Final Vocab 5/29/14 Flashcards
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing
Imagery
An author’s use of vivid and descriptive language to add depth to his or her work
Tone
A literary compound of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work
Figurative Language
Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation
Shift
A shift is a change in the mood, tone or subject matter of a piece
Detail
A small part of something
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences
Connotation
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning
Point of View
the narrators position in relation to the story being told
Pacing
the movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another
Ad hominem
an argument against a person rather than against his arguments
Allegory
a rhetorical device in which characters or events in a literary, visual or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concepts
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables
Apostrophe
a rhetorical device by which a speaker turns from the audience as a whole to address a single person or thing. Additionally an apostrophe is a literary term that denotes a figure of speech in which someone absent, inanimate or dead is addressed as if were alive and present and able to reply
Aphorism
A short pithy saying expressing a general truth
Analogy
A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based.
Anaphora
A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses
Anecdote
A short usually amusing account of an incident, esp a personal or biographical one
Antithesis
The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences (as in “action, not words” or “they promised freedom and provided slavery”)
Asyndeton
The omission of the conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words or clauses, as in the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered
Cacophony
The term in poetry refers to the use of words that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious sounds
Chiasmus
The rhetoric reversal of the order of words in the second of two parallel phrases: he came in triumph and in defeat departs.
Colloquialism
A word, phrase or paralanguage that is employed in conversational or informal language but not in formal speech or formal writing.
Conceit
In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem
Cumulative Sentence
An independent clause followed by a series of subordinate constructions that gather details about a person, place, event, or idea.
Denotation
The explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression
Didactic
Intended for instruction; overly instructive
Ellipsis
The omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete
Epiphany
An experience of sudden and striking realization. Generally the term is used to describe scientific breakthrough, religious or philosophical discoveries, but it can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective.
Ethos
In rhetoric, the character or emotions of a speaker or writer that are expressed in the attempt to persuade an audience.
Euphemism
A generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant.
Genre
A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Homily
A sermon or discourse on a moral or religious topic
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect.
Invective
A vehement accusation or denunciation, esp. of a bitterly abusive or sarcastic kind
Irony
The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.
Litotes
In rhetoric, litotes is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetoric effect, principally via double negatives
Logos
persuasion by the use of reasoning
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which an implicit comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common.
Metonomy
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as “crown” for “royalty”).
Motif
A usually recurring salient thematic element (as in the arts); especially: a dominant idea or central theme
Non Sequitur
An inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises. Also, a statement containing an illogical conclusion.
Onomatopoeia
The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss)
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory
Parallelism
A balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure
Parody
A literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule
Paradox
A paradox is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true.
Pathos
The quality or power, esp. in literature or speech, of arousing feelings of pity, sorrow, etc
Pedantic
- Ostentatious in one’s learning. 2. Overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.
Periodic Sentence
Long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word–usually with an emphatic climax.
