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164 Terms
1
Anastrophe
The inversion of the usual order of words.
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Anaphora
A word or phrase is intentionally repeated in successive lines.
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Assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound.
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Aubade
Poem or music appropriate to the dawn or early morning.
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Augustan Age
A style of literature in Britain written in the first half of the 1700s to the 1740s; characterized by emulation of Roman forms, particularly the epistle and satire.
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Avant-garde
New and unusual or experimental ideas or works.
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Ballad
Poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.
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Ballad Stanza
Four-line stanza with the first and third lines not rhyming, and the second and fourth lines rhyming.
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Baroque
Extravagant and complex writing style.
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Bathos
Anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood.
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Blank Verse
Verse without rhyme, especially iambic pentameter.
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Bucolic
Relating to the countryside and country life.
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Burlesque
An absurd or exaggerated imitation of something; a parody.
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Cacophony
Combination of words or sounds that are unpleasant to the ear, conveying chaos.
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Caesura
Break between words in a metrical foot; breath pause.
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Canon
An accepted principle or rule.
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Canto
Division or section within a long narrative poem.
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Affect
Relating to emotions and feelings.
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Alexandrine
A line of poetry containing six iambic feet.
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Allegory
A literary or visual work that can be interpreted to have a hidden meaning.
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Alliteration
The repetition of a letter or sound at the beginning of consecutive words.
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Allusion
Referencing a separate literary work as an artistic device in a literary work.
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Anachronism
A thing belonging to a separate time than it is depicted.
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Anadiplosis
A literary device where the ending word or phrase of one sentence is repeated at the beginning of the next sentence, adding emphasis.
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Analogy
A descriptive comparison between two things.
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Anapest
A foot of poetry consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
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Antithesis
One object or subject being the direct opposite of another.
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Aphorism
A concise observation that contains a universal truth.
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Apostrophe
Addressing an inanimate object or a person who is deceased.
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Archaism
The use of old-fashioned or archaic styles in literature.
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Archetype
A recurrent symbol or motif that is portrayed across literature.
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Aporia
An expression of doubt (real or pretended) for rhetorical effect.
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Asyndeton
Omission of the usual conjunctions between words or clauses.
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Auxesis
Listing things in order of importance.
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Brachylogia
Leaving out words to shorten an expression.
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Dialogical
When writing is characterized by the use of dialogue.
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Diction
The words or phrases an author chooses to use in speech or writing.
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Didactic
Designed or intended for teaching, typically involving moral lessons.
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Dimeter
A single line of verse containing two metrical feet.
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Diphthong
A gliding speech sound between two vowels in the same syllable.
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Dirge
A solemn, mournful piece of music, often accompanying a funeral.
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Dissonance
An inharmonious grouping of sounds that is harsh to the ear.
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Doggerel
A text that is irregular in measure, emphasizing comic or satirical effect.
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Double Entendre
A word or phrase with two possible interpretations, often sexual.
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Dramatic Monologue
A speech where a character reveals their situation through their own words.
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Eclogue
A short poem containing dialogue between shepherds.
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Elegy
A song or poem expressing sorrow, usually toward the dead.
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Elision
The omission or slurring over of a vowel or syllable in pronunciation.
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Ellipsis
The omission of necessary words understood within the context.
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Encomium
A reference to a person or idea, usually in prose poems.
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End-stopped
The end of a line where a pause is intended.
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English (Shakespearean) Sonnet
A sonnet with three quatrains ending in a couplet.
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Enjambment
A line ending that runs on to the next without punctuation.
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Enlightenment, The
A period of increased intellect in the late 17th to early 19th centuries.
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Epideictic
Poems used for public occasions, often funerals.
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Epigram
A short poem with wit and expression.
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Epigraph
A quote that indicates the theme of the writing.
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Epitaph
A writing describing a dead person's life.
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Epithalamion
A poem or song sung for the bride on the wedding night.
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Epithet
A descriptive phrase for a person or phrase.
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Eponymous
A term for something named after a person.
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Euphemism
Figurative language replacing harsh phrasing.
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Euphony
Words creating a pleasing sound with their use.
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Exordium
An introduction section of a piece of work.
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Explication
A close reading or analysis of written work.
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Homophone
Words pronounced the same but with different meanings.
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Hyperbaton
A rhetorical device changing the typical word order.
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Hyperbole
Exaggeration for emphasis, not meant literally.
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Iamb
A two-syllable metrical pattern of unstressed followed by stressed.
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Idiom
An expression with a figurative meaning different from the literal.
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Idyll
A short work depicting rural life or a pastoral scene.
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Imagery
Figurative language evoking sensory experience.
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Invocation
Addressing a deity to seek inspiration.
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Invective
Abusive language used to attack someone.
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Irony
A contradiction between appearance and reality.
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Isocolon
Repeats grammatical structures in phrases or sentences.
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Jeremiad
A literary work expressing deep lamentation, often societal critique.
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Kitsch
A literary device conveying irony, often characterized by bad taste.
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Lacuna
An absent part in a piece of writing.
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Lai
A medieval lyric poem in couplets, often set to music.
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Lampoon
A form of satire making fun of something by imitation.
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Latinate
English words derived from Latin.
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Leitmotif
A recurring theme or symbol with significance.
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Limerick
A five-line poem with a rhyme scheme of ABBA, often humorous.
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Literature
A body of written works on a subject matter.
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Lyric
A short poem expressing personal mood or feeling.
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Madrigal
A short lyric poem of love or pastoral life, often set to music.
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Malapropism
A confused use of a long word comically.
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Masculine Rhyme
Common rhyme between stressed syllables at verse lines' ends.
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Masque or Mask
An indoor performance combining poetry, music, and dance.
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Maxim
A short, memorable statement of a general principle.
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Meditation
Expresses author's reflections.
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Metaphor
Referring to something by a different word suggesting a common quality.
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Metaphysical Poets
17th-century English poets notable for intellectual and theological concepts.
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Meter
The pattern of measured sound-units in lines of verse.
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Mnemonic Device
Words or letters that assist memory.
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Mock-epic
A poem mimicking epic style for trivial events, satirizing its subject.
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Modernism
Experimental trends in early 20th-century literature.
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