Unit 1
An event causing great and often sudden damage or suffering; a disaster.
Catastrophe
Laugh at with contempt and derision.
Scoff
A type of poetry made famous by William Shakespeare.
Sonnet
The literal or primary meaning of a word. (Dictionary Definition)
Denotation
Language that invokes any of the five senses.
Sensory Imagery
Of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe.
Sublime
In a self-satisfied manner.
Complacently
Descriptions in a play that give more information about the stage and setup.
Stage Directions
When a writer explains how their evidence supports their thesis (claim) and/or line of reasoning.
Warrant
An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Connotation
Make (someone) troubled or nervous.
Agitate
Brought low in spirit.
Crestfallen
Supreme authority or rule.
Sovereignty
A reference to a historical or literary person, place, or event with which it is assumed the reader is familiar.
Allusion
Words that can be omitted without loss of meaning or function.
Redundant
Occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
Serendipitous
Lying down; in a position of comfort or rest.
Recumbent
A line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.
Iambic Pentameter
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.
Rhetoric
How a writer or speaker chooses words, ideas, and styles to have a persuasive intended effect on an audience.
Rhetorical Choices
Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance than is actually possessed.
Pretentious
Ready and able to resort to force or violence.
Pugnacious
When character in a play speaks out loud but no other characters hear them.
Soliloquy
A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Allegory
Repetition of a word or phrase in successive lines, clauses or sentences.
Anaphora