Lit12 Lit Terms

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allegory

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An extended narrative that carries a second meaning along with the surface story

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alliteration

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The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters

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allusion

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A brief reference, explicit or implicit, to a person, event, or place, place, event, or to another literary work

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analogy

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A partial similarity of features on which a comparison may be based on

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antagonist

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An opponent, the character or force opposite to the protagonist

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anticlimax

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An abrupt shift form the important to the insignificant, with a disappointing or amusing effect

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anti-Petrarchan

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Going against the conventions of describing a woman in idealistic terms and instead describing her in realistic manners

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antithesis

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Contrary ideas expressed in a balanced phrase

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aphorism

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A concise, pointed statement expressing a wise or clever observation about life

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apostrophe

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A person not present or a personified non-human object is addressed directly

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archaic language

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Language that is old-fashioned or obsolete

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aside

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In the theatre, a short passage spoken in an undertone, usually directed to the audience.

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assonance

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The repetition of similar vowel sounds in words

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atmosphere

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The air or mood which prevails at any moment in a work

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audience

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The person or people gathered to heard, see, or read a work.

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ballad

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A song which tells a story, often a folklore, composed in stanzas and meant to be sung

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ballad stanza

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A type of four-line stanza. The first and third lines have four stressed words or syllables; the second and fourth lines have three stresses; the second and fourth lines rhyme

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bathos

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A descent in literature in which the writer, striving too hard to be passionate or elevated, falls into stupid or trivial idea, imagery, or phrasing

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bias

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An inclination or preference that makes it difficult or impossible to judge fairly in certain situations

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blank verse

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Lines of iambic pentameter which are unrhymed

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cacophony

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"Bad sounding". The opposite of euphony; it signifies discordant, jarring, inharmonious language

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caesura

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A break or pause in a line of poetry

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caricature

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Consisting of certain selected features exaggerated for comic effect

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carpe diem

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Latin for "seize the day", or "live for the moment"

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character foil

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A character that sets off another character by contrast

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characterization

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Revelation and development of a character; the person is usually characterized by his own actions and words, or by other people's responses to him

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chorus

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Originally a group of men performing at religions festivals; later, the chorus takes part in the action or as a commentator, or it is a lyric element

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climax

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The moment of highest tension and interest in a work

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classicism

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Places emphasis on the traditional and universal; it values clarity, order, reason, and balance

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colloquial language

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Everyday writing and speech; it is relaxed, ordinary, and idiomatic, and may contain slang or cliche

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comedy

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In general, a literary work that ends happily with an amiable armistice between the protagonist and society

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comic relief

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A comic element inserted into a tragic or somber piece; it relieves the tension, and heightens the tragic emotion by contrast

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conceit

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A type of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things

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conflict

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The underlying struggle which the action of a work expresses

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connotation

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Use of language to imply another meaning other than the actual words used

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consonance

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The repetition of similar consonant sounds, usually found at the middle or the end of a word

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couplet

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A pair of successive lines of verse that rhyme

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denotation

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The specific, exact, and concrete dictionary meaning of a word or phrase

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denouement

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The unraveling events that follow the climax of a plot

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dialect

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Speech patterns that display characteristics such as social class, level or education, nationality, race, gender, or age

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dialogue

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Conversation between two or more people

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diary

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A daily record of events and observations, especially personal ones

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diction

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The choice of words, used by an author

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didactic

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Writing whose purpose is to teach

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dilemma

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A situation in which a character finds herself where all the choice and options are equally undesirable

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dissonance

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A combination of sounds that is not harmonious

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dramatic irony

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The audience knows something that the character is not (yet) aware

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dramatic monologue

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A poetic form in which a single character, speaking to a silent listener as a critical moment, reveals both a dramatic situation as well as his or her own character

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elegy

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A mournful, melancholy poem, especially a song of lament for the dead

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English (Shakespearean) sonnet

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A poem of 14 lines arranged in 3 quatrains and a couplet; rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg

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epic

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A lengthy narrative poem in which the action, characters, and language are on a heroic level and the style is exalted and even majestic

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epigram

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A witty and pointed saying that expressed briefly

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epigraph

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A quotation or motto at the beginning of a literary work or a chapter that makes some point about the work

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epilogue

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The concluding section of a literary work

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epitaph

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A brief poem or other form of writing praising a deceased person

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essay

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A literary composition that focuses on a single subject; it is usually short, in prose, and nonexhaustive

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euphemism

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Speaking in pleasing terms of an unpleasant thing

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euphony

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Melodious sounding; the opposite of cacophony

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exposition

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It is explaining a idea or developing a thought

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extended metaphor

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A comparison of two unlikely objects that is drawn beyond words or phrases, and throughout a literary work

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figurative language

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Language which employs devices called "figures of speech" such as metaphors, similes, oxymoron, etc and not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense

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foreshadowing

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Events of dialogues that hint as to what is to come in the work

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free verse

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Verse that lacks regular meter and line length but relies upon natural rhythms

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genre

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A style or type of literary work

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hero

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In classical mythology, a person of superhuman powers who may be immortal. Later, the term means a brave leader or a person of great physical or moral strength

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heroic couplet

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Two consecutive rhyming lines in poetry, written in iambic pentameter

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hyperbole

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Deliberate and obvious exaggeration