Literary Criticism Terms

Literary Criticism terms and definitions. Specifically for UIL competition studying.

Geneva School

Critics who began to see literary work as a series of existential expressions of the author's conscience. Major writers: Georges Poulet, Marcel Raymond, and J. Hillis Miller.

Absolute

a word free from limitations or qualifications ("best," "all," "unique," "perfect")

Accismus

a form of irony in which a person feigns indifference to or pretends to refuse something he or she desires

Acronym

a word formed from the initial letters of words and pronounced as a separate word

Acrostic

verse in which certain letters such as the first in each line form a word or message

Adage

a familiar proverb or wise saying

Ad Hominem Argument

an argument attacking an individual's character rather than his or her position on an issue

Agroikos

Rustic, straight-talking, unsophisticated, not anxious about his image, unfazed by others' joking.

Alliteration

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words

Allusion

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize

Alterity

the state of being other or different; otherness

Ambiguity

An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Analogy

a comparison between different things that are similar in some way

Anaphora

A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.

Anecdote

a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event

Anglo-Norman Period

the period in English literature between 1100 and 1350, which is also often called the Early Middle English Period and is frequently dated from the Conquest in 1066

Anthology

A collection of various writings, such as songs, stories, or poems

Antithesis

a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced

Aphorism

a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction

Archetype

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

Argument

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

Asyndeton

a constructions in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions EX: I came, I saw,I conquered - Julius Cesar

Auditory

Having to do with the sense of hearing

Augustan Age

is a style of English literature produced during the reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and George II in the first half of the 18th century, ending in the 1740s with the deaths of Pope and Swift (1744 and 1745, respectively)

Balanced Sentence

a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a point

Ballad

A narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style.

Baroque

An artistic style of the seventeenth century characterized by complex forms, bold ornamentation, and contrasting elements

Bathos

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

Beat Generation

Group highlighted by writers and artists who stressed spontaneity and spirituality instead of apathy and conformity.

Biblical Allusion

reference from the Bible, ex: eyes like heaven, the crowd parted like the red sea.

Bildungsroman

A German word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as the hero travels in quest of a goal

Blood and Thunder

A class of work specializing in bloodshed and violence. Many of these have to do with crime and high emotion. Sometimes abbr. to "blood," "blood books," or "penny bloods."

Bowdlerize

(v.) to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.

Carpe Diem

"Seize the day"; a Latin phrase implying that one must live for the present moment, for tomorrow may be too late.

Chiaroscuro

An Italian word designating the contrast of dark and light in a painting, drawing, or print.

Chiasmus

a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary)

Cliche

an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off ( think cheesy romcoms they are full of cliches)

Climax

the point of highest interest

Colloqialism

informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing

Colonial

styles of the British colonies in America in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly adapted to local materials and demands from prevailing English styles

Complex Sentence

a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

Compound Sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions

Conceit

a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor

Concordance

An alphabetical list of the most pertinent works in a given text and a notation of where the words might be found within that text

Concrete Details

details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events

Concrete Poetry

poetry that is visually arranged to represent a topic

Connotation

the implied or associative meaning of a word

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Couplet

A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.

Cumulative Sentence

a sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated but the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases

Dactylic

A 3-syllable foot; 1st syllable is stressed. The next 2 are unstressed. ex. "merrily,": MER - ri - ly

Dead Sea Scrolls

A collection of written scrolls (containing nearly all of the Old Testament) found in a cave near the Dead Sea in the late 1940s.

Declarative

a sentence that makes a statement or declaration

Deductive Reasoning

reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applied to a specific case

Denotation

Literal meaning of a word

Dénouement

In a plot, the tying up of loose ends. In a tragedy, sometimes called the catastrophe. (Pronounced day new MAH)

Dialect

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

Dialouge

conversation between two or more people

Diction

the word choices made by a writer

Didactic

having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing

Dilemma

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

Dissonance

harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds

Early Tudor Period

War of the Roses ends in English with Henry VII claiming the throne - Martin Luther's split with roman Catholic church marks emergence of Protestantism - first Protestant church in England - Edmund Spenser (poet)

Edwardian Age

The period between Queen Victoria's death and WWI and named in honor of King Edward VII. The attitude of the people was critical and questioning. There was a growing distrust and there was a deep-felt need to examine institutions.

Elegy

a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme

Elision

Elision refers to the leaving out of an unstressed syllable or vowel, usually in order to keep a regular meter in a line of poetry for example "o'er" for "over"

Ellipsis

the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context ("Some people prefer cats; others, dogs")

English sonnet

3 Quatrains and an ending couplet. Rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg

Enjambment

A line having no pause or end punctuation but having uninterrupted grammatical meaning continuing into the next line.

Enlightenment

18th century movement led by French intellectuals who advocated reason as the universal source of knowledge and truth

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

Epigram

a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying

Epigraph

a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work

Epiphany

a moment of sudden revelation

Epitaph

an inscription on a tombstone or burial place

Epithet

a term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives ("swift-footed Achilles") that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition.

Eulogy

a formal speech praising a person who died

Euphanism

an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

\`Exclamatory Sentence

a sentence expressing strong feeling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark

Existentialism

A philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions

Expletive

an interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes a profanity

Eye Rhyme

Depends on spelling rather than sound; words that look like they should rhyme, but do not

Foot

A unit of rhythm or meter; the division in verse of a group of syllables, one of which is long or accented

Knickerbocker

the group of 19th century writers from New York who finally gained international acclaim for their literary works.

Mock Epic

A work of literature that applies the characteristics and conventions of epic poetry to trivial subject matter for the sake of humor, irony, parody, or satire.

Personification

endowing non-human objects with human qualities or characteristics

Psychological novel

novel that focuses on the "interior" lives of its characters, their mental states and emotions, and their psychological motivations of their actions than on the actions themselves.

Repartee

A quick, witty reply

Riddle

a question requiring thought to answer, understand; a puzzle

Silver-Fork School

Group of 19th century English novelists who emphasized gentility and etiquette. Members included Frances Trollope, Theodore Hook, Lady Blessington, Lady Caroline Lamb, and Benjamin Disraeli.

Tanka (haiku)

A Japanese poem of five lines, the first and third composed of five syllables and the rest of seven.

True Rhyme

the last syllable rhyme sounds (and is usually spelled) exactly the same

Turning Point

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

Wisdom Literature

A style of Hebrew literature that meditates on important truths. Wisdom literature utilizes poems, teachings, and other means of communicating these truths.

Allegory

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

Controlling image

an image or metaphor that runs throughout and determines the form or nature of a literary work

Fable

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

Fabliau

A short comic tale with a bawdy element, akin to the "dirty story." Chaucer's The Miller's Tale contains elements of the fabliau.