English Terms

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Abstract

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refers to language describing concepts rather than concrete images

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Ad Hominem

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an attack on the person in an argument rather than their ideas

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Allegory

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a work functioning on a symbolic level

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Alliteration

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the repetition of the initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper etc."

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Allusion

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a reference contained in a work

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Analogy

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it is assumed that what applies to a situation also applies to a parallel situation. Comparrison between two different items.

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Anecdote

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a story or brief episode told by the writer or a character to illustrate a point

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antecedent

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the word, prase, or clause wo which a pronoun refers.

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Antithesis

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the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, prase, clause, or paragraphs. "to be or not to be" "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you..."

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Cacophony

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harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of a literary work.

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Colloquial

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the use of slang in writing. often to create local color and to provide an informal tone. Huck Finn

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Comic Relief

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humerous events that intensify the next tragic events

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Didactic

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writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work isusualy formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns

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Epigraph

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the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints to its theme

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Euphemism

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a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be innapropriate or uncomfortable.

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Euphony

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the pleasant presenattion of sounds in a literary work

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Exposition

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background information presented in a literary work

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Figurative Language

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body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. Includes metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, and hyperbole.

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Form

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shape or structure of a literary work

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Hyperbole

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extreme exaggeration, often humerous, can also be ironic.

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Induction

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the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization

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Invective

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a verbally abusive attack

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Metaphor

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a direct comparrison between dissimilar things "your eyes are stars"

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Metonymy

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a figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea. The pen is mightier than the sword.

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Monologue

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a speech given by one character

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Motif

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repetition of variations of an image or idea in a work used to develop a theme or characters

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Onomatopoeia

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words that sound like the word they represent. Hiss, buzz

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Parable

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a story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson

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Parody

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a comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original

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Pathos

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the aspects of a literary work that elicit pity from the audience. An appeal to emoeioin that can be used as a means to pursuade

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Pedantic

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a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. I8t is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant

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Periodic Sentence

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presents its main clause at the end of the sentence for emphasis and sentence variety. Phrases, dependent clauses precede the main clause

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Reductio Ad Absurdum

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The latin for "to reducte to the absurd" Technique useful in creating comic effect. considered a rhetorical fallacy because it reduces an arguent to an either/or choice

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Simile

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an indirect comparrison that uses the words like or as to link the differing items in the comparrison

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Syllogism

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the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

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Synecdoche

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A figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. "all hands on deck"

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Syntax

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the grammatical sturctureof prose and poetry

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Voice

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can refer to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verbe (active voice and passive voice) or the total "sound" of the writer's style