Literary Concepts

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The absurd

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In modernist drama, the seemingly meaningless and irrational plots, characters, and images that stress the theme that human existence is inexplicable and incoherent

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Act

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A major division in a play.

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Allegory

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A narrative in which characters, settings, and events stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities.

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Alliteration

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The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

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Allusion

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A reference to a statement, a person, a place, and idea, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or the arts.

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Ambiguity

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An element of uncertainty in a text, in which something can be interpreted in a number of different ways.

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Analogy

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A comparison made between two things to show their similarities or to clarify the meaning of a statement or an idea.

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Anecdote

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A very brief account of a particular incident, frequently used to illustrate a point.

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Antagonist

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A character in fiction who opposes or struggles against the protagonist.

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Anticlimax

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Something less that what is expected.

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Antithesis

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A figure of speech using contrasting words, sentences, or ideas.

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Aphorism

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A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.

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Apostrophe

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A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something non-human as if it were present and capable of responding.

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Archetype

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An old imaginative pattern that appears across cultures and is repeated through the ages.

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Aside

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In drama, words spoken by a character directly to the audience or to another character but are not meant to be overheard by other onstage characters.

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Assonance

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The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially that are in words that are close together.

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Atmosphere

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The overall mood or tone of a work of literature.

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Attitude (of speaker)

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The speaker's attitude in a poem is often revealed through the poet's choice of details, images, and words.

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Bathos

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The effect created when a writer's attempts at evoking pity or compassion are overdone, creating an unintentionally comedic effect.

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Blank verse

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Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.

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Cacophony

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A harsh, discordant combination of sounds.

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Cadence

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The natural rhythm of spoken language, created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables.

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Caesura

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A pause or break within a line of poetry

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Catharsis

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An emotional release said to be experienced by an audience following powerful feelings evoked by tragedy.

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Character

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An individual who takes part in the action of a story, poem, or play.

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Chiasmus

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A type of parallelism in which the order of words or ideas in the first part of the parallelism is reversed in the second part.

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Climax

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The moment of greatest emotional intensity or suspense in a plot.

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Colloquial

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Uses words, phrases, or sentences to reflect informal conversation.

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Comedy

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In general, a story that ends happily.

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Comic relief

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A scene or event that relieves tension in a serious play or narrative.

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Comic relief

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A scene or event that relieves tension in a serious play or narrative.

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Dènouement

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The resolution of a play, short story, or novel.

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Details

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The pieces of information an author chooses to include in a work.

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Deus ex machina

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An unexpected force or event that suddenly appears and resolves a seemingly irresolvable problem.

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Dialect

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A way of speaking characteristic of a particular region or a particular group of people.

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Dialogue

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A conversation between characters in a story or play.

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Diction

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A writer's or speaker's choice of words.

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Dirge

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A song of grief or lament.

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Dissonance

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A harsh, discordant combination of sounds.

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Double-entendre

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A word or expression that can have two meanings, one of which is usually risqué.

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Dramatic monologue

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A poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation.

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Duality

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The idea that human beings have two forms—a physical and a spiritual self.

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Elegy

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A poem mourning the dead or a poem with a sorrowful or reflective mood.

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Conflict

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A struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces.

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Connotation

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All the meanings, associations, or emotions that have come to be attached to some words.

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Consonance

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The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds.

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Contradiction

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A person, thing, statement, or situation that is in opposition to another, or one that has opposing qualities.

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Contrast

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The placement of dissimilar or opposed images, ideas, or both next to each other.

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Controlling image

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A dominant image or metaphor that is sustained throughout all or part of a literary work, especially with respect to structure or theme.

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Duality

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The idea that human beings have two forms—a physical and a spiritual self.

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Crisis

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In a narrative plot, the high point of tension, after which follows a resolution.

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Conceit

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An elaborate figure of speech that often includes metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or analogy.

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End stopped line

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A line of poetry in which the grammar, meaning, and meter end at the end of the line

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End stopped line

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A line of poetry in which the grammar, meaning, and meter end at the end of the line

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Enjambment

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In poetry, the continuation of a sentence from one line to another

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Epic

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A long narrative poem, written in elevated language, that relates the great deeds of