| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| antithesis | A rhetorical device in which contrasting ideas or elements are placed in opposition to emphasize their differences. |
| contrast | A juxtaposition of different elements in a text that highlights differences and creates emphasis or meaning. |
| emphasis | Special importance or prominence given to particular ideas or images in a text, often created through interruption of established patterns. |
| juxtaposition | The placement of two contrasting elements side by side to highlight their differences and create emphasis. |
| paradox | A statement or situation that contains seemingly contradictory elements but may reveal a hidden or unexpected truth. |
| punctuation | Marks such as periods, commas, dashes, and line breaks that guide reader understanding and affect the flow and meaning of a text. |
| situational irony | A contrast between what readers expect to happen in a text and what actually occurs. |
| stanza | A grouped arrangement of lines in a poem that functions as a unit and contributes to the poem's overall structure and meaning. |
| structural patterns | Repeated or consistent arrangements of elements in a text that create rhythm, expectation, or meaning. |
| structure | The arrangement and organization of elements in a text, including line and stanza breaks, that affects how readers interpret ideas and respond to the work. |
| verbal irony | A contrast between what is stated in a text and what is actually meant, often used for effect or emphasis. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| allusion | A reference to a person, place, event, or work of literature that the reader is expected to recognize, creating emotional or intellectual associations and deeper meaning. |
| ambiguity | The quality of having multiple possible meanings or interpretations, often created by contrasts within a text. |
| attitude | The emotional stance or perspective a narrator, character, or speaker takes toward a subject or situation. |
| character | A person or entity in a narrative whose actions, thoughts, and relationships drive the story forward. |
| conceit | An extended metaphor that develops complex comparisons between unlike things, often presenting images, concepts, and associations in surprising or paradoxical ways. |
| extended metaphor | A metaphor that is developed and sustained throughout parts of or an entire text through additional details, similes, and images. |
| metaphor | A figure of speech that implies similarities between two usually unrelated concepts or objects to reveal or emphasize something about one of them. |
| narrator | The voice or character who tells the story and whose perspective shapes how events and subjects are presented to the reader. |
| perspective | The viewpoint, background, and beliefs of a narrator, character, or speaker that shape how they perceive and present events or subjects. |
| shared knowledge | Common understanding or familiarity with a reference that allows readers to grasp the meaning and significance of an allusion. |
| speaker | The voice presenting ideas or emotions in a text, particularly in poetry or non-narrative works, whose perspective influences the tone and content. |
| symbol | A person, place, object, or action that represents something beyond its literal meaning, such as an abstract concept, emotion, or idea. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| alternative interpretation | Different or competing ways of understanding or analyzing a text that may challenge the primary argument. |
| attribution | The act of crediting or acknowledging the source of words, ideas, images, or other intellectual property used in writing. |
| citation | A formal reference to the source of borrowed words, ideas, or information in a text. |
| claim | A statement about a text that requires defense with evidence from the text. |
| commentary | Explanatory writing that clarifies the relationship between textual evidence, reasoning, and thesis in a literary argument. |
| defensible claim | An argument or interpretation that can be supported and justified through evidence and logical reasoning. |
| elements of composition | The fundamental components and techniques writers use to structure and organize their writing, including word choice, sentence structure, and rhetorical devices. |
| evidence | Specific details, quotes, examples, or references from a text used to support and develop a line of reasoning in a literary argument. |
| intellectual property | Original words, ideas, images, texts, and other creative or informational content created by others that must be acknowledged when used. |
| interpretation | An explanation or understanding of the meaning or significance of a literary text or its elements. |
| line of reasoning | The logical sequence of claims that work together to defend and support the overarching thesis statement. |
| logical relationship | The connection between ideas that shows how claims and evidence support the thesis statement. |
| textual evidence | Specific details and quotes from a text that support and defend a claim in literary analysis. |
| thesis | The overarching central claim or argument that an essay defends and develops throughout. |
| thesis statement | A statement that expresses an interpretation of a literary text and makes a defensible claim that can be supported through textual evidence and reasoning. |