Index of Literary Terms
Terms
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- accent
- In poetry, accent applies especially to vowels, and its recurrence produces a rhythmical effect.
- allegory
- A story told in symbolical language; an extended metaphor.
- alliteration
- near each other, two or more words beginning with the same or similar sounds. "The silence of the sea."
- anachronism
- placing an event, person, or thing in the wrong historical period. Julius Ceasar: "Their hats are pulled about their eyes."
- analogy
- to picture the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar. Inference that if two things agree in some respects, they will agree in others.
- anonymous
- of unknown authorships. Anon
- apostrophe
- a variety of personification, in which the thing personified is addressed directly. Macbeth to dagger: "Come, let me touch thee."
- appendix
- supplement. Matter added to a book
- archaic
- antiquated, old-fashioned; esp. words no longer in common use.
- atmosphere
- the general pervasive feeling aroused by materials in a piece of writing; setting, characters, theme, ect.
- autobiography
- story of a person's life, written by the person himself
- ballad
- a short narrative poem or song that tells a story in a direct, simple manner
- bard
- formerly, one who composed and sang; today, any poet
- biography
- narrative of a person's life, written by one who knew the person well either by actual acquaintance or through careful research
- blank verse
- unrhymed verse, especially unrhymed iambic pentameter. "Thanatopsis," Shakespeare's plays.
- burlesque
- to make a serious subject seem funny or ridiculous, or to treat small and trivial matters as if they were important. Similar to satire but less bitter
- cadence
- rhythm resulting from a particular arrangement of words
- caricature
- distortion by exaggeration of parts or characteristics
- characterization
- indication or delineation of the distinctive, typical attributes of a person to distinguish him from the author
- chorus
- Speakers or singers used to commment on action of drama, masque, etc.
- Chronological
- relation of events in order of their occurrence
- classic
- A literary work of highest class and acknowledged excellence.
- cliche
- A phrase which has lost its force because of continual use. "Sickening thud."
- climax
- the point at which the highest peak of interest or emotion is reached
- coincidence
- accidental coming together of certain events
- colloquial
- pertains to friendly conversation or writing; unsuited to formal communication
- comedy
- light, amusing drama; happy ending is typical
- conceit
- (n) Fanciful imagining of impossible situations between mortals and immortals. Elizabethan poetry.
- conflict
- Struggle of opposing forces. Between persons, groups, man and nature, within the individual
- contemporary
- the works of a living person, occurring at the same time
- conventional
- governed by generally aCCEPTED standards of customs, usage; contrast to original.
- couplet
- two consecutive rhyming lines
- denouement
- final resolution, or untying of plot
- dialect
- local or provincial form of language not recognized as standard
- drama
- a play. dramatic art, literature, or affairs
- dramatic irony
- situation in which a character is unaware of facts known to other characters, audience, or readers
- elegy
- a lyric poem, mornful,, plaintive, expressing gentle sadness as opposed to grief. A lament for the dead.
- epic
- a long narrative poem written in a noble, dignified style, typically relating deeds of great hero.
- epigram
- a short saying, in prose and poetry, expressing a single thought in witty pointed language.
- episode
- a separate incident in a larger piece of fiction
- essay
- a composition intendedd to explain something;
- fable
- a narration enforcing some useful truth; esp. one in which animals speak and act like human beings. Aesop
- fantasy
- supernatural type science fiction. Highly imaginative type of prose or poetry
- farce
- a humorous play in which plot and incident are greatly exaggerated.
- fictitious
- pretended, imaginary; not genuine
- figurative language
- use of words apart from their literal meaning to add beauty, originality, or force.
- figure of speech
- nonliteral use of words which usually suggest a comparison or help reader to form a mental pictrue. simile, metaphor, hyperbole
- flashback
- method of narration which moves backward and forward in time. Opposed to chronological
- foot
- unit of measurement in verse; usually one accented syllable and one or more accented syllabels
- hackneyed
- comomon place, trite
- hyperbole
- exaggeration for emphasis without intention of deception. I've told you a million times
- idealist
- one who idealizes, a visionary, dreamer
- idiom
- the language peculiar to or charactersict of a people, commmunity, a class
- imagery
- word pictures, usually containing figures of speech.
- imagists
- a group of poets who believed poems should present images, or word pictures, Amy Lowell
- internal rhyme
- rhyme within a line
- legend
- a stroy coming down from the past, usually not verifiable
- limerick
- a nonsense poem of five lines. Lines 1,2,5 and 3,4
- literal
- true to fact not exaggerated folloin tthe exact words
- local color
- presentation of the peculiarities of a particular locality and its inhabitants. Mark Twarin, Bret Harte
- lyric
- of poetry that which the writer expresses his own thought or feeling or mood generally composed in stanzas
- manuscript
- a written or typewritten documetn of any kind.
- melodrama
- a romantic, violent, or sensational drama in which these effects-romance, violence, sensationalistm-are used without adequate reason (logical meaningful, violence is not melo)
- metaphor
- figure of speech one thing is said to be another because of a quality the two shares
- meter
- the pattern of a verse
- metonymy
- figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole
- monologue
- oral or written composition express ideas of one person only. soliliquy
- mood
- the tone or feeling that prevails in a piece of literature
- muses
- in classical mythology, the goddesses who presided over song, poetry
- myth
- primitive stories of explanation,m involve gods demigods, origin, religion, custonms
- narrative
- anaccount a tale a story. Also, that part of a story involving explanations, setting
- naturalism
- similar to realism except that it concentrates on unhappy, unlovely aspects of life. Crane. Dreiser Steinbeck
- novel
- a distinct literary tyype of considerable length, involving characters, plot and setting
- ode
- a lyric poem full of novel feeling expressed with dignity.
- parable
- a story with rather obvious symbolic meaning from which a moral lesson is to be drawn. Jesus
- paradox
- a form of irony in which something that is apparently untrue proves on examination to be true.
- paraphrase
- to givbe meaning of a passage in other language or words
- parody
- writing in imitation of another
- pastoral
- literatuire that deals with the lives of shepherd, or of idealistically happy, peaceful, untrouble, country people.
- pathos
- the sense of pity
- poetic justice
- the effective operation of justice with due punishing of vice and due reward of virtue
- poetry
- actually, a higher type of verse. Language used as rhythmical, usually metrical, and adapted to arouse the feelings and imagination. Rhyme is not necessary.
- point of view
- focus of narration. Usually refers to the mind through which the material of the story is presented
- plant
- something deliberately placed or mentioned by thbe author the significance of which becomes evident later. (See foreshadowing. mystery and murder stories.
- plot
- the structure, framwork or plan of action in fiction
- precis
- a brief summary of essential points, statements, or facts
- preface
- introduction, prologue, forward
- prosody
- the science or art of versification(change from prose to metrical form)
- prose
- the ordinary language in speaking and writing. Opposed to verse and poetry
- protagonist
- active participatn in dram, novel, or story main character
- prototype
- the original form or general model after which anytthing is copied
- pun
- a play of words which have the same sounds but different meaning.s I saw a kitchen sinck, a horse fly.
- realism
- representation of life just as it is, without idealization
- refrain
- a phrase or verse that is repeated at intervals, usually at the end of a stanza
- repetition
- a poetic device in which a word, phrase, line or stanza is deliberately repeated.
- requiem
- a sad song or chant which is in reality a prayer for the repose of the dead
- rhyme
- repetition of a final sound containing a stressed vowel after a different consonant sound
- rhyme scheme
- the arrangement of rhyming lines, abcd, abbaabbacdecd
- rhythm
- swing or movement of poetry or prose gained through a particular arrangement of words and phrases
- romance
- opposed to realism. Any fictitious or wonderful tale in which the real or commonplace is made beautiful by the imagination. Also writing in which the interest lies in adventure, surprising incdient, unfamiliar places
- sarcasm
- the use of bitter, caustic, or stinging remarks expressing contempt often by ironical statement
- satire
- writing which ridicules customs or people. Gulliver's Travels
- sentimentality
- emotional response in excess of the occasion, which has not been prepared for in the story.
- setting
- the physical background against which a piece of writing takes place
- simile
- figure of speech. Two things or ideas having one or more charactreistics in commone are compared by means of such words as like and as
- sonnet
- a verse form consisting of 14 lines and usually dealing with a single unified thought. Wordsworth
- surprise ending
- an ending of a story which comes with some sense of shock to the reader
- symbolism
- the use of objects, characters or incidents which stand for or suggest something else
- synopsis
- abridgement, condensed statement; summary of resume
- theme
- the "point" or meaning of a story or novel
- tone
- a sub-division of atmosphere. Actually, the author's attitude toward what is being presentded
- understatement
- a form of irony. Saying less than the occasion would warrant