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A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions.
Allegory
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A reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize.
Allusion
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The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences.
Anaphora
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The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.
Antecedent
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A concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance.
Aphorism
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A figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction.
Apostrophe
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A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed. ("Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary")
Chiasmus
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Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing.
Colloquialism
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The implied or associative meaning of a word.
Connotation
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The literal meaning of a word.
Denotation
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The word choices made by a writer.
Diction
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Having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing.
Didactic
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The omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context ("Some people prefer cats; others, dogs")
Ellipsis
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An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant
Euphemism
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An expression in a give language that cannot be understood from the lieteral meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect.
Idiom
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Deriving general principles from particular facts or instances ("Every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four-legged animals).
Inductive Reasoning
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An expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined.
Oxymoron
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An apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth.
Paradox (Similar to oxymoron)
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The use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms
Parallelism
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Placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast
Juxtaposition
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A type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, "It was not a pretty picture).
Litotes
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Substitutng the name of one object for another object closely associated with it ("The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]").
Metonymy
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A standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works.
Motif
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The use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions.
Satire
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Using one part of an object to represent the entire object (for example, referring to a car simply as "wheels")
Synedoche
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