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| an abbreviated synopsis of a longer work of scholarship or research |
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| a saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience on and often couched in metaphorical language |
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| a story in which a second meaning is to be read beneath the surface |
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| the repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines in a poem |
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| a reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea |
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| vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation |
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| a person, scene, event, or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set |
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| a comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things |
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| a brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text or work of literature |
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| a character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict |
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| a rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences, as in the following: "They promised freedom but provided slavery." "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." |
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| a short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment |
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| in contrast to Dionysian, it refers to the most noble, godlike qualities of human nature and behaviour |
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| a locution that addresses a person or personified thing not present. an example: "Oh, you cruel streets of Manhattan, how I destest you!" |
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| an abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form |
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| the repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines of a poem |
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| a simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited |
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| a poet; in olden times, a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment |
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| the use of insincere or overdone sentimentality |
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| french term for the world of books, criticism, and literature in general |
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| a list of works cited or otherwise relevant to a subject or other work |
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| a german word reffering to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as the hero travels in quest of a goal |
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| inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects |
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| a work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation |
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| grating, inharmonious sounds |
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| a pause somewhere in the middle of a verse, often marked by punctuation |
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| the works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studied |
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| a grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things |
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| literally, "seize the day"; enjoy life while you can, a common theme in literature |
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| a cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy |
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| a highly regarded work of literature or other art form that has withstood the test of time |
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| deriving from the orderly qualities of ancient greek and roman culture; implies formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraint |
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| the high point, or turning point, of a story or play |
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| a witty or ingenious thought; diverting or highly fanciful idea, often stated in figurative language |
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| the suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase. contrast with denotation |
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| the repetition of two or more consonant sounds in a group of words or a line of poetry |
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| a pair of rhyming lines in a poem. two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter is sometimes called a heroic couplet |
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| the dictionary definition of a word. contrast with connotation |
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| the resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction |
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| in literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem |
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| the choice of words in oral and written discourse |
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| as distinguished from Apollonian, the word refers to sensual, pleasure-seeking impulses |
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| a circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character |
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| a poem or prose selection that laments or meditates on the passing or death of something or someone of value |
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| three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation |
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| a sentence containing a deliberate omission of words. in the sentence "May was hot and June the same," the verb was is omitted from the second clause |
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| a feeling of association or identification with an object or person |
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| a term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctiation |
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| in poetry, the use of successive lines with no punctuation or pause between them |
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| a narrative poem that tells of t he adventures and exploits of a hero |
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| a concise but ingenious, witty, and thoughtful statement |
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| pleasing, harmonious sounds |
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| an adjective or phrase that expresses a striking quality of a person or thing; sun-bright topaz, sun-lit lake, and sun-bright lake are examples |
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| a term for the title character of a work of literature |
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| a mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term; pass away is a euphemism for die |
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| a detailed analysis or interpretation of a work of literature |
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| a piece of writing that reveals weaknesses, faults, frailties, or other shortcomings |
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| the background and events that lead to the presentation of the main idea or purpose of a work of literature |
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| the interpretation or analysis of a text |
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| a series of comparisons between two unlike objects |
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| a short tale often with nonhuman characters from which a useful lesson may be drawn |
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| the action in a play or story that occurs after the climax and that leads to the conclusion and often to the resolution of the conflict |
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| a story containing unreal, imaginary features |
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| a comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose |
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| figure of speech, figurative language |
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Definition
| in contrast to literal language, figurative language implies meanings. figures of speech include metaphors, similes, and personification, among many others |
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| a narrative told by a character involved in the story, using first-person pronouns such as I and we |
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| a return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present actions or circumstances |
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| a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables used to determine the meter of a poetic line |
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| providing hints of things to come in a story or play |
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| a structure that provides premise or setting for a narrative. a group of pilgrims exchanging stories while on the road is the frame for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales |
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| a kind of poetry without rhymed lines, rhythm, or fixed metrical feet |
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| a term used to describe literary forms, such as novel, play, and essay |
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| a novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action |
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| a forceful sermon, lecture, or tirade |
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| the excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their death |
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| a belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity |
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| overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect |
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| a lyric, poem, or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place |
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| a word or phrase representing that which can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or felt |
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| a latin term for a narrative that starts not at the beginning of events but at some other critical point |
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| a rendering of a quotation in which actual words are not stated but only approximated or paraphrased |
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| a direct verbal assault; a denunciation |
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| a mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected |
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| a device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities, as in "ring-giver" for king and "whale-road" for ocean |
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| a mocking, satirical assault on a person or situation |
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| a variety of poetry meant to entertain or amuse, but sometimes with a satirical thrust |
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| a form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. example: He is not a bad dancer. |
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| a sentence that follows the customary word order of English sentences, i.e., subject-verb-object. the main idea of the sentence is presented first and is then followed by one or more subordinate clauses. see also periodic sentence |
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Definition
| personal, reflective poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings about the subject |
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| a saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truth. see also adage and aphorism |
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| a literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional response |
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| a figure of speech that compares unlike objects |
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| the work of poets, particularly those of the seventeenth century, that uses elaborate conceits, is highly intellectual, and expresses the complexities of love and life |
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| the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetry |
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| a figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated. example: "The White House says..." |
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| the language spoken in England roughly between 1150 and 1500 A.D. |
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| a parody of traditional epic form |
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| the general form, pattern, and manner of expression of a work of literature |
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| a quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea |
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| the emotional tone in a work of literature |
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| a brief and often simplistic lesson that a reader may infer from a work of literature |
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| a phrase, idea, or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature |
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| one of the ancient greek goddesses presiding over the arts. the imaginary source of inspiration for an artist or writer |
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| an imaginary story that has become an accepted part of the cultural or religious tradition of a group or society |
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| a form of verse or prose that tells a story |
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| a term often used as a synonym for realism; also a view of experience that is generally characterized as bleak and pessimistic |
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| a statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before |
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| a novel focusing on and describing social customs and habits of a particular social group |
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| a lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject |
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| the anglo-saxon language spoken in what is now England from approximately 450 to 1150 AD |
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| a narrator with unlimited awareness, understanding, and insight of characters, setting, background, and all other elements of the story |
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| the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning. example: bubbling, mumuring brooks |
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| an eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem |
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| a term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create a paradoxical effect. examples: loud silence, jumbo shrimp |
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| a story consisting of events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derived |
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| a statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true |
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| an imitation of a work meant to ridicule its style and subject |
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| a version of a text put into simpler, everyday words |
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| a work of literature dealing with rural life |
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| faulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects |
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| that element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow |
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| a verse with five poetic feet per line |
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| a sentence that departs from the usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main thought only at the end. in other words, the particulars in the sentence are presented before the idea they support. see also loose sentence |
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| the role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader, a viewer, or the world at large |
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Definition
| a figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics |
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| the interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution |
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| an episodic novel about a roguelike wanderer who lives off his wits |
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| the relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem. a story told in the first person has an internal point of view; and observer uses an external point of view |
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| the grammar or meter and rhyth in poetry |
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| the main character in a work of literature |
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| a false name or alias used by writers |
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| novels written for mass consumption, often emphasizing exciting and titillating plots |
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| a humorous play on words, using similar sounding or identical words to suggest different meanings |
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| a four-line poem or a four-line unit of a longer poem |
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| the depiction of people, things, and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect. see also naturalism |
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| the language of a work and its style; words, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway an audience |
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| language that conveys a speaker's attitude or opinion with regard to a particular subject |
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| the repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals, used mostly in poetry |
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| the pattern of rhymes within a given poem |
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| the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry. see also meter |
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| french for a novel in which historyical events and actual people appear under the guise of fiction |
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| an extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places |
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| a sharp, caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony, which is more subtle |
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Definition
| a literary style used to poke fun at, attack or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for the puprose of inducing change |
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| the act of determining the meter of a poetic line. the pattern is called scansion. if a verse doesn't "scan," its meter is irregular |
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| a synonym for view or feeling; also a refined and tender emotion in literature |
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| a term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experience; also nauseatingly nostalgic and mawkish |
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| the total environment for the action in a novel or play. it includes time, place, historical milieu, and social, political, and even spiritual circumstances |
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| a figurative comparison using the words like or as |
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| a form of verse usually consisting of three four-line units called quatrains and a concluding couplet |
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| a group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter, rhyme, or some other plan |
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| a style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind |
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| the manner in which an author uses and arranges words, shapes ideas, forms sentences, and creates a structure to convey ideas |
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| a subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play, usually connected to the main plot |
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| the implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature |
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| the use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object |
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| a figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole (fifty masts for fifty ships) or the whole signifies the part (days for life, as in "He lived his days under African skies.") When the name of a material stands for the thing itself, as in pigskin for football, that, too, is synecdoche |
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Definition
| the organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular syntax, or pattern of words |
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Definition
| the main idea or meaning, often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built |
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| a character whose name appears in the title of the novel or play; also known as the eponymous character |
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| the author's attitude toward the subject being written about. the tone is the characterstic emotion that pervades a work or part of a work---the spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence |
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| a form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw and a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguish |
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| the generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, simile, and metaphor |
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| a descrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words |
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| a synonym for poetry. also a group of lines in a song or poem; also a single line of poetry |
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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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| the structural form of a verse as revealed by scansion |
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| a french verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes |
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| the real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker. in grammar, active voice and passive voice refer to the use of verbs. a verb is in the active voice when it expresses an action performed by its subject. a verb is in the passive voice when it expresses an action performed upon its subject or when the subject is the result of the action. ACTIVE: the crew raked the leaves. PASSIVE: the leaves were raked by the crew. stylistically, the active voice makes more economical and vigorous writing |
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| the quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene |
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