| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Diction | the manner in which something is expressed in words |
| Dynamic Characterization | a character who changes throughout the course of a work |
| Static Characterization | A character that does not change. |
| Figurative Language | the use of figures of speech to express ideas |
| Form | any poetic convention used to enhance meaning |
| Irony | a contrast between expectation and reality |
| Dramatic Irony | (theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play |
| LIterary devices | Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration). |
| rhetorical techniques | the devices used in effective or persuasive language |
| Motif | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| Paradox | An apparent contradiction that is actually true. |
| Oxymoron | a figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms |
| Pathetic Fallacy | the fallacy of attributing human feelings to inanimate objects |
| Personification | representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature |
| Register | a variety of language or a level of usage, as determined by the degree of formality and choice of vocabulary |
| Theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| Tone | the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author |
| Narrator | someone who tells a story |
| Stream of Consciousness | a literary genre that reveals a character's thoughts and feeling as they develop by means of a long soliloquy |
| symbolism | when a thing represents more than just itself |
| Setting | arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted |
| Allegory | a visible symbol representing an abstract idea |
| Satire | witty language used to convey insults or scorn |
| Parody | humorous or satirical mimicry |
| Pastiche | a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work |
| Alliteration | occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely placed words |
| Consonance | repetition of consonant sounds |
| Anaphora | repetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses |
| Caesura | a break or pause (usually for sense) in the middle of a verse line |
| Hyperbole | extravagant exaggeration |
| Imagery | language that appeals to the senses |
| Assonance | repetition of vowel sounds |
| Enjambment | the continuation of meaning, without pause or break, from one line of poetry to the next |
| Onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds |
| simile | comparison using "like" or "as" |
| metaphor | an implied comparison |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it |
| synechdoche | Uses a part to explain a whole or a whole to explain a part. |
| Verse | a piece of poetry |
| Blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| Free verse | Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme |
| Connotation | the implied or suggested definition |
| Denotation | The dictionary definition of a word |
| Exposition | an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse |
| Rising Action | events leading up to the climax |
| Climax | the decisive moment in a novel or play |
| Falling Action | events after the climax, leading to the resolution |
| Denouement | the outcome of a complex sequence of events |
| Soliloquy | speech to oneself |
| Catharsis | purification that brings emotional relief or renewal |
| Hubris | excessive pride or self-confidence |
| Syntax | the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences |
| Apostrophe | address to an absent or imaginary person |
| Epiphany | revelation |
| Colloquial | characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation |
| Anachronism | something out of place in time |
Combine with other sets
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