Download Summer Reading Literary Terms

Summer Reading Literary Terms
1. Diction—word choice
2. Imagery—mental pictures created by the use of sensory images and figurative
language.
3. Figurative Language-- using or containing a non-literal sense of a word or words;
similes, metaphors, allusions, etc.
4. Simile—an explicit comparison between two unlike things using like or as.
5. Metaphor—an implicit comparison between two unlike things.
6. Personification—giving human characteristics non inanimate things.
7. Prose—Writing that is not poetry
8. Structure—a framework or system of organization of a piece of writing
9. Syntax--the ordering of and relationship between the words and other structural
elements in phrases and sentences
10. Theme—the subject of discourse; a central idea or insight presented in a literary work
11. Motif--an important and sometimes recurring theme or idea in a work of literature
12. Tone—the attitude of the writer about his subject or audience
13. Allusion—a reference to a place, object or character from outside a piece of
literature--often biblical, mythological, historical, or literary in nature.
14. Apostrophe—a figure of speech where the speaker directly addresses a n absent
person or a personified quality.
15. Symbol—anything that stands for or represents something else.
16. Synecdoche--a figure of speech in which the word for part of something is used to
mean the whole, e.g. "sail" for "boat," or vice versa
17. Analogy--a comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used
to help explain something or make it easier to understand
18. Anathema--somebody or something that is greatly disliked or detested and is
therefore shunned
19. Antithesis--the complete or exact opposite of something; a use of words or phrases
that contrast with each other to create a balanced effect
20. Balanced Sentence—a structure in which parts of the whole—as words, phrases, or
clauses in a sentence are set off against each other so as to emphasize a contrast.
Example: “The memory of other authors is kept alive by their works; but the memory
of Johnson keeps many of his works alive.”
21. Cumulative Sentence—Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the
sentence, and then builds and adds on.
22. Inversion—a variation of the subject-verb-object order of words in a sentence
23. Parallelism—Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases or
clauses
24. Periodic Sentence—Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end. Example:
“To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in
an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we
renew our pledge.”
25. Rhetorical Question—Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical
effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.
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26. Allegory—A story with two or more levels of meaning—a literal level and one or
more symbolic level. The events, setting, and characters are symbols for ideas or
qualities.
27. Aphorism—a general truth, or statement about life generally stated concisely.
28. Dirge--a song of mourning or lament, especially one about death or intended for a
funeral
29. Elegy--a mournful or reflective poem
30. Epic--a long series of events characterized by adventures or struggle
31. Epigram--a concise, witty, and often paradoxical remark or saying
32. Epitaph--an inscription on a tombstone or monument commemorating the person
buried there
33. Fable--a short story with a moral, especially one in which the characters are animals;
a false or improbable account of something
34. Lyric--the words of a song, especially a popular song; singing with a voice that has a
light quality and a vocally undramatic delivery
35. Antecedent—the noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers
36. Caricature—a drawing, description, or performance that exaggerates somebody's or
something's characteristics for humorous or satirical effect; a ridiculously
inappropriate or unsuccessful version of or attempt at something
37. Chiasmus—similar to antimetabole, but reverses grammatical elements rather than
just words, again for emphasis. Example: “He was wise and compassionate as a
counselor, but as a teacher inefficient and ineffectual.”
38. Clause Paradox/ Paradox—A statement that although seemingly contradictory or
absurd, may actually be well founded or true.
39. Pathetic Fallacy—Any false emotionalism resulting in a too impassioned description
of nature. It is a ridiculous personification of nature.
40. Oxymoron—a paradox reduced to two words, usually an adjective-noun used to
emphasize contrasts, incongruities, hypocrisy, or simply the complex nature of
reality. Example: “eloquent silence.”
41. Colloqualism—spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal
speech.
42. Connotation—the associations and feelings that a word calls to mind.
43. Denotation—a concise explanation of the meaning of a word, phrase, or symbol
44. Euphemism—the substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or
blunt one, as in the use of “pass away” instead of die
45. Juxtaposition—Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons
or contrasts
46. Pedantic—marked by a narrow focus or a display of learning especially on trivial
aspects
47. Predicate Adjectives—an adjective that appears with a linking verb and describes the
subject of the sentence. Example: “She is tall.”
48. Predicate Nominative—a noun or pronoun that appears with a linking verb and
renames, identifies, or explains the subject. Example: “She is a lawyer.”
49. Subject Complement—a noun, pronoun, or adjective that appears with a linking verb
and tells something about the subject.
50. Subordinate clause—a clause that although it has a subject and a verb, cannot stand
by itself as a complete sentence; it can only be part of a sentence.
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51. Syllogism—Greek for “reckoning together,” a deductive system of formal logic that
presents two premises—the first on called “major” and the second “minor”—that
inevitable lead to a sound conclusion. Example: Major—“All men are mortal;
Minor: “Socrates is a man; Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal. A syllogism is
valid only if each of its two premises are valid.
52. Rhetoric—The art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.
53. Didactic—fitted or intended to teach; conveying instruction.
54. Extended metaphor—a controlling image of a whole work
55. Genre—a division or type of literature
56. Homily—a form of oral religious instruction given by a minister to a church
congregation. It is distinguished from a sermon in that rather than drawing from a
scriptural text, it usually gives practical moral counsel rather than discussing doctrine.
57. Ad hominem argument—Latin for “against the man” appealing to the personal
interests, prejudices, or emotions rather than to reason.
58. Myth—a fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the causes of
natural phenomenon.
59. Novel—a long work of fiction with a complicated plot, many major and minor
characters, a significant theme, and several varied settings.
60. Parody—a humorous imitation of a literary work, one that exaggerates or distorts the
characteristic features of the original.
61. Satire—writing that ridicules or criticizes the individuals, ideas, institutions, social
conventions, or other works of art or literature.
62. Alliteration—the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words; used by
poets to impart a musical quality to their poems, to create mood, to reinforce
meaning, to emphasize particular words, and to unify lines or stanzas.
63. Assonance—the repetition of vowel sounds in conjunction with dissimilar consonant
sounds.
64. Consonance—the repetition of similar final consonant sounds at th ends of words or
accented syllables.
65. Onomatopoeia—the use of words that imitate sounds. Example: “buzz, hiss.”
66. Conceit—a fanciful notion, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy and
pointing to a striking parallel between ostensibly dissimilar things.
67. Epithet—an adjective or phrase used to point out a characteristic of a person or thing;
labels used in name calling. Example: “rose-fingered dawn,” “master mariner.”
68. Hyperbole—a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement often used for comic effect.
69. Verbal Irony—a word or phrase used to suggest the opposite of its usual meaning.
70. Dramatic Irony—a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader
knows.
71. Situational Irony—an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of the characters,
of the reader, or of the audience.
72. Litote—a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative
of its opposite. Example: To say “she was not unmindful” when one means that “she
gave careful attention.”
73. Metonymy—the substitution of the name of an object closely associate with a word
for the word itself. Example: We speak of the monarch as “the crown.”
74. Trope—the artful use of diction
75. Schemes—the artful use of syntax
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