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Literary Terms

Terms in this set (60)

The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, etc.

When something is unclear or open to interpretation

Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

The repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or sentences.

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero

Some abstract quality, or non existent personage that is directly addressed as though its present

A theme, symbol, or stock character that holds a familiar and fixed place in society

A remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

Poetry without rhyme but possibly still meter

The most intense moment in the story

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

The literal, dictionary meaning of word

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

The full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

A line with a pause at the end. Lines that end with a period, comma, a colon, a semicolon, an exclamation point, or a question mark are these types of lines.

The continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next

A narrative poem that relates the deeds of a hero

Nice words that replace offensive words

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.

This character has only one or two personality traits and is typically static, meaning he or she does not change much in the story.

A contrast character who highlights the qualities of another character.

The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot

Types or categories of literary works

An excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact

A common expression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning

Language that appeals to the senses

An intelligent guess that one makes to interpret a literary work

Contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality

An Old English, metaphorical expression, usually a compound, used in place of a name or noun

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between to unlike things without using "like," "as," "seems," or "resembles."

An atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected

An eight-line stanza

Use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning

Self-contradictory combination of words

Presents a contradiction but reveals truth

Parallel Structure

Structural arrangement of parts of a sentence, sentences, paragraphs, and larger units of composition by which elements of equal importance are similarly phrased; this creates balance between parts.

A restatement or rewording of a text or passage

An imitation of a work of literature

Personification

A type of metaphor in which a nonhuman object is talked about as if it were human

A series of related events that make up a story or drama

The vantage point from which a story is told

The Main character in fiction or drama

A play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meanings

A four-line stanza

Rhetorical Question

A question that is asked not to elicit a response but to make an impact or call attention to something

The pattern of rhyme at the end of each poem or song

Round Character

Complex characters with many traits; these characters usually change or develop in an important way

A caustic and bitter expression of strong disapproval intended to hurt

Type of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform

Time and place of a story

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using like, as , than, or resembles

A speech delivered alone on stage

Normally a fourteen line iambic pentameter poem

The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next

Person, place, thing, or idea that stands for both itself and for something beyond itself

The patterns of arrangement of words in a sentence

The central idea or insight that is revealed by a work of literature

The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character

The opposite of hyperbole; a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is

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