| Rhymed Couplets | Two successive lines of verse of which the final words rhyme with another. |
| Chiasmus | A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (“Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary.”) |
| Conditional Clauses | a clause where the action proposed in the main clause is dependent on the fulfillment of the subordinate clause. “If you are good, you can go to the party; You can’t go unless you have a ticket.” |
| Ellipsis | Indicated by a series of three periods surrounded by brackets […] indicates that some material has been omitted from a given text. |
| Imperatives | A direct command. Telling someone to do something. |
| Irony | A contrast between expectation and reality. |
| Syntax | Sentence structure |
| Allusion | A reference to another work of literature, person, or event |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that imitates the sound it represents. “Snap Crackle Pop” |
| Hyperbole | An extreme exaggeration |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated, such as using “the crown” to refer to a monarch |
| Parallelism | A set of similarly structured words, phrases, or clauses that appears in a sentence or paragraph |
| Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply. |
| Synechdoche | A figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole, such as “50 masts” representing 50 ships or “100 head of steer had to be moved from the grazing land” |
| Anaphora | A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences. |
| Euphemism | A polite or vague word or phrase used to replace another word or phrase that is thought of as too direct or rude. |
| Soliloquy | A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener. |
| Diction | Choice of words |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| Rhetorical Question | A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. |
| Analogy | A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
| Pathos | A quality that evokes pity or sadness |
| Colloquialism | a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations. Example: “He’s out of his head if he thinks I’m gonna go for such a stupid idea. |
| Foreshadowing | An author’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story |
| Synaesthesia | The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another. “He is wearing a loud shirt.” |
| Metaphor | figure of speech comparing two different things |
| Paradoxical | a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true |
| Begging the question | arguing in a circle”The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God.” |
| Bandwagon Appeal | A claim that a listener should accept an argument because of how many other people have already accepted it. |
| Argumentum ad hominem | Discrediting an argument by attacking the person who makes it rather than the argument itself |
| post hoc ergo propter hoc | (“After this, therefore because of this”) It attempts to prove that because a second event followed a first event, the second event was the results of the first |
| glittering generalities | Emotional or catchy words used to create a positive feeling. Example: “…I believe in freedom…” |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| Pun | a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. |
| Simile | A comparison using like or as |
| Alliteration | Repetition of sounds at the beginning of words |
| Antithesis | A direct opposite. A contrast. |
| adage | A proverb, wise saying |
| aphorism | A brief statement, usually one sentence long, that expresses a general principle or truth about life. |
| tautology | a repetition, a redundancy, a circular argument “let’s all work together, everyone, as a team” |
| ploce | repeating a word within a line |
| kairos | “The opportune moment, the significant moment, a critical juncture in time/space/action” |
| false dichotomy | A fallacy of either/or reasoning. Offering two choice where there are, in fact other options (Its me or the dog!) |
| aposiopesis | A literary device in which a character stops speaking in the middle of a sentence. |
| epimone | Frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point. |
FuFu English Lit Terms Othello
September 12, 2019