Synopsis of Course Material II: (The Arguably Unnecessary) Terms List

Terms Related Directly to Analysis

·         Motif: a repeated pattern (of symbols, images, ect.) found in literature, more individual to the work

·         Satire: a work intended to critique society, institutes, ect, through ridicule (generally funny)

·         Shift: a change in structure, tone, point of view, atmosphere, ect.

·         Structure: the order of the work

·         Style: the author’s idiosyncratic way of using language

·         Allusion: an indirect reference

·         Conceit: an extended and elaborate comparison

Poetry Terms

·         Ballad meter: four lines of alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimester

·         Iambic pentameter, tetrameter, trimester, ect.

·         Blank verse: iambic pentameter with no rhyme

·         Elegy: a poem eulogizing the dead

·         Eye-rhyme: words that look like they rhyme based on their spelling but don’t

·         Free verse: poetry without rhyme or a meter

·         Heroic couplet: two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter

·         Internal rhyme: rhyme inside a line of poetry

·         Octave: a stanza of 8 lines with a ABBAABBA rhyme pattern

·         Caesura: a pause inside a line of poetry

·         End-stopped: the line just ends naturally

·         Enjambment: when one line runs over into the next (that is, the thought runs over)

Parallelism

·         Parallelism: repeated pattern of syntax

·         Antithesis: contrast of ideas through a parallel setup

·         Chiasmus: crossing parallelism, where the structure of the first part is reversed

Repetition

·         Epizeuxis: repetition of the same word for emphasis

·         Diacope: repetition of a word or phrase with a couple words in between

·         Anadiplosis: repetition linking the end of one clause to the beginning of the next

·         Anaphora: repetition at the beginning of clauses

·         Antistrophe: repetition at the end of clauses

Conjunctions

·         Asyndeton: lack of conjunctions

·         Polysyndeton: lots of conjunctions

Speech/Language/Word Play

·         Apostrophe: talking to something that won’t talk back

·         Aside: speech which at least 1 character cannot hear

·         Internal monologue: a character’s actual thoughts

·         Didactic: preaching or lecturing

·         Invective: abusive language directed against one person or cause

·         Assonance: similar sounding vowel sounds used repeatedly close to on another

·         Cacophony: harsh joining of sounds

·         Imagery: language that appeals vividly to the senses

·         Lyrical: particularly musical and expressive language

·         Musical devices: techniques that create a desired “sound”

·         Onomatopoeia: words that mimic the sound they describe

·         Paranomasia: word play

·         Synesthesia: when something is described in a way that is usually associated with a different sense

·         Colloquialism: regular speech, slang, regional speech

·         Epithet: adjective that qualifies a noun (laughing happiness)

·         Euphemism:  substitute for something more unpleasant

·         Malapropism: using the wrong word

·         Epigram: witty statement

·         Non-sequitur: statement that is out of context

·         Paraprosdokian: unexpected ending

·         Rhetorical question: not meant to be answered

Irony

·         Irony: contrary to what is expected and yet having a bend of fitness

·         Dramatic irony: irony where the audience knows something important that the characters don’t

·         Situational irony: circumstances themselves are ironic

·         Verbal irony: words are the opposite of what is really meant

·         Editorializing: writing that departs from the narrative and tells the reader how to feel

·         Sarcasm: verbal irony that ridicules a specific target

Contrast and Juztaposition

·         Juxtaposition: putting two elements next to each other to make a point

·         Lilotes: something is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite

·         Oxymoron: contradictory terms suggesting a paradox

·         Paradox: statement or situation that appears to not make sense but has some degree of validity

·         Incongruity: surprising contrast

Comedy and Exaggeration

·         High comedy: thoughtful laughter

·         Hyperbole: exaggeration for comic effect

·         Grotesque: exaggerated…hugely exaggerated

·         Metonomy: when something closely associated with the subject stands in for it

·         Synecdoche: whole represents part or part represents whole