| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Alliteration | repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables (Ex: She sells seashells by the seashore) |
| Allusion | a reference (often indirect) to something supposed to be known by the audience (Ex: As the cave’s roof collapsed, he was swallowed up like Jonah.) |
| Analogy | a comparison of two unlike things based on one common trait (Ex: The operation of a computer is an analogy to the workings of the brain.) |
| Antagonist | character that challenges the protagonist often creating conflict (Ex: Superman’s archenemy Lex Luthor could also be described as an antagonist.) |
| Anaphora | repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of two or more phrases or lines (Ex: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight…” --Winston Churchill) |
| Apostrophe | the direct address of an absent or imaginary person or object (Ex: “Oh World, I cannot hold thee close enough!” --Edna St. Vincent Millay |
| Cacophony | use of harsh-sounding letters or syllables (Ex: “Never my numb plunker fumbles” --John Updike) |
| Euphony | the use of pleasant-sounding letters or syllables (Ex: O star, the fairest one in sight) |
| Hyperbole | exaggeration used for emphasis or effect (Ex: I told you a million times) |
| Imagery | the use of vivid language to create mental pictures |
| Irony | difference in what is expected and what actually occurs (Ex: Saying, “Great!” when you get bad news) |
| Metaphor | an expression used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to express a similarity (Ex: I am the warden for this classroom) |
| Monologue | a dramatic speech or statement to the audience that other characters on stage cannot hear. This can exists as “inner” and “outer.” |
| Motif | a recurrent thematic element |
| Oxymoron | a phrase that contradicts itself (Ex: Jumbo shrimp) |
| Onomatopoeia | use of words that imitate the sounds of what the words represent (Ex: Buzz, crack) |
| Personification | endowing inanimate objects or abstract ideas with human qualities (Ex: The dead leaves danced in the wind) |
| Pun | a humorous play on words based on multiple uses of the word (Ex: Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat) |
| Protagonist | the hero or main character of a story or drama. Plot generally centers around this character. (Rainsford is the protagonist hero of “The Most Dangerous Game”) |
| Rhyme | use of matching sounds at the end of words or lines (Ex: cat, hat; observe, deserve) |
| Rhythm | the flow of sound based on the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| Simile | a comparison of two generally unlike things using “like” or “as” (Ex: He eats like a pig) |
| Soliloquy | a poetic speech in drama to the audience by a single character. (Ex: “To be or not to be…” is a part of Hamlet’s famous suicidal soliloquy.) |
| Stanza | a group of lines forming one division of a poem |
| Symbol | something that stands for or represents something else (Ex: American flag represents freedom) |
| Theme | a main subject or topic |
| Verse | a single line of poetry |
| Plot | the events leading towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect in a story |
| Climax | highest point of interest of the story followed by the falling action and resolution |
| Setting | the location of the story |
| Theme | the unifying subject or idea of a story often conveying a message or lesson about life, society or human nature |
| Narration | the teller of a story from a specific point of view 1st,2nd or 3rd person, limited or omniscient |
| Character | any person, persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates from a fictional work or performance |
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