Language Arts Vocabulary
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1.
Abstract
Not related to the concrete properties of an
object; pertaining to ideas, concepts, or
qualities, as opposed to physical attributes.
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Characterization
the way the writer reveals a character's
personality or nature; can be direct or
indirect
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Allegory
A representation of an abstract or spiritual
meaning
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Claim
An assertion of something as fact; to
demand as a right or as due.
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Alliteration
Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of
words placed near each other, usually on the
same or adjacent lines
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Cliché
Any figure of speech that was once clever
and original but through overuse has
become outdated
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allusion
a reference to a person, place, event, or literary
work that the audience should recognize
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Climax
the highest point (turning point) in the
action of a story
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Analogy
A comparison, usually something unfamiliar
with something familiar
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Closure
Bringing to an end or conclusion
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Analysis
The process in writing wherein one examines
what the writer has done to create the effects she
or he has gotten in a piece of writing. Breaking
things in to small parts and looking at them
closely.
Colloquial/
Colloquialism
Ordinary, local language; the vernacular
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Conclusion
refers to sentences, paragraphs, or longer
sections of an essay that bring the work
to a logical or psychologically satisfying
end. Although a ___ may
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Conflict
opposition in a work of drama or fiction
between characters or forces (especially
an opposition that motivates the
development of the plot)
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Connotation
The emotional, psychological or social
overtones of a word; its implications and
associations apart from its literal
meaning
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Consonance
Repeated vowel sounds in words placed near
each other, usually on the same or adjacent
lines
Repeated consonant sounds at the ending
of words placed near each other
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Contradiction
A direct opposition between things
compared; inconsistency.
Audience
The person(s) reached by a piece of writing
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Contrast
Band
Wagon
a party, cause, or movement that attracts many
people.
Closely arranged things with strikingly
different characteristics
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Deductive
Bias
a particular tendency or inclination, especially
one that prevents
unprejudiced consideration of a question;
prejudice
The reasoning process by which a
conclusion is drawn from set of premises
and contains no more facts than these
premises.
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Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word; its
literal meaning apart from any
associations or connotations
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Description
aimed at bringing something to life by
telling how it looks, sounds, tastes,
smells, feels, or acts.
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Detail
Facts revealed by the author or speaker
that support the attitude or tone in the
work
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Dialect
the usage or vocabulary that is
characteristic of a specific group of people
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Dialogue
refers to the talking that goes on between
characters in a story
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Diction
Word choice.
Analytical
A style of writing in which the subject is broken
into its writing components and the
components are subjected to detailed scrutiny.
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Anecdote
A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece
of literature.
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antagonist
the person or force opposing the protagonist
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Argument
A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of
persuading others that an action or idea is right
or wrong.
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Assonance
Carpe diem
"Seize the day"; the philosophy that one should
enjoy life to the fullest; take advantage of or live
for the moment. It is NOT used the same way as
its American Slang equivalent, YOLO, which
often is used to justify indulging in pleasures
and disregarding the future. Carpe Diem
encourages making the most out of the day.
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direct
characterization
when the author describes the character
or makes statements about him
dramatic irony
when the audience knows something that
a character in the story or play doesn't
dynamic
character
one who changes or develops during the
course of the story
Dystopia
An imaginary place where people live
dehumanized, often fearful lives. The
opposite of a utopia.
Emotional
Factors
when an author plays on emotions
Emphasis
makes the most important ideas,
characters, themes, or other elements
stand out. The principal ways of
achieving emphasis are through the use
of:
Epiphany
An event in which the essential nature of
something - a person, a situation, an
object - is suddenly understood in a new
way - the "light bulb" or "ah ha!" moment!
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Evidence
is supporting information that explains or
proves a point.
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Exposition
the part of a story (usually the beginning)
which explains the background and
setting of the story. The characters are
often introduced.
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when the author shows the reader
something about the characters through
the character's words, thoughts, actions,
or other characters' thoughts or words
about them
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Inference
Drawing a conclusion based on prior
knowledge and what the author has
written
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irony
A contradictory statement or situation to
reveal a reality different from what
appears to be true
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Literal
The strict meaning of a word or words:
not figurative or exaggerated
Man vs. man
conflict
when one character in a story has a
problem with one or more of the other
characters
Man vs. nature
conflict
a character has a problem with some
natural happening, such as a snow storm
or bitter cold.
Man vs. self
conflict
a character struggles with himself and
has trouble deciding what to do; this
includes a struggle with doubt, fear, etc.
Man vs. society
conflict
a character has a conflict or problem with
society - the school, the law, or tradition
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Figurative
language
language that implies or indicates some
other, usually greater, meaning; not
literal.
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metaphor
a comparison or two unlike things
without using like or as
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minor character
This character takes part in the story's
events, but is not a main focus of the story
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Mood
The feeling created in the reader by a
literary work or passage
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Narration
is one of four modes of discourse
(Argumentation, Description, Exposition,
and Narrative) that recounts an event or
series of interrelated events. Jokes, fables,
fairy tales, short stories, plays, novels,
and other forms of literature are narrative
if they tell a story.
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Narrative
A form of writing that tells a story
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Narrative device
Use of techniques such as flashbacks
and/or digression in the telling of a story.
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Narrator
The "character" who "tells" the story
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Onomatopoeia
using a word whose sound imitates the
object being described
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oxymoron
a phrase that contains two opposing
words
Five stages of the
plot
exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, resolution
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Flashback
Retrospection, where an earlier event is
inserted into the normal chronology of a
narrative.
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flat character
only one side of this character is shown
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foreshadowing
a hint of what is to come in the story
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Genre
The major category into which a literary
work fits. The basic divisions of literature
are prose, poetry, and drama. However,
genre is a flexible term; within these
broad boundaries exist many subdivisions
(science fiction, historical fiction, science
fictions, fantasy, non-fiction)
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indirect
characterization
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the part of a story which follows the
climax or turning point
the narrator is a character in the story and
the pronoun I stands for the narrator; we
only know what this character knows
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The use of vivid language to generate
ideas and/or evoke mental images, not
only of the visual sense, but of sensation
and emotion as well
Falling action
first person
point of veiw
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Imagery
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Hyperbole
elaborate exaggeration
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Paradox
A statement in which a seeming
contradiction may reveal an unexpected
truth
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personification
giving human characteristics to ideas,
objects, or animals
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Perspective
A character's view of the situation or events
in the story.
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Plot
the sequence of events in a story
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point of view
the vantage point from which the story is
told
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Position
placing important material in the key spots,
the beginning or ends of paragraphs or
larger units. Arrangement in climactic
order, with the main point of an argument
or the funniest joke last, can be particularly
effective.
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Propaganda
Information or rumor deliberately spread to
help or harm a person, group, or
institution.
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Prose
The ordinary of form of written language
without metrical structure, as distinguished
from
poetry or verse.
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protagonist
the main character
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Pun
Word play in which words with totally
different meanings have similar or
identical sounds
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Purpose
identifies the author's reasons for writing.
Setting. The time and place of the action in
a
story, poem, or play.
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Realism
The literary practice of attempting to
describe life and nature without
idealization and with attention to detail.
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Reflective
A piece of writing that gives considered
thought to something
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Repetition
The purposeful re-use of words and phrases
for an effect
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Resolution
the ending or final outcome of a story
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Retrospection
Looking back on things past.
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Rhetoric
is the art of using language effectively to
serve the writer's purpose, originally
referred to speech-making.
Rhetorical
device
Particular use of word patterns and styles
used to clarify, make associations, and
focus the writing in a piece of literature.
Some rhetorical devices are semantic
slanting, bias, expletives, parallelism,
metaphor, analogy, assonance, etc.
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Rhetorical
question
A question solely for effect, which does not
require an answer
Rhyme
precise repetition of final syllables in at least
two words
Rising
action
the central part of a story during which various
problems arise, leading up to the climax
round
character
a character who shows many traits, both
strengths and weaknesses
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Sarcasm
A sharp caustic remark. A form of verbal irony
in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or
harshly critical. For example, a coach saying to
a player who misses the ball, "Nice catch."
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Satire
is humorous, witty criticism of people's foolish,
thoughtless, or evil behavior. The satirist
ridicule A sharp caustic remark. A form of
verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually
bitterly or harshly critical. For example, a coach
saying to a player who misses the ball, "Nice
catch."s some aspect of human nature—or life in
general—that should be changed
Semantic
Slanting
when an author uses specific word choice to
evoke a certain
emotion.
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setting
the time and place in which the events occur
within a work
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simile
a comparison of two unlike things using like or
as
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Speaker
The person—not necessarily the author—who is
the voice of the poem or story.
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Stanza
A division of a poem created by arranging the
lines into a unit, often repeated in the same
pattern of meter and rhyme throughout the
poem; a unit of poetic lines (a "paragraph"
within the poem)
static
character
a character who doesn't change but stays the
same at the end
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stereotype
a character is not developed as an individual
with strengths and weaknesses but instead is a
representative of a group with a set of
characteristics
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Summary
is a condensation of main ideas from a given
work that is usually much shorter than the
original. Unlike a paraphrase, a summary seeks
to reveal only the major points an author has
made in a piece of writing.
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Suspense
Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about
what is going to happen next in a story
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Symbolism
when objects represent something else
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theme
the general idea or insight about life that the
writer wants to send the reader; can be stated
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Thesis
The central idea of an essay. This establishes the topic of the essay in clear, unambiguous
language.
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Thesis statement
Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view or discussion in the
essay is based.
Third person limited point of
view
the story is told by a narrator outside the story, but only the thought and feelings of one character
are described
Third person omniscient point
of view
an outside narrator; this narrator tells what different characters think or feel or more than one
character could know
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Tone
The writer's attitude towards his or her subject. Tone can often be described by a single adjective.
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Transition
is the writer's ability to move the reader smoothly along the course of ideas.
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Understatement
Saying less than what is meant
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Utopia
An imaginary place of ideal perfection. The opposite of a dystopia.
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Voice
The acknowledged or unacknowledged source of words of the story; the speaker, a "person" telling
the story or poem.
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