Academic Vocabulary

English

allegory

• Characters in a story represent a different meaning

alliteration

• Repetition of sounds to create a mood

allusion

• Figure of speech which references another piece of literature, art, history

anaphora

• Repetition of word or words at beginning of sentence

antagonist

• Character who opposes or is in opposition to the main character(protagonist)

asyndeton

• Omission of conjuctions

climax

• Turning point in the story• Things change here!

conflict

• Disagreement between 2 or more characters/forces in a story

Direct characterization

• Author tells us directly about a character

drama

• Literature meant to be performed by actors on a stage with dialogue

Dramatic irony

• Audience knows something the actors do not

Dynamic character

• Character who changes throughout the story

epic

• Story involving a long journey, supernatural hero, mythical creatures

Extended metaphor

• Author uses a comparison throughout a piece

fiction

• Writing from the author’s imagination

First person point of view

• “I” tell the story

Flat character

• Character with only 1 trait; not really developed throughout work

genre

• Type of literature e.g. short story, poem, drama,

hyperbole

• Figure of speech which exaggerates statements

idiom

• Group of words which take on a totally different meaning in context

Indirect characterization

• Author shows us about a character

Man vs. man

• Conflict where one man has a problem with another man

Man vs. society

• Conflict where a man has a conflict with the accepted ways of doing things

metaphor

• Comparison of unlike items not using “like” or “as”

monologue

• An extended uninterrupted speech by a character in a drama

mood

• How you feel while reading a story

nonfiction

• Writing which tells about real people and events without changing facts

paradox

• Character with seemingly contradictory qualities

parallelism

• Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

parody

• Style of a work is imitated for comic relief or ridicule

• E.g.-Saturday Night Live

personification

• Giving inanimate objects human qualities

plot

• Sequence of events in a story

Point of view

• Angle from which story is told

polysyndeton

• Numerous conjunctions used in between words and phrases

protagonist

• Main character of a piece of literature

pun

• play on words

Resolution/denouement

• End of the story where the problems are solved

Rhetorical question

• Question which does not expect/demand an answer

satire

• Author pokes fun of a group in hopes to bring about change

setting

• Time, place, and situation of a story

simile

• Comparison of unlike items using “like” and “as”

Situational irony

• Contrast between what happens and what is expected to happen

soliloquy

• Dramatic speech where one character talks to himself and reveals his thoughts

sonnet

• 14 line poem, 3 quatrains and 1 rhyming couplet

Static character

• Character does not change throughout story

syntax

• The way words are grouped together

theme

• Central idea of a piece of writing, message of truth about life, must be one sentence

Third person limited

• Narrator relates thoughts and feelings of only one character in story

Third person omniscient

• Narrator reveals thoughts and feelings of all characters

tone

• Author’s opinion or feelings toward a topic

Vernacular

• Common language of the people