Lit Terms
Define: ALLITERATION
Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together
Define: Analogy
Comparison between two things to show how they are alike.
Define: CHARACTERIZATION
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
Define: Dialect
A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area.
What type of essay is this?
Relies more on emotional appeals than on facts
Persuasion
Define: Allusion
Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture.
Define: ANTITHESIS
Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure. Example: Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
Define: DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
The author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on.
Define: Elegy
poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. A Eulogy is great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died. Example: OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
What type of essay is this?
A form of discourse that uses language to create a mood or emotion.
Description
Define: ANASTROPHE
Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. Example: Into the water dove the boy.
Define: ANTHROPOMORPHISM
Attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object. (Personification)
Define: ROUND CHARACTER
Has more dimensions to their personalities---they are complex, just a real people are. Example: Harry Potter
Define: EPIGRAPH
A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.
What type of irony is this?
Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.
VERBAL IRON
Define: Anecdote
Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual.
Example: Back in my day all these kids didn’t have all this technology
Define: APOSTROPHE
Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.
Define: COMEDY
In general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.
Define: Imagery
The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience.
What type of irony is this?
Is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.
DRAMATIC IRONY
Define: Antagonist
Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story. Example: Vader
Define: ASYNDETON
Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z... the writer uses X,Y,Z
Define: Internal Conflict
A conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind. Example: Wanting to eat healthy foods, but stopping for fast food when tired.
Define: Lyric Poem
A poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker.
What type of essay is this?
Act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.
EXPLICATION