LITERARY TERMS English III
A reference to a historical figure, place, or event A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
The teams competed in a David and Goliath struggle.
A brief story that focuses on a single episode or event in a person’s life and that is used to illustrate a particular point.
“One day the danger of playing with matches truly struck a chord with my mother. She and her cousin were playing in the woods behind her house when their small fire ignited straw and soon became an uncontrollable forest fire. They hid under the back porch and secretly watched the firemen bring the blaze under control. Even though she didn’t have the courage to tell her parents how the fire started, she never played with matches again.”
An absent person or inanimate object is directly spoken to as though they were present.
Brutus: “Caesar, now be still. I killed not thee with half so good a will.”
A great exaggeration to emphasize strong feeling.
I will love you until all the seas go dry.
The emotional response evoked by a word, in contrast to its denotation, which is its literal meaning.
Kitten is defined as a “young cat.” However, the word also suggests, or connotes, images of softness, warmth, and playfulness.
Verbal: A contrast between what is said and what is meant. Situational: when things turn out differently than expected. Dramatic: when the audience or reader knows something that a character does not know
“The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, unbated and envenomed. The foul practice has turned itself on me.” Laertes
An implied comparison between two basically different things. Referencing one thing as something that it is not
His eyes were daggers that cut right through me.
Human characteristics are given to non-human animals, objects, or ideas.
My stereo walked out of my car.
A seemingly self- contradictory statement that still is true.
The more we learn, the less we know.
A joke that comes from a play on words. Puns can make use of a word’s multiple meanings or of a word’s rhyme.
Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man,” “grave” meaning both “solemn” and “a tomb” “grave” meaning both “solemn” and “a tomb”
Appeals to logic Logical appeals provide rational arguments to support writers’ claims. Includes both reasons and evidence to appeal to the audience’s reason. Facts, anecdotes, statistics, quotations, expert opinions, examples, and/or case studies
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), There were 16,694 alcohol-related fatalities in 2004 – 39 percent of the total traffic fatalities for the year.
Appeals to emotion Appeals that speak to the heart Vivid details, anecdotes, specific details, figurative language and/or loaded language.
“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
Ethical appeal Based on shared moral values and call forth the audience’s sense of right, justice, and virtue Add credibility to an argument
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy. SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight. SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Tobacco Use Increases The Risk of Infertility, Stillbirth And Low Birth Weight.
A broad comparison between two basically different things that have some points in common.
Aspirations toward space are not new. Consider the worm that becomes a butterfly.
A direct comparison between two basically different things. A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.
My love is like a red, red rose.
A part stands for the whole or vice versa.
The hands that created the work of art were masterful.
Hints given to the reader of what is to come.
“The stalwart hero was doomed to suffer the destined end of his days.”
The use of concrete details that appeal to the five senses.
Cold, wet leaves floating on moss- colored water.
The overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional feeling of a work.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
A Writer’s attitude toward his or her subject. A writer can communicate tone through diction, choice of details, and direct statements of his or her position.
Red Jacket’s tone is serious and respectful in “Lecture to a Missionary”; Claude McKay’s tone in “If We Must Die” is proud, defiant, and urgent.
A series of events that present and resolve a conflict. The story being told.
The plot of “The Most Dangerous Game” is that Rainsford is being hunted by General Zaroff.
The vantage point from which an author presents the action in a work.
1st person-tale related by a character in the story. “I or me” 3rd person-story told by someone not participating in the plot. “he, she, they”
The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry.
“He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands” from “The Eagle”
The repetition of identical sounds within a line of poetry.
“We three shall flee across the sea to Italy.” Or “Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.”
A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.
“And on that cheek and o’er that brow” A mind at peace with all below”
The time (both the time of day and period in history) and place in which the action of a literary work takes place.
“Tiger! Tiger! burning bright In the forests of the night”
The repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or more in a given literary work.
“I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he; I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all three”
A Literary technique in which foolish ideas or customs are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society. Satire may be gently witty, mildly abrasive, or bitterly critical.
Senator Joseph McCarthy accusing the U.S. Army of promoting communists loc
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.
“Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship”
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant.
“...that hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.”
The repetition of consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds.
“Wherever we go Silence will fall like dews”
The use of words whose sounds suggest the sounds made by objects or activities.
“Blind eyes could blaze like meteors” Other examples: buzz, hum, kiss Other examples: buzz, hum, kiss
Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.
“Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, Rage against the dying of the light” Both phrases are symbols that stand for death. Both phrases are symbols that stand for death.
The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.
“Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes”
Comparing two very dissimilar things. Usually involves cleverness and ingenuity.
“Our love is like parallel lines” This is also a simile.
A term naming an object is substituted for another word with which it is closely associated.
“Only through the sweat of your brow can you achieve success” “Sweat” stands for hard work.
A pair of rhymed verse lines that contain a complete thought.
“But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restor’d and sorrows end.”