Friday, February 13, 2015

Lit Terms #5

parallelism: the state of being parallel or of corresponding in some way
Ex- I sometimes use parallelism in my writing. 
parody: an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
Ex- the movie is a parody of the horror genre
pathos: a quality that evokes pity or sadness.
Ex-the actor injects his customary humor and pathos into the role.
personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Ex-the design on the franc shows Marianne, the personification of the French republic
pedantry: excessive concern with minor details and rules.
Ex-to object to this is not mere pedantry. 
plot: a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful.
Ex-there's a plot to overthrow the government.
poignant: evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.
Ex-a poignant reminder of the passing of time.
point of view: a particular attitude or way of considering a matter.
Ex-I'm trying to get Matthew to change his point of view. 
postmodernism: a late-20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism that represents a departure from modernism and has at its heart a general distrust of grand theories and ideologies as well as a problematical relationship with any notion of “art.”\
Ex- We learned about postmodernism junior year English. 
prose: written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.
Ex- a short story in prose.
protagonist: the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
Ex- The protagonist in stories is almost always the good guy. 
pun: a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
Ex- The pigs were a squeal (if you'll forgive the pun).
purpose: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
Ex- the purpose of the meeting is to appoint a trustee. 
realism: the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.
Ex- the summit was marked by a new mood of realism. 
refrain: stop oneself from doing something.
Ex- She refrained from comment. 
requiem: an act or token of remembrance
Ex- he designed the epic as a requiem for his wife. 
resolution: a firm decision to do or not to do something.
Ex- she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more. 
restatement: The revision and publication of one or more of a company's previous financial statements. 
Ex- A restatement is necessary when it is determined that a previous statement contains a material inaccuracy.
rhetoric: language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.
Ex-all we have from the opposition is empty rhetoric. 
rhetorical question: rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point, rather than to elicit an answer.
Ex- I ask rhetorical questions in my essays all the time. 
rising action: In the rising action, a series of related incidents builds toward the point of greatest interest. 
Ex-The rising action of a story is the series of events that begin immediately after the exposition (introduction) of the story and builds up to the climax.
romanticism: the state or quality of being romantic.
Ex- a quality of romanticism about women that leads to the creation of a pipe-dream fantasy.
satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Ex- a stinging satire on American politics. 
scansion: the action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.
Ex- Scansion is the rhythm of a line of verse.
setting: the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.
Ex- cozy waterfront cottage in a peaceful country setting. 

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