All definitions are from the lit terms pdf (which I actually still have on my computer from the summer before English 3).
| 01) | allegory | def: | a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point |
| ex: | Animal Farm | ||
| 02) | alliteration | def: | the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words |
| ex: | very verbal vocabulary | ||
| 03) | allusion | def: | a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize |
| ex: | vocabulary no jutsu! (only otakus will get the allusion) | ||
| 04) | ambiguity | def: | something uncertain as to interpretation |
| ex: | The Lady, or the Tiger? | ||
| 05) | anachronism | def: | something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time |
| ex: | Daniel wearing a suit and tie to school | ||
| 06) | analogy | def: | a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them |
| ex: | glove is to hand as sock is to foot | ||
| 07) | analysis | def: | a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny |
| ex: | like separating a thesis statement into three parts so you can prove each piece separately | ||
| 08) | anaphora | def: | a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences |
| ex: | "I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am." | ||
| 09) | anecdote | def: | a very short story used to illustrate a point |
| ex: | a politician telling a short story about his childhood or family in the middle of a speech to build ethos | ||
| 10) | antagonist | def: | a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative |
| ex: | |||
| 11) | antithesis | def: | a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness |
| ex: | "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." | ||
| 12) | aphorism | def: | a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life |
| ex: | "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" ...basically anything written by Ben Franklin actually | ||
| 13) | apologia | def: | a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology |
| ex: | Apology for Raymond Sebond by Montaigne | ||
| 14) | apostrophe | def: | a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly |
| ex: | "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..." | ||
| 15) | argument | def: | the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself |
| ex: | how about yesterday in Government when each group tried to prove something different about the Founders | ||
| 16) | assumption | def: | the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true |
| ex: | in Adventure Time, we can assume Susan Strong is human even though they never explicitly said so | ||
| 17) | audience | def: | the intended listener or listeners |
| ex: | the person reading the book, watching the movie, etc. | ||
| 18) | characterization | def: | the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality |
| ex: | Chaucer used the travelers' anecdotes as a form of characterization | ||
| 19) | chiasmus | def: | a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order |
| ex: | "I meant what I said and I said what I meant! An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!" |
No comments:
Post a Comment