A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a

personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

A verbal description, the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a

person’s distinctive physical features or other characteristics.

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or

color.

to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a

presentation of image of self through the text.

From the Greek for “good speech”. A more agreeable or less

offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to

be imaginative and vivid.

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or

represent abstractions.

difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its

opposite.

A type of sentence in which the main idea  comes first, followed

by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.

associated with it.

When one statement isn’t

An impersonal presentation of events and characters is objective. It is a writer’s attempt

to remove him or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story.

From the Greek for “pointedly foolish,”  a figure of speech where

the author groups contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory but upon

closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.

framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.

A work that closely imitates the style of another with the specific aim of

comic effect and/or ridicule.

The aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience.

An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly,

academic, or bookish (language that might be described as “show-offy”; using big words

for the sake of using big words).

clause at the end.

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or

inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

An element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific

writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

kinds of writing.

is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

A work that targets human vices and follies

for reform or ridicule.

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and

psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another.

An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction,

syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices.

A figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between

The word or clause that follows a linking verb and

complements, or completes the subject of the sentence by either renaming it or describing it.

This a personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author’s feelings

and opinions.

This word group contains both a subject and a verb, the subordinate

conclusion.

directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.

Describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience,

or both.

Presents something as less significant

than it is.

 refers to the total

“sound” of a writer’s style.

A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in

a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself.