english

• A writer's tone can sometimes change throughout the work, depending on their word choice.
• allusion is a reference to a mythological, historical figure, literature, the Bible or any other sacred or religious text.
• Alice in Wonderland is an allegory, a concrete story with underlying abstract concepts or qualities.
• Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words.
• Anachronism is something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time.
• Archetype is an embodiment of the “universal” human experience.
• Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within nearby words.
• Catharsis is the purging of emotion.
• Conflict is the problem around which the action centres, usually between two characters or between a character and some outside force, such as nature.
• Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.
• Foreshadowing is a hint from the author about what is going to happen later in the story.
• Hubris is excessive pride or self-confidence.
• Hyperbole is obvious and deliberate exaggeration on the part of the writer.
• Juxtaposition is an elaborate contrast of imagery or ideas to enhance meaning.
• Tone is the attitude a writer takes towards the subject of a literary work.
• Theme is the underlying thought or central idea behind the story that demonstrates how the author feels about some universal truth.
• Mood is the emotional state of the author that is evoked by the writing.
• Speaker/persona is the character who “speaks to” the reader or audience.
• Metaphor involves making a comparison, which is figurative rather than literal, two things are compared, without using the words like or as.
• Metonymy is when the name of one thing is made to represent the whole.
• Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect.
• Pathos is a quality which incites pity, sorrow or sympathy.
• Personification is a figure of speech in which objects are given human qualities or traits.
• Onomatopoeia is a device in which a word imitates the sound it represents.
• Pathetic fallacy is when the weather reflects or represents the mood.
• Paradox is an apparent contradiction or a contradictory statement or proposition.
• Sarcasm is a mocking taunt intended to wound.
• Simile is a comparison between things that uses “like” or “as”.
• Symbol is an object that is used to stand for something beyond its literal meaning.
• Rhetorical question is a question asked for persuasive effect.
• Imagery is the forming of mental images, figures, or likeness of things: the use of language to appeal to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste).
• Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning.