Glossary

allegory

Narrative in which reference is made to a similar series of events. Usually these are people, places and events which represent abstract ideas.

e.g. Robert Frost uses the allegory of a road dividing into two parts in order to describe the choices that one sometimes has to make without being able to anticipate fully the consequences of those choices:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could… (The road not taken)

alliteration

The deliberate repetition of consonant sounds, closely juxtaposed (next to each other), to achieve a special effect of either sound or sense.

e.g. … the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle … (Anthem for doomed youth by Wilfred Owen)

allusion

A reference in a literary work to a person, place or event, or to another work of literature, music or art. It enriches the passage I which it is used by drawing into it all the meanings and associations embodied in that work to which the allusion is made.

anachronism

The representation of an event, person, or thing in a historical context in which it could not have occurred or existed.

anagram

A word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase.

analogy

An agreement or similarity, especially in certain limited number of features or details.

anti-climax

Intentional fall from a higher thought to something relatively unimportant, to attain a satirical (humorous) effect. Also known as bathos.

antithesis

The balance of opposing thoughts, placed in opposition to each other to emphasise the contrast.

e.g. The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity. (The second coming by Yeats)

archaism

The use of words, word forms and expressions that have become old-fashioned and have fallen into disuse.

assonance

The repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds in close juxtaposition (next to each other) in order to achieve a particular effect of sound or sense.

caricature

An exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics.

circular argument

Supporting a premise with a premise. An argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove.

cliché

An expression, idea or element of a n artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

conundrum

A confusing and difficult problem or question. A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist.

denotation/connotation

Denotation: the straightforward ‘dictionary definition’ that a word has.

Connotation: the full sense of a word has – the emotional overtones that come from personal interpretation and experience.

dialect

A variety of language peculiar to a particular region or group within a larger community, usually but not always existing in the spoken form only e.g. “the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English”.

diction

That aspect of style which refers particularly to vocabulary, that is to the writer’s choice of words.

dissonance

The use of harsh-sounding words or syntax, especially in contrast to harmonious and pleasant-sounding vocabulary. (Part of diction)

e.g. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

(Dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen)

epigram

A clever, brief statement, neat, concise and thought provoking; frequently (but not necessarily) humorous; and usually (but again not necessarily) in verse.

e.g. History repeats itself; historians repeat each other. (Philip Guedalla)

epigraph

An inscription on a monument or building. A quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc, suggesting its theme.

epilogue

A speech, usually in verse, addressed to the audience by an actor at the end of a play.

A short postscript to any literary work, such as a brief description of the fates and characters in a novel.

euphemism

The use of a milder and inoffensive word or expression in place of a more precise but blunt and distasteful one.

So there are many euphemistic ways of referring to death: to go before, to pass away and so on.

generalization

Taking one or a few facts and making a broader, more universal statement. If all the girls you know play with dolls, you might make the generalization that all girls play with dolls.

howler

A stupid or glaring mistake, especially an amusing one.

hyperbole

A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement used either for emphasis or for ironic effect (the opposite being meiosis)

innuendo

The figure of speech in which an opinion (usually disparaging) is expressed by suggestion or oblique statement: what a coincidence! You’re wearing exactly the same kind of watch as the one I lost last week.

irony

This takes various forms, the common factor uniting them being a difference between what the situation appears to be, and what the situation really is.

· Verbal

· Dramatic

· Situational

jargon

The language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group e.g. medical jargon.

litotes

A form of meiosis in which an assertion is made by denying the opposite of that assertion e.g. Caliban is not exactly the most attractive of Shakespeare’s characters.

meiosis

The contrary figure of speech to hyperbole, meiosis refers to understatement whereby something is represented as being less important or serious than is really the case (see also Litotes) the effect is usually to heighten the pathos or tragedy of an event by the simplicity of understatement

metaphor

The figure of speech in which a direct comparison is drawn without the use of the word like or as, between two unlike things that share a single common quality,

metonymy

The figure of speech in which the thing referred to is identified by mentioning something associated with it.

e.g. The pen is mightier than the sword.

neologism

The introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words.

onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sound matches the action described. It is essentially an auditory device: the rustle of leaves, the clatter of crockery, the pitter-patter of little feet.

oxymoron

The juxtaposition of two words or phrase of contrasting meaning. It is a very particular form, in the strictest sense, of paradox, in that the conflict between the two elements implies an apparent contradiction.

palindrome

A word, phrase, number , or other sequence of units that may be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers.

parody

A form of literature which by imitation ridicules the characteristics of an author or of a particular piece of writing.

personification

The device of ascribing the characteristics of humans and animals to inanimate (non-living) objects, usually by implication rather than by direct statement. It is a particular form of metaphor.

portmanteau word

The combination of two (or more) words or morphemes into one new word.

premise

A statement that is assumed to be true for the purpose of an argument from which a conclusion is drawn.

pun

A play on two words, identical or similar in sound (bear, bare) but totally different in meaning. In modern times, it is most often used for comic effect.

repartee

A swift, witty reply. Conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts.

rhetorical question

A question posed not to evoke an answer, but to emphasise a point. It usually takes the form of a question that can only be answered un the negative.

simile

The figure of speech which, using the word like or as, compares two unlike things, to more effectively describe one of them. Ted Hughes describes the strength of the wind:

The wind flung a magpie away and a black –

Back gull bent like an iron bar slowly. (Wind)

slang

The use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard or professional in the speaker’s language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially.

spoonerism

Words or phrases in which letters or syllables get swapped. This often happens accidentally in slips of the tongue (or tips of the slung).

e.g. Tease my ears (ease my tears).

sweeping statements

A statement that makes a wide-ranging and complete comment about something, or more often, everything. Unfortunately, it is very common for people to make these sorts of statements when they, in fact, are talking about minor groups rather than “everybody” (this being a word they could use).

synechdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in: ten sail for ten ships.

understatement

See litotes and meiosis