Buchrücken

The backside of a book is called Burchrück. This backside is visible when a book is on the shelf. The back of the book holds the book block by gluing or binding, and thus the individual pages of a book. A protective cover is often found around the back of the book, the folded ends of which are called flap text. The front of a book is called cover, front cover and front cover, the final book cover is called back cover.

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Buchdeckel

The book covers are two parts of the book cover. The book covers protect the book block, ie the pages of the book, from damage, bumps and soiling. They are connected to each other by the bridge. One differentiates between front cover, also front cover and cover, which protects the front of the book and back cover. The book covers usually protrude somewhat over the book block and are for the purpose of the protection from harder materials (grain, cardboard).

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Bramarbas

As Bramarbas is called a type figure of the drama. Bramarbas is a figure who likes to boast of her deeds and abilities, but in reality does nothing to justify this bragging. Consequently, it is a braggart and a mule, which usually appears in the rank of an officer in a play. The figure is clearly and for the first time named in the anonymous poem Cartell of B. to Don Quixote, which is found in the appendix of Johann Burckhardt Menckes’s essay, Vermischte Gedichte (1710). The figure type, however, is much older.

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Brachylogie

Brachylogy is a concise and concise expression. Brachylogy, therefore, means the ability to achieve the maximum of meaning with a minimal word effort and thus to compact the effect of a literary text. It is therefore a stylistic device of rhetoric and resembles ellipse, aposiopesis, syllepse, apokoinu and Zeugma.

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Botenbericht

The messenger report is a technical style as well as an aid in drama. This messenger report means the fact that a figure (messenger) informs the actors of the work as well as the spectator about a past event. This event is decisive for the further course of action, but can not be presented on the stage; either because the situation is too complex or contrary to the unity of place, time and action (see below).

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Bonmot

Bonmot is a witty utterance, remark, or twist, a witty expression, or a joke word that fits perfectly in each occasion. Bonmot is found principally in the spoken language, whereby it can be conveyed in all literary genres by the figurative speech. The written correspondence is the aphorism.

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Bluette

The Bluette, also Blüette, is a small, joke-spraying stage piece and, in the widest sense, a dramatic little thing or a small musical soundwork. But most of all, this is meant by the funny stage, which usually consists only of one act, partly of a satirical character, and is usually pointed to a point. The title is also used for a poem which is characterized by brevity and wit, and is also rarely applied to novellas.

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Blaue Blume

The Blue Flower is considered an important symbol of Romanticism (cf. Literaturepochen) and is therefore also referred to as the Blue Flower of Romanticism. It represents the romantic longing for the unattainable, the infinite and the unconditioned, whereby it is often interpreted as a combination of man and nature. In addition, the Blue Flower has become a symbol of the wandering, which is equally characteristic of the epoch of romance. This motif can be traced back to an old German legend, which says that one could find the blue miracle-flower at night and was rewarded with it. Consequently, this miracle flower stands for a thing that is difficult to achieve but is longed for by many. This motif is taken up by Novalis, a German poet, in his novel fragment Heinrich von Ofterdingen. Henry, the protagonist of the work, is attracted by a blue flower, from which the longing symbol of Romanticism was derived.

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Blankvers

A verse line is called a blank verse, which is non-semitic and has a five-legged jamb, with male as well as female cadences. Thus the blank verse is either composed of ten or eleven syllables, and, in contrast to the Alexandrian, has a moving caesura. We often find the blank verse in the drama and rarely in the lyric.

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Binnenreim

A form of rhyme is called internal rhyme. In the inner rhyme, the words that rhyme with each other are in the sinner, that is, in the same line. Sometimes the term also refers to rhymes extending over two verses. Special forms are the middle rhyme, middle rhyme, inreim, rhyme rhyme, transient rhyme and rhyme rhyme. 

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Bildbeschreibung

The picture description is part of the German language course, but it is also used in the field of art and foreign languages. Furthermore, an image description may be a component of the text analysis in some subjects. The image description serves to capture an image in its entirety, whereby we should highlight the essential and most important features as detailed as possible. The description can be followed by an image analysis which goes even deeper into depth.

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Biedermeier

A literature epoch is called a Biedermeier. This literary current can be found between the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) and the bourgeois revolution of 1848. Parallel to the rather conservative Biedermeier, the currents of the very liberal boy of Germany and the radical-democratic of Vormarz developed. All three currents are also referred to as the literature of the restoration epoch. The Biedermeier coined the literature, but also had a lasting impact on the culture and art of the bourgeoisie (clothing, music, architecture) that developed during this period. The literature of the Biedermeier is often referred to above as home-boring and conservative, with the escape into idyll and private being a typical epoch motif

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Belletristik

Fiction and fiction are fiction. This is opposed to scientific and non-fictional texts. According to this, all works belonging to the literature of literature fall into the category of fiction. This applies to writings in prose, such as romances, novellas and short stories, but also dramas as well as lyrical products or comics.

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Bathos

Bathos is a stylistic device that can be used in all kinds of texts. The Bathos combines a higher value with a lower value. Through this contrast, which creates the stylistic figure, comedy, as well as drasticity can be expressed. The term is used primarily in literary studies and German studies, whereas students are rarely confronted with it in German.

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Barcarolle

The Barkarole is a boatman of the Venetian Gondolieri. Furthermore, the term has been used since the 19th century for instrumental as well as vocal compositions of European art music, which are based on the shape of the former barcarols. This means that they are calm and moderate, and should remind of the gondoliers’ wave and rudderry rhythm. The clock, mostly 6/8 or 12/8 time, more rarely also 2/4 time, gives a powerful rhythm.

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Authority argument

An argument is a statement to prove and strengthen a statement (thesis). The greater the quality of the arguments that are found for a thesis, the stronger it is. An authority argument is an argument that refers to verifiable statements by professionals as well as persons with significant influence in an area → argument types.

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Autograph

Autographs, autographs, are the descriptive descrip- tions of a composer, author, poet, artist or other well-known personality from politics, science, art, literature and history. Under autographs, an autograph is considered to be particularly valuable if, in addition to the person’s manuscript, it also bears its signature. Since the 17th century in France and England, as well as the 18th century in Germany, such autographs have been specifically collected as a material reminder of a well-known personality. The sole signature, which is not next to a lecture, is called an autograph.

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Declarative sentence

As a statement, also a declarative sentence, a proposition theorem, a narrative sentence, or a constant theorem, a sentence is designated in German which makes an assertion or assertion. Excerpts thus make a statement about a fact which can be true or false. In German, one differentiates sentences, call rates, question sets, wish phrases and exclamation sentences. This distinction is necessary because the position of the predicate varies according to the type of sentence. In the exposition the finite verb is in second place, ending with a point or a comma, the intonation is falling, and the mode is indicative or subjunctive (see types of sentences).

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Edition of last hand

In the literary sciences, the last edition of the book refers to the last edition of his works published in the lifetime of an author, which is approved, approved and therefore binding. The term is generally only applicable to texts.

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Actorial narrator

In literary studies one differentiates in four narrative perspectives, which offer different perspectives on the narrated history. We can divide between the so-called I-narrator, a personal, neutral, and the authorial narrator. To the last mentioned narrative perspective it is to go in this contribution.

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Eye Rhyme

The eye rhyme is a rhyme style. The rhyme rhymes rhymes of rhymes, which rhyme only in an ortograph, but are not exactly identical. This means that the sequence of the individual letters of the rhymes’ syllables is identical, but they are pronounced completely differently. For example, the noun track, if it is pronounced in English, forms an eye-rimmed with the last syllable of the German word rucksack. It is a special form of the impure rhyme.

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Appearance

The appearance of a performer in front of an audience is described as an appearance. This performance can take place on a stage, in the film, in the theater or during a musical performance. In terms of the drama, the performance also means a structure unit, representing the smallest structural unity of the drama. The drama is usually divided into acts, which in turn are broken down into scenes. In German plays, these acts are sometimes referred to as an elevator and the scenes as a performance. For example, Maria Stuart, a drama by the poet Friedrich Schiller, consists of five acts (acts) consisting of 52 performances (scenes). If the figure constellation changes on the stage and the actors change, the performance is over. The counterpart of the performance is the finish.

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Asyndeton

Asyndeton is a stylistic device of rhetoric, which encounters us in texts of all kinds and literary genre. The asyndeton is a list (→ enumeratio) of at least three words or phrases, which are equated and not connected by a conjunction (link). In principle, however, larger parts of the sentence are also conceivable. The counterpart is the Polysyndeton.

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Assonance

The assonance is a rhyming form and a stylistic device of rhetoric. Assonance meets us primarily in lyrical texts, but can appear in works of all kinds and genres. The assonance is a vocal half-rhyme, which means that in neighboring words a consonance of the suits (vowels, a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü, eu, au) is found.

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Argument types

Whoever makes a thesis (assertion) must somehow justify it. The meaning or strength of a thesis depends on the arguments, that is, the evidence, which can be found for them. In this context one speaks also of the quality of the arguments. There are different ways to argue. In this article we would like to present typical arguments. These are referred to as argument types.

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Archaism

Archaism is a word that disappears from language because it is no longer needed and is commonly regarded as old-fashioned. If archaisms are deliberately used in rhetoric, they are regarded as stylistic means. Archaism can be used as a distancing, ironic or even pathetic, that is, exaggerated and imposed.

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Apronym

Aprony is a special form of the acronym. An acronym is used to denote short words, which are formed from the initial letters of several words (World Cup World Championship). If the initial letters themselves form a separate word from the vocabulary, this is referred to as Apronym (example: ELSTER-ELECTONIC STERRING).

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Appeal

The appeal was originally the sign given with the drum or trumpet, on whose sound soldiers assembled, and also the orderly arrangement of soldiers. In linguistics, the appeal is part of interpersonal communication. This means the urgent and provocative reminder or a call and a call in general.

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Apotheosis

As an apotheosis, the deification or glorification of a man, that is to say mortal, is called God or even half-God. It was customary, especially in antiquity, to explain living rulers to divinity, which sometimes legitimized legitimate rule. In ancient times a ceremony, which explains the mortal to God, is called an apotheosis. The apotheosis stands opposite the reincarnation, which means the rebirth of a saint or god.

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Apostrophe

The apostrophe is a stylistic device of rhetoric and means the solemn or emphasized salutation to an imaginary object or an absent person. The apostrophe can thus be found in all literary genres, even though we can rather discover them in spoken utterances, such as drama or speech (→ speech analysis)

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Aposiopesis

As apostrophe is a rhetorical stylistic device, which can appear in all literary genres. Aposiopese means the breaking of a sentence before the essential is said. This must be developed by the recipient himself. The stylistic means is therefore a kind of brachyogy as well as a form of the ellipse and serves the dynamization of a dialogue.

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Aporie

The impossibility of solving a philosophical question, because there are contradictions, is designated as aporia. If a thing is aporetic, one obtains contradictory or contradictory results if it is to be solved or answered. In rhetoric, the aporia is also known as a stylistic device similar to Dubitatio. Here, the speaker is looking for a solution to a seemingly hopeless problem. It also means the doubt of a concrete fact.

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Apophthegm

The apophthegma is a short, apt statement of meaning. The apophthegma often ends with a pointe and is written in prose. Consequently, aphorisms, sentences, proverbs, and bonmots are always apophthegms, with a similarity to the anecdote or the epigram. In the ancient world extensive collections of such utterances were made by Plutarch, the publisher Manutius and later by Erasmus of Rotterdam.

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Apocope

The apocope is a rhetorical stylistic medium and encounters us in texts of all kinds and literary genre. The apocope is the omission of the last letter or the last syllables of a word. Thus, the apocope can be used to vary the linguistic sound, to change the dynamics of the speech, or to maintain a certain metrum.

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Apokoinu construction

Apokoinu is a stylistic device of rhetoric that can be encountered in any literary genre. The Apokoinu is a stylistic figure of the word-saving and serves the scarcity as well as artistic brevity. Here, a word or phrase also refers to two other parts. Frequently the individual word is in the middle of an utterance and refers to the preceding and the following. The figure is a form of Brachylogy and is related to Ellipse as well as to Zeugma.

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Antonym

Antonym is a linguistic counter-word, also an opposition word. Accordingly, the antonym means a word whose meaning is the absolute antithesis, that is, the exact opposite of another word. In the literature, Antonyms are used mainly in paradoxa, oxymora or antithesis. However, there is not a corresponding antonym for each term. Not to be confused are antonyms with counterparts. The counterpart is a counterpart, that is, something which, while the content is the same, is assigned to a different domain or (cultural) space.

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Antonomasie

Antonomasia is a linguistic means, which is a special form of Synekdoche and belongs to the tropics. Antonomasy either means (1) the transcription of a self-name, using properties or characteristic adjectives to describe this proper name, or (2) the designation of a genus or group by naming a particular known representative of the genus or group.

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Dystopia

Dystopia, also called anti-utopia and matopia, is the counterpart of positive utopia (cf. eutopia). Dystopia is a narrative which shows a negative distortion of future humanity. This future is characterized by a society that has developed into a negative one. Frequent themes are the enslavement of mankind and, in general, the circumcision of all freedoms, which is often caused by an over-powerful technique, which was designed by man himself, but can no longer be dealt with in the future. In addition, dystopia often shows the totalitarian state and its power, with only small groups enjoying privileges and lower and middle class living standards below the level of contemporary societies. There is often a protagonist in these dystopias, who inquires about these social conditions and feels that something is in the arrogance, in which case he rebels against the system or the rulers.

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Antithesis

The antithesis is a stylistic device of rhetoric and can be found in texts of all kinds. A thesis is a claim, whereby Anti can be translated with “against”. Antithesis is, therefore, a counter-assertion or a compilation of opposing concepts. Thus the antithesis is related to the oxymoron and the chiasm.

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Antilabe

A rhetorical stylistic means, which is mainly used in the drama but is also found in lyric poetry, is described as an antilabe. The Antilabe describes the fact that a single verse, which is metric or in content, belongs to two or more figures. These fragments are usually not independent sentences, but word sequences.

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Antiklimax

The Antiklimax is managed in many specialist books as an independent stylistic device. In principle, however, it is only the reversal of climax. In this case a step is gradually increased, the increase usually taking place in three parts. The anticlimax is therefore a gradual reduction of what has been said and can amplify a statement.

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Antagonist

The opponents of the protagonist, that is, the hero of a text, are described as antagonists in the literature. The antagonist has the task as well as the function to put the main figure in the way, to thwart their plans and plans or to add their damage. Antagonists themselves do not have to be figures, but can be landscapes or systems, but also represent quite abstract principles, which must be overcome by the hero.

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Annotation

An annotation is generally referred to as an annotation. In particular, there are comments attached to a (literary) text, which are not essential to the main text or key word, but which nevertheless appear to be relevant to the latter by adding additional information. Such annotations are usually added as a footnote and are thus an addition to a section or word at the bottom of the page. They are also partly enclosed in the form of the gloss. They may include information, excerpts, word translations and the like. In books and libraries, the term means a concise description or characterization of a text that serves as a guide for the user. In linguistics, an annotation means describing a syntactic structure, in which annotations are used in programming languages ​​to add additional information to the source text which is ignored by the processing software but simplify the understanding of the program for the programmer.

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Annals

Annals are records which represent historical events in chronological order. Such annals are regarded as an early form of historiography and are already documented in the Orient as well as in the West, and can also be found in Roman antiquity. In ancient Rome, the Pontifex maximus – the highest priest – (Epidemics, omens, lunar and solar eclipses, etc.) every year on white tablets, which can be regarded as the first forerunner of the annalistic genre. Such annals serve as an important source for classifying historical events. However, very often the truth and myth are blurred in the presentation, so that such texts should always be compared with other sources. Nowadays, however, the term is also used for many historical works, annual reports and as titles of (non-historical) journals.

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Anglicism

As anglicism is meant a speech or word formation which has been taken from English into another language and – with regard to German – is not perceived as German, such as online, container, laptop or team. Anglicisms can be accepted by the linguistic community, and then incorporated into the language-usage, which in the beginning are mostly regarded as neologisms (cf. Neologism). However, anglicisms can not be accepted by the general public and are then used mainly in certain language groups (see jargon, technical jargon) and are often perceived by other speakers as Denglisch. If Anglicism is characterized by British English, it is also referred to as Britishism; is taken from the American, one speaks of Americanisms. In the literature, anglicisms are also used as an ironic stylistic tool.

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Anecdote

An anecdote is a short narrative. The basis of the anecdote is a remarkable or characteristic event, usually from the life of a (known) personality. Here anecdotes characterize the respective personality sharply, since they show exemplary essential characteristics of the person. Another characteristic feature is the pointed end.

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Anastrophe

An anastrophy is a rhetorical stylistic means, which means a reversal of the common syntactic word. Often, the disaster is used to keep a certain rhythm or sound (see Metrum) or to create a rhyme. The concept is thus understood to mean a figure in which, in deviation from the otherwise usual grammatical word setting, two related words are converted. Hysterone proterone and hyperbaton are related.

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Anapodoton

The anapodoton, also ananpodoton, is a rhetorical stylistic device, but can also be considered as a style defect. The anapodoton is a special case of the anacoluth describing a sentence break. The style figure describes the circumstance that only the first part in a sentence is obtained with a corresponding conjunction (though – both, both – and – neither – etc.).

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Anaphora

The anaphor is a rhetorical figure of the word repetitions, as well as the anadiploses or the epiphes, and is used as a stylistic means to structure texts and to rhythmize them. The word “anaphor” can be derived from the Greek and means roughly backward or backward (gr. Ἀναφορά (anaphorá))

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Anapest

An anesthetic is called an anastomia. In the quantifying metric, the anapost is formed by means of two short and one long syllable (υυ-). In German, however, there is an accentuating metric. This means that syllables are dimensioned not because of their length and shortness, but because of their emphasis. Here, the anapost is composed of two unstressed and a concise syllable. Alternatively, we can also speak of two sinks and a lift (→ offset).

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