Literary Terms

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Literary Terms

Absurd- a term frequently used to describe the meaninglessness of life in today’s world.

Allegory- a narrative in which characters, action, and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts or moral qualities.

Alliteration- repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words or accented syllables.

Allusion- A reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is know from literature, or popular culture.*

Ambiguity- the result of something being stated in such a way that its meaning cannot be definitely determined.²

Anachronism- placing something at a time or place contrary to historical fact.

Anapest- Two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one.¹ Anastrophe- inversion of the natural or usual word order.

Antagonist- a character who opposes the protagonist, often the villain.

Apostrophe- a figure of speech in which an absent person, an abstract concept, or an inanimate object is addressed directly.

Archetype- an image, story- pattern, or character type which recurs frequently and evokes strong, often unconscious, associations in the reader. For example: the wicked witch and fairy godmother.

Aside- Private words that a character in a play speaks to the audience or to another character and that are not supposed to be overheard by others onstage.*

Assonance- repetition of vowel sound.

Ballad- a song or songlike poem that tells a story.*

Blank verse- poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.*

Cacophony- A mixture of harsh, unpleasant, or discordant sounds usually found in poetry.²

Caesura- a pause or break within a line of poetry, usually indicated by the natural rhythm of the language.

Canto- a subdivision in a long poem, corresponding to a chapter in a book.*

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Characterization- techniques used by the writer in creating a character

Classic- in the special sense, the art and literature of Greece and Rome; in the general sense, art and literature of any time recognized as of the highest excellence.

Cliché- overused expression.

Climax- this refers to the decisive point in a literary work where one force in the conflict overcomes the opposing force. In other words, climax is the point at which the conflict begins to be resolved.

Comedy- in general, a story that ends happily.*

Complication- an intensification of the conflict in a story or play. Develops the central conflict in a play.¹ Conceit- a fanciful and elaborate figure of speech that makes a surprising connection between two seemingly dissimilar things.*

Conflict- the struggle that grows out of the interplay between two opposing forces.

Connotation- meaning-emotional.

Consonance- the repetition of final consonant sounds after different vowel sounds.*

Couplet- two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.*

Criticism- the analysis of works of literature for the purpose of understanding and evaluating them Dactyl- a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones.¹

Denotation- literal meaning of a word.

Denouement- the final untying of the plot (often called falling action).

Dialect- the imitation of regional speech in writing, using altered phonetic spelling. Dialect is used to develop characterization, setting, and mood.

Dialectic- a form and method of logical argumentation that typically addresses conflicting ideas or positions.² Dialogue- the conversation between two or more people represented in a literary work.

Diction- a writer’s choice of words, a significant component of writing style.

Double entendre- An expression with both a normal and a bawdy interpretation.

Drama- a story told by means of action and characters speaking dialogue, usually for presentation in a theater.

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Dramatic irony- When the audience knows something the actors do not.

Elegy- a poem that mourns the death of a person or laments something lost.*

Ellipsis- The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.

End-stop line- a line of poetry in which the meter and the meaning conclude with the end of the line.*

Epic- a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society.*

Epigram- a brief, clever, and usually memorable statement.*

Epilogue- a separate, concluding section added to a work, serving to round out or interpret of it.

Epiphany- in literary work, a moment of sudden insight or revelation that a character experiences.*

Euphony- pleasing, harmonious sounds.²

Existentialism- a philosophical school whose proponents maintain that existence precedes essence.²

Exposition- the beginning of a works of fiction, wherein the author sets the atmosphere and tone, and provides the reader with the information he will need in order to understand the unfolding of the plot. Exposition provides the necessary background information.

Extended metaphor- a comparison that is used throughout an entire work or a large portion of it.

Fable- a brief tale, in which the characters are often animals, told to point out an oral truth.

Fantasy- a work which takes place in an unreal world, concerns incredible characters, or employs physical and scientific principles not yet discovered.

Farce- a type of comedy which depends for its effect on outlandish situations rather than on witty dialogue, plot, and character.

Fiction- an imagined story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama. Or an imagined character. 1

Figurative Language- a form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words.¹

Flashback- interruption of the narrative to show an episode that happened prior to that particular point in the

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Foot- one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables in a poem.

Foreshadowing- the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot.*

Form- either the general type or unique structure of a literary work.² Frame narrator-

Free verse- poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme.*

Genre- category in literature.

Gothic- a term used to describe literary works that contain primitive, medieval, wild, mysterious, or natural elements.*

Hamartia- a tragic flaw of weakness of character of judgment.

Hubris- arrogance or overweening pride which causes the hero’s transgression against the gods.

Hyperbole- a figure of speech involving great exaggeration for expressive or comic effect.

Iamb- an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

Imagery- language that appeals to the senses.*

Inference- conclusion about behavior of a character from info given.

Irony- contrast between appearance and actuality Juxtaposition-

Legend- a traditional story about a particular person, place, or deity, often popularly accepted as history.

Local Color- detailed representation in fiction of setting, speech, and customs of a particular region.

Melodrama- a type of tragedy with an exaggerated plot and stereotyped characters.

Melodrama- used to describe any work that relies on sensational events and improbabilities for dramatic effects.

Metaphor- a comparison which does not involve use of like or as; a direct statement that one thing is another.

Metaphysical poetry- a term applied to seventeenth-century poetry who wrote in a similarly difficult and abstract style.

Meter- the measured pattern of rhythmic accents in poems.¹

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Metonymy- a figure of speech in which something closely related to a thing or suggested by it is substituted for the thing itself.*

Monologue- an extended speech given by one speaker.

Mood- the prevailing emotional atmosphere or feeling created in a literary work.

Motif- a character, incident, or idea that recurs frequently in various parts of the same work.

Narrator- the character who is telling the story.

Naturalism- writing that depicts events as rigidly determined by the forces of heredity and environment.

Nonfiction- a work of prose dealing with real events.

Novel- a long work of prose fiction dealing with characters, situations, and settings that imitate those of real life.

Octave- an eight-line stanza or poem or the first eight lines of an Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet.*

Ode- a complex, generally long lyric poem on a serious subject.*

Onomatopoeia- words used in such a way that the sound of the words imitates the sound of the thing spoken about.

Oxymoron- a figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory incongruous ideas.*

Paradox- a statement that seems to be self-contradictory but which turns out to have valid meaning.

Parody- a kind of burlesque aimed particularly at making the style of an author ridiculous.

Persona- “mask” of the author- voice in telling.

Personification- the representation of ideas, animals or objects as human beings, by endowing them with human qualities.

Plot- in the simplest sense, a series of happenings in a literary work, but often used to refer to the action as it is organized around a conflict and builds through complication to a climax followed by a resolution.

Point of view- the angle of vision from which a story is narrated.¹

Prologue- section of a work preceding the main part, serving as an introduction.

Prose- ordinary written or spoken expression.²

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Pun- simultaneous use of two or more different senses of the same word or different words with the same sound for expressive or humorous effect.

Pyrrhic- a metrical foot with tow unstressed syllables.¹

Quatrain- a four-line stanza or poem or a group of four lines unified by a rhyme scheme.*

Realism- a way of representing life as it seems to the common reader. Material selected tends to deal with ordinary people in everyday experiences.

Rhetoric- the use of words for a specific effect.

Rising action- the portion of the plot which builds the tensions between two opposing forces in the conflict; this occurs between the exposition and the climax.

Romance- historically, a medieval verse narrative chronicling the adventures of a brave knight or other hero who must undertake a quest and overcome great danger for love of a noble lady or high ideal.*

Romanticism- unlike realism, stresses man’s glory and freedom rather than his limitations.

Run-on line- a line of poetry that does not contain a pause or conclusion at the end, but rather continues on to the next line.*

Sarcasm- the use of exaggerated praise to imply dispraise. Similar to irony, but more specific in intent, and heavier, less subtle in tone.

Satire- a kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.

Scansion- a way to indicate the metrical pattern of a poem*

Sentimentalism- a term usually used pejoratively today to refer to woks that play excessively and unconvincingly on the audience’s emotions, particularly those of pity and sympathy.²

Sestet- a six-line stanza or poem or the last six lines of an Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet.*

Setting- the literal place and time in which the action a work of fiction occurs.

Simile- a figure of speech involving a comparison using like or as.

Soliloquy- a dramatic device which allows a character to speck his thoughts aloud, apparently unheard by others who may be on stage.

Sonnet- a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes.*

Spondee- a metrical foot represented by two stressed syllables.

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Stanza- a group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit.*

Stereotype- an expression, character, or plot that embodies only the conventional and expected and thus possessing no individuality or particularity.

Stream of consciousness- a writing style that tries to depict the random flow of thoughts, emotions, memories, and associations rushing though a character’s mind.

Style- the way something is written. Many elements contribute to style: diction, syntax, figurative language, imagery, tone, POV. Style might be formal, conversational, objective, etc.

Subplot- a subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story that coexists with the main plot.

Surrealism- a term used in both painting and literature to apply to incongruous and dreamlike images and sequences which are associated with the unconscious.

Symbol- a person, place, or object representing something beyond itself to succinctly communicate abstract, complex ideas.

Synecdoche- figure of speech in which a part stands for a whole.*

Syntax- the order of words in a sentence

Theme- a universal truth an author attempts to convey.

Tone- the attitude the writer takes toward the subject

Tragedy- dramatic or narrative writing in which the protagonist suffers disaster after a serious and significant struggle, but faces his downfall in such a way as to attain heroic stature.

Tragic flaw- flaw of character in a tragic hero which causes his downfall.

Trochee- an accented syllable followed by an unaccented one.

Trope- figuratively speaking, to turn or twist some word or phrase to make it mean something else.² Understatement- a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or she means.¹ Verbal irony- when what is said is different than what is meant.

Verse- any metrical composition.²

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