• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/223

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

223 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
abstract
Without physical tangible existence in itself; a concept as opposed to an object. *Ex.: A "child" is a concrete object/being that our senses can perceive, but "childishness" is an example of this type of quality.
accent
The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word. Ex.: In the word poetry, the this falls on the first syllable.
act
A major division of the action of a play, usually subdivided into scenes (smaller units of action with no break in place or time).
adage
A saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in metaphorical language.
alienation
Emotional or intellectual separation from peer groups or society.
allegory
A narrative that has a second meaning in addition to the obvious one. The meaning may be religious, moral, or political. Settings, objects and events are often representational and fit within the this type of framework. Characters may in incarnations of abstract ideas, for example, faith, hope or desire.
alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds. *Ex.: In other words, consonant clusters coming closely cramped and compressed--no coincidence.
allusion
A reference to a familiar mythical, historical, or literary person, place, or thing. A classical one of these is a reference to Greek or Roman mythology. A topical one of these refers to a current event. A popular one of these refers to something from pop culture, such as a reference to a TV show or hit movie.
anachronism
Wrongful assignment of an event, person, or scene at a time when it did not exist.
analogy
A comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the simple. Ex.: Comparing the year-long profile of the stock index to a roller-coaster ride.
anapest
A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed). Ex.: "Antoinette," "seventeen," "to the moon." "At the top / of the mount / ain were ap / ples, the big / gest that ev / er were seen."
anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase in order to create an effect. Ex.: "I will fight for you. I will fight to save Social Security. I will fight to raise the minimum wage."
anecdote
A short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical.
annotation
A brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text or work of literature.
antagonist
The character or force in a work that, by opposing the protagonist, produces tension or conflict.
antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause that determines what a pronoun refers to. Ex.: "The principal asked the children where they were going."
anti-Semitism
Hostility toward Jews as a religious or racial minority group, often accompanied by social, economic, and/or political discrimination.
antithesis
Opposition or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. Ex.: "Americans in needs are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities." "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
aphorism
A short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment.
Apollonian
In contrast to Dionysian, it refers to the most noble, godlike qualities of human nature and behavior.
apostrophe
A poetic figure of speech in which a speaker talks directly to something that is non-human (some abstract quality or personification is addressed). Ex.: "O ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves..."
archetype
Original model or form, often expressed in myths, religions, dreams, or literature. Ex.: the journey, the mentor, the damsel in distress, the star-crossed lovers.
archaism
The use of deliberately old-fashioned language. Authors sometimes use these to create a feeling of antiquity. Tourist traps use these with a vengeance, such as "Ye Olde Candle Shoppe."
aside
A speech directed at the audience and, by convention, presumed inaudible to the other characters onstage.
assonance
In a line, sentence, or stanza, the repetition of vowel sounds. Ex.: pentinence, reticence, "Old King Cole was a merry old soul."
asyndeton
The omission of conjunctions between clauses, often results in a hurried rhythm of a vehement effect. Ex.: Caesar: "I came, I saw, I conquered."
atmosphere
The overall mood of a literary work, often created by the setting or landscape.
audience
The author's intended readership, the author's perception of which directly affects style and tone. As a rule, the more limited or detailed the subject matter, the more specific the audience. An author may write more technically if the intended audience is composed of specialists in the field and may write less technically if the writing is for the general public
ballad
A long, narrative poem, usually in very regular meter and rhyme and with repeated refrain. These typcially have a naive, folksy quality.
bard
A poet; in olden times, a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment
bathos
The use of insincere or overdone sentimentality.
belle-lettres
French term for the world of books, criticism, and literature in general.
bibliography
A list of works cited or otherwise relevant to a subject or other work.
bildungsroman
A German word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that takes place as a hero travels in the quest of a goal.
bombast
Inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects
blank verse
Unrhymed, iambic pentameter. A fluid and common verse close to the natural rhythm of English speech.
burlesque
A form of comedy characterized by ridiculous and exaggerated actions.
cacophony
Language, which is perceived as harsh, rough, and unmusical--not pleasing to the ear.
caesura
A pause in the meter and rhythm of a line of poetry, indicated in scansion by (//). Ex.: There is one of these right after the question mark of this sonnet by Elizabeth Bard Browning: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
canon
A criterion or standard of measurement; the generally accepted list of great works of literature or accepted lists of an author's works.
canto
A division or section of a long poem. (like a chapter in prose)
caricature
A grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things.
carpe diem
Latin for "seize the day," a popular literary theme stressing that life is all too brief and should be enjoyed as it unfolds.
catharsis
The "cleansing" or "purging" of emotion that an audience member experiences, having lived vicariously through the experiences presented onstage.
character
1) Any of the persons involved in a story 2) The distinguishing moral qualities and personal traits of a person in a work
flat character
A character (1) whose character (2) is summed up with one or two traits
round character
A complex and many-sided character
stock character
A stereotyped character: one whose nature is familiar to us from prototypes in previous fiction
dynamic character
A character who is changed by the actions in which he or she is involved
static character
A character who remains unchanged or little changed throughout the course of the story
chorus
In Greek drama, the group of citizens who comment on the actions or characters in the play.
classicism
The principles and ideas that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature. It implies formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraint. Examples of classicism in poetry can be found in the works of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which are characterized by their formality, simplicity, and emotional restraint.
cliché
Any expression that has been used so often that it has lost its freshness. Ex.: sharp as a tack, the last straw
climax
The point at which dramatic or narrative action builds to its highest point, and the reader experiences the greatest emotional response.
colloquial expressions
Words and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing. Ex.: "Jack was bummed out about his chemistry grade," instead of, "Jack was upset about his chemistry grade."
comedy
A dramatic work intended to engage and amuse the audience with the embarrassments and discomfitures engaged by its main characters until a favorable ending is arrived at. One type (high), is a satire of manners and verbal wit, evokes intellectual laughter, and another type (low) depends on physical antics, slapstick, or burlesque for humor.
conceit
A startling or unusual comparison or a metaphor that is developed and expanded upon over several lines. Ex.: Students are sailors on a journey; teachers are their captains, and hard work is their northern star.
conflict
The struggle between opposing characters or forces that causes tension or suspense. Types of these center on tensions between human vs. human, human vs. self, human vs. fate or God, human vs. nature, and human vs. society.
connotation
The implication(s) and overtone(s), qualities, feelings, and ideas that a word suggests. This term involves going beyond literal meaning or a dictionary definition.
consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds within words (middle or end). Ex.: A flock of sick, black-checkered ducks.
couplet
A pair of lines that end in rhyme. Ex.: "But at my back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near." (Marvell)
dactyl
A metrical foot of three syllables made up of one long (or stressed) syllable followed by two short (or unstressed) syllables. Ex.: "Dorothy," "happily," "Deborah," "Red were her / lips as the / berry that / grows."
denotation
The literal meaning of a word as defined in a dictionary.
dénouement
A French word for the "unknotting" or falling action that follows the climax and leads to the resolution of the plot.
deux ex machine
Literal meaning: "god from the machine." The resolution of a plot by use of highly improbable chance, coincidence, or artificial device that solves a difficult problem or crisis. Ex.: "And then I woke up and realized it was all a dream." [The end.]
diction
The author's choice of words. Whether to say "wept" or "cried" is a matter of this.
Dionysian
As distinguished from Apollonian, the word refers to sensual, pleasure-seeking impulses.
dirge
This is a song for the dead. Its tone is typically slow, heavy, depressed, and melancholy.
doggerel
Crude, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme. Limericks are an example of this type of poetry.
dramatic irony
Irony created when the audience knows something the characters in the drama do not.
dramatic monologue
A poetic form that presents once character speaking to a silent audience revealing in the discourse personal temperament and dramatic situation.
dystopia
An undesirable imaginary society. Ex.: Orwell's 1984, Huxley's Brave New World
electra complex
In Freud's theory, a daughter's unconscious competition with her mother for her father's attention.
elegy
A poem that meditates on death or mortality in a serious, thoughtful manner. These often use the recent death of a noted person or loved one as a starting point. The also memorialize specific dead people.
Elizabethan Age
The English literary period named after Queen Elizabeth, lasting from 1558-1642, the year of the closing of the theaters. (Elizabeth died in 1603.) Notable names include Shakespeare, Sidney, Spencer, Donne, Jonson, and Marlowe.
ellipsis
Three periods [...] indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation.
empathy
A feeling of association or identification with an object or person.
end-stopped
A line ending in a full pause, usually indicated with a period or semicolon.
enjambment
The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem with no pause. When a line of poetry is intended to be read by snaking your eyes around from line to line. The poetic line does not end cleanly with the thought. The name of this term comes from the French word, "to straddle." Ex.: In Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees": "I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree."
epic
A long, narrative poem dignified in theme and style with a hero who through experiences or great adventure, accomplishes important deeds. Two of the most famous examples are The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer.
epigram
Simple and witty statements or poems. Ex.: From Oscar Wilde: "I can resist everything except temptation." or "She knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing."
epilogue
A concluding statement, sometimes in verse, summarizing the themes of a work.
epiphany
A moment of insight for a character, often the catalyst for a turning point in the narrative or drama.
epitaph
Lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place. These are usually a line or handful of lines, often serious or religious, but sometimes witty and even irreverent.
epithet
In literature, a word or phrase preceding or following a name, which serves to describe the character. Consider the following from Book 1 of Homer's "The Iliad:" "Zeus-loved Achilles, you bid me explain / The wrath of far smiting Apollo"
eponymous
A term for the title character of a work of literature.
ethnocentrism
The tendency to judge other cultures by one's own.
euphony
Language that strikes the ear as smooth, pleasant, and musical.
existentialism
A 20th century philosophy that denies the existence of a transcendent meaning to life and places the burden of justifying existence on individuals. Focuses on the individual human being's experience of, recognition of, and triumph over the meaninglessness of life.
exposé
A piece of writing that reveals weaknesses, faults, frailties, or other shortcomings.
explication
The interpretation or analysis of a work.
extended metaphor
A series of comparisons between two unlike objects. An idea sustained throughout the work.
fable
A simple tale, either in prose or verse, told to illustrate a moral. The subject matter may be drawn from folklore.
fantasy
A story containing unreal, imaginary features.
farce
A comedy that contains an extravagant an nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose.
feminine rhyme
A rhyme that occurs in a final unstressed syllable. Ex.: pleasure/leisure, longing/yearning
flashback
A device by which the chronology of events is interrupted by relating events from the past.
foil
A term for a character who, through extreme contrast, intensifies the character of another. Ex.: An author might give a cynical, quick-witted character a docile, naive, sweet-tempered friend to serve as one of these.
foot
The basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry. These are formed by a combination of two or three syllables, either stressed or unstressed. The most common examples are the iamb, trochee, anapest, and dactyl.
foreshadowing
Subtle clues early in the narrative indicating what will happen later in the plot.
frame
A structure that provides premise of setting for a narrative. A group of Pilgrims exchanging stories while on the road is this for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
free verse
Poetry written without a regular rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
genre
A term used to describe literary forms, such as novel, play, and essay.
Gothic novel
This form first showed up in the middle of the 18th century. These novels utilize evil, dark tones. Think mysterious castles, painting with sinister eyeballs that follow you when you move, weird screams in the attic, etc.
hamartia
Greek term for a main character's tragic flaw. Ex.: Macbeth's greed.
harangue
A forceful sermon, lecture, or tirade.
hubris
Pride so excessive that it may invoke the wrath of the god and lead to the protagonist's downfall.
hyperbole
Exaggeration or deliberate overstatement. Think of the fisherman who claims the one that got away was "as big as a whale." "This backpack weighs a ton." "waiting for ages"
iamb
metrical foot of two syallables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). Ex.: Irene
iambic pentameter
A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line. (The prefix penta- means five.) Ex.: "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? / A horse! A horse! My kingdom for horse!"
ideology
A system of beliefs used overtly or covertly to justify or legitimize preferred patterns of behavior.
idyll
A lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place.
imagery
Lively descriptions, which impress upon the upon the mind. Types of this include gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), visual, auditory, and olfactory (smell).
imperialism
The imposition of the power of one state over the territories of another, normally by military means, in order to exploit subjugated populations to extract economic and political advantages. Think: "The sun never sets on the British Empire."
In media res
Latin for "in the midst of things." Ex.: When The Iliad begins, the Trojan War has already been going on for seven years.
invective
A direct verbal assault
irony
The undermining or contradiction of someone's expectations. The verbal type arises from a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant (sarcasm.) The situational type arises from a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what does happen. The dramatic type occurs when the audience knows something that a character or characters does not.
jargon
The vocabulary or phrases peculiar to a particular profession or group. Ex.: Molecular biologist, doctors, lawyers, and carpenters all have their own jargon.
juxtaposition
The "side by side" comparison of two or more objects or ideals for the purpose of highlighting similarities or differences.
kenning
A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its qualities or functions. Ex.: "ring-giver" for king Ex.: "whale road" for ocean
lament
A poem of sadness or grief over the death of a loved one or over some other intense loss.
lampoon
A mocking, satirical assault on a person or situation.
litotes
A form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite. Ex.: "not unhappy," "no small victory," "He is not a bad dancer."
loose sentence
A sentence that follow the customary word order of English sentences, i.e. subject-verb-object.
lyric
A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation and feelings about the word. Odes, elegies, and sonnets are examples of these poems.
masculine rhyme
A rhyme that occurs in a final stressed syllable. Ex. cat/hat, desire/fire
melodrama
A literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional response.
metaphor
A figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another by being spoken of as though it were that thing. Ex. "a sea of troubles," "An angelic smile," "Students are sailors on a journey."
mixed metaphor
A combination of two or more inconsistent metaphors in a single expression. Ex.: He'll have to take the bull by the horns to keep the business afloat. (Not an extended metaphor.)
metaphyscial poetry
The work of 17th century poets that uses elaborate conceits, is highly intellectual, and expresses the complexity of life and love.
meter
The measurement establishing the rhythm of a line of poetry. The unit within the line is a foot, each being of accented and unaccented syllables. The number of feet in a line is also enumerated in the meter. Ex.: a line of five iambs is iambic pentameter.
metonymy
A figure of speech in which the name of one object or concept is substituted for that of a related one. Ex.: Saying "The White House commented," instead of saying, "The president commented." In the expression, "The pen is mightier than the sword," the pen is substituted for "the written word," and the sword is substituted for "military power." A herd of 50 cows could also be called 50 head.
Middle English
The language spoken roughly between 1150 and 1500 A.D.
misanthropy
A disposition to dislike and mistrust others; hatred of humankind.
misogyny
Women-hating; the belief that women are inferior to men mentally, emotionally, and physically.
montage
A quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea.
mood
The prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work. Ex.: hopelessness, regret, bitterness
motif
A recurring character, theme, or situation, that appears in many types of literature.
motive
Whatever prompts a person to act in a particular way.
muse
One of the Ancient Greek goddesses presiding over the arts. The imaginary source of inspiration for an artist or writer.
myth
A traditional or legendary story with roots in folk beliefs. It is imaginary, but is an accepted part of the cultural or religious traditions of a group or society.
narrative
The art, technique, or process of telling a story.
narrative pace
The speed at which an author tells a story; the movement from one point or section to another.
naturalism
A school of writing that tries to show that human fate is controlled by environment and heredity, both of which humans do not understand. Rejects idealized portrayals of life and attempts complete accuracy, disinterested objectivity, and frankness in depicting life as a brutal struggle for survival. Ex. Tess of the d'Urbervilles
non sequitur
A statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before.
novel of manners
A novel focusing and describing social customs and habits of a particular social group.
ode
A lyric poem that expresses exalted or enthusiastic emotion and often commemorates person or event.
oedipus complex
In Freud's theory, a male adult's repressed childhood wishes to identify with his father and take his father's place in the affections of his mother.
Old English
The Anglo-Saxon language spoken in what is now England from approximately 450 to 1150 A.D.
onomatopoeia
A word whose pronunciation suggests its meaning. Ex.: hiss, buzz, whack, fizz, crackle. The word imitates a sound.
oppression
The conditions and experiences of subordination and injustice. This is the condition of being overwhelmed of heavily burdened by another's exercise of wrongful authority or power, for example, the unjust or cruel treatment of subjects or inferiors; the imposition of unreasonable or unjust burdens.
ottava rima
An eight-line rhyming stanza of poetry.
oxymoron
A figure of speech that produces an effect of seeming contradiction. Ex.: "Make haste slowly," "jumbo shrimp," "thunderous silence."
parable
A short allegorical story designed to convey a truth or moral lesson. Ex.: Christ's story of the good samaritan.
paradox
A seemingly contradictory statement that, upon explanation, contains a truth. Ex.: "to damn with faint praise." Ex.: "Success is countest sweetest / by those who ne'er succeed." (Dickinson)
parody
A literary composition, which imitates the characteristic style of a serious work of a writer and uses its features to treat trivial, nonsensical material in an attempt to humor or satire.
paraphrase
The restatement of a passage using the reader's own words.
pathetic fallacy
Faulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or non-human objects.
pathos
The element of literature that stimulates pity or sorrow.
pastoral
A literary work that celebrates simple rural life or those who live close to nature. Many times, these include shepherds.
patriarchy
A system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a group or society. This system is preserved through marriage and family.
periodic sentence
A sentence that departs from the usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main thought only at the end. In other words, the particulars in the sentence are presented before the idea they support.
persona
The mask or voice that an author creates to tell a story.
personification
An abstract concept or inanimate object that is represented as having human qualities or characteristics. To write that "death rides a pale horse" is to personify death. Ex.: "the hand of fate."
picaresque
A writing, usually a novel, about a roguelike wanderer who live off his wits.
plaint
A poem or speech expressing sorrow.
point-of-view
The vantage point from which the author writes.
omniscient narrator
Third-person narrator who sees, like God, in to each character's mind and understands all of the action going on.
limited omniscient narrator
Third-person narrator who generally reports on what one character (usually the main character) sees, and who only reports the thoughts of that one privileged character.
Objective, or camera-eye narrator
Third person narrator who only reports on what would be visible to a camera. This kind of narrator does not know what the character is thinking unless the character speaks of it.
stream of consciousness technique
Like a first person narration, but instead of the character telling the story, the author places the reader inside of the main character's head and makes the reader privy to all of the character's thoughts as they scroll through her consciousness. A technique that allows the reader to see the continuous, chaotic flow of half-formed and discontinuous thoughts, memories, sense impressions, random associations, images, feelings, and reflections that constitute a character's consciousness.
polysyndeton
Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm. Ex.: "I said, 'Who killed him?' and he said, 'I don't know who killed him, but he's dead all right,' and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water." --Hemingway
prosody
The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry.
protagonist
The main character in a play or story, also called the hero or heroine.
pulp fiction
Novels written for mass consumption, often emphasizing exciting plots.
pun
A play on words based on similarity of sounds between two words differing in meaning. Ex.: The dentist joined the military because he like to drill. The Importance of Being Earnest. (Ernest)
quatrain
A four-line stanza, or a four-line poem itself.
realism
An author's use of accuracy in the portrayal of life or reality.
refrain
A phrase or verse consisting of one one or more lines repeated at intervals in poem, usually at the end of a stanza.
regionalism
The tendency in literature to focus on a specific geographical region or locality, recreating as accurately as possible its unique setting, speech, customs, beliefs, and history.
rhetoric
The language of a work and its style, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway an audience.
rhetorical question
A question not requiring a response. The answer is obvious and intended to produce an effect.
rhythm
The pattern of recurrent strong and weak accents and long and short syllables in speech, music, and poetry. This creates sound patterns and accentuates meaning.
plagiarism
Using the words or ideas of another writer and representing them as one's own; intellectual theft.
roman à clef
French for a novel in which historical events and actual people appear under the guise of fiction.
Romanticism
The principles and ideas of this particular movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th century; this favored feelings over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Other characteristics include individuality, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary life vs. life in society, the belief that imagination is superior to reason, devotion to beauty, fascination with the past, and nature. The great English poets of this period include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.
satire
A literary work in poetry or prose in which a subject or person is held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule with the intent of improving a situation.
scansion
Counting the stresses in a line of poetry in order to establish its metrical pattern.
sentimental
A term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experience; it's also nauseatingly nostalgic and mawkish.
simile
A comparison using "like" or "as." Ex.: The moon hung like a light bulb in the sky. "O my love is like a red, red rose." --Burns "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up / like a raisin the sun?" --Hughes
situational irony
When the outcome of circumstances is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate. Ex.: The doctor's office is closed due to illness.
social class
Those having similar shares of power and/or wealth, thus forming a stratum in the hierarchy of possessions.
soliloquy
A speech by one character in a play or other composition to disclose the speaker's innermost thoughts. This is meant to convey the impression that the audience is listening to the character's thoughts.
sonnet
A fourteen line poem with a set thyme scheme. There are two main forms: the Italian (Petrarchan) and the English (Shakespearean). The Italian is divided into an eight-line stanza (octave) and an six-line stanza (sestet). The rhyme scheme of the octave is abba, abba, and the sestet is either cde, cde or cdc, dcd. The English form has four divisions: three quatrains and a rhymed couplet, abab, cdcd, efef, and gg.
spondee
A metrical foot of two syllables, both of which are long, or stressed. Ex.: sidewalk, Sue-Ann, "god Pan"
stanza
A division in the formal pattern of a poem. Usually indicated by indentations or spaces.
stress
The prominence or emphasis given to particular syllables. These type of syllables usually stand out because they have long, rather than short, vowels, or because they have a different pitch or are louder than other syllables.
subtext
The implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature.
surrealism
Employs illogical, dreamlike images to suggest the unconscious.
syllogism
A deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and minor premise and a conclusion. (If, then, so) Ex.: "every virtue is laudable, kindness is a virtue, therefore kindness is laudable"
symbol
Any word, image, description, name, character, or action that has a range of meanings and associations beyond its literal meaning. Ex.: The eagle is a conventional one of these of the U.S. It may suggest freedom, power, or solitude.
synecdoche
Use of a part to signify a whole, or, more rarely, the use of a whole to signify a part. Ex.: "Are you a musician? Do you play the keys?" wheels=automobile, The phrase "All hands on deck," means "all men on deck," not just their hands.
syntax
Word order; the arrangement of words in a sentence.
inverted syntax
Reversing the normal word order of a sentence. Ex.: "Whose woods these are I think I know." --Frost
tautology
Where two near-synonyms are placed consecutively or very close together for effect. Ex.: free gift, in this day and age, new innovation, lonely isolation
theme
A statement that the author is driving or driven by. The central or main idea of the overall work. Ex.: Some examples from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest include, "Laughter can be therapeutic," "Denying one's sexuality can cause destruction," " The definitions of sanity and insanity are not clearly defined."
thesis
The main position of an argument. The central contention that will be supported.
thesis statement
The part of an essay that clearly and directly states a writer's meaning and intention--it tells what the essay will be about. This should be one or two sentences long and is usually placed in the introduction. It should include the work and the author being analyzed and clearly define the argument that will be made.
tone
An author's attitude towards his or her subject. It may be angry, resigned, humorous, serious, sentimental, mocking, ironic, sarcastic, satirical, reasoning, emotional, philosophic, etc. One tone may predominate, or many tones may be heard in a work.
tragedy
A form of literature in which some character flaw destroys the hero.
tragic flaw
In a tragedy, this is the weakness of the character in an otherwise good (or even great) individual that ultimately leads to his demise.
Transcendentalism
The American version of Romanticism; held that there was something in human beings that transcended the human nature--a spark of divinity. This philosophy stood in opposition to the pessimism of Puritanism.
trochee
A metrical foot of two syllables, one long (or stressed), and one short (or unstressed). Ex.: Thomas, Tanya, "Johnny Jones is laid to rest / Earth receive an honored guest"
trope
The generic name for a figure of speech such as an image, symbol, simile or metaphor.
understatement
An obvious downplaying or underrating. It is the opposite of hyperbole, though either may create a memorable image or ironic effect. To say that "after they ate the apple, Adam and Eve found life a bit tougher" is to understate their condition. Ex.: "Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her appearance." -- Swift
utopia
An idealized place; imaginary communities in which people are able to live in happiness, prosperity, and peace.
verbal irony
Arises from a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Ex.: In "The Cask of Amontillado" Montresor says to Fortunato: "I drink to your health," when he intends to kill him.
verisimilitude
Similar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is.
Victorian Age
The reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1837-1901. Notable names include Dickens, Hardy, Wilde, Bronte, and Eliot.
villanelle
An intricate verse form consisting of five tercets and a concluding quatrain. The first and third lines of the first stanza are used as refrains in the succeeding stanzas and as the last two lines of the concluding stanza. Ex.: Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
voice
The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker.
wit
The quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtlety on the foibles of the passing scene. Ex.: Shakespeare's Mercutio
zeugma
The use of a word to govern one or more words though appropriate to only one. Ex.: "Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave." "During the race he broke the record and his leg."