Forms Quiz Flashcards
repetition
- creates emphasis; things appearing more than once
- turning and turning
passive voice
-noting who the verb happened to (i.e. he was verbed)
active voice
-noting who did the verb (i.e. he verbs)
word choice
-diction; what words (noun; adjective; etc.) the author chose
verb choice
-diction; what words (verbs) the author chose
irony
- the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite
- There are roaches infesting the office of a pest control service.
semi-colon
-connecting two related sentences without losing momentum
metaphor
- a comparison without using “like” or “as”
- He drowned in a sea of grief.
telegraphic sentence
- less than or equal to 5 words; emphasizes content; with some urgency
- Go to class.
loose sentence
- the main point at the beginning of the sentence
- I found a large hall, obviously a former garage, dimly lit.
periodic sentence
- a sentence which has the main clause at the end
- Proper maintenance, like checking tire pressure, changing the oil and getting tune-ups, will ensure the best gas mileage for your car.
balanced sentence
- made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure
- Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun.
declarative sentence
- a sentence that states something and ends with a period
- He is an erudite young man.
interrogative sentence
-a sentence that asks a question that ends in a “?”
imperative sentence
-a sentence that puts forth a command
exclamatory sentence; exclamation; exclamatio
-expresses terrific exhilaration; a sentence that communicates excitement and ends in a “!”
oxymoron
- statement of contradictory statements
- jumbo shrimp
- bittersweet
- deafening silence
antithesis
- a balanced structure that sets up opposites
- vision without action is daydream; action without vision is nightmare
pun
-play on words
concrete/abstract examples
-offering real-world connections either literally or figuratively
soliloquy
-when a character speaks alone on stage; speaks his thoughts
apostrophe
- when a character addresses a certain person or thing with “O”
- O, Rose of Mary
alliteration
- when words in a sentence starts with the same sound effect; draw attention to content
- She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
double entrendre
- a word for phrase open to two interpretations, one usually risqué
- “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?”
consonance
- the repetitive sound produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase
- the ship has sailed to the far off shores
assonance
- the repetition of a pattern of similar sounds within a sentence; “vowel rhyme”
- the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains
antimetabole
- a literary device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order
- If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
- Fair is foul and foul is fair
anaphora
- the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect
- every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better
aphorism
- a pithy observation that contains a general truth; a short phrase that expresses a true or wise idea
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
- Easy come, easy go
- Forgive and forget
asyndeton
- a practice in literature whereby the author purposely leaves out conjunctions in the sentence, while maintaining grammatical accuracy
- He comes, he sleeps, he goes
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Without looking, without making a sound, without talking…
polysyndeton
- when a writer employs a series of coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) in succession
- “As mine own face. If there be cords or knives,/Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams,/I’ll not endure it”
litotes
- ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary
- “You won’t be sorry”
- “That wasn’t bad”
hyperbole
- obvious and intentional exaggeration
- “I’ve told you a million times”
colloquial
- the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing; colloquialisms are generally geographic in nature
- to bamboozle
- buzz off-go away
- jawn-thing
- y’all-you all
connotation
- an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its primary meaning; words can often have a positive or negative connotation
- “Home”–> comfort and security
- “Black”–> sadness
denotation
-literal meaning
chiasmus
- a literary device in which two clauses have reversed grammatical or logical structures, producing an artistically pleasing effect
- His time a moment, and a point his space.
metonymy
- a figure of speech that replaces the name of something with the name of something closely associated
- Let me give you a hand
- Lend me your ears
epistrophe
- the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
- Where now? Who now? When now?
- And I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best
attitude
- the perspective or tone that a writer adopts in his writing
- Goddamn money! It always ends up making you blue as hell.
synecdoche
- when a part of something represents the whole of something else; when the whole of something represents a part of something else
- Boots on the ground
sarcasm
-verbal irony with a bend to make a point
hortative sentence
- a sentence used to encourage someone to do something
- You can do it!
- You should read the Lemon Tree!
imagery
- a vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses
- Where the ocean kissed the southern shore.
- A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine, And twinkle on the Milky Way
juxtaposition
- the author places a person, concept, place, idea, or theme parallel to another
- All’s fair in love and war.
- Beggars can’t be choosers.
- Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
ethos appeal
- an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader
- “Doctors all over the world recommend this type of treatment.”
pathos appeal
- an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response
- “You’ll make the right decision because you have something that not many people do: you have heart.”
logos appeal
- an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason
- “In 25 years of driving the same route, I haven’t seen a single deer.”
similie
- a figure of speech that makes a comparison with “like” or “as”
- Our soldiers are as brave as lions.
zeugma
- a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in a different sense
- His boat sank along with his dreams.
isocolon
-involves a succession of sentences, phrases and clauses of grammatically equal length
bicolon- two grammatically equal structures
ex. “American by Birth. Rebel by Choice.”
tricolon- three grammatically equal structures
ex. “That government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
tetracolon- four parallel grammatical structures
ex. “I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads, /My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, /My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown, /My figured goblets for a dish of wood…”
