PSSA Glossary Condensed
Terms
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- Genre
- A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content (e.g., prose, poetry).
- Semantics
- The study of meaning in language.
- Analysis
- The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another.
- Irony
- The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning; incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result.
- Personification
- An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.).
- Focus
- The center of interest or attention.
- Simile
- A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (like or as) is used (e.g., She eats like a bird.).
- Syntax
- The pattern or structure of word order in sentences, clauses and phrases.
- Allusion
- An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place or event.
- Figurative language
- Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
- Alliteration
- The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
- Satire
- A literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness.
- Antonym
- A word that is the opposite of another word.
- Tone
- The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous).
- Voice
- The fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that makes it unique to the writer.
- Metaphor
- The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like or as) are used (e.g., That new kid in class is really a squirrel.).
- Point of view
- The way in which an author reveals characters, events and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told.
- Theme
- A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.
- Focus
- The center of interest or attention.
- Thesis
- The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.
- Paraphrase
- Restate text or passage in other words, often to clarify meaning or show understanding.
- Synonym
- One of two or more words in a language that have highly similar meanings (e.g., sorrow, grief, sadness).
- Hyperbole
- An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.).
- Characterization
- The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.
- Meter
- The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
- Homophone
- One of two or more words pronounced alike, but different in spelling or meaning (e.g., hair/hare, scale (fish)/scale (musical)).
- Narrative
- A story, actual or fictional, expressed orally or in writing.
- Style
- How an author writes; an author's use of language; its effects and appropriateness to the author's intent andtheme.