Week 2 Flashcards
“The use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of ~~~, but authors can use ~~~ to take aim at other targets as well—from societal conventions to government policies. ~~~ is an entertaining form of social commentary, and it occurs in many forms: there are novels, poems, essays, films, shows, and cartoons that use ~~~. Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live is an example. Though most ~~~s seek to draw laughter, there are many unfunny or even dark examples, such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm or Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, which criticize communist societies and capitalist societies, respectively.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (the full title is “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick”) is a classic example of ~~~. In this work, Swift ironically suggests that impoverished Irish families could alleviate their economic woes by selling their infants as food to the wealthy. Through this outrageous and shocking proposal, Swift criticizes the British government’s inhumane policies and indifference towards the suffering of the Irish people, using ~~~ to expose the moral and social failings of those in power.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)”
satire
A figure of speech in which a question is asked for a reason other than to get an answer—most commonly, it’s asked to make a persuasive point. For example, if a person asks, “How many times do I have to tell you not to eat my dessert?” he or she does not want to know the exact number of times the request will need to be repeated. Rather, the speaker’s goal is to emphasize his or her growing frustration and—ideally—change the dessert-thief’s behavior. Because these questions challenge the listener, raise doubt, and help emphasize ideas, they appear often in songs and speeches, as well as in literature.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
rhetorical question
A figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. These elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. The following well-known adage is an example of ~~~: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” The grammatical structures of the first and second sentences are reflective of one another’s structure.
Some additional key details:
• ~~~ can be as simple as choosing grammatically similar elements when writing a list, as in "First do X; second do Y; third do Z." • In some cases, ~~~ involves the exact repetition of words, but all that is required to fit the definition of ~~~ is the repetition of grammatical elements. • ~~~ is a prominent feature of Hebrew and Middle Eastern poetry, and it appears frequently in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Example:
Here is a sentence with good use of ~~~: Their son loved playing chess, video games, and soccer.
Here is a sentence that is worse because it lacks ~~~: Their son loved chess, video games, and to play soccer.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
parallelism
A literary device that compares seemingly unrelated things to one another in order to explain. For example, a common analogy used in middle school biology is “Mitochondria are the battery of the cell.” When a biology teacher calls mitochondria a battery, he/she is not giving a figurative description of microscopic Duracells scattered throughout the human body. He/she is conveying a message about mitochondria’s function: it powers the cell the same way a battery powers a cell phone.
Similes and metaphors also use comparison to vividly express an idea, but they are different from this key term. ~~~ differs from these devices by pushing the comparison past pure description and using it as a way to explain a thing, idea, or concept.
analogy
The author’s attitude or “feel” about a subject or topic as conveyed to the reader through word choice, punctuation, and sentence structure.
It’s similar to when you’re engaging with someone in person. Your facial expression, vocal pitch, and body language might convey a certain “feel” that informs the language you use in conversation.
By using this well in writing, your readers can better understand your emotions regarding a topic. You might seem delighted or sarcastic, lighthearted or aggressive, among other things, all through your writing.
Note: This term is similar to, but different from, “mood,” which refers to the emotional atmosphere or ambiance created within a literary work. Mood is how the reader feels while engaged with the text. Mood is established through various literary devices such as descriptions, imagery, setting, dialogue, and overall narrative structure. The mood can be somber, suspenseful, joyful, dark, creepy, or uplifting. Mood aims to evoke specific emotions and immerse the reader in the story’s emotional landscape. For instance, a story set in a gloomy, stormy, and isolated mansion with mysterious occurrences may create a mood of suspense or fear.
tone
satire
“The use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of ~~~, but authors can use ~~~ to take aim at other targets as well—from societal conventions to government policies. ~~~ is an entertaining form of social commentary, and it occurs in many forms: there are novels, poems, essays, films, shows, and cartoons that use ~~~. Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live is an example. Though most ~~~s seek to draw laughter, there are many unfunny or even dark examples, such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm or Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, which criticize communist societies and capitalist societies, respectively.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (the full title is “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick”) is a classic example of ~~~. In this work, Swift ironically suggests that impoverished Irish families could alleviate their economic woes by selling their infants as food to the wealthy. Through this outrageous and shocking proposal, Swift criticizes the British government’s inhumane policies and indifference towards the suffering of the Irish people, using ~~~ to expose the moral and social failings of those in power.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)”
rhetorical question
A figure of speech in which a question is asked for a reason other than to get an answer—most commonly, it’s asked to make a persuasive point. For example, if a person asks, “How many times do I have to tell you not to eat my dessert?” he or she does not want to know the exact number of times the request will need to be repeated. Rather, the speaker’s goal is to emphasize his or her growing frustration and—ideally—change the dessert-thief’s behavior. Because these questions challenge the listener, raise doubt, and help emphasize ideas, they appear often in songs and speeches, as well as in literature.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
parallelism
A figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. These elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. The following well-known adage is an example of ~~~: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” The grammatical structures of the first and second sentences are reflective of one another’s structure.
Some additional key details:
• ~~~ can be as simple as choosing grammatically similar elements when writing a list, as in "First do X; second do Y; third do Z." • In some cases, ~~~ involves the exact repetition of words, but all that is required to fit the definition of ~~~ is the repetition of grammatical elements. • ~~~ is a prominent feature of Hebrew and Middle Eastern poetry, and it appears frequently in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Example:
Here is a sentence with good use of ~~~: Their son loved playing chess, video games, and soccer.
Here is a sentence that is worse because it lacks ~~~: Their son loved chess, video games, and to play soccer.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from litcharts.com)
analogy
A literary device that compares seemingly unrelated things to one another in order to explain. For example, a common analogy used in middle school biology is “Mitochondria are the battery of the cell.” When a biology teacher calls mitochondria a battery, he/she is not giving a figurative description of microscopic Duracells scattered throughout the human body. He/she is conveying a message about mitochondria’s function: it powers the cell the same way a battery powers a cell phone.
Similes and metaphors also use comparison to vividly express an idea, but they are different from this key term. ~~~ differs from these devices by pushing the comparison past pure description and using it as a way to explain a thing, idea, or concept.
tone
The author’s attitude or “feel” about a subject or topic as conveyed to the reader through word choice, punctuation, and sentence structure.
It’s similar to when you’re engaging with someone in person. Your facial expression, vocal pitch, and body language might convey a certain “feel” that informs the language you use in conversation.
By using this well in writing, your readers can better understand your emotions regarding a topic. You might seem delighted or sarcastic, lighthearted or aggressive, among other things, all through your writing.
Note: This term is similar to, but different from, “mood,” which refers to the emotional atmosphere or ambiance created within a literary work. Mood is how the reader feels while engaged with the text. Mood is established through various literary devices such as descriptions, imagery, setting, dialogue, and overall narrative structure. The mood can be somber, suspenseful, joyful, dark, creepy, or uplifting. Mood aims to evoke specific emotions and immerse the reader in the story’s emotional landscape. For instance, a story set in a gloomy, stormy, and isolated mansion with mysterious occurrences may create a mood of suspense or fear.
