LIT TERMS 2

Chiasmus

A sentence where the second half flips the structure or exact words of the first half.

Cliche

An overused phrase or idea that has lost its original impact and feels unoriginal.

Colloquialism

Casual, everyday slang or spoken language used instead of formal writing.

Comedy

A lighthearted story intended to make the audience laugh, usually ending happily.

Conceit

A highly creative, stretched comparison between two completely unrelated things.

Confessional Poetry

Highly personal poetry that reveals the author's private, often painful feelings and secrets.

Conflict

The main problem or struggle in a story.

External Conflict

A struggle against an outside force, like another character, society, or nature.

Internal Conflict

A struggle inside a character's own mind, like dealing with guilt or making a tough choice.

Connotation

The emotional feeling or cultural vibe a word gives off, rather than its literal dictionary definition.

Couplet

Two back-to-back lines of poetry that usually rhyme and share the same rhythm.

Dialect

A version of a language spoken by people in a specific region, capturing their unique words and accents.

Diction

The specific choice of words an author or speaker uses to set a tone.

Didactic

Literature or writing specifically meant to teach a moral lesson or instruct the reader.

Elegy

A sad, mournful poem or speech written to remember someone who has passed away.

Epanalepsis

Starting and ending a sentence or phrase with the exact same word.

Epic

A long story or poem about a hero's massive, world-saving adventures.

Epigraph

A short quote placed at the very beginning of a book or chapter to hint at its overall theme.

Epistrophe

Repeating the exact same word or phrase at the end of back-to-back sentences or clauses.

Epithet

A descriptive nickname or phrase attached to someone's name to highlight a key trait.

Homeric epithet

A specific type of hyphenated nickname repeatedly used in ancient epics to describe a character or object.