Literary Terms October 11th

Academic (style)

A formal, objective, and structured writing style that avoids colloquialisms, focuses on clarity, and emphasizes logical argumentation and evidence.

Aesthetic

Related to beauty or the appreciation of beauty; in literature, it refers to the artistic elements that contribute to a work’s beauty or emotional appeal.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close to each other, used for emphasis or rhythm (e.g., "She sells sea shells").

Antihero

A protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as bravery or morality, often displaying traits like selfishness or apathy.

Bombast

Language that is overly rhetorical and inflated, used to impress or seem important but often lacking in meaningful content.

Cadence

The natural rhythm of speech or writing, often created through the arrangement of words, phrases, and sentences to produce a sense of flow or musicality.

Chorus

In classical drama, a group of characters who comment on the main action of the play, often serving to express the public or collective response.

Dirge

A somber, mournful song or poem expressing grief, often associated with funerals or lamentation for the dead.

Dramatic Irony

A literary device in which the audience knows something that the characters do not, creating tension or humor as events unfold.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression used to replace one that is too harsh, blunt, or offensive (e.g., "passed away" instead of "died").

Interior Monologue

A narrative technique that reveals a character’s inner thoughts and feelings as they occur, often presented in a stream-of-consciousness style.

Lampoon

A satirical piece of writing or a work that ridicules a person, group, or institution, often using humor, irony, or exaggeration.

Nemesis

A force or character that serves as the protagonist’s ultimate and often inescapable opponent, representing their downfall or retribution.

Objectivity

The presentation of information in an unbiased and detached manner, free from personal feelings or opinions.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the natural sound associated with it (e.g., "buzz," "clang," or "sizzle").

Personification

A literary device where human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts (e.g., "the wind whispered").

Requiem

A musical composition or act of remembrance for the dead, often solemn and reflective in nature.

Rhetorical Question

A question posed not to elicit an answer but to make a point or provoke thought (e.g., "Isn’t that obvious?").

Subjectivity

A personal perspective, bias, or opinion in a narrative, reflecting the feelings and experiences of an individual rather than objective facts.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence, often in different senses or meanings (e.g., "She stole my heart and my wallet").