AC Literacy Terms

Part I

  1. metafiction: fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions (especially naturalism) and traditional narrative techniques
  2. allegory: the expression by means ofsymbolicfictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence;also: an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression
  3. allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
  4. context: the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed
  5. euphemism:a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing
  6. irony: the expression of one's meaning by using language or a situation that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect
  7. paradox: a statement that appears to be self-contradictory but contains some truth
  8. semantics: the study of word meanings
  9. tone: the speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience
  10. analogy: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification
  11. antithesis: a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else
  12. juxtaposition: the act of placing side-by-side for the sake of comparison
  13. rhetoric: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques; language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content
  14. satire: writing that attempts to expose and ridicule the faults and flaws of man and society
  15. science fiction: fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets
  16. fantasy: Agenreofimaginativefictioninvolvingmagicandadventure, especially in asettingother thantherealworld
  17. parody: (also calledspoof,send-uporlampoon), in use, is an imitative work created to imitate, or comment on and trivializean original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means ofsatiricorironicimitation.
  18. hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
  19. metaphor: a figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object
  20. propaganda: the deliberate spreading of misinformation
  21. sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey contempt
  22. didactic: intended to instruct or inform
  23. denotation: literal or primary meaning
  24. connotation: an idea or feeling invoked in addition to a literal meaning
  25. genre: a category or type
  26. foreshadow: to signal or portend a future event
  27. antithesis: opposite; converse