Unit 3: Part 2 Literary Terms

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. humor
    the trait of appreciating what is funny
    Humor, which may appear in all literary genres, is writing intended to amuse.
  2. incongruity
    the quality of disagreeing
    Incongruity, or differences in logic or degree.
  3. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
    Hyperbole, or the exaggeration of details or embellishment of events beyond what is logical.
  4. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
    Twain is also a master of dialect—ways of speaking that are specific to a particular area or group of people.
  5. conflict
    opposition in a work of fiction between characters or forces
    Conflict, the struggle between opposing forces, can take two forms: internal conflict and external conflict.
  6. internal
    located inward
    • Internal, occurring within the mind of a character
  7. external
    happening or arising outside some limits or surface
    • External, occurring between a character and society, nature, another person, God, or fate
  8. setting
    the context and environment in which something is situated
    In this case, the story's setting—the time and place of the action—serves as the opposing force against which the protagonist struggles.
  9. irony
    incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
    Irony involves a discrepancy between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is expected and what actually happens.
  10. dramatic irony
    when the audience understands something the characters don't
    In the case of dramatic irony, there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader knows to be true.
  11. antonym
    a word that expresses an opposite meaning
    Antonyms are words with opposite or nearly opposite meanings.
  12. misplaced modifier
    a word or phrase apparently modifying an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence: e.g., `when young' in `when young, circuses appeal to all of us'
    A misplaced modifier seems to modify the wrong word in a sentence because it is too far away from the word it really modifies.
  13. dangling modifier
    a word or phrase unclearly or illogically describing a noun
    A dangling modifier seems to modify the wrong word or no word at all because the word it should modify is not in the sentence.
  14. regionalism
    a feature that is characteristic of a particular area
    • regionalism: language or behaviors specific to a certain part of the country
  15. foible
    a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone's character
    • foibles: a focus on human flaw
  16. glossary
    an alphabetical list of technical terms in a field
    Refer to the glossary of a cookbook and find three verbs that normally apply to cooking processes.
  17. literary criticism
    a written evaluation of a serious written work
    Write a work of literary criticism in which you present and defend your interpretation of the message expressed in "To Build a Fire."
  18. criticism
    a written evaluation of a serious written work
    Write a work of literary criticism in which you present and defend your interpretation of the message expressed in "To Build a Fire."
  19. speech
    a formal spoken communication to an audience
    A speech is a nonfiction work that is delivered orally to an audience.
Created on Mon Oct 19 16:39:03 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Oct 22 17:23:57 EDT 2020)

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