PHS Lit Terms

Allegory

Story where characters represent abstract ideas or qualities

Alliteration

Repetition of similar consonant sounds in close words

Allusion

Indirect reference to known people, events, or literature

Ambiguity

Deliberate suggestion of multiple conflicting meanings

Analogy

Comparison showing similarities between two things

Anaphora

Repetition of word/phrase at the beginning of sentences

Anastrophe

Inversion of normal sentence order for rhythm or emphasis

Anecdote

Brief story illustrating a point or character

Antagonist

Opponent who blocks the hero in a story

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse grammatical order

Antithesis

Balancing strongly contrasted words or ideas

Antihero

Central character lacking traditional hero qualities

Anthropomorphism

Attributing human traits to animals or objects

Aphorism

Clever statement observing life's truths or principles

Apostrophe

Calling out to an absent person, place, or idea

Apposition

Placing coordinate elements in immediate order

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants

Asyndeton

Using commas to separate words without conjunctions

Balance

Constructing a sentence with equal length and importance

Characterization

Process of revealing a character's personality

Indirect Characterization

Revealing character through actions, thoughts, and effects on others

Direct Characterization

Author directly tells the reader about the character

Static Character

Character that remains unchanged throughout the story

Dynamic Character

Character who changes significantly due to story events.

Flat Character

Character with one-dimensional traits, easily summarized.

Round Character

Character with complex, multi-dimensional personality.

Chiasmus

Rhetorical balance with reversed syntactic parts.

Cliché

Overused word or phrase, lacking originality.

Colloquialism

Informal word or phrase unsuitable for formal contexts.

Comedy

Story ending with a positive resolution for characters.

Conceit

Elaborate metaphor comparing starkly different things.

Confessional Poetry

Poetry revealing intimate details from the poet's life.

Conflict

Struggle between opposing forces or characters.

External Conflict

Conflict between individuals, nature, or society.

Internal Conflict

Conflict within a character's mind involving opposing forces.

Connotation

Emotional associations beyond the dictionary definition.

Couplet

Two consecutive rhyming lines in poetry.

Dialect

Distinct way of speaking characteristic of a group or region.

Diction

Choice of words by a speaker or writer.

Didactic

Fiction or nonfiction teaching a specific lesson.

Elegy

Poem of mourning, often for the deceased.

Epanalepsis

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and end.

Epic

Long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds.

Epigraph

Quotation at the start of a work hinting at the theme.

Epistrophe

Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of lines.

Epithet

Adjective highlighting a characteristic quality.

Essay

Short nonfiction prose discussing a subject.

Argumentation

Form of discourse using logic, ethics, and emotion to persuade.

Persuasion

Relying on emotional appeals to convince.

Argument

Persuasion based on reason rather than emotion.

Causal Relationship

Claiming one event leads to another, used in logical arguments.

Description

Discourse creating mood or emotion through language.

Exposition

Form of discourse explaining or presenting information.

Narrative

Discourse telling a series of events.

Explication

Interpreting text meaning, often focusing on figurative language.

Fable

A short story teaching a life lesson in prose or poetry.

Farce

Comedy with exaggerated, silly characters in absurd situations.

Figurative Language

Words not literal; includes similes and metaphors.

Flashback

Scene breaking chronological order to show past events.

Foil

Character contrasting another, like a sidekick or villain.

Foreshadowing

Hints suggesting future plot events.

Free Verse

Poetry without regular meter or rhyme.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for effect, like 'a million times'.

Hypotactic

Sentence with connecting words showing logical relationships.

Imagery

Language creating vivid mental images or sensations.

Inversion

Reversal of normal word order in a sentence.

Irony

Contradiction between appearance and reality.

Verbal Irony

Saying one thing but meaning another.

Situational Irony

Discrepancy between expected and actual events.

Dramatic Irony

Audience knows more than characters, creating tension.

Juxtaposition

Placing contrasting ideas or phrases together for impact.

Litotes

Understatement emphasizing a positive by negating a negative.

Local Color

Emphasis on specific setting details in fiction or poetry.

Loose Sentence

Main clause followed by dependent units.

Lyric Poem

Expresses personal feelings without telling a story.

Metaphor

Comparison without 'like' or 'as' between unlike things.

Implied Metaphor

Comparison not explicitly stated, implied through context.

Extended Metaphor

Metaphor developed extensively by the writer.

Dead Metaphor

Overused metaphor lacking vivid comparison.

Mixed Metaphor

Metaphor with incompatible mixed terms.

Metonymy

Referring to something by closely associated terms.

Mood

Atmosphere created by writer's diction and details.

Motif

Recurring element unifying a work or author's works.

Motivation

Character's reasons for behavior.

Onomatopoeia

Words echoing their sound, like 'pop' or 'zap.'

Oxymoron

Figure of speech combining contradictory terms.

Parable

Short story teaching a moral lesson.

Paradox

Self-contradictory statement revealing truth.

Koan

Zen Buddhism paradox for intuitive knowledge.

Parallel Structure

Repetition of grammatically similar words or phrases.

Paratactic Sentence

Juxtaposes clauses or sentences.

Parody

Work imitating and making fun of another.

Periodic Sentence

Sentence with main idea at the end.

Personification

Giving human attributes to objects or animals.

Plot

Series of related events in a story.

Rising Action

Complications and conflicts in a story.

Climax

Point of greatest intensity or turning point in a plot.

Resolution

Conclusion of a story where conflicts are settled.

Point of View

Narrative perspective from which a story is told.

First Person Point of View

Narration by a character in the story.