Word Parts For Literary Terms

Front 1

hendeca

Back 1

eleven

hendecasyllabic--a line of eleven syllables

Front 2

hepta

Back 2

seven

heptameter--a line of seven poetic feet

Front 3

stich

Back 3

a line of poetry

heptastich--a seven-line stanza

Front 4

meter

Back 4

an arranged pattern of rhythm

pentameter--a five-beat line

Front 5

hemi

Back 5

half

hemistich--a half line

Front 6

hetero

Back 6

different

heteronym--a word spelled the same as another but pronounced and defined differently (invalid/invalid)

Front 7

nym

Back 7

word; name

pseudonym--pen name; false name
acronym--word formed by using the initials of a series of words (NASA)

Front 8

glossia

Back 8

tongue; language

heteroglossia--presence of more than one voice in a narrative

Front 9

hexa

Back 9

six

hexastich--a stanza of six lines

Front 10

hiero

Back 10

holy; sacred

hieronymy--sacred names and naming

Front 11

holo

Back 11

whole; complete

holograph--something completely handwritten by the author

Front 12

graph

Back 12

writing

biography--a writing about a person's life

Front 13

strophe

Back 13

stanza

homostrophic--made up of stanzas of the same pattern

Front 14

hyper

Back 14

over; above; beyond

hyperbole--overstatement or exaggeration

Front 15

hypo

Back 15

under; below

hypotaxis--arrangement of words in subordinate relationships

Front 16

tax or taxis

Back 16

arrangement

syntax--arrangement of words into sentences

Front 17

locution

Back 17

style of speech

locutionary act--the usual act of saying something

Front 18

inter

Back 18

between; among

interlude--a brief play performed between the acts of another drama

Front 19

genre

Back 19

type or kind

intergeneric--a work that combines two genres, such as prose and poetry

Front 20

iso

Back 20

equal

isobaric--pertaining to syllables that have the same level of stress

Front 21

roman (German and French)

Back 21

novel

roman a clef--a novel in which actual persons are presented under the guise of fiction

Front 22

laureate

Back 22

one honored by a crown of laurel, symbolizing distinctive achievement

poet laureate--official poet of a country

Front 23

lexicon

Back 23

a dictionary or word book

lexicography--the writing of dictionaries

Front 24

limen

Back 24

threshold

liminality--state of being on a threshold in space or time

Front 25

gram

Back 25

something written

lipogram--a kind of writing in which certain letters are not used

Front 26

logo

Back 26

word

logogriph--a kind of word puzzle

Front 27

lumin

Back 27

light

luminism--a movement in painting concentrating on the effect of light

Front 28

mal

Back 28

bad

malediction--a curse

Front 29

dict

Back 29

say

dictamen--a formal pronouncement

Front 30

meso

Back 30

middle

mesostich or mesostic--an acrostic in which the middle letters form a word

Front 31

meta

Back 31

beyond, above, of a higher type

metafiction--a work of fiction concerned with the nature of fiction itself

Front 32

mono

Back 32

one

monosemy--having only one meaning

Front 33

ody

Back 33

song

monody--song or poem in which a single mourner expresses grief

Front 34

logue

Back 34

speech

monologue--speech by one speaker

Front 35

neo

Back 35

new

neologism--a coined word or new word introduced into a language

Front 36

ette

Back 36

small

novelette--a short novel

Front 37

omni

Back 37

all

omnibus--a book containing a number of works, usually by the same author (although not necessarily all the works of the author)

Front 38

paleo

Back 38

ancient

paleography--the study of old forms of handwriting

Front 39

pali

Back 39

again; back

palinode--a piece of writing recanting or taking back an earlier writing

Front 40

para

Back 40

beside; next to, in sense of parallel to

parable--an illustrative story teaching a lesson

Front 41

penta

Back 41

five

pentameter--a poetic line with five feet

Front 42

morph

Back 42

form

poikilomorphism--variable form; a poem of similar stanzas but all having different rhyme schemes

Front 43

poly

Back 43

many

polyptoton--repetition in close proximity of words with the same root

Front 44

pro

Back 44

before

prologue--an introduction

Front 45

pseudo

Back 45

false

pseudomorph--a work of one type with a title that suggests another type, such as A Christmas Carol