Lit Terms 5 Flashcards
Aphorism
brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram. “Early bird catches the worm”
Asyndenton
Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z… the writer uses X,Y,Z…. see polysyndeton.
Confessional Poetry
a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet’s life.
Connotation
the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.
Dialect
a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the
inhabitants of a certain geographical area.
Epic
a long narrative poem, written in heightened language , which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society. “The Odessey”
Essay
a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject.
Argumentation
one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way.
Persuasion
relies more on emotional appeals than on facts
Argument
form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of
emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way.
Causal Relationship
Form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument.
Description
a form of discourse that uses language to create a mood or emotion.
Exposition
one of the four major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or “set forth.”
Narrative
the form of discourse that tells about a series of events.
Flashback
a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.
