Pat Hamer
Period 6
Terms
Sources
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/terms/1terms.html
(for all not with link by them)
Alliteration - a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a group
Cacophony - an unpleasant combination of sounds
Consonance - The repetition of consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds in words near each other in a line or lines of poetry
Epithet - a word of phrase preceding or following a name which serves to describe the character
Figure of Speech - figurative language that states something that is not literally true in order to create an effect
Local Color - A detailed setting forth of the characteristics of a particular locality, enabling the reader to "see" the setting
Narrative Poem - A poem which tells a story. Usually a long poem, sometimes even book length, the narrative may take the form of a plotless dialogue. In other instances the narrative may consist of a series of incidents
Rhyme - a pattern of repeated sounds
Sonnet - A lyric poem of fourteen lines whose ryhme scheme is fixed
Slant Rhyme - A partial or imperfect rhyme, often using assonance or consonance only http://www.bartleby.com/61/14/O0041450.html
Allusion - A reference in one literary work to a character or theme found in another literary work
Euphony - Euphony, the opposite, is a pleasant combination of sounds. These sound effects can be used intentionally to create an effect, or they may appear unintentionally
Couplet - A stanza of two lines, usually rhyming
Euphemism - A mild word of phrase which substitutes for another which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive
Hyperbole - A figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs
Lyric Poem - A short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion or illuminates some life principle
Ode - A poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea
Rhyme Scene - The arrangement of rhymes in a poem or stanza. http://www.bartleby.com/61/74/R0227400.html
Symbolism - A device in literature where an object represents an idea
Understatement (litode) - A statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant
Apostrophe - A figure of speech wherein the speaker speaks directly to something nonhuman
Caesura - A pause within a line of poetry which may or may not affect the metrical count
Diction - An author's choice of words. Since words have specific meanings, and since one's choice of words can affect feelings, a writer's choice of words can have great impact in a literary work.
Foot - The basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. In scansion, a foot represents one instance of a metrical pattern and is shown either between or to the right or left of vertical lines
Iamb - A metrical pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
Metaphor - A metrical pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
Paradox - A situation or a statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection, does not.
Rhythm - Recurrences of stressed and unstressed syllables at equal intervals, similar to meter. However, though two lines may be of the same meter, the rhythms of the lines may be different.
Synecdoche - A figure of speech wherein a part of something represents the whole thing
Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds in a literary work, especially in a poem
Conceit - A far-fetched simile or metaphor, a literary conceit occurs when the speaker compares two highly dissimilar things
Elegy - A lyric poem lamenting death
Free Verse - Unrhymed Poetry with lines of varying lengths, and containing no specific metrical pattern.
Imagery - A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell. The use of images serves to intensify the impact of the work.
Meter - A regular pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables in a line or lines of poetry.
Personification - A figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics
Scansion - A close, critical reading of a poem, examining the work for meter
Synesthesia - One sensory experience described in terms of another sensory experience
Quatrain - A four-line stanza which may be rhymed or unrhymed. A heroic quatrain is a four line stanza rhymed abab
Ballad - A story in poetic form, often about tragic love and usually sung. Ballads were passed down from generation to generation by singers
Connotation/Denotation - The denotation of a word is its dictionary definition. The word wall, therefore, denotes an upright structure which encloses something or serves as a boundary. The connotation of a word is its emotional content. In this sense, the word wall can also mean an attitude or actions which prevent becoming emotionally close to a person.
Didactic Language - Literature designed explicitly to instruct
Figurative Language - In literature, a way of saying one thing and meaning something else.
Irony - Irony takes many forms. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not. In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant. A character may refer to a plan as brilliant, while actually meaning that (s)he thinks the plan is foolish. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony
Metonymy - A figure of speech in which a word represents something else which it suggests. For example in a herd of fifty cows, the herd might be referred to as fifty head of cattle. The word "head" is the word representing the herd
Parallel Structure - A repetition of sentences using the same structure
Simile - A figure of speech which takes the form of a comparison between two unlike quantities for which a basis for comparison can be found, and which uses the words "like" or "as" in the comparison,
Theme - An ingredient of a literary work which gives the work unity
Enjambment - The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause. http://www.bartleby.com/61/99/E0149900.html