Technical Terms For English Final

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The kinds or categories into which works of literature are divided

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Genre

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One level of generic division fiction vs. non-fiction

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One level of generic division

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further divided into: poetry, drama, or prose

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imaginative literature

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can be either lyric or narrative

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poetry

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sonnet, epic, mock epic, limerick, song, haiku, frame narrative

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poetry sub-genres

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can be narrative, argumentative, or expository

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prose

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novella, memoir, travel narrative, adventure story, essay, tract, etc.

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prose sub-genres

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is usually considered “dramatic” as a kind, it can be written in either verse (poetry) or prose or a combination of the two, and its genres include tragedy and comedy among others

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drama

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many pieces of literature are of mixed or multiple genres

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mixed-genres

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Examples: satiric, parodic, comic, devotional, erotic, tragic, romantic, political, dramatic

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modes

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a portion of time into which history has been divided

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period

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Uses of a word or words that go beyond the literal meaning to showor imply a relationship, evoking further meaning. Also called “tropes,” or “rhetorical turns”

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figure of speech

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A figure of speech that relies on a likeness between two things.

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metaphor

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A figure of speech that relies on likeness and also uses the comparative terms “like” or “as.” Example: her cheeks are like cherries.

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simile

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A figure of speech that relies on a close relationship other than likeness or similarity (such as metaphor and simile do). It substitutes a thing that is close to or used by the object meant. Example: “white house” for president

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metonymy

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Treating an abstract noun as if it were a person, giving it qualities that are human. Example: “Rosey-fingered Dawn rose in the morning” or “Truth battled with and vanquished Falsehood.”

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personification

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A figure of speech, by which a speaker or writer suddenly stops in his discourse, and turns to address pointedly some person or thing, either present or absent; an exclamatory...

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apostrophe

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A word or image that stands for something else in a vivid but indeterminate way, suggesting more than it actually says

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symbol

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A figure in which what is stated is the opposite of what is meant or expected

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irony

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A figure by which a more comprehensive term is used for a less comprehensive or vice versâ; as whole for part or part for whole. Example: “May I have your daughter’s hand in marriage?”

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synecdoche

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A figure of speech consisting in exaggerated or extravagant statement, used to express strong feeling or produce a strong impression, and not intended to be understood literally

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hyperbole

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A figure of speech, in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary; an instance of this.

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litotes

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a figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory words Examples: burning ice or freezing fire

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oxymoron

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An apparently absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition, or a strongly counter-intuitive one, which investigation, analysis, or explanation may nevertheless prove to be well-founded or true

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paradox

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an indirect reference to a text, myth, event or person outside the poem

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allusion