Terms 1 Flashcards
Adage
An adage is a short, pointed and memorable saying based on facts, and is considered a veritable truth by the majority of people.
Ad Hominem
against the man.
Allegory
Allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events.
Allusion
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
Ambiguity
Ambiguity or fallacy of ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.
Anagram
Anagram is a form of word play in which letters of a word or phrase are rearranged in such a way that a new word or phrase is formed.
Analogy
An analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it.
Anapest
Anapest is a poetic device defined as a metrical foot in a line of a poem that contains three syllables wherein the first two syllables are short and unstressed followed by a third syllable that is long and stressed.
Anaphoric
In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as Anaphora.
Anecdote
Anecdote is defined as a short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh.
Antagonist
In literature, an antagonist is a character or a group of characters which stand in opposition to the protagonist or the main character.
Antecedent
Antecedent is an earlier clause, phrase or word to which a pronoun, another word or a noun refers back to.
Anachronism
Anachronism is derived from a Greek word anachronous which means “against time”. Therefore, an anachronism is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece.
Anti-hero
Anti-hero is a literary device used by writers for a prominent character in a play or book that has characteristics opposite to that of a conventional hero.
Anadiplosis
“to reduplicate”. It refers to the repetition of a word or words in successive clauses in such a way that the second clause starts with the same word which marks the end of the previous clause.
Antimetabole
“turning about”. It is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.
Antithesis
Antithesis, literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is a literary device that can be defined as a technique in which a writer ascribes human traits, ambitions, emotions or entire behavior to animals, non-human beings, natural phenomena or objects.
Apostrophe
In literature, apostrophe is a figure of speech sometimes represented by exclamation “O”. A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech.
Aphorism
Aphorism is a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. The term is often applied to philosophical, moral and literary principles.
Archetype
In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human.
Argument
An argument is the main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel that usually appears as an introduction or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers.
