Vocab. To currently study Flashcards
Alliteration
A repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words.
Connotation
Non-literal meaning of a word.
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word.
Diction
A writer’s word choice, especially with regard of their clearness, effectiveness, and correctness.
Exposition
A descriptive or explanation of an idea or theory.
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor of great length, appearing across multiple paragraphs or an entire piece of work.
Figurative Language
A writing or speech not meant to be literal, meant to be imaginative or vivid.
Figure of Speech
A device to produce figurative language. “Words or phrases meant to carry non-literal meaning.”
Examples are: hyperbole, paradox, personification, irony, or apostrophe.
Genre
A category in which a piece of writing fits into.
Homily
A religious discourse, intended for spiritual edification, rather than a doctrinal instruction.
A sermon.
Hyperbole
An exaggeration or overstatement that was written on purpose.
Imagery
Sensory details of figurative language, meant to bring emotion, or represent abstractions.
Inference
To draw a reasonable conclusion from information presented.
Remember: a most direct, reasonable inference is the safest choice. If a choice is directly stated, it is wrong. If an inference is implausible, it’s unlikely to be correct.
Irony
Contrast between what something was intended to mean, and what it really meant. Irony is generally used for humor.
Verbal Irony: when words state the opposite of the writer’s meaning.
Situational Irony: when events turn out opposite of what’s expected.
Dramatic Irony: when facts are unknown to a character, but known to the reader/audience.
Metaphor
Figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things in substitution for another.
Suggesting some similarity between two unalike things.
Mood
The atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.
Setting/tone/events can affect this.
Similar to tone and atmosphere.
Narrative
Telling a story based on a series of events.
Onomatopoeia
Figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sound of words.
Personification
A figure of speech in which the author writes animals, inanimate objects, and concepts to have human attributes and emotions.
Prose
Major division of genre. Refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms. The printer determines the length of the line.
Repetition
Duplication, exact or approximate, of any element of language.
Sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.
Rhetorical Question
Not meant to be answered. Meant to create dramatic effect or to make a point instead of gaining an answer.
Sarcasm
Bitter language, meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. May use irony as a device. Can be witty and insightful. Or can also just be cruel.
Symbol
Something that represents itself and stands for something else. Generally an object.
Thesis
A statement that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or position on a subject.
Transition
Word or phrase that links different ideas. Used to shift from one idea to another in expository writing.
Understatement
Ironic minimizing of fact, presents something as less important than it is.
Allegory
A story, poem, story elements, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a HIDDEN MEANING, typically a moral or political one.
Allusion
An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly, an INDIRECT OR PASSING INFERENCE.
Analogy
A COMPARISON between two things.
Anecdote
A SHORT and amusing or interesting STORY about a real incident or person.
Antecedent
A THING or EVENT that existed BEFORE or LOGICALLY precedes another. A pronoun generally
