Chesterfield Literary Terms

Front 1

repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds

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assonance

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the patterns of rhymes in a poem

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rhyme scheme

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technique in which the reader uses his or her own judgement to decide what a character is like based on evidence the writer gives the reader

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indirect characterization

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a story that can be interpreted on various levels; a story that conveys a moral message; each character or event symbolizes something else

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allegory

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short dramatic work performed by one; long uninterrupted speech delivered by one person

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monologue

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a repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines

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refrain

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vantage point of a story; who is telling the story

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point of view

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extreme exaggeration

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hyperbole

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an all-knowing third person point of view

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omniscient point of view

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musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables or other sound patterns

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rhythm

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an account of a person's life written or told by another person

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biography

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a contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality

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irony

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a song that tells a story

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ballad

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a play on the multiple meanings of a word; two words that sound alike but have different meanings

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pun

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a comparison between two unlike things without using like or as

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metaphor

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language that appeals to the five senses

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imagery

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writer says one thing but means another

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verbal irony

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an informal record or communication; a brief written reminder

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memo

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a long fictional story

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novel

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long narrative poem that relates great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of his or her society

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epic

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when conflict in a story is solved

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resolution

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makes reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing know in literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or pop culture

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allusion

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any literature that is not poetry

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prose

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a story that is true

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nonfiction

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inanimate objects take on human characteristics

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personification

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a song that tells a story

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ballad

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the use of corresponding sytactical forms

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parallelism

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when the audience or the reader knows something important that the characters do not know

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dramatic irony

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regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

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meter

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a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning

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onomatopoeia

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contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens

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situational irony

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an account of a writer's own life

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autobiography

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a metrical foot or unit of measure consisting of an unstressed sylloable followed by a stressed syllable

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iambic

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making someone else think like you think

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persuasion

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repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

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alliteration

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rhythmic compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imaginations

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poetry

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the series of related events that make up a story

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plot

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writing that ridicules a person, group of people, humanity, social institution, etc. in order to reveal a weakness

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satire

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when and where a work takes place

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setting

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musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables or other sound patterns

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rhythm