Allegory
a narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one; point is to reveal an abstraction or a truth
Alliteration
the repetition at close intervals of initial identical consonant sounds. or vowel sounds in successive words or syllables that repeat.
Allusion
an indirect reference to something with which the reader is expected to be familiar (mythological, biblical, literary)
ambiguity
an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. also, the manner of expression of such an event or situation may be amigos. artful language may be ambiguous. unintentional ambiguity is usually vagueness.
anachronism
assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence
anaphora
repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. this device is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writers point more coherent
angst
a term used in existential criticism to describe both the individual and collective anxiety-neuriosis of the period following World War II. Anxiety, dread, anguish
antithesis
the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance
apostrophe
address to an absent or imaginary person; or dead person
archetype
an original model on which something is patterned
aside
actor addresses the audience but the actors cant hear it
assonance
the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words
asyndeton
series of words separated by commas
balance
both halves of the sentence have the same length
catharsis
(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions
characterization
developing characters
chaismas
arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of XYYX (short and summarizes main idea)
comedy of manners
deals with the relations and intrigues of gentlemen and ladies living in a sophisticated society; evokes laughter
comic relief
humorous speeches in the course of a tragedy
conceit
unusual or surprising comparison between two very different things
concrete language
specific observable things
connotation
associations associated by a word not a definiton
consonance
repetition of a consonant sound
cumulative
sentence which begins with the main idea and then expands that idea with details
diction
word choice
didactic
fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model or correct behavior or thinking
dramatic irony
when the reader is aware of an inconsistency between a fictional or nonfictional character's perception of a situation and the truth of that situation
elegy
poem talking about the death of a particular person
elliptical
sentence structure which leaves out something in the second half
ennui
a persistent feeling of tiredness or weariness which often afflicts existential man, often manifesting as boredom
epigraph
quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of a theme
epiphany
a major character's moment of realization or awareness
epithet
term used to characterize a person or thing; descriptive substitute
euphemism
the use of a word or phrase that is less direct, but also considered less distasteful or less offensive thatn another
explication
the act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text (close reading and figurative language)
exposition
background information provided by a writer to enhance a reader's understanding of the context of a fictional or nonfictional story.
Farce
a type of comedy where one dimensional characters are put into ludicrous situations, ordinary standards of probability and motivation are freely violated in order to evoke laughter
fictioin
imagination
figurative language
words inaccurate literally
figure of speech
sense in order to make the meaning more specific
flat character
constructed around a single idea or quality; immediately recognizable
foil
traits are the opposite and who thus point up the strengths and weaknesses of the other character
freight-train
sentence consisting of three or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunctions
genre
french, a literary form or type; classification. e.g.. tragedy, comedy, novel, essay poetry
Hubris
overwhelming pride or insolence that results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy
Hyperbole
conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect; not intended literally
Image
a word or group of words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the senses; always a concrete representation
Imagery
the use of images, especially in a pattern of related images, often figurative, to create a strong unified sensory expression
Induction
a form or reasoning which works from a body of facts to the formulation of a generalization; frequently used in science and history
Inversion
variation of the normal word order (subject first, then verb, then complement) which puts a modifier or the verb as first in the sentence. the element that appears first is emphasized more than the subject
Irony
when a reader is aware of a reality that differs from a character's perception or reality. THe literal meaning of a writers words may be verbal irony. generally speaking, a discrepancy between expectation and reality
Litotes
opposite of hyperbole; litotes intensifies an idea understatement by stating through the opposite. e.g "it wasn't my best day" instead of "it was my worst day
Metaphor
comparison of two things; may occur in a sentence or implied
Dead Metaphor
so overused that its original impact has been lost
Extended Metaphor
one developed at length and involves several points of comparison
Mixed Metaphor
when two metaphors are jumbled together, often illogically
Metonymy
designation of one thing with something closely associated with it. (calling the head of a committee a chair, the king the crown, a newspaper the press, or old people the gray hairs)
Mood
an atmosphere created by a writers word choice (diction) and the details selected. syntax is also a determiner of mood because sentence length and complexity affect pacing
Moral
the lesson drawn from a fictional or nonfictional story. a heavily didactic story
Motif
a frequently recurrent character, incident, or concept in literature
Novel
an extended piece of prose fiction (sociological-economic and social conditions, historical-events from history,regional-setting and locality,epistolary-through letters)
Onomatopoeia
the use of a word whose pronunciation suggests its meaning (buzz, hiss, slam, pop)
Oxymoron
A rhetorical antitheses, juxtaposing two contradictory terms, like "wise fool
Parable
a short story form which a lesson may be drawn
Paradox
a seemingly contradictory statement or situation which is actually true
Parallelism
sentence construction which places in close proximity two or more equal grammatical constructions
Parody
an exaggerated imitation of a usually more serious work fro humorous purposes
Pathos
Qualities of a fictional or nonfictional work that evoke sorrow or pity, over emotionalism can be the result of excess of pathos
Periodic Sentence
sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements
Peripety
reversal in the heros fortunes
Persona
a writer often adopts a fictional voice to tell a story. persona or voice is usually determined by a combination of subject matter and audience
Personification
inanimate objects have human traits
Plot
system of actions represented in a dramatic or narrative work
Point of View
the perspective from which a fictional or nonfictional story is told )1st person, 2nd, 3rd, etc
Polysyndeton
sentence with uses and or another conjunction, with no commas to separate the items in a series, usually appearing in the form X and Y and Z stressing equally each member of the series
Protagonist
chief character usually trying to accomplish something
Pun
a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meaning
Repetition
word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity
Round Character
a character drawn with sufficient complexity to be able to surprise the reader without losing credibility
Satire
a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. targets groups
Sarcasm
a type of verbal irony in which under the guise of praise a caustic and bitter expression of strong and personal disapproval is given; intended to hurt
Simile
comparison using like or as
Situational Irony
applies to works which contain elaborate expressions of the ironic spirit
Soliloquy
when a character in a play speaks his thoughts aloud
Stock Character
conventional character types that recur repeatedly in various literary genres
Stream of Consciousness
technique of writing that undertakes to reproduce the raw flow of consciousness with the perceptions, thoughts, judgements, etc, just as they occur without being tidied into grammatical sentences or given logical and narrative order
Style
the choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes
Symbol
a thing, event or person that represents or stands fro some idea or event
Synecdoche
part of something is used to stand for the whole
Syntax
in grammar, the arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship
Theme
central idea of a work revealed and developed in the course of a story of explored through an argument
Tone
a writers attitude toward the subject
Tragedy
representations of serious actions with turn out disastrously
Tragic Flaw
tragic error in judgement; a mistaken act which changes the fortune of the tragic hero from happiness to misery hamatria
Understatement
deliberately representing something as much less than it really is
Unity
work which is said to be unified is all the parts are related to one central idea or organizing principle
Verbal Irony
when the reader is aware of a discrepancy between the real meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the authors words
Zeugma
the writer uses one word to govern several successive words are clauses e.g. she discovered new york and her world