Waller - Literary Terms 2

Question 1

inversion

Answer 1

the syntactic reversal of the normal order of the words and phrases in a sentence, eg: “I wakened was with thund’ring noise”

Question 2

connotation

Answer 2

the emotional or cultural association that a word or phrase has in addition to its literal meaning, or denotation

Question 3

chiasmus

Answer 3

in poetry, things are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. ‘Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.’

Question 4

discourse

Answer 4

the use of language to share ideas, insights, and information

Question 5

jargon

Answer 5

obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words

Question 6

circumlocutions

Answer 6

use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive.

Question 7

colloquial

Answer 7

used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary.

Question 8

latinate vocabulary

Answer 8

suspend rather than hang

Question 9

ambiguity

Answer 9

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way– this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work.

Question 10

anaphora

Answer 10

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent.

Question 11

anastrophe

Answer 11

fancy word for inversion. Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony.

Question 12

antimetabole

Answer 12

another word for chiasmus

Question 13

antithesis

Answer 13

Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.

Question 14

anthropomorphism

Answer 14

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (Personification)

Question 15

aphorism

Answer 15

brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.

Question 16

maxim, epigarm

Answer 16

another word for aphorism

Question 17

apposition

Answer 17

Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is provides more info, explanation, qualification, or modification of the first (often set off by a colon). Paine: “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Question 18

asyndeton

Answer 18

Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z… the writer uses X,Y,Z…. see polysyndeton.

Question 19

colloquialism

Answer 19

word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations. Example: “He’s out of his head if he thinks I’m gonna go for such a stupid idea.

Question 20

confessional poetry

Answer 20

a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet’s life.

Question 21

didactic

Answer 21

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of

correct behavior or thinking.

Question 22

elegy

Answer 22

a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.

Question 23

eulogy

Answer 23

great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.

Question 24

epanalepsis

Answer 24

same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence. Voltaire: “Common sense is not so common.”

Question 25

epigraph

Answer 25

quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

Question 26

epistrophe

Answer 26

same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, sentences (it is the opposite of anaphora).

Question 27

Homeric epithet

Answer 27

compound adjective used with a person or thing: “swift-footed Achilles”; “rosy-fingered dawn.”

Question 28

farce

Answer 28

type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.

Question 29

hypotactic

Answer 29

sentence using connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them. I am tired because it is hot.

Question 30

hypotaxis

Answer 30

Use of such syntactic subordination of just one clause to another

Question 31

syntactic subordination

Answer 31

grammatical process that links clauses in a sentence, making one clause dependent on another

Question 32

juxtaposition

Answer 32

normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit. also can be used for contrast Ezra Pound: “The apparition of these faces in the crowd;/ Petals on a wet, black bough.”

Question 33

litotes

Answer 33

the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form: For example, “It’s not the worst thing I’ve eaten” means that it probably tastes pretty good.

Question 34

local color

Answer 34

term applied to fiction or poetry tending to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape.

Question 35

lyric poem

Answer 35

poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker.

Question 36

implied metaphor

Answer 36

does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison: “I like to see it lap the miles” is an implied metaphor in which the verb lap implies a comparison between “it” and

some animal that “laps” up water.

Question 37

dead metaphor

Answer 37

metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid: “The head of the house”, “the seat of the government”, “a knotty problem” are all dead metaphors.

Question 38

mixed metaphor

Answer 38

metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible. “The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas.”

Question 39

metonymy

Answer 39

figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. “We requested from the crown support for our petition.” The crown is used to represent the monarch.

Question 40

paratactic sentence

Answer 40

simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences. I am tired: it is hot.

Question 41

polysyndeton

Answer 41

sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series. X and Y and Z. used by Kurt Vonnegut

Question 42

quatrain

Answer 42

poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit

Question 43

refrain

Answer 43

word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem

Question 44

synecdoche

Answer 44

figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. “If you don’t drive properly, you will loose your wheels.” the wheels represent the entire car

Question 45

syntactic permutation

Answer 45

sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved. often difficult for a reader to follow

Question 46

telegraphic sentence

Answer 46

sentence shorter than 5 words in length

Question 47

tricolon

Answer 47

sentence of three parts of equal importanec and length, usually 3 independent clauses

Question 48

vernacular

Answer 48

langauge spoken by the people who live in a particular locality

Question 49

hypophora

Answer 49

rhetorical device where a speaker or writer asks a question and then immediately answers it