Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms

These flashcards cover key literary and rhetorical terms with definitions to assist in understanding and retention of the material.

Allegory

A story in which characters and events are symbols expressing truths about human life.

Alliteration

The practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound.

Allusion

A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.

Anaphora

A rhetorical figure involving the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences.

Anastrophe

Departure from normal word order for the sake of emphasis or for metrical/rhyming consistency.

Antithesis

A rhetorical figure in which two ideas are directly opposed, presented in a grammatically parallel way.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech where the speaker directly addresses a person who is not present, dead, imaginary, or a concept.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within words.

Asyndeton

A rhetorical figure involving the deliberate omission of conjunctions to create a concise statement.

Atmosphere

The prevailing aura or feeling conveyed about a physical setting within a work of literature.

Caesura

A pause in a line of poetry dictated by natural speaking rhythm.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical figure in which words or concepts are reversed or repeated in reverse order.

Connotation

The implicit rather than explicit meaning of a word, including emotional associations.

Consonance

The repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words.

Denotation

The exact, literal definition of a word independent of emotional association.

Diction

Word choice intended to convey a certain effect.

Enjambement

A poetic expression that spans more than one line.

Elision

The omission of part of a word, often to make verse more rhythmic.

Epiphora

A rhetorical figure involving repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses.

Exposition

A literary device that introduces meaningful background information to the reader.

Figures of Speech

Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else; not meant to be taken literally.

Foreshadowing

The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.

Hyperbole

A deliberate and often extravagant exaggeration.

Imagery

The representation in words of any sensory experience.

Irony

An event or outcome which is the opposite of what would naturally be expected.

Metaphor

A comparison of unlike things without using a word of comparison.

Meter

A pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in lines of poetry.

Mood

The predominant emotion in a literary work conveyed by feelings of and between characters.

Onomatopoeia

Using words that imitate sounds.

Oxymoron

A form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression.

Parallelism

Using grammatically similar structures in a sentence.

Personification

Applying human qualities to non-human things.

Plot

The sequence of events or actions in a narrative.

Polyptoton

Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.

Polysyndeton

A rhetorical figure involving the inclusion of many conjunctions.

Rhetoric

The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking.

Rhyme

The repetition of similar ending sounds.

Satire

The literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous.

Scansion

The analysis of poetic meter and stressed/unstressed syllables.

Setting

The time and place in which events in a literary work take place.

Simile

A direct comparison of one object to another using 'like' or 'as'.

Sound Devices

Stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound.

Stream of Consciousness

A literary technique that approximates the flow of thoughts and sensory impressions.

Structure

The framework or organization of a literary selection.

Style

The writer’s characteristic manner of employing language.

Symbol

An object, person, place, or action that signifies something larger than itself.

Synaesthesia

Describing one kind of sensation in terms of another.

Synecdoche

A form of metaphor where a part of something signifies the whole.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and order of grammatical elements in a sentence.

Theme

The central message of a literary work.

Tone

The speaker or author’s attitude toward the subject, revealed by their word choices.

Understatement

Deliberately presenting something as much less than it really is.