Otherwise known as “stuff you should know.” Literary Terms Otherwise known as “stuff you should know.”

Alliteration Definition-Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence Example- The snake slithered silently. Billy broke a bottle over Bob’s head.

Allusion Definition-A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event- real or fictional. Example- Turkey gravy is his Achilles heel.

Analogy Definition-A cognitive process of transferring information from a particular subject to another particular subject. Example-Pupils are more like oysters than sausages. The job of teaching is not to stuff them and then seal them up, but to help them open and reveal the riches within. There are pearls in each of us, if only we knew how to cultivate them with ardor and persistence. (Sydney J. Harris, “What True Education Should Do,” 1964)

Anaphora Definition-A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Example-"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." (Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, June 4, 1940)

Antimetabole Definition-A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the words in reverse grammatical order (A-B-C, C-B-A). Examples- "I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.“ (A. J. Liebling) "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on us.“ (Malcolm X)

Antithesis Definition-A rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses. Examples-"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." (Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964) "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863)

Apostrophe Definition- A sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present. Example- Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. (Macbeth 2.1)

Assonance Definition- Repetition of the same vowel sound in words close to each other. Example- Every time I write a rhyme, these people think it’s a crime. (Eminem, “Criminal”)

Asyndeton Definition-a writing style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses Example-"Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it." (Bubba in Forrest Gump, 1994)

Cumulative Sentence Definition-An independent clause followed by a series of subordinate constructions (phrases or clauses) that gather details about a person, place, event, or idea. Purpose-The cumulative sentence is particularly good for setting a scene or for panning, as with a camera, a place or critical moment, a journey or a remembered life, in a way not dissimilar to the run-on. Example-"Her moving wings ignited like tissue paper, enlarging the circle of light in the clearing and creating out of the darkness the sudden blue sleeves of my sweater, the green leaves of jewelweed by my side, the ragged red trunk of a pine." (Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm. Harper & Row, 1977)

Hortative Sentence Definition-sentence that exhorts, advices, calls to action Less of a command and more of a request (imperative sentence is the opposite) Examples-" Not far to go now!" " Your talents are wasted. You should look for a more rewarding job!".

Hyperbole Definition-The use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. Examples- I’d catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on the blade for ya. I’d jump in front of a train for ya. (Bruno Mars, “Grenade.” 2010)

Imperative Sentence Definition- Sentence used to command, enjoin, implore, or entreat Examples- “Stop saying that!”

Inversion Definition- Any of several grammatical constructions where two expressions switch their canonical order of appearance Examples- Not until the seventeenth century did the fork appear in England.

Irony Definition- A rhetorical device, literary technique, or event characterized by an incongruity, or contrast, between what the expectations of a situation are and what is really the case. Examples- Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room. (Dr. Strangelove)

Juxtaposition Definition- Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts Examples- The quiet whispers of lovers and the loud sounds of the crowds.

Litotes Definition- Understatement employed for rhetorical effect principally via double negatives. Examples- “Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record?” (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Metaphor Definition- An analogy between two things or ideas Examples- Mayden shaves his head, not because he is bald, but because his hair is a disobedient child.

Metonymy Definition-A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty"). Metonymy is also the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it, such as describing someone's clothing to characterize the individual. Examples- Danish for Danish pastry shocks for shock absorbers On the level of slang, a redneck is a stereotypical member of the white rural working class in the Southern U.S.,

Periodic Scentence Definition- Sentence that begins with multiple details and hold off a standard sentence pattern until the end. Examples- “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in private heart is true for all men, that is genius.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance)

Oxymoron Definition- Apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which seem to contradict one another. Examples- Mr. Weeks owns an authentic replica jersey.

Paradox Definition- An assentation seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it. Examples- It is a great mistake to suppose that love unites and unifies men. Love diversifies them, because love is directed towards individuality. The thing that really unites men and makes them like each other is hatred. (G.K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 1906)

Personification Definition- Attribution of personality to an impersonal thing Examples- Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing gloves. (P.G. Wodehouse)

Polysyndeton Definition- The use of conjunctions between each coordinate phrase, clause, or word. Examples-Let the white folks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly--mostly--let them have their whiteness. (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)

Rhetorical Questions Definition- A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. The answer may be obvious or immediately provided by the questioner. Examples- “If practice makes perfect, and no one’s perfect, then why practice?” (Billy Corgan) “Isn’t it a bit unnerving that the doctors call what they do ‘practice’?”

Syllogism Definition- a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two or more other (the premises) of a specific form. Examples- Virtues are praiseworthy, kindness is a virtue; therefore, kindness is praiseworthy.

Tautology Definition-A redundancy--in particular the needless repetition of an idea using different words. (2) In logic, a statement that is unconditionally true by virtue of its form alone; for example, "Socrates is either mortal or he's not." Examples-. . . who died of a fatal dose of heroin . . . equalized the game to a 2-2 draw . . . kept it from his friends that he was a secret drinker . . . a group for one-parent single mothers Tautology is either unnecessary elaboration (the Inland Revenue's white-collar workers), pointless repetition (pair of twins), superfluous description (Europe's huge butter mountain), a needless appendage (weather conditions) or a self-cancelling proposition (He is either guilty or not guilty)." (Keith Waterhouse, Waterhouse on Newspaper Style, rev. ed. Revel Barker, 2010)

Zeugma Definition- Two different words linked to a verb or an adjective which is strictly appropriate to only one of them. Examples- He held his breath and the door for her.