English 10 Honors Literary Language List

Fill in the blank: ________ is the logical fallacy of arguing that someone is incorrect because they are unattractive, immoral, or weird.

• red herring

• straw man

• ad hominem

• appeal to authority

Fill in the blank: ________ is a story within a story. It has a “surface story” and another story hidden underneath.

• autobiography

• biography

• fable

• allegory

Fill in the blank: In ________, words that begin with the same sound are placed close together.

• alliteration

• metaphor

• hyperbole

• onomatopoeia

Fill in the blank: ________ is basically a reference to something else. It’s when a writer mentions some other work or refers to an earlier part of the current work.

• allusion

• illusion

• conclusion

• confusion

Fill in the blank: ________ is an idea or situation that can be understood in multiple ways.

• clarity

• certainty

• ambiguity

• simplicity

Fill in the blank: ________ is a literary technique in which two unrelated objects are compared for their shared qualities. This is not done for poetic purposes, but to make rational arguments.

• metaphor

• analogy

• hyperbole

• alliteration

Fill in the blank: ________ is when a certain word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of clauses or sentences that follow each other. This repetition emphasizes the phrase while adding rhythm to the passage, making it more memorable and enjoyable to read.

• anaphora

• epistrophe

• alliteration

• chiasmus

Fill in the blank: ________ is a very short story that is significant to the topic at hand; usually adding personal knowledge or experience to the topic.

• statistic

• summary

• quotation

• anecdote

Fill in the blank: ________ is the opposite of a statement, concept, or idea. In literary analysis, it is a pair of statements or images in which the one reverses the other. The pair is written with similar grammatical structures to show more contrast.

• hyperbole

• metaphor

• alliteration

• antithesis

Fill in the blank: ________ is a short statement of a general truth, insight, or good advice. It’s roughly similar to a “saying.”

• aphorism

• metaphor

• parable

• proverb