Yellow Packet part 1 Flashcards
Adage
A familiar proverb or wise saying
Absolute
A word free from limitations or qualifications
“Best” “all” “unique” “perfect”
Ad hominem argument
An argument attacking an individual’s character rather than his or her position on an issue
Allegory
A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions
Alliteration
The repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words
(…“sang some silly song”)
Allusion
A reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize
Analogy
A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way
Anaphora
The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences
Anecdote
A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers
Antithesis
A statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced.
(“Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.”
“Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.”)
Aphorism
A concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance
(“Life’s Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. [Benjamin Franklin]”)
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction.
(“Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief.”)
Archetype
A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response.
(The mother figure: Galadriel
The mentor: Gandalf)
Argument
A statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work
Asyndeton
A construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions.
(“He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.”)
Balanced sentence
A sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast.
(“Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun.”)
Bathos
Insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity
Chiasmus
A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed
(Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary)
Cliché
An expression that has been overused to the extent that it’s freshness has worn off
Climax
The point of highest interest in a literary work
Colloquialism
Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing.
(“Wanna” “gonna” “go nuts”)
Complex sentence
A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause
Compound sentence
A sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions
Conceit
A fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor.
(“Love is like an oil change”
“My life is like a free online game”)
Concrete details
Details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events
Connotation
The implied or associative meaning of a word
Cumulative sentence
A sentence In which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases.
(“I write this at a wide desk in a pine shed as I always do these recent years, in this life I pray will last, while the summer sun closes the sky to Orion and to all the other winter stars over my roof.”)
Declarative sentence
A sentence that makes a statement or declaration
Deductive reasoning
Reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case
(The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning)
Denotation
The literal meaning of a word
Dialect
A variety of speech characterized by it’s own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region
Dialogue
Conversation between two or more people
Diction
The word choices made by a writer
Didactic
Having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing
Dilemma
A situation that requires a person to decide between two equally attractive or unattractive elements
Dissonance
Harsh, inharmonious,or discordant sounds
Elegy
A formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme
Ellipsis
The omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context
(Some people prefer cats; others, dogs)
Epic
A long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation
Epigram
A brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying
Epigraph
A saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work
Epiphany
A moment if sudden revelation or insight
Epitaph
An inscription on a tombstone or burial place
Epithet
A term used to point out a characteristic of a person.
Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives (“swift-footed Achilles”) that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Epithets can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition. For example, athletes may be proud of their given epithets (“The Rocket”)
Eulogy
A formal speech praising a person who has died
Euphemism
An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
Exclamatory sentence
A sentence expressing strong feeling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark
Expletive
An interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes, a profanity
Fable
A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters
Fantasy
A story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters; a fantasy may be merely whimsical, or it may present a serious point
Figurative language
Language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.)
Flashback
The insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative
Flat character
A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of the story
Foreshadowing
The presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work
Frame device
A story within a story.
(An example is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the “frame story” of the pilgrimage to Canterbury
Genre
A major category or type of literature
Homily
A sermon, or a moralistic lecture
Hubris
Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy
Hyperbole
Intentional exaggeration to create an effect
Hypothetical question
A question that raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition
Idiom
An expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect
Imagery
The use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses
Implication
A suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies) without stating it directly
(NOTE: the author implies; the reader infers)
Inductive reasoning
Deriving general principles from particular facts or instances.
(Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals)
Inference
A conclusion one draws (infers) based on premises or evidence
Invective
An intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack
Irony
The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs
