1. Vocabulary for Writing about Literature Mr. Cleon M. McLean Department of English Ontario High School

2. Note well (nota bena) • The following active verbs are examples which carry positive connotations. They are meant to encourage you away from such active, yet negatively connotative words like “force”. • The words which follow are NOT words to describe the author. Rather, they are words to describe some stylistic feature of the work itself. E.g., The author asserts the notion that although time is a conspiracy against everything happening at the same time, man nonetheless goes through life in a Sisyphian cycle of absurdities.

3. alludes to… alters… asserts… changes… clarifies… compares… conjures up… connotes… constrains… construes… conveys… creates… delineates… demonstrates… depicts… describes… The writer (or the narrator)…

4. differentiates… dispels… elicits… elucidates.. emphasizes… enhances… enunciates… evokes… explains… explores… heightens/lessens… hints at… ignites… implies… inspires… invokes… The writer (or the narrator)…

5. juxtaposes… maintains… manipulates… paints… portrays… produces… refutes… repudiates… reveals… shifts… shows… solidifies… stirs… suggests… tackles… transcends… The writer (or the narrator)…

6. angers awareness connections contrasts empathy imagery/images impacts intensity laughter mood pathos or bathos shocks lassitude/tedium Effects on the reader…