Lit Terms 3

Euphony

The quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words and sounds; the opposite of cacophony, i.e. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep,/ But I have promises to keep,/ And miles to go before I sleep,/ And miles to go before I sleep.” - Robert Frost

Explication

Act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Fable

A very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life; usually utilizes anthropomorphism.

Figurative Language

Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally in order to create an effect; figurative language devices include simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole, oxymorons, etc.

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character; often a villain contrasting the hero.

Folk Tale

A story which has been composed orally and then passed down by word of mouth.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Hypophora

A figure of speech in which the speaker both asks a question and immediately answers it.

Idiom

A saying, phrase, or fixed expression in a culture that has a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning, i.e. It’s raining cats and dogs.

Irony

A discrepancy between appearances and reality.

Verbal Irony

When someone says something but means something else.

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between what is expected to occur and what actually occurs.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience or reader knows the truth, but the character does not.

Juxtaposition

Poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit.

Litotes

A figure of speech in which a negative statement is used to affirm a positive sentiment, i.e. When a person is asked how he or she is doing, and responds with, “I’m not bad.” In fact, this means that the person is doing fine or even quite well.

Maxim

A short statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it.

Microcosm

A small “world” that stands for the larger one, i.e. in Lord of the Flies, the island is representative of the world’s political realm.

Mood

An atmosphere created by a writer’s diction and the details selected; the feeling the readers gets, not to be confused with the feeling of the writer toward a subject which is called tone.