Vocabulary for Literature and Language Studies

1. Abstract – those things we can conceive mentally but cannot see, touch, or hear (an idea, justice, equality,

etc)

2. Abstract noun – names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic (liberty, hope, equality, etc)

3. Acronym – a word formed by combining the initial letters or syllables of a series of words to form a name,

such as “radar” from “radio detecting and ranging”

4. Action verb – a verb that expresses a physical or mental action (runs, thinks, hopes, etc)

5. Active voice – the subject of the sentence performs the action denoted by the verb (The janitor swept the

floor.)

6. Adage – an old, familiar saying (Look before you leap.)

7. Adjective – a word that modifies a noun or pronoun; answers what kind, which one, how many, how much

(round, three, many, etc)

8. Adjective clause – a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun; usually begins with a relative

pronoun (Arctic winters, which are long and cold, are severe.)

9. Adjective Phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun and tells what kind or which one;

usually follows the word it modifies, which may be the object of another preposition; more than one adjective

phrase may modify the same noun or pronoun (He bought a house with blue shutters.)

10. Adverb – a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb; answers where, when, in what way, or to

what extent (yesterday, very, up, etc)

11. Adverb clause – a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adverb, or an adjective; begins with a

subordinating conjunction (Today’s test lasted longer than the one yesterday.)

12. Adverb Phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb and tells when,

where, how, why or to what extent; may come before or after the word or word group it modifies; more than

one adverb phrase may modify the same word or group of words (He bought a house by the lake.)

13. Advertisement – planned communication meant to be seen, heard, or read in an attempt to persuade an

audience to buy a product or service

14. Aesthetic – relating to beauty

15. Allegory – a prose or poetic narrative in which there is both a literal and a symbolic meaning, generally

personifies abstract ideas such as death, pride, or joy

16. Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sounds (Big brown bears batted bees.)

17. Allusion – a reference to a literary or historical person, place, or event

18. Ambiguity – writing that is unclear, obscure, or difficult to understand, primarily because words or ideas may

be understood in multiple ways

19. Anachronism – the misplacement of a person, occurrence, custom, or idea in time; an individual or thing

incorrectly placed in time (a character in King Arthur who wears a wristwatch)

20. Analogy – comparison between things based on specific features (A:B::1:2)

21. Anapestic – a line made up primarily of anapests [two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable]

22. Anaphora – regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

(something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue)

23. Anecdote – a short narrative usually consisting of one episode or incident, may be real or fictional

24. Annals – narratives of historical events recorded year by year

25. Annotated bibliography – provides a list of materials about a specific topic, including source information and

a summary and evaluation of each entry

26. Annotation – explanatory notes added to a text to explain, translate, cite sources, give biographical data, or

express personal comments

27. Antagonist – the most significant character or force that opposes the protagonist in a narrative or drama

(Voldemort, the Volturi, Captain Beatty)

28. Antecedent – the noun to which the pronoun refers (Jack bought a car after he won the lottery. “Jack” is the

antecedent of “he”.)

29. Antihero – a protagonist who is lacking in one or more of the conventional qualities, such as dignity, bravery,

or honor, that are typically attributed to a hero

30. Aphorism – a concise expression of insight or wisdom (The early bird gets the worm.)

31. Apostrophe – a direct address to something or someone; particularly an address to an inanimate object, a

dead or absent person, something abstract, or a spirit (O Death, where is thy sting?)

32. Appositive Phrase – consists of an appositive [a noun or pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to

identify or explain it] and its modifiers (George Washington, the first President of the United States, was a

general in the army.)

33. Archetype – a recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found in myth and literature across different

cultures and eras (the devil, the damsel in distress, the quest)

34. Archive – the repository for historical documents or public records

35. Argumentation – form of persuasion that uses reasoning to try to lead a reader or listener to think or act in a

certain way

36. Articles – a, an, the; adjectives; “a” and “an” are indefinite articles because they refer to someone or

something in general; “the” is a definite article because it refers to someone or something in particular

37. Aside – a few words or a short passage spoken in an undertone or to the audience; other characters

onstage are deaf to the aside

38. Assonance – the repetition of two or more vowel sounds in successive words, which creates a kind of rhyme

(white lilacs, all the awful arts)

39. Assumption – something taken for granted and presumed to be true without need for further explanation or

proof

40. Asyndeton – elimination of conjunctions (I came, I saw, I conquered.)

41. Audience – to/for whom you are writing

42. Autobiography – tells a true story about something important in the author’s life

43. Ballad – a song that tells a story

44. Bathos – a sudden and unexpected drop from the lofty to the trivial or excessively sentimental

45. Biography – a factual account of a person’s life, examining all available information or texts relevant to the

subject

46. Blank verse – contains five iambic feet per line and is never rhymed

47. Blues – a type of folk music originally developed by African-Americans in the South, often about some pain

or loss; typically contain three-line stanzas in which the first two identical lines are followed by a third,

concluding, rhyming line

48. Blurb – a term applied in the book trade to the hyperbolically encomiastic matter printed on the jackets of

books or elsewhere

49. Body – the part of the writing that develops, explains, and supports the key idea expressed in the thesis

statement

50. Bombast – use of ornamental but unnecessary language in writing; often ranting, insincere, or extravagant

51. Business letter – formally addresses and communicates issues of concern to both writers and readers

52. Cacophony – a harsh, unpleasant sounds of words

53. Caesura – a pause within a line of verse; traditionally appears near the middle of a line; usually occurs at a

mark of punctuation, but can occur without punctuation

54. Caricature – an author’s exaggeration or distortion of certain characteristics or traits of a particular group or

individual

55. Carpe diem – seize the day

56. Catalog – a list of people, things, or attributes

57. Catharsis – the feeling of emotional release or calm the spectator feels at the end of a tragedy

58. Cause-effect writing – examines the relationship between events, explaining how one event or situation

caused another (the effects of segregation)

59. Character – an imagined figure inhabiting a narrative or drama

60. Chiasmus – the order of terms in the first phrase or clause is reversed in the second phrase or clause (from

life to death, and death to life)

61. Circular Reasoning – supporting facts for an argument are weak or nonexistent resulting in the original idea

being restated as if it were evidence

62. Classification-division writing – writing that separates something into sections and places examples into

categories or classes (kinds of fish)

63. Clerihew – a comic verse form that begins with the name of a person and consists of two metrically

awkward, rhymed couplets; humorous and often insulting; serves as ridiculous biographies, usually of

famous people

64. Cliché – an overused idea or phrase, thus it no longer retains its original impact (The grass is greener on the

other side.)

65. Climax – the moment of greatest intensity in a story, which almost inevitably occurs toward the end of the

work; often takes the form of a decisive confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonist (Romeo

kills Tybalt)

66. Coherence – logical organization with a clear presentation of ideas allowing the writing to make sense and

be understood

67. Collective noun – names a group of people or things (class, team, senators)

68. Colloquial English – casual and informal but correct language of ordinary native speakers; may include

contractions, slang, and shifts in grammar, vocabulary, and diction

69. Comma splice – a run-on sentence separated by a comma instead of by a comma and a conjunction or a

period (I baked the cake this morning, I have not frosted it yet.)

70. Common noun – names any one of a group of persons, places, or things; it is not capitalized (senator,

school, teacher)

71. Comparison-contrast writing – short piece of expository writing that describes the similarities and differences

between two or more subjects (football vs. basketball)

72. Complement – a word or group of words that completes the meaning of a verb

73. Complex sentence – one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause (Because there is a

projector in the classroom, the teacher uses it every day.)

74. Composition – a group of related paragraphs that develop a main idea

75. Compound sentence – two or more independent clauses but no subordinate clause (There is a projector in

the classroom, and the teacher uses it every day.)

76. Compound-complex sentence – two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause

(Because there is a projector in the classroom, the teacher uses it every day, and the students are more

engaged in learning.)

77. Conceit – poetic device that uses elaborate comparisons, such as equating a loved one with the beauties of

the world

78. Conclusion – the final paragraph of a piece of writing; it should restate the thesis and sum up the support

while leaving the readers with a memorable statement, a call to action, or a thought

79. Concrete – something specific and tangible that can be perceived by the senses (scent, grit, table,

landscape, etc)

80. Concrete noun – names a person, place, or thing that can be perceived by one or more of the senses (table,

hat, room, etc)

81. Concrete poetry – a visual poetry composed exclusively for creating a picture or image with the printed

letters and words

82. Confessional poetry – autobiographical poetry that exposes the poet’s personal life

83. Conflict – the central struggle between two or more forces in a story

84. Connotation – emotional meanings attached to words (calling someone a “thug”)

85. Consonance – a kind of rhyme in which the linked words share similar consonant sounds but different vowel

sounds (reason and raisin, mink and monk)

86. Conundrum – a difficult riddle

87. Conventions – in writing, practices or principles, such as the rules of grammar, usage, and spelling, that are

accepted as true and correct.

88. Couplet – a two line stanza

89. Dactylic – a line made up primarily of dactyls [one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables]

90. Dangling modifier – seems to modify the wrong word or no word at all because the word it is supposed to

modify has been omitted from the sentence (Incorrect – While touring the White House, shoes must be

worn. / Correct – While touring the White House, visitors must wear shoes.)

91. Declarative sentence – makes a statement

92. Decorum – propriety or appropriateness

93. Deductive reasoning – reasoning that moves from general statement that is assumed to be true to a specific

statement that requires verification

94. Definition writing – a type of essay that identifies and gives the qualities of a person, object, institution,

pattern of behavior, or political theory in a way that highlights its special characteristics (cancer)

95. Demonstrative adjectives – the words “that”, “these”, “this”, “those” when they modify a noun (that book,

those shoes, these chairs, this hat, etc)

96. Demonstrative pronouns – points out a person, a place, a thing, or an idea (this, that, these, those)

97. Denotation – dictionary, literal definition of a word

98. Denouement – the resolution or conclusion of a literary work (The families bury their children and end their

feud.)

99. Descriptive writing (description) – writing that evokes the senses to create a picture

100.Dialect – a particular variety of language spoken by an identifiable regional group or social class of persons

101.Dialogue – direct representation of the conversation between two or more characters

102.Diction – word choice

103.Didactic – intended to instruct or to educate

104.Dimeter – two feet per line

105.Direct characterization – details about character are revealed directly (She has blue eyes. She is honest.)

106.Direct object – a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb or that shows the result of that action; it

tells “whom” or “what” after a transitive verb. (John bought a book.)

107.Dirge – a wailing song sung at a funeral or in commemoration of death; a short lyric of lamentation

108.Documentation – a system used for giving readers information about where the writer found the sources

he/she used in an academic paper, research paper, or a technical report

109.Double negative – the use of two negative words when one is sufficient (The cotton candy wasn’t no good.)

110.Drafting – the process of preparing a first draft of a written piece of work

111.Dramatic irony – the reader or audience knows information that some characters do not know

112.Dramaturgy – the craft or technique of dramatic composition; creating little dramatic scenes to make a point

113.Dynamic character – a character who grows or changes in some significant way over the course of the

narrative

114.Editing / Proofreading – reviewing the spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanics to ensure correctness

115.Editorial – expresses one’s opinions about events currently in the news

116.Elegy – a lament or sadly meditative poem, often written on the occasion of a death or other solemn theme;

usually uses a formal style

117.Elision – the omission of part of a word (ne’er for never)

118.Empathy – the ability to identify oneself mentally with a person or thing in order to understand his/her

feelings or its meaning

119.End rhyme – rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines

120.Enjambment – the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line of verse, without a pause

121.Epic – a long narrative poem, usually composed in an elevated style to depict the adventures of a legendary

or mythic hero

122.Epigram – a very short, poem, often comic, usually ending with a sharp turn of wit or meaning

123.Epigraph – a brief quotation preceding a story or other literary work; usually suggests the subject, theme, or

atmosphere the story will explore

124.Epilogue – a concluding statement of a literary work

125.Epiphany – a moment of insight, discovery, or revelation by which a character’s life is greatly altered

126.Epistolary novel – novels in which the story is told by way of letters written by one or more characters

127.Epistrophe – regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive phrases or clauses (of

the people, for the people, by the people)

128.Epitaph – a brief statement to memorialize a deceased person or thing or a time or event that has ended

129.Essay – an article or short nonfiction composition that focuses on a specific theme or topic

130.Ethos – the overall character, moral makeup, or guiding beliefs of an individual, group, or institution; appeals

to morals, character, values

131.Eulogy – a formal statement of praise

132.Euphemism – words or phrases used to soften the meaning of words and phrases that may be offensive or

unpleasant (saying someone “passed away” instead of “died”)

133.Euphony – harmonious, pleasing sounds of words

134.Evidence – largely factual supporting examples such as scientific observations, the testimony of authorities,

and reliable historical or eyewitness reports

135.Exact rhyme – a full rhyme in which the sounds following the initial letters of the words are identical in sound

(follow, hollow)

136.Exclamatory sentence – expresses strong feeling

137.Exemplum – a moralized tale, often used by medieval preachers to present an example for behavior to their

congregations

138.Explication – detailed analysis of a literary work

139.Exposition – the opening of a narrative; sets the scene, introduces the protagonist, and provides any other

background knowledge the reader will need to understand the narrative (The Capulets and Montagues are

feuding.)

140.Expository writing (exposition) – writing that informs

141.External conflict – a conflict between a character and another character (man v man), a character and

society, or a character and nature

142.Eye rhyme – rhyme in which the spelling of the words appears alike, but the pronunciation differs (laughter,

daughter)

143.Fable – a brief, often humorous, narrative told to illustrate a moral; traditionally the characters are animals

whose personality traits symbolize human traits

144.Fact – something that can be proven (Congress has 435 members.)

145.Fairy tale – a traditional form of short narrative folklore, originally transmitted orally, that features

supernatural characters such as witches and giants and a hero or heroine destined to achieve some

desirable fate such as marrying a prince or princess, becoming wealthy, or destroying an enemy

146.Fallacy – a proposition or argument that does not stand up under scrutiny because either it is not a truthful

representation of facts or it is not a valid interpretation of facts

147.Falling action – the events in a narrative that follow the climax and bring the story to its conclusion (all the

action after Romeo kills Tybalt)

148.Falling meter – movement from stressed to unstressed syllables, includes trochaic and dactyllic

149.Fantasy – a narrative that depicts events, characters, or places that could not exist in the real world

150.Farce – a type of comedy featuring exaggerated character types in ludicrous and improbable situations

151.Feature article – an article that presents objective information about a specific topic

152.Feminine rhyme – a rhyme of two or more syllables with a stress on a syllable other than the last, such as

turtle and fertile

153.First person point of view – the narrator tells the story through his/her point of view and refers to him/herself

as “I”; may be an active participant in the action or an observer

154.Flashback – a scene relived in a character’s memory

155.Flat character – a character with only one outstanding trait; are static characters; often are stock characters;

rarely the protagonist

156.Foil – a character who illuminates the qualities of another character by means of contrast (Iago is a foil for

Othello.)

157.Folk ballad – anonymous narrative songs, originally transmitted orally

158.Folklore – the body of traditional wisdom and customs, including songs, myths, stories, and proverbs, of a

people as collected and continued through oral tradition

159.Foot – a unit of two or three syllables that contains one strong stress

160.Footnote – an additional piece of information that the author includes at the bottom of the page, usually

noted by a small reference number in the main text

161.Foreshadowing – hints about what will occur later in the narrative

162.Formal English – heightened, impersonal language of educated persons, usually only written, although

possibly spoken on dignified occasions

163.Found poetry – poetry constructed by arranging bits of “found” prose; a literary work made up on nonliterary

language arranged for an expressive effect

164.Free verse – poetry that organizes its lines without meter; may be rhymed, but often is not

165.Freytag’s Pyramid – plot diagram or outline to demonstrate the exposition, rising action, climax, falling

action, and denouement of a narrative

166.Fused sentence – a run-on sentence not separated or joined by any punctuation (I baked the cake this

morning I have not frosted it yet.)

167.Future perfect tense – used to express an action or a state of being that will be completed in the future

before some other future occurrence; formed with “will have” or “shall have” and the verb’s past participle

(She will have walked the dog.)

168.Future tense – used to express an action or state of being that will occur; formed with “will” or “shall” as the

verb’s base form (She will walk the dog.)

169.Genre – one of the types of literature, such as short stories, poetry, drama, and novels, or one of the

categories within those types, such as romance, science fiction, mystery, or melodrama

170.Gerund Phrase – consists of a gerund [verb form ending in –ing and used as a noun] and all the words

related to the gerund (Swimming in the mornings provides exercise.)

171.Ghostwriter – one who does journalistic writing to be published under the name of another

172.Haiku – a Japanese poetic form that has three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables

173.Hasty Generalization – a statement that is made about a large number of cases or a whole group on the

basis of a few examples, without taking into account exceptions or qualifying factors

174.Helping verb – helps the main verb to express action or a state of being (has, have, might)

175.Heptameter – seven feet per line

176.Heroic couplet – iambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs

177.Hexameter – six feet per line

178.Holograph – something completely handwritten by the author

179.Homily – a form of oral religious instruction given by a minister to a church congregation

180.Hubris – excessive pride

181.Hyperbole – extreme exaggeration (I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.)

182.Hypophora – raising questions and answering them (“What makes a king out of a slave? Courage!” from the

Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz)

183.Iambic – a line made up primarily of iambs [an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable]

184.Iambic pentameter – a line of five iambs

185.Idiom – a way of speaking that is peculiar to a region, group, or class, or the conventional forms peculiar to a

language

186.Idyll – short poem marked by descriptive, narrative, and pastoral qualities

187.Imagery – language that brings to mind sense-impressions, creating vivid pictures for the audience/reader

188.Imperative mood – used to give orders or directions (Drive safely.)

189.Imperative sentence – makes a request or gives a command

190.In medias res – in the midst of things; a narrative device that begins a story midway through the events it

depicts, requiring flashback to explain context and preceding actions

191.Incremental refrain – a refrain whose words change slightly with each recurrence

192.Indefinite pronouns – does not refer to a definite person, place, thing, or idea (all, any, anyone, both, either,

everything, few, more, much, nobody, none, no one, other, several, some)

193.Independent clause – expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence (There is a

projector in the classroom.)

194.Indicative mood – used to make factual statements and to ask questions (Gail drives safely. Does Gail drive

safely?)

195.Indirect characterization – details about character are revealed through the character’s actions and/or what

other characters say about or how they relate to him/her (The character steals a car. Other characters are

suddenly nervous when the character enters the room.)

196.Indirect object – a noun or pronoun that precedes the direct object and that usually tells “to whom”, “for

whom”, “to what”, or “for what” the action of a verb is done (John bought Jan a book.)

197.Inductive reasoning – reasoning that moves from specific facts to a conclusion or generalization based on

those facts

198.Infinitive Phrase – consists of an infinitive [verb form usually preceded by “to” that can be used as a noun,

adjective, or adverb] and all the words related to the infinitive (He wanted to buy a new car.)

199.Innocent narrator – a character who fails to understand all the implications of the story s/he tells (Huck Finn)

200.Intensive pronouns – emphasizes a noun or another pronoun (myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves,

himself, herself, itself, themselves)

201.Interior monologue – a direct record of a character’s thoughts, unmediated by a narrator

202.Interjection – a word that expresses strong emotion (Wow!)

203.Internal conflict – a conflict between two opposing ideas within a character (Should Hamlet kill Claudius?)

204.Internal rhyme – rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry

205.Interrogative pronouns – introduces a question (what, which, who, whom, whose)

206.Interrogative sentence – asks a question

207.Intransitive verb – expresses action, or tells something about the subject, without passing the action to a

receiver (John ran. He left.)

208.Introduction – the beginning of a piece of writing; it should capture the readers’ attention and introduces the

focus of a piece of writing in a thesis statement

209.Invective – a violent attack using words; abusive language

210.Inverted sentence (inversion) – reversing the traditional subject-verb order in a sentence

211.Invocation – a prayer for inspiration to a god or muse, usually placed at the beginning of an epic

212.Irony – a discrepancy between what is and what seems to be

213.Irony of situation (situational irony) – things turn out different than expected

214.Kenning – a metaphorical compound used to replace a single noun (sea = whale-road)

215.Lampoon – writing that satirizes and ridicules a person in a bitter manner through either poetry or prose

216.Lead – the first sentence of a piece of writing

217.Legend – a traditional narrative handed down through popular oral tradition to illustrate and celebrate a

remarkable character, an important event, or to explain the unexplainable

218.Lexicon – a word list or wordbook; a vocabulary; a dictionary

219.Limerick – a short and usually comic verse form of five anapestic lines usually rhyming aabba

220.Linguistics – the scientific study of language

221.Linking verb – a verb that expresses a state of being; connects the subject of a sentence with a word in the

predicate that explains or describes the subject (is, am, are, was, were)

222.Literary ballad – ballads that are written down

223.Literary epic – a created imitation of the oral folk epic, written by an author living in a society where writing

has been invented

224.Litote – conscious understatement to emphasize a point; using the negative to achieve intensity and

emphasis (saying “not bad” for something that was done exceptionally well)

225.Logos – appeals to logic

226.Loose sentence – the main clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, followed by dependent clauses

and phrases (The child ran as if being chased by demons.)

227.Lyric poetry – a short poem expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker

228.Main idea – the opinion or idea the author wants to communicate

229.Malapropism – an inappropriateness of speech resulting from the use of one word for another which

resembles it (“Mind your own beeswax” for “Mind your own business”)

230.Masculine rhyme – a rhyme of one syllable words, such as fox and socks, or in polysyllabic words, a rhyme

on the stressed final syllables, such as contrive and survive

231.Maxim – a general truth or rule of conduct (waste not, want not)

232.Melodrama – the use of sentimentality, gushing emotion, sensational action, or plot twists to provoke

audience or reader response

233.Memo – writings that share information within a company, club, organization, or other group

234.Memoir – account of an author’s relationship with a person, place, or animal

235.Metaphor – a comparison that says that one thing is something else (Juliet is the sun.)

236.Metaphysical poetry – poetry that uses logical elements to express honestly the poet’s sense of life’s

complexities

237.Meter – a recurrent, regular, rhythmic pattern in verse

238.Metonymy – substituting the name of one thing for another that is closely associated with it (saying “the

White House decided” actually means “the President decided”)

239.Misplaced modifier – seems to modify the wrong word in the sentence (Mary found a sand dollar walking

across the beach.)

240.Mode – the form of the writing (letter, speech, editorial, essay, etc)

241.Monologue – an extended speech by a single character; a solo speech that has listeners

242.Monometer – one foot per line

243.Monosyllabic foot – a foot, or unit of meter, that contains only one syllable

244.Mood – the atmosphere of a work of literature; the emotion created by the work; created in large part by the

setting (Gothic)

245.Motif – an element that recurs significantly throughout a narrative; can be an image, idea, theme, situation,

or action

246.Myth – a story about the origins of a culture’s beliefs and practices, usually derived from oral tradition and

set in an imagined supernatural past

247.Narrative poem – a poem that tells a story

248.Narrative writing (narration) – writing that tells a story to make a point

249.Neologism – a new or invented word, expression, or usage

250.Nominative case – a personal pronoun is used as a subject or predicate nominative (They left. / This is she.)

251.Nostalgia – a yearning for the past or for some condition or state of existence that cannot be recovered

252.Noun – a person, place, thing, or idea (student, home, dog, justice)

253.Noun clause – a subordinate clause used as a subject, a predicate nominative, a direct object, an indirect

object, or an object of a preposition (Whoever collects the most coins will win the contest.)

254.Objective – unemotional, neutral writing that doesn’t provide interpretation; relies mainly on facts to present

information; unbiased (There is a projector in the classroom.)

255.Objective case – a personal pronoun used as the object of a verb, a verbal (infinitive, participle, or gerund),

or preposition (The ending of the movie surprised me.)

256.Octameter – eight feet per line

257.Octave – an eight line stanza

258.Ode – a serious lyric poem, often of significant length, that usually conforms to an elaborate metrical

structure

259.Onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like what it describes (buzz)

260.Opinion – what one thinks about something (There are too many members in Congress.)

261.Oral tradition – the tradition within a culture that transmits narratives by word of mouth from one generation

to another

262.Oration – a formal speech delivered in an impassioned manner

263.Oxymoron – a two-word phrase made up of apparently contradictory elements (jumbo shrimp)

264.Palindrome – writing that reads the same from left to right and from right to left (civic)

265.Palinode – a piece of writing recanting or retracting a previous writing, particularly of an earlier ode

266.Pamphlet – a short piece, usually on a current topic, issued as a separate publication

267.Parable – a brief, usually allegorical narrative that teaches a moral (the Prodigal Son)

268.Paradox – a statement that appears contradictory but may actually be true (To know how to win, you have to

know how to lose.)

269.Paragraph – a group of sentences that share a common topic or purpose

270.Parallel Structure (parallelism) – the use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts

(Jane likes reading, writing, and skiing.)

271.Paraphrase – restating the content of a passage in such a way that the original meaning is retained

272.Parody – a mocking imitation of a literary work or individual author’s style, usually for comic effect

273.Participial Phrase – consists of a participle [verb form used as an adjective] and all the words related to the

participle (a daring escape, the qualified instructor)

274.Passive voice – the subject of the sentence receives the action denoted by the verb; always consists of a

form of “to be” plus the past participle of the verb (The floor was swept by the janitor.)

275.Past Participle – ends in –ed (the qualified instructor)

276.Past perfect tense – used to express an action or a state of being that was completed in the past before

some other action or event; formed with “had” and the verb’s past participle (She had walked the dog.)

277.Past tense – used to express an action or a state of being that occurred in the past but that is not occurring

now (She walked the dog.)

278.Pastoral poetry – poetry that celebrates the simple, rustic life of shepherds/shepherdesses, written by a

sophisticated, urban writer

279.Pathos – a quality in a piece of writing that evokes high emotion, most commonly sorrow, pity, or

compassion; appeals to emotion

280.Pentameter – five feet per line

281.Periodic sentence – the sentence isn’t complete until the end (The child, who looked as if she were being

chased by demons, ran.)

282.Periodical – any publication that appears at regular intervals

283.Persona – the character an author assumes in a written work

284.Personal pronouns – refers to the one speaking [first person], the one spoken to [second person], or the one

spoken about [third person] (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers,

it, its, they, them, their, theirs)

285.Personification – giving human characteristics to something nonhuman (The chair groaned when King Kong

sat down.)

286.Persuasive writing (persuasion) – writing that uses language to get readers to accept opinions, beliefs, or

points of view

287.Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet – a sonnet with an octave and a sestet and a rhyme scheme of abbaabba

cdecde; shift in mood or tone occurs after the octave

288.Plagiarism – using someone else’s words or ideas without giving proper credit to the person who wrote the

original

289.Plot – the particular arrangement of actions, events, and situations that unfold in a narrative

290.Poetic license – the liberty that authors sometimes take with ordinary rules of syntax and grammar –

employing unusual vocabulary, metrical devices, or figures of speech, or by committing factual errors – in

order to strengthen a passage of writing

291.Point of view – the perspective a narrative takes toward the events it describes

292.Polysyndeton – use of more conjunctions than are necessary (I came and I saw and I conquered.)

293.Portmanteau words – words formed by telescoping two words into one (smoke + fog = smog)

294.Position paper – writing designed to influence policy decisions or to present a stand on a current issue

295.Possessive case – personal pronouns used to show possession (That is my book.)

296.Potboiler – something written solely for money

297.Predicate adjective – an adjective that follows a linking verb and that modifies the subject of a verb (Jan is

pretty.)

298.Predicate nominative – a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and that renames or identifies the

subject of the verb (Jan is a cheerleader.)

299.Preposition – a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the

sentence (see handouts “Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage Review” or “Parts of Speech” for examples)

300.Prepositional Phrase – begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun that is called the object of

the preposition (to the store, for him)

301.Prequel – a sequel that is set before the original

302.Present Participle – ends in –ing (a daring escape)

303.Present perfect tense – used to express an action or a state of being that occurred at some indefinite time in

the past; formed with “have” or “has” and the verb’s past participle (She has walked the dog.)

304.Present tense – used mainly to express an action or state of being that is occurring now (She walks the

dog.)

305.Prewriting – strategies that allow an author to consider several ideas before choosing a topic to develop into

a full piece of writing, such as brainstorming, clustering, etc.

306.Primary source – an original source, such as one’s diary or an eyewitness account

307.Problem-solution essay – identifies an issue of importance and offers an idea for changing it (student

tardiness to school)

308.Process-analysis writing – writing that analyzes the steps in a process so the process can be understood

more clearly to achieve the dual purpose of giving directions and providing information (how to change the

oil)

309.Profile – an essay that combines a biographical sketch and a character study of a contemporary figure

310.Progressive form – expresses a continuing state of being; exists for each of the six verb tenses; consists of

an appropriate tense of “to be” plus the verb’s present participle and also includes one or more helping verbs

(She has been walking the dog.)

311.Prologue – an introduction to a literary work

312.Pronoun – a word used in place of a noun or more than one noun

313.Proper adjectives – formed from a proper noun (French fries)

314.Proper noun – names a particular person, place, thing, or idea; begins with a capital letter (Senator Johnson,

Breathitt High School, Ms. Gross)

315.Prose – any composition that is not written in verse

316.Protagonist – the central character in a literary work; usually initiates the main action of the story (Harry

Potter, Bella and Edward, Guy Montag)

317.Proverb – a short, well-known saying stating a general truth (Many hands make light work.)

318.Psalms – sacred songs

319.Pseudonym – a false name sometimes assumed by writers and others

320.Publishing / Presenting – sharing writing with others

321.Pun – a play on words (The coach went to the bank to get his quarter back.)

322.Purpose – the reason you are writing, typically to persuade, inform, narrate, or entertain

323.Quatrain – a four line stanza

324.Quotation – a passage that gives the actual words a speaker or writer has used in an article, book, speech,

or conversation

325.Redundant – excess repetition

326.Reflexive pronouns – refers to the subject and directs the action of the verb back to the subject (myself,

ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves)

327.Refrain – a word, phrase, line, or stanza repeated at intervals in a song or poem

328.Relative pronouns – introduces a subordinate clause (that, which, who, whom, whose)

329.Requiem – a chant embodying a prayer for the repose of the dead

330.Research paper – presents and interprets information gathered through an extensive study of a subject

331.Resume – summarizes an applicant’s job, educational, and life experiences for potential employers

332.Revising – reviewing the content of the writing to make necessary changes to ensure the audience’s needs

have been met and the purpose has been achieved

333.Rhetoric – strategies a writer uses to write effectively, and the study of those strategies

334.Rhyme – two or more words that contain an identical or similar vowel sound with following consonant

sounds that are also identical

335.Rhyme scheme – any recurrent pattern of rhyme in a fixed form within an individual poem

336.Rhythm – the pattern of stresses and pauses within a poem

337.Rising action – the part of the narrative, including the exposition, in which events move toward the climax (all

the action up to Romeo killing Tybalt)

338.Rising meter – movement from unstressed to stressed syllables, includes iambic and anapestic

339.Romance – a nonrealistic story that features idealized characters, improbable adventures, and exotic

settings

340.Rondel – a 13 line English verse form consisting of three stanzas rhymed with a refrain

341.Round character – a character presented in depth and detail; often the central characters; are dynamic

342.Run-on sentence – two or more complete sentences incorrectly punctuated as if they were one

343.Satire – a work that exposes to ridicule the shortcomings of individuals, institutions, or society, often to make

a political point

344.Scansion – the art of scanning a line of poetry to identify the stresses in it

345.Scenario – an outline giving the sequence of actions making up the plot and the appearances of principal

characters

346.Secondary source – a second-hand source, such as a biography or magazine article

347.Semantics – the study of meaning; sometimes limited to linguistics, other times used to discriminate

between superficiality and substance

348.Sentence diagram – creating a diagram to show the function of words in a sentence

349.Sequel – a literary work that continues from another

350.Sestet – a six line stanza

351.Seven deadly sins – pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust

352.Seven liberal arts – grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy

353.Shakespearean (English) sonnet – a sonnet with three quatrains and a concluding couplet and a rhyme

scheme of abab cdcd efef gg; shift in mood or tone can occur after any quatrain, but typically occurs at line 9

354.Simile – a comparison using like or as (Life is like a box of chocolates.)

355.Simple sentence – one independent clause and no subordinate clause (There is a projector in the

classroom.)

356.Sketch – a short, static, descriptive composition; usually focuses on describing a person or place without

providing a narrative

357.Slant rhyme – rhyme with the ending consonant sound but differing vowel sounds (letter, litter)

358.Soliloquy – an extended speech by a character alone onstage to allow the character to utter his/her thoughts

aloud; gives the audience insight into the character

359.Sonnet – a 14 line poem, written in iambic pentameter

360.Spondee – a metrical foot of verse containing two stressed syllables

361.Stanza – a recurring pattern of two or more lines of verse; poetry’s equivalent to a paragraph in prose

362.Static character – a character who does not undergo significant changes during the course of a narrative

363.Stock character – a common or stereotypical character that occurs frequently in literature (the mad scientist)

364.Stream of consciousness – uses interior monologue to duplicate the subjective and associative nature of

human consciousness (“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”)

365.Stress – an emphasis or accent placed on a syllable in speech

366.Style – how an author uses rhetoric; how the author writes

367.Subject complement – a word or group of words that completes the meaning of a linking verb and that

identifies or modifies the subject

368.Subjective – emotional writing that does provide interpretation; relies mainly on opinions and emotional

persuasive techniques; often biased (Using a projector as a teaching tool will improve student learning.)

369.Subjunctive mood – used in clauses that begin with “if” or “that” to express an idea contrary to fact; used in

clauses beginning with “that” to express a request, a demand, or a proposal (He wished that he were a

better driver. / We ask that everyone be silent during the show.)

370.Subordinate clause – does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence (Because

there is a projector in the classroom, the teacher uses it every day.)

371.Summary – condensing the ideas and content of a long passage into a few sentences or paragraphs; should

be objective and accurate

372.Supporting sentences – gives details that explain or prove the main idea

373.Syllabus – an outline of the major heads of a book, course, argument, or program

374.Symbol – a person, place, or thing in a narrative that suggest meanings beyond its literal sense

375.Synecdoche – using a significant part of a thing to stand for the whole of it or vice versa (saying “wheels” for

“car”)

376.Synopsis – a brief summary or outline of a story or dramatic work

377.Syntax – arrangement of words in a sentence

378.Tall tale – a humorous short narrative that provides a wildly exaggerated version of events

379.Tercet – a group of three lines, usually all ending with the same rhyme

380.Terminal refrain – a refrain that appears at the end of each stanza in a song or poem

381.Terza rima – a verse form made up of three-line stanzas that are connected by an overlapping rhyme

scheme, aba bcb cdc ded etc

382.Testimony – evidence offered in support of a claim or assertion

383.Tetrameter – four feet per line

384.Theme – a generally recurring subject or idea conspicuously evident in a literary work

385.Thesis statement – a comprehensive sentence that summarizes and previews the main idea the author is

going to develop in the essay. A strong thesis statement takes a stand, justifies discussion, expresses one

main idea, and is specific. (Because elderly drivers pose a risk to other motorists, state legislators should

revise driving policies.)

386.Third person limited point of view – the narrator conveys the actions, feelings, and motivations of a single

character using proper names and third person pronouns

387.Third person omniscient point of view – the narrator conveys the actions, feelings, and motivations of all the

characters using proper names and third person pronouns

388.Tone – the author’s attitude

389.Topic sentence – states the main idea of a paragraph

390.Tragic flaw – a fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that brings him or her to a bad end

391.Tragic hero – a protagonist who makes an error in judgment resulting in a tragic downfall with consequences

worse that s/he deserves

392.Transitions – words that connect ideas and show relationships between those ideas (However, Furthermore,

First, Second, Third)

393.Transitive verb – an action verb that expresses an action directed toward a person or thing (John washed

the car. Bob saw Sally.)

394.Tricolon – series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses (by the people, for the people, of the people)

395.Trimeter – three feet per line

396.Triolet – a short lyric form of eight rhymed lines, a from borrowed from the French

397.Trochaic – a line made up primarily of trochees [a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable]

398.Unreliable narrator – a narrator who, intentionally or unintentionally, relates events in a subjective or

distorted manner; the author usually provides some indication early in the story that the narrator is not to be

completely trusted (the murderer in “The Tell-Tale Heart”)

399.Utopia – an imaginary, idealized world presented in literature

400.Verb – a word that expresses an action or a state of being

401.Verb tense – indicates the time of the action or the state of being expressed by the verb

402.Verbal irony – a character says one thing but means something else

403.Verisimilitude – quality of a literary work appearing true to life

404.Verse – any single line of poetry

405.Vignette – a sketch or brief narrative characterized by precision and delicacy

406.Villanelle – a French poetic form that contains six rhymed stanzas, five tercets and one quatrain, with lines 1

and 3 of each tercet rhyming along with the final two lines of the quatrain

407.Voice – an author’s individual way of using language to reflect his/her own attitudes and personality

408.Vulgate – unschooled, everyday language; language of the common people; lowest level of formality in

language

409.Wit – a form of wordplay that displays cleverness or ingenuity with language

410.Writing Process – the steps used to complete a piece of writing, consisting of prewriting, drafting, revising,

editing/proofreading, and publishing/presenting

411.Zeugma – Use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or

logically correct with only one ("You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit." From

Star Trek: The Next Generation)