English Literary Terms

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allegory

Back 1

the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some of ____, for example, an author may intend he characters or personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.

Front 2

alliteration

Back 2

the repetition of sounds, especially initial sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells seashells"). he repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.

Front 3

allusion

Back 3

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known,such as an event,book,myth,place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical,literary,religious,topical, or mythical.There are many more possibilities, and work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.

Front 4

ambiguity

Back 4

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase,sentence, or passage.EX;She is fine , she is hot.It means she looks good, not that she is physically hot.

Front 5

analogy

Back 5

The multiple meanings,either intention or unintentional of a world,phrase,sentence,or passage.ex: she is fine,she is ho.it means she looks good ,no that she is physically hot.

Front 6

anaphora

Back 6

a similarity or comparison between two different thing or the relationship between them.an analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. analogies can also make writing more vivid,imaginative, or intellectually engaging. ex:"life is like a box of chocolates.''

Front 7

antecedent

Back 7

h word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun. A question from the 2001 AP test as an example follows : "But it is grandeur of all truth which can occupy a very high place in human interest that it is never absolutely novel to the meanest of minds; it exists eternally, by way of germ of latent principle, in the lowest as in the highest, needing to be developed but never to be planted.''
The antecedent of ''it'' ( bolded ) is ...?[answer; ''all truth'']

Front 8

antithesis

Back 8

the opposition or cntrast of ideas; the direct opposite.Ex "I was he best of times ; it was the worst of times

Front 9

aphorism

Back 9

a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. This can be a memorable summation of the author's point. Ex: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Front 10

apostrophe

Back 10

A figure of pech ha directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstracion.
such as liberty or love. it is an address to someone or something that cannot answer . the effect may add familiarity or emoional intensity . william worsworth addresses john milton as e wries milton thou shouldst be living at this hour:/ England hath need of thee . another example is eats ode to a grecian urn in which keats addresses he urn itself: thou still unravished brie of quietness. many apostrophes imply a personification of the object adressed.