Literary Terms

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Episodia: In ancient Greek theater, dialogues, often heated, that dramatized the play's conflicts.
Playwright: One who writes plays.
Hyperbole: The use of overstatement to achieve a desired effect.
Chorus: In Greek theater a group of people on stage who serve as commentators on events and characters.
Apollo: Greek god of the Sun, of truth and prophecy, and the lyre, music and poetry.
Quatrain: A four line stanza.
Figures of Speech: Ways of using language that deviate from literal, denotative meanings of words and which suggest additional meanings or effects.
Verse: Poetry composed in rhythmic and measured patterns that often rhyme.
Tragic flaw/hamartia: An error in judgment or defect in character that leads to a hero's downfall.
Epistrophe or Epiphora: when the last word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more times at the end of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases.
slant rhyme: Rhymes made from words that have a similar, but not exactly the same, sound
Prosody: The theory and practice of versification; the branch of knowledge that deals with metrical composition.
Character: A person presented in a dramatic or narrative work.
Stanza: Refers to a grouping of lines in a poem, set off by a space that usually has a pattern.
Aristotle: Greek philosopher author of The Poetics which contains his theory of tragedy.
Parody: A humorous imitation of another persons' work, usually serious.
Protagonist: The central character of a story.
Resolution/denouement: The conclusion of a plot's complications and conflicts.
Static characters: Do not change nor does the reader's knowledge of that character grow.
Close Reading: A careful and minutely observed reading of a text in which textual elements are analyzed in relation to one another and to the whole.
Rising action: The part of a plot where complication creates conflict.
Villanelle: 19 line rhyming poem divided into six stanzas: five tercets and a concluding quatrain. Lines 1 and 3 reappear in their entirety at the end of alternating stanzas.
Burlesque: Physical humor, often sexual or vulgar.
Soliloquy: A dramatic monologue delivered onstage and intended to reveal a character's inner thoughts and feelings.
Dionysus: God of wine and fertility, patron of Greek theater festivals.
Mask: Device used by Greek actors to convey mood, increase visibility and amplify the voice.
Foreshadowing: The introduction of verbal and dramatic hints about what is to come later.
Farce: A form of humor based on exaggerated, improbable incidents and language as well as slapstick comedy.
Suspense: The anxious anticipation of a reader or audience as to the outcome of a story.
Satire: Literary art of ridiculing a folly or voice in order to expose it.
Narrator: The teller of a story.
Extended Metaphor: A sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors.
Sophocles: Greek playwright and tragedian author of Oedipus the King and Antigone.
Unreliable narrator: A narrator who is either naive or disingenuous and therefore offers a perspective which may be distorted, incomplete, or untrue.
persona: a voice or an assumed role of a character that represents the thoughts of a writer or a specific person the writer wants to present as his mouthpiece.
Diction: A writers' choice of words and syntax that signals an elevated, formal, technical, conventional or informal use of language.
Drama: Literature written to be performed in a theater.
Didactic literature: Literature whose chief aim is to offer moral instruction.
Point of view: The specific filter or lens through which the story is related to the audience, usually 1st or 3rd person.
Pejorative: Giving or acquiring a less favorable meaning or connotation.
Juxtaposition: The act of placing two things (abstract or concrete) side by side for the purpose of inviting comparisons between them.
Epiphany: A deep realization of truth about herself/himself which often occurs in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment.
Sonnet: Poem of fourteen lines usually written in iambic pentameter.
Denotation: The dictionary meaning of a word.
Scansion: Process of measuring the stresses in a line of verse in order to determine the metrical pattern of the line.
indirect discourse: Method by which an author intervenes to describe and sometimes evaluate the character for the reader., is a technique in which the narrator mimics the voice or thoughts of a character without actually quoting the character.
End-stopped: A poetic line that has a pause at the end.
Apostrophe: An address to either someone who is absent (therefore they cannot hear), or to something that is nonhuman and cannot comprehend.
Haiku: A poetic form borrowed from the Japanese traditionally focused on nature and containing three unrhymed lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.
Oxymoron: Form of a paradox in which two contradictory words are used together. EX: "Sweet Sorrow."
Colloquial language: An informal type of diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often times slang.
Allegory: A narrative or description that is restricted to a single meaning due to the symbolic nature of its elements.
Tercet: A three line stanza, also called a triplet.
Metaphor: A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things.
Exposition: At the beginning of a work, sometimes as a prologue, it explains the background of the characters and their circumstances.
Hubris: Excess pride or self confidence that leads a protagonist to an error in judgment.
Controlling Metaphor: A metaphor that is central to and runs through an entire work.
Tetralogy: A standard entry for a theater festival competition consisting of a trilogy of tragedies and one satyr play.
Cliche: An idea or expression that has become trite from overuse.
Anaphora: repetition of the initial word(s) over successive phrases or clauses.
Ambiguity: The possibility of two or more interpretations of a word, phrase, action or situation.
Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole. Ex: "all hands on deck."
Orchestra: Area in the amphitheater where the chorus danced.
Ballad: Originally a song, transmitted orally from generation to generation that tells a story.
Octave: An eight line stanza.
Motivated action: Action for which the reader is offered reasons explaining how a character behaves.
Euphony: Refers to language whose sound is smooth/musically pleasing.
Antihero: A protagonist who has the opposite of most the traditional attributes of a hero.
Tone: The author's implicit attitude towards a subject as revealed by elements of the author's style.
Flat characters: Embody one or two qualities, ideas or traits that are easily summarized.
Meter: The rhythmic pattern of stresses that recur within a poem.
Theme: A central or dominant idea in a work, the abstract subject of a work.
Syntax: The ordering of words into meaningful patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Deus ex Machina: A mechanical device that lowered and raised actors on and off stage but which now means any improbable or easy means of ending a story.
Irony: A device that uses contradictory elements to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true.
Understatement: A figure of speech, often used ironically, that says less than is intended. Ex. Going to the moon was no ordinary task.
Satyr play: Short plays performed between more serious works produced in Greek and Roman festivals featuring bawdy and sexually explicit themes.
Enjambment: The technique of continuing through the end of one line to the next line in order to complete its meaning.
Free Verse: Open form poetry not conforming to conventional patterns of meter, line length, stanza format, and rhyme.
Sestet: A six line stanza.
Conflict: The struggle between opposing forces usually the protagonist and the antagonist.
Genre: Classifications of literature such as: poetry, fiction, drama, and essays.
Connotation: Associations and implications that go beyond the literal meaning of a word.
Antagonist: The character, force or collection of forces that oppose the protagonist.
In medias res: The strategy of beginning a story in the middle of the action.
Symbol: A person, object, image, word or event that evokes a range of meaning beyond its literal significance.
Canon: Those literary works generally considered to be the most important to read and study.
Literary Criticism: The art of analyzing and interpreting literary works within a given framework or set of priorities.
Comedy: Works whose chief aim is to amuse and entertain.
Couplet: Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have same meter.
Foil: A character whose behavior and values contrast sharply with those of another character and thus highlight the distinctive temperament of that character.
Picaresque novel: A novel characterized by an episodic plot and a protagonist who experiences serial misadventures, often though not always humorous.
Archetype: Characters, images, and themes that embody universal meanings, basic human experiences or mythic patterns.
Lyric Poetry: Poetry, often brief, that expresses the personal emotions of the speaker.
Ode: Lengthy lyric poem that expresses lofty emotions in a dignified style.
Stock characters: Stereotypic characters such as the "dumb blond" or the "mean stepfather."
Thespis: Reputed to be the first actor to step from the chorus in 534 BC, and engage in dialog with them; first actor.
Hyperbole: Overstatement, often used intentionally for emphasis.
Terza Rima: An interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: aba-bcb-cdc-ded and so on.
Crisis: A turning point in the action that has a powerful effect on the protagonist.
Simile: A figure of speech comparing two unlike things and using the words "like" or "as".
Peripeteia: A sudden and unexpected reversal in the protagonist's fortunes.
Catharsis: The release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy.
Subplot: A secondary action of a story, complete and interesting in its own right, that reinforces or contrasts the main storyline.
Reversal: The point where the protagonist fortunes turn in an unexpected direction.
feminine rhyme: Rhyming accented syllables followed by identical unaccented syllables at the ends of lines.
Thespian: An actor.
Climax: The moment of greatest emotional tension in a narrative usually marking a turning point.
Caesura: A pause within a line of poetry that contributes to its rhythm.
Stasimon: An ode in which the chorus responds to and/or interprets the preceding dialouge.
Skene: Small hut like building behind the stage used as a dressing room and later as a backdrop for painted settings.
Plot: The arrangement of incidents in a story.
Cacophony: Language whose sound is discordant, harsh, and/or chaotic.
invective: An emotional violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.
Cultural criticism: An approach to literature that focuses on the historical, social, political and economic contexts of a work.
Paradox: A statement that initially appears to be contradictory, but upon close inspection it makes sense. Ex: "Death, thou shalt die."
Anagnorisis: A sudden recognition or discovery of previously unknown information on the part of the protagonist.
Dynamic characters: Undergoes changes because of the action in the plot.
Characterization: The process by which a writer makes a character seem real to the reader.
Euripides: Greek playwright and tragedian author of Medea and The Bachae.
Round characters: Complex characters displaying inconsistencies and internal conflicts.
Epic: Long narrative poem, that focuses on a serious subject that chronicles heroic deeds/events important to a culture.
Tragedy: A story that reveals the breadth and depth of human spirit in the face of failure, defeat and even death.
Line: A sequence of words whose length is determined by the number of feet they contain.
Sentimentality: Treatments of material by an author designed to induce cheap or stock emotional responses that exceed what the circumstances warrant.
Image: A word or phrase that addresses the physical senses and triggers sensory impressions.
Metonymy: A figure of speech in which something closely associated with something is substituted for it. Ex: "the crown" = the king.
Formula literature: Escapist literature which conforms to established conventions and expectations.
Aeschylus: Greek playwright and tragedian, the earliest recorded Greek playwright.
Paraphrase: An expression in other words, usually fuller and clearer, of a written or spoken passage or text.
Elegy: A mournful lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead.
Aristophanes: Greek playwright and author of comedies such as The Birds and Lysistrata.

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