| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Kenning | A metaphorical phrase used in place of a common noun. Use circumlocation in order to refer to something more vividly than if the thing itself were simply named. |
| Masque | A type of verse drama portraying a mythological, allegorical, or pastoral narrative enhanced by song, dance, and lavish staging. |
| Latinate | Describes a literary text written in the style of classical Latin literature. |
| Melodrama | Emotionally exaggerated situations or conflicts, often involving unbelievably good and evil characters. |
| Limerick | A form of light verse with five lines rhymed AABBA; the A-rhymed lines have three accented syllables and the B-rhymed lines have two accented syllables. |
| Metalepsis | The compounding of multiple figures of speech. |
| Local Color | Details of a particular region's physical setting, dialect, habits of speech and throught, customs, manners, values, and folklore. |
| Metanarrative | Describes elements of a narrative that openly refer to or comment upon their own placement within the narrative. |
| Lyric Poetry | Poetry that expresses the subjunctive mood, emotions, thoughts, or imagination of a specific speaker. |
| Metaphor | An indirect or implicit comparison of two fundamentally different things, without using the words like or as. |
| Malaprop | A word mistakenly substituted for another which is similar in sound, with humorous (and sometimes bawdy) effect. |
| Meter | In verse, a rhythmic pattern of syllables arranged by number, degree of stress, or both. |
| Magical Realism | A genre of fiction in which elements of fantasy, myth, or the supernatural are included in a narrative that is otherwise objective and realistic. |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which the name of one thing is replaced by the name of some closely related thing. |
| Magnum Opus | Literally "great work" or masterpiece. |
| Synechdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole (or less frequently the whole stands for one of its parts.) |
| Masculine Ending | An accented syllable falling at the end of a line of metrical verse. |
| Mimesis | Greek for "imitation." used to describe the artistic representation of reality. |
| Mise en Scene | The visual setting of a dramatic performance, whether in a theatre or in film. |
| Monometer | Describes a line of metrial verse consisting of one foot. |
| McGuffin | a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story, but the details of which are of little or no importance otherwise. |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace