LITERARY TERMS Allen Loibner-Waitkus UA–PTC
a
allegory—a narrative in which abstract qualities are personified as characters alliteration—the repetition of the same consonant sounds, usually at the beginnings of words in close proximity allusion—a reference in a literary work to something outside the work anachronism—when an author, deliberately or accidentally, puts historical events, fashions, technology, etc., in the wrong place (usually in time) anagram—a type of word play in which the letters of a word or phrase are rearranged to create new words and phrases
b c
antagonist—the character who come into conflict with the main character assonance—the repetition of vowel sounds in a line, stanza, or sentence
biblical allusion—a reference within a literary work to a story, idea, or event that is related in the Bible or other biblical writings buldingsroman—a narrative about the moral and psychological growth of a character (usually the main character)
cacophony—language embodying sounds unpleasing to the ear catharsis—emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or can achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress climax—the point of highest interest connotation—emotional or emphatic dimension to the literal meaning of a word consonance—repetition of the final consonant sounds in stressed syllables conventions—defining characteristics—or must haves—of a given literary
d
genre
denotation—the literal meaning of a word denouement—the final resolution to a piece of literature dialect—a variety of language distinguished by its pronunciation, vocabulary, rhetoric, and grammar dichotomy—a literary technique that divides a thing into two equal and contradictory parts or between two opposing groups diction—the choice of words in a work of literature didactic—a term applied to works with the primary and avowed purpose of attempting to convince the reader that some philosophical, religious, or moral doctrine is true
e
dramatic irony—a literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events of individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters
enjambment—continuing a line after the line breaks epilogue—a short concluding section in a literary work epiphany—a sudden realization epistolary—a literary genre pertaining to letters, in which writers use letters, journals, and diary entries in their works, or they tell their stories or deliver messages through a series of letters epithet—a descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or something euphony— language embodying sounds pleasing to the ear exposition—the basic situation (or introduction) to a piece of literature
f
fable—a short fictional story that has a moral or teaches a lesson farce—a comedy in which everything is absolutely absurd flashback—a device that moves an audience from the present moment in a chronological narrative to a scene in the past free verse—poetry (usually unrhymed) that does not adhere to the metrical regularity of traditional verse first person—the narrator or speaker is a character in a literary work flat character—an underdeveloped, 2-D character
h i
foil—a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character foreshadowing—hints or clues of what is to come
hubris—a hero’s excessive pride that causes his downfall and the downfall of people around him; a feeling of being better than gods and being over confident hyperbaton—a figure of speech in which the typical, natural order of words is changed as certain words are moved out of order hyperbole—exaggeration for literary effect
imagery—language that embodies an appeal to a physical sense in medias res—the practice of beginning an epic or other narrative by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events; the situation is an extension of previous events and will be developed in later action invocation—an appeal for aid (especially for inspiration) is made to a muse or deity, usually at or near the beginning of the work
j k m
jargon—the specific type of language used by a particular group or profession (often confused with slang, which is not the same thing) juxtaposition—a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem, for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
kenning—a compound poetic phrase, a figure of speech, substituted for the usual name of a person or thing künstlerroman—a narrative about an artist’s growth to maturity
magical realism—a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy malapropism—the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance metaphor—a figurative expression consisting of two elements in which one element is provided with special attributes by being equated with a second, unlike element meter—recurrent patterns of accented and unaccented syllables in verse
n
metonymy—a figure of speech in which a word stands for a closely related idea muse—a person who serves as a writer’s inspiration
narrative—a story nemesis—the ultimate enemy, the arch-foe that overshadows all the others in power or importance neologism—new word or phrase that is not yet used regularly by most
o p
speakers and writers
ode—any work of art or literature that expresses high praise onomatopoeia—language that sounds like what it means oxymoron—a word or group of words that is self-contradicting
palindrome—a word or phrase spelled forward is the same word or phrase spelled backward paradox—an anomalous juxtaposition of incongruous ideas for the sake of striking exposition or unexpected insight pathetic fallacy—the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals personification—the attribution of human qualities to nonhuman things phallic symbol—any object that may broadly resemble or represent the penis especially such an object that symbolizes masculinity or power plot—a series of events in a story or drama that bear a significant relationship to each other poetic license—variation from standard word order to satisfy the demands of rhyme and meter point of view—the person or intelligence a writer of fiction creates to tell the story to a reader prologue—a preface or introduction to a literary work; a speech, often in verse, addressed to the audience by one or more of the actors at the opening of a play prose—ordinary written or spoken expression resembling everyday language or speech
protagonist—the main character in a narrative
r s
pun—a play on words that produces a humorous effect by using a word that suggests two or more meanings or by exploiting similar sounding words that have different meanings
red herring—false hint or clue of what is to come refrain—repetition in a poem of a word or group of words round character—a well-developed, 3D character
satire—writing in a comic mode that holds a subject up to scorn and ridicule, often with the purpose of correcting human vice and folly setting—the place, time, and social context in which a work occurs simile—a comparison of unlike things introduced by the word like or as situational irony—the final outcome is contradictory to what was expected static character—a character who does not change over the course of a narrative stock character—a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype symbol—an object, action, or person that represents more than itself
t
synecdoche—a figure of speech in which a part is used to signify the whole synesthesia—an image that uses a second sensory impression to modify the primary sense impression
theme—the statement of underlying idea of a literary work
third person—the narrator or speaker is not a character in a literary work
v
tone—the attitude embodied in the language a writer chooses tragic flaw—a trait in a character that leads to his or her downfall
verbal irony—when a speaker says something contradictory to what he or she intends to say verisimilitude—the quality of seeming real