| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Allegory | A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meaning |
| Allusion | A reference in one literary work to a character or theme of another work |
| Ambiguity | A statement which can contain two or more meanings. |
| Analogue | A comparison between two similar things. In literature, a work which resembles another work. |
| Anecdote | A very short tale told by a character in a literary work |
| Aphorism | A brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation. |
| Apostrophe | A figure of speech where the speaker speaks directly to something or someone not present. |
| Antecedent | The noun that a pronoun replaces |
| Antithesis | Contrasting ideas or images through the use of parallel structure. |
| Assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds in a literary work |
| Ballad | A story in poetic form, often about tragic love |
| Blank verse | A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| Cacophony | An unpleasant combination of sounds |
| Euphony | A pleasant combination of sounds |
| Canto | A subdivision of an epic poem |
| Carpe Diem | "Seize the Day" |
| Characterization | The method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character. |
| Chiasmus | Two phrases with the same syntax in different order. |
| Colloquialism | Informal or slang expression |
| Conceit | A far fetched simile or metaphor that is sustained. |
| Consonance | The repetition of consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds. |
| Elegy | A lyric poem lamenting death |
| Epigraph | A brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a literary work. |
| Epithet | A word or phrase before/after a name which described a character (ie: far-smiting) |
| Eulogy | A formal statement of praise |
| Euphemism | A mile word of phrase which substitutes for another which is less desirable |
| Free Verse | Unrhymed poetry with lines of varying lengths. |
| Hyperbole | An overstatement |
| Litotes | Two negatives that make a positive, a form of understatement |
| Meiosis | Understatement |
| In Medias Res | Starting a narrative in the middle of action |
| Metonymy | A word represents something else it suggests (ie: kleenex and tissues) |
| Ode | A poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea. |
| Parable | A brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson |
| Parallel Structure | A repetition of sentences using the same structure. |
| Pathetic Fallacy | A fallacy of reason suggesting that nonhuman phenomena act from human feelings. |
| Sonnet | A poem of fourteen lines and a fixed rhyme scheme. |
| Symbolism | A figure of speech in which an object represents an idea. |
| Synecdoche | A part of something represents a whole (ie: fifty head of cattle) |
| Synaesthesia | One sensory experience described in terms of another sense. (ie: I tasted the blue) |
| Trope | A figure of speech that is not literal. (ie: metaphor, simile, personification) |
| Zeugma | The same verb is used in two different ways in the same sentence. |
| alliteration | the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words |
| hyperbole | the extreme overstating of an idea; exaggeration for an effect |
| flashback | a scene that interrupts the present action to describe an event that took place at an earlier time |
| foreshadowing | a writer's use of hintsthat suggest events that will occur later in a story |
| irony | a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens |
| metaphor | a comparison to two unlike things that have something in common, without using the words like or as |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning |
| personification | the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea |
| simile | a comparison of two unlike things that have some quality incommon and used the words like or as |
| symbol | a person, place, an object, or an action that stands for something outside itself |
| tone | a writer's attitude toward his or her subject |
| Motif | A recurrent image, word, phrase, represented object or action that to unify the literary work or that may be elaborated into a more general theme. |
| climax | the moment of greatest emotional tension in a narrative, usually marking a turning point in the plot at which the rising action reverses to become the falling action |
| conflict | opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot) |
| falling action | the falling action (or resolution) is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications |
| resolution | The third part, the falling action (or resolution) is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications. |
| Major Character | almost always round; 3-D character, have good and bad qualities; their goals, ambition, and values change; are often referred to as round characters; a round character changes as a result of what happens to him or her |
| Minor character | one who takes part in the action, but isn't the focus of attention. |
| Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things, [examples are metaphor, simile, and personification. |
| literal language | A form of language in which writers and speakers mean exactly what their words denote. |
| rising action | A set of complications, conflicts, and crises in a story, novel, or play that leads to the climax and resolution of the action. |
| exposition | A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before, the relationships between characters, the development of a theme, and the introduction of a conflict. |
| theme | The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. A theme provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work are organized. It is important not to mistake the theme for the actual subject of the work; the theme refers to the abstract concept that is made concrete through the images, characterization, and action of the text. In nonfiction, however, the theme generally refers to the main topic of the discourse. |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace