Lit Terms all

pathos

appeal to emotion

pentameter

a line of five feet

periodic sentence

a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense

peripeteia

Greek word meaning a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal in a tragedy

personification

the technique by which animals, abstract ideas, or inanimate objects are referred to as if they were human

plot

the careful arrangement by an author of incidents in a narrative to achieve a desired effect

point of view

the vantage point, or stance, from which a story is told

polysyndeton

the opposite of asyndeton. the use of many conjugations has a slowing effect.

post-modernism

a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the rejection of objective truth.

primitivism

the belief that nature provides a truer and more healthful model than culture; the nobel savage

prosody

the study of sound and rhythm in poetry

pun

a form of wit, not necessarily funny, involving a play on a word with two or more meanings

puritanism

extreme strictness in moral or religious matters, often to excess; rigid austerity

quatrain

a verse stanza of four lines, rhymed or unrhymed

rationalism

the doctrine that reason alone is a source of knowledge and is independent of experience

realism

the author's use of accuracy in the portrayal of life or reality

regionalism

the tendency in literature to focus on a specific geographical region or locality, re-creating as accurately as possible its unique setting, speech, customs, manners, beliefs and history

rhetoric

the art of persuasion, in speaking or writing

rising action

the part of a plot that leads through a series of events of increasing interest and poe to the climax or turning point

romanticism

literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form

sarcasm

harsh, cutting, personal remarks to or about someone, not necessarily ironic

satire

any form of literature that blends ironic humor and wit with criticism directed at a particular folly, vice or stupidity. satire seeks to correct, improve, or reform through ridicule

setting

the general locale, time in history, or social milieu in which the action takes place

simile

a less direct metaphor, using like or as

situational irony

the contrast between what is intended or expected and what actually occurs

slant rhyme

inexact rhyme between two words

soliloquy

a speech by one character while alone on the stage or under the impression of being alone

sonnet

a fourteen-line lyric poem in iambic pentameter

speaker's attitude

the speaker's viewpoint regarding his subject matter

stanza

a section or division of a poem, resembling paragraphs in prose

stock character

a stereotyped character; one familiar to use from examples in previous fiction

stream of consciousness

a technique in which the reader sees the continuous, chaotic flow of a character's thoughts

structure

the pattern of organization

style

how the author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text

surrealism

employs illogical, dreamlike images and events to suggest the unconscious

syllogism

a form of logical reasoning, consisting of two premises and a conclusion (A\=B B\=C A\=C)

symbol

anything that stands for or represents something else beyond it

synathesia

the description of one kind of sensation in terms of another

synecdoche

figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of a whole

syntax

the rules or patterns of grammatical language

theme

an abstract idea that emerges from a literary work's treatment of its subject matter

title character

a character who gives his/her name to the work

tone

the reflection in a work of the author's attitude toward his or her subject

tragedy

a drama in which the protagonist, a person of high position, suffers a fall in fortune due to some error of judgement or flaw in his or her nature

tragic flaw

the defect of a character that brings about the protagonist's downfall in a tragedy

transcendentalism

the american version of romanticism; held that there was something in human beings that transcended human nature \-- a spark of divinity

trope

any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense

unity of action

a tragedy that has one main action that it follows with no or few subplots

verbal irony

a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant

verisimilitude

the appearance or semblance of truth

villanelle

a lyric poem made up of five stanzas of three lines, plus a final stanza of four lines

voice

how a written work conveys to a reader of the writer's attitude, personality, and character

wit

ingenuity in connecting amusingly incongruous ideas; intellect, humor

allegory

a story with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning

alliteration

the repitition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in neighboring words

allusion

an indirect or passing reference to an event, person, place or artistic work that the author assumes the reader will understand

ambiguity

a word, phrase or attitude that has double or even multiple meanings, resulting in multiple interpretations

anachronism

an event, custom, person, or thing that is out of its natural order of time ex. back to the future

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anagnorisis

the critical moment of recognition or discovery in a tragedy

anaphora

the regular reputation of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

antithesis

a figure of speech in which opposing or contrasting ideas are balanced against each other using grammatically parallel syntax

apostrophe

a rhetorical device in which the speaker addresses a dead or absent person, or an inanimate object or abstraction

archetype

a pattern or model of an action, a character type, or an image that recurs consistently enough in life and literature to be considered universal

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words

asyndeton

conjunctions are omitted, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose

ballad

a form of narrative poetry that presents a single dramatic episode, which is often tragic or violent

bildungsroman

a coming of age work that follows its protagonist from youth to experience, or maturity

blank verse

poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

bombast

speech too pompous for an occasion; pretentious words

burlesque

an artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity

cacophony

harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds, often produced by combinations of words that require a clipped, explosive delivery

caesura

a pause in a line of verse, often coinciding with a break between clauses or sentences

caricature

a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things

catharsis

the effect of purification achieved by tragic drama; emotional release

chiasmus

grammatical structure in which the first clause or phrase is reversed in the second, sometimes repeating the same words.

classicism

an adherence to the principals of greek and roman literature

climax

the turning point or high point in a plot's action

colloquial

words or phrases that are used in everyday conversation; informal writing

conceit

an unusually far-fetched or elaborate metaphor presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings

consonance

the repetition of identical or similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different

couplet

two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and that are written to the same meter

dactyl

metrical foot of three syllables, on accented followed by two unaccented

dénouement

the portion of a plot that reveals the final outcome of its conflicts or the solution of its mysteries

determinism

philosophy that suggests people's actions and all other events are determined by forces over which human beings have no control

deus ex machina

the resolution of a plot by use of highly improbable change, coincidence or artificial device that solves some difficult problem or crisis

diction

the choice of words used in a literary work

digression

a portion of a written work that interrupts or pauses the development of the theme of plot

dissonance

harshness of sound and/or rhyme, either inadvertent or deliberate

dramatic irony

a situation in which the audience knows more about a character's situation that the character does, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character's expectations

elegy

an elaborately formal lyric poem lamenting the death of a friend or public figure, or serious reflection on a serious subject

end-stopped

a line brought to a pause at which the end of a verse line coincides with the completion of a sentence, clause, or other independent unit of syntax

enjambment

the running over of the sense and grammatical structure form one verse line or couplet to the next without a punctuated pause

epic

a long narrative poem celebrating the great deeds of one or more legendary heroes in a grand style

epistolary

a novel written in the form of correspondence between characters

epithet

any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality

euphony

a pleasing smoothness of sound, perceived by the ease with which the words can be spoken in combination

exegesis

critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of text

exposition

the setting forth of a systematic explanation of or argument about nay subject; or the opening part of a play or story

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is sustained for several lines or that becomes the controlling image of an entire poem