Their Eyes Were Watching God Ap Terms And Vocabulary

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Alliteration

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The purposeful repetition of initial consonant sounds. (e.g. "Let us go forth to lead the land we love." J.F. Kennedy, Inaugural; "Veni, vidi, vici." Julius Caesar)

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Allusion

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A reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. (Allusions sometimes refer to Biblical or mythological people, places, etc.)

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Ambivalent

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simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action

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Anecdote

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A short, often autobiographical, narrative told to achieve a purpose such as to provide an example, an illustration, or a thematic truth.

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Aphorism

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A statement of some general principle, expressed memorably by condensing much wisdom into few words. ("Without pain there is no gain" Benjamin Franklin)

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Aside

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Away from one's thought or consideration, away from others or into privacy

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Chiasmus

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Parralle structure in inverted/mirror form -- Two corresponding pairs arranged not in parallels (a-b-a-b) but in inverted order (a-b-b-a).

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Colloquial/Colloquialism

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An expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing. A colloquialism lies between the upper level of dignified, formal, academic, or "literary" language, and the lower level of slang.

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Conceit

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An elaborate, complex metaphor or simile comparing two extremely dissimilar things

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Cursory

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Rapidly and often superficially performed. Hastily.

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Cynical

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1. Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others. 2. Selfishly or callously calculating . 3. Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness . 4. Expressing jaded or scornful skepticism or negativity

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Decorous

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characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct; "the tete-a-tete was decorous in the extreme"

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Delusion

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psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary
a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; "he has delusions of competence"; "his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination"
the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas

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Derision/Derisive

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contemptuous laughter
the act of deriding or treating with contempt

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Diction

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Word choice. To discuss a writer's diction is to consider the vocabulary used, appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language.

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Didactic

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instructive (especially excessively)

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Digression

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a message that departs from the main subject
diversion: a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal"
wandering from the main path of a journey

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Disparagingly

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derogative: expressive of low opinion; "derogatory comments"; "disparaging remarks about the new house"

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Duplicitous

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ambidextrous: marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another; "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"- Israel Zangwill; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"- W.M.Thackeray

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Epiphany

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"Epiphany in fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself; a truth which is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment." (Meyer).

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Euphemism

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A device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid embarrassment or unpleasantness

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Exorbitant

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greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; "exorbitant rent"; "extortionate prices"; "spends an outrageous amount on entertainment"; "usurious interest rate"; "unconscionable spending"

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Foreshadowing

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The use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

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Hyperbole

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A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

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Incredulous

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not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving

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Indignant

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angered at something unjust or wrong; "an indignant denial"; "incensed at the judges' unfairness"; "a look of outraged disbelief"; "umbrageous at the loss of their territory"

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Irony

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The name given to literary techniques that involve differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention.

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Jocular

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In a joking manner

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Judicious

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marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters; "judicious use of one's money"; "a wise decision"

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Lacerating

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Cutting

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Litotes

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A form of understatment in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of it's opposite (e.g. "Not bad")

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Magnanimous

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greathearted: noble and generous in spirit; "a greathearted general"; "a magnanimous conqueror"
big: generous and understanding and tolerant; "a heart big enough to hold no grudges"; "that's very big of you to be so forgiving"; "a large and generous spirit"; "a large heart"; "magnanimous toward his enemies"

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Metaphor

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A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else.

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Metonymy

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A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for something closely related to it

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Mien

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a person's manner or appearance, as in: She was a woman of dignified mien.

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Nonplussed

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at a loss(p): filled with bewilderment; "at a loss to understand those remarks"; "puzzled that she left without saying goodbye"

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Ostentatious

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intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat"
of a display that is tawdry or vulgar

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Oxymoron

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A two-word figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas

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Parable

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fable: a short moral story (often with animal characters)

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Paradox

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An assertion seeminly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.

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Parallelism

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The repetition of a grammatical structure

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Pathetic fallacy

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The excessive attritution of human feelings to nature. Usually the pathetic fallacy gives a sense of overdone emotionalism.

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Patronizing

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arch: (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension

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Pedestrian

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Ordinary

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Personification

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A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

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Platitude

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a trite or obvious remark

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Polysyndeton

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The repetition of conjuctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases or clauses.

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Posturing

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Posing

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Pragmatic

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matter-of-fact: concerned with practical matters; "a matter-of-fact (or pragmatic) approach to the problem"; "a matter-of-fact account of the trip"

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Pretentious

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making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition"

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Proprietary

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proprietorship: an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits

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Rhetorical question

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A question used for persuasion, to which the answer is obvious and usually only one answer is possible. A rhetorical question is not intended to induce a reply

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Sardonic

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Scornfully or cynically mocking

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Sensory details

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Appeals to more than one of the senses

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Simile

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A figure of speech in which like, as, or than is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects.

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Syllogism

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A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

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Symbol

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An object that has its own meaning, but also represents an abstract idea.

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Synecdoche

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A form of metaphor in which a part of something isused to stand for the whole thing.

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Understatement

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Saying less than is actually meant, generally in an ironic way.

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Wistful

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pensive: showing pensive sadness; "the sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty"

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Wry

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dry: humorously sarcastic or mocking; "dry humor"; "an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely"; "an ironic novel"; "an ironical smile"; "with a wry Scottish wit"
bent to one side; "a wry neck"