Academic Vocabulary

1. Academic Vocabulary Literary, Poetic, Plot, and Dramatic terms

2. IMPORTANT! • You will be responsible for keeping these terms all year. We will be adding to them as the year progresses. • You are required to take these notes. • It will be 20% of your first major grade which will be a test over these terms. • Review them every night for 5 minutes, and you will retain them in your long term memory.

3. Literary and Writing Terms 1. Allusion: A brief reference to a familiar person, book, play, literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts. (well known, capitalized) Ex: It was a Herculean effort. 2. Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Ex. wind whipped wildly 3. Imagery: Words that appeal to our senses, mental pictures. Writers use imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell. 4. Irony: A contrast in what is expected and what happens. Ex. Rain on your wedding day. 4a. Dramatic Irony: The audience knows more than actors or characters. 4b. Situational Irony: What happens is opposite of expectations – readers and characters find out at the same time. Ex. One illustrative example of situational irony would be if a fire station were to burn down.

4. 4c. Verbal Irony: What is said is opposite of what is meant. Ex: After Doug tripped during the dance, I yelled, “smooth move!” 5. Metaphor:A comparison of two unlike things. Ex. She is a bear in the morning. 6. Simile: A comparison of two unlike thinks using like or as. Ex. My little sister was as good as gold during the event. 7. Pun:A play on words with different meanings. Ex: It was a grave day when Mercutio died. 8. Personification: Author gives human qualities to inanimate object . 9. Hyperbole: Figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect; overstatement.

5. 10. Oxymoron: Two contradictory terms side by side. Ex: Icy hot, jumbo shrimp, 11. Foreshadowing: The author hints at what is to come. What is being foreshadowed in the picture? 11. Foreboding:A hint, warning about a tragedy to come. Ex. The ghost in Hamlet is a foreboding character hinting to the deaths of Claudius and others in the play. 12. Point of View: This is the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told. relationship of the narrator to the story. 13. First-person POV: Told by a character who uses the first-person pronoun “I”. 14. Third-person limited POV : In this point of view where the narrator uses third-person pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to the characters. Third Person Omnitient_The third-person omniscient point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story. The third-person is not the same as the third-person limited, a point of voice that adheres closely to one character's perspective, usually the main character's. 

6. 15. Mood: Atmosphere, or feeling created in the reader by a literary work or. passage. Writer’s use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, setting, and plot. 16. Tone: is a reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject of a poem, story, or other literary work. Tone evokes an emotional response from the reader (mood). Ex: word choice or phrasing may seem to convey respect, anger, lightheartedness, or sarcasm. 17. Connotation: The emotional response evoked by a word. The cultural or popular meaning of a word. Ex. He is so HOT! 18. Diction: a writer's or speaker’s choice of words, as well as the syntax, or order of the words. 19. Denotation: The literal/dictionary meaning of a word. 20. Thesis: sentence that clearly states your position or controlling idea. 21. Style: Style is the distinctive way in which an author uses language. Word choice, phrasing, sentence length, tone, dialogue, purpose, and attitude toward the audience and subject can all contribute to an author’s writing style.

7. Rhetorical Appeals 22. emotional appeals (pathos): messages that evoke strong feelings—such as fear, pity, or vanity—in order to persuade instead of using facts and evidence to make a point Key word: Emotion 23. ethical appeals (ethos): establish a writer’s credibility and trustworthiness with an audience. Key word: Credibility 24. logical appeal (logos): relies on logic and facts appealing to people’s reasoning or intellect ; rather than to their values or emotions. Key word: Logic

8. Plot/Story Notes 25. protagonist: The main character in a work of literature who is involved in the central conflict of the story, and is the one with whom the reader is meant to identify. 26. antagonist: the principal character (or a force of nature) in opposition to the protagonist, or hero of a narrative or drama; the person may not be “bad” or “evil” by any conventional moral standard 27. conflict: struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions that is the basis of the story’s plot; can be external (man vs man, man vs nature) or internal (man vs self). 28. Plot: is the sequence of events in a story. 29. Exposition:is the introduction. It is the part of the work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation 30. Rising Action: is the part of the plot that begins to occur as soon as the conflict is introduced. The rising action adds complications to the conflict and increases reader interest.

9. 30. Climaxis the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in the plot of a narrative. 31. Falling Action is the action that typically follows the climax and reveals its results 32. Resolution is the part of the plot that concludes the falling action by revealing or suggesting the outcome of the conflict. 33. Setting- The time and place of the story. 34. Static Character - A static character is someone who does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or evolve. 35. Round Character- A rounded character is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person. 36. Flat Character - A flat character is the opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic. 37. Dynamic Character - A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis.

10. Drama Terms

11. Drama Terms 38. Drama- A story told mainly through the words and actions of characters. It is intended to be performed by actors. 39. Acts- Major units/divisions in a drama. 40. Scenes- Subdivisions in a play; may indicate a change in location or passage of time. 41. Stage Directions- Directions interspersed between the lines of dialogue that explain how characters should look, speak, act, and move on stage. Lighting, music and special effects are also part of the stage directions 42. Soliloquy- A long speech spoken by a character when they are alone on stage which expresses their feelings and/or emotions. 43. Monologue- A long speech that can be heard by others. 44. Aside- Words spoken by an actor directly to an audience but not heard by the other actors on stage.

12. 45. Tragedy- branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. 46. Tragic character- a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat 47. Tragic Flaw- a trait in a character leading to his downfall, and the character is often the hero of the literary piece. This trait could be the lack of self-knowledge, lack of judgment, and often it is hubris (pride). 48. Acts- major divisions in a play. Scenes- minor divisions that may mark a change in location or time.