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Alliteration

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the repetition of identical beginning consonant sounds.

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Flashbacks

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the author interrupts the scene of a narrative to tell about earlier events.

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Foreshadowing

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An author often gives hints or clues as to what will happen in a story.

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Hyperbole

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simply means exaggeration.

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Irony

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the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

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Metaphor

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compares two things directly, without using the words like or as.

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Onomatopoeia

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the technique of forming words that imitate specific sounds.

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Paradox

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statement that at first seems self-contradictory but that upon reflection makes sense.

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Personification

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gives human characteristics to animals, objects, or ideas.

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Pun

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plays on words that have similar meanings

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Situational Irony

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When things happen that are in direct contrast to what we expect (or would like to happen)

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Verbal Irony

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When people say one thing but mean the opposite

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Dramatic Irony

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when the reader knows something the character doesn't

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Extended Metaphor

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continue the comparison throughout the work.

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Refrain

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a word, phrase, or series of lines that is repeated, adding rhythm and emphasis to a song or poem.

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Repetition

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the act of repeating words and phrases throughout a work, or repeating literary devices such as metaphors, symbols, or types of imagery.

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Simile

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uses explicit words to make the comparison, such as like or as.

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Symbol

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a person, place, or object that has significance beyond its surface meaning.

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Tone

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the emotion created by the author's use of language or by a character's words and actions. It is also the author's attitude or feeling toward a person, a thing, a place, an event, or a situation.

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Understatement

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It minimizes or lessens the importance of what is meant.

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Nonfiction

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a literary genre based on fact.

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Chronological

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The story is arranged in order of time from the beginning to the end.

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Epistolary novel

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a novel written in the form of letters, diary/journal entries, postcards, or e-mail.

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Frame Narrative

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a story is told within a story.

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In Medias Res

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a Latin term for "in the middle of things." The novel or story begins with a significant moment. The rest of the novel fills in the events leading up to the significant moment. Flashback is used extensively in this novel structure.

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Diary

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an autobiographical record of the writer's actions, feelings, and thoughts

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Journal

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a record of events and ideas, but of a less personal nature.

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Rhyme

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the repetition of sounds, most commonly heard at the ends of lines in poetry

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End Rhyme

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Rhymes that occur at the end of a line of poetry; the most common type of rhyme

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Internal Rhyme

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Rhyme occurring within a line of poetry

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Slant Rhyme

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Also called a near rhyme, half rhyme, or off rhyme. The final consonant sounds are the same but the vowel sounds are different.

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Consonance

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A kind of slant rhyme. Words have the same beginning and ending consonant sounds but a different vowel.

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Assonance

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Not a true rhyme. Uses repetition of similar vowel sounds. May occur in the initial vowel as in alliteration.

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Rhyme Scheme

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the pattern of rhymes in a poem.

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Fixed Form

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what most people consider typical poetry: it's written in traditional verse and generally rhymes

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Free Form

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follows no specific guidelines about rhyme, meter, or length.

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Blank Verse

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a poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, a pattern of five iambic feet per line.

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Narrative

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to tell a story.

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Ballad

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a narrative poem, often of folk origin, intended to be sung. It consists of simple stanzas and usually has a refrain.

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Lyric

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expresses a person's thoughts or feelings.

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Iambic Foot

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one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

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Sonnet

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is a 14- line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme.

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Genre

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a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

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Characterization

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the creation or construction of a fictional character:

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Direct Characterization

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the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives, phrases, or epithets.

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Indirect Characterization

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When an author states exactly how a character is, as compared with indirect characterization, where he or she makes the reader infer it from the character's actions.

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Dialogue

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conversation between two or more persons.

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Interior Monologue

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a form of stream-of-consciousness writing that represents the inner thoughts of a character.

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Setting

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the locale or period in which the action of a novel, play, film, etc., takes place

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Structure

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the relationship or organization of the component parts of a work of art or literature

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Conflict

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a literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces usually a protagonist and an antagonist.

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External Conflict

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is marked by a characteristic involvement of an action wherein a character finds himself in struggle with those outside forces that hamper his progress.

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Internal Conflict

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a character experiences two opposite emotions or desires; usually virtue or vice, or good and evil inside him.

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Point of view

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the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers "hear" and "see" what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc.

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First Person

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the narrator is telling the story as it happened to him.

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Second Person

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the narrator tells the story to another character using "you"; the story is being told through the addressee's point of view.

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Third Person limited

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a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally.

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Third Person omniscient

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a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story

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Perspective

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a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view

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Tone

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the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

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Diction

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the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

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Syntax

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the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

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Rhetoric

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language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content

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Mood

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the atmosphere or pervading tone of something, especially a work of art.

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Theme

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the central idea of a text. It refers to universal views on life and society that can be discerned from the reading of a text.

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Literary Period

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an artistic attitude of shared characteristics. These characteristics may include the style of writing, the genre, or the subject matter.

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Native American Period, pre-1620-1840.

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an oral tradition of song and stories. Any written literature is an account of these songs and stories.

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Colonial Period, 1620-1750.

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During this period, the newly arrived colonists were creating villages and towns and establishing new governments, while protesting the old regime of the British. Literature of this period reflects the religious influence of the Puritans. Famous writers include William Bradford, who writes about the establishment of the new colony; Anne Bradstreet, whose poetry focuses on daily life and family relationships; and Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan minister whose writing reflects the moral attitudes of the time.

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Revolutionary Period and Nationalism, 1750-1815.

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During this period, American writers focused on explaining and justifying the Revolution. Political writings by Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson belong to this time period. With the Revolution behind them, Americans found time to ponder what it really meant to be American. An even greater focus on nationalism, patriotism, and American identity arose following the War of 1812, which removed the last British troops from North America.

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Romanticism and Transcendentalism, 1800-1855.

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was a philosophical attitude that developed in reaction to previous decades in which reason and rational thought dominated. Writers celebrated individualism, nature, imagination, creativity, and emotions.

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Realism, 1850-1900.

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This period, which includes the Civil War, significant industrial invention, and extensive westward expansion, is one of the most turbulent and creative in American history.

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Naturalism, 1880-1940.

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This period, which overlaps with Realism, was an extension of realism. Writers during this period focused on grim reality, observing characters much as scientists might observe animals.

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Modern Period, 1900-1950.

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Wars, economic prosperity, along with the Depression, commercialism, and increased population, marked the first half of the Twentieth Century in the United States. The independent, individualistic spirit that was distinctively American seemed threatened. Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot explored themes of alienation and change and confronted people's fears and disillusionments.

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Postmodern Period, 1950-present.

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This period includes unprecedented prosperity, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Rights Movement, the end of the Cold War, and the transformation of the world order. Writers of this period have embraced this dismantling of the old reality.

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Imagery

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o use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.

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Symbolism

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is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.

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Comedy

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a lighthearted play intended to amuse the audience.

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Tragedy

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a serious play that ends in disaster and sorrow.

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Dramatic Conventions

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are rules in which the actors and audience engage during a play.

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Dramatic Irony

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a situation in which the audience knows more than the character onstage.

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Dialogue

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a discussion between two or more people or groups, especially one directed toward exploration of a particular subject or resolution of a problem.

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Monologue

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a long and typically tedious speech by one person during a conversation.

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Political Drama

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a drama or play with a political component, advocating a certain point of view or describing a political event.

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Modern Drama

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like all modern literature, explores themes of alienation and disconnectedness.

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Theater of the Absurd

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refers to plays written in the 1950s and 1960s with the basic belief that human existence is absurd, or without meaning. The play itself often lacks the usual conventions of plot, character, or setting.

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Consonance

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to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase.

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Free Verse

answer

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

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Authors Purpose

answer

The reason an author decides to write about a specific topic whether it is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his ideas to the reader.

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Irony

answer

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

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Sarcasm

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The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

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Situational Irony

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incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead.

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Satire

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The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

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Figurative Language

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language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation

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Allegory

answer

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

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Idiom

answer

are phrases or expressions that are peculiar to a particular language.

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Connotation

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an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

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Denotation

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the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

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Context

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the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specified word or passage and can influence its meaning or effect.

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Cognate

answer

are words that ha ve the same origin or are related in some way to words in other languages.

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Informational Text

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is used by authors to provide readers with information about a specific topic. This type of writing is usually nonfiction and has specific features.

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Argumentation

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a brief summary, often in prose, of a poem or section of a poem or other work.

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Literary Nonfiction

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a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate

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Implicit

answer

implied though not plainly expressed.

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Explicit

answer

stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

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Infer

answer

deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements.

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Topic

answer

that part of a sentence about which something is said, typically the first major constituent.

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Message

answer

a significant point or central theme, especially one that has political, social, or moral importance.

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Fact

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a piece of information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article

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Opinion

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a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

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Claim

answer

a statement that asserts something to be true.

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Controlling Idea

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is an idea that makes a reader ask a question.

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Subordinate Idea

answer

prove or establish the importance of the main idea in your sentence.

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Parallelism

answer

the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

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Paraphrasing

answer

express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

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Analogy

answer

a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

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Audience

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the readership of a book, magazine, or newspaper.

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Organization

answer

refers to the order in which a writer chooses to present his or her ideas to the reader.

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Research

answer

the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

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Adjectival phrase

answer

a group of words that describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence.

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Adverbial phrase

answer

a group of two or more words operating adverbially, meaning that their syntactic function is to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.

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Participial phrase

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a word group consisting of a present participle (also known as an -ing form) or past participle (also known as an -en form), plus any modifiers, objects, and complements.

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Prepositional phrase

answer

a modifying phrase consisting of a preposition and its object.

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Absolute phrase

answer

a modifier (quite often a participle), or a modifier and a few other words, that attaches to a sentence or a noun, with no conjunction

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Independent clause

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a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.

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Dependent clause

answer

a group of words with a subject and a verb. It does not express a complete thought so it is not a sentence and can't stand alone.

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Noun clause

answer

a group of words that contains a subject and a verb; however, it cannot stand alone as a sentence. e.g. What you think does not matter.

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Relative clause

answer

are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who*, that, which, whose, where, when.

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Adverbial clause

answer

a dependent clause that functions as an adverb; that is, the entire clause modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

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Parallel Structure

answer

repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

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Semicolon

answer

a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

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Compound Sentences

answer

a sentence with more than one subject or predicate.

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Hyphens

answer

the sign (-) used to join words to indicate that they have a combined meaning or that they are linked in the grammar of a sentence (as in pick-me-up, rock-forming ), to indicate the division of a word at the end of a line, or to indicate a missing or implied element (as in short- and long-term ).

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Allusion

answer

An implied or indirect reference to a person, place, or thing that is fictitious, historical, or real.

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Conceit

answer

An elaborate or extended simile or metaphor.

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Metonymy

answer

A figure of speech where the name of a thing is being substituted for another word or term closely associated with it.

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Synecdoche

answer

A figure of speech closely related to metonymy. A part is used to represent the whole or vice versa.

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Expressionism

answer

refers to both a type of drama and the way it is portrayed on the stage

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Minimalism

answer

is the opposite of expressionism. It relies on sparse scenery and limited dialogue.

American Literature and Composition Milestone Vocabulary – Flashcards

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