Summer Vocab pt. 2 Flashcards
Connotation
ideas or feelings invoked by a word not related to the literal meaning of the word; symbolism.
ex. fool - can mean a negative term or an “ignorance is bliss” meaning depending on the connotation
Inductive
Broad generalizations based on initial evidence; could essentially be wrong.
ex. the coin pulled from the bag was a penny, therefore all the coins in the bag are pennies.
Deductive
General hypothesis followed by specific findings; more likely to be accurate.
ex. All men have facial hair -> Herald, a man, has facial hair.
Context
The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
ex. In the context of the readings, Jerald was explained to have many cats on page 4.
Antithesis
A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else; contrast.
ex. Yin vs. Yang; God vs. Satan
Rhetoric
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
ex. Pointing to direct techniques to articulate persuasion.
Rhetorical Question
A question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.
ex. How could I be so stupid?
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
ex. Howdy, ya’ll! How’s it?
Dialect
A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group
ex. Jargon
Tone
The attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience conveyed through word choice and the style of the writing.
ex. Dazzling, amazing, wonderful!
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.
ex. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo appears during Juliet’s balcony soliloquy and asks, in an aside, “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”
Hubris
Arrogance and excessive pride; This can be something a character feels internally, but it usually translates to the character’s actions.
ex. Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice nearly loses Elizabeth by having excessive pride in himself and his social status.
Theme
The main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work.
ex. love, war, deceit, revenge, fate, destiny, etc.
Genre
A distinctive type or category of literary composition.
ex. epic, tragedy, comedy, novel, and short story
Aphorism
A short statement expressing general truths or opinions.
ex. the early bird gets the worm.
Satire
A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.
ex. political cartoons.
Allegory
A symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a meaning not explicitly set forth in the narrative.
ex. The allegory of the cave.
Tragedy
Branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.
ex. Romeo and Juliet
Foreshadowing
Literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.
ex. “I feel like I am forgetting something” - later in the story she discovers she forgot something.
Fiction
Literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation.
ex. Disney movies
Non-Fiction
Literature based upon fact.
ex. Biographies, historical.
Anadiplosis
A device in which the last word or phrase of one clause, sentence, or line is repeated at the beginning of the next.
ex. “Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.”
Connotation
Positive and negative associations that most words naturally carry with them; suggested meaning.
ex. “He’s such a dog.” – In this sense, the word dog connotes shamelessness, or ugliness.
Persona
The person who is understood to be speaking (or thinking or writing) a particular work.
ex. first-person voice
Ethos
The character or emotions of a speaker or writer that are expressed in the attempt to persuade an audience.
ex. A commercial about a specific brand of toothpaste says that 4 out of 5 dentists use it.
Logos
A rhetorical or persuasive appeal to the audience’s logic and rationality.
ex. Our country has the highest income tax in the world. Our own small businesses cannot compete with such a relatively high tax burden. Therefore, the government should lower corporate income tax rates.
Pathos
An appeal made to an audience’s emotions in order to evoke feeling.
ex. “If we don’t move soon, we’re all going to die! Can’t you see how dangerous it would be to stay?”
Syllogism
A type of deductive reasoning that presents a major premise and a minor premise to guide the reader towards a valid conclusion.
ex. All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Enthymeme
An argumentative statement in which the writer or the speaker omits one of the major or minor premises, does not clearly pronounce it, or keeps this premise implied.
ex. We cannot trust Katie, because she lied last week.
Paraprosdokian
A wordplay type of literary device in which the final part of a phrase or sentence is unexpected; humor.
ex. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
Antimetabole
The repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order.
ex. I know what I like, and I like what I know.
Epistrophe
When a certain phrase or word is repeated at the end of sentences or clauses that follow each other.
ex. I’m tired of this job. I’m over this job. I’m done with this job!
Anaphora
Figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.
ex. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania…
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which, most often, a part of something is used to refer to its whole.
ex. The captain commands one hundred sails” is a synecdoche that uses “sails” to refer to ships—ships being the thing of which a sail is a part.
Ellipsis
The narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.
ex. After school I went to her house, which was a few blocks away, and then came home. -> After school I went to her house … and then came home.
Hyperbole
A boldly overstated or exaggerated claim or statement that adds emphasis without the intention of being literally true.
ex. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Tropes
The use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech.
ex. “mad scientist”