English 12 Terminology

You're barking up the wrong tree

Poetry which portrays the authors feelings. Ex) "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman

Predominant emotion in a literary work. Ex) Disillusionment in Hamlet.

Use of words whose sounds seem to express or reinforce their meanings. Ex) "Buzz" or "boom."

Character who grows during the course of the work Ex) Ralph is a naive boy who becomes hardened

Characters with only one or two traits. Ex) The evil stepmother in "Cinderella."

When the protagonist must choose between two undesirable choices. Ex) Dying or being murdered.

Essay written to convince reader that a certain stance is valid Ex) Walking to work vs driving

Mapping of similar & different rhymes at the end of lines. Ex) Italian Sonnet follows ABBA ABBA

A reference to a familiar person or thing; can be historical, classical, biblical or mythical.

Reader is only allowed into the thoughts of one of the characters in the story. Ex) 1984

A line w/ of five feet, and every second syllable is stressed Ex) Hello/hello/hello/hello/hello

Opening of story which sets up various elements. Ex) Scene with three witches in Macbeth

A person who does great deeds and is admired for it. Ex) Beowulf is a poem written about a hero

Asking a question in such a way that the answer is not needed. Ex) Is the pope Catholic?

Use of clues in a narrative to suggest future action. Ex) Every soap opera uses this technique.

The repetition of a pattern of consonant sounds. Ex) Is it blunt and flat?

Two contradictory terms which express a startling paradox. Ex) Jumbo shrimp.

Poetry with no consistency in line length, meter, etc. Ex) Song of Solomon in the Old Testament

A stanza of two lines. Ex) "I THINK that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree." -J. Kilmer

Narrative poem about the deeds of a traditional hero. Ex) "Beowulf"

Language meant to be taken at it's actual meaning. Ex) "Do your homework."

Characters that are complex and have more aspects to their personality. Ex) Ralph from LotF.

A conversation between two or more characters. Ex) "Jim, you're not making sense." Blair said.

A humorous play on words. Ex) Don't spell part backwards. It's a trap.

The way in which writers develop their characters. Ex) Hermoine Granger depicts intelligence.

Conflict is caused by forces within the protagonist’s mind Ex) David's secret in The Chrysalids

What a word suggests beyond its literal meaning. Ex) A snake could refer to duplicity.

Use of word devices which appeal more to the mind than ear. Ex) "Bang" is an onomatopoeia

In "The Rose that Grew from Concrete" by Tupac. The Rose is an example of which device?

Literature written to be performed. Ex) Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Ex) Hello/hello/hello/hello/hello

and that boy had my heart/ just like Romeo had Juliets

Narrator only observing actions of the characters. No internal thoughts. Ex) Lab report.

Comparison between two things that is implied. Ex) "All the world's a stage."

The winding down of the story after the conflict is resolved. Ex) Harry and Ginny get married.

The way in which the events of the story are arranged. Ex) Can be very simple, or very complex.

Placing together of two or more elements that emphasize each other Ex) Chaos and calmness.

The close repetition of similar vowel sound in stressed syllables. Ex) Mellow wedding bells.

It was windy in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Extended speech by one character. Ex) Morocco's speech from The Merchant of Venice.

Category or type of literature. Ex) A poem, a play, and a short story are all different genres.

When the audience has insight that the characters don't. Ex) The audience knows Juliet is alive

Which phrase contains assonance?

A poem praising something, serious in subject. Ex) Despondency by Robert Burns

The person narrating the poem

Words used in common, everyday speaking. Ex) "Gonna, gotta, ain't, etc."

Representation through sensory language. Ex) My grandfather is like a tall, old oak tree.

A poem mourning the death of an individual or of all men. Ex) "Lycidas" -John Milton

Minor character whose role is used to highlight the main character. Ex) Simon and Ralph in LotF

Scene that interrupts the action to show a previous event. Ex) Harry Potter uses this technique

Name the imagery: "I savored the rich crash when a bucket/plummeted down at the end of a rope"

A metaphor that is used throughout a whole work. Ex) "The Hound" by Robert Francis

An essay written to prove/disprove a given argument. Ex) An essay praising school uniforms.

Which sound device is used in "the clatter of the dishes on the floor"?

Favouring one side of an argument due to past experiences. Ex) Media is meant to be objective

The problem(s) which the main character must face. Ex) The whale in Heart of the Sea.

Rhyming words found within a line of poetry. Ex) I awoke to black flak.

I wandered lonely as a cloud/ that floats on high over vales and hills

To examine the similarities and differences. Ex) A work that analyzes public versus home-school

The point of highest tension that leads to the resolution. Ex) The deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

A narrative poem designed to be sung. Ex) "All the Worlds a Stage" by William Shakespeare.

The sunflower sets after all, retracing its irises with the bargeman's own, buds on black

An account, written each day, of what a character has done, thoughts, etc. Ex) Anne Frank Diary

Final stage in plot where action is resolved. Ex) In Harry Potter Harry and Ginny get married.

Stanza consisting of four lines with varying rhyme schemes.

Giving human qualities to inanimate things or ideas. Ex) The tree clapped its hands in the wind

The comedian was seriously funny

The main character in the story.

The repetition of consonant sounds, at the beginning of words. Ex) Susie sells sea shells.

The person, or force, opposing the protagonist. Ex) Voldemort in Harry Potter

The first 8 lines of an Italian sonnet. Ex) Perfectly Poised by Lorraine Dafney.

Arranged in the same order the events happened. Ex) Yearbooks are generally organized this way.

Lines in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Ex) Hello/hello/hello/hello/hello

Storyteller knows all and sees all, god-like view. Ex) Tara Road by Maeve Binchey

The means through which the author tells the story. Ex) Can you remember the five types?

A Paragraph in Poetry

I work as a baker because I knead the dough

Expresses a meaning contradictory to the surface one. Ex) An amputee comitting an armed robbery

Emphasis achieved by deliberate exaggeration. Ex) "It's raining cats and dogs."

Story is told through character's own eyes and voice. Ex) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sequence of events that results from the inciting point. Ex) Lennie's fight with Curley.

Phrase repeated regularly in a song or poem. Ex) Maneater - Nelly Furtado has an obvious one.

Stage in plot where the intensity subsides. Ex) Hazel begins to take care of Augustus in TFIOS.

When the conflict in story is caused by outside forces Ex) Feuding families in Romeo and Juliet

An explanation of one thing by comparing it point by point with something else.

Sense of movement attributed to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Ex) Fireflies

Expression whose meaning can't be determined from it's words. Ex) "Quitting cold turkey."

An extended narrative which carries a second meaning along with its surface story.

What does it mean if a character is Static

An overused phrase or expression. Ex) Love makes you blind.

Introductory part of a work that lets reader know important info. Ex) Romeo and Juliet has this