English study guide for semester II final.

<aside> 📕 Welcome to the professional, high-quality study guide of Semester II English Final in the 2023-2024 school year.

Created by: Ethan Chan

School: The Bear Creek School

Teacher: Alexandra Corrick

Class: English

Table of contents

1) Literary Terms

<aside> 💡 Study tip: have a sibling or relative quiz you on each one, telling you a literary term and asking you to provide a definition or example, or the other way around.

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Miscellaneous Literary Terms

Lit Terms Definitions Example
Short story A relatively brief fictional narrative in prose. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
Persona/Speaker The fictional ‘I’ assumed by a writer in a literary work. The first person speaker who tells a story. The narrator of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
1st person Voice in which the ‘I’ recollecting his or her own part in the events. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
2nd person A rarely used narrative style using second-person pronouns (you, your, yourself, etc.). "Look over your shoulder," the narrator whispered in You by Caroline Kepnes.
3rd person A narrative in which the narrator is not a character within the events related, but stands outside those events. It is a non-participant POV. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Atmosphere/Mood The intangible quality which appeals to extra-sensory as well as sensory perception, evoked by a work of art. The dark and suspenseful atmosphere of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.
Alliteration The practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound: e.g., “The twisting trout twinkled below.” "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" is a famous example of alliteration.
Style The writer’s characteristic manner of employing language. The whimsical style of Dr. Seuss.
In Media Res The Latin phrase meaning ‘into the middle of things’, applied to the common technique of storytelling by which the narrator begins the story at some exciting point in the middle of the action. The movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope begins in media res. (invasion of the Tantive IV)
Subject Who or what the sentence is about; a person, place, thing, idea or event. The subject of the sentence "The cat chased the mouse" is cat.
Predicate What happens in the sentence, an action verb (does), linking verb (is); predicates. The predicate of the sentence "The cat chased the mouse" is chased the mouse.
Prepositional Phrase A phrase beginning with a preposition that relates a noun or pronoun to another word. in the house is a prepositional phrase.
Appositive A noun or a phrase that follows another noun to clarify or give more information. My friend, Sarah, is coming over for dinner.
Fable A brief tale in verse or prose that conveys a moral lesson, usually by giving human speech and manners to animals and inanimate things. They often conclude with a moral, delivered in the form of an epigram. This story form is related to folklore and proverbs. The Tortoise and the Hare is a famous fable.
Moral The lesson to be learned from a story, poem, fable, play—any work that aims to teach anything either directly or obliquely. The moral of the fable The Tortoise and the Hare is that slow and steady wins the race.
Invective Abusive writing directed against a person, group, institution, or life itself. Some political speeches can be considered invective.
Allegory A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden its literal or visible meaning; an extended metaphor usually involving personification. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is a famous allegory.
Satire The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. The works of satirist Jonathan Swift are often critical of society.
Parody The imitative use of the words, style, attitude, tone, and ideas of an author in such a way as to make them ridiculous. This is usually achieved by exaggerating certain traits, using more or less the same technique as the cartoon caricature. It is a branch of satire. "Mad Magazine is famous for its parodies of popular culture".
Euphemism A word that replaces a harsher or more blunt expression. Saying someone has "passed away" is a euphemism for death.
Anthropomorphism The treating of animals, gods, and objects as if they are human in appearance, character, or behavior. The animals in Aesop’s Fables are examples of anthropomorphism.
Active voice Voice in which the subject is performing the action. The runner won the race.
Passive voice Voice in which the subject is being acted upon; includes a form of the verb be—such as is, was, or has been—and the past participle of the verb. The race was won by the runner.