| Term | Definition |
|---|
| paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| hyperbole | obvious and intentional exaggeration. |
| alliteration | the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group |
| caesura | any break, pause, or interruption. |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly." |
| theme | a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art. |
| meter | poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses. |
| stanza | an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem. |
| octave | a stanza of eight lines. |
| couplet | a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhyme and are of the same length. |
| objective point of view | presents the action and the characters' speech, without comment or emotion. The reader has to interpret them and uncover their meaning. |
| simile | a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in "she is like a rose." |
| personification | the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, |
| allegory | a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. |
| kenning | a conventional poetic phrase used for or in addition to the usual name of a person or thing, esp. in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon verse, as "a wave traveler" for "a boat." |
| foreshadowing | To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage. |
| climax | a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot. |
| foot | a group of syllables constituting a metrical unit of a verse. |
| blank verse | unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter |
| sestet | the last six lines of a sonnet in the Italian form, considered as a unit. |
| direct characterization | in literature and drama, the method of character development in which the author simply tells what the character is like |
| omniscient point of view | knows everything, may reveal the motivations, thoughts and feelings of the characters, and gives the reader information. |
| metaphor | a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in "A mighty fortress is our God." |
| allusion | a brief reference to a person, event, place, or phrase. The writer assumes will recognize the reference. |
| apostrophe | a direct address to a person, thing, or abstraction, such as "O Western Wind," or "Ah, Sorrow, you consume us." |
| pun | a play on words. |
| symbolism | the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. |
| tragic flaw | the character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy |
| verse | a metric line of poetry named according to the number of feet composing it. |
| free verse | poetry not written in regualr, rhythmical pattern, or meter |
| quatrain | a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes. |
| limited omniscient point of view | the material is presented from the point of view of a character, in third person. |
| indirect characterization | showing a character's personality through his or her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and appearance, or through another character's observations and reactions. |
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