Literary Terms
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Created by:
robertgarner on November 9, 2011
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70 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 allegory | story in which each part has both a literal and symbolic meaning |
| alliteration | the repetition of sounds (usually consonants) at the beginning of a series of words in a sentence or passage |
| allusion | reference within a story to another person, event, or work of literature |
| antagonist | causes protagonist to change, static |
| assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds within a series of words in a sentence or passage |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| caricature | points out flaws with humor |
| comedy | a play in which the character(s) experiences conflict that is eventually resolved for the better |
| connotation | feeling associated with a word |
| consonance | the repetition of consonant sounds at the end (usually) of a series of words in a sentence or passage |
| courtly love | a highly formal and ritualized relationship between a "knight" and a "lady" characterized as forbidden, secret, and usually unrequited |
| denotation | literal dictionary definition |
| diction | words beyond what the audience is likely to understand |
| dramatic irony | what the character knows is opposite of what the audience knows |
| dynamic | character that changes |
| ego | aspect of personality that balances desires of id with ideals of superego |
| external conflict | struggle between the protagonist and another character against nature or some outside force |
| fable | a story, usually written for children, simplistic plot, 2-dimensional or representative characters, stated moral |
| fairy tale | 2-dimensional characters, clearly drawn ideas about good and evil, elements of magic, heroism, and horror |
| figurative | not literal, metaphoric |
| foreshadowing | indication of a future event |
| genre | style of category or type of literature ranging from broad division to more specific |
| hyperbole | an extreme overstatement or exaggeration used to create emphasis |
| iambic pentameter | meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet, or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable |
| id | irrational and emotional aspect of personality, creates desires |
| imagery | the creation of a mental picture in the mind of the reader through an appeal to the senses |
| implication | conclusion based on something not openly stated |
| inference | conclusion based on reasoning and evidence |
| internal conflict | struggle which takes place in the protagonist's mind and through which the character reaches a new understanding or dynamic change |
| inversion | reversal of the usual order or role of words to identify some sort of emphasis |
| literal | exactly what is said |
| litotes | a type of understatement where an idea is expressed by denying something not similar |
| malapropism | the humorous confusion of one word with another word of similar sound |
| metaphor | the suggestion that something is figuratively similar to something with which it is not usually associated |
| meter | the recurring pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line or passage |
| metonymy | the representation of something as something else with which it is closely associated but not actually similar |
| monologue | a speech by a single character without another character's response |
| mood | how the author feels while writing a passage |
| onomatopoeia | a word that sounds like or imitates the thing or action to which it refers |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are used to express an idea |
| paradox | an apparently contradictory or illogical idea, statement, or situation that is nonetheless true |
| parody | satire that uses mimicry for comedic effect |
| personification | a trope in which abstractions, animals, ideas, or inanimate objects are given human (or living) characteristics, traits, abilities, or reactions |
| Petrarchan lover | a young man who suffers (both physically and emotionally) from loving an indifferent, aloof woman unreceptive to his feelings |
| plot | the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work |
| political allegory | story in which each part has both a literal and symbolic meaning in terms of politics |
| prologue | an opening section of a longer work |
| propaganda | any message in which the truth is twisted to promote a certain point of view |
| prose | ordinary speech without a regular pattern of rhythm (meter) or rhyme |
| protagonist | dynamic character |
| pun | the (usually) humorous use of similar sounding words to suggest multiple or alternate meanings |
| rhetoric | use of language to persuade or influence a society |
| rhyme | the repetition of vowel sounds preceded by different consonants |
| satire | points out human flaws, follies, or vices through the uses of humor, irony, wit, and sarcasm |
| scheme | the alteration in the ordinary or expected arrangement of words; an effect involving the sound or appearance of words |
| setting | time and place of a story |
| simile | a comparison between two dissimilar things that uses the words "like" or "as" |
| situational irony | inversion between what happens and what is expected |
| soliloquy | a monologue in which a single character remains alone on the stage to speak or express his or her thoughts |
| sonnet | the popular form of a 16th century love poem; 14 lines in a specific rhyming pattern |
| static | character that stays the same |
| superego | highly rational and intellectual aspect of personality that is concerned with rules and ideas about right and wrong |
| symbol | anything that represents something else |
| synecdoche | a type of metonymy in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or the thing itself |
| theme | unifying concept that underlies a piece of art or literature |
| tone | author's attitude in a piece of literature |
| tragedy | a play in which the character(s) experiences conflict that leads to his or her downfall or death |
| trope | a word or phrase that uses language figuratively and not literally; a figure of speech |
| verbal irony | inversion between what is said and what is meant or true |
| verse | any language that uses meter or rhyme; synonymous with a line of poetry |
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