English 1 Vocabulary

Word	Definition:	Page #
comic relief	Comic relief is a humorous scene, incident, or speech that is included in a serious drama to provide a change from the emotional intensity.	1218
imagery	Imagery consists of descriptive words and phrases that recreate sensory experiences for the reader. Imagery usually appeals to one or more of the five sense (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch), which helps the reader imagine exactly what is being described.	1223
myth	A myth is a traditional story, usually concerning some superhuman being or unlikely event, which was once widely believed to be true. Myths address 3-4 human concerns: history, origins, morals, and entertainment.	1225
onomatopoeia	Onomatopoeia is the use of words such as pow, buzz, and crunch whose sounds suggest their meanings.	1226
stanza	A stanza is a grouping of two or more lines in a pattern that is repeated throughout a poem. A stanza is comparable to a paragraph in prose.	1229
ambiguous	open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations lacking clearness or definiteness; obscure; indistinct	dictionary
foil	A foil is a character that provides a striking contrast to another character. By using a foil, a writer can call attention to certain traits possessed by a main character or simply enhance a character by contrast.	1222
assonance	Assonance is the repletion of vowel sounds within nonhyming words.	1216
blank verse	Blank verse is unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter. That is, each line of blank verse has five pairs of syllables. In most pairs, an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable.	1217
alliteration	Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.	1216
consonance	Consonance is a repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words.	1217
apostrophe	Apostrophe is a literary term, which is a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as “O Death, where is thy sting?”	dictionary
symbol	A symbol is a person, a place, an activity, or an object that stands for something beyond itself.	1230
understatement	Understatement is a technique of creating emphasis by saying less than is actually or literally true. It is the opposite of hyperbole, or exaggeration. One of the primary devices of irony, understatement can be used to develop a humorous effect, to create satire, or to achieve a restrained tone.	1231
hyperbole	Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect.	1223
double entendre	ambiguity of meaning arising from language that lends itself to more than one interpretation a word or expression capable of two interpretations with one usually risqué	dictionary