GACE: English I & II Terms And Their
Definations
Satire -ANS-Use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people's stupidity or
vices.
ex: "Weekend Update" from Saturday Night Live
Vice -ANS-Immoral or wicked behavior/characteristic
Epitaph -ANS-A brief poem or statement in memory of someone who is deceased, used as, or
suitable for, a tombstone inscription; now, often witty or humorous and written without intent
of actual funerary use.
Haiku -ANS-Japanese poetry - 3 lines: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
Limerick -ANS-A light or humorous form of five chiefly anapestic verses of which lines one, two
and five are of three feet and lines three and four are of two feet, with a rhyme scheme of
aabba.
Ode -ANS-Any of several stanzaic forms more complex than the lyric, with intricate rhyme schemes and
irregular number of lines, generally of considerable length, always written in a style marked by a
rich, intense expression of an elevated thought praising a person or object.
Sonnet -ANS-A fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter with a prescribed rhyme scheme; its subject
was traditionally love.
Shakespearean Sonnet -ANS-Sonnet with a rhyme scheme of abab
, cdcd efef gg
Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet -ANS-A form of sonnet made popular by Petrarch with a rhyme scheme of
abbaabba cdecde or cdcdcd
Allegory -ANS-A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other
people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities
EXAMPLE: Animal Farm; Dante's Inferno; Lord of the Flies
Allusion -ANS-Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion,
politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from
literature, etc.).
Anaphora -ANS-Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a
row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.
Anastrophe -ANS-Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is
rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.
Anecdote -ANS-Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows
character of an individual
Antimetabole -ANS-Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.
Example- Moliere: "One should eat to live, not live to eat." In poetry, this is called chiasmus.
Aphorism -ANS-Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a
principle or accepted general truth.
Example: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Definations
Satire -ANS-Use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people's stupidity or
vices.
ex: "Weekend Update" from Saturday Night Live
Vice -ANS-Immoral or wicked behavior/characteristic
Epitaph -ANS-A brief poem or statement in memory of someone who is deceased, used as, or
suitable for, a tombstone inscription; now, often witty or humorous and written without intent
of actual funerary use.
Haiku -ANS-Japanese poetry - 3 lines: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
Limerick -ANS-A light or humorous form of five chiefly anapestic verses of which lines one, two
and five are of three feet and lines three and four are of two feet, with a rhyme scheme of
aabba.
Ode -ANS-Any of several stanzaic forms more complex than the lyric, with intricate rhyme schemes and
irregular number of lines, generally of considerable length, always written in a style marked by a
rich, intense expression of an elevated thought praising a person or object.
Sonnet -ANS-A fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter with a prescribed rhyme scheme; its subject
was traditionally love.
Shakespearean Sonnet -ANS-Sonnet with a rhyme scheme of abab
, cdcd efef gg
Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet -ANS-A form of sonnet made popular by Petrarch with a rhyme scheme of
abbaabba cdecde or cdcdcd
Allegory -ANS-A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other
people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities
EXAMPLE: Animal Farm; Dante's Inferno; Lord of the Flies
Allusion -ANS-Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion,
politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from
literature, etc.).
Anaphora -ANS-Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a
row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.
Anastrophe -ANS-Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is
rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.
Anecdote -ANS-Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows
character of an individual
Antimetabole -ANS-Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.
Example- Moliere: "One should eat to live, not live to eat." In poetry, this is called chiasmus.
Aphorism -ANS-Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a
principle or accepted general truth.
Example: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
