Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Literary Termes List 2

circumlocution- a roundabout speech or writing in which many words are used but a few would have served.
Ex.  I would have been to school on time but time just moves so quickly and it's so difficult to keep track of; time just never stops and keeps moving and moving.

classicism- art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of Ancient Greece amd Rome tradition.
Ex. Shakespeare, Dante, and Dickens.

cliche- a phrase or situation overused within society.
Ex. Opposites attract!

climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama.
Ex. The climax in Romeo and Juliet is when Romeo challenges Tybalt to a duel.

colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words.
Ex. Y'all wana mosey on over for a gander?

comedy- originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed to provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter.
Ex.  Mid Summer Nights Dream

conflict-  struggle or problem in a story causing tension.
Ex.  Hamlet has the internal conflict of how to avenge his father's death.

connotation-  implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition.
Ex.  Pushy refers to someone loud-mouthed and irritating.

contrast-  a rhetorical device by which one element is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity.
Ex.   Black and white.

denotation-  plain dictionary definition.
Ex.  Definition: statement of the exact meaning of a word.

denouement-  loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion.
Ex.  The denouement in Great Expectations is Pip and Estella's marriage.

dialect-  the language of a particular district.
Ex.  Mark Twain uses dialect in a lot of his stories.

dialectics-  formal debates usually over e nature of truth.

dichotomy-  split or break between two opposing things.
Ex.  Nature versus nurture.

diction-  the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words.
Ex.  The Adventures of Hucklebery Finn and Hamlet have very distinct diction choices.

didactic-  having to do with the transmission of information.
Ex.  Teachers have a very didactic profession.

dogmatic-  rigid in beliefs and principles.
Ex.  Perhaps we are all being a bit to dogmatic.

elegy-  a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a fimeral song or lament for the dead.
Ex. “With the farming of a verse/Make a vineyard of the curse,/Sing of human unsuccess/In a rapture of distress;/In the deserts of the heart/Let the healing fountain start,/In the prison of his days/Teach the free man how to praise.” - "In Memory of W. B. Yeats" by W. H. Auden 

epic-  a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, morals, and aspirations of his nation or race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits.
Ex.  Beowulf 

epigram-  witty aphorism
Ex.  "Little strokes/Fell great oaks." - Benjamin Franklin

epitaph-  any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone.
Ex.  Rosamond Clifford (died 1177)
          [Mistress of King Henry II]
          In this tomb lies Rosamund,
             the rose of all the world,
             the fair, but not the pure.
Http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/epitaphs.html

Epithet-  a short, descriptive name or phrase that insults someone's character.
Ex.  You have pushed me in a delicate corner.

euphemism-  the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.
Ex.  Seed away instead of dieded.

evocative-  a calling forth of memories and sensations.
Ex.  Evocative of the period was very stylish.

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