English 108

Question	Answer
alliteration	When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past
assonance	The repetition of identical or similar vowels, especially in stressed syllables, in a sequence of nearby words. Note the recurrent long i sound in the opening lines of Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”: Thou still unravished bride of quietness,Thou foster child of silence and slow time...
atmosphere	emotional tone pervading a section or the whole a literary work which fosters in the reader expectations as to the course of events, whether happy. or more commonly, terrifying or disastrous.
ballad	A ballad is a form of verse to be sung or set to music; thus, it often is a story told in a song. Any myth form may be told as a ballad, such as historical accounts or fairy tales in verse form. It usually has foreshortened, alternating four-stress lines (“ballad meter”) and simple repeating rhymes, often with a refrain.
bildungsroman	The German term for a “Coming-of-Age” story. The subject of these types of novels is the development of the protagonist’s mind and character. In the passage from childhood through various experiences. Often there is a spiritual crisis on the road to maturity which usually involves recognition of one’s identity and role in the world.
cacophony or dissonance	Language that is perceived as harsh, rough, and unmusical. The discordant effect is not only of the sound of the words, but also of their significance, conjoined with the difficulty of pronouncing and enunciating the sequence of speech sounds.
ceasura	term for a stop, or strong pause, within a metrical line usually marked by punctuation or by a break in the flow of sound in a line of poetry creates a specific rhetorical effect. convey the meaning more clearly As a grammatical, rhythmic, and dramatic device, as well as an effective means of avoiding monotony, the caesura is a subtle but effective technique employed by poets.
initial caesura medial caesura terminal caesura end-stopped line classical caesura	-pause occurs towards the beginning of the line -splits the line in equal parts -If the punctuation happens towards the end of the line -occurs at the very end of a line -a break caused by the ending of a word within a foot
connotation and denotation	In widespread literary usage, the denotation of a word is its primary signification or reference. Its connotation is the range of secondary or associated significations and feelings which is commonly suggests or implies.
consonance	The repetition of a sequence of two or more consonants but with a change in the intervening vowel, such as live-love, lean-alone, pitter-patter.
database	electronic index that contains periodicals. Databases are either general (they cover more than one discipline) or subject-based (they contain only those periodicals related to a specific discipline.)
deductive paragraph	A paragraph that begins with the main point or topic sentence followed by the details to prove or exemplify the topic sentence.
dramatic irony	involves a situation in a play or a narrative -> audience or reader shares with the author knowledge of present or future circumstances which a character is ignorant; in that situation, the literary character unknowingly acts in a way we recognize to be grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances, or expects the opposite of what we know that fate holds in store, or says something that anticipates the actual outcome, but not at all in the way that the character intends
dramatic monologue	a speaker is telling a narrative to an unknown auditor, who does not speak. the speaker is addressing someone, can not assume telling the truth; the speaker is interested in justifying questionable behaviour than in being honest. speaker reveals more about himself: conflicted emotions and impulses, than he realizes.
ethos	writer’s appeal to the reader’s ethics and values. A writer creates ethos by grounding his/her argument in the values of the reader, by appearing knowledgeable, by using sources responsibly, and by considering other points of view (counterarguments.)
euphony	Euphony is a term that is applied to language which strikes the ear as smooth, pleasant, and musical.
inductive paragraph	A paragraph structure in which the details are presented first and the topic sentence presented last.
logical fallacy	This is a flaw in logic that is either the result of faulty thinking or of the writer’s attempt to mislead the reader.
logos	This is the writer’s appeal to the reader’s logic. Logos is mainly found in the structure of your argument, the strength of your logic, and the quality of your logic.
metaphor	In a metaphor, a word or expression that in literal usage denotes one kind of thing is applied to a distinctly different kind of thing, without asserting a comparison.
metonymy	This is the literal term for one thing that is applied to another with which it has become closely associated.
motif	This is a conspicuous element, such as a type of incident, device, reference, or formula that occurs frequently in works of literature.
onomatopoeia (also known as echoisdm)	This term designates a word or combination of words whose sounds seem to resemble closely the sound it denotes: hiss, buzz, rattle, bang.
oxymoron	This word denotes two terms that seem to be contrary, such “pleasing pains,” or “loving hate.”
paradox	This is a statement which seems on the surface to be logically contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to be interpretable in a way that makes good sense.
pathos	In persuasive writing, pathos is the writer’s appeal to the reader’s emotions, usually created through language. Using stories, analogies, figurative language, and slanted language, a writer can create pathos.
personification	An inanimate object or an abstract concept is spoken of as though it were endowed with life or with human attributes or feelings.
purpose	The main purposes of essays are to describe or narrate personal experience, to explain, and to persuade. Essays may have more than one purpose.
simile	A comparison that uses like or as. “She is as gracious as a queen
subject	This is simply what the essay is about. The subject needs to be distinguished from the thesis, which is the writer's main point about the subject.
symbol	Differentiate amongst the grammatical variations of this term: symbol (noun) the cross is a symbol of suffering; symbolize (verb) the cross symbolizes suffering (remember that many other verbs can be used: signifies, denotes, suggests, and so on); symbolic (adjective) the cross is symbolic of suffering.
synecdoche	This term is used when a part of something is used to signify the whole, or more rarely when the whole is used to signify a part. We use the slang term “wheels” to stand for an automobile and “hands” to refer to manual labourers.
theme	This is the general concept or doctrine whether implicit or asserted which a work is designed to incorporate and make persuasive to the reader.
thesis	The writer’s main point about his or her subject. The thesis can be stated at the beginning or end of the essay or it can be implied.
The Block Method	In the block method, you discuss one subject fully, dealing with all categories of comparison announced in the thesis; then, you discuss the second subject fully. For instance, you would discuss the setting, character, and symbolism in “Miss Brill” and then the setting, character, and symbolism in “Privacy.” In this method, you would have either two long paragraphs or a series of shorter paragraphs. You might compare some literary elements and contrast others.
The Point by Point Method	you discuss each category of comparison announced in the thesis, explaining both stories under each category. the number of body paragraphs corresponds with the number of categories.
The Combination Method	In this method, you discuss the less dominant categories of comparison in both works (the number of categories equals the number of paragraphs) before discussing the dominant category in each story.
Similarities and Differences	discuss the similarities between the two subjects and then the differences OR vice-versa, depending on what idea you want to end with. the differences between the two settings in “Miss Brill” and “Privacy,” but argue that the stories share similar symbolism and characters who are both alienated and isolated.

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