| Term | Definition |
|---|
| setting | the surroundings or environment of anything |
| characterization | portrayal; description |
| tone | the attitude toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work |
| mood | the feeling that a work of literature evokes |
| foreshadowing | to show or indicate beforehand |
| flashback | an event or scene that took place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work |
| allusion | a reference to another work of literature or art to a person or event |
| apostrophe | an address to a dead or absent person as if they were present |
| figurative language | speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect |
| quatrain | a stanza of four lines, rhymed or unrhymed |
| free verse | rhythmical, but non-rhyming, lines |
| rhetorical questions | questions to which no answer is expected |
| metaphor | a comparison made literally by a verb |
| simile | a comparison made with "like" or "as" |
| personification | the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions |
| imagery | the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively |
| hyperbole | an exaggeration used for emphasis |
| oxymoron | a rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined (ex: a cruel kindness) |
| pun | the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications |
| assonance | repetition of similar vowel sounds |
| iambic pentameter | a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable |
| euphony | pleasing sounds |
| blank verse | unrhyming iambic pentameter |
| alliteration | using the same letter to start 2 or more stressed words |
| onomatopoeia | imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent |
| rhythm | The patterned, recurring alternation of contrasting elements, such as stressed and unstressed |
| rhyme | identity in sound of some part, esp. the end, of words or lines of verse |
| irony | the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning |
| theme | a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art |
| point of view | the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook |
| consonance | the close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after different vowels |
| couplet | two successive rhyming lines |
| cacophony | harsh sounds |
| sonnet | poem of a complete thought in 14 lines; usually in iambic pentameter |
| bequeath | to hand down, to give or to leave in a will |
| covert | secret, concealed |
| grievous | characterized by severe suffering or sorrow; serious or grave |
| portent | a sign or forewarning |
| rhetoric | the manipulation of language to achieve a desired effect |
| eulogy | a speech or piece of writing that praises someone highly; typically someone who has just died |
| redress | compensation or reparation for a loss or wrong a party has experienced |
| chastise | to punish or scold somebody |
| fickle | likely to change, especially in affections, intentions, loyalties, or preferences |
| mettle | courage or spirit; strength of character; the particular mental and emotional character unique to an individual |
| servile | too willing to agree with somebody or to do whatever demeaning thing somebody wants |
| countenance | somebody's face, or the expression on it; composure or self-control; to tolerate, accept |
| prodigious | great in amount, size, or extent; very impressive or amazing |
| appease | to satisfy somebody, especially by acceding to demands |
| vile | causing disgust or abhorrence; very evil |
| acuity | sharpness of perception |
| advocacy | support of an idea or cause |
| conflagration | a large fire |
| deference | courteous; going along with the opinions or wishes of another |
| docile | easily managed; obedient |
| gravity | seriousness, importance |
| impel | to urge or to drive forward |
| incorrigible | incapable of being reformed or improved |
| ingenuity | cleverness, inventiveness, resourcefulness |
| inundate | to flood, to overflow |
| magnanimity | having a loft, generous, and courageous spirit |
| ostentatious | showy, pretentious |
| palpable | tangible, perceptible, easily noticeable |
| propensity | preference, natural inclination |
| reproach | to blame for something; a disgrace |
| scrupulous | very principled, very careful and conscientious |
| sequester | to seclude |
| trepidation | fear, trembling, agitation |
| venerate | to honor, to revere |
| vivacious | full of life; very animated |
| extended metaphor | metaphor used throughout a work of art |
| paradox | a self-contradictory phrase or sentence (ex: the ascending rain) |
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