Literary Terms

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alliteration

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the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words or accented syllables

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allusion

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a reference to a well known person, place, literary work, or even work of art

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caesura

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apause or break in the middle of a line of poetry

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charcter

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a person or an animal who takes a part in the action of a literary work

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round charcter

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one who is complex, multi-faced, and like a real person

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static character

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one who does not change through the course of the work

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conceit

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an unusual or suprising comparison of 2 different things. Ex. huswifery

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consonace

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the repition of consonant sounds at the ends of words or accented syllables ex. Emily Dickenson

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couplet

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2 line stanza

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dialect

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form of language that is spoken by people in a particular area

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dactlytic foot

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a form of meter. It is a foot wiht one stressed syllable followed by two understressed syllables

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foreshadowing

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the use of clues that suggest events have yet to occur

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free verse

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peotry that lacks a regular rhythmical pattern or meter

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irony

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contrast between what is stated and what is meant

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image

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a word or phrase that appeals to the senses

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metaphor

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figure of speech in which one thing is spoken but another is meant

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meter

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the rhythmical pattern

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mood

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the atmosphere or feeling created in a literary work

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onomatopoeia

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the use of words that imitate sounds

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ornate style

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the way of writing that uses long, complicated, sentences eith elaborate figures of speech, parallel structures, uncommon allusions, and unfamilar word choices. Often used by 17th and 18th century writers

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personification

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a ficgure of speech in which a non human subject is given human characteristics

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plain style

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a type of writing that used uncomplicated sentences and ordinary words to make clear and direct statements

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point of view

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the perspective of the writing

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omniscent

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the narrator knows and tell about what each character feels and thinks.

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limited pov

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the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character and the rest is viewed from this character's perspective

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puritanism

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plain style

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realism

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the presentation in art of the details of actual life. A literary movement that began during the 19th century and stressed the actual as opposed to the imagined or fanciful. Tried to write truthfully anf objectively about ordinary characters in ordinary situations.

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narrator

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the speaker or character who tells the story

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rhyme

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the repition of sounds at the end of words

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simile

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a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either like or as

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symbol

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anything that stands for or represents something else

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theme

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a central message revealed by a literary work

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tone

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a writer's attitude toward his own subject, character, or audience

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transcendentalism

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an American literary and philosophical movement of the 19th century. Believed that intuition and the individual conscience "transcended" the experience and thus better guides to truth than are the senses and logical reason. Respected the individual spirit and natural world, believing that divinity was present everywhere in nature and in person.