The Scarlet Letter Review

Terms to Review

• Personification: attribution of human nature to animals

• Euphemism: the substitution of a blunt or offensive expression (saying “passed away” instead of “died”)

• Imagery: vivid, descriptive language

• Hyperbole: exaggeration

• Metaphor: comparing two unlike things (NOT using like or as)

• Juxtaposition: two unlike concepts or images placed together side by side; contrasted

• Metonymy: word or phrase substituted for another (“the suits on wall street”)

• Pathos: emotional rhetorical appeal

Terms to Review Continued

• Syntax: arrangement/structure of words and phrases

• Allusion: reference to a famous person, place, or thing

• Paradox: a contradictory statement that may be true or has validity to it

• Oxymoron: combines contradictory terms (“cold sweats”)

• Antecedent: thing/event that precedes (comes before) another

• Symbolism: use of symbols to represent the duality of an idea, image, etc.

• Mood: atmosphere (often emotional) of the text

• Tone: author’s attitude toward the subject

Concepts to Review

• Treatment of women during Puritan era

• Pearl’s fascination with nature

• Characterization of Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth—how Hawthorne portrays them, how the public views them, and how they see themselves

• Significant symbols prevalent in the novel

• Review Puritanism/Romanticism PowerPoint (on my website)