Literary Terms

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Allegory

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A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

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Alliteration

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The repetition of constant sounds in words close together to give a general sound impression

For example, “She sells sea-shells down by the sea-shore”

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Allusion

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A reference to a well-known person, place, event or other literary work which is assumed to be familiar to the reader

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Analogy

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A recognition of a significant similarity between two ideas or objects which are essentially different.

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Anecdote

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A humorous or entertaining incident, often from personal experience.

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Antithesis

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in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect by using parallel structures of the contrasted phrases or clauses.

Example: “Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind.”

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Antagonist

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The force that clashes with the main character (protagonist)

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Antonym

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A word having a meaning opposite to the meaning of another word.

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Aside

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Words spoken by an actor which are intended not to be heard by other actors on the stage.

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Atmosphere

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The central mood of a literary work, which sets up the readers' expectations about what will happen.

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Autobiography

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A biograph written by the subject him/herself

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Biography

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The story of a person's life.

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Blank verse (Poetry) (EDIT)

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Unrhymed iambic pentameter (lines of poetry which have five beats in this rhythm: taDUM, taDUM, taDUM, taDUM, taDUM and do not rhyme)

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Character

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A person, animal, or thing presented as a person; also the aspects of personality (traits) possessed by that character; in order to be believable, a character must be credible, consistent and motivated.

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Character foil

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A character whose traits contrast strongly with those of another character, so that the traits of each are emphasized

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Chronological

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Arranged in order to time of occurrance

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Cliché

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An expression that has become very popular and is overused

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Colloquialism

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An expression used in ordinary conversation, but not used in formal or literary expression.

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Coherence

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In a composition, coherence is a literary technique that refers to logical connections, which listeners or readers perceive in an oral or written text.

In other words, it is a written or spoken piece that is not only consistent and logical, but also unified and meaningful. It makes sense when read or listened to as a whole.

Example: Credit cards are convenient, but dangerous. People often get them in order to make large purchases easily without saving up lots of money in advance. This is especially helpful for purchases like cars, kitchen appliances, etc., that you may need to get without delay. However, this convenience comes at a high price: interest rates. The more money you put on your credit card, the more the bank or credit union will charge you for that convenience. If you’re not careful, credit card debt can quickly break the bank and leave you in very dire economic circumstances!

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Comparison

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A statement of similarities or differences.

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Conflict

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A problem or struggle of some kind; it may be external or internal; a story may contain a single or several related conflicts.

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Connotation

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The feelings or emotions or ideas suggested by a word.

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Consistent character

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A character who remains true to one set of personality traits and does not show opposite traits unless given sufficient reason to do so.

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Context

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The parts directly before and after a word or sentence which influence its meaning.

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Contrast

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A striking difference between things being compared.

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Convincing character

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One whose personality and behavior is believable (plausible.)

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Couplet (poetry)

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Two consecutive rhyming lines which have the same meter.

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Denotation

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The dictionary meaning of a word (literal)

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Denouement

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The "unknotting" of the plot in which the mystery is solved, the misunderstanding cleared away, or the success/failure of the action established; sometimes involves a discovery.

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Dialogue

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Direct conversation between characters.

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Diction

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The choice and use of words in speech or writing

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Dilemma

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A situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable.

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Direct characterization

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A method of presenting a character in which the writer tells what a character is like by direct comment in the narration or through the words of another character.

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Dramatic irony

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A contrast between what a character knows or thinks and what the reader knows to be true.

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Empathy

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The ability to enter through the imagination into the thoughts and feelings of another.

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Epilogue

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Section at the end of a literary work which often deals with the future of the characters.

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Euphemism

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A mild or inoffensive expression used in place of a harsher one.

For example, “kick the bucket” is a euphemism that describes the death of a person. In addition, many organizations use the term “downsizing” for the distressing act of “firing” its employees.

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Exposition

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Information essential to understanding the background of a story; usually presented at the opening of a story.

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Flashback

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An interruption in the story to prevent an event or series of events that has already occurred.

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Foreshadowing

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Clues or hints about what is to come in a story.

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Free verse (Poetry)

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Poetry which has no consistent pattern of Rhythm or rhyme.

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Happy ending

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One in which the protagonist achieves his/her goal or solves his/her problem.

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Hyperbole

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Exaggeration to create an effect.

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Imagery

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An appeal to the reader's senses to descriptive language.

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Indeterminate Ending

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One which leaves the reader to decide the outcome of the conflict; no definite conclusion is presented.

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Figurative language

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Language used to create a picture.

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Indirect characterization

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A method of presenting a character in which the writer shows what a character is like by presenting the character's actions, his/her words and thoughts, his/her interactions with other characters, and his/her physical description.

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Initial incident

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The event which begins the conflict in a story.

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Irony

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When intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. In simple words, it is a difference between the appearance and the reality.

Example: I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and useless YouTube is.

Example: The name of Britain’s biggest dog was “Tiny”.

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Juxtaposition

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Where two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts or humorous effect.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity"

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Literal language

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Factual language.

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Lyric (poetry)

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A short poem which expresses the feelings and emotions of the writer.

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Metaphor

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An implied comparison between two essential unlike things in which one is said or implied to be the other.

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Metonymy

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Figure of speech in which one term is substituted for another closely associated with it, usually a part or single attribute for the whole.

For example, The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military force.)

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Monologue

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A long speech by one person.

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Mood

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A state of mind or feeling created by the writer's description of the environment or emotional state of the characters.

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Motivation

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A character's reason for a particular action.

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Mystery

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An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader wants an explanation.

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Narrator

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The person who tells the story.

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Onomatopoeia

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Words whose sounds imitate the sounds they stand for.

Example: “The gushing stream flows in the forest”

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Oxymoron

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The use of two consecutive words or phrases which contradict each other

example: jumbo shrimp

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Paradox

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A statement which appears to contradict itself, but on a deeper examination is true.

Examples:

1.Your enemy’s friend is your enemy.

2.I am nobody.

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Parallelism

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Similarity of structure in two or more word groups.

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Paraphrase

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To put into your own words.

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Personification

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A figure of speech that gives human qualities to non-human things.

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Poetry (3 traits) + explanation

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It's three main elements are sound, sense and suggestion; it appears to our understanding through our imaginations, making us see what the port has seen, hear the music he has heard, and experience the feelings he has felt; It expresses deep feelings and thoughts, often trying to interpret the hidden meaning of life; it is expressed in words finer and more musical than are found in other forms of writing.

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Point of view

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The position or viewpoint from which the events of a story or told; the four basic points of view are omniscient, limited omniscient, objective and first person.

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Prologue

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Piece of writing composed to introduce a play; a "before" speech.

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Protagonist

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The main character in the story; the character who sets out to reach a goal in the story.

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Pun

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A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have very different meanings.

Example: 'Atheism is a non-prophet institution'

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Rhyme

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The repetition of sounds at the end of words.

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Rhythm (Poetry)

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A recurring metrical beat in a line.

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Rising action

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The series of events which intensifies the conflict and which leads to the climax.

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Sarcasm

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A remark that implies ridicule, disapproval or contempt; it's real meaning is contrary to that of the words used and most frequently it hides criticism under apparent praise.

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Satire

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Any work which criticizes people, ideas or institutions by holding them up to ridicule in order to influence opinion.

Example: Most political cartoons which we witness every day in newspapers are examples of satire. These cartoons criticize some recent actions of political figures in a comical way.

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Sensory detail

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Descriptive details with appeal to the senses.

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Setting

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The time, place and circumstances that form the background of a story.

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Situational Irony

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A contradiction between the expected and actual outcome of a situation, or between what occurs and what would seem appropriate.

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Soliloquy

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Lines spoken by a character to him/herself which reveal thoughts and feelings; character is alone when the lines are spoken.

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Speaker (Poetry) (EDIT: ADD EXAMPLE)

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A person created by a poet to relate the events of the poem to the reader.

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Stanza (poetry)

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A group of lines in a poem.

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Sonnet (Poetry)

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A serious lyric poem which has 14 lines, is written in iambic pentameter, and has one of several, particular rhyme patterns; most common are the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet and the Shakespeare sonnet.

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Stereotype

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A figure who has occurred so often in fiction that his/her personality is immediately known.

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Sub-plot

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A minor plot in a work which usually mirrors the action, characters and themes of the main plot.

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Surprise ending

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An ending which reveals a sudden new turn or twist of events.

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Suspense

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The element that keeps reader guessing about the outcomes of events.

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Symbol

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A person, object or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something else.

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Synonym

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A word having a meaning similar to that of another word.

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Theme

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The central purpose or controlling idea of a piece of fiction; theme may be expressed directly or indirectly.

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Thesis

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A statement in the introduction of an essay which tells the reader the purpose of the essay and what point the writer is trying to make.

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Tone

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The attitude of a writer to toward his/her topic.

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Topic sentence

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A sentence which introduces the topic of a paragraph and limits it to a discussion of that aspect of the subject.

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Tragic flaw

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A defect in the personality of a character which is most responsible for his/her downfall.

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Transition

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A word, phrase, sentence or paragraph which helps connect one idea to the next.

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Understatement

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Deliberate playing down of a claim in order to emphasize it.

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Unhappy ending

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The protagonist does not reach his/her goal (or solve his/her problem or defeat the antagonist)

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Unity

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Every part of a work is related to it's central purpose.

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Verbal Irony

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A character says one thing but means the opposite.