Literary Terms

Abridged

reduced by condensation or omission. (The novel was ______ for publication in a magazine)

Abstract

theoretical. not applied; to get essence or main idea

Accent

stress or emphasis

Act

a main division or part of a drama, to perform on the stage

Adage

a saying or proverb familiar through long use

Adapt

to make suitable by modifying

Adversary

the opponent against whom a character tests his strength

Allegory

a symbolic story presenting meaning through another form

Alliteration

a series of words beginning with the same sound

Allusion

a casual reference to something

Ambiguity

uncertain or doubtful meaning

Anachronism

something from a different time placed in a time that is incorrect

Analogy

a likeness or comparison of related ideas, things, or persons

Analyze

to determine or reason out the key features of something

Anapest

a rhythmic poetic pattern of two unaccented and one accented syllables (e.g. in the "cool"/ of the "eve"/ ning we "sang")

Anecdote

a short, interesting story (often humorous)

Antagonist

an opposing force or character blocking the main character (protagonist)

Anthology

a collection of examples of one literary form (a(n) ____ of poetry will have samples of different poets and styles)

Anticlimax

an abrupt and obvious change from an important idea to something of less value

Antihero

a main character with many negative qualities

Antithesis

pairings of exact opposite or contrasting ideas in a parallel grammar structure

Aphorism

a pointed or concise statement of an idea (e.g. life is short)

Apostrophe

addressal of someone absent, dead, or non-human as if that person or thing were present (e.g. Hamlet to Yorick's skull)

Archaic

antiquated or characteristic of an ancient time; no longer used in ordinary speech or writing

Archetype

a primordial image, character, or pattern of circumstances that recurs throughout literature and thought consistently enough to be considered a universal concept or situation

Argument

a statement or series of reasons to convince someone

Artificial

imitating the real thing, assumed. not genuine

Aside

a dramatic device for a character to make a side remark that other characters should not hear

Assonance

sounds that resemble each other, a recurrence of vowel sounds (e.g. wh"o" kn"ew" y"ou" t"o" d"o" this?)

Author

one who writes a literary work

Autobiography

an account of one's own life

Ballad

a poem in short simple stanzas, usually romantic and set to a song

Bibliography

a list of books used in preparation of a report or book

Biography

an account of a life by another person

Black Humor

use of the morbid or absurd to develop humor which is often hiding anger or bitterness

Blank Verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Blurb

a short account describing a book

Cacophony

the combination of harsh or discordant sounds, often the result of repetition and combination of consonants within a group of words

Caesura

a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begins (e.g to be, or not to be)

Caricature

deliberate exaggeration of characteristics or qualities of a person

Catharsis

the purification or purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear) primarily through art; literary theory developed by Aristotle

Character

a person in a drama or story; the total qualities of a person

Chiasmus

a two-part sentence or phrase, where the second part is a mirror image of the first (e.g. all for one, and one for all)

Classic

a literary production of first rank which is respected throughout many eras

Cliche

an outworn or overused phrase (e.g. busy as a bee)

Climax

the highest point or culmination in a drama or poem

Colloquial

ordinary, everyday language as opposed to correct or formal language

Comedy

a play with light or humorous theme, usually with a happy ending

Conceit

a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors (e.g. hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul)

Concrete

specific or detailed, opposite of abstract (cotton is a ___ example of the abstract idea of softness)

Conflict

opposition or clash of forces or characters

Connotation

implied or associated meaning

Consonance

the repetition of identical or similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different (e.g. a bo"nd" that transce"nd"s the beyo"nd")

Contemporary

in time with or current

Content

the substance or basic material

Context

related parts that follow or are connected in a text

Contrast

a comparison by noting the differences

Contrived

forced, put together artificially

Couplet

two lines in succession that rhyme (e.g. this i know and know full well; I do not like thee, Doctor Fell)

Crisis

the extremely important or decisive point in the story

Criticism

writing or comment evaluating other written material

Cue

a word or gesture that signals one to say or do something

Dactyl

a rhythmic poetic pattern with one accented and two unaccented syllables (e.g. "lis"ten my/ "chil"dren and)

Denotation

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggest (connotation)

Description

a statement that describes or represents

Deus ex Machina

a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence (e.g. character falls off cliff and robot unexpectedly catches them)

Dialect

special language of a particular group or region

Dialogue

a conversation between two or more characters

Diary

a daily record of events in a person's life

Diction

the choice of words in speaking or writing; the careful enunciation of sounds

Digression

a departure or wandering away from the main purpose in speaking or writing

Direction

instruction from the author or director of a play

Dissonance

unharmonious or unmusical language

Double Entendre

a subtle literary device that uses one statement to convey two very different meanings

Downstage

the portion of the stage nearer to the audience

Elegy

a form of poetry expressing sorrow or a lament for someone dead

Epic

a long narrative poem that usually deals with important subjects matter like events of cultural significance and heroic actions

Epiphany

a visionary moment when a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes their understanding of themselves or their comprehension of the world

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

Epigraph

a short standalone quote, line, or paragraph that appears at the beginning of a book

Epithet

a word or phrase attached to a person or expressing some attribute (e.g. Catherine the Great)

Escapist

a type of literature that avoids real people and their lives

Essay

a literary form in prose on a particular subject to present a particular view

Euphemism

a more polite or less crude word or phrase substituted for another word (e.g. darn for damned)

Exaggeration

overstatement or more than is true

Expository

a style of writing that sets forth facts and ideas in organized explanation

Drama

a prose or verse work of characters in conflict, also called a play

Emotion

feeling or reaction

Epigram

a witty remark that usually has a sting or bite to the words

Epilogue

a short part of a story or play that explains later events or results

Episode

an event in a series of events or incidents

Euphony

pleasing and harmonious counterpart to cacophony

Extant

still existing or alive to forces

Fiction

a story that is made up or invented

Figurative Language

language that represents an idea or mood and means other than what it says

Fable

a short story or tale with a moral or point

Fantasy

a literary work created from ingenious imagination without a solid or factual base

Farce

comedy to an extreme with a ridiculous situation (e.g. mistaken identity of characters "Comedy of Errors"

Figure of Speech

a phrase used in literature to express feeling beyond the actual wording

Flashback

a literary device to go back to an earlier event or part of a person's life

Foil

a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character

Foot

a unit of accented and unaccented syllables which is repeated to give steady rhythm to a poem (e.g. iamb -' , trochee '- , anapest --', dactyl '--)

Form

the kind of literary work such as poem, essay, etc.

Free Verse

poetry with no fixed pattern of rhythm or meter

Hero

the main male character of a story

Heroine

the main female character of a story

Histrionic

in a dramatic manner that is artificial or affected

Hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration for effect

Iamb

a rhythmic poetic pattern with one unaccented followed by one accented syllable

Idiomatic

peculiar to specialized language pertaining to commonly used modes of expression (e.g. butterflies in my stomach)

Imagery

Impromptu

without prior preparation or warning

Incident

an occurrence or event

In Medias Res

technical term for the epic convention of beginning "in the middle of things," rather than at the very start of the story

Inspire

to give or infuse a spirit that helps the creation of a literary work

Intent

plan or purpose to do something

Internal Rhyme

a rhyme scheme in which words within the same line have the same ending sound (e.g. in days of "old" when knights were b"old")

Interpret

to figure or to search for meaning

Inversion

a change of word order to fit the emphasis of the line

Irony

suggesting a circumstance opposite to the expected one

Juxtaposition

placing two things side by side so as to highlight their differences

Legend

a popularly accepted but not verified story handed down from generation to generation

Limerick

a humorous five-line verse in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme, as do the third and fourth lines

Linguistic

pertaining to structure of language

Literal

exact wording and meaning; tendency to be unimaginative

Litotes

understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (e.g. not unhappy)

Lyric

poetry of description, thoughts, or emotions, rather than poetry that tells a story

Matinee

an afternoon performance

Maxim

an expression of general truth or relating to conduct (e.g. actions speak louder than words)

Meaning

the significance or what is intended

Melodrama

a drama that concentrates on suspense or crimes to sustain excitement and high pitch of emotion

Memoir

a recollection or record of events happening to a person

Metaphor

using one idea or object to represent or suggest another which may not be alike (no like or as)

Meter

measure of accented and unaccented syllables for measuring lines of poetry

Metonymy

using the name of a part or a related thing to refer to the entire thing or idea (e.g. swearing loyalty to the crown = swearing loyalty to nobility)

Monologue

a long speech in a poem or drama by one speaker with no interruption by other speakers

Mood

the prevailing tone or emotion revealed in a literary work

Motif

a repeated pattern—an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and again within a particular story; symbolic significance

Motive

the intent, the reason for action

Muse

any of the Greek goddesses who supposedly presided over poetry, drama, and other areas and inspired the writer or performer

Narrative

a story, something told

Nonfiction

writing such as biography and serious factual accounts

Novel

a prose narrative of some length portraying characters and actions

Ode

a lyrical poem that glorifies or praises

Onomatopoeia