Glossary of Words

Question	Answer
Alliteration	Repetition of the same letter or sound within nearby words. Most often repeated initial consonants.
Allusion	An implied or indirect reference to something (his pride was his Achilles' Heel).
Ambiguity	A word or expression that can be understood in two or more possible ways. (Each of us saw a duck. Her ducking or her duck)
Analogy	A comparison of two things based on there being a light in someway.
Anaphora	Repetition of the same ward a group of wolves at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines. (From a tell of two cities- it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it lets the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it with the epic uppity, it with the epic of incredulity, it lists the season opener light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring hope, it was the winter of despair.)
Anecdote	Are usually shut narrative of it interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.
Antithesis	Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas.
Aphorism	A concise statement of principle. A terse formulation of truth or sentiment. (Example- Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.)
Apostrophe	The addressing of a usually absent person who are usually personified thing rhetorically.
Assonance	Repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
Asyndeton	The omission of conjunctions between clauses, often resulting in a hurried rhythm or vehement effect (veni, vidi, vici).
Begging the question	The conclusion of a contention is excepted in the statement of the inquiry itself.
Cacophony	Harsh or discordant sounds. Harshness in the sound of words of phases.
Cliché	An expression that has been oval used to the extent that it loses its original meaning or novelty.
Complex sentence	A sentence containing a subordinate clause open clauses.
Compound sentence	A sentence with more than one subject predicate.
Connotation	A meaning that is implied by a world apart from that thing which it describes explicitly.
Deduction	The deriving of a conclusion by reasoning.
Denotation	A literal dictionary meaning of a word in contrast of an implied or associated idea.
Devices	A particular word pattern, figure of speech, combination of word sounds, etc., used in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arouse a desired reaction in the reader.
Diction	Choice of words especially with the regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.
Archaic	Having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses.
Jargen	A use of specific phases and words by writers in a particular situation, profession or trade.
Profanity	The use of profane language.
Slang	Words that are not a part of standard vocabulary or language and are used informally. (Such as Bob's your uncle.)
Trite expression	Sometimes called clichés, are expressions which have grown stale through too frequent use.
Vulgarity	The state or quality of being obscene.
Didactic	Designed or intended to teach. Intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment.
Ellipsis	Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context. (John gives Mary and Mary, John.)
Epithet	A descriptive literary device that describes a place, a thing or person in such a way that it helps in making the characteristics of a person, thing or a place more prominent.
Equivocation	A change in meaning. Ambiguous language being used with the intent to deceive or avoid commitment to what one says.
Eulogy	Pronouncing a blessing for the goodness in a person.
Euphemism	Refers to a polite, indirect expression which replace words and phrases considered impolite or which suggest something unpleasant.
Hyperbole	Rhetorical exaggeration. Often accomplished via comparisons, similes, and metaphors. Exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.
Ignoring the question	Simply avoiding answering questions which no one has a good response for.
Imagery	To use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to you from a physical sense.
Irony	Speaking in such a way as to imply the contrary of what one says, often for the purpose of derision , mockery, or jest.
Dramatic irony	The characters are oblivious of the situation but the audience is not.
Verbal irony	Something that someone does not mean.
Situational irony	Both the characters and the audience are fully unaware of the implications of the real situation.
Juxtaposition	A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side-by-side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.
Metaphor	A comparison made by referring to one thing as another.
Metonymy	References to something or someone by naming one of its attributes. (The pen is mightier than the sword)
Oxymoron	Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. (The sounds of silence or make haste slowly.)
Paradox	A statement that is self contradictory On the surface, yet seems to evoke a truth nonetheless. (Your enemy's friend is your enemy or the enemy of your enemy is your friend.)
Parallelism	Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. (Like father, like son. Easy come, easy go.)
Parody	An imitation of a particular writer, artist, or genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect.
Pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.
Periodic sentence	A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.
Personification	A figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object.
Polysendeton	Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm.
Repitition	The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language.
Rhetorical modes	This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purpose of major kinds of writing.
Narration	Tells a story or recounts an event.
Description	Re-creates, invents, or presents a person, place, event, or action.
Definition	A statement with the meaning of a word.
Compare and contrast	Shows how the subjects are alike/different.
Analysis	Examines the interactions between a text, an author, and an audience.
Rhetorical question	Any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks for.
Sarcasm	Use of mockery, verbal taunts, or bitter irony.
Satire	A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.
Simile	An explicit comparison, often employing "like" or "as".
Syllogism	Starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it draws conclusion about something more specific.
Synecdoche	A whole is represented by naming one of its parts or vice versa.
Understatement	The ironic minimalizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is.

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