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Vocab
vocab
vocab
vocab
vocab
100
Allegory
What is the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. It usually deals with the moral truth or a generalization about human existence.
100
Parallelism
What is framing of words to give structural similarity. Ex: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness."
100
Homily
What is a serious talk, speech, or lecture. Literally means sermon.
100
Conceit
What is an analogy or extended metaphor between seemingly dissimilar objects.
100
Pedantic
What is overly scholarly writing.
200
Invective
What is abusive language.
200
Connotation
What is the implied suggested meaning of a word
200
Diacope
What is repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase. Ex: We will do it, I tell you; we will do it. We give thanks to Thee, O God, we give thanks
200
Colloquial
What is the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.
200
Apostrophe
What is a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back.
300
Aphorism
What is a terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.(if author is unknown then the statement is generally considered a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.
300
Chiasmus
What is two phrases or clauses that are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words. Ex: The land was ours before we were the land's.
300
Hypophora
What is where one or more questions are answered.
300
Analogy
What is a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationships between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar.
300
Anecdote
What is a short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person.
400
Asyndeton
What is a term that consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. This can give the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account. Asyndetic lists can be more emphatic than if a final conjunction were used. Ex: They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.
400
Litotes
What is a figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite. Ex: He's no fool. (Implying that he is wise.)
400
Anaphora
What is one of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression word or words is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. Ex: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."
400
Paradox
What is a statement that seems to be self contradicting but contains some degree of truth.
400
Enumeratio
What is figure of amplification where the subject is divided into constituent parts or details. Ex: I lover her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips.
500
Loose sentence
What is a sentence where the main idea comes first in the sentence, followed by a dependent clause.
500
Didactic
What is writing that has the primary aim of teaching.
500
Metonymy
What is a figure of speech where the name of an object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Ex: "The White House Declare" instead of "The President Declared."
500
Euphemism
What is a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. Ex: saying "earthly remains" instead of "corpse".
500
Antithesis
What is figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. Antithesis creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas.