English 10a Literary terms and usage review sheet

Dialect: Speech that reflects pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar typical of a geographical region.

Free verse: Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Poets who write in free verse try to reproduce the natural rhythms of spoken language.

VERBAL IRONY: What is spoken or said (the words) is different/opposite from what is meant: I can be an overstatement/exaggeration or hyperbole, an understatement or litotes, or a pun.

Dramatic irony: The audience or some characters knowing more than other characters. Dramatic irony is also when characters are speaking or acting without knowledge others have; thus creating a double meaning.

Situational irony: congruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead. Thus, something entirely different happens from what audience may be expecting, or the outcome is opposite to what the audience is expecting. Situational irony generally includes sharp contrasts and contradictions. The purpose of ironic situations is to allow the readers to make a distinction between appearances and realities, and eventually associate them to the theme of a story.

Point of view: PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH THE STORY IS TOLD.

First person point of view:: narrator is a character in the story and uses “I” “me” or “we”

Third person point of view: narrator is outside the story and uses “he” “she” “they”

Third-person limited point of view: narrator tells only what one character perceives.

Third person omniscient point of view:

Comedy: Writing that deals with life in a humorous way, often poking fun at people’s mistakes. They end with a happy-ending.

Drama: This is also called a play Drama: This is also called a play. This writing form uses dialogue to share its message and is meant to be performed in front of an audience.

Fable: A short story that often uses talking animals/fictional characters as the main characters and teaches an explicit moral or lesson.

Fantasy: A story set in an imaginary world in which characters usually have supernatural powers or abilities.

Folktale: A story originally passed from one generation to another by word of mouth only. The characters are usually all good or all bad and in the end are rewarded or punished, as they deserve.

USAGE

Imply: to hint at something infer: to figure something out

Its: This is the possessive noun Its: This is the possessive noun. It’s: this is the contraction of it is.

Lay: this is an transitive verb meaning to place an item lie: this is an intransitive verb meaning to recline or rest

Lead: this is the infinitive verb. “WE WANT TO LEAD THE COUNTRY Lead: this is the infinitive verb. “WE WANT TO LEAD THE COUNTRY.” LED: THIS IS THE PAST TENSE. “LAST YEAR WE LEAD THE INDUSTRY

Plain: This refers to boring or simple Plain: This refers to boring or simple. It also refers to a geographical feature. “The Great Plains.” Plane: This refers to an airplane or geometric figure.

Precede: This means to come before something else Precede: This means to come before something else. “Crawling precedes walking when we are children.” Proceed: This means to move forward. “Can we proceed to the next item on the agenda?”

Sight: This refers to vision site: this refers to a place, website, or building location cite: this refers to documenting a reference