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Useful Literary Terms

Terms in this set (86)

existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence

existing in material or physical form, real or solid

A story with a second meaning beneath the surface one, often illustrating an idea or a moral principle

The repetition at close intervals of the initial sounds of words

A reference to a previous work or event in history or literature

the deliberate use of more than one possible meaning or an intentional lack of clarity for effect

A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things

A figure of speech wherein the speaker speaks directly to someone who is absent or dead or to something nonhuman

A character, situation, image or plot that repeats in art

When a character in a drama makes a comment that is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play

The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds

A simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited

Lines written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Cacophony/Euphony

Cacophony is an unpleasant combination of sounds. Euphony, the opposite, is a pleasant combination of sounds

A pause found at the middle of a line of poetry

A grotesque likeness of striking characteristics in persons or things

A cleansing of the spirit of the spectator at the conclusion of a tragedy through experiencing the emotions of pity and terror

Characterization

Description of the distinctive nature or features of a character

The arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence in time

The repetition at close intervals of internal or final consonant sounds

An author's choice of words

Dramatic Monologue

In literature, the occurrence of a single speaker saying something to a silent audience

Deus Ex Machina

As in Greek Theater, the employment of any artificial device or gimmick that the author uses to solve a difficult situation -Author bails out character (unrealistic)

A lyric poem lamenting death

End-stopped line

When a line of poetry ends with a grammatical pause, marked or not by punctuation

When a line of poetry does not end with a grammatical pause but runs on into the next line

A long narrative poem dealing with the actions of gods and heroes

A quotation, usually brief, which appears at the beginning of a literary work and highlights a theme within that work

A brief tale which illustrates a moral lesson

Figurative Language

A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words

A character who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison

The basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. In scansion, a foot represents one instance of a metrical pattern (iamb, dactyl, trochee, spondee, etc)

A method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come

Returning to an earlier time in a story or play for the purpose of clarifying present actions or circumstances

Unrhymed poetry with lines of varying lengths, and containing no specific metrical pattern. This is NOT to be confused with blank verse

A term used to describe literary forms such as tragedy, comedy, novel, essay

A figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs

The representation through language of sense experience

Irony takes many forms.
In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what is expected.
In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not.
In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony

Placement of two objects or ideas close together for contrasting effect

Subjective, reflective, nonnarrative poetry that reveals the poet's thoughts and feelings

A figure of speech wherein a comparison is made between two unlike quantities without the use of the words "like" or as

A regular pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables in a line or lines of poetry. Below is an illustration of some commonly used metrical patterns:
Iamb (unstress, stress): Whose woods / these are / I think / I know
Trochee (stress, unstress): Irish poets / learn your / trade
Anapest (unstress, unstress, stress): As I came / to the edge / of the woods
Dactyl (stress, unstress, unstress): Half a league, half a league, half a league, onward
Spondee (stress, stress): Now, by / heaven

A figure of speech in which something closely related is used to represent the thing actually meant, such as using The White House" for the president

A figure of speech wherein a part represents the whole. All hands on deck" wants the sailors as well as their hands to come up from below deck

The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work

A device that serves as a unifying or reinforcing agent in conveying a theme

A form of verse or prose that tells a story

A poem in praise of something

A literary device wherein the sound of a word constitutes its meaning, such as "buzz" or "crack."

A combination of contradictory terms, such as Jumbo shrimp

A brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson

A situation or a statement that seems to contradict itself

A literary work that imitates the style of another literary work. A parody can be simply amusing or it can be mocking

A literary work that depicts an idealized or nostalgic view of rustic or country life

Personification

A figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics

The role or façade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader, a viewer, or the world at large

The events in a story, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution/denouement

The beginning part of a literary work that gives information about the characters and their situation before the action changes them

the part of a story that leads up to the climax

The point at which the conflict reaches its peak

the part of a story that follows the climax

Resolution/Denouement

The unraveling of the plot's conflict at the end of a story

The view, whether limited or omniscient, the reader gets of the action and characters in a story

A narration in the first person, from the perspective of a character

A narration in the second person, directed at the reader

Third Person Omniscient

A narration in the third person, and the author reveals the minds of all the characters

Third Person Limited

A narration in the third person, and the author shares the mind of only one, or a few characters

Third Person Objective

A narration in the third person in which the author does not share the thoughts or feelings of any characters

The principal actor or character

the character who opposes the protagonist

The repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals, often used in the writing of verse

A piece of literature designed to ridicule the subject of the work

The time and place of the action of a story

A comparison using "like" or "as"

In drama, a moment when a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud

A lyric poem of fourteen lines whose rhyme scheme is fixed. The rhyme scheme in the Italian form as typified in the sonnets of Petrarch is abbaabba cdecde. The Petrarchan sonnet has two divisions: the first is of eight lines (the octave), and the second is of six lines (the sestet). The rhyme scheme of the English, or Shakespearean, sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. The change of rhyme (*) in the English and Italian sonnet is coincidental with a change of theme in the poem; this is called the "turn."

A major subdivision in a poem. A stanza of two lines is called a couplet; a stanza of three lines is called a tercet; a stanza of four lines is called a quatrain

An image or figure of speech in which something means more than what it is

The mixing of sensory experience; the concurrent appeal to multiple senses. Hot pink"

Sentence structure — how the arrangement of words or phrases create sentences

The author's attitude within a literary work

A form of literature in which an inherent character flaw destroys the protagonist

Similar to truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades the reader that he/she is getting a vision of life as it is

The personality used by a writer or speaker

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