Literary NonfictionVOCABULARY

TEKS: What are we learning?(7) Comprehension of Literary

Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze passages in well-known speeches for the author's use of literary devices and word and phrase choice (e.g., aphorisms, epigraphs) to appeal to the audience.

ALLITERATIONRepetition of a consonant sound

at the beginnings of words

Ex: Sally sells seashells by the seashore.

Ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

ASSONANCERepetition of the same or similar

vowel sounds close together

Ex: rise high in the bright skyEx: How now brown cow?

REPETITIONSaying the same word or phrase again

Ex: Because I do not hope to turn again

Because I do not hopeBecause I do not hope to turn

Ex: “A horse is a horse, of course, of course,

And no one can talk to a horse of course

That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.”

PARALLEL STRUCTUREThe use of components in a

sentence that are grammatically same or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter

Like father, like son.The escaped prisoner was wanted dead or alive.Easy come, easy go.Whether in class, at work or at home, Shasta

was always busy.Flying is fast, comfortable, and safe.

LOADED LANGUAGEWord choice that carries an

emotional impact or powerful connotation

Ex: Ben was a slob.Ex: She was well known as a

snob.

IMAGERYThe use of figurative language to

represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses

Ex: He whiffed the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans.

Ex: The stalks of wheat waved in the whispering breeze.

METAPHORA direct comparison between 2 unlike

objectsExtended metaphor: extends throughout

several sentences or lines of poetry

Ex: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,Who is already sick and pale with grief.”(Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet)

SIMILEA comparison between 2 unlike

objects using like or as

Ex: “. . . impressions poured in upon her of those two men, and to follow her thought was like following a voice which speaks too quickly to be taken down by one’s pencil . . .”

Ex: “Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”

ALLUSIONA reference in a piece of

literature to another literary work or a historical, political, or cultural event

Ex: “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” Ex: “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” Ex: The rise in poverty will unlock the

Pandora box of crimes.

APHORISMA statement of truth or opinion

expressed in a concise and witty manner

Ex: Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. [Benjamin Franklin]

The simplest questions are the hardest to answer. [Northrop Frye]

“Having nothing, nothing can he lose.” (Henry VI, Shakespeare)

EUPHEMISMPolite, indirect expressions which

replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or suggest something unpleasant

Ex: He has passed on (died).Ex: You are becoming a little thin

at top (bald).

TONEThe writer’s attitude toward his

subject

Ex: “All morons hate it when you call them a moron.” (Catcher in the Rye)—sarcastic

But I have studies! I have statistics! I have quotes from respected academics! (“The Me Me Me Generation”)--adamant