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Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts
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Allegory
Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words
Allusion
A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person
Analogy
The correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different
Anecdote
A short story used to illustrate a point the author is making
Antithesis
An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses
Assonance
A type of internal rhyming in which vowel souds are repeated
Atmosphere
The emotional feeling -or mood- of a place, scene, or event
Colloquial Language
Slang or common language that is informal
Diction
An author's choice of words
Didactic
Writing which has the purpose of teaching or instructing
Elegy
A work that expresses sorrow
Euphemism
A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea
Figurative Language
All uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison
Foreshadowing
A purposeful hint placed in a work of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis
Irony
When a situation produces and outcome that is the opposite of what is expected
Juxtaposition
When two contrasting things are placed next to each other for comparison
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly
Mood
The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event
Onomatopoeia
An effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning
Oxymoron
Two contradictory words in one expression
Paradox
A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth
Parallelism
A literary technique that relies on the use of the same syntactical structures
Parody
An effort to ridicule or make fun of a literary work or an author by writing a comic imitation of the work
Periodic Sentence
Presents the main clause at the end of the sentence, for emphasis
Personification
A figure of speech in which ideas or objects are described as having human qualities or personalities
Point of View
The particular perspective from which a story is told
Pun
A play on words
Repetition
The reiteration of a word or phrase for emphasis
Rhetorical Devices
The specific language tools that an author uses to carry out a rhetorical strategy (diction, imagery, or syntax)
Rhetorical Question
A question that is asked for the sake of argument
Satire
To ridicule or mock ideas, persons, events, or doctrines
Simile
A commonly used figure of speech that compares one thing with another using the words "like" or "as"
Symbol
Something that stands for something else
Syntax
The way words are arranged in a sentence
Theme
The central idea
Tone
Attitude
Understatement
When an author assigns less significance to an event or thing than it deserves
sonnet
Fourteen-line lyric poem that is usually written in iambic pentameter and that has one of several rhyme schemes.
blank verse
poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
free verse
Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
expose
Journalistic writing to expose weakness, faults or shortcomings
fable
a short moral story (often with animal characters)
parable
a short narrative designed to teach a moral lesson
cacophony
loud confusing disagreeable sounds
euphony
any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds
connotation
an idea that is implied or suggested
denotation
the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
catharsis
a clensing or purging that releases emotions
aphorism
a short pithy instructive saying
hubris
excessive pride
soliloquy
a speech given by a character alone on stage
monologue
a long speech made by one person
pedantic
An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.
terse
breif and to the point
trenchant
adj. keen and forceful; caustic
ornate
rich in decorative detail
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