Literary Terms

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A story in verse of prose in which a characters actions or setting represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. A story with 2 meanings

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Allegory

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She was no Scrooge, since she rarely bought anything except what was necessary - reference to a person, place, event, or literary work the author expects the reader to recognize

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Allusion

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Still she sits there, correcting, clicking, clacking, and cursing as time courses on the clock - repetition of initial constant sounds

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Alliteration

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comparison between 2 things to show similarities between them

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Analogy

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the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of several consecutive sentences or verses to emphasize an image or a concept. (ie Mad world! Mad Kings! Mad Composition)

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Anaphora

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A very short story told to make a point - often a joke

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Anecdote

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The balancing of 2 contrasting ideas (used in a balanced sentence)

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Antithesis

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

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Aphorism

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The little boy looked to the stars and asked them why they shinned - an absent of undead person, or something nonhuman is addressed directly

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Apostrophe

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He was a very hIgh flIer - repetition of a vowel sound in the middle of a word

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Assonance

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The gloomy, dark, ominous tree sat in the middle of the deserted, grey, desolate field. - feeling in a literary work

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Atmosphere

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I wrote this about my life.

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Autobiography

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wrote this about someone else’s life

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Biography

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A metaphor that makes a comparison between 2 startlingly different things

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Conceit

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all emotions and associations with a word or phrase (ie. Shroud: death, gloom, darkness)

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Connotation

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And aLL air a soLemn stiLLness hoLds - repetition of constant sounds in the middle of a word

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Consonance

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the literal dictionary meaning (ie. Shroud: cloth used for burial purposes)

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Denotation

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a writer's word choice for effectiveness, clarity, and precision

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Diction

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teaching some moral lesson

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didactic

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Poem of mourning over the death of someone, beauty, or the nature of death

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Elegy

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"Beowulf" - a long narrative poem telling a story about a hero

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Epic

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A short, witty, pointed statement often in a form of poetry

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Epigram

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piece of prose writing (usually short) that deals with a subject in a limited way

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Essay

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an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive to the reader

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Euphemism

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She pushed me so hard I almost fell flat on my face and died

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Exaggeration

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a tale illustrating moral principle (HINT: Latin for example)

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Exemplum

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writing intended to present information

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exposition

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language not meaning to be taken in a literal sense

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Figurative Language

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A picture is worth a 1000 words

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Figure of speech

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figure of speech using exaggeration on an overstressed special effect

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Hyperbole

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A poetic FOOT consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one

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IAMB

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a poetic line consisting of 5 verse FEET with each IAMB

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Iambic Pentameter

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words or phrases that paint a picture in the readers mind

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Imagery

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A contrast and incongruity between what is stated and what is really meant

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Irony

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an act or instance of placing two things close together or side by side. Is done to compare and contrast the two in order to show similarities or differences

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Juxtaposition

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Old English Poetry, an elaborate phrase that describes a persons things, or event in a metaphorical way

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Kenning

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a figure of speech in which the speaker emphasizes the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite

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Litotes

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A figure of speech that makes a comparison between 2 things without using like or as

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Metaphor

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a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

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Meter

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a figure of speech in which a part of a thing or something closely associated with it is used to stand for or suggest the thing itself

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Metonymy

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a kind of writing or speaking that tells a story

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Narration

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the use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning (ie. Cuckoo, owl, hiss, clang)

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Onomatopoeia

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a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory ideas or terms

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Oxymoron

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statement reveals a truth through seemingly contradicting itself

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Paradox

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phrases, clauses, sentences in a similar structure or meaning

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Parallelism

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humorous imitation of a work of literature, art, or music

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Parody

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arouses feelings of pity, sorrow, or compassion for a character

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Pathos

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giving an imamate object human traits or actions

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Personification

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intended to make an audience adopt a certain opinion

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Persuasion

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play on words

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Pun

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sneering, jesting, or mocking a person, situation or thing.

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Sarcasm

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writing the ridicules wrong doings
Style/author’s characteristics of their writing determined by (but not limited to) word choice, syntax, and senteence structure.

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Satire

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A metaphor by which an inclusive term stands for something included, or vice versa

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Synecdoche

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(ie. the police knocked down my door — whole (the police) for part (some police officers)

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general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to be expressed acording to the plot, setting, characterzation, and figurative language

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Theme

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attitude the writer has towards his subject characterzation, and audience

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Tone

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is a form of intellectual humor, based on manipulation of concepts

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Wit