| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse |
| Anti-hero | A protagonist who is markedly unheroic: morally weak, cowardly, dishonest, or any number of other unsavory qualities. |
| Characterization | the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character |
| Imagery | The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, __ uses terms related to the five senses; we refer to visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory. For example, a rose may present visual __ while also representing the color in a woman's cheeks. |
| Conflict | opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot) |
| Juxtaposition | The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development |
| Flashback | a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story |
| Foil | A secondary character whose purpose is to highlight the characteristics of a main character, usually by contrast. |
| Generalization | a conclusion that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor |
| Metaphor | a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity |
| Motif | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| Oxymoron | conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') |
| Onomatopoeia | a word whose sound suggests the meaning |
| Paradox | a situation or statement that seems to be impossible or contradicting, but is nevertheless true, either literally or figuratively |
| Pathos | quality in drama, speech, music, literature, or events that arouses a feeling of pity/sorrow |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| Simile | a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as') |
| Repetition | repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis |
| Setting | the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs. |
| Satire | form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly |
| Symbolism | The practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character |
| Tension | A feeling excitement and expectation the reader or audience feels because of the conflict, mood, or atmosphere of the work |
| Tone | the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author |
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