| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Allegory | a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal meaning |
| Alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sound |
| allusion | figure of speech that makes a reference or mentions something famous |
| antagonist | a Villon or character against the protagonist |
| apostrophe | when a speaker addresses someone who is not going to answer |
| assonance | resemblance of sound, especially stressed syllables |
| conceit | an extended metaphor, meaning given more depth |
| comic relief | breaking dramatic tension with comedy |
| cacophony | a harsh discordance of sound, a meaningless mixture of noise |
| connotation | the associated meaning of a word, other than its definition |
| couplet | two lines of same metric length that rhyme and form to complete one unit |
| consonance | The repetition of consonants or of a consonant pattern, especially at the ends of words |
| diction | the style of writing is dependent on the choice of words |
| denotation | the literal definition of a word |
| denouement | final resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences |
| Aubade | a poem about dawn, or lovers leaving at dawn |
| blank verse | verse without rhyme |
| end rhyme | last syllables rhyme |
| enjambment | lines that go on forever, run on sentence |
| epigram | statement, or brief saying, pre intro |
| euphemism | a way of presenting something less bluntly |
| first person narration | through view point of one person |
| flat character | characters who play little role in the story |
| foil | contrasting characters |
| foreshadow | to predict an action before it happens |
| foot | smallest unit of measure in a poem, sylables |
| didactic | to teach someone something |
| dissonance | made to make an inharmonious sound |
| elegy | a poem in remembrance of someone's death |
| free verse | not having to rhyme |
| heroic couplet | two lines of rhyming pattern |
| hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration |
| iamb | combination of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| imagery | use of language that forces reader to use senses to see text |
| internal rhyme | rhyming within the same line |
| irony | a meaning opposite its original meaning |
| metonymy | when one word is replaced keeping the meaning the same |
| limited omniscient narrator | knowing of a few characters |
| motif | the reoccurance of a subject theme |
| lyric poetry | a poem that has a song like pattern |
| metaphor | comparing two different things |
| personification | giving human like qualities to not humans |
| prose | ordinary or common language |
| protagonist | main character, good, opposes antagonist |
| quatrain | stanza with four lines alternate rhyme scheme, abab |
| refrain | a phrase or verse that is repeated |
| rhetorical question | a question that is asked without expecting an answer, already knows answer |
| round character | a character with many complex and developed traits |
| satire | the use of humor to poke fun at people |
| setting | the place in which a story takes place |
| soliloquy | when a character gives a speech to himself |
| sonnet | 14 line poem, iambic pentameter, rhymes |
| simile | comparing two ideas using like or as |
| subtext | the underlying meaning of a writing |
| stanza | a unit within a larger poem |
| symbol | something representing something else |
| stream of consciousness | how the thoughts appear in narrators mind |
| stock character | stereotype character, present in other literature |
| synecdoche | part-whole whole-part specific-general material-thing made from it |
| syntax | how an author places words |
| tone | how the author creates mood |
| understatement | not exaggeration |
| verisimilitude | the sense that what is in a story is realistic |
| verse | poetry, a line or stanza of poetry |
Combine with other sets
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