Eng 195 Isms References

Front 1

In literature, a tradition espousing the ideals of ancient
Greece and Rome: objectivity, emotional restraint,
systematic thinking, simplicity, clarity, universality,
dignity, acceptance of established social standards,
promotion of the general welfare, and strict adherence to
formal rules of composition.

Back 1

Classicism

Front 2

Acting in oneself’s best interests (that is, acting
selfishly) by selecting what appears to be the most
beneficial of all the choices available.

Back 2

Egoism, Rational

Front 3

Belief that a person’s nature, or
biological makeup, will always cause him to act in his own
self-interest.

Back 3

Psychological Egoism:

Front 4

Belief that a person will act in his own
best interests if he first thoroughly educates himself
about the choices available.

Back 4

Normative Egoism:

Front 5

Ornate, high-flown style of speaking or writing.

Back 5

Euphuism

Front 6

In literature, ----- is a writing approach,
process, or technique in which a writer depicts a
character’s feelings about a subject (or the writer’s own
feelings about it) rather than the objective surface
reality of the subject.

Back 6

Expressionism

Front 7

Unintentional use of an inappropriate word similar in sound
to the appropriate word, often with humorous effect.

Back 7

Malapropism

Front 8

In literature, an extreme form of realism that developed in
France in the 19th Century, inspired in part by the
scientific determinism of Charles Darwin, an Englishman,
and the economic determinism of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels, both Germans.

Back 8

Naturalism

Front 9

Word or phrase–or a new meaning for an existing word or
phrase–that is accepted into a dictionary.

Back 9

Neologism

Front 10

Nihilism (a term derived from the Latin word nihil, meaning
nothing) is a philosophy that calls for the destruction of
existing traditions, customs, beliefs, and institutions and
requires its adherents to reject all values, including
religious and aesthetic principles, in favor of belief in
nothing.

Back 10

Nihilism

Front 11

In literature, a movement that stressed the presentation of
life as it is, without embellishment or idealization.
However, it was not as extreme in this presentation as
Naturalism.

Back 11

Realism

Front 12

In literature, a movement that championed imagination and
emotions as more powerful than reason and systematic
thinking.

Back 12

Romanticism

Front 13

Slip of the tongue in which a speaker transposes the
letters of words. Pee little thrigs is a ---- for
three little pigs.

Back 13

Spoonerism

Front 14

Belief that every human being has inborn knowledge that
enables him to recognize and understand moral truth without
benefit of knowledge obtained through the physical senses.

Back 14

Transcendentalism

Front 15

Short, often witty statement presenting an observation or a
universal truth; an adage.

Back 15

Aphorism