| Term | Definition |
|---|
| melodrama | cheesy theater; often emphasizes plot and action over character development |
| metabasis | brief summary of what has been said and what will follow |
| metanoia | modifies a statement by recalling it and expressing it in a better way |
| metaphor | comparison or analogy that states that one is another |
| meter | rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up set |
| metonymy | a single characteristic used to describe something outside itself (Victory crossed the finish line.) |
| mixed metaphor | combination of incompatible comparisons; trying to compare objects too dissimilar to carry off a comparison |
| mood | prevailing atmosphere created by language, tone, setting |
| motif | a recurring feature (e.g., name, image, phrase) in a work of literature |
| narrative | a story poem |
| naturalism | emphasis on man as animal, behaving strictly according to dictates of nature; emphasizes lack of free will; emphasizes sordid |
| neo-classicism | sees man as flawed and his institutions are flawed. Nature is neither good nor evil. Man needs to seek harmony with what is. |
| neologism | coinage; forming new word, usually spontaneously |
| nonce | open form poem (shape is unique to poem) written for a special occasion |
| novel of manners | novel describing social habits/customs of social group |
| octave | eight line stanza |
| ode | long poem on a serious subject that develops its theme with dignified language, intended to be sung |
| omniscient narrator | a third-person narrator who sees into character's heads |
| onomatopoeia | words sound like what hey mean |
| opposition | a pair of elements that contrast sharply |
| oxymoron | a phrase composed of opposities; a contradiction (sweet vinegar) |
| palinode | a poem retracting a regretted derogatory statement |
| parable | a story told in prose or verse that illustrates a religious or ethical idea |
| paradigm | a formal plan or sequence of changes which acts as a model |
| paradox | a statement that seems contradictory, but is not |
| parallelism | repeated syntactical similarities used for effect |
| parenthetical | a phrase set off by commas that interrupt the flow of a sentence |
| parody | exaggerating a specific work sot hat it appers ridiculous |
| pastoral | a poem set in a tranquil nature (ideally around shepherds) |
| pathetic fallacy | a cliched personification of nature (rain weeps) |
| pentameter | a line of verse containing five metrical feet |
| periodic sentence | a sentence that is grammatically incomplete until its final phrase (Despite Barbara's irritation, she cut Jack's hair.) |
| persona | the character created by author to narrate |
| personification | inanimate objects or animals take on human shape |
| Petrarchan sonnet | 14 lines/ abba abba cde cde |
| picaresque novel | novel about a picara or rogue and vagabond |
| prelude | an introductory poem to a longer work of verse |
| private symbol | an author's personal symbol that the reader udnerstands through the context |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace