| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Acronym | a word formed from the initial letters of other words |
| Allegory | in fiction, the representation of abstract ideas or qualities as actions and characters |
| Alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds |
| Allusion | reference to a well-known person, place, thing, idea, event, etc. |
| Ampersand | a symbol for the word "and" - & |
| Anachronism | something out of place and time |
| Analogy | a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well |
| Annotate | to provide explanatory notes to a text |
| Antagonist | a character who opposes the main character |
| Anthology | a published collection of works or parts of works by an author or several authors |
| Aside | a short passage spoken to the audience |
| Assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds |
| Ballad | a narrative passed on in the oral tradition |
| Bard | a poet |
| Bibliography | a list of written sources of information |
| Catharsis | the emotional purging or release that is the function of tragedy to produce |
| Characterization | method the author uses to acquaint readers with characters |
| Indirect | learn about characters through what they say, what others say about them, and what they do |
| Direct | learn about characters directly through exposition by the author |
| Round | many-sided character |
| Flat | one-sided character |
| Static | never-changing character |
| Dynamic | always changing |
| Cliche | an overused, predictable, and therefore uninteresting expression or idea |
| Colloquial | of speech and informal writing, conversational |
| Man vs. Self | internal struggle is the main conflict |
| Man vs. Man | character against another character |
| Man vs. Society | character against the system |
| Man vs. Nature | character against the environmnet |
| Man vs. Supernatural | a conflict beyond one's control |
| Connotation | what a reader believes the word means |
| Consonance | repetition of final consonant sounds |
| Denotation | a dictionary definition |
| Denouement | the final solution, or outcome, of a play or story |
| Dialect | a major subdivision of a language |
| Dialogue | conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work |
| Discourse | in general, all communication in language |
| Elegy | a lyric poem on death or some other sombre subject |
| Ellipsis | the leaving out of a word or passage |
| Epic | a long narrative poem with larger-than-life characters |
| Epitaph | the inscription on a tomb or gravestone |
| Epithet | a descriptive name given to a person |
| Et. Al | Latin for "and others" |
| Eulogy | a spoken or written praise, often of somebody dead |
| Euphemism | use of a less direct, less offensive word or phrase |
| Extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length |
| Fable | a short, simple story teachinglesson, usually with animals |
| Farce | a highly humorous and highly improbable plot |
| Fiction | writing from a writer's imagination |
| Figurative Language | using figures of speech to heighten meaning |
| Flashback | interruption to show an episode from the past |
| Foil | someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character |
| Folklore | the customs, legends, songs, and stories of a people or nation |
| Foreshadowing | a hint to the reader of what is to come |
| Genre | a form or type of literature |
| Homonyms | two words that are spelled alike, sound alike, but have different meanings |
| Homophones | two words that sound alike |
| Hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| Idiom | in language, a customary expression |
| I.e. | Latin abbreviation for "that is" |
| Imagery | the sensory details that create pictures in our minds |
| Inference | a reasonable conclusion based on limited information |
| Invocation | calling upon a divine power for aid |
| Irony | a contrast between what appears to be and what really is |
| Verbal Irony | meaning the opposite of what you say |
| Dramatic Irony | events or facts are understood by the reader, but not the characters |
| Situational Irony | the exact opposite of what you expect to happen, happens |
| Jargon | language of a trade or profession |
| Malapropism | a type of pun that results when two words become jumbled in the speaker's mind |
| Metaphor | an implied comparison |
| Monologue | in drama, an extended speech by one person alone, with or without an audience |
| Mood | the emotions the literature makes the reader feel |
| Motif | a recurring character, event, idea, or object |
| Myth | a traditional story connected with religion of a people |
| Non-fiction | writing about real people, places, things, and events |
| Novella | a prose fiction shorter than a novel |
| Ode | a lyric poem usually composed in complex stanza form and intended to praise |
| Onomatopoeia | words sounding like the thing being discussed |
| Oxymoron | contradictory terms placed together |
| Pagination | numbering of pages in a book |
| Parable | a brief fictional work teaching a lesson |
| Paradox | statement that seems contrasting to common sense yet may be true |
| Paraphrase | rewording |
| Parody | a form of literature intended to mock a particular literary work or its style |
| Persona | in literature, a role or character |
| Personification | giving human qualities to non-living objects |
| Plagiarism | LITERARY THEFT, duplicating another writer's work without giving proper credit |
| Poet Laureate | the officially recognized or chief poet of a nation |
| Poetic Devices | terms used to describe features of a poem |
| Poetry | a kind of rhythmic, compressed language using figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagination |
| Dramatic Poetry | characters speak in their own person, just like those in a stage play |
| Lyric Poetry | rich in musical devices |
| Narrative Poetry | poetry tells a story |
| Point of View | the relationship between the teller of the story and the characters |
| First Person | narrator is a character is in the story |
| Third Person | an outside narrator tells the story |
| Omniscient | all knowing; the narrator knows everything about the characters |
| Preface | a brief introduction to a work stating an author's intention (foreword) |
| Prologue | something that precedes and serves to introduce the main body of a work |
| Prose | literary writing not marked by rhyme or meter |
| Protagonist | main character |
| Pun | a play on words |
| Realism | a way of representing life that emphasizes ordinary people |
| Redundant | continued unnecessary use of words for meaning |
| Repetition | repeating a word or phase to stress its importance |
| Rhetoric | the art of persuasion by speech or writing |
| Rhyme scheme | pattern of rhyme in a stanza |
| End Rhyme | rhyming of words at the ends of lines of poetry |
| Internal Rhyme | a rhyme that happens inside a line of poetry |
| Rhythm | the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| Satire | a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing the way things are |
| Scansion | the analysis of the rhythm of any given verse |
| Simile | a comparison using like or as |
| Soliloquy | a speech in which character does not address others, but rather speaks aloud to himself |
| Sonnet | a short poem, usually 14 lines |
| Speaker | the person talking in a poem |
| Continuous Form | lines follow each other without formal grouping |
| Stanzaic Form | poet writes in a series of stanzas |
| Fixed Form | traditional pattern that applies to a whole poem |
| Shape Form | made to look like the topic which it addresses |
| Style | a manner of expression characteristic of the author |
| Symbol | something concrete that represents something else |
| Syntax | word order |
| Theme | the main idea of a piece of literature |
| Tone | the author's attitude toward the subject matter |
| Tragedy | literature in which the character suffers disaster after a serious struggle but faces his or her downfall with heroic stature |
| Trilogy | a group of three related works |
| Vernacular | the native language of any particular place |
| Vignette | written or verbal sketch of a brief scene or incident |
| Subjective | Includes personal feelings, attitudes, and opinions |
| Persuasive | convinces readers to think the way the author does about a subject |
| Expository | a detailed explanation intended to make clear or explain something |
| Narrative | writing that relates an event or series of events, tells a story |
| Descriptive | writing that describes something |
| Prewriting | technique used to stimulate writing |
| Revision | an initial look at one's first draft to review for CONTENT |
| Editing | reviewing for readability and correctness following the revision stage |
| Proofreading | a final reading for additional corrections |
| Describe | to give a word picture of something; to tell a story in detail. |
| Discuss | usually requires a long and complete response to the specific question |
| Explain | to make plain, to clarify, to analyze, and to account for |
| Identify | to name, to make known, to bring out |
| Interpret | to clarify, to elucidate, to expound, explain, or translate the significance of |
| Summarize | to give main points in a condensed form with the small details left out |
| Holistic | a score that is reflecting or concerned with the whole piece of writing |
| Analytic | multiple scores reflecting each trait's quality |
| Ideas and Content | creating a clear, well-focused, relevant, and detailed approach |
| Organization | structural development (beginning, middle, end) |
| Word Choice | choosing words that are clear, concise, exact and effective |
| Voice | conveying the feeling of the writer that suits the purpose and the audience |
| Sentence Fluency | putting words together to form correct, well-written, varying sentences |
| Conventions | grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, etc. |
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