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| The regular repetition of the same word of phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses. For example, "We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the oceans. We shall fight in the sky." |
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| Character of force in a literary work that opposes the main character, or protagonist. |
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| Protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero (e.g., honor, bravery, kindness, intelligence); for example, the protagonists created by Byron in "Don Juan" and "Childe Harold," and the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." |
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| A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. The writings of Benjamin Franklin contain many aphorisms, such as "Early to bed and early to rise/Make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." |
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| Most commonly used as a synonym of the word "defense," as in Sidney's "Apology for Poetry." |
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| A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present; for example, the invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry. |
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Appeals to:
-authority
-emotion
-logic |
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| Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker: either claims to be an expert or relies on information provided by experts (appeal to authority), attempts to affect the listener's personal feelings (appeal to emotion), or attempts to persuade the listener through use of deductive reasoning (appeal to logic). |
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| A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature. |
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| The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words. |
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| The practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list, it gives a more extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be incomplete. For example, "He was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing." |
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| The juxtaposition of sharply constrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases. |
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| The person(s) reached by a piece of writing. |
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| To sidestep or evade the real problem. |
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| A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character. |
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| The works of an author that have been accepted as authentic. |
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| "Sieze the day"; the philosophy that one should enjoy life to the fullest. |
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| Purification or cleansing of the spirit through the emotions of pity and terror as a witness to a tragedy. |
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| Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second. |
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| An assertion of something as fact; to demand as a right or as due. |
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| Bringing to an end or conclusion. |
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| Ordinary language; the vernacular. For example, depending on where in the United States you live, a sandwich is called a sub, a grinder, or a hero. |
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| What is implied by a word. For example the words "sweet," "gay," and "awesome" have connotations that are quite different from their actual definitions. |
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| The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels, such as "pitter-patter," "splish-splash," and "click-clack." |
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| A direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency. |
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| An accepted manner, model, or tradition. |
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| The reasoning process by which a conclusion is drawn from set of premises and contains no more facts than these premises. |
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| A sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. For example: Just as he bent to tie his shoe, a car hit him. |
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| The dictionary definition of a word; the direct and specific meaning. |
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| As in Greek theater, use of an artificial device or contrived solution to solve a difficult situation, usually introduced suddenly and unexpectedly. |
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| A particular word pattern or combination or words used in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arouse a desired reaction in the reader. |
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| An author's choice of words to convey a tone or effect. |
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| Intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson. |
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| Movement away from the main story or theme of a piece of writing. An author digresses by temporarily focusing attention on subplot or minor character. |
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| A formal discussion of a subject. |
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| Ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego. |
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| An imaginary place where people live dehumanized, often fearful lives. The opposite of a utopia. |
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| Poem or prose lamenting the death of a particular person. Perhaps the most famous elegy is Thomas Grey's poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." |
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| A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience. |
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| The repetition of a word or words as the end of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences. |
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| A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters. |
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| A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person. |
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| In dramatic literature, the moral element that determines a character's actions, rather than thought or emotion. |
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| Substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one that is harsh or blunt. For example, using "passed away" for "dead." |
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| A single word or short phrase intended to emphasize surrounding words. Commonly, expletives are set off by commas. Examples: in fact, of course, after all, certainly. |
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| The interpretation or analysis of a text. |
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| The explanation or analysis of a subject; presenting the meaning or purpose of an issue. |
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| A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an oration in honor of a deceased person. |
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| Retrospection, where an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of a narrative. |
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| A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast. |
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| Formal/informal/colloquial |
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| Language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal; informal or colloquial language is similar to everyday speech. |
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| To hint at or present things to come in a story or play. |
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| Term used to describe literary forms, such as tragedy, comedy, novel, or essay. |
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| Aristotle's term for the main character's tragic flaw or error in judgement. |
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| An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language. |
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