terms 11 Flashcards
archaism
a word or phrase no longer used in actual speech
argument
the summary of the plot placed at the beginning of a section or chapter
assonance
the similarity in sound of vowels following different consonants, usually in stressed syllables.
asyndeton
a condensed form of expression in which words, phrases, or clauses customarily joined by conjunctions are presented in a series without any conjunctions
authorial instrusion
the author expresses his own thoughts or beliefs either through a character or a similar deux ex machina
balanced sentence
a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other in a position so as to emphasize contrast or similarity in meaning
bathos
another term for anticlimax, a sudden descent from the ladder leading to greater significance, going from the sublime to the ridiculous, from the heights of the important to the level of trivia.
begging the question
a fallacy in reasoning which omits the minor premise and goes directly to the conclusion which results in a broken syllogism
bildunsroman
a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character
bombast
grandiloquent, ranting, insincere, extravagant language. a derogatory term, describing an emotionalized letting go of all controls in writing
brevity
a complimentary term implying the use of only those words needed to express an idea and no more
burlesque
the type of humorous writing in which satirizes and imitates a literary convention, style, or attitude
cacophony
harsh combinations of sounds
catastrophe
the conclusion or final working out of a complication in a plot
chiasmus
a passage in which the second part is inverted and balanced against the first
