Unit Vocabulary for
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Local Color: a type of writing that shows the
speech, dress, customs, behaviors and
geography of a particular region
Dialect: an unusual variety of language
spoken which varies depending upon the
region of the country you’re from
Colloquialism: an expression used in informal
conversation, but not accepted as good
usage in formal language or writing
 Y’all, gonna, wanna
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Irony: the opposite happens of what you expect
 Verbal: saying the opposite of what you mean for effect
▪ TV over homework
 Dramatic: when the audience knows something the
characters don’t know
▪ Horror movies
 Situational: the exact opposite of what is expected to
takes place (a twist at the end of the story; a surprise
ending)
▪ A fire station burns to the ground.
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Pun: a play on words based on their double
meaning
 “I used to be a baker, but I didn’t make enough
dough.”
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Satire: a method of criticizing human failures
or society's weaknesses by poking fun at
them (the purpose is bring about change)
 Juvenalian: biting, bitter, angry
 Horatian: gentle and humorous
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Malapropism: substituting one word for
another because they sound similar
 “California has a lot of electrical votes.”
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Idiom: a phrase that you don’t take literally or
at its face value (regionally agreed upon)
 “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
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Understatement: when something is
intentionally represented as less than it is
 Making something serious seem inconsequential
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Hyperbole: to exaggerate for effect
Overstatement: to make a minor problem
seem critical
Melodrama: dramatic piece with
exaggerated characters and exciting events
to appeal to the emotions
Stereotype: popular belief about specific
social groups or types of individuals
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Picaresque Novel
 Prose Fiction
 Satirical depiction of real-life occurrences through
a roguish hero of low social class who lives by wit
in a corrupt society.
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Bildungsroman
 Novel that focuses on psychological and moral
growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood.
(Coming of Age)
▪ Character change is extremely important
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Protagonist
 Main character, trying to accomplish a goal
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Antagonist
 Protagonist’s opposition
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Foil
 A character who contrasts with another character
to highlight various features of that other
character's personality, throwing these
characteristics into sharper focus.
▪ Physical, mental, emotional
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Realism
 ≈ 1860 – 1890
 Depictions of contemporary life and society "as
they were.“
 Everyday experiences vs. romanticized events
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Quest
 literature based on a journey, a road of trials in
which a hero hears a call and leaves his home—
alone or in the company of others—to search out
a treasure.
 Along the way he undergoes trials, receives aid,
fights enemies and may even die, and, if he
succeeds in attaining the treasure sought, may
change who and what he is.
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Finish the rest of the vocabulary on your own.
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Note: for characterization, make sure you can
differentiate between direct and indirect!