Use these definitions to supplement yours
 Uncertainty of meaning or intention
 Ex: “I can’t recommend this book too highly”
 rule, method, or practice established by usage
 Ex: Greeting someone with a handshake
 Ex: Capitalizing the first letter of a sentence
 The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague
expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or
blunt.
 Ex: Saying “to pass away” instead of “to die”
 Ex: “Handicapped” instead of “crippled”
 The language peculiar to a particular trade, profession,
or group.
 Ex: “touch base” to meet up with colleagues to discuss
progress.
 Ex: “Win-Win”
 Ex: GTL
 Repetition of vowel sounds
 Ex: Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn
 Ex: I bomb atomically- Socrates’ philosophies and
hypotheses can’t define how I be droppin’ these
mockeries
 Ex: And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right
in front of me/ speaking words of wisdom, “let it be”.
 Words that imitate sounds
 A literary composition, in verse or prose, in which
human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or
ridicule.
 The primary or strict meaning of a word or phrase;
exact meaning.
 Think of the dictionary definition of the word
 Saying “the dog died” instead of “the dog is going to
the big dog house in the sky”
 A figure of speech in which the phrase seems to have a
self-contradictory effect
 Ex: bitter-sweet
 Ex: nice-nasty
 A short allegorical story that is meant to teach so
truth, moral, or religious principle
 Ex: The Prodigal Son, How Much Land Does A Man
Need
 A statement that seems self-contradictory, but in
reality, expresses truth
 Ex: I always tell lies, This sentence is false
 A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of
writing or literature
 a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a
related object or circumstance that has occurred or
existed in an external context. An allusion is
understandable only to those with prior knowledge of
the reference in question (as the writer assumes the
reader has). An "allusion" is not the same as an
"illusion".
 Ex: Utopian discord
 Ex: T.S. Elliot’s The Waste Land alludes to Shakespeare,
Dante, and Milton
 The Gaslight Anthem in the song “High
Lonesome”(2008): “And Maria came from Nashville
with a suitcase in her hand, I kinda sorta wished I had
looked like Elvis” alludes to:
 The Counting Crows’ song “Round Here” (1994):
“Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her
hand, she says she would like to meet a boy who looks
like Elvis”
 Style of speaking or writing as dependant upon word
choice
 "Words strain,
Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,
Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,
Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,
Will not stay still."
(T.S. Eliot, "Burnt Norton")
 This occurs when the audience or reader knows
something a character does not know
 This is a great way to build tension and interest into
plot
 Think of horror movies…
 A figure of speech when what is said is opposite is
what is meant
 “Break a leg”
 When the outcome of a play, story, or event is the
opposite of what was expected.
 a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied
to
something to which it is not literally applicable in
order to suggest a resemblance
 Ex: Your friend is a big baby
 Ex: You are my guardian angel
 Ex: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he
makes me lie down in green pastures.
 This occurs when the author tells the reader exactly
what a character is thinking, feeling, or is like
 The author “tells” us
 Ed Johnson scratched his head in confusion as the
sales rep explained Dralco’s newest engine
performance diagnostic computer. The old mechanic
hated modern electronics, preferring the old days
when all he needed was a stack of manuals and a good
set of tools.
 the writer reveals information about a character and his
personality through that character's thoughts, words, and
actions, along with how other characters respond to that
character, including what they think and say about him.

“That Ed Johnson,” said Anderson, watching the old
mechanic scratch his head in confusion as the sales rep
explained Dralco’s newest engine performance diagnostic
computer. “He hasn’t got a clue about modern electronics.
Give him a good set of tools and a stack of yellowing
manuals with a carburetor needing repair, and he’d be
happy as a hungry frog in a fly-field.”
 a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make
an assertion and not to elicit a reply
 Ex: Why Me?
 Ex: Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?
 Original model or pattern
 the original pattern or model from which all things of
the
same kind are copied or on which they are based; a
model or first form
 Ex: The Tragic Hero, The Villain, The Damsel in
Distress, The Evil Stepmother, The Hero. The Sage
 Odysseus, Oedipus, The Devil
 the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood;
probability
 For example, a teenager (not you of course) goes
somewhere without her parents permission and tells
her parents that she was really at the library. If the
teenager adds creative details about what happened
while she was there (even though she is making the
details up), she is attempting to add verisimilitude to
her story. Writers of fiction also do this.
 a comparison between two things that are similar in





some way, often used to help explain something or
make it easier to understand
eye:sight::teeth:chew
hand:elbow::foot:knee
meow:cat::bark:dog
baby:adult::puppy:dog
Words the Author uses to appeal to our senses
Kinesthetic, Organic, Auditory, Tactile, Visual, Olefactory,
Gustatory
 Words that describe movement or tension
 Ex: Superman was faster than a speeding bullet
 Something that appears through sight
 “The cottages up to their shining eyes in snow”
 Representation of sound,
 Can be Onomatopoeia
 Ex: “The scythe whispering to the ground”
 Words that represent smell
 Ex: “The musk from hidden grapevine springs
 Words that represent taste
 “The walking boots that taste of Atlantic and Pacific
salt”
 Words that represent touch
 Hardness, softness, wetness, heat, cold
 “The bed linens must just as well be ice and the clothes
snow”
 Internal sensations
 Hunger, Fear, thirst, fatigue, nausea
 “My heart owns a doubt, It costs no inward struggle
not to go”