Alliteration
repetition of initial or medial consonants in two or more adjacent words
Allusion
reference to someone, something, or some event known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, music, art, or some other branch of culture
Antagonist
character or force in conflict with the main character, or protagonist
Antithesis
rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences
Archetype
image, story-pattern, or character type which recurs frequently in literature and evokes strong, often unconscious, associations in the reader
Assonance
repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words
Audience
receivers from a speaker's or writer's message
Cacophony
succession of harsh, discordant sounds in either poetry or prose, used to achieve a specific effect
Character
person, animal, or natural force presented as a person in a literary work
Dynamic
undergoes change
Static
does not undergo change
Flat
exhibits one personality trait
Round
exhibits various, often contradictory, personality traits
Dialogue
verbal exchanges between characters
Diction
writer's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning
Connotation
all of the emotions associated with a word
Denotation
dictionary definition of a word
Epiphany
sudden understanding or realization which prior to this was not thought of or understood
Flashback
scene in a literary work that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier
Foil
character whose traits are the opposite of those of another character and who thus points up the strengths or weaknesses of another character
Foreshadowing
use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest coming action
Genre
particular type or category of writing
Hyperbole
boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true
Imagery
words or phrases that appeal to one of the five senses
In Media Res
In the midst of things," starting a story in the middle of the action
Irony
contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
Dramatic Irony
creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true
Verbal Irony
writer or speaker says one thing and means something entirely different
Situational Irony
exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control
Metaphor
figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, without using the word like or as
Mood
prevailing feeling or emotional climate of a literary work
Motif
character, incident, idea, or object that recurs in various works or in various parts of the same work
Objectivity
presentation of characters and plot in a literary work without overt comment or judgement by the author
Onomatopoeia
use of words whose sound echoes the sense
Oxymoron
yoking of two contradictory terms
Personification
form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to non-human things
Plot
sequence of events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem
Exposition
beginning of a story; introduces setting, characters, and sometimes conflict
Rising Action
follows the inciting moment where the conflict is introduced; plot becomes more complicated and conflict intensifies
Conflict
struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a literary work
Internal Conflict
exists within the mind of a character torn between two ideas
External Conflict
character struggles against an outside force
Climax
point of greatest emotional intensity
Falling Action
action that follows the climax, leading to resolution
Denouement
outcome of a plot; resolution of a conflict
Point of View
vantage point from which the narrative is told
First Person
narrator is a character in the story
Third Person Limited
narrator is not a character in the story, but the audience sees through the eyes of only one character
Third Person Omniscient
narrator is not a character in the story, and the audience sees through the eyes and hears the thoughts of many characters
Protagonist
central character in a literary work, at odds with the antagonist
Pun
play on words
Satire
literary art of ridiculing a subject, folly or vice in order to expose or correct it
Setting
time and place in which the events of a story occur, often helping to create an atmosphere or mood
Subjectivity
evident presence of the personal feelings and opinions of the author
Symbol
person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal significance
Theme
central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work
Thesis
statement of opinion that is the writer's focus or main idea that is developed in an essay
Tone
author's implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author's style
Understatement
figure of speech that says less than is intended
Aesthetics
the nature or philosophy of beauty in art, literature, or nature
Allegory
when characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities; also an extended metaphor
Anachronism
out of time; placing something in a time where it does not belong
Anecdote
a brief story told to illustrate a point or sever as an example of something
Antihero
an atypical protagonist
Aphorism
a brief saying embodying a moral
Apology
a written or spoken defense
Apostrophe
an address, either to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman or a personified abstraction that cannot comprehend. Allows speaker to think aloud.
Autobiography
a form of nonfiction in which a person tells his or her own lifestory
Biography
a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life of a person
Canon
an accepted list of literary works
Carpe Diem
Latin phrase meaning "seize the day
Catharsis
a moral and spiritual cleansing you receive when watching a protagonist overcome great odds
Confidant/confidante
a character who has little effect on the action but in whom the protagonist or some other major character confides
Criticism
analysis, study, and evaluation of individual works of literature
Deductive
reasoning from general to specific
Deus Ex Machina
God in the Machine," Greek idea from when a god would be lowered or brought on stage to rescue the hero
Doppleganger
double-goer," a mysterious twin or a double fighting against your good work
Dystopia
bad place," - an imaginary world which was constructed to be perfect, but failed
Epic
a long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events
Euphemism
a device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid unpleasantness
Euphony
combination of pleasing sounds in poetry or prose
Ethos
ethical appeal". A rhetorical appeal which relies upon the credibility or trustworthiness of the speaker or author
Expository
a mode of writing that is used to explain something
Extended metaphor
sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors
Fable
a brief story that is told to present a moral or practical lesson
Figurative language
language not meant to be interpreted in a literal sense
Frame story
a story that contains another story or stories
Gothic
work characterized by a general mood of decay, action that is dramatic and generally violent or otherwise disturbing
Hamartia
Greek and translated as "sin," literally it means an error, mistake, frailty, or misstep
Homily
religious speech or writing that usually gives practical moral counsel rather than discussion of doctrine
Hubris
extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall
Invective
a violent verbal attack
Tragic Irony
form of dramatic irony found in tragedies
Cosmic Irony
occurs when a writer uses God, destiny, or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character
Juxtaposition
place side by side purposefully to permit comparison or contrast
Litotes
figure of speech in which the speaker emphasizes the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
Implied metaphor
a more subtle comparison; terms being compared aren't so specifically explained
Synechdoche
part of something is used to signify the whole
Metonymy
something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it
Microcosm
small world," representing an entire idea through a small situation or conflict
Pathos
emotional appeal," a rhetorical appeal that plays on the emotions of the audience
Paradox
apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth
parody
a humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work, trying to make the original work seem absurd
Persona
speaker created by a writer to tell a story or to speak in a poem
Prose
all forms of written or spoken expression not having a regular rhythmic pattern
Rhetoric
the art of persuasion and employing the devices to persuade
Rhetorical shift
changing from one tone, attitude, or distance to another
Rhetorical questions
asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something obliquely
Sarcasm
the use of language to hurt or ridicule
Semantics
the study of meaning
Stream of consciousness
the recording or re-creation of a character's flow of thought
Subplot
a secondary story within a story
Syllogism
a formula for presenting a logical argument
Synthesia
figure of speech juxtaposing one sensory image with another image that appeals to an unrelated sense
Synopsis
a summary of the main points of a story or essay
Syntax
the arrangement of words within sentences and sentences within paragraphs
Synthesis
the joining of two or more ideas, arguments, abstracts, to produce a new idea, argument, or abstract
Utopia
a perfect world
Verisimilitude
quality "of being true or real"; a likeness or resemblance of the truth, reality or a fact's probability
Vignette
a literary sketch or verbal description, a brief incident or scene
Characterization
the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality
Direct presentation
by exposition or analysis, we're told what characters are like, or another character in story describes them
Indirect presentation
author shows the characters through their actions, appearance, etc
Colloquial
informal conversation; differs in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, imagery, or connotation
Dialect
characteristic of speech of a particular region or social group
Narration
the kind of writing or speaking that tells a story
Narrative devices
the ordering of events, withholding information until a climactic moment
Active voice
subject of the sentence is the "doer" of the action
Anadiplosis
repetition of the last word of one clause of the beginning of the following clause
Anaphora
repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
Anastrophe
inversion of the natural or usual word order of a sentence
Antecedent
the word or phrase to which a pronoun refers
Antimetabole
reversing of the grammatical order of repeated words or phrases to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast
Antithetical parallelism
juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure
Asyndeton
deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related words, phrases or clauses
Balanced sentence
hinges in the middle, usually split by a semi-colon, the second half of the sentence paralleling the first half, but changing one or two key words or altering the word order
Chiasmus
reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses
Declarative sentence
conveys statements; simply states a fact or argument, without requiring either an answer or action from the reader
Digression
insertion of material not closely related to the work or subject
Ellipsis
deliberate omission of a word or words which are readily implied by the context
Epanalepsis
repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause
Epistrophe
repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses
Exclamatory sentence
conveys intense emotion; a more forceful version of a declarative sentence
Imperative sentence
conveys commands; can remind readers of a point established earlier, give advice, or exhort with a special urgency or intensity
Interrogative sentence
asks a direct question and always ends in a question mark
Loose sentence
a sentence with its main clause at the beginning, followed by all subordinate clauses and elements
Parallelism
similarity of structure in a pair or series or related words, phrases, or clauses
Tricolon parallelism
series of three words, phrases, or clauses in parallel structure
Two-part parallelism
pair of parallel words, phrases, or clauses in a parallel structure
Passive voice
subject of the sentence is receiving the action
Periodic sentence
sentence with its main clause at the end, following all subordinate clauses and elements
Polysyndeton
deliberate use of many conjunctions
Syntax
ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences
Act
the major divisions within a play, often marking shifts in time or coinciding with the elements of a plot
Aside
part of an actor's lines supposedly not heard by others on the stage and intended only for the audience
Blank Verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
Chorus
group of characters in Greek tragedy, who comment on the action of a play without participating in it
Comedy
type of drama where the characters experience reversals of fortune
Comic Relief
use of a comic scene to interrupt a succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments
Fourth Wall
imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play
Freytag's Pyramid
conception of the structure of a typical five-act play
Malapropism
unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one of similar sound
Props
articles or objects that appear on stage or are used by a character during a play
Scene
minor divisions within an at of a play
Soliloquy
dramatic convention that allows a character alone on stage to speak their thoughts aloud
Stage Direction
playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that provide readers with information about the dialogue, setting, and action of the play
Stichomythia
dialogue where actors exchange short remarks; usually characterized by repetition and antithesis and delivered rapidly
Tragedy
play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending
Tragic Flaw
weakness or limitation of character
Tragic Hero
privileged, exalted character of high repute, who, by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate, suffers a fall from glory into suffering
Tragicomedy
genre that blends elements of tragedy and comedy
Ballad
song transmitted orally from generation to generation, that tells a story that is eventually written down
Didactic Poetry
designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson
Doggerel
derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed
Elegy
mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead
Dramatic monologue
type of lyric poem where a character (speaker) addresses a distinct but silent audience to reveal a dramatic situation
Epigram
brief, pointed, and witty poem that makes a satiric or humorous point
Lyric
brief poem that expresses the personal emotions and thoughts of a single speaker
Narrative
poem that tells a story
Ode
relatively lengthy lyric poem that often expresses lofty emotions in a dignified style
Parody
humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work
Sestina
fixed form of poetry consisting of thirty-six lines of any length divided into six sestets and a three -line concluding stanza called an envoy
Sonnet
fixed form of lyric poetry that consists of fourteen lines
Italian sonnet
Petrarchan sonnet, divided into an octave and a sestet
English sonnet
Shakespearean sonnet, organized into three quatrains and a couplet
Villanelle
fixed form of poetry consisting of nineteen lines of any length divided into six stanza: five tercets and a quatrains
Meter
rhythmic pattern of stress that recurs in a poem
Accent
emphasis or stress given to a syllable in pronunciation
Foot
metrical unit by which a line of poetry is measured
Line
sequence of words printed as a separate entity on the page
Stanza
recurring grouping of two or more verse lines in terms of length
Couplet
two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have same meter
Ballad stanza
four-like stanza known as a quatrain consisting of alternating eight and six syllable lines
Verse
poetic lines composed in a measured rhythmical pattern
Rhymed verse
verse with end rhyme and usually with a regular meter
Blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter; closest form to natural English speech
Free verse
open form poetry, poems characterized by nonconformity to established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza
Rhyme
repetition of identical or similar concluding syllables in different words
End rhyme
rhyme comes at the end of the line. Duh.
Internal rhyme
places at least one of the rhymed words within the line
Masculine rhyme
rhyming of single-syllable words
Feminine rhyme
rhymed stressed syllable followed by one or more identical unstressed syllables
Near rhyme
sounds are almost but not exactly alike
Eye rhyme
words may look alike but do not rhyme at all
Rhyme scheme
describes the pattern of end rhymes
Caesura
pause within a line of poetry that contributes to rhythm of line
End-stopped line
poetic line that has a pause at the end
Enjambment
one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning
Rhythm
recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry
Scansion
process of measuring the stresses in a line of verse
Terza rima
interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: aba, bcb, cdc, ded