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Allegory

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is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative

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Alliteration

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repeated consonant sounds

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Allusions

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cross reference to another work of art

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Anadiplosis

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figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or terms in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase

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Anaphora

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repetition of the initial word(s) over successive phrases or clauses

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Anticlimax

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a drop, often sudden and unexpected, from a dignified or important idea or situation to one that is trivial or humorous

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Antagonist

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is the character or force that opposes the protagonist

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Antithesis

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two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences

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Apostrophe

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a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead OR something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present.

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Apposition

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two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other

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Assonance

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repeated vowel sounds

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Asyndeton

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a string of words not separated by normally occurring conjunctions

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Chiasmus

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is two corresponding pairs arranged not in parallels (a-b-a-b) but in inverted order (a-b-b-a). The idea in the second clause is a reversal of the first.

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Consonance

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is the repetition of consonants within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect.

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Details

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are the facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose.

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Ellipsis

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(...) used to indicate an omission

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Epanalepsis

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beginning and ending a phrase or clause with the same word or words

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Epithet

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an adjective or adjective phrase to a person or thing to emphasize a characteristic quality or attribute.

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Euphemism

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substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener

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Figures of Speech

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are words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else. They always involve some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not meant to be taken literally, figurative language is used to produce images in a reader's mind and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways. The most common examples of figurative language, or figures of speech, used in both prose and poetry, are simile, metaphor, and personification.

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Flashback

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is a scene that interrupts the action of the work to show a previous event.

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Foreshadowing

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an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story

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Homeric Simile

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an extended, elaborated, ornate simile developed in a lengthy descriptive passage

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Hubris

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from the Greek word for pride or insolence, it is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution

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Hyperbole

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an extreme exaggeration

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In medias res

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from lasting meaning "in the middle of things." The narrative practice of starting a story in the middle of the action to involve the reader, and then using one or more flashbacks

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Imagery

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consists of the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses.

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Invocation

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at the beginning of an Epic for an appeal to a god or goddess for inspiration

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Metaphor

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comparing two things

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Mood

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is the atmosphere or predominate emotion in a literary work.

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Motivation

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is a circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way or that determines the outcome of a situation or work.

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Motif

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recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story

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Narration

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is the telling of a story in writing or speaking

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Onomatopoeia

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words that sound like what they are

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Oxymoron

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contradictory word pair

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Paradox

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something that seems to contradict itself

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Parallel Structure

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successive words, phrases, clauses with the same or very similar grammatical structure.

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Personification

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giving humanlike characteristics to an inanimate object

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Polysyndeton

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the deliberate and excessive use of conjunctions in successive words or clauses

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Prosody

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is the study of sound and rhythm in poetry.

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Pun

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play on words

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Repetition

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rhetorical strategy for producing emphasis, clarity, amplification, or emotional effect

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Rhetoric

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can be generally described as the study of language in its practical uses, focusing on the persuasive and other effects of language, and on the means by which one can achieve those effects on listeners or readers.

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Rhetorical Question

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figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than to receive an answer

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Rhyme

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is the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem. End rhyme occurs at the ends of lines. Internal rhyme occurs within a line. Slant rhyme is approximate rhyme. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes.

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Sarcasm

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is the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it.

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Setting

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is the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place.

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Shift/Turn

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refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader.

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Simile

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comparing two things using the words like or as

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Sound devices

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are stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound. Examples: rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia.

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Stichomythia

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is dialogue in which the endings and beginnings of each line echo each other, taking on a whole new meaning with each new line.

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Structure

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is the framework or organization of a literary selection. For example, the structure of fiction is usually determined by plot and by chapter division; the structure of drama depends upon its division into acts and scenes; the structure of an essay depends upon the organization of ideas; the structure of poetry is determined by its rhyme scheme and stanzaic form.

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Style

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is a writer's distinctive mode of expression.

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Suspense

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is the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events.

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Symbolism

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something that represents something beyond itself

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Synecdoche (metonymy)

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is a form of metaphor. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to signify the whole.

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Syntax

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means the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence.

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Theme

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is the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the idea the author wished to convey about that subject. It is expressed in a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied. The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied.

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Tone

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is the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and it is conveyed through the author's diction and syntax. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.

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Understatement (meiosis, litotes)

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is the opposite of hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is.

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Zeugma

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is two different words linked to a verb or an adjective which is strictly appropriate to only one of them.

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Slang

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refers to a group of recently coined words often used in informal situations. These words often come and go quickly.

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Colloquial expressions

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are non-standard, often regional.

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Jargon

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consists of words and expressions characteristic of a particular trade profession or pursuit.

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Dialect

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is a nonstandard subgroup of language with its own vocabulary and grammatical features.

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Denotation

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is the exact meaning of a word, without the feelings or suggestions that the word may imply.

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Connotation

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is an association that comes along with a particular word.

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Protagonist

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is the central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem.

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Antagonist

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the character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist.

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Verbal irony

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occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite.

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Situational irony

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occurs when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect—though often the twist is oddly appropriate.

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Dramatic irony

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occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he or she thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action.

AP English III Figurative Language Terms (VHS) – Flashcards

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