Elements of Literature & Composition (1-25)

Accent

The stress given a syllable in pronunciation

Allegory

A story in which people, things, and events have another meaning

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds within a line of poetry

Allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history

Ambiguity

Language that gives more than one meaning, that leaves uncertainty as to meaning, alternate meanings to words, and that gives several streams of thought from the same word.

ambivalence

Resent when people have contradictory attitudes or emotions toward the same things or person at the same time.

Analogy

A comparison of two things, alike in certain aspects; particularly a method of exposition by which one unfamiliar object or idea is explained by comparing it in certain of its similarities with other objects or ideas more familiar.

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event which differs from a short story in that it lacks complicated plot and is unified in its presentation of time and place elements and in its relation of a single episode.

Antagonist

The character in fiction who stands directly opposed to the protagonist. The antagonist need not be a villain.

Anti-hero

A graceless, inept, sometimes stupid or dishonest protagonist who is opposite of a traditional hero.

Antithesis

A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas; a balance of one term against another for impressiveness and emphasis.

Apollonian

When applied to literature, it stands for reason, order, culture, and moral rectitude.

Apocalyptic

Literature concerned with predicting the ultimate destiny of the world, imminent catastrophe, and final judgment on mankind.

Apostrophe

Figure of speech in which someone (usually absent), some abstract quality, or a non-existent personage is directly addressed as though alive and capable of understanding.

Archetype

An image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke profound emotions in the reader since it awakens a primordial image in the unconscio

Assonance

Resemblance or similarity in sound between vowels followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables; its effect is more subtle than alliteration.

atmosphere

the prevailing tone or mood of a literary work, particularly�but not exclusively�when that mood is established in part by setting or landscape.

Aubade

A poem about dawn; a morning love song; a poem about the parting of lovers at dawn.

Avant-garde

New writings which show striking innovations in style, form, and subject matter; makes a frontal and organized attack upon established literary traditions.

Ballad

A simple poem which deals with a dramatic situation usually created for singing. Folk: an early literary form of unknown authorship, such as "Lord Randal.

Banality

Demonstrates a lack of effectiveness, seems tasteless or offensive, and expresses hackneyed, stale, trite, stereotyped images or ideas.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter (ten syllables containing five stressed syllables, beginning with an unstressed syllable).

Cacophony

A harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones. The hard c or k, the hard g, and the tand d, for example, when occurring close together are liable to produce a discordant effect.

Caesura

A pause or break in the rhythmical progress of a line of poetry.

Carpe Diem

Literally means "seize the day"; a motif in poetry which advises the reader to enjoy the pleasant pleasures because of the brevity and the finality of death.