Literary Terms For Cset

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Allusion

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A reference to a well-known person, place, or situation from history, art, music, of another work of literature.

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Allegory

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A literary work in which all of most of the characters, events, and settings stand for ideas of generalizations about life. They usually have a moral or lesson.

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Aphorism

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A wise saying, usually short and to the point. AKA: an epigram or maxim

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Apostrophe

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A figure of speech in which a speaker addresses an absent person, an inanimate object, or an idea.

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Archetype

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A symbol, image, plot pattern, or character type that occurs often in literature, such as the hero on a dangerous quest.

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Blank verse

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Poetry of lines of dramatic verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.

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Cadence

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The rhythmic rise and fall of oral language.The way it sounds when someone says it.

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Caesura

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A pause or break in the meter or rhythm of a line of verse, marked by a double vertical line. Something that is written differently than the rest of the meter.

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Consonance

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The repetition of final consonant sounds in words containing different vowels, as in "fresh cash". Like alliteration, but the last sounds of the words.

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Denotation

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The literal, dictionary meaning of a word.

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Denouement

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The outcome, or resolution, of the plot.

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Diction

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Word choice.

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Archaic

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Old-fashioned words no longer in use, such as forsooth.

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Colloquialisms

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Expressions usually accepted in informal situations, such as wicked awesome. Slang, basically.

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Jargon

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Specialized language used in a particular profession of content area.

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Dramatic poetry

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Poetry in which characters are revealed through dialogue, monologue, and description.

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End rhyme

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Rhyming of the words at the end of lines, such as:
Yes, said the cat.
No, cried the bat.

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Enjambment

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The continuation or a sentence from one line of a poem to another to complete meaning and grammatical structure.

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Epigram

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A short, witty verse or saying. Also known as an aphorism or maxim.

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Epigraph

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A quotation from another work that suggests the main idea, theme, or work at hand.

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Existentialism

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A philosophy that values human freedom and personal responsibility.

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Figurative language

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Language used for description, rather than literal meaning, and containing at least one figure of speech.

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Farce

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A type of comedy with absurd characters, events, or situation. A huge spoof, basically.

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Foot

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The basic unit in the measurement of a line of metrical poetry. Usually has one stressed symbol, and at least one unstressed syllable.

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Iambic (metrical foot)

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unstressed, stressed

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Trochaic (metrical foot)

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stressed, unstressed

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Anapestic (metrical foot)

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unstressed, unstressed, stressed

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Dactylic

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stressed, unstressed, unstressed

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Spondaic

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Stressed, stressed

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Free verse

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Verse that contains an irregular metrical pattern and line length; also called vers libre.

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Genre

Back 31

A category or type of literature, defined by its style, form, and content. i.e. poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction, etc.

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Heroic couplet

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A pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter the work together to make a point or express an idea.

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Hubris

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The flaw that leads to the tragic hero's downfall (often pride).

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Imagism

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A movement in early twentieth-century poetry, which regarded the image as the essence of poetry.

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Internal rhyme

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Rhyme that occurs within a line of verse.

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Inversion

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Reversal of the usual word order for variety or emphasis.

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Dramatic irony

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The reader or the playgoer has information unknown to the characters in the play.

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Verbal irony

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The writer says one thing but means something else.

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Situation irony

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An occurance is the opposite of what is expected.

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Malapropism

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A type of pun that results when the speaker gets two words mixed up.

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Maxim

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A short saying that expresses general truth or gives practical advice, usually about behavior and morality. Also called an adage or aphorism.

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Metonymy

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A figure of speech in which a word of phrase is substituted for another that is related--for example, a kind of a country might be called "the crown."

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Motif

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A significant word, phrase, idea, description, or other element repeated throughout a literary work and related to the theme.

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Paradox

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A situation or statement that seems to be contradictory but actually makes sense.

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Parallelism

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The use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form.

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Omniscient (POV)

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The narrator knows everything about the characters and events and reveals details that even the characters themselves could not reveal.

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Limited Omniscient (POV)

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The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character.

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Regionalism

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An emphasis on themes, characters, settings, and customs or a particular geographical region.

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Slant rhyme

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Occurs when words include sounds that are similar but not identical, such as tone and gone.

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Rhyme scheme

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The pattern formed by end rhyme in a stanze or poem. Rhyme scheme is indicated by the assignment of a different letter of the alphabet to each new rhyme.

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Soliloquy

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In drama, a long speech given by a character who is alone on stage. A soliloquy reveals the inner thoughts and emotions of that character (like an internal monologue).

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Stream of consciousness

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The literary representation of a character's free-flowing thought processes, memories, and emotions. Doesn't typically use conventional sentence structure rules of grammar.

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Symbol

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A person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else, such as the scarlet "A" representing Hester's sin in The Scarlet Letter.

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Synecdoche

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A figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole or a whole is used for a part, as in "All hands on deck."

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Theme

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The central understanding about life as expressed in a work of literature. May be stated directly, or implied.

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Transcendentalism

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A literary movement and philosophical attitude that became important during the mid-nineteenth century in NE. A reliance on intuition and conscience