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| a word or phrase that is common everyday, usually restricted to specific regions |
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| The Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close to one another, EX: Beautiful Blossoms Blooming Between the Bushes. |
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| A Reference to another work or famous figure that is assumed to be well-known enough to be recognized by the reader. EX: Harriet Tubman was called the Moses of her time |
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| Something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time. The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare. |
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| A construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions ("They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.") |
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| In poetry, a pause within a line which is indicated by the symbol I I in scansion. A caesura generally occurs near the middle of the line, but the positioning can often vary |
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| a simple character with only a few traits ;a complex character with many qualities and traits. Ex. Paris from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet |
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direct: exposition of a character through explicit means of narration
Indirect:exposition of a character through implicit action |
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| a far-fetched comparison between two seemingly unlike things; an extended metaphor that gains appeal from its unusual or extraordinary comparison |
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| A literary device: a suggested, implied, or evocative meaning. For example, an author may use the figurative meaning of a word for its effect upon the reader. |
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| the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words. The term usually refers to words in which the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different. Consonance is found in the following pairs of words: “add” and “read,” “bill and ball,” and “born” and “burn.” |
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| A variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region ("Y'all" = Southern dialect). |
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| instead of paradise, everything has gone wrong in an attempt to create a perfect society. |
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| A very short, often comic, poem that ends with a deep meaning. |
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| A short concluding section laments the end of a literary work; speech at the end of a play |
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| A word or phrase used in the place of someone's name, often a characteristic. |
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| Someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character. |
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the use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in the work.
EX: The witches in Macbeth signifying the later evil. |
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| Language that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal. Such diction is often used in narrative poetry |
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| Poetry that is characterized by varying line lengths, lack of traditional meter, and no rhyming lines. |
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| The excessive pride or ambition that leads a tragic hero to doom and their ultimate downfall. EX: after Odysseus escapes from the Cyclops, telling him his real name and thus incurring the wrath of Poseidon. |
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| Deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis EX: They ran like greased lightning |
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| type of meter used in poetry and drama/ particular rhythm that the words establish in each elements |
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In literature, a work that begins in the middle of the story.
The Odyssey, Medea, and Oedipus Rex all begin "in medias res." |
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| Colloquially, reflects casual, conversational language, slang |
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| a rhyme that occurs in a single line of verse |
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| the reversal of the predicate and the subject, rather than have the subject be before the predicate |
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an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.
(EX. men like Blondes) |
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| Comapres two unlike things not using "like" or "as". |
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| a textual organization based on sequences of connected events, usually presented in a straightforward, chronological framework. |
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| Introductory part of a play, novel or poem |
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| A brief story, teaches a moral. (A tiny allegory. |
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| drawing attention to something by claiming not mention it |
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| Fitting/deserved retribution for one's actions |
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| Perspective from which a story is told |
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| The art of presenting ideas in a clear, effective, and persuasive manner |
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| any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another |
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| A poem of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter with 3 Quatrains and 1 couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab/cdcd/efef/gg |
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| A change in perspective or moving from one line of thought to another often signaled by words like: if, but, however or therefore |
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| Speaking one's thoughts out loud in a play. |
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| Using one part of an object to represent the entire object (for example, referring to a car simply as "wheels"). |
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| The organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular pattern of words. The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. |
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| Similar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is. |
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| An extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story. EX: Star wars as World War II |
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| The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage |
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| A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. |
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| A sub-type of parallelism, with the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. MLK used anaphora in his famous "I have a Dream" speech. |
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| the opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite |
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| A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. |
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| A serious or urgent request, typically one made to the public. |
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| a theme, motif or symbol closely associated with a culture's consciousness |
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| a short speech delivered by a character to another or to the audience, the convention being that the other characters cannot hear it; the speaker usually reveals his of her thoughts or plans |
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| Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter/the class of discordant or harsh sounds within a sentence or phrase |
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| Catharsis is a key element of tragedy which induces pity and fear in the audience Ex: pity of the hero's plight, and fear that it will befall us |
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| The unlitimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or enthymeme expresses. The point, backed up by support, of an argument. |
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| a lighthearted play characterized by humor and a happy ending |
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| clash between two subjects (an argument) disagreement, opposing sides, debates, wars, etc |
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| A literary device. The author uses an explicit or literal meaning of a word in order to emphasize a specific, important fact. |
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| is a person or thing that suddenly appears, providing a solution to a difficult problem. THe person or thing is lowered to the stage by means of crane in classic drama. |
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| the deliberate choice of a style of language for a desired effect or tone. Words chosen to achieve a particular effect that is formal, informal, or colloqial |
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| a formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure |
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| a style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate. |
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| an implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem.A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. |
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| a short prose or verse narrative, such as those by Aesop, that illustrate a moral |
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| a form of high-energy comedy that plays on confusions and deceptions between characters and features a convoluted, faced- paced plot |
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| an interruption of the narrative to show an episode that happened before that particular point in the story |
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| a narrative structure that provides a setting and exposition for the main narrative in the novel;A story within a story |
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| hamartia and tragic flaws |
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| is a term for the protagonist's tragic flaw or tragic error of judgement;The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall |
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| language that brings to mind sense-impressions, especially via figures of speech |
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| irony :situational and verbal |
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| one understanding of a situation stands in sharp contrast to another;when a character or narrator does not mean what he or she says |
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| irony: dramatic and cosmic |
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| a technique in which the audience knows something the characters do not;When a writer uses God, destiny or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character or humankind |
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| Governed exclusivly by women |
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| a recurring structure, contrast, or other device that develops or informs a work's major themes |
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| something that a person cannot conquer, achieve, etc.;an opponent or rival one cannot best or overcome.Ex: The performance test proved to be my nemesis |
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| a lyric poem, typically addressed to a particular subject, with lines of varying lengths and complex rhythms; Odes are written to praise and exalt a person, characteristic, quality or object ex: Poe's "To Helen" or Keat's "Ode to a Nightingale" |
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| The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning, such as buzz, squish, or sizzle. |
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| is a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as "wise fool," "bitter-sweet," "Pretty ugly," "Jumbo Shrimp," "Cold Fire." |
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| The telling of a story without words, by means of bodily movements, gestures, and facial expressions. |
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| is a statement that seems to contradict itself but turns out to have a rational meaning; expression of an apparent contradiction, where opposing ideas are nevertheless on some level true |
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| use of similar grammatical structures or word order to suggest a comparison |
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| a humorous and often satirical imitation of the style or particular work from another author |
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| having the characteristics of a peaceful country life in a rural setting |
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| the attribution of human feeling or motivation to a nonhuman object |
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| the quality in a work of literature that evokes high emotion |
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| A family, community, or society based on this system or governed by men. |
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| Sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements. |
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| use of human characteristics to describe animals, things or ideas |
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| The hero or main character of a literary work, the character the audience sympathizes with |
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| a play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words |
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| a faithful representation of actuality. The author strives to make his or her imaginative story or novel seem as though it could really happen by using realistic characters, dialogue, settings and plot |
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| simple from of verbal irony in which the speaker means to opposite of what he or she says |
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| a work that exposes to ridicule the shortcomings of individuals, institutions or society |
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| the time and place in which the action of a narrative occurs |
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| a comparison of two unlike things by using like or as |
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| a speech by a lone character not to other characters |
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| The combination of distinctive features of a literary work (when analyzing style, one may consider diction, figurative language, sentence structure, etc.) |
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| an object, figure, or character that is used to represent an abstract idea or concept in a work |
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| a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. |
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| the general atmosphere created in a story, or the narrator's attitude toward the story or reader |
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| a serious play that ends unhappily for the protagonist |
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| characterization A character is a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, and characterization is the process by which a writer makes that character seem real to the reader. A hero or heroine, often called the protagonist, is the central character who engages the reader’s interest and empathy. The antagonist is the character, force, or collection of forces that stands directly opposed to the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story. A static character does not change throughout the work, and the reader’s knowledge of that character does not grow, whereas a dynamic character undergoes some kind of change because of the action in the plot. A flat character embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary. They are not psychologically complex characters and therefore are readily accessible to readers. Some flat characters are recognized as stock characters; they embody stereotypes such as the "dumb blonde" or the "mean stepfather." They become types rather than individuals. Round characters are more complex than flat or stock characters, and often display the inconsistencies and internal conflicts found in most real people. They are more fully developed, and therefore are harder to summarize. Authors have two major methods of presenting characters: showing and telling. Showing allows the author to present a character talking and acting, and lets the reader infer what kind of person the character is. In telling, the author intervenes to describe and sometimes evaluate the character for the reader. Characters can be convincing whether they are presented by showing or by telling, as long as their actions are motivated. Motivated action by the characters occurs when the reader or audience is offered reasons for how the characters behave, what they say, and the decisions they make. Plausible action is action by a character in a story that seems reasonable, given the motivations presented. See also plot. |
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| a figure of speech which is characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself. In this way we commonly speak of the king as the “crown,” an object closely associated with kingship. |
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