking is enjoyable
Participle
A verb form that can function as an adjective
Ex) a moving van is outside
Second person POV
“You” and for mainly instructional writing
Third person Limited POV
Uses “he/she/it”
- the narrator only knows what the character knows
- limited to only one character
Third person multiple POV
Same but narrator can follow multiple characters in the story
Third person omniscient POV
Same but narrator knows everything, like the narrator is God
Colloquialism
A word or phrase that is not formal or literary but used in ordinary or familiar conversation
Can include slang but is NOT slang
-are often geographical in nature
Ex) que pasa?
Jargon
Terminology that is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, group, or profession
Appositive
A noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it.
Ex) the insect, a cockroach, is crawling on the table.
Auxiliary verb
Helping verbs:
Do, have, be in all their forms
-look online
Characteristics of Greek Tragedy
- Love, loss, abuse of power, pride
- terrible crime with realization of this crime later when it is too late to reconcile
- fate
- the tragic hero must be essentially admirable and good
- Anagorisis: tragic recognition or insight
- the downfall of a good person
- arouses pity and fear in the audience
Characteristics of Elizabethan Tragedy
- must end in some tremendous catastrophe
- catastrophe brought on by character, not a mere accident
- audience cares for his fate more than anything else
- violent acts and action
- more use of supernatural forces, unlike the Greek
- The tragic hero
- No chorus, unlike the Greek, unless for comic relief
- Emphasis is laid upon the responsibility of the individual in bringing about his ruin
