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ENG 4UI –Essential Terminology Used When Discussing Texts
(fictional/non-fictional texts, short stories, informal essays, novels)
The following terms explain techniques that writers use to present their ideas in clear, convincing, and attractive language – these devices can be used in either fiction or non-fiction texts, and may be found in any of the texts we read and study.
Allegory: is a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or generalization about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson. eg. Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Alliteration: is the repetition of consonants or vowels of words placed close to each other. Eg. “sweet smell of success,” “bigger and better,” “jump for joy;” and from Wordsworth: “And sings a solitary song / That whistles in the wind.”
Allusion: is a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, object or event, assumed to be known to the reader. The writer does not explain the background information, but assumes the knowledge on the part of the reader. “The guy is a real Shakespeare” is an allusion because it is indirect, presumes the reader knows who Shakespeare is, and implies an abstract thought, namely, that ‘the guy is a real poet.’ But just referring to an author by name, e.g., “Thomas Aquinas wrote an average of forty pages a day for thirty years,” while it presumes we know who Aquinas was, is a direct reference; as such, it is not an allusion. Allusions can come from history, literature, mythology, the Bible, and popular culture.
Analogy: is a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well. eg. “Dressing for the senior prom is similar to a knight preparing himself for battle: the make-up = blue battle wood, the industrial strength water push up bra = the iron mesh and the actual dress itself = a suit of armour.”
Anecdote: is a brief, simple narration of a real-life incident. eg. “The same thing happened to me when I got my first waitressing job in university. While I was being trained, I had to turn over my tips to the guy who was training me!” While it is often associated with humour, it can be serious in tone as well.
Antithesis: is an opposition, or contrast, of ideas. The most famous use of it is in the opening to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Cliché: is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. For example, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Connotative Words: are words that have associations other than their literal meaning. For example, the words “home” and “domicile” have the same dictionary (denotative) meaning. However, the first has a positive connotation of warmth and security while the second does not.
Colloquialism: is the use of informal, conversational, language.In our day-to-day conversations we might for example use as a synonym for “good” various terms such as “cool,” “right on,” or “sweet.” Examples of colloquialisms unique to Canadians are: “poutine,” “looney,” and “toque.”
Coherence: techniques that “tie together” or connect the various parts of the writing. They include transitionwords or the purposeful repetition of an idea throughout the piece of writing.
Denotative Language: refers to the literal meaning of words, used according to their dictionary definition.
Diction: refers to the specific words chosen for their connotation, their implications, and their power to reveal attitude or tone.
Writers try to place the right word in the right place to convey the meaning or the tone of their work. When explaining how the “use of diction supports the author's view” select a word that is “loaded.” For example, if a person rejected for construction work is described as “scrawny,” this conveys the view that the person is unsuitably thin and appears too weak for the work; if the same person applies for a modeling job and is described as “slender,” this conveys the view that the applicant is attractively slim and graceful, suitable for the catwalk. Thus precise diction, or word choice, supports the author's viewpoint in each case.
Euphemism: is a word or phrase that has an acceptable connotation and that in an indirect way expresses what may be upsetting or unpleasant.For example, you’ll often hear people say “He’s passed on,” or “He’s gone to a better place,” as opposed to the blunt “He died.” People create new, sanitized, ways to discuss bodily functions, death, disability, sex, and social conditions.
Hyperboleor exaggeration is an extravagant overstatement, not intended to be taken literally.“The obvious solution to preventing teens from becoming addicted to texting would be to ban them from purchasing cell phones” may be hyperbolic if the writer does not intend the reader to take that literally. Obvious hyperbole may be literally impossible: “You could hear her irritating voice a mile away.”
Imagery: The words or phrases a writer selects to create a certain picture in the reader’s mind. Imagery is usually based on one or more of the five sensory details. eg. “The bed linens might just as well be ice and the clothes snow.” A recurring pattern of imagery can develop a theme. For instance, in Hamletthe references to garbage and weeds suggest a theme that “something is rotten in the state,” that “things rank and gross [like the murderous king and incestuous queen] possess it.”
Inference / Implication: An author implies; a reader infers. Ross Finley in "See Dick and Jane Browse" implies that technology is contributing to the erosion of a book-centred culture. The reader may infer that Finley would think that technology is, therefore, responsible for a decline in literacy.
Irony: An implied discrepancy between what is presented or said and what is meant. Note these three types of irony:
Verbal Ironyoccurs when a speaker says one thing and means something else:“Oh yeah, that’s nice.”
Dramatic Ironyoccurs when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know. For example, Luke and Leia almost become romantically involved in Episodes 4&5 of the StarWars series (even though Han Solo is a much better choice!)
Irony of Situationis a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results. Luke, while searching for his father, battles Darth Vader.
Jargon: Language and expressions specific to a profession or group that can sometimes be difficult for others to understand. Law, medicine, sports, and high-tech offer the richest examples: habeuscorpus, injunction, stat, CT-scan, give 110%, know the score, we came to play, bandwidth.
Juxtaposition: occurs when two images that are otherwise not commonly brought together appear side by side or structurally close together, thereby forcing the reader to stop and reconsider the meaning of the text through the contrasting images, ideas, or motifs. eg. “There is a popular ad campaign in which a fashion model’s photo is placed beside that of a refugee in Somalia. The two bodies look similar in term of boniness.”
Metaphor: a direct comparison between two seemingly unlike things in order to enhance our understanding of one of them. It does not use like or as in the comparison. eg. “Life is but a walking shadow” or “Your room is a pig sty.”
Mood is the predominant emotional response evoked in the reader as a direct result of the established atmosphere.Ask yourself: How does this work make me feel? Some words you might use to describe mood: solemn, ominous, threatening, terrifying, joyful.
Motif: is a term for an often-repeated idea or theme in literature. For example, The Kite Runner featured eyes, animals and trees – all were motifs.
Onomatopoeia: is a word that imitates the sound it represents. eg. splash, kerplunk
Oxymoron: is a combination of contradictory terms as in “jumbo shrimp.”
Parallel structure:refers to the use of the same patternof words, phrases, or clauses that have equal value and function. The similarity of structure may convey equality of ideas, or emphasize contrast, or create balance and rhythm, or pile up evidence, or create a memorable beginning or end to a work—or all of these. Parallel structure is one of the most powerful literary devices. It is particularly effective for emphasis. Example: “In this restaurant I find the decor dreary, the service slothful, the food inedible.” Or “Great literature is only possible when people are ripened by experience, stirred by curiosity, and alive to wonder.”
Personification: gives human, or living, qualities to non-living objects or ideas. For example, “The wind affectionately ruffled his hair and caressed his cheek,” “a smiling moon,” or “a jovial sun,” all suggest human traits and aspects.
Point of View: is the vantage point from which the narrator views the situation and relates it to the reader.
First person involves a narrator who is involved in the action of the situation and who relates it to the reader from a personal perspective (I/We).
Second person involves the narrator addressing his/her comments to a specific reader or person (You).
Third person describes the narration in which the narrator remains an objective recorder of events but does not pretend to know a character’s private thoughts (He/She/It/They).
Omniscient describes a narrator telling about a situation when that narrator describes the inner thoughts of one or more of the characters (He/She/It/They).
Reference to Authority: is the quoting of a text or person who is an authority or “expert” on the topic. The authority is an expert by education or by experience. The quotation tends to make the writer's position more believable.
Repetition: of a word, an idea, an image, etc. that writers use to create emphasis. eg. “There is a way to be good again.” (The Kite Runner)
Rhetorical Question: is a question that is intended to emphasize a point and persuade or engage the reader rather than to provoke an answer (although the writer may even pose and answer the question for effect) : eg. “How does she do it?!”
Satire: is a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. For example, Rick Mercer used to have a segment on his show called Talking With Americans. He would ask American citizens and even politicians who should know better to support bogus Canadian causes such as endorsing building a protective glass dome over our Parliamentary Igloo in Ottawa.
Sentence Structure: The composition of a sentence has a significant impact on how a reader is affected by the sentence.
Short sentences effectively present strong feelings, create dramatic effects, or emphasize a point. They are often placed for emphasis at the beginning or end of paragraphs, or after a few long sentences.
Long sentences effectively develop suspense, show contrast, develop a proof, provide detailed description, create mood, express a complicated concept fully with suitable qualifications and examples.
Rhetorical questions and exclamations or commands add variety and life to a passage. All involve the reader personally, thereby adding intimacy and a personal connection.
Periodic sentences, until one reaches the end, cannot be fully understood. This structure holds the reader in suspense until the last word and then impresses the point. In doing so it may vary the normal word order. It is a useful device for emphasis. Example: “You cannot make great success in English without good study habits.”
Balanced sentences are aesthetically pleasing and often memorable and emphatic. Example: “Young men dream dreams; old men see visions.”
Parallel structures are pleasing in form and forceful in emphasis. Parallel structures may be used to suggest equality, emphasize contrast, or suggest rhythm. Example: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Simile: a direct comparison between two seemingly unlike things in order to enhance our understanding of one of them. It uses the words like or as in the comparison. For example “My love is like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June”
Style: is how the author uses words, phrases, and sentences to form his or her ideas. Style is also thought of as the qualities and characteristics that distinguish one writer’s work from the work of others.
Symbol: is a person, a place, a thing, or an event used to represent something else. For example, on Remembrance Day each November 11, we commemorate our surviving veterans and war dead by wearing the red poppy as a symbol.
Theme: is the statement about life a particular work is trying to convey to the reader. eg. “The play Romeo and Juliet teaches us that one should never trust fate to help love along.”
Thesis: is the point that a writer proves in an essay. Often there are one or two sentences that neatly clarify the thesis; occasionally the reader must summarize the overall point the writer is making in their own words, and use various parts of sentences as support. This is called an implied thesis.
Tone: refers to the writer's attitude towards his subject and towards his audience. Tone of writing is like tone of voice when speaking of a subject or to others. How an author thinks determines how he feels; how he feels may be reflected in the words he uses, that is, his diction.
Tone is conveyed effectively if the author finds the right word or expression to convey how he feels about the subject or the situation. Students should not be too general in their description of tone. To say an author's tone is “positive” or “negative” is to be too vague, too unspecific. Even to say that an author's tone is “serious” is too general; one can be serious in many ways. For example, one may seem serious because one is angry, accusatory, sad, solemn, worried, disgusted, thoughtful, indignant, appreciative, formal, intimate, outspoken, reflective, condescending, didactic, argumentative, disgruntled, sentimental, or derogatory.
Likewise, tone should not be described as “not serious”; if is not serious, is it whimsical, bemused, cheerful, ironic, satiric, flippant, jocular, non- committal, or indifferent.
Finally, an author's tone should not be expressed in jargon such as “in-your-face” (assertive), “hard core” (intense, committed), “nerdy”, “cool”, or “sweet”. Use appropriate, formal diction.
Transition: is a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph that moves the reader from one part of the text to the next. Transitions are crucial to not only speeding the argument along, but also to pointing out its logic. (Don’t be afraid to take your readers “by the hand” and lead them through your argument.)
Understatement: is stating an idea with restraint to emphasize what is being talked about. For example, “It was just a flesh wound.”
Unity: a sense of oneness that the writer creates in the writing by using one tone, having one purpose, or having one theme or thesis.
Voice:refers to the personality and attributes of the author that we can detect through his/her work.
Narrative Terminology: When discussing narrative texts, in addition to many of the terms listed above, we often use the following:
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plot
- introduction (exposition)
- inciting force/trigger incident
- rising action
- climax
- denouement/resolution
setting
characters
- protagonist
- antagonist
- flat/round
- static/dynamic
- major versus minor
- direct versus indirect characterization
theme
point of view
- first person
- third person limited
- third person omniscient
conflict
- internal vs. external
- person vs. person
- person vs. self
- person vs. nature
- person vs. society
flashback
foreshadowing
suspense
atmosphere/mood
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