literary terminology 2
Terms
undefined, object
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- kenning
- short metaphorical expression referring to something without naming it, primarily used in Old English and Norse poetry.
- epitaph
- inscription on tombstone or marker of the dead
- homophones
- words that sound alike (includes homonyms and also words that have different spellings)
- idiom
- phrase in common use that does not literally mean what it says.
- hyperbole
- use of extreme exaggeration for effect.
- literary juvenilia
- literature produced during youth; or literature suited to young readers.
- epigram
- witty, often paradoxical, saying or brief poem.
- legend
- story handed down, generation to generation, often thought to be at least partially true historically.
- imagery
- creation of mental pictures by pertinent word choice and heightened description.
- editorial
- newspaper or magazine article expressing opinion of an editor or publisher.
- fabliau
- short, metrical tale told by minstrels in twelfth and thirteenth centuries, often spicy and satiric.
- i.e.
- that is (followed usually by explanatory matter)
- hero
- character, ususally the protagonist, who rises above and conquers the series of problems and events in the story.
- essay
- short prose work expressing author's views on a subject.
- homonyms
- words that sound alike, are spelled alike, but have different meanings.
- interactive fiction
- stories that give the reader choices in the way the plot develops by making certain decisions along the way.
- fiction
- any literature about imaginary events or people.
- irony
- phrases or words with meanings quite different from what is actually stated.
- literary genre
- kind or type of literature; literary classification.
- in medias res
- beginning in the middle of events.
- fable
- story with moral or lesson about life, often with animal characters with human characteristics.
- dialogue/dialog
- speaking and conversation between characters in stories, plays, and in person.
- jargon
- words peculiar to any particular occupation.
- first-person narration
- story told from first-person point of view, usually using "I."
- ibid.
- used in footnotes and bibliographies to refer to the source mentioned directly above.
- eponym
- person whose name is the source of a new word.
- euphemism
- more palatable word for less pleasant subject.
- science fiction
- fiction concerning advanced technology , usually imagined, not actual scientific advancments.
- popular fiction
- fiction aimed at the mainstream of populations.
- ellipsis
- three dots (...) to show words have been left out of a quotation or to indicated the passage of time.
- doppelganger
- personification of the personality of a character's darker side; ghost.
- flashback
- jumping backward in the chronology of a narrative, often through a dream or musing sequence.
- envoy/envoi
- brief postscript to book, essay, or poem; often the concluding stanza to a ballade, summarizing the poem.
- denouement
- outcome, resolution, solution of a plot.
- double-entendre
- double meaning of word, phrase, or sentence, often raucous or sexual in implication.
- folklore/folktales
- stories and legends transmitted by word of mouth, rather than in writing.
- didactic
- describes literary works meant to teach a moral or lesson.
- foreshadow
- hints during the narrative about what will happen later; can be literal hints or symbolic hints.
- foil
- character opposite or different from the protagonist, used to hightlight the protagonist's traits; incidents or settings may also be used as foils.