Secure terminology Flashcards
Antithesis
Setting one word or idea against another. The opposite of a thesis. When a thesis and an antithesis are resolved one has a synthesis.
Bathos
An anti-climax
End stopped line
A line of poetry where the sentence pauses naturally at the end of the line (the opposite of enjambment)
Extended metaphor
A metaphor that grows and develops throughout the text
Paradox
An apparent contradiction, hence all the more striking by its truth
Pun
A play on words
Allegory
A word with another meaning below the surface. Each element of the story represents something else.
Ballad
A traditional poem which usually tells a story in short stanzas with simple and direct language
Blank verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Elegy
An expression of bereavement
Epic
A long narrative poem that concerns a hero acting out a country’s history
Free verse
A modern form of poetry where there are no ridged rules of rhythm or rhyme
Lyric
A short poem often intended to be sung. Expresses mood and emotions
Narrative poem
A poem that tells a story
Ode
An address to one subject that adopts ab elevated tone
Pastoral
A rural poem extolling an idealised version of the countryside.
Rhyming couplet
Two consecutive lines that rhyme, often at the end of poems
Satire
Comedy that mocks human follies and vices
Allusion
To refer to something indirectly or metaphorically
Ellipsis
The omission of part of a sentence, often indicated by three dots. The adjective is ‘elliptical’
Symbolism
A device in which a word or phrase represents something else
Euphemism
A word that replaces term seen by society as unpleasant or taboo
Elision
The omission of sounds in connected speech which makes sounds slide together
Fricatives
Sounds where air escapes through a small passage, eg F,V
Plosives
Sounds which release a sudden burst of air eg P,B,T
Sibilants
Constant sounds articulated with a hissing sound eg S,Z
Aspirants
Sounds that denote audible breath eg H
Bilabials
A term used to denote sounds made with both lips eg M,B
Nasals
A term used to describe consonants produced with an open nasal passage eg M,N
Assonance
A repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds
Onomatopoeia
The term used to denote words or imitate sounds
Discourse
Spoken language
Prosodic features
Use of pitch, volume, pace and rhythm to draw attention to key elements of spoken language
Paralinguistic
Non-verbal communication such as gestures, posture, facial expression
Fillers
Words used when hesitating in speech
Received pronunciation
An English accent of high social status that is not connected to a specific region
Tag question
an interrogative structure attached to the end of a sentence which expects a reply eg ‘isn’t it?’
Transcription
a written record of spoken language which might use symbols to illustrate the distinctive nature of speech
Repair
the correction of a mistake or misunderstanding in a conversation
Turn taking
The organisation of speakers’ contributions to a conversation
Utterance
A stretch or piece of spoken language. Used instead of ‘[sentence’ when discussing spoken language
Dynamic verbs
Verbs that express an action rather than a state
Stative verbs
verbs that express states of being
Auxiliary verb
Verbs that precede other verbs eg ‘I -have- bought a car’
Modal verbs
Nine specific auxiliary verbs- can, could, might, must, shall, should, will, would, ought
Quantifier
A pronoun or determiner indicative of quantity eg all, both
Vocatives
The words used to name or refer to people when talking to them- come here ‘Dave’
Nomenclature
The process of devising or choosing names
Coordinating conjunction
A word that joins elements of equal rank
Subordinating conjunction
A conjunction used to introduce a subordinate clause
Lexical set
A group of words joined by similarity of meaning
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
Non-standard lexis
Any variety of language that does not conform to the standard form
Archaisms
A word or phrase no longer in use
Dramatic irony
A literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader, although unknown to the characters
Soliloquy
An act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play
Aside
A remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play
Superlatives
A word that emphasises extremes eg best, worst, cleanest, fastest
Compound adjective
An adjective made up of two words joined by a hyphen
Pathetic fallacy
Where the environment mirrors the emotion expressed
Pentameter
A unit of poetic meter containing five feet
Mode of address
The point of view of the text
Syntax
The study of the relationship between words in a sentence
Independent main clause
The group of words which carries the core meaning of the sentence
Dependent or subordinate clause
A group of words that add extra meaning to the main clause
Parallesim
The patterning of pairs of sounds, words or structures to create a sense of balance
Foregrounding
A change in the structure of the sentence to place emphasis on an opening element
End-focus
A change in the structure of the sentence to place emphasis on a closing element of the sentence
Syndetic listing
Using conjunctions to join clauses
Asyndetic listing
The omission of coordinating conjunctions as a feature of rhetorical style
Juxtaposition
To place two or more things side by side (it does NOT mean compare)
Oxymoron
The use of apparently contradictory words in a phrase
Tripling
Listing of three items
Emphatic stress
A word or phrase said with emphasis or stress
Active voice
A grammatical structure in which the subject is the agent of the sentence
Passive voice
A grammatical structure in which the subject and object can change places in order to alter the focus of a sentence
Syntax inversion
The deliberate alteration of the structure of words in a sentence for rhetorical effect
Lexis
The vocabulary of a language
Petrarchan sonnet
A poem of 14 lines orgainised 8/6 written in iambic pentameter rhyming
Shakespearean sonnet
A poem of 14 lines organised into three quatrains and a couplet written in iambic pentameter and rhyming abab cdcd efef gg
Volta
Turning point in a poem/sonnet
Sestet
A six line verse
Octet
An eight line verse
Alternate rhyme
lines of poetry where the rhyme is on every other line
Internal rhyme
Where the rhyming sound occurs within a line of verse
Eye rhyme
Where words look as if they should rhyme but in fact don’t
Iambic
An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
Trochee
One stressed syllable followed by one unstressed
Spondee
Two stressed syllables
Dactyl
One stressed syllable followed by two unstressed
Anapest
Two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed
Tetrameter
A unit of poetic meter containing four feet
Trimester
a unit of poetic meter containing three feet
Anaphora
The repeating of words or phrases at the start of lines or sentences
