Lit terms 67

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

Persona

the speaker or narrator of a text or poem. Cannot be assumed to be the author.

Personification

the representation of abstractions

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 – its sounds

Protagonist

the leading character in a literary work.

Pun

a play on words; a humorous use of a word that has different meanings or of two or more words with the same or nearly the same sound 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. The traditional way to mark these patterns of rhyme is to assign 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

Setting

the time

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

Stereotype

a conventional pattern

Stream of consciousness

the recording or re-creation of a character’s flow of thought.

Style

the distinctive handling of language by an author.

Symbol

a person

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

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

Zeugma

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses or to two others of which it semantically suits only one.

Parallelism

"She likes cooking

Parody

The Colbert Report often mimics political speeches in a humorous way.

Persona

In The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Personification

"The wind whispered through the trees."

Plot

In Cinderella

Point of view

To Kill a Mockingbird is told from Scout's perspective.

Polysyndeton

"We have ships and men and money and stores."

Prosody

The iambic pentameter in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.

Protagonist

Harry Potter faces challenges and grows throughout Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Pun

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

Rhyme

"Cat" and "hat."

Rhyme scheme

ABAB in a quatrain.

Satire

In Gulliver's Travels

Setting

The moors and 19th-century England in Wuthering Heights.

Simile

"Her smile was like the sun."

Situational irony

A fire station burns down.

Soliloquy

Hamlet says

Sonnet

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.

Stereotype

The “dumb blonde” character in many movies.

Stream of consciousness

James Joyce’s Ulysses captures the character’s thoughts as they happen.

Style

Hemingway’s concise

Symbol

The green light in The Great Gatsby.

Synecdoche

"All hands on deck."

Synesthesia

"The loud colors of the painting."

Syntax

Yoda says

Theme

Friendship in Of Mice and Men.

Tone

The sarcastic attitude in Gulliver’s Travels.

Understatement

Saying “It’s just a scratch” about a large dent.

Verbal irony

Saying “Great weather!” during a hurricane.

Villanelle

Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

Zeugma

"She broke his car and his heart."