Pre-AP English II: Literary Terms 1-100

Allegory

A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions

Alliteration

The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

Allusion

Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, etc.

Antithesis

A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas

Analogy

Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

Anaphora

The repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or sentences

Antagonist

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero

Archetype

A theme, motif, symbol, or stock character that holds a familiar and fixed place in a culture's consciousness

Argument

A statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work

Aside

A remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

Asyndeton

A construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions

Bathos

Insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity

Blank Verse

Poetry without rhyme but possibly still meter

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed

Cliche

An expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off

Climax

The most intense moment in the plot

Colloquialism

Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that word suggests

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case

Denotation

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word

Dialect

A variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region

Dialogue

Conversation between two or more people

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Dilemma

A situation that requires a person to decide between two equally attractive or equally unattractive alternatives

Dramatic Irony

The full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

Elegy

A sustained and formal poem setting forth the poet's meditations upon death or another solemn theme

Epic

A long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation

Epiphora

Ending each element in a series with the same word

Ethos

Appeal to ethics

Eulogy

A formal speech praising a person who has died

Euphemism

Nice words that replace offensive word

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it

Fable

A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters

Fantasy

A story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters

Figurative Language

Writing that uses words to mean something other than their literal meaning

Flashback

The insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative

Flat Character

This character had only one or two personality traits and is typically static, meaning he or she does not change much

Foil

A contrast character who highlights the qualities of another character

Foreshadowing

The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot

Free Verse

Poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical

Genre

Types or categories of literary works

Hyperbole

An excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact

Hypothetical Question

A question that raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition

Idiom

A common expression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses

Inference

An intelligent guess that one makes to interpret a literary work

Irony

Contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality

Legend

A narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements

Limited Narrator

A narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character

Litotes

A type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite

Logos

Appeal to logic

Metaphor

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'

Meter

The repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry

Mood

An atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected

Motif

A standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works

Myth

A traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events

Narrative

A story or narrated account

Omniscient Narrator

A narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters

Onomatopoeia

Use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning

Oxymoron

Self-contradictory combination of words

Parable

A simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson

Paradox

Presents a contradiction, but reveals truth

Parallel Structure

Structural arrangement of parts of a sentence, sentences, paragraphs, and larger units of composition by which elements of equal importance are similarly phrased; creates balance between parts

Paraphrase

A restatement or rewording of a text or passage

Parenthetical

A comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain

Parody

Imitation of work of literature

Pathos

Appeal to emotion

Personification

Type of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing is talked about as if it were human

Plot

A series of related events that make up a story or drama

Point of View

The vantage point from which a writer tells a story

Polysyndeton

The use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural

Protagonist

Main character in fiction or drama

Pun

A play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meanings

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

Resolution

The falling action of a narrative; the events following the climax

Rhetoric

The art of presenting ideas in a clear, effective, and persuasive manner

Rhetorical Devices

Literary techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of expression

Rhetorical Question

A question that is asked not to elicit a response but to make an impact or call attention to something

Rhyme

Repetition of sounds at the end of words

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhyme at the end of each poem or song

Rhythm

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Round Character

Complex characters with many traits; these characters usually change or develop in an important way

Satire

Type of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform

Scapegoat

One who bears the blame for others

Setting

Time and place of a story

Simile

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using like, as, than, or resembles

Soliloquy

A speech delivered alone on stage

Sonnet

Normally a fourteen-line iambic pentameter poem

Structure

The arrangement of materials within a work

Suspense

The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next

Symbol

Person, place, thing, or idea that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself

Synecdoche

Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole

Syntax

The patterns of arrangement of words in a sentence

Theme

The central idea or insight that is revealed by a work of literature

Thesis

A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved

Tone

The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character

Tragedy

A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character

Turning Point

The point in a work in which a very significant change occurs

Verbal Irony

Figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning