Literature Vocabulary List 1 aka

Lit Vocab 1

1) Ad Hominem

• Means “against the man.” As the name suggests, it is a literary term that involves commenting on or against an opponent to undermine him instead of his arguments. Often a personal attack on one’s character rather than an attempt to address the issue at hand.

• Example: A politician degrading another politician during a political campaign when asked about a specific policy, e.g. “Well, I think we need to look at the other candidate’s failures regarding this topic.”

2) Adage

• a short, pointed and memorable saying based on facts, and is considered a veritable truth by the majority of people. Famous adages become popular due to their usage over a long period of time. In fact, an adage expresses a general fact or truth about life.

• Example: A penny saved is a penny earned.

3) Allegory

• a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events. The objective of its use is to preach some kind of a moral lesson.

• Example: Animal Farm by George Orwell is a political allegory of events in Russia and Communism.

4) Alliteration

• derived from Latin’s “Latira”. It means “letters of alphabet”. It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.

• Example: Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy.

5) Allusion

• brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

• “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” Making an allusion to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

6) Ambiguity

• Ambiguity or fallacy of ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning. Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor.

• Example: It is ambiguous to say “I rode a brown horse in red pajamas,” because it may lead us to think the horse was wearing red pajamas.

7) Anachronism

• derived from a Greek word anachronous which means “against time”. Therefore, an anachronism is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. In other words, anything that is out of time and out of place is an anachronism.

• Example: Shakespeare writes of a clock in Julius Caesar, when clocks would not have existed in ancient Rome: "Brutus: Peace! Count the clock. Cassius: The clock has stricken three."

8) Anagram

• form of word play in which letters of a word or phrase are rearranged in such a way that a new word or phrase is formed. Anagram is formed by using exactly the same letters of the original word but with a different arrangement.

• Example:

9) Analogy

• a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. Therefore, analogy is more extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor.

• Examples: Dog is to puppy as cat is to ________ – "Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal

down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."

10) Anaphora

• In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect.

• Example: I remember a piece of old wood with termites running around all over it the termite men found under our front porch. I remember when one year in Tulsa by some freak of nature we were invaded by millions… – (following stanzas all start with “I remember…”)

10/25 Class Work

1. Create a tongue-twister that shows your understanding of alliteration.

2. Give an example of an ad hominem argument.

3. Create an anagram of your name.

4. Create an ambiguous sentence.

5. Explain the difference between an illusion and an allusion.

10/26 Class Work

1. Give an example of an old adage.

2. Create a scene that is guilty of anachronism.

3. Create five analogies. 4. Write at least a 10 line poem

that uses anaphora. 5. Allegory is a complex literary

technique. For example, in The Hobbit, Tolkien used allegory by having the goblins and their murderous ways indirectly symbolize terrors of the first world war. Write an allegorical paragraph about this year’s presidential race.

10/27 Class Work Explaining Old Adages

"Triumphs without difficulties are empty. Indeed; it is difficulties that make the triumph. It is no feat to travel the smooth road." -Unknown “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” - Anonymous Write a 3 paragraph essay explaining what these quotations mean to you. Use details and examples in your essay. Also, make sure to provide the definition of adage.

IF NOT DONE TODAY THIS IS HOMEWORK!

10/28 Class Work Explaining Old Adages

"Triumphs without difficulties are empty. Indeed; it is difficulties that make the triumph. It is no feat to travel the smooth road." -Unknown

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

-Anonymous

Write a 3 paragraph essay explaining what these quotations mean to you. Use details and examples in your essay. Also, make sure to provide the definition of adage.