Literary Terms A-E

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Absurdist drama

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play that depicts life as meaningless, senseless, uncertain

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Act

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one of the main divisions of a play. each act is divied into scenes, one act generally focuses on one major aspect of the plot or theme

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Adage

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wise saying, proverb, short memorable sating that expresses a truth and is handed down from one generation to the next

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Alarum

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stage direction in a shakespeare play indicating the coming of a battle

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Alexandrine

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verse from France-each line contains twelve syllables

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Allegory

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literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings

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Aliteration

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repetition of consonant sounds

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Allusion

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refernce to a historical event or to a mythical or literary figure

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Anachronism

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a thing from a different period of histroy than which is under discussion; a thing that is out of place historically

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Anadiplosis

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a figure of speech in which a word or phrase at the end of a sentence, clause, or line of verse is repeated at or near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or line of verse

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Allegory

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literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings

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Aliteration

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repetition of consonant sounds

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Allusion

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refernce to a historical event or to a mythical or literary figure

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Anachronism

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a thing from a different period of histroy than which is under discussion; a thing that is out of place historically

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Anadiplosis

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a figure of speech in which a word or phrase at the end of a sentence, clause, or line of verse is repeated at or near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or line of verse

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Anagnorisis

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In greek drama, a startling discovery, moment of epiphany, time of revelation when a character discovers his true identity

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Analouge

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literary work, film, character, setting that resembles another literary work (West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet)

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Anapest and Anaspectic

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recurring pattner that is stressed

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Anaphora

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repition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occuring one after the other

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Anastrophe

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inverstion of the normal word order (man forgotten instead of forgotten man)

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Anecdote

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A little story, often amusing, inserted in an essay or a speech to help reinforce the thesis

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Annotation

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Explanatory note that accompanies text, footnote, comment

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Antagonist

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Character in a story or poem who opposes the main character (somtiems is an animal, an idea, or a thing)

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Antonomasia

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Identification o a person by an appropriate substituted phrase

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Antithesis

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Placement of contrasting or opposing words, phrases, clauses, or sentences side by side

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Aphorism

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short, often witty statement presenting an observation or a universal truth; an adage

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Apostrophe

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Addressing an abstraction or a thing, present or absent; adressing an absent entity or person

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Apprenticeship novel

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novel that centerst on the period in which a young person grows up

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Archetype

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original model or models for persons appearing later in history or characters appearing later in literature

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Arras

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tapestry hung on the stage to conceal scenary until the right moment

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Arthurian Romance

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literary work in which a knight in the age of the legendary King Arthur goes on a quest

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Aside

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words an actor speaks to the audience which other actors on the stage cannot hear

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Assonance

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repition of vowel sounds preceded and followed by different consonant sounds

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Asyndeton

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use of words or phrases in a series without connectivees such as and or so

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Attica

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peninsula in southereastern Greece that included Athens

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Aubade

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joyful song about dawn and its beauty; morning serenade

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Ballad (folk)

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poem that tells a story that centers on a theme popular with the common people of a particular culture or place

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Ballad (literary)

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ballad that imitates a folk ballad, but the literary ballad has a known author who composes the poem

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Ballade

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lyric poem of french origin usually made up of three eight line stnazas and concluding four line stanza called an envoi that offers parting advice or a summation

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bard

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originally a Celtic poet who sang epic poems while playing a harp

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Bombast

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inflated, pretentious speech or writing that sounds important but is generally balderdash

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Breton Lay

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fourteenth century english narrative poem in rhyme about courtly love

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Burlesque

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literary work, film, or stage production that mocks a person, place, thing, or an idea by using wit, irony, hyperbole, sarcasm, or an understatment

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Caesura

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pause in a line of verse shown in scansion by two vertical lines

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Canon

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complete works of an author

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Canto

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major division of an epic poem

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Caricature

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literary work or cartoon that exaggerates the phytsical features, dress, or mannerisms of an individual or derides the ideas and actions of an organization/institution

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Carpe Diem

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latin expression meaning seize the day

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Catastasis

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climax of a stage play

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Catastrophe

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Denouement, or conclusion, of a stage tragedy

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Catchword

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a single word on the bottom right side of every page that was the first word on the next page

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Catharsis

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in literature and art, a purification of emotions

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Chalmys

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In the drama of ancient Greece, sleeveless outer garment or cloak worn by some actors

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Chantey

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a song sung by sailors that kept time with the work they were doing, such as tugging on a rope to hoist a sail

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Flat character

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character in story who has only one prominent trait

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Round character

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character in story who has many aspects to personality, learns something and changes from it

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Static character

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Character who does not change from response or events in story

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Chivalric Romance

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tale of courtly love

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Chiasmus

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words in a second clause or phrase that invert or transpose the order of the first clause or phrase

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Chorus

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bystanders in a Greek play who present odes on the action

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Chronicler

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recorder of medieval events, historian

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Chronique Scandalaleuse

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literary work centering on gossip and intrigue in the court of the king

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Classicism

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in literature, a tradition espousing the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome

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Cliche

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overused expression

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Climax

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high point in a story

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Closet Drama

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a drama written to be read than acted on stage

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Comedy

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play with a happy ending

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Comedy of Manners

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comedy that ridicules the manners of the privileged in society

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Concrete poetry

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poetry with lines arranged to resemble a similar object

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Conflict

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the struggle in a work of literature

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Conte Philosophique

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philosophical novel or story

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Coronach

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funeral song in Scotland and Ireland (played on bagpipes)

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Cothurni

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boots worn by actors in ancient Greece to increase their height

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Couplet

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two successive lines of poetry that end with rhyme

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Coup de THeatre

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startling development in a drama that is unseen

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Denouement

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the outcome or resolution of the plot, occurring after the climax

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Deuteragonist

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In Greek drama, the character second in importance to the main character

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Diaglouge

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conversation in a play, short story, or novel

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Diction

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word choice, quality of the sound of a speaker or singer

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Didactic

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adjective describing a literary work intended to teach a lesson or moral principle

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Dionysus

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patron god of Greek drama, god of wine and vegetation

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Dithyramb

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In the drama of Greece, a choral hymn that praised Dionysus

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Doggerel

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trivial or bad poetry

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Domesday Book

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official census of the English people and their possessions

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Doppelganger

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the spirit double of a living person

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Drama

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literary work with diaglouge written in verse or prose and spoken by actors playing characters experiencing conflict and tension

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Dramatic irony

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Failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience

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Dramatic monologue

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poem that presents a moment in a which speaker discusses a topic and reveals his feelings and state of mind the listener

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Dramatic personae

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list of the characters in the play

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Dumb show

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part of play performed in gestures without speech

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Edition and issue

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terms describing published versions of newspapers and magazines

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Eqoism, rational

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acting in oneself's best interesting by selecting what appears to be the most beneficial choice available

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Elegy

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a somber poem or song that praises or laments the dead

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Elizabethan

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pertaining to the time when Elizabeth I reigned as queen of England

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Encomium

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in ancient Greece, a poem in the form of a choral song parsing a victor in the Olympic games

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Enjambment

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carrying the sense of one line of verse over the next line without a pause

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Enter

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stage direction in a play indicating the entrance onto the stage of a character

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Epic

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long poem in a lofty style about the exploits of heroic figures

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Epic conventions

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literary practices, rules, or devices that become commonplace

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Epicedium

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funeral hymn or ode, dirge

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Epigram

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wise or witty saying expressing a universal truth in only a few words

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Epigraph

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quotation inserted at the beginning of something

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Epilogue

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a short address spoken at the end of the play that comments on the meaning of events

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Epinicion

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a choral ode celebrating an athletic victory

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Episode

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scene or incident in a literary work

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Epistle

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letter written by an apostle in the New Testament of the bible

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Epistolary Novel

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novel in which a character tells the story through letters sent to a friend

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Epitasis

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the part of a stage play that develops the characters, plot, and theme

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Epithalamion

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poem or song honoring the bride and groom on the day of their wedding

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Epithet

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one of the hallmarks of the style of the Greek epic poet Homor is the combo of descriptive phrases and noun

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Epitome

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statement summarizing the content of a book, essay, report

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Esprit d'escalier

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slow wit

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Essay

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short nonfiction composition on a single topic

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Eulogy

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speech or written work paying tribute to a person who has recently died

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Euphemism

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word or phrase that softens the hard reality of the truth

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Euphuism

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ornate, high flow style of speaking or writing

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Excurision

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stage direction indicating that a military attack is taking place

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Exemplum

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short narrative in verse or prose that teaches a moral lesson

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Exuent

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stage direction indicating departure of all characters

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Exit

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stage direction indicating departure of one character

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Expressionism

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writing approach in which a writer depicts a characters feelings about a subject

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Exposition

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the part of the plot that introduces the setting and characters and presents the events and situations that the story will focus on