Ece terms

Allegory

a narrative in which characters and actions represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning.

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

Allusion

a brief reference to a person, event, or place in history, or to a work of art/literature.

Analogy

a comparison between two items, situations, or ideas that are somewhat alike but differ in most respects.

Anaphora

repetition of the first word or set of words in successive sentences or phrases.

Antagonist

a character who opposes the chief character or protagonist in a story.

Apostrophe

a figure of speech where a speaker directly addresses an absent person or personified quality.

Archetype

a character, action, or situation that represents common patterns of human life.

Aside

a short passage spoken by a character to the audience while others on stage pretend not to hear.

Assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in stressed syllables.

Asyndeton

the omission of conjunctions from constructions where they would normally be used.

Atmosphere (mood)

the mood or feeling created for the reader by the writer in a literary work.

Ballad

a narrative poem that usually includes a repeated refrain.

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter, a line of five feet.

Cacophony

the use of harsh, unmelodious sounds in poetry.

Caesura

a pause or break within a line of poetry.

Carpe diem

a theme in poetry encouraging enjoyment of life's pleasures while possible.

Catharsis

the purification or purging of emotions, such as pity or fear.

Character

an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction.

Characterization

the method an author uses to introduce characters to the reader.

Chiasmus

a scheme where terms are introduced in a specific order and then repeated in reverse order.

Cliché

an overused expression or phrase that has become trite and meaningless.

Climax

the decisive turning point in a story or play when the action changes course.

Conceit

an elaborate figure of speech combining metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or oxymoron.

Conflict

the struggle between opposing forces in a narrative.

Connotation

the emotional associations surrounding a word, beyond its literal meaning.

Couplet

a pair of rhyming lines with identical meter.

Denotation

the strict, literal meaning of a word.

Denouement

the resolution of the plot in a narrative.

Dialogue

the conversation between characters in a literary work.

Diction

the author's choice of words or phrases in a literary work.

Dramatic irony

a situation where the audience knows more than the characters.

Dramatic monologue

a lyric poem where the speaker addresses someone whose replies are not recorded.

Elegy

a mourning poem lamenting an individual or tragic event.

Enjambment

the continuation of a complete idea from one line of poetry to another without pause.

Epiphany

a moment of deep realization experienced by a character.

Epistrophe

repetition of a concluding word or word endings.

Euphemism

a mild phrase used instead of a blunt or painful one.

Euphony

the harmonious grouping of words for a pleasing sound.

Exposition

the opening section of a narrative revealing characters, setting, theme, and conflict.

Flashback

an interruption of the narrative to show a past episode.

Foot

a group of syllables in verse, usually one accented and associated unaccented syllables.

Foreshadowing

a hint given to the reader about what is to come.

Free verse

poetry free from a fixed pattern of meter and rhyme.

Hamartia

a tragic flaw or misperception leading to a character's downfall.

Hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence in a hero, leading to a lack of insight.

Hyperbole

a figure of speech involving great exaggeration.

Iambic pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet.

Imagery

sensory details that provide vividness and evoke emotions in a literary work.

In medias res

a plot that begins in the middle of events, revealing the past through flashbacks.

Irony

a contrast between what appears to be and what really is.

Juxtaposition

placing two ideas or images side by side for original or insightful meaning.

Litotes

a figure of speech stating a positive

Metaphor

A figure of speech involving an implied comparison.

Meter (rhythm)

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a specific term naming an object is substituted for another word with which it is closely associated.

Motif

A recurrent word, image, theme, object, or phrase that tends to unify a literary work or may be elaborated into a theme.

Narrator (persona/point of view)

The teller of the story.

Onomatopoeia

Words used in such a way that the sound of the words imitates the sound of the thing being spoken of.

Paradox

A statement, often metaphorical, that seems self-contradictory but has valid meaning.

Parallelism

When the writer establishes similar patterns of grammatical structure and length.

Parody

A kind of burlesque that is a humorous imitation of serious writing, usually to make the style of an author appear ridiculous.

Persona

The speaker or narrator of a text or poem, which cannot be assumed to be the author.

Personification

The representation of abstractions, ideas, animals, or inanimate objects as human beings by endowing them with life-like qualities.

Plot

The series of happenings in a literary work.

Point of view

The relation between the teller of the story and the characters in it.

Polysyndeton

Using many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence.

Prosody

The mechanics of verse poetry, including sounds, rhythms, scansions, meter, stanzaic form, alliteration, assonance, euphony, onomatopoeia, and rhyme.

Protagonist

The leading character in a literary work.

Pun

A play on words; a humorous use of a word with different meanings or of two or more words with similar sounds but different meanings.

Rhyme

Exact repetition of sounds in at least the final accented syllables of two or more words.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhyme, marked by assigning a letter of the alphabet to each rhyming sound at the end of each line.

Satire

The technique that employs wit to ridicule a subject, usually some social institution or human foible, with the intention of inspiring reform.

Setting

The time, place, societal situation, and weather in which the action of a narrative occurs.

Simile

A figure of speech involving a comparison of two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.

Situational irony

An occurrence that is contrary to what is expected or intended.

Soliloquy

A dramatic convention that allows a character alone on stage to speak his or her thoughts aloud.

Sonnet

A fourteen-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter, with a varied rhyme scheme.

Stereotype

A conventional pattern, plot, or setting that possesses little or no individuality but may be used for a purpose.

Stream of consciousness

The recording or portrayal of a character's flow of thought.

Style

The distinctive handling of language by an author.

Symbol

A person, place, or object that represents something beyond itself.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

Synesthesia

The description of one sense using another sense.

Syntax

The arrangement of words within a sentence.

Theme

The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.

Tone

The author's attitude toward his or her subject matter and toward the audience.

Understatement

A figure of speech that says less than one means.

Verbal irony

The intended meaning of a statement or work is different from what the statement or work literally says.

Villanelle

A poetic form of five tercets and a final quatrain (19 lines).